I John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
We have been putting out daily devotionals now for several years. We started during the Wuhan virus debacle and have continued doing so. I believe it was motivated by God. His Word is important. His Word is essential to life. As long as the Lord gives me breath and a sound mind, I want to make His name known in the world. During the Wuhan virus debacle, the governments greatly restricted the movement of people. We have known for some time that this was something that had been planned for a while and then implemented at a particular time. Unlike God’s plan, this plan was a work in progress with many flaws. The WHO and other organizations worked hard to get their goals implemented; however, they failed. They had a measure of success but they also faced strong opposition. They have been back at the drawing board working on their next wicked project. It is like the problems that Boeing is having getting their space craft back to earth from the space station. They had a flawed machine to begin with and since getting up there, they have had major problems that they do not know how to fix. Elon Musk may need to come to their rescue. Man can make plans; however, God limits the extent to which those plans will work. It is important to know the true God and know His peace. Without that, life can be busy, but a complete failure. Millions of people will one day stand at the great white throne judgment. They will all be there because they rejected God’s provision for life. John was directed to write down important information that we need to know. We need to make an informed decision regarding our course in life. Unlike our governments, God gives us all the information we need to choose wisely. He does not tell us to trust Him first and then surprise us with details that are deeply flawed. He does expect us to act on faith, but as we saw in the book of Hebrews that faith has substance. We will study the first epistle of John in the next while. Fellowship is important to God. He created man to walk with Him. God is not lonely. He does not need anything from man. He created man for His pleasure. He talked with Adam in the Garden. He wanted to bless man with good things. Adam soon chose a different course than God wanted for him. The result was that Adam became the one through whom sin entered into the world. That was not a good thing to be known for, but that is Adam’s lasting legacy. God still desired to have fellowship with man and He promised man that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. He began to lay out His way of bringing man into fellowship with Him. God revealed more details about the seed of the woman throughout the Old Testament and eventually revealed that seed to mankind. That seed is Jesus Christ. He came to shed His blood for mankind so that we could be forgiven. Throughout the Old Testament those who walked by faith as did Enoch and Noah and Abraham and many others, enjoyed fellowship with God. They needed to offer sacrifices for their sins. After Jesus came and laid down His life, shedding His blood, the sacrificial system was finished. There was no further need for those sacrifices. In our text we read that God was revealing truth to us that was from the beginning. We have noted before that God is not like man. He does not need to come up with a new plan when an old one fails. God is unique and He is special. He is worthy of all worship and glory because of His greatness. II Peter 1:19-21 declares that God chose holy men to write down His plan for us.
II Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
It is important for us as people to accept the unique nature of God and not to follow heresies like Calvinism which try to bring God down to a human level. God became man in Jesus Christ. However, even Jesus Christ is unique. He is the “only begotten Son of God.” He is greater than man and that is why He can be our Saviour. John the apostle was directed to write this epistle to help us appreciate God’s blessings in a greater way. The context of this epistle is to born again Christians. God’s people need encouragement and confidence. God provided that for us. John was an eyewitness of what he wrote here. God directed him in the writing of this epistle. Even though John was an eyewitness of what he wrote, he still needed God to direct him so that he would put down exactly what God wanted us to know and in the manner in which God wanted us to know it. He had the unique privilege of handling Jesus Christ. He was privileged to be able to lean upon His breast. He heard Him teach and he witnessed many miracles. In verse 1 we read that John wrote about the Word of life. In verse 2 we find that the life was manifested. At the right moment God brought Jesus Christ into this world. Jesus Christ chose John as one of the twelve disciples that would spend time with Him in a concentrated manner. As we have noted already, John was directed to write down important facts about Jesus Christ and about eternal life. Eternal life is with the Father and it was manifested unto the apostles. Eternal life is a gift of God. It is not an invention of man. There are false religions that have their own theory of ‘eternal life’, but only the true God can provide eternal life for man. In verse 3 we are again reminded that John wrote about that which he had seen and heard. God brought back to his memory the things that needed to be written down for us. We, those who are truly saved, have the privilege of enjoying fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ, His Son, as the apostles enjoyed. We learn here that true fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ, His Son is possible without being physically present with them. One day we will be there, but we can have true fellowship with the God of heaven right now through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. John was directed to remind us how this is possible. Jesus Christ came for a specific reason and when He finished His Work, He ascended back up to His Father. He left the apostles here to complete the written record of God’s Word. He made sure they would be able to finish that work. God is in charge of how long each person will live. He has a specific work for each of His children. He will work in the heart of His child to teach him and guide him for the work He has for him. Those who are saved do not need to be anxious about life. We need to walk with God and live in the light of the fact that we will be with the Lord in glory one day soon. We can get attached to family and things, but we should not get so attached that it becomes a hindrance to knowing the joy of the Lord. It is a unique blessing to be a child of God and to be able to fellowship with Him. Let us walk humbly with Him and let Him teach us the things that are needful for us. Pastor Bartel
Older
Top
