1 John 1:1-4 - An Eyewitness Account
Welcome to the Well
Well, welcome to the Well Community Church. If you’re a guest here with us, my name is Brad. I get the privilege of handling God’s word with us here today. And hey, before we get into this, obviously welcome to those in person and those joining us online or at one of our gatherings via video. Just a reminder, we have a lot of different options in terms of gathering. So if you’re frustrated with parking or frustrated with seating, keep in mind that we actually have seven other options for you that you could attend. You might want to consider our midweek gathering, our 8:30 gathering, our 11:30, or our 6:00 PM gathering—other options that may not be as crazy. But that being said, I’m grateful that you’re here today.
The Power of Backstory
Some years ago, I got into Les Mis, the musical. And I was telling other people about it because that’s kind of what I do—if I get excited about something, I’m running my mouth. So anyway, I was telling some buddies about it and they were not really into it. They said, “Well, I saw the movie and Russell Crowe is terrible.”
I told them, “No, it’s not about Russell Crowe! We’re talking about Victor Hugo. We’re talking about the French Revolution of 1832. We’re talking about the battle of the proletariat versus the bourgeoisie.” I mean, we’re talking about this beautiful moment in history, and they still kind of yawned.
I said, “Okay, we’re talking about the gospel. We’re talking about Jean Valjean who gets arrested and thrown in jail for stealing a loaf of bread. He spends nineteen years incarcerated. His heart is hardened. He gets released, but he can’t really find a way to make a living because of his past. And sure enough, he steals the candlesticks and the silver from the priest, and the priest forgives him and buys his soul for God.”
Questionable theology, but stay with me. It buys his soul for God. This guy has a moment, an encounter with God, and his life is forever changed. The antagonist is this guy named Javert, and Javert is more of the “law guy.” He’s the do-right guy, the cop trying to re-arrest him. So between Jean Valjean and Javert, it’s the gospel versus the law. And by the way, keep an eye on the candlesticks, because the candlesticks are emblematic of the Holy Spirit all the way throughout.
History, backstory, and context help us understand a little bit more of what’s happening behind the scenes. It’s with that in mind that we want to talk about three books in your Bible that have been some of the most misunderstood, primarily because we don’t have the backstory. Before we get into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, which is where we’ll be from now all the way through Easter, I want to address something for the folks who are new to the Well.
We get a lot of people wondering which Bible version they should pick up. I would say you’ve got one of two options, and either way would be wonderful. One is called the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Both Mike and myself teach out of a New American Standard, specifically the Ryrie Study Bible. Charles Ryrie was a theologian, now with the Lord, who had great notes that aren’t too overwhelming. The other one I would recommend is the English Standard Version (ESV). The reason I like both of those is they’re both “formal equivalents” or word-for-word translations.
The reason I recommend getting a physical Bible is that we’re dealing with the most unique and profound book ever assembled. If you’re new to the Bible, we’re talking about 66 books, written over a 1,500-year period by approximately 40 authors. It’s written in three languages, from three continents, and yet it has one centralized theme, which in and of itself is a miracle: the unique person and work of Jesus Christ.
The Timeline of the New Testament
There are 39 books in your Old Testament and 27 in your New. When you read your New Testament, the book that gives you the chronology for the rest of it is the book of Acts. Acts chronicles the movement of the gospel from Jerusalem all the way to the remotest parts of the earth.
There are two main characters in Acts. In chapters 1 through 10, it’s Peter. Most people are familiar with him. From chapter 11 forward, the Apostle Paul becomes the main feature. He goes on three missionary journeys and begins to write books. On his first journey to Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), he writes Galatians. On his second journey, he writes 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. On his third journey, he writes 1st and 2nd Corinthians and Romans. Then he’s thrown in jail in the early 60s AD and writes the four “prison epistles”: Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.
He is released and writes 1st Timothy and Titus. Meanwhile, Peter fires off 1st and 2nd Peter to the churches in Asia Minor. Then Paul gets re-arrested and writes 2nd Timothy from death row, where he says, “I’ve already been poured out as a drink offering… I’ve fought the good fight, I have kept the faith, I finished the race.” He and the Apostle Peter were martyred somewhere between 64 and 67 AD.
I share that because Paul writes 13 books of your New Testament—almost two-thirds. Peter writes two, and a guy named Luke writes two. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, God is doing something in another man’s life, maturing a young man into an aged sage: John. John is going to write five books of your New Testament: the Gospel of John; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John; and Revelation.
You could read 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John and say, “Yeah, but his page count is pretty low, so he’s not quite as profound as Paul.” And I’d say, “Yeah, but he wrote Revelation!” That’s got to count for something.
Who was John?
So, who is John? John is referred to in your Bible as the son of Zebedee. He was one of the twelve disciples. He’s also called one of the “Sons of Thunder.” Now, when you look at the disciples on a scale of “ready for a bar fight” to “super docile,” we tend to put Peter on the rowdy end and John on the docile end. I’m not sure that’s correct. Jesus gave him that nickname, and in the Gospel of Luke, when a guy was casting out demons but wasn’t part of the disciples, it was John who went and confronted him and made him stop. I think we’ll see from these letters that John is probably a little bit more on the feisty side. He just happened to be one of the youngest of the disciples.
He is referred to in his Gospel as “the one whom Jesus loved.” We know Jesus had a “life group” of twelve, and out of that, an inner circle of three who got special invitations: Peter, James, and our guy John.
John was there for the raising of Jairus’s daughter. He was at the Transfiguration. He was in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus cried out to the Father. John was the one leaning on Jesus’s lap during the Last Supper. He was the intermediary for Peter when they wanted to know who would betray Jesus. In John 19, he was the one entrusted with the care of Mary. Jesus, from the cross, said, “Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.”
John was the first to get to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. If you recall, he and Peter had a foot race. John wins the race! But out of respect, he doesn’t go in. Peter comes in huffing and puffing, elbows John out of the way, and enters the tomb. And in John 21, when the disciples are fishing and see a guy on the shore, it’s John who realizes, “I think that’s Jesus.”
History records that John outlasted them all; he was the last man standing. He likely wrote his Gospel in the early 90s AD from the city of Ephesus. It makes sense that he and Mary died in Ephesus; he was faithful to his promise to Jesus and walked with Mary to the grave. Then, in AD 95, he received the Revelation of Jesus on the island of Patmos. Sandwiched in between the Gospel and Revelation, he wrote 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John.
Apostolic Authority
Similar to the book of Hebrews, John never mentions himself by name as the author. Paul is always doing that—“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus”—and we appreciate that. But John doesn’t do it. In all five books he wrote, he only mentions his name in the first and last chapters of Revelation.
However, in the first four verses of 1st John, he deals with what’s called “apostolic authority.” Let me make a distinction here. In our modern culture, someone might Google a ministry and find a leader calling themselves an “apostle.” I have a huge issue with that, because that’s not what the word meant. The Bible gives us a definition of an apostle in the book of Acts.
Acts 1:21-22 (NASB)
‘Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us– beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us– one of these [must] become a witness with us of His resurrection.’
An apostle was one who saw Jesus from the baptism of John up to His resurrection. It meant the original twelve, plus Matthias, plus Paul and Barnabas, who were also eyewitnesses.
Acts 14:14 (NASB)
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out
In 1st John 1, the author goes out of his way to make sure you feel what he’s feeling and see what he’s seeing. It is very tactile. John wants you to know this is not a “hot sports opinion” he heard from a friend of a friend. He is writing exactly what he saw, heard, and touched.
1 John 1:1-4 (NASB)
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life– and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us– what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
There is a lot going on here. John is saying he was in the room where it happened. He’s proclaiming “eternal life.” Now, we usually think of eternal life as the “blessed hope” of spending eternity with God after we die. That’s true, but that’s not necessarily all John meant. In his Gospel, John clarifies the definition.
John 17:3 (NASB)
’This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
To John, eternal life is experiencing fellowship with God now. He is changing us, and we are putting that on display. John is saying that if you want to have fellowship with God, you need to have fellowship with “us”—meaning you need to believe the apostolic teaching. Why? Because they were there. Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
John 14:6 (NASB)
Jesus said to him, ’I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
That is a very arrogant statement unless it’s true. Today, we don’t have John in the room to ask him what it was like when Jesus made mud and healed the blind man. But we have “chapter and verse.” We have the revealed word of the inspired text.
2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB)
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
John is saying: “I was there, I touched Him, and I’m proclaiming it to you.” He has fellowship with God, and if you want that fellowship, you’ve got to believe the teaching. We are centuries removed, but we believe the Bible has revealed who God is.
The Crisis and the Heresies
John was likely writing to the church in Ephesus and the surrounding region. Regardless of the specific recipients, he was dealing with a crisis. People who claimed to be part of the church were leaving and starting their own churches with a false gospel. John uses the term “Antichrist” to describe them. When we hear that, we think of a specific person from Revelation, but John uses it to describe a type of person—someone who does not reflect the teaching of Jesus.
1 John 2:18-19 (NASB)
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not [really] of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but [they went out], so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
He tells his readers they have to “test the spirits.” The thing about false teachers is that they are usually pretty well-packaged. They sound great. It’s close, but not quite right. They distort the truth.
1 John 4:1 (NASB)
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
John is feisty about this. He tells them not to even welcome these teachers into their homes, and in 3rd John, he calls out a guy named Diotrephes by name as a heretic.
2 John 1:10 (NASB)
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into [your] house, and do not give him a greeting;
3 John 1:9 (NASB)
I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.
There were four primary heresies he was battling. First was Gnosticism, which taught that the spiritual is good and the physical is evil. They couldn’t handle an “incarnate” Jesus. They also claimed to have a “deeper knowledge” (gnosis) available only to a select few. Second was Docetism, which claimed Jesus wasn’t fully human, but just a hologram or a vision. Third was Cerinthianism, which taught Jesus was human but not divine, and that the “Christ spirit” only came on him at baptism and left before the crucifixion. Finally, there was Antinomianism, which argued that if we are saved by grace, it doesn’t matter how we live—so why not just sin more so grace can increase?
John deals with all of these. Centuries later, the church would hold councils in Nicaea and Ephesus to affirm the triune nature of God and the nature of Christ, but the seeds of those battles are right here in these letters.
John’s Unique Voice
One reason we’ve taught Romans twice in the history of the Well but never 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John is that John is hard to understand. Romans is linear; you can follow the train of thought. John, however, writes like my wife speaks.
John is going to bring up an issue, then go over here, then back, then over there. He knows what he wants to say, but it isn’t linear. It’s called “amplification.” He’ll talk about life, then truth, then love, then he’ll swing back around to life. It’s circular and poetic. So, for you linear Type-A fellas, be patient. There’s a method to the madness. You ladies might just love these books!
John also uses a lot of hyperbole. He’ll say things like, “No one who abides in Him sins.” If we take that literally, none of us are saved! He’s using exaggeration for effect. He’s also very black-and-white. While Paul talks about the process of spiritual growth, John just says, “If you claim to know God but walk in darkness, you’re a liar.” He assumes that if you’ve experienced Christ, it should be immediately evident in how you live.
The Truth is Not Palatable
Here is the most important part: John is pushing on the fact that there is truth about who Jesus is, and then there are those who twist that truth into something similar but not the same. We see this in our culture big time.
I was having a conversation with a family member recently about an issue where the Bible is absolutely clear. It’s not a gray area; there is chapter and verse all over the place. I said, “Look, this is what the Bible says.” And they said, “Well, Brad, my God wouldn’t judge me for how I live.”
To which I said, “Well, your God might not, but the God of the Bible does.”
John is saying there will be people in your midst who take the truth and distort it to be something more palatable, more accessible, less offensive—something with softer edges. It will sound enticing, but it is not the revealed Word of God.
John says, “Believe me because I was there. I saw it, I heard it, I touched it.” Today, our authority is the Word of God. Don’t believe my opinion; believe the Word. Sometimes the Bible is wickedly offensive because it invites us into things that are impossible for us to do. Sometimes holding to the truth causes division in our souls and in our families. And yet, John says that even with that risk, eternal life is better. Life with God is better, and that life is enjoyed by keeping His word.
Closing Prayer
As we close, look at these verses one more time and be reminded of the authority John lays out for us.
Father, thank you for your word. What a gift to live in keeping with the scriptures by your grace. And even when we falter and fail, we know—as we will read in these great books—that we have an advocate with the Father who is there to forgive us of our sins. Thank you for the revealed truth of the scripture, for John the eyewitness, and for these books encouraging us to hold to what is true. In Jesus’ name, Amen.