THE FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN LIFE--1st. JOHN 1

1st  JOHN LESSON 1

THE FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

1st JOHN 1:1-10

Memory Verse: 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Introduction:

“The Spirit used the Apostle John to give us the Gospel of John, three epistles, and the Book of the Revelation. These three works complement each other and give to us a full picture of the Christian life.” ---Warren Wiersbe

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN        THE EPISTLES OF JOHN         THE REVELATION OF JOHN

Emphasis on salvation         Emphasis on sanctification     Emphasis on glorification

Past history                         Present experience               Future hope   

Christ died for us                Christ lives in us                    Christ comes for us

The Word made flesh         The Word made real in us     The Word conquering

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God...." 2 Timothy 3:15. This of course includes 1, 2, and 3 John, as well as the rest of the 66 books of our Bible. No Bible believer that we know of, doubts that God used the apostle John to write these epistles as well as the Gospel of John and Revelation.

It is generally accepted that this epistle was written about 90 A.D.

John gives at least five purposes for writing this epistle:

1. That we might have fellowship, 1 John 1:3, 6,7. Fellowship has to do with communion with Christ and not union with Christ. Our sonship relationship with God never changes but our fellowship does change.

2. That we might have joy, 1:4. The word “joy” is used only here, but the blessing of joy is seen throughout the entire letter. Joy is the result of a close fellowship with Christ.

3. That we might not sin, 2:1-2. The penalty for sin was paid at the cross for the believer, but the power of sin is still a problem. First John explains how we may have victory over sin and how to get forgiveness when we do sin.

4. That we might overcome error, 2:26. John was facing the false teaching of his day just as we face false teachers today (2 Peter 2). Several errors are refuted in 1 John and we will try to note some of them as we study.

5. That we might have assurance, 5:13. First John is not an easy book to outline as there are parallel lines of truth interwoven in the book that constantly reappear. There are three main ideas of conflict evident: light vs. darkness, love vs. hatred, and truth vs. error.

The book of I John falls into two divisions:

1. Fellowship: “God Is Light,” chapters 1 and 2;

2. Sonship: “God Is Love,” chapters 3-5. In the first two chapters the key verse is “God is light,” 1:5; the key word is: “fellowship,” 1:3, 6, 7.

The key thought is: Light cannot fellowship with darkness.

I. THE CAUSE OF FELLOWSHIP, vv. 1-4

A. The Incarnation and Eternal Life, vv. 1-2.

1. Christ had no beginning, v. 1; 2:22; 4:2-3; John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

2. John had HEARD, SEEN, and HANDLED Christ, v. 1. This REFUTES the Gnostic claim that Christ was not really human, and did not have a human body, Luke 24:39, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”

3. Christ is the WORD of LIFE, v. 1; John 1:1-2, 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:4, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

4. Christ was MANIFESTED through His INCARNATION, v. 2; 1 Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

5. John was a WITNESS to eternal life and ITS SOURCE, v. 2; John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

6. John EXPERIENCED this eternal life, v. 2; John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

7. John wrote this epistle telling people HOW TO BE SURE they have this eternal life, 1 John 5:4-13.

B. The Incarnation and Fellowship, vs. 3-4.

1. The BASIS of fellowship is RELATIONSHIP, v. 3; 2 Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

2. Relationship BASED upon RECEPTION of the RIGHT message: Fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, v. 3.

3. One PURPOSE of this epistle, v. 4; Philippians 2:2, “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Psalm 16:11, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” John 15:11, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

II. THE CONDITIONS OF FELLOWSHIP, vs. 5-10

A. We Must Walk in the Light, vs. 5-8.

1. We must have the RIGHT CONCEPT of God, v. 5, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

a. God DWELLS IN the light [righteousness], 1 Timothy 6:16, “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”

b. Man in his NATURAL state HATES THE LIGHT, John 3:20-21, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

c. Compare John 3:19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

2. Our life must be SEPARATED from sin, v. 6. Many professing Christians talk the talk, but do not walk the walk, Amos 3:3, ”Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” 1 John 2:4, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

3. We must CLAIM the CLEANSING POWER of Christ's sacrifice from our DAILY SINS of defilement, v. 7.

a. If we walk in the light… [Righteousness—all sin confessed] Romans 6:18, “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

b. We have fellowship one with another… [True communion].

c. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us… [This is antidote and defense against sin’s presence and power over us].

4. We must RECOGNIZE the PRESENCE of the OLD NATURE, v. 8. We must not lie about our sins, 1 John 1:10, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

B. We Must Confess Our Sins, vs. 9-10.

1. True confession involves REPENTANCE, v. 9; Proverbs 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

a. David tried to cover his sins (adultery and murder), and he lost his health and his joy, Psalm 32:3-4, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.”

b. David lose the joy of salvation, Psalm 51:12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”

2. SIN is a part of our OLD NATURE, and IF NOT CONFESSED it will BREAK fellowship with God, Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

3. True confession will bring CLEANSING, v. 9; Ephesians 5:26, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

4. We must ACKNOWLEDGE our sin or we make Him a liar, v. 10, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

a. This is not acknowledging that we are sinners, but rather, that we have UNCONFESSED SIN, Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”

b. We make Him a LIAR, 1 John 5:10, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”

CONCLUSION

This chapter deals a deadly blow to the heresy Of Antinomianism. "The Antinomian...holds that, since Christ's obedience and sufferings have satisfied the demands of the law, the believer is free from obligation to observe it." —A. H. Strong

While we do not obey God's moral law to be saved, we do seek to obey it because we are saved. Note the phrase "If we say" in vs. 6, 8, 10. Notice the three "liars" described in these verses:

1. Lying about FELLOWSHIP, vs. 6-7.

2. Lying about OUR NATURE, v. 8.

3. Lying about OUR DEEDS, v. 10.

There is a difference between saying and living. Too many Christians have good things to say about their walk with God, but their lives say something different. It is sad that some talk about spiritual things, but who do not practice them.