John 1:1
Outline:
I. \\#1:1-2:21\\ The Essentials of Fellowship.
A. \\#1:1-4\\ There is a FELLOWSHIP.
1. \\#1\\ John introduced the One with Whom the fellowship
was, although not by name.
2. \\#2\\ John re-emphasized the fellowship.
3. \\#3\\ John invited his readers to join in that
fellowship.
4. John revealed the One with Whom the fellowship was.
5. \\#4\\ John told his readers a product of joining in this
fellowship.
B. \\#1:5-2:11\\ How to know you have this fellowship.
1. \\1:5-7\\ If you have this fellowship, you will not abide
in darkness.
a. \\#5\\ John explained this truth with the symbols of
light and darkness.
b. \\#6\\ John stated the truth.
c. \\#7\\ John reversed and restated that truth.
2. \\#1:8-2:2\\ If you have fellowship, you will understand
sin.
a. \\#1:8\\ You will understand you are a sinner.
b. \\#1:9\\ You will confess your sins.
c. \\#1:10\\ You will understand that you have sinned.
d. \\#2:1-2\\ You will understand your Advocate.
3. \\#2:3-6\\ If you have fellowship, you will keep His
commandments.
4. \\#2:7-11\\ If you have fellowship, you will not hate your
brethren.
I. \\#1:1-2:22\\ The Essentials of Fellowship.
A. \\#1-4\\ There is a FELLOWSHIP.
1. As in John’s gospel, John tantalized his audience for a
few verses before he plainly told them with whom this
fellowship was.
a. John went 16 verses before he mentioned Jesus’ name in
the Gospel of John.
b. In this epistle, he will name Jesus in the third
verse.
c. I suspect John did that because those to whom he wrote
knew both him and the One John spoke of very well.
2. \\#1\\ John introduced the One with Whom the fellowship
was, although not by name.
a. He was "from the beginning."
1John 1:1 That which was from the beginning…
(1) This is similar to John’s beginning in the Gospel
of John and has the same meaning.
(2) The One that John was speaking about, had been
since there was a beginning.
(a) The fact that John associated Jesus with the
beginning does not mean that Jesus had a
beginning.
(b) John’s thought was that when there was a
beginning, this One was already here.
b. He has been with us.
(1) John described the personal contact he and others
have had with this One.
(a) "we have heard" Him.
(b) "we have seen" Him "with our eyes."
(c) "we have looked upon" Him.
(d) "our hands have handled" Him.
(2) John was describing how personal this One was.
(a) If you did not know John was speaking of
God, it might sound like this One was a
neighbor or family member.
(b) But John was describing how personal God
had become when He put on flesh and walked
among the human race!
c. He is "the Word…."
(1) The Word was one of the names John used for Jesus
in his Gospel.
(2) The term "Word," although dear to the Christian,
is never explained in the Scripture; that is, we
are never told why John called Jesus by that
name.
(a) I believe John used that term to describe
Jesus because Jesus is the Power of God in
physical form.
(b) God does His work by speaking.
Psalm 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the
heavens made; and all the host of them by the
breath of his mouth.
(c) God’s words are what causes things to
happen.
(d) By calling Jesus the Word, perhaps John
desired to emphasis that Jesus was not
merely an image of God, but that He is the
eternal God, possessing all of the
attributes of the Godhead as well,
including power.
d. He is "…LIFE."
(1) Jesus is LIFE; that means He gives life to us.
(2) This is possible because Jesus God, the Source
and the Power of all things.
(3) Although not clearly stated here, an important
truth is emerging.
(a) If you have fellowship with the Word, you
have eternal life.
(b) If you do not have fellowship with the Word,
you do not have eternal life.
3. \\#2\\ John re-emphasized the fellowship.
a. How did John know of this fellowship?
(1) "the life was manifested and we have seen it"
(a) John was emphasizing both natures of Jesus:
i. Jesus was God: the invisible, the
eternal, the One from the beginning.
ii. But Jesus had come to earth in a
physical form that could be seen,
heard, looked upon, and handled.
(b) It is believed by many that one of John’s
major goals—if not the major goal—was
to show that Jesus was 100% God and 100%
man.
i. By this time, some had falsely accepted
that since the flesh was corrupt, God
would not put on flesh and become a
Man.
ii. This false reasoning is called
Gnosticism.
aa. While I do not believe it was the
main theme of John’s letter , I
do believe it will be one of
John’s purposes was to refute
Gnosticism’s tenets throughout
this epistle.
bb. I further believe that Gnosticism
had produced a division among the
people to whom John was writing;
and that division had caused a
split within that group so large
that John felt the need to
repeatedly remind the Christians
that we do not hate one another;
but rather, Christians love one
another.
(2) John made it clear that Jesus was both flesh and
Spirit, and that he knew this because John and
others had physically seen and touched Jesus.
b. What was John doing in this epistle?
(1) "bearing witness" of the existence of a
fellowship between people and the yet unnamed
One, so far called "the Word of life."
(2) Showing "…you that eternal life."
(a) Much like the outline John followed in his
gospel, in this epistle, John first
introduced Jesus as the Word and then the
Life.
(b) John wanted those to whom he was writing to
have the "eternal life" that came by having
fellowship with Jesus.
c. From where did the Word come?
(1) "which was with the Father…"
(2) "…and was manifested unto us:
(a) First, the Word was with the Father; but, as
John had been saying, He came to earth and
had been, beheld, heard, and handled.
(b) This is another statement to show the people
that this One with Whom we have fellowship
is both God and man, i.e. man enough to
have been seen by John, but divine enough
to be with the Father before He became
flesh.
(3) Although not the main point of John’s teaching,
here is verse that makes it clear that Jesus did
not BECOME God, i.e. Jesus was with the Father.
4. \\#3\\ John invited his readers to join him in this
fellowship.
1John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us….
a. This fellowship was not exclusive. Others could join.
b. By accepting the invitation to join, all the other
purposes John mentioned in this epistle could be
fulfilled.
(1) \\#1John 1:2\\ They would have "eternal life."
(2) \\#1John 1:4\\ Their joy would be full.
(3) \\#1John 2:1\\ They would "sin not."
(4) \\#1John 5:15\\ They would "believe on the name
of the Son of God."
(5) \\#1John 5:15\\ They would "know that they ye
have eternal life."
5. Finally, John revealed the One with Whom the fellowship
was.
1John 1:3 …our fellowship is with the Father,
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
a. God’s Son, Jesus.
b. Jesus is the One Who…
(1) \\#2\\ "was with the Father…"
(2) \\#1\\ "was from the beginning…"
(3) \\#2\\ "was manifested…"
(4) \\#1\\ "we have heard… have seen… have looked
upon… have handled…"
(5) \\#1\\ is "the Word of life…."
(6) \\#2\\ is "that eternal life."
6. \\#4\\ John told his readers of a by-product of joining in
this fellowship.
1John 1:4 And these things write we unto you,
that your joy may be full.
a. Having fellowship with the Father and the Son will
give joy but not just a small amount of joy.
b. According to Strong’s, the word "full" means "level
up, crammed, perfect."
B. \\#1:5-2:11\\ How to know you have this fellowship.
1. Having stated that there is a fellowship to be had, John
moved on to reveal how a person might know that they are
a part of it.
2. \\1:5-7\\ If you have this fellowship, you will not abide
in darkness.
1John 1:5 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. \\#5\\ John explained this truth with the symbols of
light and darkness.
(1) The use of symbols was part of John’s writing
style.
(2) John explained that Light meant, "God is Light."
(3) Darkness was sometimes used in the Old Testament,
as well as by Jesus, to symbolize sin and the
condition of being in sin.
1Sam 2:9 …the wicked shall be silent in
darkness….
Job 3:5 Let darkness and the shadow of death
stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the
blackness of the day terrify it.
Job 10:21 Before I go whence I shall not return,
even to the land of darkness and the shadow of
death;
(4) "This is the message which we have heard of him"
(a) "of him" can mean "about Him" or "from Him."
i. I believe John was saying the later.
ii. This message came directly from Jesus
Himself.
aa. What John preached was not
"figured out, passed down, or
picked up" from just any place.
bb. It came directly from Jesus.
cc. If you accept Jesus, you must
accept what Jesus said.
dd. If you rejected what Jesus said,
you reject Jesus.
(b) God has no sin within Him in anyway, neither
sin itself, nor the condition and effects
of sin are part of God.
(5) "and declare unto you"
(a) Now John repeated that message to those to
whom he was writing.
(b) Was there a purpose to this?
i. YES.
ii. Whether it was directed to the
Gnostics, to lost people in general,
or to carnal Christians, the purpose
was to make know that God is not
sinful and so the people with whom He
fellowships will not be deliberately
sinful either.
b. \\#6\\ Then John stated the truth.
1John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship
with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and
do not the truth:
(1) You cannot have fellowship with Jesus and live in
sin.
(2) John declared this fact as an absolute, both here
and throughout this epistle.
1Jo 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and
keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and
the truth is not in him.
1Jo 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that
loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how
can he love God whom he hath not seen?
(3) Again, whether it was originally directed to the
Gnostics or not, it is a Biblical truth that
every professing Christian since that day needs
to know.
c. \\#7\\ Then John reversed and restated the truth.
(1) The Reversal:
1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he
is in the light, we have fellowship….
(a) In \\#6\\ John said those who walk in
darkness (sin) do not have fellowship with
Jesus.
(b) In \\#7\\ John said those that walk in the
light (righteousness) have fellowship with
Jesus.
(c) John was stating a general rule. There are
exceptions which John allows in the next
few verses.
i. For example in \\#1John 1:8\\, John
states that if we (a Christian) say we
have not sin, we deceive ourselves.
ii. Christians sin, and unsaved people can
have high morals with good deeds.
iii. There is more to being a Christian than
doing right and there is more to being
lost than committing sin.
iv. However, those who abide in a righteous
lifestyle most often do so because
they are saved, and those who abide in
a sinful lifestyle most often do so
because they are unsaved.
(2) The Fact:
1John 1:7 …we have fellowship one with
another…
(a) Those who are in the light (righteousness),
have fellowship with one another because we
are all in Jesus.
(b) Everyone having fellowship in Christ has
fellowship together!
(c) This is the unity that takes away divisions
and eliminates strife, divisions, and wars.
(d) The Power:
1John 1:7 …and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin.
(a) The fellowship is made possible by the
blood of Jesus Christ.
(b) Another symbol, although its meaning is so
powerful and universally understood that
we often forget it is a symbol, used by
John.
(c) The blood symbolizes the death of Jesus on
the cross.
(d) The application of the blood of Jesus’
takes place when we trust in Jesus’ death
and surrender to His authority.
3. \\#1:8-2:2\\ If you have fellowship, you will understand
sin.
a. \\#1:8\\ You will understand you are a sinner.
1John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
(1) Notice the personal pronoun "we" in all of these
statements.
(a) John was including himself and all of his
readers in this group.
(b) Throughout this epistle, John gave
"pointers" to help his readers know whether
they were in the fellowship of Jesus Christ
and the Father or not.
(c) Having an understanding of sin is one of
those "pointers."
(d) If you do not understand sin, it is because
the One who reveals such knowledge is not
within you.
(2) If you think you are not a sinner, you are:
(a) self-deceived.
(b) lacking the truth.
(3) If "the truth" is not within you, you are not a
part of the fellowship and are unsaved.
b. \\#1:9\\ You will understand confession of sins.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1) This "pointer" is about dealing with the sin that
we have.
(a) We "confess it."
i. To confess means to agree with God
about the action; namely, that the
action was sinful.
ii. Implied in the confession is that we
will turn from it and not do it again.
(b) When we "confess it:"
i. God will "forgive us our sins" - That
means remove the sin and all of its
divine consequences.
ii. God will "cleanse us from all
unrighteousness" - That means God will
make us as if we never committed the
sin at all.
(c) God does this because:
i. "He is faithful"
aa. Faithful means consistent.
bb. This is the pattern of God in
dealing with the sins of those
who have fellowship with Him.
ii. "He is just"
aa. Just means it is the "legal and
fair" course of action.
bb. Since Jesus paid for our sins,
even the ones we have not
committed yet, it is the legal
and fair course of action for God
to mark the sins we confess as
paid and to remove the
consequences of them from us.
(d) What happens if we do NOT confess our sins?
i. You do not cease to be God’s child.
ii. However, there are still consequences:
1John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with
him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the
truth:
aa. \\#1John 1:6\\ We remain in
darkness. That means our
fellowship with God is broken.
Pro 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not
prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them
shall have mercy.
bb. \\#Pro 28:13\\ We do not prosper
spiritually and perhaps even in
this world.
Psalm 32:3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed
old through my roaring all the day long.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:
my moisture is turned into the drought of
summer. Selah.
cc. \\#Ps 32:3-4\\ We will experience
physical, emotional and
psychological distress.
Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me:
dd. \\#Ps 66:18\\ We do not receive
open access to God in prayer.
Matt 23:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to
the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother
hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go
thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and
then come and offer thy gift.
ee. \\#Matt 5:23-24\\ We are unable to
genuinely worship God.
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
ff. \\#He 12:6\\ We experience
parental discipline from God.
https://shepherdthoughts.com/baptistchurchny/what-happens-when-i-
dont-confess-my-sins/
(2) Christians should understand that sin is serious
and should not be taken lightly.
(a) To do so creates other sins, including the
sins of ignorance, pride, willful sin, and
a blasphemous disregard for the blood of
Jesus.
Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment,
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who
hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and
hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing,
and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
(b) Those who would intentionally dishonor the
blood of Jesus have a lack of
understanding for the blood which in
itself indicates they are not Christ’s.
c. \\#1:10\\ You will understand that you have sinned.
1John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
(1) "and his word is not in us"
(a) This pointer also helps to distinguish
between having fellowship with God (being
saved) and not having fellowship with God
(being lost).
(b) "Logos" is the Greek for "word" and was
used as a symbol for Jesus in \\#1\\.
(c) If the Word is not within us, we cannot
have fellowship with God.
(2) "If we say that we have not sinned"
(a) Even Christians sin.
(b) We should not abide in that state, but
being encased in a weak, fragile, fleshly
body with a fallen nature, sin is
natural.
(c) To deny that, demonstrates a lack of basic
understanding brought with us by the Holy
Ghost.
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