Apr. 27, 2025

“WALKING IN THE LIGHT”

“IT IS REAL”

1 JOHN 1:1-4

1 John’s Author and Date, and Place:

The apostle John is the author of the fourth Gospel the book of John, and he refers to himself indirectly as “the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7,20).

John 13:23 “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” 

John 19:26 “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”  

John 20:2 “Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Acts 12:2 “Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.”

This leaves only one reasonable conclusion for the authorship of the fourth Gospel; John the son of Zebedee and brother of James (Mark 3:13-17).

John could of written his first letter before, during or after his exile on Patmos, most likely, 1 John was written around AD 90. 

Love for God and for one another is a major theme of the letter.

1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

*It Is Real- God Is Life- 1 John 1:1-4

John had discovered that satisfying reality is not found in things that thrill, but in a Person- Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Without wasting time. He tells us about this “living reality” in 1 John 1:1-4

1 John 1:1-4 “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, concerning the Word of life— 2the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

*God Is Life!

Three Vital Facts About Life That Is Real:

1.  Life Is Manifested (Revealed) 1 John 1:1-2

If you were God, how would you go about reveling yourself to people?

*God Revealed Himself in Creation:

Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse”

John 14:9 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

1 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, concerning the Word of life.”

Why does Christ have this name? 

Christ reveals to us the mind and heart of God. He is the living means of communication between God and men. To know Jesus Christ is to know God.

“The Word of Life” is none other than the eternal, creative source of all things visible and invisible.

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 “And the Word became 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.”

2.   Life Is Experienced- 1 John 1:3

John makes no mistake in his identification of Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:3 “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

*A person has to experience Jesus to have eternal life:

You must be born again.

John 3:3,6-7

We can experience this real life only after we have believed the Gospel, put our trust in Christ, and been “born of God.”

1 John 5:1 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.”

3.   This Life Is To Be Shared- 1 John 1:3-4

1 John 1:3-4 “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

“We declare” or proclaim vs.3- this is related to the word Gospel, which refers to a message of good news.

Romans 1:1-4

The proclamation of the good new is the power of God for salvation:

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” 

John unpacks this profound truth when he states the two-fold purpose of his proclamation of the Word of Life vs.3-4:

*First, John’s proclamation concerning the Word of life is to result in true communication- vs.3 “…that you also may have fellowship with us…” “fellowship”- the Greek word “koinonia” as used by first century Christians convey the intimate, mutual participation in a life shared with one another.

Second, John’s proclamation concerning the Word of Life is to result in joy- vs.4 

1 John 1:4 “And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

Joy, in other words, is the response and the reaction of the soul to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Authentic, lasting joy is inseparably linked to the Word of Life whom we worship and adore.