Page 1 Sermon Manuscript WALKING IN THE LIGHT: EXPOSITORY STUDIES IN FIRST JOHN “WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?” (1 JOHN 1:1-4) • JUNE 3, 2001 • DR. DOUG MCINTOSH, SENIOR PASTOR Introduction to the Series: A Timely Communiqué Loneliness is a growing problem in American culture. According to a recent Gallup poll, four in ten Americans admit to frequent feelings of intense loneliness. A study by the American Council of Life Insurance reported that the loneliest people in America are—you’ll be surprised by this—college students. Following on the list are divorced people, welfare recipients, single mothers, rural students, homemakers, and the elderly. The problem is beginning to be recognized as significant. A classified advertisement ap- peared in a Kansas newspaper a few years ago. It read, “I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment for $5.00.” It sounded like a hoax, but the person was serious. Did anybody call? Absolutely. It wasn’t long before this individual was receiving as many as twenty calls per day. People were willing to try anything for a half hour of companionship. A lot of this is due to the times we live in. In our adult Sunday School class we are studying cultural apologetics, which is nothing more than a fancy way of saying that we are studying how the church can defend itself against the attacks of the culture. Intellectually and philosophically, the western world is now postmodern. That means that we are living in the pe- riod of time that has seen the bankruptcy of modernism, the period that began about the time of the American Revolution. Modernism was characterized by a total confidence in the ability of modern science to solve every problem and a commitment to the notion that no place needed to be reserved for God in the process. Where modernism was incurably optimistic, postmodernism is incurably pessimistic. Whereas modernism believed that all religions were equally false, postmodernism believes that all religions are equally true—which is pretty much the same thing, when you get down to it. Ei- ther way, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and Christian revelation bite the dust. What I find interesting is that one book of the New Testament seems to address a similar Page 2 cultural situation, and that is the book we are undertaking to study for the next few weeks, the book of First John. This letter was written to correct a tendency that existed in the first century, and it has now reared its ugly and hopeless head again. John the Apostle and disciple of the Lord Jesus wrote this little book to deal with a critical attack that pokes its head out of the moral swamp from time to time. That attack is an attempt to eliminate the importance of Christian faith by showing that it is just one faith among many. Some time ago a Christian author suggested that the ministries of Peter, Paul, and John, the apostles, can be distinguished and characterized by the tasks that each of these three men were performing when they were called into God’s service. You may recall that Peter was a fisherman when Jesus called him as a disciple. At the moment his call occurred, he was casting a net into the sea. When Peter began his ministry, the same process characterized it—he was one who fished for people. He went out into the ocean of humanity and cast the net of the gospel and brought people into the church. He was the one who brought the first Jewish catch, the first Samaritan catch, and the first Gentile catch into the church. On the very first day of his apostolic ministry, the day of Pentecost, he caught 3,000 fish in his gospel net. The Apostle Paul was, by contrast, a tentmaker. He was a builder, and that also charac- terizes his ministry. The Apostle Paul laid the foundation for a great building, the church. He even calls himself “a wise master-builder” at one point (1 Corinthians 3:10). He built both the human foundation and the doctrinal foundation of the early church. As you might expect, the Apostle John was doing something different than either of those two men. When Jesus called him, he was mending the nets of his family fishing business. And that is more or less what he does in his written ministry in the New Testament. John’s writings come along somewhat later than some of the other New Testament authors. By the time he writes, the church had been in existence for four decades, and a lot of serious false teaching had begun to worm its way into the church. When John wrote, there was a need for a voice to call people back to the foundational doctrines of Christian faith; and that is what he does in this letter. He calls the church back to its foundational realities. Let’s see how he begins to do this by reading the first four verses of this letter—what we might call the prologue. I am going to be reading my own translation, so the passage may be slightly different that what is in your Bible. Scripture: 1 John 1:1-4 (my translation) 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 MESSAGE OF LIFE. 2 AND THE 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. 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. 4 AND THESE THINGS WE WRITE TO YOU THAT OUR JOY MAY BE FULL. Introduction to Today’s Study: Why John Wrote John is one of the New Testament writers who tells us in the course of his letters why he is writing. In fact, as we go through First John we’re going to find a series of purposes for this letter; but today we are interested in the first two reasons he wrote. These two reasons actually pervade the whole letter. The first reason he is writing is… To insure that believers continue inside the circle of fellowship (v. 3) We see this in verse three, where John writes, “WE PROCLAIM TO YOU WHAT WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD, SO THAT YOU ALSO MAY HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH US. AND OUR FELLOWSHIP IS WITH THE FATHER AND WITH HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST.” The people to whom John is writing are Page 3 already Christians. He makes that clear at many points in the letter. But he also says right here that they are people whose fellowship is at risk. They have been part of a circle of fellowship that includes many other people, and the key people in that circle have been the apostles. When John says, “us” in this verse—and much of the time in this letter—he means “us apostles.” You see that quite easily in verse one, which is probably to be understood as the title of the book. You see there how John emphasizes the personal contact he and the other apostles had with Jesus. They heard Him, they saw Him with their eyes, they gazed upon Him, their hands handled him. As a result, they find themselves in the process of transmitting that message about the life that He gives to their readers and hearers. Whether we, or any readers of this letter continue in fellowship with the apostles, and thus with the Father, depends on how we deal with what he says here. If we declare that biblical truth is okay, but it’s not the only truth there is, if we say that Jesus is certainly a Savior, but there are other ways to be saved that lie outside of Him, we have left the circle of fellowship that John is describing here. He also gives a second reason why he is writing. He writes not only to insure that believ- ers continue inside the circle of fellowship, but he writes… To fill that circle with joy (v. 4) You see this in verse four, where John says, “THESE THINGS WE WRITE TO YOU SO THAT OUR JOY MAY BE FULL” (1 John 1:4). Your version may say, “…your joy.” Most of the manu- scripts, however, have “our joy.” The difference is really not too great, because what would make John’s joy full is to have his readers and us walk in unbroken fellowship with him, with the Fa- ther, and with the Son. John has a pastoral heart. He is absolutely delighted when those believers to whom he ministers give evidence of a close fellowship with God. And if they do, they will have all the joy they can handle, too. But before we go any further, we have to ask, “Exactly what does John have in mind when he refers to fellowship. What exactly does that mean? Isn’t fellowship what you do over donuts and coffee? That can’t be all that important, can it?” Defining the Circle of Fellowship There is nothing particularly mysterious about the concept of fellowship. The New Tes- tament word for fellowship is koinonia, which is derived from koinos, which is the Greek word that means “common.” Fellowship is sharing things held in common. And so, John is writing in this book about those things that are shared among Christians. There are four of them that he mentions in particular. What fellowship includes: four shared entities Fellowship means, first of all, sharing a common authority. Notice verse two: “THE 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” (1 John 1:2). There is a great emphasis here on the apostles as the bridge between the life of the Lord Jesus and us. We know what we know of Christ first and foremost because they were the messengers that He sent to tell us all that. And they were first hand witnesses. They saw, and they were bearing wit- ness and still are, of what they saw. Today it is fashionable in Christian circles to regard the apostles as just some especially mature believers who accomplished a lot. They deserve some respect for that, of course; but we don’t want to get carried away and regard what they taught as exempt from criticism. That is not how the New Testament views things, however. The apostles are the founda- tion stones of the church, according to Ephesians 2:20. The early church met to hear the teaching of the apostles. Nobody, in fact, can be in fellowship with God while at the same time dismissing the teaching of the apostles. That is foundational to all true fellowship with the Father. When someone tells me that they don’t agree with the teaching of Peter, or Paul, or John about some- thing, they have told me more than they intended. They have told me that they are not part of the circle of fellowship that John is talking about here. What they shared, of course was the life of Christ. He was with the Father before He Page 4 came to earth, where He was manifested. That’s the term John uses. Jesus was not visible for thousands of years; then one day, He was visible. He was manifested, and men could see Him. He is our authority, and He alone. The God of heaven come down to earth has given us, through the apostles whom He designated, a message about life. That message is the common authority of believers. Then there is a second part of fellowship, and that is a shared set of convictions. Notice verse three: “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fel- lowship with us” (1 John 1:3). The clear implication of this verse is: “If you don’t believe what we have to say about Him, then you can’t really share in the circle of fellowship. What we de- clare, the set of convictions that we write in this book, is the basis of our fellowship, and yours, too.” It sounds here as though First John is an extremely important book, and it is. There is a third item that is also a part of fellowship, too, and that is a shared purpose in the world. John says, “We are declaring this to you so that you can have fellowship with us.” The idea of transmitting the life of Christ is implicit in everything in this letter. We share in the life of Christ, and that is simply too wonderful a commodity to be hoarded. We declare the good news to others so that they can enter into the life of Christ, too. Christian faith is built on shared informa- tion—information about Jesus and the life that He offers to people who put their trust in Him. And in fact that is the fourth shared entity that comprises fellowship: the life of Christ it- self. Verse one says that this book is concerned with the message about life. Believers share the life of Christ Himself. When we become more like Jesus, it is because we are experiencing more of His life in us. What fellowship excludes: the revisionists Now if these are the items that form fellowship, then it stands to reason that those who lack these things are excluded from the circle of fellowship that John is talking about — and they are excluded by their own choice. God designed the church to be inclusive, not exclusive; but unless there is a shared life in the church, it is no longer the church. If Jesus Christ, through the apostles, is not the common authority base of church members, then it is no longer a church. It may be a good organization, it may have value, but it is not a church. A church can only function effectively when it has people who are committed to the same truths. That means that in that one sense the local church is exclusive. And here, John has one group of people particularly in mind when he talks about fellow- ship, and that is what I am choosing to call the revisionists. The revisionists are people who have begun to revise the content of the Christian faith and to move it away from what it was at the beginning. In fact, that is the phrase that John begins this letter with. Did you notice that in verse one? He says, “THAT WHICH WAS FROM THE BE- GINNING…” That’s what First John is about — moving the church back to its beginnings. He’s not talking about the beginning of creation here. Nor is he talking about eternity past, as he was in the opening of his gospel. Here the beginning is the beginning of the Christian message. You see this emphasis throughout the book. For example, “BRETHREN, I WRITE NO NEW COMMANDMENT TO YOU, BUT AN OLD COMMANDMENT WHICH YOU HAVE HAD FROM THE BEGINNING” (1 John 2:7). Then, later in the same chapter, he writes, “THEREFORE LET THAT ABIDE IN YOU WHICH YOU HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING. IF WHAT YOU HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING ABIDES IN YOU, YOU ALSO WILL ABIDE IN THE SON AND IN THE FATHER” (1 John 2:24). And First John 3:11, which says, “FOR THIS IS THE MESSAGE THAT YOU HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING, THAT WE SHOULD LOVE ONE ANOTHER.” Christian truth does not need to be updated. There is no Christianity version 1.1. Christian truth is timely always because it is timeless. God’s ways do not change. God’s expectations of us do not change. Those who would tell us that we need to update the gospel mes- sage so that it can function in a changing world do not understand either the gospel or the world. Those voices are very loud today, and that is one reason why we’re studying First John. Now before we go too far in this study, we need to know… Page 5 What fellowship touches Fellowship touches the enjoyment we have of each other and the work that we do. It does not touch anyone’s eternal destiny. The difference is easy to illustrate in the experience of a fam- ily. Becoming a member of a family is irreversible. Family membership continues regardless of the behavior of the individual family members. Enjoyment of the family, however, is an altogether different issue. Family members who are at odds with the family as a whole will not enjoy their shared family time together. There has to be a commonality of purpose, convictions, and respect if joy is to be present. Whether it is or is not present, however, one’s membership in the family is not affected. John teaches that it is possible to be a Christian and not to enjoy the fellowship of other believers, or even fellowship with God on a consistent basis. First John is going to explore how that happens, and he is going to emphasize that eternal life is one thing and fellowship is another. He wants you and me to have both, of course. He also writes so that we will understand the process of… Defending the Circle of Fellowship We have to defend it because it is being attacked constantly today. One of the ways that this is going on is the current insistence on the limitations of communication between people. We are told that words can never really communicate reality, especially between people with different backgrounds. You can never give someone a copy of the Bible and expect that he will be able to read it and be converted as a result. However, there are countless stories that show just the opposite. Dr. Boris P. Dotsenko is a physics and mathematics professor in Canada, and was once one of the most highly respected physicists in the Soviet Union. Growing up in an atheistic country, Dotsenko had no formal training in religion and little exposure to Christianity. When he was in his early teens, Dotsenko happened to find fragments of a Bible hidden in his grandfather’s barn. As soon as he read the opening of the Gospel of John, Boris Dotsenko knew that he had found something unique. He took the Bible home and and hid it. From time to time he studied it in secret; but one day it disap- peared from his room. He never knew who took it, and he couldn’t very well ask anyone about it without risking his freedom. Years later, Dotsenko studied under one of Russia’s most prominent scientists. This bril- liant and influential man had a Bible in his study, and this impressed Dotsenko. He began to ask a few cautious questions of people he thought he could trust. He would learn in time that the gov- ernment, as a result of his questions, was becoming suspicious of him and tracking his move- ments. The truth was that Dotsenko’s own wife and father were spying on him and passing along information to the police about his Christian beliefs. He felt it necessary to hide his beliefs from everyone. Finally, he broke under the strain and attempted suicide. A few years later, after recovering from this suicide attempt, the Soviet government sent Dotsenko to Canada as a guest lecturer at a Canadian university. His first night in Canada, he opened the drawer to his hotel room and found a Gideon Bible. He opened the Bible to John’s Gospel, and began reading the words that had altered the course of his life so many years ago. Then he read the rest of the Gospel. Soon after that, Boris Dotsenko put his trust in Christ. He never returned to the Soviet Union.1 He became a part of the circle of life in Christ and a part of the circle of fellowship that includes all believers who meet the simple requirements of maintaining that fellowship. That leads us to ask: How does a believer depart from the circle of fellowship? Departing From the Circle of Fellowship The answer is suggested right here in the opening paragraph of First John. Christians de- part from the circle of fellowship when they abandon what the apostles taught from the begin- ning. As we go through this letter, we’re going to see a series of things that the revisionists did to pervert and twist Christian doctrine; but this morning I just want to alert you to one. There was a popular teaching in the first century that separated the human Jesus from the divine Christ. It said that these were two entirely different people. The human Jesus was a physi- Page 6 cal being, and the Christ was a spiritual being. This teaching also maintained that the Christ came upon Jesus at His baptism, but left prior to His crucifixion. That teaching is refuted by 1 John 5:6, which reads, “THIS IS HE WHO CAME BY WATER AND BLOOD — JESUS CHRIST; NOT ONLY BY WATER, BUT BY WATER AND BLOOD.” That is, Jesus was the Christ. The Christ was there not only at the baptism (“the water”), but also at the crucifixion (“the blood”). The one who died on the cross was Jesus Christ, the God of heaven who came down and entered the world in flesh and died for our sins. This is fundamental apostolic doctrine. The one who died on the cross was the Christ — God enfleshed — and not just some especially spiritual man. To believe this is to be admitted to the circle of fellowship that includes both the Father and the Son. To believe this is to be part of the family of God. And that is so important in these days of alienation. It used to be the man on the frontier who was lonely, and that is understandable. Today, loneliness happens in crowded cities and suburbs to people who have nobody to draw close to. They are all around us. The Times-Reporter of New Philadelphia, Ohio, gave an account of a celebration at a New Orleans municipal pool a few years ago. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at any New Orleans city pool. In honor of the occa- sion, two hundred people gathered, including one hundred certified lifeguards. As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive the 31-year-old man, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season. I wonder how many visitors and strangers live all around us drowning in loneliness, hurt, and doubt, while we, who could help them, don’t realize it. We Christians have reason to cele- brate, but our mission, as the old hymn says, is to “rescue the perishing.” And often they are right next to us. The fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit, the fellowship of the apostles and the family of God, is the answer to this desperate need. God built a solution for loneliness right into His program for the world. He Himself is social by His very nature. Before the world existed, the Triune God existed: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Fellowship is as old as time itself. And when the church began, God gave it to the human race as the answer to the alienation that is so routine all around us. He intends for us to enjoy that fellowship, and to push its circle ever outward to include people who are willing to put their trust in Him. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do to another human being is simply to reach out to him in friendship. NOTES: 1 Eric C. Barrett and David Fisher, editors, Scientists Who Believe (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 3-9. COPYRIGHT © 2001 P. DOUGLAS MCINTOSH. THIS DATA FILE/MANUSCRIPT IS THE SOLE PROPERTY OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER AND MAY BE COPIED ONLY IN ITS ENTIRETY FOR CIRCULATION FREELY WITHOUT CHARGE. ALL COPIES OF THIS DATA FILE/MANUSCRIPT MUST CONTAIN THE ABOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICE. THIS DATA FILE/MANUSCRIPT MAY NOT BE COPIED IN PART (EXCEPT FOR SMALL QUOTATIONS USED WITH CITATION OF SOURCE), EDITED, REVISED, COPIED FOR RESALE, OR INCORPORATED IN ANY COMMERCIAL PUBLICATIONS, RECORDINGS, BROADCASTS, PERFORMANCES, DISPLAYS, OR OTHER PRODUCTS OFFERED FOR SALE WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER. REQUESTS FOR PERMISSION SHOULD BE MADE IN WRITING AND ADDRESSED TO DR. DOUG MCINTOSH, SENIOR PASTOR, CORNERSTONE BIBLE CHURCH, 869 COLE DRIVE, LILBURN, GA 30047.