1 John 1:1-4
1Jn 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, of the Word of life;
1Jn 1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1Jn 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
[Read John 1:1-4 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. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.]
Jesus was from the beginning.[John 1:2, The same was in the beginning with God.] He has always existed and He is the person of Life, 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, of the Word of life;
But the emphasis here is Eternal Life. Verse 2, (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) [In the person of Jesus who had previously been “with the Father.”] The Book starts with Eternal life and ends with eternal life, 5:20, And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Eternal life has always existed with the Father, Titus 1:2, In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; Tit 1:3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour. Eternal Life is the Gift of the Father through Jesus, Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So the redemptive plan for man was in the mind of God long before the world began: “That which was from the beginning” [ there is no starting place to measure, “from the beginning.” ] Just to catch a glimpse into this truth consider John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. The incarnation of the Son of God was in the mind of God from the beginning. [To be manifested: made visible to us]
The plan and purpose of God came with Jesus Christ, 1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) and 2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, The plan and purpose of God are for you to walk in fellowship with God.
The realism of our Salvation is our fellowship with the LORD 1:3, That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Now we must consider Our Beginning – There must be a starting place and I am not talking about our physical life but rather our spiritual beginning. From the context of the scripture John is writing to the believer, 1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
There are more verses in the Bible about the believer than there are about the unbeliever. The unbeliever is perishing and he is perishing every day. The believer is saved and he is being saved every day. There is more than one salvation for the believer from being born again to the salvation of our life, 2Ti_3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Timothy was a Pastor, a grown man, he had long since come to faith in Christ. Salvation is based on truth in the past [That truth is the Cross] with a present-day promise to the believer, Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, [that is past tense]. The power of that saving is to the present-day believer whose faith is in Jesus. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
I want to insert here a few words from my Christmas bookmark “Jesus Saves”:
“Yeshua in the Hebrew [O.T. is written in Hebrew] is the same as Jesus and/or the Messiah in the N.T. which is written in Greek.
“Yahweh” is the personal name for God in Hebrew. It refers to His Truthfulness, His Unchangeableness, His Faithfulness, His Eternality: He said: “IAM THAT IAM“
So, you could say, “Yeshua” means Yahweh saves. Jesus [ Yeshua] is God [Yahweh] in the flesh.
For God so loved the world, that he [God the Father, Jehovah, Yahweh] gave his only begotten Son,[Jesus, Who is God in the flesh]
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Living in Fellowship with Whom You Have Believed? “Alpha and Omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. The believer is in Him and is to live and walk in Him. You should not try to live outside of Him!
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He is the beginning of our faith and the end of our faith. The One in Whom you have believed! The One in Whom you are believing – then live in the certainty of His promise of everlasting life! Live with faith alone in HIM alone. Why then go outside of the I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Why cast off your confidence in Jesus which has the great payment of the reward. Why cast away grace that you could have debt?
Our Fellowship with our Saviour is in question in the next scriptures
Many exhortations do we find in the Word of God about our walk [our daily living] Roman 12:1-2. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
As you have believed in Him for His promise of every lasting life so walk ye in Him, Col 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Col 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. There are many verses in the Bible about the believer. In fact, more verses about the believer than the unbeliever. Preachers and teachers do not always rightly present the Word of God. But that does not give you the privilege of claiming, “I did not know”. 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Our life as a believer is about our daily fellowship with the LORD. 1Jn 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.1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: You can not have fellowship and walk in darkness.
V7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Walk in the light of God’s Word and confess sins we know(1 John 1:9), then we are forgiven of those confessed sins and cleansed of all our sins, including the ones unknown to us.
As Bob Wilken has pointed out:“There is a major difference between confession of sins and repentance of sins. If we are out of fellowship with God, then the remedy is repentance, turning from our sins and turning back to the Lord (Luke 15:11-32). But if we are in fellowship with God, then confession is how we maintain ongoing fellowship with Him”
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Inclusive statement of all believers And when you put that with John 13 Then it is a very heart-searching statement. Is it correct for Christians to assume that future sins are already forgiven? They are already paid for but they are forgiven when you confess them.
listen to Jesus in John 13:5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Joh 13:6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Joh 13:7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Joh 13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Joh 13:9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Joh 13:10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. Joh 13:11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
See 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. Washing of our feet is daily fellowship with the LORD.[ You are clean through the word I have spoken unto you]. Washing other feet is forgiving past and present offenses, misunderstandings, or any things that would hinder our fellowship with each other.
<