Ep. 119 | 123 John Part 2 | The Foundation of Christian Fellowship
Speaker: Jesse Turkington
Available on all podcasting platforms
-
Available on all podcasting platforms -
Summary
Jesse opens the first letter of John by noting some of its peculiarities and observing the opening testimony it bears about the person of Jesus.
Scriptures Explored: 1 John 1:1-4
contact@parableministries.com
https://www.parableministries.com
https://www.instagram.com/parable_ministries/
Music created by Chad Hoffman
Artwork created by Anthony Kuenzi
Speaker’s Bio
Jesse Turkington is the executive director of Parable Ministries and has been a Bible teacher since 2014. When Jesse was just finishing high school, he started a little Bible study at his parent’s house. Little did he know, this Bible study would change the direction of his life. He fell in love with the richness of the Bible and he wanted to pursue serious study. About 10 years later, Jesse still carries that passion for the Bible and from this passion was born Parable Ministries - a Bible teaching resource. Jesse believes that the Bible is a life changing book and that it can transform the way we view the world.
Transcript
Intro:
Hey there, welcome to Pickled Parables. This podcast is presented by Parable Ministries as a Bible teaching resource. Thank you for joining us. Pickled Parables is a podcast about taking in and living out the Bible. Here we will study, contemplate and testify to the Bible's incredible teachings and how it leads us to live better lives. To stay up to date with all things parable, follow us on Instagram at parable underscore ministries and visit our website at parableministries.com. We hope today's message finds you well.
Message:
Hey, everyone, it's good to be back with you.
My name is Jesse.
I'm the Executive Director of Parable Ministries, and today we are exploring 1 John 1, verses 1 through 4.
I'll be presenting this today in the New Living Translation.
So let's first read through our passage together, and then we'll observe it.
1 John 1, verses 1 through 4.
We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen.
We saw him with our own eyes, and touched him with our own hands.
He is the word of life.
This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him.
And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life.
He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.
We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.
And our fellowship is with the Father and his son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.
As Hunter noted in the last episode, this epistle is attributed to the Apostle John.
Similar to his Gospel and other letters, he does not introduce himself, he does not reference himself by name, nor does he credit himself with any apostolic authority.
Also, this is a unique format for an ancient letter.
It's more like a homily or a sermon than that of a letter.
Because this epistle lacks a formal greeting, we are left to assume that the original audience either knew the author and was expecting this letter or the messenger who delivered this letter announced its author in person.
Now throughout this 4 verse prologue, we are presented with 3 key features.
The proclamation of the Word of Life, the emphasis on eyewitness accounts, and a fellowship that brings about great joy.
Let's tackle each of these features one at a time.
First the proclamation of the Word of Life.
Despite the lack of identity, Johanan literature has several unique aspects to it.
One of which is the description of Jesus Christ as the Word, or in this case, the Word of Life.
In the Gospel of John Chapter 1, it begins with a notable callback to the first words of Genesis.
In the beginning was the Word.
For the Hebrews, this term would have reminded them of the Torah.
The law of God or even the wisdom of God was often considered the Word of God.
They would have had no problem with someone saying in the beginning was the Word, because the Word of God certainly came from God, and in a way, it was part of God.
For the Greeks, this term was something very specific as well, logos.
This epistle was written in Greek, and logos is the Greek version for word.
But it wasn't just a description of a sentence component.
Logos was a philosophical idea of this interconnecting reason, with a capital R, reason.
Stoics defined the logos as an active rationale and a spiritual principle that permeated all of reality.
They called the logos providence, nature, God, and the soul of the universe.
So the Greeks would have been on board for this statement as well.
In the beginning was the word.
Yes, the logos is the reason that permeates all of reality.
However, in both the Gospel of John and in this epistle, the author ascribes a pronoun to this word.
He, he is the word of life.
This is where both law-abiding Jews and Greeks would have disagreed.
No, the word is not a person, it's a thing.
Logos, it's not a person, it's just a thing.
See, John was taking something that already existed in these cultures, the understanding of the word of God for the Jews or the logos for the Greeks, and he was using it with all of its implications to explain Jesus' divinity.
1 John 1 verse 1, We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen.
We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands.
He is the word of life.
Jesus is the expression of God the Father.
He is the word of life.
He is the fulfillment of mosaic law.
He is the embodiment of God's wisdom.
As words proceed out from the Father, so Christ came forth.
It is from Jesus Christ that we are given everlasting life.
He existed with God the Father in eternity past, and he continues to exist into eternity's future.
And just to be very clear, Jesus is not simply a created, immortal being who lives with God.
Jesus is God, so much as God's words are his own.
This is best explained through the doctrine of the Trinity.
We believe the Trinity is God the Father, the mighty director of the universe, God the Son, who is eternally begotten without beginning and is one essence with the Father, and the Holy Spirit coming from the divine essence as a person eternally from the Father and the Son.
Each person in the Godhead is completely and fully God who execute distinct but congruent offices in the work of creation, redemption and holy passion.
It is from God the Father that we were given Jesus Christ his Son, who died for our sins and rose again from the dead, defeating death, who then sent us his Holy Spirit to live with us as we live out our days here on earth.
Jesus is the expression of God's heart.
He is the word of life.
1 John 1, verse 1.
We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen.
We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands.
He is the word of life.
Next, let's look at the emphasis of this revelation coming from an eyewitness account rather than just a dream or a vision.
1 John chapter 1 verses 2 through verse 3a.
This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him.
And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life.
He was with the father, and then he was revealed to us.
We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.
Not only do we have the testimony of Jesus' chosen disciples who lived with him for years, but we also have the emphatic declaration of the men who saw Jesus' transfiguration.
Jesus was not just a traveling teacher who helped people.
Jesus was the incarnated God dwelling in bodily form.
This bodily form was transfigured before Peter, James and John, John being the author of this epistle, who worshiped Jesus in utter amazement.
This revelation, this gospel, was not received through a happy dream or a vision.
It was received as a little child, wrapped in swaddling cloths and placed in a manger.
This is an eyewitness public experience fact.
And after Jesus' resurrection, he instructed his disciples to go out into the world and to make disciples of all nations, to proclaim the truth of what they had seen and touched.
This was the beginning of the early church, where like-minded believers worshipped together and fellowship together.
1 John 1 verse 3, We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.
And our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.
Fellowship is close community, a communion of believers.
In the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 4, we read, all the believers were united in heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.
The Apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon them all.
The reason for this homiletic epistle is stated in 1 John 5, verse 13, I have written this to you, who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
What greater joy is there than celebrating with like-minded friends who have all experienced the renewing ministry of Jesus Christ, the adoptive down payment of His Holy Spirit, and complete reconciliation with God the Father.
There was immense joy amongst the early church.
There was a renewed vigor in their lives.
There was excitement because of what Jesus had just accomplished and what He had promised He would do in the future.
The early church fellowshiped with joy.
Now, this can be hard to do over long distance.
As the church grew, this joyful fellowship was modified into letters, visits, prayers, anything that could create connection.
And we see that here in this epistle.
An invitation to have joyful fellowship with like-minded believers.
This fellowship is with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but also it is a fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son.
Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 18 verse 20, For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.
This epistle is not formatted much like a letter, but it is a written invitation for people who believe Jesus as the Christ, the Savior of our souls, to fellowship with like-minded believers.
John will go farther and warn against false teachers who try to lead people astray, who try to fracture fellowship.
He will highlight certain characteristics that should be evident in every Christian's life.
This letter is a homily filled with encouragement, instruction and paternal concern.
As we in the 21st century approach this letter, I urge you take part in Christian fellowship if you are not already.
That could be seen through attending a local church, taking part in a local Bible study, or simply sharing a meal together with your local brothers and sisters in Christ.
There is real joy in celebrating Christ's accomplishments with those who have personally experienced them.
Jesus is the expression of God's heart.
He is the word of life.
Through his death and resurrection, we are absolved of all transgressions before our God.
What a joyful celebration that is.
Take part in Christian Fellowship.
For those of you still listening right now, thank you.
I'm glad you're here.
I want to invite you to a community we have here at Parable Ministries.
We love the Lord, and we deeply value relationships.
You know, through our podcast, it's incredible.
We have been able to reach thousands of people in over 50 different countries.
And we want to know you.
We want to have fellowship with you.
Just recently, I had the privilege to meet with some of our listeners we have in Pakistan.
And through this opportunity, I had the chance to share a sermon with a local church there through a video call.
It was an incredibly joyful time.
Separated by such a large distance with very different cultures, yet we were united in our worship of God.
My friends, we want to know you.
We want to pray with you.
And I invite you to introduce yourself so we can fellowship.
If you would like to meet, please email me at jesse at parableministries.com.
That's spelled Jesse, J-E-S-S-E at parableministries.com.
We'll put it in this episode's description down below.
I would love to meet you.
Whether it's a simple email exchange, a video call, or if we're near, maybe a visit in person.
I would love to meet you.
We have such a passion for Bible teaching here at Parable Ministries and we deeply care for those who come and sit under our teachers and their teachings.
We care about you and we want to know you.
May God bless you and keep you.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Outro:
Thank you for listening to Pickled Parables. If you enjoyed this message, please rate us, subscribe and share with your friends. If you're interested in more things like this, check out our secondary podcast called My Dusky Bible. To stay up to date with all things Parable, follow us on Instagram at parable underscore ministries and visit our website at parableministries.com. Parable is a volunteer organization and we would deeply appreciate your prayers. Thank you for joining us today, we'll catch you later.
See More Available Episodes Here
