2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Yesterday when I introduced the topic of this series of devotions, namely 1, 2, & 3 JN, I mentioned that these little books were written to encourage believers not to get taken in by Gnosticism, a false teaching that appealed to Jewish intellectuals and to remain in the true faith of Jesus Christ. It is most likely that the apostle John wrote them as a series of letters to the believers in his elder years. 1 JN 1: 1-4 reveals that the author actually knew Jesus Christ as the Word of Life. “We write to you about the Word of life, which has existed from the very beginning. We have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it, and our hands have touched it. When this life became visible, we saw it; so we speak of it and tell you about the eternal life which was with the Father and was made known to us. What we have seen and heard we announce to you also, so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We write this in order that our joy may be complete.”
When one looks back at JN 1: 1-4, we can see the same spiritually mature insight into the nature of Jesus Christ that is demonstrated above. “Before the world was created, the Word already existed; He was with God, and He was the same as God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through Him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without Him. The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to mankind.” No other disciple of Christ but John lived long enough to write with this kind of maturity. John put into words a description of the nature of Christ that was so inspired by God that it enabled us to understand a Deity Who is three persons in one, a concept totally foreign to Jews and former pagans alike. Never once did John stray from the basic Jewish concept of monotheism, one God- a concept that separated Jews from all other faiths from the time of the establishment of the Jewish people as a distinct group by Abraham. Jews who converted to Christianity understood the nature of the Trinity first from Jesus and then from the rest of the apostles. JN 14: 9 and 11 leave very little for equivocation. JN 14: 9, “…Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ “ JN 14: 11, “Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me. If not, believe because of the things I do.” JN 15: 26 reveals the existence of the Holy Spirit. “The Helper will come-the Spirit, Who reveals the truth about God and Who comes from the Father. I will send Him to you from the Father, and He will speak about Me.”
When the author says regarding the Word of life, “We have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it, and our hands have touched it,” he speaks from actual experience. AC 1: 2-3, “…Before He [Jesus] was taken up, He gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men He had chosen as His apostles. For forty days after His death He appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that He was alive. They saw Him, and He talked with them about the Kingdom of God.” AC 1: 8-9, [Jesus said] “ ‘But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for Me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After saying this, He was taken up to heaven as they watched Him, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.” John was present when the resurrected Christ met with the doubting Thomas. JN 20: 26-29, “A week later the disciples were together again indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and look at My hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your doubting, and believe!’ Thomas answered Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Do you believe because you see Me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!’“
John in 1 JN 1: 4 makes the point, “’We write this in order that our joy may be complete.” The readers of this letter are invited to consider that the only source of real and eternal joy is having a relationship with Christ and the Father. The temptations of the world will not bring you lasting joy; in fact, many of them bring no joy at all. One needs only reread the meat of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ’s own words to know what true happiness is. MT 5: 3-12, “Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them! Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them! Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised! Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully! Happy are those who are merciful to them! Happy are the pure in heart; they will see God! Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them His children! Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what god requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them! Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers. Be happy and glad, for the great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted.” Someone asked me once, “what is the happiest thought you have?” It was not hard for me to answer. My happiest thought is of the great day when we will all have been raptured and are sitting together at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Maranatha, Lord! Come soon!
PRAYER: O Lord, you inspired the apostle John to reveal your Trinitarian nature to us. He explained it with spiritual maturity and great clarity, showing Your compassion in his words. You understood that we were not capable of relating to You the way You wanted us to without seeing You in a form we could perceive. That is why You sent Christ to be incarnate, to live among us, and to teach us what You wanted us to know. You inspired Peter to write 1 PET 1: 20-21, which tells us that You made the decision to send Your Son to live as man and to be offered on the cross as a once and sufficient sacrifice for our sins before the earth was created. Because of Your love for us, all You asked us to do was to turn from our sins and accept Him as our personal Savior. When we do that in obedience, You bless us abundantly as we can see from the Sermon on the Mount. We approach you in humble adoration to say thank you, Dear Lord for granting us the way to eternal life. You deserve our praise, worship, loyalty, service, and love. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at 1 JN 1: 5-10 about God is Light. Our Lord loves us and watches over us. He sees to our deepest needs and teaches us through the Holy Spirit. How can we not feel loved? Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You,
Lynn