[This message is part of a series through the book of 1 John, entitled "Salvific Assurance Through Testimony," preached by Pastor Senter].
I. Your belief revealed His salvation (V2).
Quite frankly, there are probably a number of reasons that this scripture was written. This is not a singular appearance of the declaration of Christ Jesus in the flesh. What we do find here though is a reason for this specific testimony in verse two. The revelation of God. The revelation of God takes place on a number of planes, not the least of which is the written revelation you have before you. In addition, it is in this written form that we find ultimately the physical revelation had its purpose. This revelation (these miracles), is known as a special revelation. Heibert probably says it best in his commentary “The Epistles of John” where he says:
The theme of their authoritative proclamation was “that eternal life”… The repeated article with the adjective “eternal” underlines the distinctive quality of this life… The adjective “eternal,” which occurs seventeen times in John’s Gospel and six times in this epistle, is the only adjective which John applies to the word “life” in these books. It is a life that is characterized as coming from another “age,” or sphere. Lias remarks that the adjective “eternal” denotes “not so much the endlessness of life as its stability, its fixedness, its vastness from every point of view, that of endurance and every other, its unchangeableness as contrasted with the shifting conditions of everything in time.”
A. We testify of seeing Him
“Manifested”. That seems to have a number of connotations, but in our dictionary it simply means, “clear or obvious to the eye or mind.” (The words translated “bear witness” are also of great significance.) This word indicates information has a purpose, which is, “to provide information about a person or an event concerning which the speaker has direct knowledge.” So, this is not the action of giving the message, as the main verb we discussed is– this is the actual subject of the message: an illumination of a thing. Now, since the word is a verb, the verb describes the action of the information. The information therefore is about a person or an event and concerns the speaker himself, who has direct knowledge. The second verb we have is “to declare again”, seen here as “shew,”, to proclaim. The sentence is not saying we are proclaiming the information about the person; but instead, we are proclaiming the person that the information is about. We are here to testify of this great person that all this information is focused upon. This is about Christ giving the Gospel, not about the gospel that Christ gives.
B. We testify of this life today.
John the Apostle (as well as anyone remaining alive who had seen Christ) had seen His miraculous work, and testifies to this day about these great salvific acts, all these individuals testify of the life that exists in Christ Jesus. He has eternal life within Him, and He has chosen to share that eternity with you. All you have to do is accept this great gift. Thousands of people throughout time have testified of this life giving force. I. Howard Marshall marks this section of scripture as one that focuses upon the historical aspects of Christ Jesus. Where we saw the actual physical eye witnesses in the previous verse, now we see the historical proof of Jesus.
In this first instance and in the instance of Lazarus, we see physical life provided. This life provides a freedom to preach Christ to all the world, to testify of Him to every person you meet, to give true love and find true love, a Godly and Christlike love; to find fulfillment in life by serving Christ Jesus. All this can be given to you so that you may live a life here on earth dedicated to glorifying God – our true calling.
C. Christ Jesus gave us eternal life.
We briefly alluded to this before, but it cannot be overemphasized. The purpose of Christ Jesus and His ministry on this earth was to provide you and me the ability to enjoy eternal life with Him in heaven. This is a life given to us from the Father, this is a life that was physically revealed to us from the beginning in the creation, through today in the life of Christians and their testimonies around the globe. This is a life born of a love that this world cannot fathom. This life is the life of a believer in Christ Jesus who dedicates himself to His service no matter the vocation, no matter the hardship, no matter the arduous task set before him. This is a life that glories in His service and praises every day alive that he can testify Christ Jesus to a lost world. This, my beloved, is life.
Believe and live, as you believe. Not as someone who does not know Christ. Do the people you see every day see in you the life of Jesus Christ, and the promise of eternal life manifest. If they do not see that you believe in eternal life, what have you to offer the lost? What have you to offer the unregenerate?
Now we understand the focus of the message and if we were reading carefully, we see the object of the proclamation, but this object, and the actual verb proclaiming Him, do not come to us in the text until this next point.
III. Your belief gives you fellowship with God (3).
Verse three therefore is the culmination of the previous verses. This glorious earthly life of pure freedom, where does it come from? This great life focused on an eternal reward, where do we get a glimpse of that? This is the ultimate life to experience and enjoy. It is not one that is born from some feeling inside. It is really and actually experienced. It is one that we can see, that we can touch and handle, it is one what we can live here on earth.
A. We only tell you because we have seen it
John takes a step back here and tells you, “Quite frankly, we are only telling you these things because we have seen them ourselves.” By the “we”, the first person plural, he is indicating himself as an apostle, the other apostles, and all those who testify of having seen Christ walk the earth. Remember, those who would attempt to discredit the deity of Christ never enjoyed the physical contact with Him, never experienced the real living Christ in the flesh, never really saw the great wonders that He performed. This is 60 years removed from Christ’s crucifixion and in the first century you were really blessed to live to 60, let alone 90 as our apostle currently must be.
B. We tell you because we want to have fellowship with you.
You hear me use the term “fellowship” frequently. I really like that word. Do you know it has a much deeper meaning than simply communing with someone. It means much more than just conversing. It means far more than just to enjoy time with someone. It means to have a friendly association, especially with people who share your interests. It indicates a group of people meeting to pursue a consistent aim or purpose. We meet here because we have the same focus, or we should, if we fellowship. John therefore wants to have fellowship with those he is with, and since, when we look at scripture and realize this is a present active verb, the indication is that we can fellowship with John the Apostle through our Savior Christ Jesus. When we gather in the name of Christ Jesus, we share in fellowship with all those who have gathered before us. Are they present? No; but do we gather for the same purpose, cause, focus, and interest– yes. On a level, with Christ, you can fellowship with the apostles. Please do not misunderstand; I would never advocate any prayer that concerns them, except in mentioning their writing of scripture or actions in scripture, and never to them–only to God; but we gather for Christ just as they did, and as they do now, since they are present with Him.
C. We tell you because you can fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.
Further, this fellowship with each other here is a fellowship with the Father jointly. We enjoy, therefore, fellowship with the Father, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, other believers here, and in heaven, through our faith in Christ Jesus.
In order to have fellowship with Jesus Christ, you must believe in Him–that He was man in the flesh until he ascended to the Father. You must believe in His physical life, death, burial, and resurrection in the flesh. Thomas did not initially believe, but he and many others actually touched Jesus after His resurrection. Do you believe in this truth? That is the question you must ask. Or do you just believe it is something that religious Christians tout, something that to be religious you have to say you believe in.
Verse 4 shows the final joy that Pastor John the Apostle had. He wanted to fellowship and be with his people every day he could. The Holy Spirit laid upon his heart the truth that our fellowship within the belief of Christ Jesus, and His salvific power from the cross–this is a truly joyous occasion. We should see the joy of Christ regardless of the test, regardless of the trial, regardless of the toil, regardless of the misery. Faith in Christ provides us the physical capability to experience Christ Jesus. Our belief in Him reveals His eternal salvation to us, and our belief in Him gives us fellowship one with another that reaches into eternity.
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