Good News of Great Joy: Introduction to 1 John - 1 John 1:1-4

0:431 John chapter 1, verse 1. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life, and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us. What we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

1:31I love good news. One of my favorite things is when my wife comes in and says to me, sweetheart, or sugar, or something like that. Not that that's the good news, although it is good news. She still calls me that after all these years. But when she comes in and she says, I have good news, my heart automatically just kind of leaps. All right, because I love good news. I love to hear good news. And usually, after she says that, I have good news for you, what follows is a good report about something or someone that gladdens my heart.

2:14Good news. I have good news for you. Good news is meant to be proclaimed. In fact, her joy isn't complete until she shares her good news with me. And in that good news, I share in that good news, and our joy is maximized. Well, look at verse 3. Notice what John says: What we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you also. What we have seen, what we have heard, we are proclaiming to y'all. That's how I translate it. We are proclaiming. He is proclaiming. I mean, John has some good news that he's proclaiming in this letter to his audience. Good news. Good news. He's reporting it. He's announcing it. He's sharing it. Do you remember what the angel said to those shepherds out in the field in Luke chapter 2 and verse 9? And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy. Good news for mega joy, over the top joy, surpassing joy, great joy, wonderful joy, profound joy, good news for great joy.

3:54And it's for all the people, the angel said. What was this good news that the angel spoke about? Well, he goes on to tell us in Luke chapter 2, verse 11: For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. The good news of great joy was all about Jesus. All about Jesus. And John, who's writing some 60 years after the events of Luke 2, the good news. Has not changed. It's all about Jesus.

4:36Only this time we have 60 years of contemplation, of understanding. John has walked with him, he has seen him, he has heard him, his eyes have looked upon, he has grasped, he has understood the significance of this child who the angels announced and heaven erupted in celebration. Now John knows on a much more profound level the significance of the Christ. And so he writes about him. And what he does this morning, or what he does in our passage this morning, is he takes us deeper into this news about Jesus that will be for great joy for all those who truly hear it. And my prayer for you this morning is that you will truly hear the good news.

5:37Truly hear it. I think we're many times this time of year we talk a lot about good news. Sometimes we think we've heard it and we fail to even grasp its significance much beyond a superficial level. Well, this was of profound significance. To John. And I pray this morning that we will hear John's good news. That's all I am up here doing this morning is testifying to John's testimony. I want you to hear his good news. I want you to grasp it because it will become a well of joy, of great joy for all of you who understand it.

6:30Well, and I want to look at these four verses. I'm going to ask two questions. I want to answer, first of all, what is John's good news? You need to know what is John's good news. Second, why does he share it? Why does he share it? And there are two reasons why he shares it. So that's where we're going. What is John's good news? Why does he share it? First of all, what is John's good news? What is John's good news? Well, he makes it very clear: God is the good news. God is John's good news. Look back.

7:13Verse 1. What was from the beginning? What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life. There's no question, John is talking about a who here. You could translate it that which was from the beginning. You could also say, who was from the beginning, who we have heard, who we have seen, who we have looked on and touched with our hands. That's speaking of a person who we have touched with our hands, whom we have seen, whom we have heard. He's not just talking about an abstract concept or even just a message. He's talking about a person, and that person is his message. God is his message.

8:05What was from the beginning? What was from the beginning? What, or whom we have seen, or whom we have heard, whom we have seen with our eyes, looked at, touched. There's two words there. We have seen with our eyes, but also we have looked at two different words. We have not only just seen him with our eyes, we have gazed upon him, we have looked upon him, we have comprehended who he is, we have gotten our minds around. That's what he's saying. We have looked at, we have gazed upon, we have understood the significance of who he is.

8:52You know, we have difficulty understanding a being that has no beginning. I remember an older man. He was talking to me when I was young in the faith, and it seemed like he was trying to shake my confidence in the existence of God. And he asked me, Where do things come from? Where did you come from? Where did this world come from? If the world came from God, then where did God come from? He's thought, whoa, just rock my world, right?

9:28But there's this assumption that everything has to have a beginning, right? It's a faulty assumption. The Bible declares to us, God is, he has no beginning. There is such thing as the eternal, and God is. And out of God, from God, proceeded all things. Very simple to conceptualize, actually. But we have our mind, we have a difficulty comprehending that which has always been. But John takes us back to the beginning. What was from the beginning? What was from the beginning?

10:10God. That's the beginning. That's who he takes us to. He's taking us to a who. That which was from the beginning is God. You know, we need to talk, we need truth about our origins. Those who control. The dialogue about the origins will control your future. History is important. Those who hijack history hijack the future. John takes us back to the origins, back to the beginning, so that we would understand where we have come from, why we are here, and the ultimate cause of all that. And Genesis 1:1, first words we read: In the beginning, God. In the beginning, God was. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light. In the beginning, God was.

11:28And he spoke. Let there be, and it was. And then he spoke again: let there be, and it was. And he kept speaking, and creation, the world came into existence. He spoke, and it was. Everything came into being through what he spoke. That word which proceeded from. Him brought everything into being. Life sprung from a living being. And just as you cannot separate me from my word that I am sharing right now, I am here and I am speaking. The word which is proceeding from me to you is me.

12:28You cannot separate me from my word, neither can you separate God from him and his word, his logos. The word, the logos of life, two distinctions, yet one, one being. You remember, Jesus claimed himself to be the life. You remember that? He told Martha, standing outside the Lazarus tomb, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies. Remember what he said to Thomas, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. The life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

13:22And when Jesus says, I am the life, he is not just simply saying, I am alive. Okay, obviously he's alive. It goes without saying. He's saying something far more profound. He's even saying something far more profound than I give life. So he does that. He is saying, I am life itself. I am the source of life. It's like he's saying, when he says, I am, it's like he's saying, I am the living one. I am the being one. Horrible English, I know, but it makes pretty good theology if you think through it. I am the being. I am the life. I am the being one. I am the existing one. I am. All that simply just I am covers it.

14:35I often wondered when I came to 2 Kings 19:34, how the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 Assyrians in one night. The angel of the Lord, Christophany, Christ, pre-incarnate Christ. How? It doesn't speak. About, oh, then he sent a plague with them. Usually, a plague takes some time, right? Even fiery serpents take time to bite and die, right? But it says, This angel of the Lord goes out and he strikes down 185. Why?

15:192 Kings 19:34, for I will defend the city to save it for my own sake. I will defend it. I will save it for my own sake and for my servants, David's sake. And so the angel went out. The angel of the Lord. How do you take the life away from 185,000? Life can. The one who gives life can take it. That's what life does. At his command, life departed from them because he is life. He withdraws, they're gone.

16:04Such is the power of life itself. I am the life. Remember what John 1:1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, all things came into being through. Through him, and apart from him, nothing came into being that has not come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Listen, we live because God gives us life, we live because he says we live, we live because what proceeds from his mouth, he gives us life.

16:55That's why we live, and no one else has authority to take that life without getting it from him. That's why we live, that's why we can face uncertain futures, is because we live because he says we live, and no one else has that authority, even if some assert it. But look at back at John's eyewitness credentials: what we have, what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen, what we have looked upon, gazed upon, comprehended, and touched with our hands concerning the word of life. The word of life. We are testifying to that which we saw.

17:55You remember in John 15:26, Jesus. On the eve of being crucified, he said, When the helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. And you will testify also because you have been with me from the beginning. Jesus said, The Spirit's going to come upon you. There's going to be an internal witness from the Spirit. It's going to take from mine. He's going to give it. He's going to bring to mind the things I. And then you are going to testify. And guess what John's doing right here? He is testifying. You almost get a sense of a little bit of holy fear in John. I am only going to testify to that which I have seen, which I have heard, which my mind has comprehended. That is what I'm going to testify to. I touched. I saw the stars. I touched him. I touched the eternal life.

18:58And that is what I am testifying to. That's what John is saying. And that's exactly, you know, we testify. We are to witness. But our witness is a little different than John's witness. And these apostles, those who, New Testament prophets who testified and gave us the apostolic record, we testify to their testimony. When I am standing up here, Preaching to you or teaching, I am testifying to their testimony. This is the authoritative record. The Christ who is revealed in scriptures.

19:44We testify to his testimony. We bring to bear what the apostles, I want you to know John's good news. I wasn't there from the beginning, but I have a record of somebody who was there from the beginning. And so we declare him who the scriptures declare. But we also testify to what he has done in our lives. We are to test something about witnessing. We witness about that which we know, which we know what the Bible says. Maybe whatever you testify to what you do know. Don't testify to what you don't know. Gets us in trouble.

20:33We can also testify to what he has done in our lives. That is yours. I have met the Christ of Scripture and I have testified what when I look upon him, when I see him on the pages of scripture and I see him, I am transformed by him. And he has touched me. He has healed me. He has given me real joy. I can testify to all that because that's what. He's really done. So, John is an example for our witness.

21:09But look at what he goes on. He goes on, he says, We have touched with our hands, we have looked upon concerning the word of life. And then, verse 2, he goes on to like a parentheses about the word of life. He's going to elaborate on the word of life, the logos of life. He's going to speak about the word of life. He's going to describe him further. Look at verse 2. And the life, the life. Notice the article. The life was manifested. And we have seen and testified and proclaimed to you the eternal life, the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.

21:57The word of life is the life, is the eternal life. Do you see that? The eternal life. That's who they're proclaiming. We are testifying. We are proclaiming it's the eternal being that is John's goods news. The eternal life. We're not just talking to you about eternal life. We are proclaiming the eternal life. The individual. The person. And why was John able to do this? Because look back. Because the life was manifested. He was manifested to us. Says it twice. Passive.

22:52He was revealed to us. That's why John can testify, is because they have been, because God revealed himself to them. So they testify to him. But what's interesting about that word, the verb, he was manifested, the passive. He was revealed. Why was he revealed? Because he wanted to be known. God wanted him to be known. We have a God who wants to be known. Your God wants you to know him. And so that being is John's good news.

23:40The word of life, the eternal life, took upon himself genuine humanity. The I am. He didn't just seem to appear as some of the docetic heretics of the day. We're saying, nor did Christ descend upon Jesus at his baptism and then depart when the cross was coming, as other heretics taught. You see, some thought then that God is too holy to defile himself by taking on human flesh. Islam would say the same today. God is too holy to take upon human flesh and others today.

24:34No, but that's exactly who John is proclaiming. He took upon flesh the eternal life, the being who is at the beginning. We have touched him, we have seen him, we have understood him. You get a sense of what John, he's excited. We know God. That's our good news. It's good news because he saw the kind of person Jesus was. And therefore, he saw the kind of person his father, Heavenly Father, is. God is the good news, and that is good news when you understand who God is.

25:18He's good. He's kind. You survey the life of Christ. You see a kind person, a good person. You see a holy person. You see an innocent person. You see someone who loved life. You see someone who's generous, someone who is faithful, faithful, loyal. You see someone who's incredibly wise, wise. So wise, he can be trusted with your life, no matter what is happening, no matter what has happened. That's good news. We have an anchor. We have a rock. We have a foundation for a life.

26:12He provides. That's good news. He cares. He's a shepherd. He cares. That's good news. God is the good news. He loves. He gives. This is good news. And he will not tolerate sin. That too is good news. That's what's wreaked havoc in the earth. That's brought a lot of empty promises and left us bankrupt and in a world of misery. It's sin. And he won't tolerate it. He won't tolerate it in us. So he's made in his people. And so he is made away.

27:00For it to be justly dealt with, and he has made a way to bring us out of it. He will not tolerate sin in his people, and that's good news. Surrender any of your pet sins, surrender all your, surrender, surrender it all. He can be trusted, especially with your sin. Get rid of it, but he also will not tolerate evil or sin in his enemies either. And that too is good news. Evil has an ending point, a terminus.

27:42And that too is good news. And there's more good news. He has a way of making his enemies his people through the cross. Good news. Yeah, John's good news is all about the eternal God revealed historically in Jesus. What we have seen, what we have heard, verse 3, we are proclaiming to you also. So, what is John's good news? God is good news. God is the gospel. God is. God is. So that's the answer to the first question. What is John's good news?

28:38Next question is: why does he proclaim it? Why does he proclaim it? And points two and three are an answer to that question. Why? Why does John proclaim the good news? Well, first of all, for fellowship purposes, fellowship purposes. The good news is an invitation to join the most blessed fellowship. So when John is proclaiming the good news, he is also inviting people to join the fellowship among the good news or the good news. Join the fellowship that the good news creates. And so every time the good news is proclaimed, it is an invitation to join this fellowship. Even as I communicate it today, the good news about the eternal God is an invitation for you to come into this most blessed fellowship. Now I want you to see this fellowship. Look back at verse 3.

29:47Sow that. Verse 3, what we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you also. Sow that. There's the reason. Sow that. Underline it. So that you too may have fellowship with us. So that you will. Have fellowship with us. Now, what is fellowship? It comes from the word koinonia. Fellowship. Word koinonia literally means to have in common. Fellowship is about having something in common. So fellowship occurs when people have something in common. And generically speaking, there's a lot of things that create fellowship among peoples. And it may be a shared experience.

30:30Look at war veterans or whatever. There's a camaraderie. There's something that they've shared in common, an experience, and it's created kind of fellowship. Maybe it's an upbringing. Maybe you have the same mom and dad. You have the same parents. So you have a common, you have something in common. Maybe it's your upbringing. Maybe it's where you grew up. Maybe it's your country. Maybe it's whatever. Maybe it's interests. Interest, common interest can bring people together, or a common inheritance, or a common enjoyment. All these create occasions for fellowship or sharing something in common.

31:21Well, church life is about the fellowship that is created in Christ. We have all these experiences. Experiences, upbringing, interests, shared interests, an inheritance that's eternal, a future, favored status before God, a common king, a common future. All of this is what the proclamation of the good news creates in the community that believes it. And this is why it's important that you not be in the habit of forsaking the assembling together. Just like today, we all sing the same songs. There's a koinonia, we just shared the same songs. When we go through life together as a body of people, we have common experiences. It's exciting. We may be in our building in January. I remember a time, and many of you remember a time when we didn't have two nickels to rub together. The thought of even building a building debt-free was so far, but those who have been with us through the years have experienced that common, we've shared that common experience. We've seen God provide. That creates a fellowship.

32:44I'm so excited about the new children that are coming into this church. Just had one last week, right? Wednesday, I believe. I think there's about another half dozen that I know about. That are going to come into this fellowship. And what an exciting time. You think about when a newborn is brought into the world, a newborn is his or her world just totally opens up, right? Changes. I mean, all of a sudden, their awareness of their surroundings is totally different, right?

33:24I mean, it's different. I think that's a picture of what happens when a person experiences the spiritual transformation that comes when they encounter Christ. It's that radical. When you experience Christ, you come into the awareness, your world opens up. All of a sudden, God, eternity, His goodness, His favor, all that comes and bears down upon you in a way that you've never even realized before. A whole new world. When you come into that, and that's what we've shared here. If you're in Christ, we have shared this together.

34:25And so, church life is about this fellowship that is created in Christ. Those who receive the truth about Jesus come into Christ and are brought into a whole new awareness. We share belief in the truth. Belief, and this belief in the truth has separated us, has distinguished us, and it creates a fellowship. That's what fellowship is. And so we share on so many levels. We share more in common than just even family relations, right? Even if you have a common mother and father, there is a fellowship that goes deeper, that spiritual union.

35:20But look back. That's what fellowship is. Now, I want you to see the who of the fellowship. What we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you also so that you too may have fellowship with us, with us. John is inviting through the proclamation of the word about the eternal God revealed in Jesus Christ. His proclamation is an invitation for anyone to enter into this fellowship with him and the others who witness Christ. Can you imagine having something in common with the apostles that knew him?

36:06That's the kind of fellowship, and it's a fellowship that spans history. You see, the good news was never just meant for the apostles. That's why there's the proclamation. The goal was always to bring others into it. And so we have this in common: this belief. As John wrote these words, he believed these words. As we read these words, we believe these words, we enter into a fellowship with him and others who believe these words throughout the ages. It's an earthly fellowship. There's no club like this.

36:50There's no fellowship like this. I don't know what societies you might be part of, but this one transcends them all. But look back. It's not only a fellowship that spans history, it's a fellowship that spans eternity. Look back so that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We actually have something now in common with our Heavenly Father. What in the world? World. What do you have in common with him? Delight in his son.

37:37We have something in common with our father, with our by believing the truth, the truth about the eternal God. We now have something in common with him. And what is that? That is his son. Think about the fellowship that the Father and the Son have together. Think about the depth of it. Think about the duration of it. Think about the excitement in it, the joy of it, the completeness, the fullness of it. You talk about a fellowship. This is the fellowship of all time and all eternity, and you're invited into it. News about the eternal God brings you into that fellowship when you believe it, when you hear it. That's what it does. And that's what John's proclaiming. This is what we are proclaiming.

38:27And there is a danger. There is a belief going around that Christian fellowship is possible on a basis other than common faith in Jesus Christ. You see it all the time in some of the ecumenical circles. Well, there's one God, so we can all fellowship together. Not with Christian fellowship. We might share some political things or something in common, but we don't share God in common. Belief that eternal life can occur without Jesus Christ. Is categorically false. There is no Christian fellowship that throws Jesus under the bus. The Heavenly Father, the Son, they're together. And when you throw Jesus under the bus, when you diminish who He is, there is no fellowship with your Heavenly Father at all.

39:21Religions are categorically off that do not recognize the person of Jesus Christ. That's what John is declaring. All other religions false. Exclusive, isn't it? Yes, exclusive. Exclusive. One Christ, God's Son, the manifestation of Himself, of God, among us, took upon flesh, real flesh, flesh that you can touch. He is the real one. Anything that denies this or just wants to add him to another pantheon of deities, categorically false. Exclusive. And yet at the same time, very inclusive. Because the proclamation of the good news is an invitation for anybody to join from all walks. You want to know Christ. You want to know your Heavenly Father. Regardless of who you are, regardless of your background, regardless of what you've done, regardless of what you haven't done, regardless, regardless, regardless, you are invited today into the most blessed fellowship.

40:45That's one reason why John proclaims the good news. There's a second reason, and that reason is joy. Joy. The good news is the means God uses to maximize the joy of his people. The good news is the means that God uses to maximize the joy of his people. Look back at verse 4. These things we write so that our joy may be made complete. So the goal is completed joy, so that our joy may be completely filled up, that it may reach its capacity, that it may be maximized. That's why we're writing. Now, there is an interpretive issue here. Some of you are reading from the King James. It says our capacity, or our joy, right? Our. We write so that our joy may be. There's others that translate the you're there to our.

41:54So what is it? Well, the manuscripts, after studying all the Manuscripts, it could go either way. So you got to move on to something else. You look at the near context, the far context, and the related context, such as like John 15:11, these things I have spoken to you, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. So sometimes he is writing for the sake of the hearer's joy. But in John 3:1:4, John says, I have no greater joy than this, and to hear my children walking in the truth. So sometimes the proclamation is for our joy. So which is it? So the near and related context don't really decide it. I think it's ours, our joy. And the reason is you can kind of see that it's a little more easy. You kind of go with the more difficult reading.

42:53It's more difficult to understand why somebody would change our or from your to our than from our to yours. But what am I saying? What is all this? I believe it's ours. Ours. But it's a comprehensive ours. Who does he include in this? He is making our joy. He includes him so that my joy, so that your joy. As the reader may be full. But there's even another dimension. What does he just said? Look back at verse 3.

43:39And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. These things we write so that our joy, our joy, a completion of joy, a completion of heaven's joy. I believe it's a comprehensive heaven's joy is not going to be full until all are in, in an ultimate sense, and all have the capacity for perfect fellowship. Now, this does not, do not hear me say that God is lacking in any way, in anything. But here, God, all of heaven, erupts in joy when a sinner comes, right?

44:19And so heaven's joy will be completed in an ultimate sense when all are in, and when all have put on a greater capacity for perfect fellowship. Right now, we still are, we don't live in a world of perfect fellowship. We're in and out, in and out, right? Because we live in a world of sin, of fallen, sinful, flesh principle that we have to deal with. But notice, notice how this is working. Proclamation creates a fellowship. Fellowship creates joy.

45:02And it's to this ultimate end that Christ appeared. Joy. Joy. You know, we can think of a strength of earth and a strength of heaven. And there's a strength that is natural to man. And then you see Samson empowered from heaven with the strength, right? Likewise, there's a wisdom that is of earth and is of heaven. You see Solomon endowed with wisdom from heaven. Likewise, there's a joy. There's a joy of earth that only earthly things can bring. But then there's a joy that comes from heaven that exceeds others, just like the strength that comes from heaven, just like the wisdom that comes from heaven. There is a joy. Jesus went to the cross for the joy set before him. There is a joy that comes from heaven. And even though, in an ultimate sense, one day we will put on perfect habitation, we will be in a capacity for full joy, even now we can participate in the fullness of joy by participating in the gospel, by believing the good news. You see, joy is our capacity, it is a relative term, right? Right now, we have a Certain capacity for fellowship.

46:36And so John writes, so that our joy even now may be filled to capacity. And one day we are going to take on a whole new capacity for perfect fellowship. When this body shall be put off and we shall be put on a new body fit for eternal habitation with our Heavenly Father, then we will be ushered into a whole new capacity for perfect fellowship with God and with each other, and the joy that is completely filled up as a result. But even now, through the gospel, through the truth, we can be filled with joy to the maximum. And the good news is what brings into being the fellowship and brings in the joy.

47:30So what's John's good news? God is his good news. Why does he share it? To invite you and me to join the fellowship so that we can know the joy of heaven. You want to know what Christmas is all about? Joy. One word, you want to know what heaven is all about? Joy. Joy. We decorate. You can tell us celebrations going on, right? Joy. John is a good job. Excited to proclaim the eternal being so that fellowship and joy will be maximized. And he who is from the beginning is whom John saw, who he heard, who he touched, who he understood, and he proclaimed. And that proclamation brings fellowship and joy.

48:22I hope this morning you begin to hear John's good news. We're going to spend some time here over the next few months. Very appropriate for this time of year. And I hope that you will experience the greatest of joys. Your God has walked among us, and he wants a relationship, and he has revealed himself to you. Sad thing is, even this time of year, many do not experience the joy of Christmas, the joy of the gospel. Oh, we sing about it, we celebrate it, and yet many never really truly experience it. And I pray today, I pray that this good news will take hold in your heart.

49:15I love good news. This is John's good news. The eternal life is Jesus. God is his good news. How do you experience heaven's joy? By hearing the proclamation, by believing he is inviting you into fellowship with him. Confess your sins, turn to him, ask him to come into your life, and he will. In a moment, he will. In a heartbeat. And there is a truth and a joy. There is a fellowship that comes out of this.

50:02So I pray that this season you will truly experience the joy that John experienced and we have access through his word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks. We give you thanks for this record, for this testimony. We thank you that on these pages we can really get a window into the past, a window into the heart of the apostle himself. We can get a window into his good news. And then we realize his good news is your good news, the good news, that you are the God who desires a relationship with every man, woman, child that you have created.

50:58And that is good news. Help us to celebrate it. Help us to welcome it. Help us to hear in Jesus' name.