FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD - 1 JOHN 1:3

Verse 3: 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.

John begins by his repetition of what we have seen and heard from the first two verses. These two evidences are repeated to emphasize not only what John saw and heard in his past association with Jesus Christ, but that the images and words from the Savior continue to resonate in him and are applicable for him and for all who have expressed faith in Jesus Christ. The Greek tense of seen and heard, illustrates that John continued to contemplate the present results of these past acts.1

John’s proclamation about the Divine nature of Jesus Christ is designed to enlighten all believers so that they have a solid foundation for their life of faith. And by doing this, believers may be able to enjoy a unique relationship with the Father and Jesus Christ.

Fellowship

There are two aspects of the believers’ relationship with God. The first is eternal life, acquired freely by faith alone in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). This relationship is eternal and can never be broken, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit “for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30) and nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38-39).

The second aspect is fellowship with God, the Father and His Son—one of the main themes of this epistle. John is not contemplating fellowship with other believers at this point in his epistle.

It is important to understand that eternal life is the prerequisite for fellowship with God. It is impossible for a person to have fellowship with the God of the universe without having believed in Jesus Christ for salvation (Hebrews 11:6). The notion that a person only needs to believe that there is a ‘higher power’ and that doing ‘good deeds’ to outweigh their ‘bad deeds’ will obtain the approval of God is the heresy of modern day religions. Christianity is not a religion—it is a relationship with God, who has provided the means for salvation and eternal life through the finished work of Jesus Christ. He paid for all the sins of mankind when He “bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24; cf. 1 John 2:2).

This word fellowship means “an association involving close mutual relations and involvement.”2 Our fellowship with God is much greater than sitting around and singing hymns or walking about pseudo-piously with eyes looking up to heaven. It is intended to be a solemn and intimate relationship that involves our participation and partaking of commonly shared interests and as imitators of God’s characteristics—specifically His righteousness (Ephesians 5:1). However fellowship with God is transitory, since it can be disrupted by our unrighteousness—personal sin. John will address this later in the chapter.

The teaching of fellowship with God is not exclusively a doctrine of John’s. The Apostle Paul defines this doctrine extensively in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9. Primarily, that God called us intentionally to have fellowship with Jesus Christ: “through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son” (1 Corinthians 1:9). It is instructive to note Paul’s analysis in this passage of God’s anticipated design for our fellowship:

·        Verse 4: The entrance is based on His grace, His undeserved favor given to us in Christ Jesus, referring to our salvation by grace (Ephesians 2:8);

·        Verse 5: He enriched (richly supplied) us in all speech and all knowledge, concerning doctrinal truth (2 Timothy 3:16-17), enabling us to share intelligently His truth (the gospel, His doctrines) with others;

·        Verse 7: We are not lacking in any spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), empowering us for His work (cf. 2 Corinthians 13:14);

·        Verse 8: He confirms (guarantees) that we are to be present at Christ’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

 Why does God accomplish all of this for us? Because Paul says in verse 9: He is faithful. He further notes that He is always faithful in spite of our faithlessness.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:13; cf. Lamentations 3:22-23)

Fellowship is Sharing

As previously mentioned, the Greek word for fellowship denotes to partake in commonly shared interests; our fellowship with Christ is also represented by our sharing in His body and blood at the communion table (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). Paul made this clear when he wrote:

Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16)

We have fellowship with our Savior when we obey His command to commemorate His suffering and death that He endured in our place (Luke 22:19; cf. 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Professor Hauck noted that “those who partake of the Lord’s Supper are Christ’s companions...expressive of an inner union.”3 For Paul contends that the opposite of this is “to become sharers in demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20). Adding that:

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. (1 Corinthians 10:21)

Elsewhere, Paul advises that a believers’ binding relationships with unbelievers presents a blatant conflict with the characteristics of their ideal fellowship with God. We are to comply with his command:    

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

Notice Paul’s distinction of light and darkness that resonates with John’s passage we are presently examining.

Looking Ahead

What will be discussed later in this chapter is that the objective of the mature believer’s fellowship with God is to “walk in the Light” (1 John 1:7). The Apostle Paul explains what this means when he conversely commands that we “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).  Dr. C.I. Scofield sums this up:

To walk in the light is to live in fellowship with the Father and the Son. Sin interrupts, but confession restores that fellowship. Immediate confession keeps the fellowship unbroken.4

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[1] That is the force of the Greek perfect tense. Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p.203.

[2] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1.445.

[3] Hauck, F. (1964–). κοινωνία. In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich, Eds.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 3.805.

[4] Scofield, C. I., ed. (1917). The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments. New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press, p. 1321 note.

 

© 2024 David M. Rossi

 

THE REVEALED WORD OF LIFE - 1 JOHN 1:2

Verse 2: 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—

 

The Word of Life, as stated in verse 1, is now defined further by John. The life refers to Jesus, Who has been “described as eternal life even before his incarnation,”1 and was revealed to the world by His physical appearance. In his gospel, John declared that He came so that those who would believe in Him “may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This life He offers is an eternal existence with the Godhead.

This particular Greek word for life is used 135 times in the New Testament. Nearly half of these instances are in John’s writings (66 times)2, where he emphasizes the reality of Jesus Christ and the importance for everyone to secure eternal life—“that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

The ‘life’ principle as we now know it on earth is not of the same essence as eternal life, it is an intermediary or transitory life. The existence that most people consider as normal life is in fact a human construct, most often understood apart from their Creator, the God of the universe. Little do they consider that it began for every member of the human race when the Creator breathed life into each individual at birth (Genesis 2:7; cf. Acts 17:25), and it ends at death. But death is not meant to be a meaningless end in a cold grave. For some who have failed to believe in Jesus Christ, there is judgment (Hebrews 9:27; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10), an eternity separated from God and tormented forever (Luke 13:28; cf. Luke 16:28). But for those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, Our Lord declared:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24; cf. John 10:28)

Note carefully: once a person believes, he continuously has eternal life. And this is the abundant life promised by Our Lord. W.E. Vine indicated that the Greek word for ‘abundant’ primarily means “what is above and over, superadded, hence came to denote ‘what is superior and advantageous.’”3 Now ask yourself, what could be more advantageous: eternal life with God or eternal judgement?

More Evidence

Next, John reiterates the evidence of verse 1, “what we have seen,” and now adds two more evidences. First, we “testify.” John is reaffirming the validity of his witness and confirming that he was present during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, just as he did at the end of his gospel account.

This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24)

For those who were alive at the time that John lived and witnessed the events surrounding Our Lord, they would have had no problem accepting the authenticity of his testimony. Otherwise, John’s divinely inspired writings would not have been preserved to this day.

Second, we “proclaim.” John declares that he continuously provides, verbally, the truth concerning the eternal life—personified as Jesus Christ, the Word of Life. This calls to mind the incident recorded in Acts 4, where Peter and John were commanded by the Jewish Council “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). The reply that Peter and John gave at that time is what John is reaffirming here: “For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Even though we were not actually present during Our Lord’s earthly ministry, do we have the same aspiration to unfailingly proclaim the gospel of salvation with our whole being to others about us?

The Eternal One

John persistently4 testifies and proclaims that Jesus Christ, the personification of eternal life, “was with the Father.” The Greek word ‘was’ is of great significance, for this verb implies a continuous ongoing status in the past.5 This expresses the theological truth that Jesus Christ existed in eternity with the Father prior to His incarnation. Otherwise known as the Doctrine of the Trinity, a term that articulates the triune Godhead: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit—one God in three persons. Thus it is aptly explained that “in all three persons of the Godhead resides the same essential divine nature, the same majesty, the same eternal glory.”6

Not only does John assert clearly that Jesus Christ exists in eternity with God the Father but that He “was manifested to us.” The Holy Spirit saw fit to inspire John to use this verb ‘manifested’ twice in this verse. In both instances the tense of the Greek “states the fact of the action.”7 And W.E. Vine explains exactly what this implies, “that to be manifested is to be revealed in one’s true character.”8 When we consider all the evidences John has provided, it is incomprehensible to deny the true nature of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul attested to this when he wrote: For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form. (Colossians 2:9)

Also the writer of Hebrews affirms this:

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3)

 Primarily, Scripture states that Jesus Christ is absolute deity with the Father, and the empirical evidences—having been seen, heard and touched—conclusively attests to His true humanity.

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[1] Beetham, Christopher A. (Ed.) (2021). The Concise New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, p. 351.

[2] His gospel (36), 1 John (13) and Revelation (17).

[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.15.

[4] This is the force of the Greek present tense. Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 182.

[5] Wallace, D. B. (1996) Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, p. 548.

[6] Thieme, R.B., Jr. (2022). Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, Houston, TX: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, p. 273.

[7] Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p.193.

[8] Vine, 2.32.

 

 

© 2024 David M. Rossi