While it’s relatively easy to get married, it’s harder to have a good marriage. Repeating a vow is one thing, being faithful to the content of that vow is another. And what makes the difference between the two is work, intentionality, humility, self-denial, and maturity. And while many aren’t willing to invest the time and effort necessary, those that do know that it’s worth it because the sacrifice leads to reward and enjoyment.

It’s the same with the Christian life. Relatively speaking, it’s simple to become a Christian (by believing in the person and work of Jesus Christ) but harder to be a disciple, to be one who takes up their cross daily and follows Jesus, killing sin and loving holiness. The latter takes work, intentionality, humility, self-denial, and Spirit-wrought maturity. But, as any seasoned saint will tell you and, more importantly, the Scriptures tell us, it’s worth it because the sacrifice leads to reward and enjoyment. As believers lean into the knowability of Christ—who he is, what he’s done, and what he’s doing—we experience intimacy with Christ and his people. And this supernatural fellowship is well-worth the effort.

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

Relatively speaking, it’s easy to get married but hard to have a good marriage. Repeating a vow is one thing; being faithful to its content is another thing all together. Similarly, it’s easy to become a parent but hard to be a good parent. It’s easy to be a student but hard to be a straight-A student. It’s easy to be a pet owner but hard to be a quality pet owner. It’s easy to be an athlete but hard to be an elite athlete.

What’s the difference between the two realities? How does one move from mediocrity to exceptionality, from enduring to thriving? Effort, humility, and self-denial. And while many people won’t invest what’s necessary for growth, those that do will tell you “it’s worth it” because the sacrifice leads to reward and enjoyment. The sacrifice leads to reward and enjoyment.

It’s the same with the Christian life. Relatively speaking, it’s simple to become a Christian: it’s by faith. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for the sins of the world and rose again to give everlasting life to all who trust in him alone for it (Eph 2:8–9). Those who believe are saved, forever God’s children, redeemed sinners.

It’s simple to be saved by Jesus. But it’s hard to be a disciple of Jesus, to be one who takes up their cross daily and follows him, killing sin and loving holiness. While salvation is not by works, discipleship takes work, humility, and self-denial. And while many Christians won’t invest the effort necessary for growth, those that do will tell you—and, more importantly, the Scriptures tell us—“it’s worth it” because the sacrifice leads to reward and enjoyment.

And that’s what we want for our church family. We want to be a people who not only belong to Jesus by virtue of our faith in Jesus, but we want to be a people who follow after Jesus, becoming more like Jesus. We want to be a church filled with Christians who live in God’s light and love, experiencing the reward and enjoyment that comes with it. 

Over the next number of weeks we’re going to learn how to do that: how to walk the walk, what it looks like, and what stops us. We’re going to find instruction on how to grow in our experience of God’s presence and our demonstration of God’s lordship. And to do all of this, we’re going to spend some time in the little book of 1 John. Please turn there if you have a Bible with you. First John.

John, one of Jesus’s original twelve disciples, wrote five books in the NT: the gospel of John, which looks back at the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; 1, 2, 3 John, which address the present, teaching us how we should live for Jesus; and Revelation, which looks forward, unveiling the consummation of all things in the return of Jesus.

When he wrote 1 John, he’s likely the only one of the twelve still alive, the others having died for their faith. And John, now an old man, is writing to churches filled with second- and third-generation Christians. For some there was persecution and cultural pressures. False teachers were pestering the assemblies and some believers were growing casual in their pursuit of holiness, perhaps the thrill of conversion fading and the flame of conviction flickering. It’s into these needs that John writes his first epistle—a letter that’s warmly pastoral and urgently pointed.

Today I only want to look together at the opening four verses, the book’s prologue. But what this text lacks in length it makes up for in depth as, in just two sentences, John moves from the eternality of Christ to the celebrates the knowability of Christ and the intimacy available to followers of Christ. Knowability and intimacy, two gracious gifts from God.

From Eternity to Knowability

The knowability of Jesus Christ is amazing when we remember who he is: he’s the Word of Life (v. 1). Jesus Christ isn’t clearly identified until verse 3 but many of us already know who John’s talking about because “the Word” is one of his favourite labels for Jesus (see John 1:1, 14).

And, like in his gospel, in 1 John the author points to the eternality of the Word. He was from the beginning (1a), he is the eternal life, which was with the Father (2b). He existed before history heard the starters pistol and not only does he offer eternal life but he is eternal life. 

Jesus always was, just as he himself said: “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58). Paul adds that “all things were created through him and for him” (Col 1:16), declaring Jesus as outside creation, preexisting creation, the owner of creation, and the agent of creation. He is the “unbeginning beginning” of all things. He’s the unfathomable eternal Word of Life, Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

Trying to wrap our minds around such things highlights our finitude. But hold onto that feeling because that’s exactly why what John’s saying is so staggering! Jesus Christ went from eternity to knowability.

Imagine if a famous athlete or celebrity—someone you admire but don’t personally know—arrived at your door tomorrow: “Hey, I heard you’re a fan and I want to spend time together.” How’d you feel? Important? Affirmed? Humbled? Excited? “This important person, with so many other things vying for their attention, is giving time to me, wants to be seen and known by me!”

John says that God condescended into his creation to be known by his creation (see John 14:7–9). The eternal God came knocking on our doors, made himself available to us and wants to be known by us.

And he was known (1 John 1:1–2). The apostles were captivated by God’s knowability, They heard his voice crack when he spoke with Mary and Martha at their brothers’ tomb. They saw his posture slump in fatigue after days of ministry. John felt his breathing as he leaned back against the Lord in the Upper Room. They’ve heard, seen, and touched the eternal One.

And now they can’t stop talking about it (1:3a; cf. Acts 4:18–20). The Eternal Word of Life, Jesus Christ, God’s Son was revealed as audible, seeable, and touchable, and now is joyfully communicable. From eternity to knowability.

There is no other religion like Christianity. That’s true for many reasons but perhaps none more amazing than the doctrine of the incarnation—that God became flesh and dwelt among us to be known by us and to save us. The God we worship, the God of all creation, holy and exalted, the great Judge is not distant, disconnected, and indifferent. He has come near, he cares, and he is knowable.

From eternity to knowability. He who was from the beginning, who is eternal life, which was with the Father has come near. 

It’s an astounding reality, one the song-writer, Stuart Townend, tries to capture when he writes, “You’re the Word of God the Father / from before the world began; / every star and every planet / has been fashioned by your hand. / All creation holds together / by the power of your voice. / Let the skies declare your glory, / let the land and seas rejoice! / You’re the Author of creation, / you’re the Lord of every man / and your cry of love rings out across the lands.”

From Knowability to Intimacy

As amazing as is the knowability of Christ (and it is!), John doesn’t stop there. He quickly moves to introduce intimacy with Christ. Yes, John wants his readers to acknowledge and celebrate that God has made himself known but, more than that, he wants them to experience fellowship with both God and God’s people (1 John 1:3).

Fellowship is a word that gets used a lot and, because of that, it loses its weight and gets relegated to thoughts of small talk around folding tables at a potluck. But it’s so much more than that.

Fellowship is mutual relationship centred around, and held together by, a commonality. And this commonality can be almost anything: a shared interest in stamp collecting or a shared fantasy of a Toronto Stanley Cup. But the more compelling the commonality the more intense the potential fellowship. That’s why some will say, “blood is thicker than water,” meaning that family bonds are greater than to any other. Why? Because of what they share: a name, genetics, history. These are more significant and longer-lasting realities than most others. So, the potential for fellowship, for intimacy, is greater.

John is talking about something greater still. For Christians, the potential for fellowship is immeasurably high, not because we’re good at it, but because of the significance of what binds us, the weight of the truths that we share, the eternality of the commonality.

We can have fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ because the Father lovingly sent his Son to be known by us, to die for us, and be raised for us. We can have intimacy with God Almighty because, when we believe in his Son, God comes and lives in us, he renews us, forgives us, seals us, leads us, fills us. There is simply no more significant, eternal, weighty reality around which fellowship could take place. And John wants that for his readers. God wants that for us.

And because we can have fellowship vertically, we can have it horizontally with one another. What do you and I have in common? How about the eternal Word made known? How about the gospel of everlasting life? How about the assignment to build up the body of Christ? How about the call to worship the God who saved us? How about the mission tell a dying world about life? You see, blood may be thicker than water but the blood of Christ is thicker than all.

We should be stubborn in our resolve that there is nothing in this broken, sin-stained world that should be able to divide us because of what unites us. The world around us is plummeting into a divisiveness it celebrates. Whether skin colour, wealth, gender identity, sexual preference, online presence, perceived victimization, or whatever else. Our world craves fellowship while it destroys it.

The church does not deny differences, tensions, or injustice. No way! In fact we’re most aware because we believe in sin. We just know that what unites us is infinitely stronger than what divides us. We know that we can sacrifice preferences and offences, inconvenience and comfort because of that unity. [Soldiers] And united in those things, celebrating those things, talking about those things, we go into this war with news of a better way, a better Lord, a better truth. That’s fellowship.

And John wants believers to experience that fellowship, an intimacy with God and with God’s people (1:4). It is through the Eternal Word of Life that believers can fully enjoy an intimate relationship with both God and with God’s people.

And I know we all want that. I don’t think you’d be here this morning unless you did, unless you didn’t want to settle for just knowing God—you want to walk with him, you want to stand in awe of him, you want to know him as a child knows a father. And, I hope, that you don’t want to settle for casual relationships in the church, but you want to know and be known, you want to serve others, and grow alongside others. We want true fellowship.

Enjoy Intimacy!

In a world that is struggling with purpose, loneliness, identity, and worth, we, as God’s people, are being invited to enjoy intimacy!; an intimacy with the God who has made himself knowable through Jesus Christ; an intimacy with God’s people with whom we have such powerful commonality. Enjoy intimacy! And we can do that this week in one of three ways.

First, believe in Jesus. [Gospel]

Second, read the eye witnesses. John, as an apostle, is saying we saw, touched, heard the eternal One. And they tell everyone about it. Read their accounts. In fact, as we walk through 1 John over the next couple of months, you may want to read through his gospel concurrently, a couple chapters per week. 

If you’re not connected to the inspired account of the eye witnesses to the word made flesh, you’re missing out and sacrificing intimacy with both God and his people. 

Third, proclaim what you’ve seen. We may not be eyewitnesses the way John was, but those of us who have met Jesus, who have been saved by his grace, who know him, have stories to tell of his glory and kindness and mercy and provision. Proclaim what you’ve seen. This week, tell someone of the riches of his grace. 

You’ll notice that in this passage John is proclaiming to believers. He says in verse two we proclaim to you, and again in verse three we proclaim to you. We need to proclaim to one another, to fellow Christians, the goodness of Christ, the new ability of the word, we need to proclaim what we’ve seen.

From eternity to knowability; what an act of grace. From knowability to intimacy; what an opportunity for each of us. Let’s take advantage and enjoy that intimacy with God and with his people, centred around our shared Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 

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