Question

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Christian Fellowship

1 John 1:1-10

Key Verse: 1:3

1. Read verses 1-2. Who is “we,” and what did they experience? What did they proclaim, and why is their testimony reliable? Who do they refer to as “the word of life,” and why? (Jn 1:4,14)

2. Read v. 3-4. For what purpose did they testify? What does it mean to “have fellowship with us”? What makes this fellowship distinctive?

3. Read v. 5-7. What is their message (5)? What can you learn about God? Who has genuine fellowship with God (6-7)?

4. What enables us to have fellowship with God and one another (7, Ro 3:25, He 9:14, 10:19)? How is the message of God related to this fellowship?

5. Read v. 8-10. What claims about sin are refuted and why? Why is it so important to confess our sins in Christian fellowship? (Ro 10:9-10) What promise is given?

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Attachment

• 1Jn01-01-10-q.docx

Message

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If We Confess Our Sins

1 John 1:1-2:2

Key Verse: 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John was written by John the Apostle, who wrote John’s gospel and Revelation. John wrote this letter around AD 85 while he was in Ephesus. There is no record about the specific recipients for his letter, so it must be a circular letter which was read to Christians in his days. The main purpose of this letter was to protect the believers from the false teachings and philosophies, especially Gnosticism, which denies the incarnation and resurrection of Christ Jesus. John wanted to teach the believers about Christ Jesus’ divinity as the Son of God and humanity as the Son of Man.

First, the incarnation of the Word of life (1-4) Look at verses 1-4. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” In these verses John repeated the similar sentences three times that he had heard, seen with his eyes, and testified to him, who is the Word of life who appeared as a man. Why did he repeat these three times? This is because he wanted to fight against Gnosticism, which denies the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Gnostics said that the disciples of Jesus experienced the Spirit, not Jesus as a human.

John wrote the incarnation of Jesus Christ in John 1:14, which says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Here the Word is logos in Greek which indicates the Creator God. The Creator God appeared as a man, who is Jesus Christ. John said in John 1:1-4 which says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” There exist three persons in one God and as one God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We call this the Holy Trinity. One out of three, the Son Jesus Christ, came to this world and appeared as a man. So, we celebrate Christmas as his birthday on this earth. John who called Jesus ‘the Word of life’ in verse 1 called him ‘the eternal life’ in verse 2. Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (Jn 17:3) God appeared as a man, and we call it the incarnation of the Word of life who gives us eternal life.

However, Gnostics denied this incarnation of Christ Jesus. Gnosticism, one of Greek heresies in John’s day, said that spirit is entirely good, and matter is entirely evil. So, this ungodly dualism said that the spirit which is entirely good cannot descend into a physical body which is entirely evil. They also taught people that salvation, which is an escape from body, does not come from faith in Jesus, but from a special knowledge, which is gnosis. So, they were called, ‘Gnostics.’

Look at verse 3 again. Here ‘we’ indicates John and other apostles who had heard, seen, touched, and experienced the life together with Jesus. John wanted all the readers to join a fellowship with him and eventually with Jesus Christ. Here, the word ‘fellowship’ is koinonia in Greek, which means a spiritual union in Christ. We have a spiritual union with other believers in Christ as we have a union with Jesus like the Vine and branches. (Jn 15:5) As all the branches become one in a vine, so all the believers become one in the fellowship with Jesus Christ. All believers become one big family in Jesus. John said that our joy will be complete through this perfect koinonia and union in Christ.

Second, God is light (5-7a) Look at verse 5. “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” There is no record in John’s gospel about Jesus’ message that God is light. However, Jesus himself said that he is the light of the world and that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. (Jn 8:12) John describes light as the attributes and nature of God’s glory and his holiness. God is light. So, in God there is no elements of darkness at all. If there is even a hint of darkness, he is not God at all. As long as we have God in us, we have no darkness. On the contrary, we have darkness in us because we have no God who is light in our hearts or we are far away from Him. As I mentioned before, sin leads us into darkness. The Bible says sin separates us from God. When we are separated from God and far away from him, we are in darkness. Darkness is the absence of light, and sin separates us from the light. Sin is an obstacle which blocks our fellowship with God.

Look at verses 6-7. “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” The moment we believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we stay in the light. We have a fellowship with God who is light. Then, why do people walk in darkness even though they say that they are Christians? Why are people afraid of coming to the light? John gave an answer in John 3:19-21. “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” People do not come to the light because they love darkness. They love sinning. They do not want to lose their sinful life. They also do not come to the light because of fear. They are afraid of losing their sinful life, sinful relationship, physical pleasure and so on. They are afraid of God’s judgment. But those who love the truth come to the light by faith. Their desire to see the light is stronger than their sinful desire. John said that Christians who walk in darkness are liars and do not live by the truth. Examine yourself whether you walk in the light or stay in darkness.

Third, Jesus, the atoning sacrifice (7b-2:2) As God is light, so also he is love. God is love. John said “For God so loved the world that he gave his One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) God is love that he provides the way for sinners to come to him and have fellowship with him. God provided the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ who shed his blood on the cross. Look at verse 7b. “and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” People who live in darkness had no way to get out of darkness and to be freed from the power of sin. Their destiny was eternal separation from God and their destination was the fiery lake of burning sulfur. (Rev 21:8) But Jesus died for our sins on the cross and shed his blood. God paid the price of our sins by his son’s blood and freed us from the eternal punishment and condemnation. The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin, set us free from the eternal condemnation, and enables us to have a fellowship with God who is light. Hebrews says that therefore we have confidence to approach to the throne of God through faith in Jesus and by his blood. (He 4:16, 10:19)

Since God opened the way for us to come to the light, what must we do? We must confess our sins and repent. Look at verses 8-10. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” Some people may think that they are not sinner. They think that sinners are criminals who are in prison or bad people who hurt others and damage others’ properties. Before I came to know God, I was one of them. I thought that I was a nice guy who obeyed my parents and did good work more than bad work for others. But when I appeared before God who is the light, I saw myself as a dirty, smelly, selfish, proud, ignorant sinner, who cannot escape from God’s judgment. I had a chance to write 50 pages of my life testimony from my childhood to the college. I wrote down on the paper whatever I remembered from my childhood whether they were good or bad. While writing my testimony, I could not but confess that I am a sinner before God. I was not a nice guy or good boy, but a rebellious, lazy son to my parents, and an immoral and selfish sinner to others. After I came to realize my sinfulness, I was desperate for seeking a savior who can save me from all my sin.

Self-awareness is the starting line for coming to the light. Self-realization as a sinner is the beginning point to reach salvation. Romans 3:10 says, “There is no one righteous, not even one;...” Roman 3:23 continues, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” The Bible declares that there is no righteous man in the sight of God and no innocent person in the standard of God’s measurement, and no perfect man in the world that the whole world was under God’s wrath and his judgment. There is no one who is exempted from God’s judgment, and all must appear before the judgement seat of Christ and will be judged according to what they had done on this earth. (Ro 2:6-9, He 9:27)

Gnostics denied the sinfulness of men. They are like those who say that they don’t believe the concept of sin. This is the same as those who cover their eyes with their hands and say that there is no sky. What will happen to those who deny the sinfulness of men? Look at verses 8 and 10. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us...If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” If you say that you do not believe in God and do not believe even the existence of sin, you deceive yourselves and you become a liar. This is because God gave each person conscience which convicts our sinfulness and wrongdoing. When you do something against your conscience, you are sinning.

If we admit our sinfulness and confess our sins, what will happen? Look at verse 9. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Amen! If we admit our mistakes and wrongdoings before God and confess them and ask for forgiveness, God will forgive us our sins and we become children of God who have fellowship with Him. Our God is faithful to keep his promise, the promise of salvation. He does not speak two words with one mouth. He keeps his word which he promised because he is faithful. There is no lie or deceit in his character. There is no darkness in him at all. So, we come to God with confidence and assurance calling him, “Abba Father!”

Confession is very important in the process for salvation. Confession is a public proclamation of our belief. This is reason why Jesus asked his disciples to confess what they believe. Paul said in Romans 10:9,10, “If you confess (declare) with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Today I want to ask you to confess your sins before Christ and receive his forgiveness. He is faithful and just and will forgive your sins and you are saved. You will have fellowship with God and your joy will be complete in the fellowship with Him. If you say that you are okay and that you have not sinned, you deceive yourselves and you still live in darkness. In order to save us from our sins, Jesus became the atoning sacrifice. In 2:2, John said, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” We’ll study more about this next week.

In conclusion, I invite all of you to the fellowship with God who is light. The blood of Jesus who purifies us from all our sins enabled us to have a fellowship with Him. Trust in God and confess your sins. Receive forgiveness of sin in the name of Jesus Christ and live as children of light! Amen!

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Attachment

• 1 Jn01-01-02-02-message -5th draft.docx