FRIDAY
1 John 1:1–4 1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life— 2 that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us — 3 what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may have fellowship along with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Yesterday we saw the first sphere of fellowship the gospel brings us into—fellowship with one another. The second sphere of fellowship the gospel brings us into is fellowship with the Father and the Son. Belief in the gospel taught by the apostles leads to fellowship with the apostolic community. This apostolic community is in fellowship with the Father and the Son. Therefore, whoever is in fellowship with the apostolic community is also in fellowship with the Father and the Son. This is the chain of fellowship with God. Those who disbelieved the gospel taught by the apostles have dissociated from the fellowship and therefore lost their fellowship with God. John’s desire is for his audience to not follow that same path but to remain in fellowship with the apostolic community and God.
Calling Jesus the Son of God was a controversial statement in this culture. Caesar was deified and referred to as a “son of god.” Various demigods in the Greco-Roman pagan religions were called the son of god. The Jews of course would not accept that Jesus was God, the second person of the Trinity. So, for the early Christians to make this claim, it immediately put them at odds with their whole community.
Furthermore, calling Jesus “Christ” would have exacerbated that distinction. Christ simply means “anointed one” in Greek and was often used to refer to the Jewish Messiah. But here, and elsewhere in the New Testament, it appears that the word “Christ” has been elevated beyond merely its Messianic connotations. Jesus is the Messiah of the Jewish Scriptures but John and the apostles have perceived that he is far more than that—he is God in flesh. If it were referring to merely the Messiah, here, it would likely be articular (”the Christ”). Elsewhere John writes,
1 John 4:2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
If Christ merely referred to the Messiah, it wouldn’t really be saying anything. Of course the Jews expected the Messiah to be in the flesh.
Instead, this term “Christ” seems to have become a marker of Jesus’ divine nature by the time of John’s writing. So our fellowship is with the Father and the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.
Let’s focus for a moment on the idea of fellowship with the Father and the Son. On Wednesday we said that fellowship implies unity, agreement in interest and purpose, intimate relationship and belonging. Through faith in the gospel, this is what we share with God! We are united to him. We bear his name. “I no longer live but Christ lives within me.” (Gal. 2:20) We identify with Jesus and he with us.
In the gospel we align our interests and purpose with the God who created us. Our will is being transformed into God’s will the more we pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Our primary interest and pursuits in life align with the kingdom of God and his specific will for our lives.
In the gospel we can have a relationship with the God of the universe. We can know experientially the God who created everything, the God who parted the Red Sea and sent down fire on Mt. Carmel. We can know Jesus who was incarnated to reveal life to us, who died in our place to remove our sin from us, and who rose to give us resurrection life. This is available to those who believe in the gospel—communion with God.
John Wesley, the originator of the Methodist movement, said on his death bed, “Best of all God is with us.”
*It’s unclear why John doesn’t mention the Spirit here. He mentions the Spirit regularly in this letter.
1 John 4:13 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.
1 John 5:6c And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
Reflection
Sit in the presence of God and share fellowship with him. Just be with him and bask in the glorious truth that we have fellowship with God.