WEDNESDAY
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.
Interestingly, John uses the first person plural our instead of the expected second person plural your. (We don’t have a second person plural pronoun in English. Instead we just use the same as the second person singular—your. That’s not confusing is it? I often just quote my southern friends and say “y’all.”) One would expect John to say, “We are writing these things so that your joy may be complete.” It is so expected that later copies of the New Testament changed it to your thinking that the scribe before them made a simple mistake. However, the earliest and best manuscripts have our.
John does the same thing at the end of his second letter.
2 John 12 12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
This fits really nicely with what we talked about last week. Throughout these first four verses, John uses the first person plural we when he is certainly writing this himself. Elsewhere, in the other 12 uses of writing he says, “I am writing…” In verse 3 he says, “So that you may have fellowship along with us.” His point is to display the mystical union of the people of God to one another. All who believe in the gospel, as taught by the apostles, are united to one another in the common fellowship we share. The our here is just another data point suggesting this is what John is doing here.
Let’s zoom in on this specific usage. When his audience believes in the gospel, taught in the rest of this letter, it will produce joy in their lives. It will also produce joy in the life of John. It will also produce joy in those who believe in the gospel. This mutual sharing of joy is a part of John’s purpose in writing this letter. Last week we saw a part of his reason for declaring the gospel was for his audience to share fellowship with us and fellowship with God. Here he wants them to all experience this collective joy found in the gospel.
Faith in the gospel should lead us to collective joy.
Joy is contagious. In Christmas time we all see this to be true. Watching a loved one open a gift always bring shared joy. My daughter, Elora, summarized her short essay on whether she prefers wrapping presents or decorating cookies with the following line, “Lastly, I love wrapping presents with my family because it spreads joy to those wrapping, and those getting the gifts.”
This idea of collective joy challenges our individualistic tendencies. When we think of joy, we tend to be very self-focused. How can I get more joy? What do I need to do to experience joy? If only this would happen to me, then I would have joy? Therein lies the problem. The self-absorbed are rarely joyful. They may experience a hedonistic happiness in the pursuit of pleasure but that is pig slop compared to the delicacy of joy. As C.S. Lewis writes in Surprised by Joy, “Joy is not a substitute for sex; sex is very often a substitute for Joy. I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for Joy.” Focusing on self doesn’t produce true joy.
Joy in Scripture is a fruit of the Spirit that is given to all believers. Joy is found in the presence of God. Joy, then, is a deep spiritual virtue that should characterize the life of the believer. This joy is not found in looking to the self. It is a collective joy in the gospel, which brings us into fellowship with one another and with God.
Reflection
Reflect on what this collective expression of joy looks like.