Rub-a-dub-dub

Rub-a-dub-dub,
Three men in a tub.
So starts the English nursery rhyme.
John tells his readers that he proclaims what he has seen and heard so that they may have fellowship with him and the other apostles and ultimately with the Father and the Son. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia and it means to "have in common".
The butcher, baker and candlestick maker had the tub in common.
The question we should ask is why did John say that the result he wanted from proclaiming the truth about what they had seen and heard would be fellowship? Why not salvation or holiness or something else? John knew that to have fellowship would mean to be in a right relationship.

The Word of Life

If you take time to read the prologue to John's Gospel and the the prologue to his first epistle you will see many similarities. However there are some differences as well. We are told that in the beginning was the Word and we know that the beginning was the beginning of time and the Word was definitely the second person of the Trinity. He was there at creation and He was the creator.
But when you read John's epistle you are not so sure as to what beginning he is referring to. Is it the beginning of time as in John's Gospel or is it the beginning of Jesus' ministry. I believe that John is referring to the same beginning in both his gospel and his epistle.
The second difference is in John's Gospel there is no doubt that when he refers to the Word he is referring to the Living Word but that is not so obvious in the epistle. On this point the commentators are split. Again I think John is writing about the living Word. He does refer to the Word of Life and the emphasis is definitely on life. Some say that he is writing about the Gospel but remember that the good news, the gospel, is about a person.
Read both prologues and see the similarities and the differences.
Do you agree or disagree about the beginning referring to the same time? Do you believe that John's reference to the Word and the Word of Life are the same?

Obsessed

Have you ever talked to someone who has just lost 10 pounds on a diet, or quit smoking, or had a major operation? Have you noticed that they don't want to talk about anything else? When a man I worked with had a heart attack I overheard one person say "Here we go again. All we are going to talk about is George's heart attack."
It is only natural to want to share with others what you find life changing. That was the Apostle John. As you read through the first four verses of his epistle you get the feeling that he cannot quit talking about what he has seen, heard and handled. It was more than an obsession, it was life changing.
Take time as you read through these verses to notice the number of times that the pronoun we, us, our is used. Do you think he is using the royal we or is he referring to others as well as himself? Is he only referring to himself or is he referring to the apostles? What about us, are we included?

Knowing where we stand.

Next Sunday we will begin our study in the book of 1 John. John begins by telling us that our faith is firmly grounded in history. The Word of Life (which some believe may be a reference to the Gospel while others a reference to Jesus Christ - this is my understanding as what would be the Gospel except for Jesus Christ) was something that he had experienced. He saw, he heard, he handled. Next Sunday we will look at the prologue which consists of the first four verses. If you can be present next Sunday take time this week to read the entire letter at one sitting. Take time to notice the contrasts that he uses, light and darkness, truth and falsehood, etc.

Contemporary Questions

John writes this letter to address some concerns which sound very much like contemporary questions.
Does doctrine matter?
Is Jesus the only way to God?
Is Jesus sufficient?
Interesting that people who say that they have no creed but Christ, or Jesus not doctrine are in reality expressing a creed or a doctrine. Doctrine does matter because it expresses what we really do believe. What they really should be concerned about is not whether or not doctrine matters but are they pointing to a set of laws or rules rather than to Christ?

So why did he write this letter?

John wrote his letter to protect his readers but there were other reasons as well. He wrote to produce joy, holiness and assurance among his readers. Joy cannot be artificially produced but it comes as a byproduct of our service for the Lord. Phillip Yancey says that he has interviewed many stars and servants but it is the servants that have the joy. Holiness had been under attack by the teachers of John's day. Since the body wasn't important then why worry about holiness? Finally, his readers felt that they had come short because they did not have the experience of the superchristians of his day. John reminds his readers that our assurance is not based upon our experience or our works but upon the finished work of Christ.

1 John

On Sunday September 11 we are going to begin a new study, Lord willing, on 1 John. I do intend to do a study in 1 Corinthians but I felt that we should begin with the little letter of John.
So why did John write this letter? The first reason was to protect his readers and we need that protection today. There is so much material that sounds Christian but it can lead people into error. For example, there is much teaching that focuses on man but this is just humanism. We need to get back to focusing on the Gospel.
Now I need a title for the series. I am open to suggestions.