I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on July 11 and 18, 2010. We started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." As a result, I have a little introduction of the letter before the lesson. The lesson then looks at 1 John 1:1-4 and discusses the theological foundation for real joy. We looked at the issue of the incarnation and how our relationship with God must begin with a proper doctrinal understanding of who Jesus is and what he accomplished. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!
Theology Matters
And What We Do With It Matters Too
1 John
Introduction to 1 John
Author
a. Probably the apostle John, the author of the Gospel, Revelation, and two other epistles
b. Internal Evidence—similarities to the Gospel
c. External Evidence—Polycarp (associate of John), Irenaeus (disciple of Polycarp), Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian—all claim John as the author of this work
d. The author claims to be an eyewitness
Date—depends on who you ask
Could be anywhere from AD 66 to AD 90.
Probably written around the time of the Gospel
Recipients—churches in Asia (Rev. 1-3) or perhaps Ephesus
Main theme—1 John 5:13 (cf. John 20:30-31)—”that you may know”—the goal is eternal life and an assurance of that life
Life Situation of 1 John
a. The author has responsibility for a circuit of churches (probably located throughout Asia, see Rev. 1-3), and he addresses his fellow Christians as “little children” since he is now aged. The churches appear to be engaged in an ideological struggle that involves the possibility of interpreting the Christian faith as just another philosophy. More specifically, the problem revolves around the character of Jesus of Nazareth. Some were saying that he was not the Son of God come in the flesh. This belief is known as Docetism (a belief similar to later Gnostic ideas) and is directly addressed in 1 John. 1 John may also be written as a cover letter to introduce the Gospel of John.
b. There is a doctrinal issue here. Some folks have declared an elitist position that seems to put them in possession of “special knowledge” or “revelation” or even “anointing” that sets them off as better prepared that others (1 John 2:18-24; 27).
These opponents of John also claim that Jesus was not really a human being. He only “appeared” to be human (i.e., Docetism). Like later Gnostics, they seem to claim that only spiritual things matter, therefore physical is evil. As a result, the Savior cannot be physical. John explicitly addresses this especially in 1 John 4.
Purpose of 1 John:
(a) To introduce the Gospel of John and apply its truth to certain practical situations. 1 John deals more directly with spiritual problems and false teaching than the Gospel (cf. 1:3-4; 2:1; 4:1; 5:13).
(b) To strengthen Christians who were perhaps weak in faith or who required a word of encouragement (cf. 2:1, 7, 12-14; 4:1, 7, 19; 5:13, 21).
Several “so that” statements show purpose:
1 John 1:3-4—”So that our/your joy may be complete”
1 John 2:1—”So that you may not sin”
1 John 2:26—”So that you may not be deceived”
1 John 2:28; 4:17—”So that you may have confidence”
1 John 5:13—”So that you may know that you have eternal life”
That brings us to the prologue of our book and our passage for today—1 John 1:1-4
A Good Foundation Brings Joy
1 John 1:1-4
Theology Matters Series
Introduction
A good foundation
The opponents of John’s message had been proclaiming a message that was not true
That message was causing division and doubt in the believers in Asia
John wrote to tell them the truth and to help them regain confidence and joy
John knew that a good foundation can bring joy
Three things in our passage
a. The Foundation
b. The Fellowship
c. The Resulting Joy
Joy begins with truth
1. The Foundation
1 John 1:1-2
The Incarnation as foundation for good theology
“From the beginning” (cf. John 1:1, Genesis 1:1)
What “beginning” is in sight here?
It is either “creation” or the “beginning” of Christ’s ministry
Eyewitness and first hand experience of John (Acts 4:19-22)
John is telling them what he heard, saw, studied (“look at” or “gaze upon”), and touched. How much more thorough could he be?
John is establishing the veracity and strength of his doctrine
This is not something he made up, it has a history and is tied to real life
The “Word of Life” is tied to historical events—it can be studied, even proven
The “Word of Life” (John 5:19-29; 10: 10-18; 11:25-26)
a. Life revealed—it was manifested to and in us
b. Life proclaimed—it was announced and discussed, it is not a secret
c. Life eternal
The Incarnation is tied to Jesus’ relationship with the Father (John 1:1-5)
Good theology starts with the solid foundation of the Trinity and the Incarnation
Without Jesus (“fully God and fully human”) we cannot have relationship with God/eternal life
Joy is built on good theology
2. The Fellowship
1 John 1:3 (cf. Acts 4:19-22)
What we have seen and what we have heard—that is what we proclaim
John reminds us that as important as good theology is, good practice must also follow
If we know good theology, we must proclaim it
We must stand for what we know to be true
We must announce what God has done in and for us
The concept of koinonia
Fellowship (Acts 2:42; Philippians 2:1)
Having things in common
Sharing a “ship” (story of sailors)
Koinonia implies sharing a life, indeed sharing the “Life” that only comes from God and the relationship between the Father and the Son
The Fellowship of the Father and the Son (1 Cor. 1:9)
The unity of the Godhead
The order of the Godhead
The relationship between Jesus and the Father (John 17:3)
The Fellowship of believers
Joy is found in God’s fellowship
3. The Result: “Joy”
1 John 1:4—textual variant—”our” or “your” joy (cf. John 15:10-12)
Proclamation of true doctrine and the practice of real fellowship leads to the experience of true joy
Note the progression—good doctrine (knowing what God says, knowing the truth), acting on it (proper fellowship and proclamation), and then experience (joy)
We do not start with experience only
We do not rely only on practice or application
We must start with a proper foundation
Joy is built on the foundation of truth and the fellowship only God can provide(John 15:10-12)
For joy to be complete, we must act on what we know
In order to know, we must learn and act
We need time in God’s Word (doctrine), time with God (fellowship), and time with likeminded believers (more fellowship)
Joy is complete when we know truth, live truth, and proclaim truth
Application
How do we respond?
Story of student who didn’t want to spend time learning things he thought were useless
Theology matters
A bad foundation leads to a crooked or cracked house.
The same is true of our lives. A good foundation will lead to joy
This week
a. Learn the truth
Read through 1 John every day (it is only 5 chapters)
Look for the “so that” statements and the “these things we write” statements. Pay close attention to the theological issues John raises
b. Spend time with God
Make a special time each day to be alone with him. Listen, pray, meditate. Let the truth of his existence pervade all you do and think. Fellowship with God.
Spend time with others
c. Find ways to be with likeminded believers. Let them challenge you in the truth.
Find ways to bless others, to share the “Word of Life” with them
Theology matters
True joy comes in knowing and doing the truth
Discussion Questions
1. What is that which was from the beginning? How does the beginning verse (1:1) in this epistle compare to the beginning verse in the gospel according to John?
2. What did John say he had done with this? In what ways can we do these things with the Word of Life?
3. Who or what is the Word of Life?
4. What does John testify regarding this Word?
5. Why does John declare this Word to us? How should we declare this word to others?
6. Who needs to hear the Word of Life in your circle of influence? How can you proclaim this truth to them and help them come to a relationship with God?
7. If we have fellowship based on this Word then with whom do we have fellowship? How does fellowship with the Word enhance or increase fellowship with other believers?
8. Why did John write these things?
9. What is the message that John seeks to get across?
10. What message do we need to believe and live?
11. Why does theology matter?
Thanks for reading!
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