The Joyful Fellowship of Jesus

Jim Thomas, Senior Pastor

1 John 1

The Letters of John
That You May Know…

  • Literary Genre
  • Author
  • Recipient(s)
  • Date
  • Connection with Gospel of John 
  • Purpose

The Message of 1 John

God wants you to rejoice in the knowledge of His love for you, expressed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Some of the reasons John wrote this letter:

  1. That you may have fellowship with us  (1:3)
  2. That you may have fellowship with the Father and Son  (1:3)
  3. That our joy may be full  (1:4)
  4. That you may not sin  (2:1)
  5. That you may know with certainty the truth about Christ and your life with God  (2:12-14, 21, 25, 28; 3:5; 5:11, 13, 20)

Three tests of authentic faith:

  1. The Moral Test:  are we walking in the light?  (1:6-8)
  2. The Theological Test:  do we believe Jesus is the Son of God?  (2:23)
  3. The Social Test:  do we really love others?  (4:7-8)

The Joyful Fellowship of Jesus: 1 John 1

  1. Incarnation:  what we have heard, seen, beheld and now proclaim  (v. 1-4)
  2. Illumination:  humanity’s need for God’s light  (v. 5-6)
  3. Reconciliation:  God’s provision through Christ  (v. 7-10)

Discussion Questions

  1. John uses the word love 36 times and know 36 times in his first epistle. What does this say to you?
  2. “Grace is opposed to earning; it is not opposed to effort.” – What is the difference between earning and effort? Do you ever confuse the two?
  3. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “It is grace to know God’s commands. They release us from self-made plans and conflicts.” – Do you see God’s commands as grace? What self-made plans and conflicts might you need to be released from?

“You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.” 
– John Piper

“Perhaps the notion of heavenly mercy seems abstract, but what if that mercy became something we could see, hear and touch? That is what happened in the incarnation.”
– Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly

“Walking in truth requires admitting our sin. It means coming out of the darkness and into the light – the light that both exposes and heals.” 
– Mark Buchanan, Your God is Too Safe

“A man who looks toward the light sees no shadow; a man who walks toward the light leaves darkness behind him.” 
– C.H. Spurgeon

“The incarnation took all that properly belongs to our humanity and delivered it back to us, redeemed. All of our inclinations and appetites and capacities and yearnings are purified and gathered up and glorified by Christ. He did not come to thin out human life; He came to set it free. All the dancing and feasting and processing and singing and building and sculpting and baking and merrymaking that belong to us – and that were stolen away into the service of false gods – are returned to us in the gospel.” 
– Thomas Howard

“It is grace to know God’s commands. They release us from self-made plans and conflicts. They make our steps certain and our way joyful. God gives His commands in order that we may fulfill them, and ‘His commandments are not burdensome’ (1 John 5:3) for him who has found all salvation in Jesus Christ.” 
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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