Daily Bread 2011 - 1 John 1
The Incarnation of the Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
What Does This Mean?
We begin 1 John with a similar passage to the gospel of John 1. The apostle John, who was part of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, proclaims what he (we=the apostles) has seen, heard and touched. This tips us off to one of the main purposes of the first epistle of John. By now (toward the end of the first century or possibly into the early 2nd century) the church is fighting the major heresy it will fight called “Gnosticism”.
There were a couple of different versions of this heresy, but at its heart it denied the divinity of Jesus and the sanctity of the human body. That is why John is so resolute about describing his experience of the human Jesus that he heard, saw and touched. Remember Thomas, the doubter, needed to put his hands in Jesus’ side to confirm he was truly Risen. What more proof do you need than that?
What Does This Mean For Us?
The important thing for us theologically is that Jesus came and became human so that he could make sacrifice for our sins. If Jesus didn’t die in the flesh and be raised in a new body, than there is no forgiveness of sins. Importantly John says, “We proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us.” Some people talk about the resurrection being just a spiritual metaphor for eternal life, but Jesus confirms the reality of eternal life and bodily resurrection, something we affirm in our Creed every Sunday. We say I believe in the “resurrection of the dead.”
John will continue through his letter to the early church to affirm Jesus came in a body as the Word made flesh. This is the same Word that in the beginning was with the Father creating everything, and the same Word which will come again to judge the living and the dead. Finally, John says that our Fellowship (lit. “koinonia”) is with the Father and the Son. The reason that Jesus came down to earth in the flesh was to restore our relationship to the Father, through the Son. As we have a living, breathing relationship with the Father and the Son our (and their) joy is made complete or perfect!!
Father, we thank you for the Fellowship we have as a result of Your Son coming to earth and dying and be raised from the dead. This is the same fellowship we will enjoy with you throughout eternity. Amen.
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
What Does This Mean?
We begin 1 John with a similar passage to the gospel of John 1. The apostle John, who was part of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, proclaims what he (we=the apostles) has seen, heard and touched. This tips us off to one of the main purposes of the first epistle of John. By now (toward the end of the first century or possibly into the early 2nd century) the church is fighting the major heresy it will fight called “Gnosticism”.
There were a couple of different versions of this heresy, but at its heart it denied the divinity of Jesus and the sanctity of the human body. That is why John is so resolute about describing his experience of the human Jesus that he heard, saw and touched. Remember Thomas, the doubter, needed to put his hands in Jesus’ side to confirm he was truly Risen. What more proof do you need than that?
What Does This Mean For Us?
The important thing for us theologically is that Jesus came and became human so that he could make sacrifice for our sins. If Jesus didn’t die in the flesh and be raised in a new body, than there is no forgiveness of sins. Importantly John says, “We proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us.” Some people talk about the resurrection being just a spiritual metaphor for eternal life, but Jesus confirms the reality of eternal life and bodily resurrection, something we affirm in our Creed every Sunday. We say I believe in the “resurrection of the dead.”
John will continue through his letter to the early church to affirm Jesus came in a body as the Word made flesh. This is the same Word that in the beginning was with the Father creating everything, and the same Word which will come again to judge the living and the dead. Finally, John says that our Fellowship (lit. “koinonia”) is with the Father and the Son. The reason that Jesus came down to earth in the flesh was to restore our relationship to the Father, through the Son. As we have a living, breathing relationship with the Father and the Son our (and their) joy is made complete or perfect!!
Father, we thank you for the Fellowship we have as a result of Your Son coming to earth and dying and be raised from the dead. This is the same fellowship we will enjoy with you throughout eternity. Amen.
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