(Through the Bible) 1 John 1-2:11 — Chuck Smith

The Purpose of John's First Epistle: Joy, Victory, and Assurance

So, we turn to 1 John. Why did John write this epistle? In chapter 1, verse 4, he tells us, these things write we unto you that your joy may be full, so that you might have the fullness of joy. Do you know that God wants your life to be filled with joy?

Peter says that though we haven't seen Jesus, still we love Him. And even though we haven't seen Him yet, yet we rejoice with joy unspeakable or indescribable and full of glory. Jesus talked to His disciples about the fullness of joy, and He related the fullness of joy with their abiding in Him.

Chapter 15. Abide in Me. My words abide in you, that you may ask what you will, that your joy may be full. In chapter 16 of the Gospel of John, he relates the fullness of joy to our prayer life. Tense forth, you've asked nothing in My name.

Ask that ye may receive that your joy may be full. Here the fullness of joy is related to fellowship with God. The life of fellowship with God, abiding in Christ, is a life of fullness of joy. Now, it is important that we make the distinction between joy and happiness.

For joy is a quality of the spirit, whereas happiness is a quality of the emotions. So, happiness is a variable because it is related to the outward circumstances. Things are going great. I just got a new car.

I'm so happy. I'm just whistling as I drive down the road, but I'm so preoccupied that I run into a tree. Yikes! You know, my happiness is gone. I'm miserable. I'm sad. I didn't have a chance to insure the thing yet.

You know, oh my! So, happiness is a variable. It can change very suddenly, very dramatically. You may come and say, oh, I'm just having a horrible time. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm just loaded with debts.

I've just, you know, they're going to repossess me. I don't know what I'm going to do. And so, I might sit down and write you out a check for $10 ,000. You went, oh, wow, this is great. And you're so happy until you went to cash the check and then you'd be sad again.

So, happiness is a variable related to the outward circumstances where joy is a thing of my heart, my spirit. And it isn't a variable. It doesn't change. It's a constant. Because it's a joy that's related to my relationship with God, which is a constant, you see.

That relationship doesn't change. Things may go bad. They may be horrible. But my relationship with God is secure. Therefore, I have the fullness of joy. John writes this epistle to bring you into that kind of a relationship with God that you might have this fellowship with God that your joy may be full.

The second reason why he wrote this epistle is in chapter 2, verse 1. These things write unto you that ye sin not. And so, the purpose of this epistle is to bring to you a life of victory over sin. To give you power over sin.

And then the third reason why he wrote the epistles is in chapter 5, verse 13. These things have I written unto you that believe in the name of the Son of God that ye may know that you have eternal life.

Written to believers for the purpose of bringing them assurance of their salvation. That ye may know that you have eternal life. So, to bring you fullness of joy, freedom from sin, and assurance of eternal life.

Those are the purposes for which John wrote this epistle. Now, in Isaiah chapter 59, Isaiah declares... It's not 59. 55, I guess. Isaiah declares, as the rain comes down from heaven and the snow, and returns not thither, but waters the earth and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so is my word that goes forth out of my mouth, saith the Lord.

It shall not return unto me void, but shall accomplish the purposes for which I have sent it. What is God saying? That when He sends His Word with a purpose, the Word isn't going to return void. There's power in the Word of God.

And it's going to accomplish the purposes for which God sent it. Now, that excites me. Because I know that as we study this first epistle of John, God's Word isn't going to return void. And by the time we've completed our study, you're going to be experiencing a greater joy in your walk with Jesus than you've ever known before.

You're going to be receiving a new power over sin. And you're going to be having assurance of your salvation, because God's Word won't return void. It's going to accomplish the purposes for which you have sent it.

And John tells us very plainly, these are the purposes for which he wrote this epistle. So, great times ahead as we study this epistle of John, as we develop then in our relationship with the Lord. Now, man needs an example.

Christ as the Believer’s Example

You know, you can tell me how to do something. And I may get somewhat of a concept in my mind, but if I can see you do it, I can follow the example much easier than just a verbal command. Jesus is our example.

And so He points to Jesus as our example. And first of all, He is our example in our relationship with God. For if we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with God. As the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, is cleansing us from all sin.

So He is our example in our walk. Walking in the light as He is in the light. That is in chapter 1, verse 7. Then in chapter 2, verse 6, He that saith He abideth in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.

So again, Christ is our example in our walk. Our walk with God. Our relationship with God. Then Christ is our example in our own personal spiritual life. In 3, verse 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God.

It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And so as He is, we will be like Him as we see Him, as He is. So, verse 3, Then every man that has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure.

So, my example in purity. Christ is the standard. I am pure even as He is pure. And then in verse 7 again, I am righteous as He is righteous. So that inward purity, that righteousness, Christ my example, pure as He is pure, righteous as He is righteous.

And then in chapter 3, verse 23, This is His commandment that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandment. And so He is our example in our relationship with each other as we are to love one another as He gave us the commandment.

And then the clincher of all is in verse 17 of chapter 4, Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. He is our example.

False Professions and Self-Deception

As He is, so are we. He is to be the example that I follow. So, Christ the example. My relationship with God, my own inner personal life, and then my relationship with others. Now, the Bible warns us about self-deception.

Be not deceived. God is not mocked. James said, If any man seems to be religious and bridles not his own tongue, this man's religion is vain. John tells us that it is possible for us to deceive ourselves, the truth not in us.

So, the way we deceive ourselves many times are in the claims that we make. But the claims that I make are not valid unless they are backed up by corresponding experience. So, false professions. And as we look at 1 John, he tells us many of these false professions that people make.

Verse 6 of chapter 1, If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and what a glorious profession to make. Oh, I have fellowship with God. I have communion or I'm one with God. Great thing to say. But if you say you have fellowship with God and you're walking in darkness, then you're deceiving yourself.

You're lying. You're not telling the truth. You cannot have fellowship with God and walk in darkness. Now, don't be deceived about this. Many people are deceived on this score. They think that they have fellowship with God, but they are walking in darkness and that is an impossibility.

Verse 8, If we say that we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves. The truth is not in us. Now, the word sin here in singular is a reference to the root nature of sin. And unfortunately, there are a lot of people today trying to deny the root nature of sin.

You know, I don't have a sinful nature. Well, the Bible says you do. The Bible said, Even by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, so that death passed unto all men, for all sinned. Not all have sinned.

This is translated in King James, but just all sinned. By one man's sin, we were all made sinners. So that as Paul said in Ephesians chapter 4, or chapter 2, And you were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

David said I was born in sin. So the denial of this sinful nature is only to be self-deceived. And that is what he's referring to here. If we say we have no sin, no sinful nature, we're deceiving ourselves.

You see, the Bible teaches that basically I sin because I'm a sinner. And sinning doesn't make me a sinner. It only proves that I am a sinner. I have a sinful nature, therefore I sin. And they liken it then to a horse thief.

Stealing a horse does not make you a horse thief. It only proves you're a horse thief. If you weren't a horse thief, you could never have stolen that horse. There's no way a man can steal a horse unless he's a horse thief.

It's in your heart to do, you see. If it weren't in your heart to do, you couldn't do it. And so with sin, the sinful nature. And if I say or deny that, I'm just deceiving myself. The truth that isn't in me.

Then if we say that we have not sinned, I'm saying that this root of sin has never borne any fruit. Then I make God a liar because God has said that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that seeketh after God. So, God has declared that we're all sinners and if I try to deny the fact that my sinful root has ever borne any fruit, then I am denying the truth of God and making God a liar.

Now, He that saith, verse 4 of chapter 2, I know Him. Great thing to say, isn't it? Oh, yes, I know Him. He that says, I know Him and keeps not His commandments is a liar. We'll cover that a little more thoroughly as we go through tonight.

Verse 6, He that saith, He abides in Him. Another glorious thing to say. Oh, yes, I abide in Him. Wonderful thing to say, but, it's not just saying it. If I truly abide in Him, then I will be walking as He walked.

We become one. And then finally, in chapter 4, verse 20, if a man say, I love God, and a lot of people have made that claim, I love God and hates His brother, he is a liar. So, it's not what I say that counts.

What I say can be deceptive. I can even deceive myself. And to say that I love God is a glorious thing, but if I hate my brother, then that's a lie. It's interesting how that there seems to be so often this inconsistency in people's lives.

We say one thing and do another. Or we do one thing and say another. We have one of these little girls, and I have dozens of them, that I just adore. And they're always coming up to me and saying, hi Chuck, or whatever.

And I just love these little girls. And little fellas too. And it's just so neat. And it's so cute, really, the things, the concepts in their little minds. And there's this one little girl this morning.

She's probably somewhere between two and three. And she told her mother, I want to go to church and see the Godfather. And she's talking about me, and she thought I was God's father. And she said, well, then who is God's father?

Another little girl that always has to say hi to me whenever she comes and come up and give me a hug and a kiss. The other day, the family was going off on Sunday. And so they said, well, no, we can't go to church today because we're going to take a trip today and we're not going to be able to go to church.

And she put her hands on her hips and she says, damn, I wanted to go to church. Inconsistencies. They show up early. It's not always what I say. It's what I am. What I'm doing. Now, I can know. In fact, God wants me to know.

Assurance of Salvation and the Tests of Knowing God

He wants me to be assured. Part of the purpose of this epistle was to bring me assurance. I've written these things unto you that believe that you may know that you have eternal life. How can we know?

How do we know what we know? As we go through this epistle, we find there are many ways by which we can know certain truths. Verse 3, chapter 2. And hereby, we do know that we know Him. Now, if I say I know God and don't keep His commandments, I'm a liar.

But here's how I can know that I really know Him. If I keep His commandments. Verse 5, chapter 2. But whoso keepeth His word in him, verily, is the love of God perfected. And hereby, we know that we are in Him.

How can I know that I am in Him? Because His love is being perfected in my life. Now, over in chapter 3, verse 16. Hereby, perceive we the love of God. How can I know that God loves me? Because He laid down His life for us.

You know that the Bible only seeks to prove God's love at the cross. Whenever the Bible wants to declare or to prove to you that God loves you, it always points to the cross. The fact that Jesus laid...

Here in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and gave His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. It always points to the cross. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

Here in His love, not that we love God, but that God loved us and sent His Son to die. So, hereby, we perceive the love of God. Now, verse 19, And hereby we know that we are of the truth. How is that?

Verse 18, Little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and truth. When I am loving by my deeds, loving deeds, that's loving in truth. And by that I know that I am of the truth.

Verse 24,. Hereby we know that we abide, or that He abides in us, by His Spirit that He has given us. How do I know that He is abiding in me, the Holy Spirit, indwelling in my life? How can I know the truth?

Verse 2 of chapter 4,. Hereby know we the Spirit of God. So many churches, so many religions. How can I know? Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.

This is the spirit of Antichrist. Verse 6 of chapter 4,. We are of God, and he that knoweth God hears us, and he that is not of God does not hear us. And hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Whether or not the person will listen to the truth. Verse 13 of chapter 4, Going back to 12, No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us, and hereby know we that we dwell in Him.

How? Because His love is perfected in me. Then finally in chapter 5, verse 2,. By this we know that we love the children of God. When we love God and keep His commandments. So how do we know what we know?

Interesting epistle. Let's go back to chapter 1 and begin our study. It's interesting to compare the first verse of this chapter with the first verse of the Bible and the first verse of John's Gospel.

The Eternal Word Made Flesh

The first verse of the Bible, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. You know you have to have a starting point. Might as well start at the beginning. In the beginning God. He was before the beginning.

God has always existed. In the beginning God. How long ago was that? You know our minds can't conceive or fathom. You can go crazy trying to figure out how long ago that was. But God was there. In the beginning God.

Now in the Gospel, In the beginning was the Word. The Logos. The Word was with God and the Word was God. And the same was in the beginning with God. Now as he begins his epistle he said, That one who was from the beginning.

Which we have heard. Which we have seen with our eyes and have looked upon. That in the Greek is gazed, transfixed and steadfastly at. I mean really studied, analyzed. And our hands have handled of the Word of life.

For this life was manifested. We have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. So in the beginning God. In the beginning was the Word.

That which was from the beginning was manifested. We saw. We stared. We heard. We touched. John came as did the other disciples to the awareness of who Jesus actually was. They realized that when they heard Jesus talking they were listening to God talk.

When they were watching Jesus they were actually seeing God. And when they touched Him they were actually touching God. Imagine what that must have done to them to realize that when I put my hand on his shoulder I was actually touching God.

When he put his hand on my shoulder or patted me on the back God was touching me. We handled. We touched. We heard. We saw. The one that was from the beginning. You remember Micah's prophecy of the birthplace of Jesus.

And thou Bethlehem though thou be little among the provinces of Judah. Yet out of these shall come he who is to rule my people Israel. Whose goings forth have been from old from everlasting. The eternal life.

Always existed. In the beginning the Word with God was God. But the Word was made flesh and he dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father full and grace and truth. Jesus the eternal Word.

Jesus the eternal God became flesh. Dwelt among men. And John said we saw him. We stared at him. We heard him. And we touched him. And that which we saw and that which we heard we now bear witness to you.

The eternal life that was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That eternal life. It's not just duration. It's a quality of life. As well as duration. You remember one day a rich young ruler came to Jesus and fell at his feet and said.

Good master what must I do to inherit this eternal life or this age abiding life. This quality of life that I see that you have. Men were attracted to that life of Jesus. That eternal life. It was manifested John said.

We saw. We heard. And now we bear witness of it to you. For that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.

Fellowship with God and the Meaning of Koinonia

This morning we talked to you concerning this Greek word koinonia which is an abstract noun. And of the difficulty of translating it into the English language. In as much as we do not have any English single English word.

That is an equivalent of this Greek word koinonia. And so you find this word translated as partaker. Communion. Common. One. Fellowship. They had all things in common koinonia. That is they shared everything that they had.

The root noun from which this abstract noun comes. Is translated partaker or partner or partnership. So the word can be translated friend. Friendship. Partnership. Communion. Common. One. Partaker. And it is all of these things.

Becoming one with God. Coming into communion with God. Having all things in common with God. Having a partnership with God. Having a friendship with God. Having fellowship with God. Partnership means a mutual sharing of resources.

Mutual interest in each other. That is what God wants with you. The purpose of the gospel is to bring man into fellowship with God. The purpose of God creating man in the beginning was fellowship. I love that poem called God's Trombones.

That one phrase where God said, I'm lonely. And so he created man. That he might have fellowship with man. Become one with his creation. Now within the church we should have a fellowship, a koinonia with each other.

In the early church they had this sharing of resources. Anybody had a need they could come to the church. There was a sharing of the resources of the people. All things in communion. It didn't work out because they had some lazy bums that didn't want to work.

And just lived off of the others. Ideally, you know, if we had an ideal situation it would work beautifully. If every one of us were industrious and all and had an ideal situation it could work. It would have to be a real work of God's spirit of love within our hearts and all.

But everyone just really sharing and concerned and giving. It could be beautiful. But as long as we're in these bodies of flesh we're going to have those that would spoil something that was beautiful.

So it didn't work in the early church. The church went bankrupt actually. The Gentiles had to take up offerings for those in Jerusalem after the mishap really of this experiment in communism within the early church.

Not communism as you know it today. A forced thing. A godless thing. But a communism that grew out of a common desire to benefit everyone within the fellowship. Motivated by love and totally voluntary with Christ at the center.

You're not going to find a perfect government, a perfect form of government as long as man is ruling. It's not going to happen until Jesus comes again and establishes God's kingdom. And then it'll be right.

And then it'll be perfect. And then we'll do away with commercialism. According to Isaiah 55. Money will be done away with. We'll share together the fruit of the earth and God's glorious kingdom. So these things John said right we unto you that your joy may be full.

Relating this fullness of joy to the fellowship with God. And of course when you come into a partnership with God, a friendship, a communion or fellowship with him, what a joy it brings in our lives. Fullness of joy.

Walking in the Light and Cleansing from Sin

Now this then is the message John is saying. That we've heard of him. That which we heard we're going to declare unto you. Now this is basically the message that he told. God is light. Not God is a light.

But God is light. This is the essence of his nature. And in him is no darkness at all. Therefore, if we say that we are one with God, have fellowship with God. And we are walking in darkness, we lie. We're not telling the truth.

You cannot have fellowship with God if you're walking in sin, walking in darkness. Paul said, now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these. Adultery, fornication, lasciviousness. And he goes on drunkenness and riotings and seditions and heresies and drug abuse and all.

And he says, and we know that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. You say you have fellowship with God, but if you're walking in darkness, you're only deceiving yourself.

You're lying. You're not telling the truth. But in contrast, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we do have fellowship one with the other as the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, is cleansing us.

And in the Greek, it's present perfect tense, which should be translated is continually cleansing us of all sin. That's to me a glorious place to be walking in the light as he is in the light, believing, trusting in Jesus.

And as I do, the blood of Jesus Christ is continually cleansing me of all sin. Now, if I say that I have no sin, I'm just deceiving myself. The truth isn't in me. But in contrast, if I will confess my sin.

He is faithful and just to forgive me my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. So the way of cleansing doesn't come by denial. The way of forgiveness isn't by way of denial or by trying to hide it.

There is a proverb that says who so seeks to cover his sin shall not prosper, but who so will confess his sin shall be forgiven. So if you try to hide it, cover it, deny it, you're only deceiving yourself.

But if you'll confess your sin unto him, that's all. Just confess it. He's faithful. He's just and will forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Now, I love that word all in this particular place.

The Gospel’s Power to Transform the Worst Sinner

It means it doesn't matter what the past may be. How black or dark or miserable or mean cleanses me from all unrighteousness. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses me from all sin. Dr. Finney was holding a meeting in one of the major cities in the eastern part of the United States.

And if you've read anything of church history and of Finney's revivals, they were really spectacular as far as the changes that were brought to a community. In one city in the east, one of the major cities where he had one of his revival meetings, when he left, they closed every bar in town for lack of patrons.

So powerfully was the city stirred with the gospel. And in one of these meetings, as he was walking up the church steps, a man stopped him. And he said, I want to talk to you after church tonight, may I?

And Dr. Finney said, yes, I'll be glad to meet you after church and talk with you. So as he came to the top of the steps, the deacons in the church said to him, what did that man want? And Dr. Finney said, well, he wanted to talk to me after church.

And they said, do you know who that man is? He said, no. He said, well, that man is one of the worst men in the city. He's horrible. You just dare not go with him. He has hired killers and all, and he probably has it in for you.

And, you know, don't do it. So after service, the deacons met him and said, now you're not going to go with that man, are you? And he said, well, yes, I am. They said, well, you can't. He said, well, I gave the man my word, I must.

And so the man met him and led him down the street, up an alley into a back door of a building. As Finney went in, he turned around and locked the door. And he said, sit down. And Finney sat down and the man pulled a gun out of the desk and laid the gun on the desk.

And he said, I heard you say something last night, and I want to know if it's true or not. Finney said, what did you hear me say? He said, you said the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son can cleanse a man from all sin.

Finney said, no, I didn't say that. God said that in his word. He said, wait a minute. You don't know me. You don't know what I've done. He said, you are behind a bar and we have an illegal gambling room.

He said, the gambling devices are fixed. He said, I've taken the last dollar from many people and they've gone out and committed suicide. You mean God could forgive me for that? And Finney said, all I can tell you is the Bible says the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son can cleanse a man from all sin.

He said, wait a minute. That's not the whole story. He said, I own the bar out in front. And he said, men will come in and they'll drink. And he said, their wives will come in in rags with their little children and they'll beg me not to sell their husband booze.

And he said, I throw the wives out in the street and I sell their husband's booze until they run out of money. And then I kick them out in the street. You mean God can forgive a man like that? Finney said, the Bible says the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son can cleanse a man from all sin.

He said, wait a minute. You don't know the full story. He said, this gun. He said, it has killed several people who have gotten in my way. He said, I've hired men to kill others. I've paid them to kill.

You mean God would forgive me? Finney said, all I can tell you is that the Bible says all sin. He said, wait a minute. Across the street in that big brownstone house, he said, I have a wife and a beautiful little child.

He said, I haven't said a decent word to my wife in over 16 years. I've been miserable. I've been mean. He said, the other day when my little child came running up, he said, I pushed him away into the or pushed her away into the stove and she was burned seriously.

He said, I've never told that little girl that I love her. You mean God could forgive me? And at this point, Finney stood up and he grabbed him and he began to shake him. He said, young man, you've told me about as horrible a story as I've ever heard or could dream.

And he said, if it were up to me, I don't know if I could forgive. But all I can tell you is that the Bible says the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son will cleanse a man from all sin. He said, that's all I wanted to know.

Thank you. He went over and knocked the door and he said, you can find your way from here. The next morning, as the sun was coming up, he was walking from the bar over to his home. When he came into the house, the wife was in the kitchen with his little daughter and he went on upstairs.

And so the mother said, go tell your daddy that breakfast is ready. And so she ran halfway up the stairs and she called, she said, daddy, mama said breakfast is ready. And he answered, sweetheart, tell your mommy that daddy doesn't want any breakfast this morning.

The little girl came running back down into the kitchen, said, mommy, mommy. Daddy said he didn't want any breakfast and he called me, sweetheart. Mama said, honey, you must have been, you must have misunderstood, you know, and he said, go up and tell him again that breakfast is ready.

And again, she ran halfway up the stairs and she said, daddy, mama said breakfast is ready. And he said, come here, honey. And she went over to him and he picked her up and set her on his lap. And he began to tell her how much he loved her.

With that, the mother, of course, wondering what was going on, followed the little girl upstairs and standing in the door saw him holding his little daughter on his lap for the first time, tears coming down his cheeks.

And he said, come over here, honey. And he said, I found out something last night that is the greatest thing I've ever heard. He said, and it's true. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, can cleanse a man from all sin.

He closed the bar. He began to be a benefactor to that community, changed by the power of Jesus Christ. No matter what the past is, no matter how black or bleak, the gospel of Jesus Christ holds out hope for all.

All you have to do is confess your sin. He's faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all. Unrighteousness. Oh, what a glorious thing is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh, the transformation it has brought to lives and can bring to man who has hopelessly lost the power of darkness and sin.