Let us turn to God's Word in
the First Epistle General of John and reading the first four
verses in Chapter 1. The First Epistle General of
John, the first four verses in Chapter 1, that which was from
the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled
of the word of life. For the life was manifested,
and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that
eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto
us. That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with
us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son Jesus Christ and these things write we unto you that your joy
may be full. I want us to consider the words
that we have here in verses 3 and 4 where the Apostle speaks of
Christian fellowship. This is God's design in the Declaration
of the Gospel. There's a word in verse 3 that's,
ye also may have fellowship with us. It's a strong word that we
have there, literally, in order that ye also may have fellowship
with us. The Apostle is speaking of the
great design with regards to those things that had been manifested
to him and which having seen and heard he was now declaring. Now last Lord's Day we did consider
verses 1 and 2 and the first part of verse 3. and saw how
that John there bears his own witness to the doctrine of Christ. We thought of the person of the
Lord Jesus as John speaks of him here, that which was from
the beginning. He speaks of the divine nature
in Christ, and we observe that, and how that John is one who
is the great champion of that doctrine, plainly declaring in
his gospel and in these epistles the truth of the divinity of
the Lord Jesus. Now, we're to understand those
opening words where he speaks of Him who is from the beginning.
We're to think of beginning in that absolute sense. We think
of the words at the very outset of Holy Scripture, Genesis chapter
1 and verse 1. In the beginning, God. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. Well, here is Him who was there
in the beginning with God. He was there before ever time
was created. And John speaks of how that life
was manifested. In the second verse the life
was manifested, he says. That eternal life which was with
the Father and was manifested unto us. What a revelation of
God we see with the coming of the Lord Jesus. How that without
all controversy great is that mystery of godliness. God was
manifest in the flesh when the fullness of the time was come
God sent forth his Son made of a woman made under the law and
John speaks of him here that one who is the eternal Son of
the Father the Son of the Father in truth and in love that's words
of life that he speaks of at the end of the opening verse.
And when we compare that with what he says in the opening words
of his Gospel concerning Christ, in the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John, as we were saying last
week, then speaks so plainly, time and again, with regards
to the divine nature of the Lord Jesus, but also He speaks of
the human nature. There was a manifestation in
that fullness of God's time. And John can testify to the reality
of that human nature because he was so familiar with the Lord
Jesus, that favored disciple who was leaning upon the Lord's
bosom. that which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life. Or the truth of the Lord's human
nature as well as the divine nature. Remember what he says
later in the epistle. Chapter 4 and verse 3, Every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that he should come, and even now already
is it in the world. Oh, there were those in the apostles'
own day who denied the truth of the human nature. They said
that Jesus of Nazareth was nothing more than a phantom. He was not
a real man. No, says John. John was so familiar
with the Lord, he knew him. He was one of his own disciples,
so singularly favoured by Christ. And so John speaks of these two
natures, the great mystery, one person, one Lord Jesus Christ,
and yet those two distinct natures, he is God and he is man. And John's knowledge was quite
profound. John had such an experimental
knowledge of the Lord Jesus. When he uses these words in the
opening verse, hearing, seeing, handling, yes, he was favoured
to see the Son of God manifest in the flesh. But John also had
an experience of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And those
who know that grace, they also will be able to testify to the
reality of the person. Through religions, more than
notions, something must be known and felt. Those who confess the
Lord Jesus, they know that He is God. The hymn writer says
that Christ is God, I can avouch, and for His people cares, since
I have prayed to Him as such. And He has heard my prayers.
Oh, He is that One who is not only the Mediator, He is that
One who will heal the cry of His children when they come,
when they call upon Him, when they cry for salvation, when
they beseech Him for His gracious help and enabling. Well, John,
in these opening verses of the Epistle, speaks then of Him who
is the Word of Life. and how the life was manifested
and we have seen we have seen it is hears and
bear witness and show unto you that eternal life that which
we have seen and heard declare we unto you and then we come
to this word and this is where I want us to start tonight that
word that we find in verse 3 that ye also, in order that ye also
may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with
the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And these things
write we unto you, that your joy may be full." This Christian
fellowship that he is speaking of, this is God's great design
in the Declaration of the Gospel. And so as I said at the outset,
that really is the subject matter that I want us to move on and
consider for a little while tonight. And firstly, to consider what
we're to understand by fellowship. What are we to understand by
fellowship? Here we see it is the point and
purpose of the ministry, the preaching of the gospel And yet,
as I'm sure you're aware, fellowship is a word that is much demeaned
in many circles, certainly in evangelical circles. People talk
about having fellowship, and oftentimes their fellowship is
nothing more than some sort of social event, whereas true fellowship
is that that must be spiritual in its very nature and I trust
that we will be enabled to to show something of that tonight
now as I just said the significant word here in verse 3 is this
word that in order that John is speaking of those things that
he has declared in the course of his ministry, the subject
matter of his preaching, in order that ye also may have fellowship
with us. And truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, the word that we have, the
word fellowship, it's derived from a verb that literally means
to have in common or to make in common. And we see quite clearly
in the Acts that this was the consequence of the preaching
of the apostles in the early church. When the Holy Spirit
was so remarkably shed abroad on the day of Pentecost, what
was the outcome of the preaching of Peter. Well, we are familiar,
I'm sure, with the content of that second chapter there in
the Acts. Look at what it says, verse 41,
Then they that gladly received his words were baptized, and
the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear
came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by
the apostles. And all that believed were together,
and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods,
and parted them to all men, as every man hath need." This is
their fellowship. Everything is held in common. and it's not only there in that
chapter but later in chapter 4 verse 32 we read the multitude
of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul neither
said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed
was his own but they had all things common this was their
fellowship there was everything held in common how they were
desirous of ministering one to the other and in the outworking
of the apostolic ministry when we come to Paul and when Paul
is writing subsequently to those churches that had been established
as a consequence of his own ministry writing for example to the church
at Philippi he speaks of their fellowship, your fellowship in
the gospel he says from the first until now. What was their fellowship
in the gospel? Well, you know what he goes on
to say there at the end of the epistle. In chapter 4 verse 15,
Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the
gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated
with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only For
even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity."
How they were concerned to be ministering to one another. And
how John speaks of that in this epistle. How there should be
that care, that concern to minister to each other's material needs. To have things in common. But
when we think of fellowship more particularly in the spiritual
significance of that word. Presently we're seeing that lovely
hymn number 816, When is it? Christians all agree and let
distinctions fall. where nothing in themselves they
see, that Christ is all in all." Well, that's what Christian believers
have in common. They see that of themselves they
are nothing and they have nothing. Each and all of them recognize
that all of their salvation is in the Lord Jesus. The name writer
goes on, we have no life, no power, no faith, but what by
Christ is given We all deserve eternal death and thus we all
are even. Oh, this is what brings out equality
amongst those who are the Lord's people, those who have fellowship.
They all feel themselves to be nothing more than sinners. They
have nothing in themselves, nothing of themselves. All their salvation
is laid up in the Lord Jesus Christ. And John says we know
that we have passed from death unto life because we love the
brethren. This is why they love one another,
they can share in each other's experiences. And it's not only
a question of sharing each other's experiences, but also that desire
to be ministering one to the other. Or John goes on, whosoever
hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer
hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby beseech we the love
of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought
to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this
world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shut off his bowels
of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little
children, Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but
in deed and in truth." This is the fellowship then of which
John is speaking. It has to do with the experiences
of these people. It's what they feel in their
own souls concerning their utter spiritual poverty. They have
nothing. All that they have is by the
grace of God. But then the outworking of it,
that desire to be ministering one to the other. Though God
grants them such a spirit of discernment, or they are able
to separate from those who have nothing but an empty profession,
they are called to that separated life. When we think of the language
of the Apostle, when he writes to the Corinthians here in 2nd
Corinthians chapter 6, verse 14, "...be ye not unequally yoked
together," he says, with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial, or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are
the temple of the living God, as God hath said, I will dwell
in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. And so, what do we see with regards
to this fellowship? There's also a separation. Wherefore,
he says, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith
the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you,
and will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. How can two walk together except
they be agreed? Where is that, you say? that
these Christian believers have in common. They all rejoice in
Christ Jesus the Lord. They love that doctrine that
John speaks of in the opening verses, those truths that we
were trying to say something of last Lord's Day evening. They feel their poverty and they
find all the riches of grace in the person and in the work
of the Lord Jesus. this fellowship between believers
in is that that is built upon fellowship with God himself. Isn't that what John says? Ye also may have fellowship with
us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his
Son Jesus Christ our Lord. There is the basis of that fellowship
that they have one with the other. All these believers are not in
darkness. Those are in the light, and being
in the light they have such a sense of their sin and their great
need of salvation. He continues, look, verse 6. If we say that we have fellowship
with Him and walk in darkness, we lie. and do not the truth
or what is it to be delivered from that darkness well he goes
on verse 8 if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us verse 10 if we say that we have not
sinned we make him a liar and his word is not in us if we are
in the light with those who will recognize what we are our sinnership
and that all of salvation is in Christ, it is only the Lord
Jesus Christ through whom believers can know any meaningful fellowship. They must come to that experience
of the grace of God in Christ. Look at verse 7. He says, if
we walk in the light, as He is in the life, we have fellowship
one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses
us from all sin. Oh, it's the blood of Jesus Christ.
Believers delight in Him and that salvation that He procured
by the shedding of His precious blood. They love to hear of Him.
They love to sing of Him. They want to show forth the praises
of Him who has done all that is necessary for their salvation. He is the real basis of all their
fellowship. Their fellowship with God is
only through Christ, one God and one mediator between God
and man. Oh, it is the Lord Jesus who
comes as that One that reveals God to them and makes God known
as their Saviour God. He says in the course of his
own ministry, no man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither
knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him. Our fellowship, you see, is with
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We can know nothing of
the Father but only through Him who is the Son." What does John
say in that second epistle? We refer to those words in the
ninth verse of that epistle last Lord's time. "...whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the
Son." How important it is that we recognize the great truth
of that eternal Sonship of the Lord Jesus. We have it here in the second
chapter, verse 22, "...who is a liar, but he that denieth that
Jesus is the Christ, he is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the
Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.
But he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father, also. All this fellowship, it is then
that that is spiritual in its nature. It's that that involves
us having certain things in common, all things in common. We see and we feel what we are
as sinners, and we rejoice in all that fullness of salvation
that is only in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a spiritual basis
there. All our fellowship with the Father
is only through the Son. And so we can have fellowship
one with the other, as those who rejoice in these great doctrines.
It's so much more than that socializing that many are content today to
name as Christian fellowship. But I I want, having sought to
say something with regards to what the fellowship is, giving
some sort of definition of it, I want in the second place to
say something with regards to the fullness of this fellowship. He says in verse 3 that the purpose
of all that He has been declaring is that ye also may have fellowship
with us And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son Jesus Christ. And then in verse 4, These things
write we unto you, that your joy may be full. Oh, it's that
fullness of fellowship that he is also speaking of here. Now,
again, how we see that Christ is at the very center of all
this. All fullness is to be found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says it there in writing
to the church at Colossae, in Colossians chapter 1 at verse
19, "...it pleased the Father that
in him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through
the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto
himself. By him I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Oh, it pleases God, you see,
all this fullness of salvation dwells only in the Lord Jesus. He goes on in the second chapter, verse 9, For in Him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in
Him which is the head of all principality and power. all the fullness of God. He is
that One who is the image of the invisible God. That life
was manifested, that life which was from the beginning, that
life which was with the Father, which has been manifested through
Him who is the Son. Oh, what does John say again
in that great opening chapter of the Gospel? He says, and of
His fullness, He's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, of His
fullness, have all we received and grace for grace. Oh, what is this fullness of
joy? Is it not one of those blessed
graces of the Holy Spirit? These things write we unto you
that your joy may be full. As there is that fullness only
in Christ, so there must be the revealing of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this is the great theme that John is dwelling upon here in
the opening part of this epistle. How that Christ was manifested.
He's speaking of the great mystery of the Incarnation, but there
needs to be that manifestation of Christ also experimentally
in the soul of the sinner. Who is it that comes to reveal
Christ? All that fullness of grace, that
that we have in the person, the great mystery of the person of
the Lord Jesus that we spoke of last time, but then also the
great mystery of the work that He comes to accomplish. How He
is never anything less than true Almighty God, Oh, there can never
be any division between the persons in the Godhead, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. They are one God, undivided,
never divided. And yet, in the fullness of the
time God sends forth His Son, in all the humiliation of the
Incarnation and His obedience, his obedience unto death, even
the death of the cross, and that dreadful cry, that sense of desertion,
dereliction, when in agonies he cries out, My God, My God,
why hast thou forsaken me? And yet even there, you see,
there is still a certain oneness and a union. He still addresses
God as mine, Though he feels so deserted as he is made the
great sacrifice for the sins of his people. Oh, the mystery! The mystery of the person, the
mystery of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And how it is the
Spirit only who reveals Christ to sinners. Isn't this His office? Isn't this the reason why the
Spirit comes? We read there in that 16th chapter
of John's Gospel, but you know it's part of those discourses
that we call the valedictory discourses at the end of the
Lord's ministry. And he is speaking now of how
he must depart, he will leave his disciples. He must go the
way of the cross. But He speaks of how He will
send another Comforter, even the Holy Spirit. He says there
in verse 16 of chapter 14, I will pray the Father, and He shall
give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever,
even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him. For He
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you
comfortably, I will come to you, or doesn't the Lord himself come,
and come by that gracious ministry of the Spirit. And we started
our reading there at the end of chapter 15 in John. When the
Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father,
even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of mine. Here we have the three persons
Christ speaks of sending the Spirit who proceedeth from the
Father. Oh, He proceeds from the Father
and the Son. But He is now to come into the
world as Him who will bear testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ. He
will speak of Christ. And so we read those words. Verse
7 of Chapter 16, Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient
for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send
Him unto you. And what of His coming? For when
He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth,
for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear,
that shall He speak. and He will show you things to
come, He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and
shall show it unto you." And all that ministry of the Lord
Jesus, all that He says there concerning the coming of the
Holy Spirit, it is all fulfilled. It is all fulfilled. Is He not
that great prophet? And what is the mark of the true
prophets of the Lord. Well, the true prophets, we're
told at the end of Deuteronomy chapter 18, he makes predictions,
and his predictions are all fulfilled. The false prophet is that one
who says, but it never comes to pass. But all that the Lord
Jesus Christ says concerning the Holy Spirit comes to pass. Even there in Acts chapter 1,
where we have the record of His actual leaving, His ascension,
after the resurrection, for 40 days, He shows Himself time and
again to the apostles, those many infallible proofs of the
truth of His resurrection, but then eventually he leaves them,
he ascends onto heaven. But what does he say? Verse 4
in Acts 1, being assembled together with them, he commanded them
that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise
of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John
truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence. And so it was. So it was. Chapter 2 And when the day of
Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with
the Holy Ghost. And began to speak with other
tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. All there filled with
the Holy Ghost. And He comes to minister the
things of Christ. He comes as that One who will
reveal the Lord Jesus Christ to them. This is the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit. And we have it, of course, in
that great Trinitarian benediction, at the end of 2 Corinthians 13,
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Ghost. And the word communion, why it's
the selfsame word as we have here in verse 3, that ye also
may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. It is only by the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit that we can have fellowship with the Father
and with his Son. Though there is no specific mention
of that ministry of the Holy Spirit, we know from those verses
we just made reference to in John, John 14, 15 and 16, and
there in Acts 1 and 2, those words concerning the ministry
of the Holy Spirit. When He comes, He comes as the
Spirit of Christ. He comes to reveal the things
of Christ. And Christ is that One who lies,
I say again, at the very roots of all real Christian fellowship. And so there is a rejoicing. Oh, what a rejoicing there is,
a rejoicing in the Lord Jesus. In Acts 13, at the end of that
chapter, we're told how the disciples were filled with joy and the
Holy Ghost. That joy, that joy of the Holy
Ghost, that joy in the Holy Ghost, it is one of those fruits or
part of that fruit of the Spirit. The Paul speaks of writing in
Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the Spirit is love, he says. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.
Or here is the fruit of the Spirit and it's spoken of, here in verse
4, these things write one to you that your joy may be full. Or where is that joy centered?
It is centered in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always, says
Paul. And again, I say, rejoice. It is that that is joyous about
this Christian fellowship that the Apostle John is speaking
of. This is that strange paradox of the life of the Christian,
of the life of the Christian community. Or what do these people
have in common? Well, they feel their own innate
spiritual baroness, nothing of themselves. All of their treasures are found
only in the Lord Jesus Christ. They all agree in Him. Again,
that's a language of the hymn writer. When is it Christians
all agree and let distinctions fall when nothing in themselves
They see that Christ is all in all. Oh, there is a great purpose,
you see, to that ministry that John is speaking of in the opening
verses of this general epistle. And what is the purpose? That
those who by nature were strangers to God, alienated from God, For
their condition by nature was enmity, and yet such are those
who are reconciled to God in the Lord Jesus Christ." Isn't
that what Paul is speaking of in that portion in Colossians
1 that we made some reference to? All that fullness of salvation
that is wrought by Christ. And so those alienated enemies
afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. And as they
are brought near to God, so they are brought together, they are
brought near one to the other. Here is the purpose then of that
ministry, that ye also may have fellowship with us. And truly,
our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ,
and these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. All that we might know, then,
something, God be friends, this fellowship, and this fullness
of fellowship, this rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
that great salvation that is wrought, accomplished in Him,
both His person and his work all let us recognize that it's
not just the the work of the Lord Jesus Christ but the person
the great mystery of godliness and to know that our fellowship
is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. May the Lord be pleased to bless
his word to us. Amen.