We're starting a new study this
morning in the book of 1 John. And if you would turn there with
me, please. 1 John, first chapter. This epistle had been from history,
past, attributed to John, the apostle. Much of the writing
is very similar to what John writes in other places that we
know of, when exactly it was written and where from is really
not known. It's not addressed to any particular
church or individual person, certainly to those of faith in
our Lord, as it says, both then and of all times and places.
We are in that number if we are His. It's surely inspired by
God, Word of God. It's in part of and parcel of
the rest of Scripture that our foundation, our rest, and our
joy is in Him. We're going to see that as it
relates to us. As always, pray the Holy Spirit
that inspired this Scripture, reveal our Lord and Savior to
us as we enter into it. that's always the case when we
approach the word to look at it, is that he reveal it to us. And as I was talking to Norm
earlier, sometimes if we feel we're up to the task, we find
out that we're not up to the task. And if he doesn't reveal
it to us, it's just a word study, or it's just a comparing, just
reading the scriptures if he doesn't shed the light
on it, and light's going to be important in the book of 1 John
a little later, but if he doesn't do that, if he doesn't reveal
it to his people, it doesn't get revealed. It's not by our
wisdom or our study, and we can study hard at what the Scriptures
say and what other people say they say, And if he doesn't reveal
it to us, it's just giving something that we don't
have. And it has to be given to us to understand it. And we know that it's given to
the church by him to understand things. And it says we have the
mind of Christ. We have the scripture that we
can hold in our hand that is from him, all scripture. is not just inspired by something,
it's all inspired by our Lord himself gave that word. And he's
called the word, as we're going to see in some passages. And
it's of him and by him and through him and from him to his people. And the spirit has to take those
words that we have and make them alive. I think it shows the faith that
He gives by His grace and the true fellowship and spiritual
oneness that we have with Him and with one another. And if
by the Spirit we believe in Him, the assurance, foundation, and
joy of our faith is affirmed ineffably. And that word ineffably
we looked at last time means unexplainable, in joy and emotion
that God reveals himself to his people. I'd like to start and
read the first few verses of 1 John 1. First four verses we're going
to read. It says, "...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. And we're
going to stop there. But in this morning we're going
to look at 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. And here
speaking about the Lord Himself that was in their midst at that
time, that they had physically, their physical senses had and
bear witness of Him, that He was in their midst. And this
one, as we'll see as we look on farther in the study in weeks
to come, that this was the eternal God that they had in their midst
and that they fellowshiped with physically and not just in the
spirit. It wasn't just something that was by faith that they had,
but they saw with their eyes and hailed Him. They heard Him. And where it says, the word of
life, and indeed, quite a bit said by that in that one sentence,
but the word of life and all life that was given by him, and
indeed spiritual life, and that word of life to his people is
the Lord himself. And it starts out with the word
that. And it seems as an odd word to
start when it says, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, our
Savior, the eternal God, by the word that. It just seems kind
of odd at first reading of that. but it's a specific, that which was from the beginning,
it goes on to say, but it's a specific, it's that one. Brother Hawker
pointed out that it's a similar thought that Mary, when she was
with child and the angel came to her and said, that holy thing,
which is in you is of the Holy Spirit, that holy thing, And
it says, that regard, speaking of that holy, not just another
one that's holy, but the one that is holy, that is the only
one that is holy. And speaking of that, and here
in verse 1st Psalm, it's that which was from the beginning,
the word of life, that's the only one, the only word of life. And not just another one that
has the word of life, but indeed, any word that we have in a physical
sense, the scripture we have with us was given by him. And
It says, Brother Hawker says of this passage,
of this thought about the Lord himself being the Holy One and
the one that was manifested and is manifested to his people,
he says, and there's a quote, one sweet feature runs through
the whole of the book in relation to the church, namely, the apostle's
testimony to the Father's love, the Son's grace, and the Holy
Ghost fellowship." And that's what his, a quote, indeed it's
been this in common with all of the scripture, shows the Father's
love, the Son's grace, as it said, and the Holy Ghost fellowship
that makes it so to his people. And all of Scripture is that
to us. All of Scripture is witness to the Lord and those
things that He's done for the church. It puts a very special position
that the church has in that we have in Him. I don't
know how you even express it sometimes, but the manifestation
of the Son in creation, and all of that was done and created
was for His honor and for glory, and for the church to praise
God's, His glory. I mean, the church was for His
praise, not that we add anything to Him, but the scripture talks
about the joy that we have because of God's glory and what He has
done for the church. In the beginning speaks about,
here where it says, that which was from the beginning. And there's
two, thoughts about this in the beginning. That which was from the beginning,
the Lord himself as one part of the triune God from
everlasting in eternity past, he was from the beginning. And
not that there was ever a beginning of God, but You can't go back
that far. There was never a time when God
did not exist. And that beginning, He was with
the Father. There are those that believe
that Christ at His advent and His birth on earth was kind of
the beginning of Him. No. There are those that say
He was a God that was created. No, that's not true. He is the
eternal God. He is the eternal God. And there was never a time or
a, there was never not him. And as he had said of himself,
a couple of places, but one, they came looking for him and
they were looking to capture him when he was here on earth.
And they asked if he was that, and he said, I am. And that meaning,
I am now, but I am I am, he was always in the present to him,
he always existed as God himself. That beginning in that manner,
but also which was from the beginning as far as the eternal covenant,
when he took on the role of being the Son of being the Redeemer
that was gonna redeem a people that was given to Him, that was
done in eternity past. And it's hard for us to comprehend
that we were seen and we were blessed and we were glorified
in Him in eternity past when that covenant was made. And we
think of things in terms of time. So we think that God was there,
God was there, God was there, then God made a covenant. And
it's hard for us to, that's how we see things. That's not how
it was eternity passed. But he did indeed, God, the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, make that covenant. From that beginning, He was that
Word. From that beginning, He took
on that role, and it was without saying or part of the covenant
that He had a people and He was going to redeem a people. And
that Word, starting in creation and on, was Himself, and He was
that Word of life. That which was from the beginning
also speaks to us of creation. He was the one that created.
We're going to look at a couple other passages. He's the one
that created all things, and He upholds all things by the
word of His power. All things consist by Him and
in Him. And those things, that is the
one that's being talked about here. How do you compartmentalize
or describe who God is as God the Word, God the Son from eternity
past? It's hard to put into a few words. And turn to the book of John,
if you would please. So book of John in the first
chapter, And there's a couple of places we'll be looking in
the Book of John, but to start with, very similar wording here that
1 John has, but in the Book of the Gospel of John, chapter one,
verse one, it says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him,
and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was
the life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." Speaking
of the same one, the same one that in 1 John we're looking
at, that which was from the beginning. This one here, the Word was with
God, the Word was God, was in the beginning with God. All things
by Him were made and without Him was not anything made. That's
the one who, in 1 John, they handled this one. They had this
one in their presence. They did not always understand.
who that was in their presence. They didn't just have a zap and
they knew these things. They were revealed bit by bit
by the Lord and by the Spirit. There are many of his own that
didn't comprehend fully who he was. I don't know how they could
have, but the light as God gives that light. But this is the one
that is spoken of in 1 John. A little farther on in the book
of John while we're here, I would like to read also here, It says, starting in verse 6
and down in chapter 1 of John, there was a man sent from God
whose name was John. The same came for a witness to
bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe.
He was not that light, but he was sent to bear witness of that
light. That was the true light which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the
world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto
His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth." And down here in 14, the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. And they dwelt among us, it says,
full of grace and truth, there's a parenthesis there, we beheld
His glory. And that's the one that in 1
John is spoken of. that which was from the beginning.
And as I said, it could only be speaking of the Lord himself.
He created all things before all things and by whom they consist. Let's turn to the book of Colossians
just for a little bit here. The first chapter of the book
of Colossians. Starting with, it's written to the saints and
faithful, it says, brethren in Christ, but starting at verse
12, Colossians chapter one, it says, giving thanks unto the
Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light. who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of every creature. For by him were all things created
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by him
and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things
consist. And he is the head of the body,
the church. who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For 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 heaven or in earth, and that 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." And it continues, but here speaking of the one
that it says, translated in the kingdom
of his dear son, by him were all things created, all things
are created, it says, by Him and for Him. He is before all
things, by Him all things consist, and He is the head of the body,
the church. And all things consist for His
honor and glory and to the praise of His mercy and grace to the
church. Others are going to praise Him
for who He is. God is going to be honored by
all When He comes again, every knee
will bow and recognize and admit and confess who He is, that He
is indeed that God Almighty and that there will be no arguing
or appealing to God for mercy at
that time. But all of creation was done
for one purpose, and that's to show forth His glory for what He's done for
the church. And that's pretty focused or narrow compared to
what most people by what man would think that God creates
things for. Man by nature would think God created men so that
he would gain from that, that God would gain from that. God
doesn't gain anything from that. He is as he was it said that
word that they held was from the beginning, was known, had
need of nothing. Their creation wasn't done and
come about because God was lacking. There's those that kind of have
the idea God was lonely, you know, and he needed something
to pump him up or help him out or make him feel better or something.
God was perfectly well in eternity past, without any creation ever
taking place. It wasn't a necessity that God
create. And it's in that same vein or
thought that eternal life is given to those that He has set
out and has set apart in eternity past. It's not so that God is
gaining an audience or something, but that that church will bless
and glorify Him for those things He's done. And it says that the
church's joy will be full. And I mean, that was the point and the thrust of all
of it, as it says here. All these things were created
by Him and for Him. And that doesn't mean that He
was lacking those things, but that He is the preeminent One. He is the One that is to be glorified
through all this. in chapter 2 of Colossians. It speaks to the church and to
him again as being that one. It's starting with the first
verse It says, chapter two of Colossians,
for I would that she knew what great conflict I have for you
and for them at Laodicea and for as many as have not seen
my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted, being
knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance
of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of
the Father and of Christ. in whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge." I'm going to stop there for just
a second. But that those, not only Laodicea and others, but
all of God's people, that their hearts might be comforted, being
knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance
of understanding to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God and of
the Father and of Christ." That's a mouthful that he prays here
and in other places Paul prays for that the highest thing we
can have is our eyes opened by him and that we understand some
of who he is, and that he gives us that knowledge. And it says
here, the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ,
in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and
all the understanding that we can have about man and about
man's nature and about God. We have the record of it. We have his word. We have his
mind on those things that we are to know and to have in our
hands. And he reveals that as he will to us. and that in Him
any wisdom or knowledge that we can attain comes from Him. And that's not saying that we
can't understand facts of physical things that men have discovered,
you know, and come across. But the things that are of God,
spiritual things, are only revealed by Him, and He is the only source
of that wisdom and knowledge. Continuing on, it says, verse
four, I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
For though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the
spirit, joying and beholding your order and the steadfastness
of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up
in him, and established in the faith that ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware, lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are
complete in him which is the head of all principality and
power, in whom also you are circumcised with a circumcision made without
hands in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh
by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein
also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God who hath raised him from the dead." And up here particularly,
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. And in him, that one they held,
and other words that they had, that they had in their hands,
that they could see, they heard him. The word of life was this
one that Paul speaks of here in Colossians. in him that was
in their midst dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily." That's
hard to comprehend, being what he went through on earth, that
in the midst of that, it says, the fullness of the Godhead dwelt
in him bodily. And we are complete in him, which
is the head of all principality and power. He's the head of the
church, and he's the head of all. That puts us in a pretty good
spot. I mean, that puts us in a spot we didn't not only realize
that we could be in, but that it's hard for us to grasp. It's
hard to grasp. Other than God revealing that
to them then and now, how could they comprehend the one sitting
with them was God, the full, Godhead sitting with them bodily. That I think probably at the
time did not always come to mind to them. I think it would be
revealed to them probably even at later date than that. It's
hard for us to comprehend what it speaks of and who He
truly is. Before the beginning, and it
speaks here, before this beginning, He was in His infinite glory. As God, the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, He was in His glory, they had a corporate, I don't
know what other word to use, but as the Triune God, they had
glory, and were all glory to them, and all power, dominion,
all those things to them. But specifically, as he's speaking
here, specifically as the Word of Life, specifically as the
Savior and Redeemer of the church, the glory and position that he
has in that office is special to that office and to that one. And it's pretty hard to form
the words necessarily or the phrases, but as the president
has in the country, has special honor because of that position
he has, Christ also had that honor and glory because of who
he is. In that, the son, the son of
God, our Redeemer. And the church which was chosen
in Christ before the world was has that honor and glory, that
robe of righteousness that he wraps around us, we get all the
benefits of that position. It says we are heirs with him
and co-heirs with him. So that puts us in pretty good
standing in him, and we don't often realize much of that or comprehend that. In the book
of Titus, Titus speaks of our Lord as the
rest of scripture, but says some pretty pertinent things to the
thoughts we have here. In Titus, chapter two, starting
with verse 11, And this doesn't mean don't read the rest of Titus
on your own, but starting with verse 11, it says, For the grace
of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching
us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort,
and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." And
then starting with verse one in chapter three, put them in
mind to be subject to principality and powers. to obey magistrates,
to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, be no
brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For
we ourselves also sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving
diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice, envying, hateful,
and hating one another. But after that, the kindness
and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost,
which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and
these things I will that thou constantly affirm, that they
which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These are good and profitable
unto men. In a couple thoughts from here,
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto
all men. both by the Word and the Scriptures
that were given by Him, and again, as they're saying, they had Him
in their midst. This was that Word of grace of
God that brings salvation to them. And in 1 John, he's going
to go on and speak more to that. those things that put us in mind
of these things, and it says, verse 4 of chapter 3, after that
the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness, but according to his mercy saved
us, by the washing of regeneration, renewing of the Holy Ghost, but
here After that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward
man appeared." Again, that was starting in Genesis on. The word
of the grace of God is, we have that record by him. But again,
that one that they beheld at that time, the apostles and others
that saw Him, He was that Word of life, and He was that Word
that would continue to be that. And so as we just start in the
book of 1 John, we pray that that He'd reveal Himself to us,
and some of these things which are hard to wrap our mind around,
that He gives us some thought on that. And then, just in way
of closing, in chapter 5 of 1 John, at the very end, a couple of
verses I'd like to read in closing. It says, and we know, verse 20
of chapter 5, 1 John, we know that the Son of God has come
and hath given us an understanding that we may know Him that is
true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. Little children, keep yourselves
from violence. Amen. that this is the true God
and eternal life. And that's what the scriptures
reveal to us all the way through. So we pray that as we look at
the rest of this book, that we will have some more light shed
on these things. And with that, be free.