I love this text. When someone goes to Bible College or Seminary and begins their formal studies of the Bible, as they learn Greek, 1 John is the first thing translated. It is known as “baby Greek” because John writes in such a way that it is not particularly difficult to translate. Conversely, it being part of the Scriptures —the inspired Word of God—makes it the most important thing and sometimes most difficult thing in our life to read and understand as well as live by.
Here John is using the metaphor of light. If you notice in verses 1–4 of chapter 1, John introduces the gospel by presenting actual evidence “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and our hands have touched concerning the word of life.” It is not a recent fad. It is not based on the imaginings of some flight of mind. It is the provable actions of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of the living God—that has been tested through the empirical reality of what the early church touched, heard and saw.
The key idea here is that John is offering his basis of the Gospel and that would be everything concerning Christ to that point that is entered into the eyewitness record. These are things that are absolutely, historically irrefutable. They would stand up in a court of law. Key among these are the prophecies of the Old Testament telling us of Messiah, and now the fulfillment of those prophecies in Jesus in his life, work and of course his resurrection. He then goes on to make three conditional statements—“if…” “then…”—for the believer to live by, conditional statements based upon the evidence just stated.
The usage of contrasts is powerful in the Bible. In this case it is dark vs. light. Obviously God is not literal light, so this tells us that the gospel witness, evidenced and proclaimed in the first few verses is Christ’s work and resurrection is the light in a dark and sinful, fallen world, and I find it wonderful that this same John also wrote the Gospel of John and began it with similar words “In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it” (John 1:3-4. NET).
In a dark and lost world where so many evils surround us and continue to escalate on a day by day basis, we must remember that the true light and hope of the human heart and as well for all humanity is our Savior, Jesus Christ.
That is the primary mission of the Church—to proclaim through every medium possible in both word and deed the saving gospel of Jesus Christ—the Light of the World.
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1:1 This is what we proclaim to you: what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and our hands have touched (concerning the word of life – 1:2 and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us).1:3 What we have seen and heard we announce to you too, so that you may have fellowship with us (and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ). 1:4 Thus we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
1 John 1:1–5 NET Bible
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We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:
"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”
If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church. If you live in the Weslaco/Rio Grand Valley area of Texas, let me invite you to the church I attend, Mid-Valley Assembly (www.midvalleyassembly.com).
Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament. Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.
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Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.
Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).
Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.
Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279.
Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.
Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.
©2019 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.
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