July 6, 2014
****
Some of you may have noticed a little leather-bound
book of devotions in our church library—My
Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. If you haven’t read it, I hope
you will!
Oswald
was only 43 when he died in 1917 serving as a YMCA chaplain, ministering to Australian
and New Zealand troops in Cairo, Egypt. These troops would later participate in
the Battle of Gallipoli. “When he told a group
of fellow YMCA workers that he had decided to abandon concerts and movies for
Bible classes, they predicted the exodus of soldiers from his facilities. ‘What
the skeptics had not considered was Chamber's unusual personal appeal, his gift
in speaking, and his genuine concern for the men.’ Soon his wooden-framed “hut”
was packed with hundreds of soldiers listening attentively to such messages
such as “What Is the Good of Prayer?”[1]
Oswald was never famous during his
lifetime, and yet people who heard him speak or read his writings listened to
what he had to say—even if they disagreed. My Utmost for His Highest is widely read today.
A website that posts his daily devotions says
that Oswald, originally from Scotland, was a gifted artist and musician who trained
at London’s Royal Academy of Art. But while attending the University of
Edinburgh, he agonized before choosing to train for the ministry at Dunoon
College in Glasgow instead of using His God given gifts to be an “ambassador
for Christ in the world of art and aesthetics.” [2]
The story of Oswald’s life and writings
touched my heart as I agonized a bit over how to begin this sermon series. Throughout
his writings, Oswald emphasizes the importance of following God’s Will—being
obedient to the Lord—and the importance of prayer and fellowship with Him. This
fits perfectly with the message of 1 John, particularly the first chapter we
read today. As we begin this study of the Johannine
Epistles, let us come with open
hearts and minds, seeking to know and follow the Lord’s Will, to be obedient to
Him. We come to be strengthened through prayer and stirred to pray more. We
come with our desire for a deeper level of fellowship with Christ and His
followers.
We bring to the texts our questions, such
as, “Who wrote the 'Epistles of John'—and when? I hope I don’t disappoint you
when I tell you that scholars aren’t sure who wrote the “Epistles of John.” Unlike the apostle Paul, the author of these
Epistles never mentions his or her own name. But here are some possibilities. The
author could have been the same “John” who wrote John’s gospel. Evidence for
this include the many similarities in style, language and message. Others say the author was not the same John,
citing many differences in style, thought and vocabulary. And then, some people
believe that different authors wrote each of the three “Epistles of John.”
For the purpose of this study, let us keep
it simple and assume that the same person—John—wrote all three “Epistles of
John” and the gospel of John. Some
scholars believe that John’s gospel was written around A.D. 90 and the three
Epistles between A.D. 100 and 110. [3]
Scholars do not believe that the biblical order of the three Epistles reflects
the order in which they were written. The Epistles are arranged longest to
shortest, with 2 and 3 John being the shortest books in the entire New
Testament. Unfortunately, because they are so short, they have often been
overlooked or seen as “insignificant and unimportant.” [4]
The Greek vocabulary for 1, 2 and 3 John is only 303 words, while the Greek
vocabulary for the whole New Testament is more than 5,000 words. [5]
Now, let us focus in on 1 John and
consider why he might have written it. First, I need to tell you that 1 John is
not really an Epistle! It lacks the standard format of a letter that 2 and 3 John
have; there’s no greeting or mention of sender and recipient at the beginning
and no well wishes, greetings and blessings at the end. Scholars don’t all
agree on this, but 1 John could be classified as a sermon or essay. [6] If the same John who wrote the gospel was
indeed the author of 1, 2 and 3 John, he was an older man with “pastoral charge
over a number of churches” [7]
probably in or near Ephesus, a city along the coast in what is
present day Turkey. Travel was difficult in the first century. John probably
sent pastoral letters to his churches when he was not able to be there in
person. [8]
The community 1 John addresses has
weathered a serious conflict from within that resulted in people leaving the
church. 1 John speaks of those who “went
out from us,” “false prophets” attempting to deceive, people who are “from the
world,” not from God, people who are under the influence of the “spirit of
error” and the “spirit of the antichrist.” The author also accuses these people
of being “antichrists” themselves. The people leading some of the flock astray
are denying that “Jesus is the Christ” and denying that he is the Son of God.
John, using the pronouns “we” and “us”
and not “I” and “me,” shares the reasons for his writing 1 John—for fellowship
and joy. He says in the third verse, “we
declare to you what we have seen and heard so
that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” Sounding much like the writer of
John’s gospel, he says in I John 1:4, “We are writing these things so that our
joy may be complete.” In the gospel of
John 15:11, Christ tells his disciples, “I have told you this so that my
joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
***
1 John is important to us, despite its
brevity, because it offers the essential beliefs of our faith, the foundation
of which IS Jesus Christ. But 1 John isn’t just about belief; it is about how faith
shapes our lives and understanding of the world and ourselves. 1 John teaches
us that though we are Christians, redeemed by Christ’s blood, we are still
sinners! We need our Savior to help us walk in the light and live in humility
and submission to God. Hear the echoes of Paul’s teaching in Romans 3:23-25 that begins, “Since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” when you read 1 John 1:8 and 9: “If we say we
haven’t sinned, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. (But) if
we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1
John contrasts life in submission to God with life not lived in right
relationship with Him using the analogy of light and darkness. Hear the similar
language that we find in the gospel of John chapter 1: “In him was
life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
In 1 John 1, life with God is
“walking in the light.” Living without submitting to God, without being in
right relationship with Him, is “walking in darkness.” In 1 John 5, we read, “God
is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”
In verses 6 and 7, we encounter the third
and fourth instances that John uses the word “fellowship” in 1 John 1. Repeated words and phrases in the Bible stress their significance. “If
we say that we have fellowship with
him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true. But if
we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the
blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
We might make the mistake of seeing fellowship as just an optional social
time after worship, but fellowship means
more than just talking with our Christian friends. To fellowship with God and one another is to nurture intimate, loving
relationships.
Friends, before we close, let us look
back on some of what we have learned today—how we should submit to Him and seek
to walk always in the light. For God's Word tells us that God IS light. In Him,
there is no darkness at all.
Seek
fellowship with God and one another. Fellowship isn’t just talk; it’s nurturing
loving relationships.
And
remember, most importantly, 1 John reminds us that Christians, just like
everybody else, are sinners! We all need Jesus! Anyone who says they have no
sin are deceiving themselves! But if we confess our sins, the Lord who is
faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
I
declare these things to you so that your joy may be complete!
Let
us pray.
Holy
One, Light of the World, thank you for your Word today and for the new
understandings your Spirit has shown us. Thank you for Jesus Christ, Your Son,
our Lord, whose blood has redeemed us from sin and death and made us right with
You! Lord, sometimes we forget how much we need your salvation and how good it
feels to be nourished by your Word and Spirit. We may be tempted to walk as the
world walks. Our busyness or our vacations may distract us from prayer and
fellowship and gathering for worship and ministry to folks in need. Keep us
walking in Your light. Help us to lead lives of humility and submission,
nurturing loving relationships with Your children. Grant us compassion for
those who walk in the emptiness, loneliness, and hopelessness of darkness. Draw
us closer to you. In Christ we pray. Amen.
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