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Hillsdale First Presbyterian Church

First Sunday of Lent 2020

Pastor Scott Cress

Epistles of John: The Power of the Word

There are many things I do not understand that fall under the category “do-it-yourself,” but there is one important rule that I have learned: if you want to get a job done right, then you need the right tool. One of my first ventures in the world of DIY plumbing was replacing a bathroom faucet. With great eagerness, I turned off the water, detached the p-trap, and went to remove the hot and cold intakes. And then I met my first challenge. The pipes had been connected to the faucet by plastic nuts. Moreover, the nuts had been secured with some type of adhesive material. I was unable to get either one to turn even a millimeter. And when I tried to use a wrench, I found that my wrench was much stronger that the plastic. I mangled the things without making them budge a bit. And so having been defeated in my first plumbing attempt, I called in reinforcements. Our plumber Rick came and, after making a couple of test runs, took care of the matter with just the right tool. In this case, a reciprocating saw did the trick. Soon the old faucet was out, and the new faucet was installed.

You have to have the right tools to get the job done. And what if the job in question is establishing fellowship with God himself? Is there a tool that can get the job done properly, and provide us with assurance? According to John the apostle, the answer is yes; and the tool which establishes relationship with God is the gospel word concerning Jesus Christ. And so, as we begin our Lenten study of the epistles of John, we start by considering the gospel word as it is discussed in the first chapter of 1 John. This morning, we will examine two main categories: the purpose of John's words and the power of God's word.

The purpose. Under this heading, we are trying to understand something of the reasons John had for writing this letter. To the best of our knowledge, John wrote this letter from Ephesus towards the end of the first century, and it was circulated among various churches in the region of Asia Minor, the land that we today know as Turkey. And a very particular kind of crisis had affected these Christians. A group had infiltrated the church with a teaching that the Son of God had not come in the flesh, that there was a distinction between the Son as a spiritual being and the man Jesus. Not only did these false teachers deny the incarnation, they also taught that they were spiritually superior to others who did not hold their enlightened views concerning the person of Jesus Christ. In this regard, they demonstrated the same kind of spiritual self-righteousness exhibited by many progressive, elitist theologians and church leaders today. Eventually, this group broke away from the main body of believers and then began sending evangelists out to spread their teaching about Jesus among other Christians. This experience had serious consequences for the congregations to whom John was writing. First, the false teachers were attacking the faith as it had been given from the apostles. Second, the departure of the false teachers and their perception of spiritual superiority had left the Christians of Asia Minor shaken. Maybe the breakaway group was right. Maybe they did not truly know the Lord. This is the situation into which John spoke his powerful voice. And the word he gave them was a word of assurance. They were God's people, and they could know that they have a true and living faith. They could have assurance that, no matter what other teachers may be saying, they have eternal life through Jesus Christ, incarnate Son of God and Savior. So what John writes is designed to both protect from the false teachers and to give assurance of salvation to those who were left behind.

The power. We now may consider the power of God's gospel word. And under this heading we have two matters to take up.

The effect of the word. It is clear from this chapter that the word of the gospel has the certain effect of creating real fellowship with God. John begins his letter by referring to “what was from the beginning” (v. 1). This is a reference to the beginning of his gospel narrative - “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). The beginning of his gospel was, in turn, a reference to the beginning of Genesis - “In the beginning, God created” (Genesis 1:1). So here we immediately see that John is writing in such a way to make clear that he believes that Jesus was the eternal Son of God. But he then goes on to make clear that Jesus took up human nature. This one that was from the beginning is the very one that John and the other apostles had touched, seen, and heard. This then is an articulation of the doctrine of the incarnation. God had become man. The apostles had actually seen and experienced Jesus. And v. 2 tells us that the apostles had then gone out and proclaimed to others the eternal life that they had found in the incarnate Son of God - “...we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (v. 2).

And herein lies the first problem for these Christians of Asia Minor. They had not experienced or seen the incarnate Son of God. They had only been told about what the apostles and others had experienced first-hand. And that experience gap provides space for the false teachers to begin weaseling their way in. “How do you know the truth about Jesus? You weren't actually there, were you?” This is why v. 3 of our passage is so important. According to John, the word which the apostles and early believers preached to the next generation had the effect of creating fellowship, not only with the apostles, but with the Father and his Son. John is crystal clear that the word of the gospel is the right tool to affect meaningful fellowship with God. John likely remembers here something which he testified to in his own gospel account. The apostle Thomas had disbelieved in the resurrection until Jesus had come to him personally and allowed Thomas to touch his wounds. After this experience, Thomas had confessed in faith, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). And at exactly that point, Jesus responded, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29). Don't miss the fact that Jesus himself pronounced a blessing on all those who believe apart from sight. Moreover, we know that the Father and the Son sent the Spirit into the world to lead people into the truth. So it is true that the second generation churches did not see the incarnate Lord. But it didn't matter. Jesus had blessed those who believe without sight, and the Spirit had been sent to affect real change in the hearts of people. The word of the gospel was the right tool to get the job done.

This is an incredibly important point for our own sake. Our assurance is sometimes shaken because we recognize that we have an experience gap between ourselves and the first century. We think, “Wouldn't it be great if I could have been there?” Of course, it would have been amazing. But Jesus has spoken a special blessing over you that he did not speak over those who were physically present with him in Palestine. There is a blessing for those who believe without sight. Listen – the word of the gospel given to you in Scripture and manifested in the life of the church is absolutely enough to affect fellowship with the whole apostolic church throughout history and with the Triune God right now. Let me tell you very quickly three things that you do not need to have a relationship with God: (1) You do not need to have

fellowship with a man who claims to be the successor of Peter or the successor of the apostles. You have access in Scripture to the apostolic teaching. (2) You do not need to experience particular kinds of signs and wonders or a second work of grace. I welcome signs and wonders, but God is clear that the word itself creates real fellowship with him. (3) You do not have to have a master's degree in theology or the guidance of an elitist scholar. You must study God's word to be a disciple, but the word has power through the ministry of the Spirit to create real fellowship with God.

The content of the word. Having dealt with the effect of the gospel word, we can now briefly reflect on the content of this word. God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all (v. 5). If we walk in the darkness, we do not have fellowship with God (v. 6). Everyone walks in the darkness, for we are deceiving ourselves and make God a liar if we claim that we have not sinned (vv. 8, 10). But there is hope. This hope is articulated clearly in vv. 7 and 9. “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...If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So here is the content of the word that has the power to effect real relationship with God. This is the word of the gospel.

To get the job done you need the right tool. I have two great challenges for you this morning. First, for all believers I say: take all of the assurance that God is willing to give you. You don't have to live in fear. You don't have to live shaken and afraid. You can have confidence in eternal life through God's Word. You don't need special revelation. The gospel word is enough. Second, if you are unsure of your relationship with the Lord, respond in faith to the message of the gospel – right now if that is what is needed. There is a God who loves the world and has a plan for your life. Each and every one of us has been separated from this love and this plan because we have loved darkness more than light. But God has made a way back for us. His Son took up a human nature, lived a righteous life, and shed his precious blood that he might cleanse us from our love of darkness. The way is open and the call is simple: believe in Jesus, this perfect one who has been resurrected and reigns forever. You can have certain forgiveness and certain eternal life if you but believe in him and turn your life over into his hands. There is a blessing for you who would believe without sight.

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