1 JOHN 1-5 FULL JOY LESS SIN ETERNAL LIFE2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 John 1-5 Full Joy Less Sin Eternal Life

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017.

Well, this morning as we look at 1 John, we'll kind of be doing a little bit of an overview of 1 John as we have read through 1 John this past week, going through the Bible in three years. We're going to hit a few different passages focusing on the specific reasons that John actually declared in this letter, why he wrote it, and what we can gain from it. And so I've titled the message this morning based on those three reasons, why he wrote it, and what we can gain from it.

Full joy, less sin, eternal life. Full joy, he says here in verse 4 of chapter 1. He wrote this that we would have a full joy. But he also wrote this book so that we would sin less. And we'll see that in chapter 2. And then in chapter 5, we'll see that he wrote this so that we would be reminded and that we would be assured of the reality of eternal life that we have.

Now, as we begin to look at these things that John specifically stated that he wrote this book to accomplish, I think it's important for us to consider that that is the reality, not only for 1 John, but the variety of the books of the Bible that we have. Each one of them was written with a purpose in mind.

The author, the Holy Spirit speaking through the author and penning the words that we have in the books recorded in the scriptures were each written for a specific purpose and to accomplish certain things that there was intentional things that God wanted to accomplish through each one in the context that they were in, in the group that they were in.

ministering to and addressing. And that purpose is unique for each of the various books that we have throughout the scriptures. And I think that's important to note and to pay attention to because, well, first of all, knowing that there is a purpose understands that helps us to understand that reading the Bible is intended to bring transformation and change to us.

That it's not just information, that it's not just education, but that there is transformation that happens as we allow God's word to have its effect, have its intended effect upon us. The Lord tells us in Isaiah chapter 55 that the word of God does not return void.

but that it will accomplish the things which he set it forth to do. And the Lord likened it to rain coming down. That rain comes down and it has an effect on the earth and things begin to grow and fields turn green and flowers bloom. That there is that result that comes from the rain. And in a similar way, he says, that's like my word.

that I send forth my word and things begin to grow and things begin to blossom. And there is a work that is accomplished and it does not return void. And that's one of the reasons why we so strongly encourage every one of us as believers to be involved in an ongoing and regular consistent time in God's word. Because again, each one of these books has its various purposes that have an effect on us and transform our lives and change us

to become more like the Lord and to help us grow in our relationship with God. And as you think about all the different variety of books that we have and the various purposes for which they're written, you understand that as you get to the end of it, you are developed in a variety of ways, that you are full grown, you know, in these various aspects of your life and your walk with God. Like what Paul tells Timothy, that we would be thoroughly equipped,

So not just the living room is furnished, right? But every room is furnished. That we're fully developed is the idea there. And that comes as we allow God's word to have its purpose and have its way within us. Because each one of these authors wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit to accomplish certain things. Now,

Now, not all of them are very specific or as clear in stating their purpose as John is. But here we have this example of the Apostle John who says, I'm writing for a very specific reason, very specific purpose.

And there's three times. Now there's other areas that you could look at and maybe say, well, I think there's five things that he wrote the letter for. Well, sure. And maybe there is, but three that are very clear that he says very clearly and specifically, this is why I'm writing these things to you to accomplish this.

these things. And so these three statements, can you guess how many points there's going to be in today's message? Three points. Full joy, less sin, eternal life. Now if you count the introduction as a point, I did make some points in the introduction, so maybe there's four. But point number one is we're going to be sticking around here in 1 John chapter 1, looking at verse 3 and 4, and that is share in the fullness of joy. Share in the fullness of joy. Look again at verse 4. It says,

And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. John here says, I want your joy to be at the maximum level. I want your joy to be at 100%. I don't want you to be somewhat joyful. I don't want you to be mostly joyful or partially joyful or occasionally joyful. But I'm writing these things to you so that your joy may be full.

Now, as you think about this subject of joy, we often make this distinction that there is a difference between joy and happiness. And it's not necessarily a distinction in like the grammatical, you know, definition of the words, but it's a distinction in the emotions that we experience. And you're very familiar with this. One description that I've held on to for many years that I've always liked is happiness is based on happenings, right?

Right? Happiness is based on happenings. That is, you experience an emotional happiness when the happenings are going well, right? When what's happening in your life is nice and smooth and pleasant, then there is that happiness that goes with it. But then that happiness is not so much there when things are difficult and you're in a different emotional state depending on the context of what's happening in your life. Right?

And joy, as used by the scriptures, is something different than that emotional state that comes and goes depending on what's happening in your life. It is something deeper, rooted within and based upon not what's happening, but based upon who God is and what he has done for you. We are in the month of December now, and it's the Christmas season, right? And it's

It's that season of the year. It's that one month where kind of as a society, as a whole, we've all made an agreement. Okay, everybody, we are going to be joyful this month, right? It's kind of like something that we do. Now, there's other holidays that we celebrate throughout the year, you know, and other days where we say, you know, happy birthday or happy this day or, you know, that kind of thing. But Christmas is different. We've set apart a whole month of

You know, from after Thanksgiving, sometimes just before Thanksgiving, all the way to Christmas Day. Actually, we all say Merry Christmas, or if you're politically correct, you say Happy Holidays. But either way, it's not just a one day, right? For a month, we don't say Happy Easter to everybody, right? Or Happy St. Patrick's Day. Like, it's just, this is a distinct season for us. And for this whole month, this whole season, we're

We have cheerful music. We have, you know, happy things and parties and celebrations and feasts and, you know, all these things that we do. And we've all kind of agreed we're all going to be happy for this season. And we typically participate in that.

Depending on what's going on in our lives, you know, we participate to different degrees. But you might think of it this way. Maybe this is a little bit too cynical. But, you know, we all fake it for this month. You know, we put on the smile. We enjoy the happy music. You know, we try to get into the mood and the Christmas spirit and be generous. And then in January, we go back to our miserable lives, right? We just kind of, okay, that's over. We can, okay, now we got to pay for all the money that we spent, you know, being all happy in December. You know, it's that...

That temporary thing. And the fact that it is that temporary thing, that it is a season, tells us that it's not real joy. We can pretend to be joyful. We can pretend to have that real and sustainable joy. But many times it's just the thing that we do that

to go along with it or to try to, you know, stir up and have that sustained joy, but it doesn't last. And what John is talking about here is not that. He's not talking about

Putting on a temporary smile. He's not talking about faking it for a little bit. He's talking about having a real and substantial joy, a deep within joy that is sustained and lasts. I really like Kenneth Weiss. He's a Greek scholar, and he put together his own translation of the scriptures as well as some explanations of it. And his translation of verse 4 is interesting. It says this,

He says, these things, as for us, we are writing in order that our joy, having been completely full in times past, may persist in that state of fullness through the present time.

So he talks about being full of joy previously, but that would persist and that that would continue on into the present and on into the future. It's an abiding joy. It's a joy that lasts. It's a joy that is much deeper than just the surface emotional things that we experience when things are going well. And so this joy that the Bible describes is a joy that you can have even in difficult times.

It's a joy that you can have even in the midst of great affliction or difficulty or loss. It's not a faking it. It's not even shrinking away from the emotional side of difficulties in our lives. You could think about what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4.

As he's writing to this people who are mourning the loss of fellow believers and they sorrow as others around them have died, Paul exhorts them and says, we sorrow, but not as those who have no hope. We don't negate the sorrowing. We don't try to take away the sorrowing. The sorrowing is appropriate, but we sorrow in a different way because we also have hope.

And we sorrow in a different way because, well, as John is talking about here, we also have joy. And there's a joy that we can have even in the midst of difficulty. There's a fullness of joy that is, well, rooted deep within us and not rooted in the things that are happening at the moment. So how do we get this full joy?

I think there's lots of things that you could look to in the letter here of 1 John and see some of the things that he wrote and some of the things that would be key for us in obtaining and maintaining this fullness of joy, talking about the things that

We know talking about the love that God has for us and how we've been granted the ability to be children of God. And there's those things that we could consider. But what I want to focus on this morning is the immediate context, looking just at the verse above it. So he says, these things we write to you that your joy may be full. But just prior to that, in verse three, again, it says, that which we have seen and heard, we declare to you.

that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. John is talking about fellowship and joy comes from fellowship. He says, that which we have seen and heard, we declare to you. John is calling back to you the reality that he is an apostle. He was with Jesus in the life and ministry of Jesus.

He was with Jesus after the resurrection. He was eyewitness to the crucifixion, to the resurrection. He was right there in the midst of that gospel message. And so he's saying, look, we were eyewitnesses. We've seen, we heard. That's what we're declaring to you.

But we're declaring these things to you, he says, so that you can have fellowship with us, that you can participate in this gospel message, that you can be part of the work that God is doing and has done, that you can be part of this, that you can have fellowship with us.

But then he goes on to say, and it's not just fellowship with us that we're talking about. It's not just that you get to be friends with the apostle John and, you know, be part of what he was part of. He says, our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ. And so he's saying, look, with this message, with the gospel, you get to be fellowship, you know, you get to fellowship and be partakers of the apostles and, you know, those that were called by the Lord to establish the church and bring forth the gospel message. And so he says,

but you also get to participate in fellowship with the Father. You get to be brought into this special relationship that we have with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ. And immediately from there, he goes on to say, I'm writing this to you so that your joy may be full. There's a direct connection here between your fellowship and your joy, right?

There's a direct connection to how much joy you have in relation to your fellowship with other believers as well as with the Lord. I think as we look at this, no Christian would argue that

that there is no joy apart from God and Jesus, that I think we could all accept that, we would all agree to that, there wouldn't be any debate about that. That yes, our joy is dependent upon and comes from relationship with God and fellowship with God. But don't also miss the reality here that our joy is also directly related to fellowship with other believers.

We don't argue that joy is dependent upon our relationship with God, but don't neglect. Some Christians think that they can have joy apart from other believers and fellowship and connection to other Christians. And John is saying, no, you're fellowshipping with us and our fellowship is with the Father. I like what Charles Spurgeon had to say about this. He says, some Christians try to go to heaven alone in solitude.

But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God's people.

I think he brings up a really useful illustration, a really useful picture for us. He says, look, it's not like a lion or a bear or a lone wolf, right? It's just, you know, you're off by yourself. The Bible never describes believers in that context. Now, it describes the devil as a roaring lion. It describes false teachers as wolves in sheep's clothing. You know, those kinds of animals are referred to and used as illustration, but not for believers, right?

Believers in Jesus Christ are, well, they're referred to as sheep. And there's no lone sheep. There's no lone wandering. No, no. Sheep are part of a flock. And it's not just one sheep and a shepherd, right? It's the shepherd with the flock of sheep.

And if there's one sheep off by itself, that's an issue, that's an error. And the shepherd goes to correct that error and bring that sheep back to the flock. That there's this permanent connection. And it's a great visual understanding of there's the shepherd and there's you, a sheep, with all of the other sheep. And anything other than that picture is, well, it's a reflection of something that is out of line, out of place, and needs to be corrected.

Because that's how God has designed us to be. He's designed us to function as sheep in a flock. And in order for us to have fullness of joy, to have maxed out joy, well, we need to be in our rightful place.

Now there are sheep who try to gather together without the shepherd. Well, we're going to gather together and we're going to do what we want and we're going to live our way. And sheep without the shepherd, you're not going to have full joy there. You're out of place. There are sheep who try to separate themselves from the shepherd and the rest of the sheep. And you're not going to get full joy that way either. The way to have full joy is to have fellowship. Fellowship with the shepherd and fellowship with the sheep.

These things we write to you that your joy may be full. How's your joy? And you can consider how's your fellowship? What's your connections like to the Lord? You know, we talk about spending time in God's word daily. That's, again, it's not just for education, but that's about your fellowship with God. And if you're not connecting with God on that consistent and regular basis, you're going to be lacking in joy. You're not going to have that fellowship.

But then there's also the connections that we have with those around us. God has also given us the illustration of the body that we're permanently attached to one another for a specific design that he has created that we might minister to one another. And we're going to be lacking in joy if we're not participating in that body, in that flock, if we're not connected in the way that he has designed us to be connected.

I would ask you to consider something else John says in 3 John, a chapter assigned today in our Bible in three years schedule. 3 John verse 4, John says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. I have no greater joy, he says. I wrote the other one to say, hey, I want you to have full joy. And later on he says, I have no greater joy. I achieve that maxed out joy today.

Now John is not talking about his biological descendants when he says my children. He's talking about those that he has poured into spiritually. He's been a part of their spiritual life and their walk.

He's been a part of their development and their relationship with God. And they've been a part of his and they have walked with God together. And when he now connects back and hears back from these that he's invested in and poured into, when he hears that they're walking with the Lord and they're still in fellowship with the Lord and they're continuing forward and going on, he says, I have no greater joy. That's just an example of

to remind us of the importance of investing our lives, investing in the spiritual walk and development of others. If you want to have full joy, then you need to have fellowship. And that means pouring into others and allowing others to pour into you. Ministry taking place, it involves that discipleship. And there's so much here that we're not going to get into, but I hope you understand that need for connection, that word fellowship, it's not just fellowship.

Sitting in a service together in between 10.30 and 12. You happen to sit in the same room, but it's the relationships that we have. It's the ongoing. It's the interaction. It's the prayer. It's the encouragement. It's the exhortations that happen. The back and forth and the walking together with the Lord together.

is that fellowship, and it is that means of that full joy that God has for us. And so that's why I made the point today, share in the fullness of joy. Because the only way to experience that fullness of joy is in the sharing, in the participating together, in walking together, being one of the sheep of the flock connected to the shepherd of

We share together in this fullness of joy that God has for us. The commentator Thomas Constable says, joy is the product of fellowship. When there is no joy, there is no fellowship. You could also say when there is no fellowship, there is no joy. It's not going to be a lasting joy. We might enjoy a good Christmas season and put on a smile for a little bit, but to have lasting joy is

Well, we need to share in the fellowship that God has for us. Moving on to the second purpose for which John wrote this letter, we're going to go now to 1 John 2. And here we have point number two, and that is be set free from sin. Here's what John says. I want you to be set free from sin. And that's why I'm writing this to you. 1 John 2, verse 1 says, "'My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin.'"

And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. He writes to us so that we may not sin. I'm writing these things to help you to not sin.

sin, to be set free from sin. And we could look at being set free from sin in a variety of ways. First of all, I would ask you to consider the idea of being set free from the bondage to sin. The very fact that he says, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin is telling us that you have an option now that you never had before. And

The idea of may not sin means that there is choice involved, that you have a choice to not sin, that you have a choice where previously you had no choice. You remember what Paul said in Romans chapter 6 verse 22? He says, having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and the end everlasting life.

There in Romans chapter 6, he talks about us being slaves of sin, but in Christ we've been set free from sin. We're not in bondage any longer. Prior to Christ, we had no choice. There was no option to be free from sin, to not sin. It was...

something we had no help, no hope, no control of. We were going to be bound in sin and continue in sin, and there was no way around that. But something new has happened in Christ. When you believe in Jesus, you're born again. You have an option now that you didn't have before. Like Paul tells us in Galatians, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts

of the flesh. That there's an option now for you to choose life in the Spirit, for you to choose walking in the Spirit, and you are not bound to continue on in those sinful practices any longer. Now, when John says that you may not sin, he's not talking about you are going to be sinless. I'm writing this so that you, you know, will never sin again. He's not saying that. He's saying that

I'm writing this to you so that you will have opportunities to choose not to sin and that you'll take those opportunities. You're going to continue to sin while we're in this physical body because, well, we have that sinful nature still. We still struggle with that. We are not consistently in submission to God. We are not consistently walking in the Spirit. We have those weaknesses, and so we will sin, and we'll deal with that in the next moment. But

But the idea here is that when the opportunity is there, when the choice is presented, you don't have to sin. You can be set free from the bondage to those things that held you for so long that you have now an option, a choice to walk with God instead of continuing on in sin.

And so we have been set free from the bondage to sin. And yet the reality is we do sin. We do fall short. We do fail. We do make bad decisions. And so to that, here in verse 1, he says, And so I'm writing to you so that you don't continue to practice sin.

But when you fall short and when you fail, well, it's not the end of the road for you. When you mess up and you fall into sin, it's not over. When that happens, he says, we have an advocate with the Father. An advocate with the Father. That advocate is Jesus Christ. And here we see that we are set free from the separation of sin.

What sin does is it brings separation. You can see that all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned and they were separated from God. Their relationship with God was permanently changed.

As a result of their sinfulness. That fellowship was broken. But what we have in Christ is a restoration of that fellowship. A restoration so that that separation is not damaging in the way that it once was. That separation is not continuing in the way that it once was because we have an advocate. Jesus Christ, our advocate. That word advocate, it's the Greek word parakletos.

Probably not pronounced that way, but that's the Jerry Simmons pronunciation. So parakletos, it means to call to one side, to speak cheerfully to, to encourage. Now you might be familiar with that word because that's one of the words that's used in description of the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 14, verse 16, Jesus says, I will pray to the Father and he will give you another helper.

that he may abide with you forever. That word helper is that word parakletos. Jesus says, I'm going to give you another helper. I'm the first helper, Jesus says. I'm alongside you. I'm with you. I'm calling you to my side. I'm taking you to the Father, and I'm also giving you the Holy Spirit along with me, another helper, to help you to continue to walk with me and with the Father.

This is the role and the ministry of Jesus Christ. He is alongside of you as your helper, connecting you to the Father. Jesus Christ is your advocate so that when you sin, when you fall short, when you fail, no matter how bad, no matter how many times it was, none of that matters, that Jesus Christ connects you back to Jesus.

The father, the author of Hebrews talks about this in Hebrews chapter seven, verse 25, talking about Jesus as our high priest. He says he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them.

talking about the resurrection of Jesus and how he conquered death and so he dies no more and so that he always lives. He's always there. He's always available. He is always present with the Father, working on connecting you and the Father. You are set free from the separation of sin because you have an advocate so that even when you sin, your advocate is Jesus Christ. And he describes him as Jesus Christ, the righteous.

The perfect right man who died upon the cross for us. And the result of that, Paul describes to us in Romans, that as we believe in Jesus Christ, we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Jesus is our advocate, not just in that he is connecting us to the Father and saying, okay,

Father, I know that, you know, they really deserve that lightning bolt. You know, they really deserve that judgment, but please don't hurt them because I love them. That's not the description. That's not the way that it's portrayed. And in fact, the reality is, is that as you come before the Father, you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ so that you are seen by the Lord as righteous. He looks at you and he sees the righteousness of Christ. How righteous is Jesus? Absolutely flawless and perfect. Right?

Jesus is your advocate acting on your behalf in that way because of what he accomplished for us at the cross. And that leads me to the next thing that we're set free from in regards to sin. We're set free from the guilt of sin. If you look at a few verses earlier at 1 John 1, in verse 9, he says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Now, if we try to say that we have no sin, John says, hey, we're deceiving ourselves. The truth is not in us. We can't try to claim perfection. We can't try to claim that we don't need a savior. We do need a savior. But when we acknowledge our sinfulness, when we acknowledge our sinful condition and we come to God in reliance upon him and what he has done to cover our sin, to take care of our sin, we

Then he says he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And so that we don't have to carry the guilt of sin. We are guilty, but then we're forgiven. We're washed. We're cleansed as we bring sin and our sinful hearts before the Lord. And so we're set free from sin, from the bondage to it, from the separation that it brings, from the guilt that is laid upon us.

And that's important. Sometimes we carry around guilt that we don't need to be carrying around. John in chapter three will encourage us in this. In 1 John 3 20, he says, for if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. Sometimes we feel guilty when we don't need to feel guilty. And the enemy loves to do that. He loves to stir that up and to lay guilt trips on us. But the good news is that God is greater than our hearts. And so even when you feel guilty, you

If you've confessed, if you've repented, if you come to the Lord in your sinful condition, and this doesn't mean that you have to, you know, itemize. Here's every sin that I have committed today, and I confess it. And if I miss one, then I'm not forgiven. That's not what John is saying here. He's just saying, you come to God in your sinfulness and saying, I fall short. I'm broken. I'm messed up. I don't measure up. Then God is faithful and just to cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

all unrighteousness and you're cleansed and you don't have to walk around feeling this burden of guilt that the Lord has forgiven you of. He's delivered you from those things. Sometimes your heart still condemns you, but God is greater than your heart. Even when you don't feel forgiven, you're still forgiven. Even when you don't feel cleansed, you're still cleansed. Even when we feel guilty, when we shouldn't, that doesn't sway God. He's not moved by that.

You're set free from the guilt of sin. And finally, you're set free from the penalty of sin. In verse 2 of 1 John 2, it says, And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. We are set free from the penalty of sin because Jesus became our propitiation.

That word propitiation, it means atonement or it's an appeasing of wrath. There is a righteous wrath of God that is due towards us because of our sin. But Jesus, he is our high priest, as we saw just a few moments ago, but he is also the sacrifice. He is the propitiation. He is the one who took the wrath of God in our place.

It's not that there was no wrath of God and that, you know, no wrath was poured out, that no judgment was brought. It is that Jesus himself took the place and received the penalty, received the punishment that we deserve. He is our propitiation.

He took the full payment, the full penalty, so that by the time God gets to you, his arm's already too tired with the paddle. His arm's too tired to continue to bring a beating on you because he's already laid it all out on Jesus. That's the idea there. That the full payment was given, the full penalty for sin, your sin, my sin, the full penalty was delivered and measured out on Jesus. And he took it.

in our place, on our behalf. He is the propitiation so that we are free from the penalty of sin. And so we don't have to fear judgment. That's why John also here in this letter says, there is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out all fear because when we stand before God, there's no penalty left. You don't have to fear a beating from God because Jesus received that beating for you.

He is our propitiation. He's the high priest, but also the sacrifice. And so John says, I write these things to you so that you may not sin, that you would be set free from sin, from the bondage to sin, from the separation that sin brings, from the guilt of sin, and from the penalty of sin. Finishing it up with the third purpose that John states is found in 1 John 5. We're going to look at verses 9 through 13. Here's point number three.

Know that you have eternal life. John is writing this letter so that you would know that you have eternal life. This is important because a lot of people wonder, you know, am I really saved? And there are a lot of people who struggle with that. And for every one of us, there is that need and that reminder for us to be established in this truth and in this reality, I have eternal life.

And so John says, I want to help you with that. I'm writing this to help you know that you have eternal life. Check out verse nine. It says, if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which he has testified of his son. He who believes in the son of God has the witness in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of his son.

And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life. And this life is in his son. He who has the son has life. He who does not have the son of God does not have life. Verse 13. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the son of God.

John says, I want you to know. And notice he says here in verse 13, I'm writing to you who believe. He's primarily writing to Christians. And he's saying, look, Christians, there is a lack of knowledge sometimes. There is a lack of assurance sometimes in the reality of eternal life and in your grasp of eternal life. And you need to know that you have eternal life. And so I'm writing to help you to know that. Now, how can you know that you have eternal life?

Like I shared before, there's lots of reasons. You could look through all of 1 John and there's lots of ways to understand, to know, and to be reminded of the reality of eternity that you have. But here in the immediate context, John says it this way. You know that you have eternal life because God says so. Again, verse 9, he says, "...if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater."

The witness, that is the testimony or the message. He says, look, we receive the message of men. People tell us stuff and we receive it. Even the most skeptical of us believe things that other people tell us. Now, it's not that necessarily we believe everything. We don't have to necessarily be gullible for this verse to be true. But the point is, we believe things that other people tell us. And if we believe things that people tell us,

How much more can we believe the things that God tells us? When you think about it, it's really amazing how we are so quick to believe people. We are. We believe what we're told many times in many occasions and without much substantiation, you know, for the reliability of a person's testimony. But we accept it.

There's a lot of things. I mean, just normal day-to-day things, you know, the things that we do. It's based on what we've been told and what we've been taught. It's people teaching us. But if we have believed that, if we've received that, God, his witness is greater. In the technology things that I listen to and read and spend time with,

There's a lot of discussion about this whole issue of fake news. And it's been, you know, an issue for quite some time now, you know, trying to distinguish and understand what fake news is. It's a

problem in technology in that like how do we distinguish how do we determine what's fake news and Facebook's trying to figure out like okay how do we not you know contribute to distributing fake news and you know that kind of thing and how do we determine what's fake and who decides what's fake and what's not fake and how do you evaluate that and you know there's all this discussion and and lots and lots and hours and hours of discussion I've listened to and heard and read over all this concept of fake news and

Now, if we didn't believe the witness of men, there would be no issue with fake news because it doesn't matter what you say. I don't believe you, right? The problem is people see the headline. They see the thing. They see it. And it doesn't matter whether it's rooted in reality or not. There are those who believe the thing that is written, the thing that is said, the thing that is promoted. Now, John's point is, look, if you believe things that people tell you,

God's witness, his message, what he says, it's far greater. It's much more reliable. It is absolutely trustworthy. It is guaranteed to be true. You can believe that witness. God says you have eternal life. And so that is more sure than anything else you read in the news or someone tells you or your grandma taught you. What God says is what matters most. It's more reliable and it's a better message.

Because he has the message of life. Now, if you don't believe God, in verse 10, he goes on to say, he who believes in the son of God has the witness in himself. You believe and you testify to the things that God has said. But if you do not believe, he says, you've made him a liar. If you don't believe that you have life by faith in Jesus Christ, if you don't believe the gospel message, John says, you're looking at God and you're saying, you are a liar.

Telling me I can have life in Jesus. You're lying. You're deceiving. You're tricking. You are a liar. That's what rejection of the gospel really comes down to. I don't believe you, God. I don't believe your message. I don't believe your testimony. But God's testimony is sure. And his message is this. In verse 11, he says, this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life. And this life is in his son.

And so he says in verse 12, he who has the son has life. And if you don't have the son, you do not have life. This eternal life, God has given. That's his testimony. I have given you life through my son, Jesus Christ. And it's by faith in Jesus Christ and his work upon the cross that we have life. And if you have the son, then you have that life. That's guaranteed because God said so. There is no possible way to have the son and not have life.

It's not possible. He who has the son has life. And there's no other way to have the life apart from the son. If you don't have the son of God, you don't have life because God's testimony, his witness is short. And so you can know, and there are some people who are wrestling with, I don't know if I'm saved. John says, you can go back to the word of God and say, and see that when you have the son, if you've believed in Jesus Christ, you have life.

And that is guaranteed. And that is more sure than anything anybody could tell you anytime, anywhere, no matter who it is. And if you need that assurance, go back to what God says and remind yourself of what the Lord has said. You have life by faith in Jesus Christ. And this is important. Again, John is writing to Christians. I'm writing to you guys who believe.

I mean, this is a great gospel truth for those who don't believe and those who need to come to faith in Jesus Christ. But for you who believe, you need to be reminded of the surety of eternity that God offers to us. In 1 John 2, verse 21, John says, I haven't written to you because you don't know the truth. I'm writing to you because you do know the truth. As Christians, we need to be reminded of this reality, of this surety to know eternity.

that we have eternal life. Pastor Dave Guzik says it this way. He says,

But when we internally have turned this into some type of performance or works or religion, then it's based upon how well I'm doing today. Like joy, it's like happiness. It's up and down depending on the season. Christmas time, I'm saved. Other days, I'm not saved. Other seasons, I'm not saved. It's not like that. This is the reality. This is the truth. Now, this can be a struggle for us because we have eternal life. We are born again. We have new life in Christ.

But it doesn't always look that way, right? It doesn't always look that way. And sometimes we have battles with sin. We have battles and struggles. We have issues. We have, you know, things happening in our lives that bring us to this place of questioning and wondering, do I have eternal life? Am I saved? Am I walking with God? Am I right with God? And there can be these things that swell up, even for those who have walked with the Lord for decades. These things come back into our lives. It's part of the process of us walking with God and heading towards eternity, right?

I would ask you to consider it this way. Life begins at conception, right? We believe that. Life begins at conception. But if you think about that process, and if you've ever, you know, kind of gone through that process, you know, beginning at conception and watching the baby grow, it takes a long time for it to actually look like a baby. It does. There's a lot of formation happening. There's a lot of things happening, and it's a baby. Life has begun, right?

but we don't quite see it. And then a lot of it's happening internally. So if you're on the outside, you don't see it until delivery day. And even then, usually right out the gate, you know, it doesn't look like a baby. It takes some time.

for the growth to take place, for that life to be visible, for that life to take shape. And that is true in natural life as well as in spiritual life. We are in the process of being formed and fashioned into the image of Jesus. And John says, behold, we are so blessed to be called children of God. But you look in the mirror and you're like, that doesn't look like a child of God. Well, you're in formation.

I don't know if I have eternal life because I don't look like a child of God. You're in formation. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you are a child of God and you may not see the finished product yet because you're still in that season of growth, of development as God is forming you and fashioning you to be the finished product that he is in mind for you. Know that you have eternal life. Don't base it on what you see in the mirror. Don't base it on what people say.

Go back to what God says. Not how you feel, not what you think, not what someone else said. What does God say? This is his testimony. Those who have the son have life. And so you can know. This is a consistent theme throughout the book of 1 John. He talks about how we can know. He wants us to know. There are ways to know.

that you are partaking in this life that God has set for you. Let me read to you a few examples. 1 John 2, verse 3. He says, How do you know that you know God? John says, I'll tell you how.

There's going to be some overflow. There's going to be some impact in your life, and you're going to walk with God in obedience. Now, going back to the sin discussion, not perfectly, not flawlessly, but you're going to be taking God at his word and begin to live that out. You're going to begin to incorporate what he says into your decisions and into your behavior, and that's how you know that you know him because he's influencing your life.

And you're walking in obedience to him. In 1 John 3, verse 14, he says, we know that we've passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. This takes us back to the fellowship. Here's how you know that you've passed from death to life, because of the fellowship. You're born again by the spirit. You are a child of God. You love God's other children. It's part of what God develops. It's part of what God works in us.

And it establishes within us that assurance, that reality. I've passed from death to life because look, I wouldn't normally love you. I wouldn't normally have fellowship with you. We wouldn't be connected. But look what God has done in developing us together. We're sheep, part of a flock. In 1 John 4, verse 13, he says, Here's how we know.

Because we have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is at work within us, producing the fruit of the Spirit, enabling spiritual gifts, leading us, guiding us. The Holy Spirit is at work within us, transforming us from the inside out. And by that, we can know that we abide in Him, that we have life in His name. Know that you have eternal life because of what God says and because you can see His work.

in your life, in the direction of your life, in the obedience to his commands, in your relationships with other believers, in your fellowship together, in the working of the Holy Spirit internally, you can see, you can know, you have eternal life. God says so. We're going to close out our time together this morning with a partaking of communion.

And as we do, it's appropriate to consider these things that John has been sharing with us in the context of what the Lord presented to us in communion. Would you turn with me to Matthew chapter 26? Matthew chapter 26, and worship team, you guys can come on up and get ready as the ushers get ready also. Matthew chapter 26, we have Jesus in the upper room with his disciples as he's preparing to go to the cross. He institutes communion.

This thing that we call communion today. He says in Matthew chapter 26, verse 26, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat. This is my body. Then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them and saying, drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Verse 29, but I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. As Jesus institutes communion, he says, look, here's the bread. This represents my body broken for you. Here's the cup. It represents my blood, which is being shed for you for the remission of sins. And I would encourage you to consider in the context of today's message, John says we can share in the fullness of joy.

Jesus says, here's these elements. Partake of me. This is my body. This is my blood. And as you engage and you receive those communion elements, Jesus says, we're fellowshipping together. You're receiving me and what I've done for you. You're receiving my work upon the cross. You're receiving my forgiveness and my offer of salvation. You're receiving me and we're fellowshipping together. You share in the fullness of joy as you partake of communion together.

John says we could be set free from sin. Jesus' body was broken that we might be delivered from that bondage to sin. His blood was shed, it says in verse 28, shed for many for the remission of sins, for the washing and that cleansing, that we would be set free from the penalty, from the separation, from the guilt, from the sin.

And as we partake of communion, we get to receive that forgiveness, that freedom from sin, from penalty, from guilt. And then John also encouraged us to know that we have eternal life. And as we partake together, Jesus says in verse 29, I'm not going to partake of this again until I do it with you in my Father's kingdom. He looks to eternity and he says, we're going to be there and keep looking forward to that.

Later on, Paul, as he passes on the institution of communion, he says, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. And so as we do this, we are looking forward to eternity and the partaking. We're partaking now as an obedience and partaking of that relationship with the Lord, but also in proclamation that we're going to be with him.

And we're looking forward to eternity where we will have the real feast, the real thing in the presence of the Lord. And so as we worship the Lord together this morning, I would encourage you to be receiving all that God has for you. Receive the fullness of joy, receive the freedom and forgiveness of sin and receive the assurance of eternal life.

As they lead us in this song, the ushers are gonna pass out the bread and the cup. And at any time during the song, as you are just interacting with the Lord and connecting with the Lord on your own, feel free. You can partake just between you and the Lord as you worship him and walk with him, as you connect with him and experience all that he has for you, that full joy, less sin and eternal life. And they'll give you a chance to partake at the end if you haven't. So let's worship the Lord and enjoy this time in fellowship with him.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.