1 John Study
Lesson # 2
The Son Of God
Has Come To The Earth
Introduction
John jumps right into the subject he wants to cover. There is no greeting and no salutation. What he has to say is of to great an importance; he must get right to the point: God’s Son has come to earth. God is not living off in outer space someplace like so many people think and say; God has not forgotten the earth. God is not unconcerned and disinterested in the world. The very opposite is true. God loves and cares for us and He has proven it in the most supreme way possible: God has sent His Son into the world. This is the glorious testimony of John: God’s Son has come into the world and His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
1. Jesus Christ has always existed
a. That is what is meant by the words “that which was from the beginning”
b. He existed before the world & was the beginning & essence of all life.
c. He was not created, He was from the beginning with God – Jn.1:1-3; 17:5
Phil.2:6-8
2. Jesus Christ became a man
a. As a man He allowed people to see & hear Him as well as look upon Him &
handle Him. Phil.2:6-8
b. People were able to hear Him teach & share the good news that God loves man
c. For three years John & the other apostles & thousands of others had
conversation with Him & listened to Him speak the words of God.
d. John was a personal witness – he saw Him with his own eyes
e. Looked upon = gaze upon for a long time so as to understand & grasp His
significance. You will never understand Jesus by glancing – you must look
intensely & seriously truly seeking to know Him.
f. Handled Him – more than touching. It is to grope & grasp after so as to
understand & comprehend – to examine closely.
(Lk.24:39 – handle me & see that I am not a spirit)
3. Jesus is the word of life
a. Jesus Christ Himself is the Word.
1) What is a word - it is the expression of an idea, a thought, an image in
the mind of a person. A word describes what is in the mind of a person.
2) John is saying this: in the life of Jesus Christ, God was speaking to the
world, speaking and demonstrating just what He wanted to say to
man.
3) This means the most wonderful thing. It means that God has given us
much more than mere words in the Holy Scriptures. God has given
us Jesus Christ, The Word.
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4) As The Word, Jesus Christ was the picture, the expression, the pattern,
the very image of what God wished to say to man. The very image
within God’s mind of the Ideal Man was demonstrated in the life
of Jesus Christ.
5) Jesus Christ was the perfect expression of all that God wishes man to
be. Jesus Christ was God’s utterance, God’s speech, God’s Word
to man. Jesus Christ was the Word of life
who came to earth to
show us that the very energy, force, power, and
essence of life is in
God and in God alone.
6) Therefore, if a person wants life, he must trust and depend upon God
for life. For life in all of its energy and force and being exists only
in God & His Son Jesus Christ.
b. Jesus Christ Himself is the Word of life
1) the very message of life, the good news (gospel) of life. He is the very
embodiment of life, the energy and force of life; therefore, when
He came to earth, He brought the Word of life to man.
2) Jesus Christ—His life, His acts, His teaching—tells men how to live. In
Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone is the Word of life, the Word
that tells man how to conquer death and to live abundantly both
now and eternally.
3) Jesus Christ is the Word of life. This is the great thing that He revealed
to man.
4) But note: How did He reveal this great message to man? 1 John 1:2 tells
us in clear language. The verse is here given just as it reads in the
Greek text:
“And the life was revealed, and we have seen and bear witness,
and report to you the life, the eternal, which was with the Father,
and was revealed to us.”
c. Jesus came & revealed to us what life is with the Father.
1) He identified with man & made Himself available to man
2) He allowed them to use all their senses to comprehend Him & thus
fully understand His Father.
3) His message - Men do not have to live in sin and the dread of
corruption and death; men can live in the abundance of love, joy,
and peace with God, both now and eternally.
4. Jesus came that men might have fellowship with God
a. God is not far off, disinterested in man & uncaring about what happens to us.
b. Through Jesus He has shown that He deeply loves & cares for us & wants to
have fellowship with us; to have a personal relationship with us.
c. Through Jesus we can:
· become acceptable to Him
· relate to Him and talk and
share with Him
· have Him walk with us throughout the day, looking after and caring for
us step by step
· cast our problems upon Him
· trust Him to help us in meeting our needs
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5. John wrote that our joy may be full & complete
a. Joy (chara): an inner gladness; a deep seated pleasure. It is a depth of assurance
and confidence that ignites a cheerful heart. It is a cheerful heart that leads
to cheerful behavior.
b. Several things need to be said about the believer’s joy.
1) Joy is divine. It is possessed and given only by God. Its roots are not in
earthly or material things or cheap triumphs. It is the joy of the
Holy Spirit, a joy based in the Lord. It is His very own joy
(John 15:11; Acts 13:52; Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:22; 1 Thess. 1:6).
2) Joy does not depend on circumstances or happiness. Happiness depends
upon happenings, but the joy that God implants in the believer’s
heart overrides all, even the matters of life and death
(Psalm 5:11; 2 Cor. 6:10; 2 Cor. 7:4).
3) Joy springs from faith (Rom.15:13; Phil.1:25; 2 Tim.1:4; Matt. 2:10).
4) Joy of a future reward makes and keeps one faithful
(Matthew 25:21, 23; Acts 20:24; Hebrews 12:2).
c. The source of the believer’s joy.
1) The fellowship of the Father and His Son brings joy (1 John 1:3-4).
2) Victory over sin, death, and hell (John 14:28; John 16:20-22).
3) Repentance brings joy (Luke 15:7, 10).
4) The hope of glory brings joy (Rom. 14:17; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 4:13).
5) The Lord’s Word—the revelations, commandments, and promises
which He made—brings joy (John 15:11).
6) The commandments of Christ and the will of God bring joy. Obeying
and doing a good job stirs joy within the believer’s heart
(John 15:11; John 17:13; Acts 13:52).
7) Prayer brings joy (John 16:24).
8) The presence and fellowship of believers brings joy (1 John 1:3-4).
9) Converts bring joy (Luke 15:5; Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19-20).
10) Hearing that others walk in the truth brings joy (3 John 4).
11) Giving brings joy (2 Cor. 8:2; Hebrews 10:34).
6. Jesus’ message – God is light & in Him is no
darkness at all
a. God is light
1) Means His very nature & character are light. What is within Himself.
2) God dwells in the splendor, glory, and brilliance of light.
a) Wherever He is, the splendor, glory, and brilliance of light
shines out of His being.
b) In fact, there is not even a need for the sun when God’s glory is
present. The glory of His presence just beams forth the
most brilliant light imaginable, so brilliant and glorious that
it would consume human flesh. Rev.21:23; 22:5
b. God reveals the light of all things – the truth of all things
1) Light is the symbol of purity and holiness.
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2) Light means the absence of darkness and blindness; it has no spots of
darkness and blackness, of sin and shame.
3) His light beams in, spots, opens up, identifies, illuminates, and shows
things as they really are.
4) His light allows a man to walk out of darkness. Man no longer has to
grope, grasp, and stumble about trying to find his way through life.
The path of life can now be clearly seen. He does away with
darkness & chaos.
c. In Him is no darkness
1) Darkness symbolizes sin & evil & all that a person should not do
2) Darkness means one is ignorant of God – Rom.1:22
3) Darkness makes one stumble through life – Jn.11:9,10
4) Darkness refers to evil behavior – Jn.3:19-21
5) Walking in darkness is to hate one’s brother – 1 Jn.2:9-11
6) Darkness means a person is focused upon evil – Mt.6:22,23
7) Walking in darkness is being an unbeliever & unfruitful toward God
2 Cor.6:14; Eph.5:11
8) Darkness means the influence & power of Satan – Acts 26:18
9) Darkness describes the punishment of hell – Eph.6:12; 2 Pet.2:9