That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our joy may be complete.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
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The first Epistle of John is, upon examination, fiercely polemic. Tradition holds that John, the son of Zebedee, the disciple whom Jesus loved and who was entrusted with the mother of God, is the author of this work. The beginnings of Christianity, within the Jewish milieu, appears to have been centred around dynamic disciples and their teachings. These Christian communities were no more than isolated pinpricks of light that were developing against the backdrop of increasing resentment from established Judaism and from the greater darkness of paganism.
John, the former disciple of the Baptist, who was present with Jesus from the commencement of his ministry, who stood at the foot of the cross on the first Easter and who founded of the Johannine community and wrote the gospel that we call the gospel of John finds himself having to defend his teaching against those who have chosen to break away from his community thereby endangering its existence. Make no mistake, this was a life or death matter. So John is now addressing these Johannine Christians who are seeking to expound a different perspective to the teachings of the apostle.
Notice, that we are talking about a handful of believers in total yet even in such small a number there is discord. John must have agonised over the idea that the unity of love conveyed in the fourth gospel had not become a reality in the early Christian community. Is this not endemic to humanity? The Christ message will always, whether by accident or design, have those that will pervert it. There will always be those who change the message to suit their own particular needs. Even today, one can find a smorgasbord of different and conflicting views each claiming to be speaking in and for the authentic voice of Christ. So John was addressing not only the world at large but those that “went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. By going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us” (2:19). His message was to those who remained loyal to Christ; his little children – who had been anointed by the Holy One and who knew above all things to remain loyal to the true Christ.
John begins his polemic by echoing and referencing the prologue of his eponymous gospel. Both the gospel and this epistle commence from the beginning but now, in this epistle, John goes further. He declares his eyewitness account and speaks authentically as one who was present. John saw Christ and had physical contact with Christ – who was the Word of life. So from the very first, there was Christ pre-eternal. Thus, by John establishing his credentials, he is establishing a clear right to be able to speak authoritatively upon the Word made Flesh. Therefore, if anyone can speak for Christ it must be this disciple, who no longer is a servant but the friend of Christ. By declaring, so emphatically his authority he is in effect telling those who seek to preach a different Christ, and who have broken away from the community, that they were following false doctrines and the Antichrist. As such they were perverted and therefore needed to be excised from the community so that the illness and contagion of deceit could not spread throughout the flock. Sometimes the Shepherd of the community must take an action which is sharp to protect his little flock from wolves who will scatter and destroy them unless opposed. By identifying these wolves they are now seen for what they are – heretics, and true believers should have nothing to do with them.
John makes it plain: if you want fellowship with the true followers of the community then you not only receive fellowship with your fellow man but also true fellowship with God the Father and with his son Jesus Christ. If you follow John then your joy in Christ will be complete. It is by laying the boundaries of faith and maintaining the boundaries of faith that the sheep of the sheepfold can feel safe as a result of the integrity of the sheepfold that cannot be breached. Within, there is peace, there is love and there is joy. Within, there is the Holy Spirit. Within, there is the fellowship of one another in the name of the triune God. Outside of the sheepfold there is nothing but desolation. So therefore stay under the love of the good Shepherd who knows his sheep and who is known to his sheep and who was prepared to lay his life down for them.
To John, this proposition was foundational. Unless you are a true sheep of Christ, following his voice, you cannot as a result walk in darkness. In other words you must open yourself to the full teaching of the Gospel. There is no picking or choosing of parts you like or dislike when it comes to the teachings of Christ. Christ and his teachings are not a supermarket where you can walk along the aisles and pick and choose whatever you may fancy. No, this is not the truth, nor is it the practice of truth, nor is it walking in the light. You cannot walk in the light unless you become Christ-like.
So how can we ensure that we walk in the light? Chapter five of the Epistle provides the answer. First we need to believe that Jesus is the Christ born of God and that we love God. The way to love God is manifested as follows: “for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (v 3). If we do, then we are born of God and the consequence of this is profound: “for whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” (v 4).
John reinforces the fact that there are three who bear witness in heaven. These are the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are in fact one. There are three that bear witness on earth, these are the spirit, the water and the blood and the three agree as one. Hence, if you want life everlasting then you must believe in his Son. That belief must be right belief or orthodox, then follows the doing. As the theologian puts it: “my little children, let us not love in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth.”(3:19). It is only by right faith and right works that we can be called sons of God. For John declares: “now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the spirit whom He has given us.” (3:24).
So, stay true to the faith and do not be beguiled by the artful tongue of those who preach a different Christ. For with them there is only darkness and death. If you want life and you want life abundantly then declare yourself in Christ.
