Jesus: The Source of Life

Chuckle: A pastor asked a group, "How far was it from Dan to Beersheba?" One man answered -- "I thought they were husband and wife like Sodom and Gomorrah!"

Quote: "Apart from Christ we know neither what our life nor our death is; we do not know what God is nor what we ourselves are." --Blaise Pascal

"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3 NIV).

Here, John begins one of the most intimate letters in the New Testament. He deals with family matters, like a father writing to his small children who need encouragement, perhaps reprimanded, and mostly reminded that God is love and that they are to show that love constantly through their lives.

As the apostle John wrote this letter, he was facing problems not unlike those that Christians face today as we tell the story of Jesus to a sinful and skeptical world. Also,  Heresy was penetrating the church, led by so-called Christians known as "Gnostics." Gnostics believed that all matter is inherently evil, and God, being good, could not have been incarnate in the body of Jesus. To John, this teaching was taking the heart out of the Christianity. Here, John proclaims what was shown and proven in the life of Jesus.

Although we have not personally seen, heard, or touched Jesus as John did, we have the entire New Testament record of those who did, and we can trust that they spoke the truth about him. In the prologue of John's letter (1-4), he tells us three things about Jesus, then he develops these truths in the remainder of the letter. First, Jesus is the source of our life (vv. 1-2). John points out three major proofs of Jesus' humanity and physical existence.

1. John declares that he and his fellow disciples actually heard Jesus speak. The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen" (I John 1:1a NLT). The Greek word for "heard" is in the perfect tense -- they heard Jesus speak repeatedly, and His words were etched in their hearts. Much of what Jesus had to say is recorded in God's Word to enable us to hear His words of love, mercy and compassion for ourselves.

2. John declares that he had seen Jesus, personally. "We saw (have seen) him with our own eyes. . ." (vs.. 1b). The word for "seen" means more than a visual image -- it means he had understood, perceived, discerned. It's like someone saying "I see" to denote understanding. Here, he uses another word that means to gaze at with wonder, awe, or reverence. He was an eyewitness to Jesus' life -- the Jesus who brings life and light to us today.

3. Finally, John says he had "handled" Jesus with his own hands. "and touched him with our own hands" (vs.. 1b). This is the word Jesus used after His resurrection to prove to his disciples that He was not a spirit but that He had a physical body. "It is I myself! Touch me and see. . ." (Luke 24:39). First John 1:2 is an expansion of what John said in verse 1. "This one who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen him." Jesus, the source of our life, has been manifested, and His existence, death, or resurrection cannot be denied!

". . . And now we testify and announce to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was shown to us. . . . And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy will be complete" (I John 1:2b, 3b-4 NLT).

Love, Jerry & Dotse