The effect of time on human thinking is often astounding. As the first century neared its close, some said, "It did not happen! It is a cunning lie! People who believe the Christian message are gullible escapists who deceive people!" What did not happen? God did not send Jesus! Jesus was not divine! Jesus was not raised from the dead! In all ages people's reasoning is often time-dependent. If something occurred that is not within "my" experiences, then "it did not happen if I did not see it."
Paul, before his death which occurred a little past mid-first century, said regarding Jesus' resurrection, "Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied." (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). Two observations made from Paul's statement concerning this lesson are: (a) A significant group in the Christian community were skeptical about Jesus' identity, death, and resurrection long before 1 John was written; (b) Paul said confidence in Christian teaching without confidence in Jesus' identity, death, and resurrection were useless and purposeless. There is no eternal reason to accept Christian behavior if the person rejects the resurrection.
John in the writing of 1 John would issue some demanding challenges. No one would take John's requests seriously; no one would be moved to obey those requests if Jesus were not genuine. If Jesus was who Christians claimed he was, there was reason to take John's challenges seriously. If Jesus was not divinity resurrected, there was no reason to take John's requests seriously. John's requests were much too demanding if Jesus was a deceitful fraud!
Consider the manner that John began 1 John:
(1) The emphasis is on "we." What occurred was not the result of the witness of one person, but the witness of numerous people. More than the character of a person was to be considered. The character of the entire group was to be considered. More was involved than a person's reaction to John.
(2) I, John, was among the "we." I am one of the eyewitnesses. I do not speak of what I was told. I speak of what I witnessed. I was not deceived, and I am not seeking to deceive you.
(3) I am not sharing with you an impression, a day-time vision or a night-time dream. No personal interpretation is involved. The basis of my challenges are physical reality. My challenges are based on hearing, seeing, touching--the fundamental elements of being a witness.
(4) In regard to Jesus, he is "from the beginning," is "the Word of Life," and was revealed to us by God the Father. Jesus is nothing less than a manifestation from God. From the source of life, John declared to them life. If they wanted to know about the Father, they needed to listen to His son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Messiah whom God promised to send long before Jesus was born.
(5) John wants his original readers to understand clearly his message is from God the Father through Jesus Christ. John seeks no credit for what he is about to say. The message is from "we" witnesses who heard, saw, and touched. These witnesses declared only what God manifested in Jesus Christ. If John's readers clearly grasp Jesus' identity, their understanding will have a profound impact on their behavior.
Your attention is focused on the core reason for John and the witnesses sharing this message. When a person understands who Jesus is, the person does not wish to keep the understanding to himself/herself. John wanted to proclaim the message to his readers so they could have the same thing he and the other witnesses had. Note that to have what the witnesses had did not require being a witness. It required believing in Jesus Christ as the manifestation of God. That which believers received would not be inferior to what witnesses had. Witnesses sharing what they had in Jesus Christ would not diminish what they had. The result of witnesses sharing would be the fullness of joy.
As has been said many times, when one who is in Jesus shares Jesus, he/she has no less. In fact, that Christian has more--his/her joy is greater! Sharing Jesus makes us more important to God, not less important. We share Jesus because we know all people are important to God, not just "us."
For Thought and Discussion:
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 1