“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”  I John 1:3-4

I John, along with II John, III John, and the book of Revelation was written by John, one of the twelve original disciples of Jesus.  He was the brother of James, another disciple, and son of Zebedee and Salome, a follower of Christ.  John lived in the town of Bethsaida in Galilee on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee.  He was acquainted with Caiaphas, the high priest, indicating his family was probably one of influence and perhaps wealthy, at least, likely not poor.  His call by Jesus came one day when Peter and others were fishing.  They had caught nothing, but obeyed Jesus to go out a little further in the water.  When they let down their nets, they caught so many fish that they called for help from fishermen in another boat to come and help them.  They were so astonished, and they realized Jesus was no ordinary man.  John, James, and Peter immediately left their boats and their livelihoods and became disciples of Jesus.

The theme of I John is fellowship in God’s family and was written to refute false teaching regarding Christian fellowship, morality, and love.  Before the world and mankind were created, Jesus was with His Father in heaven.  When Jesus came to earth, He was born sinless, all God and all human so that He could be the only One capable of paying the penalty for man’s sin.  He was born on earth to be crucified, the one and only sacrifice that God would accept in exchange for providing forgiveness and salvation to all who would repent and place faith in Christ and His work on the cross.  His sacrifice was planned from the beginning.  There is an old gospel song that says, “They searched through heaven and found a Savior”–no, there was no search made.  Jesus had already been chosen by God to be the Savior of men and women before man and woman were created.

How did John know that Jesus was God’s Son, the One who suffered and died but was resurrected on the third day to conquer death and the devil?  John was there as an eyewitness along with Jesus’ other disciples to the miracles, teaching, love, compassion, and mercy of which Jesus displayed during His three plus years on earth.  John heard Jesus’ words.  He saw Him every day, traveling the dusty roads with Him, witnessing His compassion for all those lost without a shepherd, healing, and preaching words of hope to the multitudes enslaved by their sins.   Jesus was/is God and was also human making Him flesh, blood and bones, able to be physically touched by human hands.

In I John, John called Jesus the “Word of life”.  In the book of John, he referred to Jesus as the Word.  Jesus is “THE Word”, not “a Word”, as some have changed scripture to read.  To call Christ “a Word” takes away His designation as fully God and fully man, God’s only Son, and reduces Him to nothing more than a teacher or prophet in the minds of those who purport this falsehood.  It is a very risky endeavor to change what has been written in scripture by men who were inspired by the Spirit of God.  Unless Jesus was truly all God, His sacrifice would have not been able to provide forgiveness and salvation to those who repent and believe in Him.  God required a sinless sacrifice to sufficiently pay sin’s penalty, and Jesus was and is the only sinless One to meet that requirement.  Being God is what made Jesus sinless.

There was no doubt in John’s mind and heart that Jesus had come from God to do His will.  Even one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, who came by night to speak with Jesus, told Jesus plainly that no man could do the miracles that He did unless God was with Him (John 3:2).  Thus, it wasn’t just the disciples, Jesus’ mother Mary, and the few who followed Him who truly believed He was God’s Son.  The evidence was clear, but many chose to not believe the evidence.  If folks decide to not believe something, then sometimes it doesn’t matter how much evidence is produced that shows the guilt or innocence of someone.  People make up their minds before the facts are known and end up letting a guilty man go free or, even worse, sending an innocent man to prison.  In Jesus’ case, even after all the evidence that He produced to show that God had sent Him, envy and fear caused people to arrest, charge as guilty, and crucify the Son of God.

But not everyone was deceived.  The good news of Christ’s sacrifice and His resurrection was declared by John so that all might have the privilege of knowing Christ in freedom from the guilt of sin and the obtaining of eternal life with God the Father and Jesus Christ in a perfect home.  All who repent of sin and trust Christ become fellow heirs of salvation.  They all have a common, no, rather a sacred denominator which binds them together in Christian love and fellowship, likeminded people who share not only hope of eternal life but also the joy of knowing their sins are forgiven, and that they are never really alone for the Holy Spirit is a constant companion to help, comfort, and direct the lives of believers.  This privilege is only for those who have saving faith and turn from sin because they understand what an insult and offense sin is to God and who believe that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth, and life to become acceptable to God the Father.

To know Christ has forgiven us, has given us His Holy Spirit as a guide, comforter, and One to warn us when we step over the line into the enemy’s territory of sin, indifference, and selfishness, and has given us eternal life brings joy to all who trust in Christ.  This was the point of John’s letter to the Christians of not only his day, but all Christians into the future, a joy that fills the heart of each believer.