The Study of I John 1:3 (Part 1)

Link to the video blog for this lesson: I John 1:3 (Part 1)

I John 1:3

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (ESV)

THE STUDY

          Continuing from yesterday, verse three brings everything together and concludes this long sentence. What was John trying to do? He writes this epistle for the purpose of the readers, so they might have fellowship with the disciples who have fellowship with Jesus who has fellowship with God.

          In the first part of verse three we see John using repetition, that which we have seen and heard, to help burn into the minds of the readers the authenticity of what he is sharing. The disciples have seen it, and they have heard it! He is not speaking on hearsay or rumors! He was there and saw everything! He goes on to say that these very things the disciples saw and heard is what he “proclaims” to the reader.

This word (proclaim) is defined as [to report or inform] and is the same word that Luke uses in his Gospel 7:18.  The disciples of John reported all these things to him. John is not saying he announced something, but that he reported something. John gives us the feel of spy’s who come back from a mission to report on the enemy. They are sharing what they have seen, heard, and possibly touched.

John is doing all of this to warn the readers against false doctrines that deny the human nature, physical appearance, and bodily resurrection of Jesus.

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH …

          This is a great place to stop. We will pick up tomorrow with part 2 of verse three. What we can walk away with from today’s lesson is ….

·         John shares and reveals the very thing we should be sharing and revealing “JESUS.”

o   Our methods change but the message is the same!

·         What we need to glean from this verse and apply to our methods today is to share what we have heard, seen, and touched or been touched by!

o   Reciting scripture is great and has value but applying our experiences with scripture has so

    much more authentication.

CONCLUSION:

If we look into the New Testament we see 40 people who suffered from the same disease. They all were healed by Jesus. Of this number, thirty-four were either brought to Jesus by friends or He was taken to them. Only six of those people found their way to Jesus without assistance. Most of the people who find their way to Jesus today do so by someone who is concerned about the welfare of their souls.