Prayer: O Lord, the king rejoices in your strength. How great is his joy in the victories you give! You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked you for life, and you gave to him length of days, for ever and ever (Psalms 21:1-4).
You Jesus are the light of life, eternal life. You have revealed Yourself to us through that life that we might escape from the darkness and enter into your presence. Help us each moment of every day to understand the magnitude of your sacrifice and the significance of your gift, that we would continually give glory to you now and forever. Amen.
Main Scripture: Read 1 John 1:1-10.
We proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 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 1:2b-3).
Associated Scriptures:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we a have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7).
So, will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
Correlative Quotes:
We must take verses 1-4 as one long, involved, elliptical sentence, and look for the key main verb, which seems to be and show unto you in (1:2). The (Gk. apangge) word means "declare," "announce," or "make known." What is being "made known" in this letter is the object of the verb here and is multifaceted: it is something which existed from eternity, it is something with which the writer has the most detailed personal acquaintance. It could be called the "Word of Life"; it has made a real appearance in the world of men. Others besides the author have seen it and can prove it. Finally, it existed earlier in close association with the Father and then made its appearance into the world. That object which is now being "made known" more fully in this letter is, of course, Jesus Christ. More succinctly, the author is saying that in this letter, "We arc declaring Jesus Christ."[1] – Benjamin C. Chapman
He whom they heard, with whom they were in touch, whom they knew and gazed upon is the eternal Life which was with the Father. It is more than that He spoke of eternal Life and promised eternal Life; He Himself is eternal Life. He was with the Father and came into the world, to manifest what that life is. While He manifested the Father, as He witnessed “whosoever sees Me sees the Father,” He also displayed as man what eternal life is in His blessed and perfect life He lived on earth. And this eternal life is communicated to all who believe on the Son of God. This life which was with the Father, manifested in the Lord Jesus on earth, is the life which is in us.[2] – Arno Gaebelein
The life is the light. What does that mean? It means, I believe, that when the eternal life of Christ comes into your life through faith, it sheds light on God and on Christ so you can know them personally. You now can see them far more clearly than you ever could before. You saw them as through a fog before faith. Then God enabled you to see enough to draw you into faith. Now in faith the life comes and with it the lights start to go on everywhere, and the personal reality of God is so powerful that you can know him and relate to him and fellowship with him.[3] – John Piper
Study:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).
These three verses give us a summary of what happens to us when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior. Salvation is a result of the light of Jesus coming into our hearts and lives, freeing us for our sin, and eliminating the eternal separation that has existed between us and God. Our new life in Christ is a result of the mercy of God (Titus 3:5). Mercy is when we don’t get what we do deserve. Grace, on the hand, is when we do get what we don’t deserve.
As a result of Salvation, we are justified (vs. 3, “new birth into a living hope”), purified (vs. 4, “can never perish, spoil or fade), empowered (vs. 5, “shielded by God’s power”), and we are glorified (vs. 5, “ready to be revealed in the last time”).
Salvation is more than forgiveness from sin. Those who are only looking for forgiveness of sin in Salvation are missing out on the abundant life that God promises to us. We must live a Spirit-led life to experience God’s grace on a continual basis.
After college, I became a teacher. I learned quickly the importance of the cooks and the janitors. If you were complementary to the cooks, you never went hungry. The other teachers were critical of the food, but the important thing was the quantity and not so much the quality. My plate was always full and so was my stomach.
If you became friends with the janitors, they would wash your blackboards at night. In the 60’s we used white chalk on black slate boards. It was impossible to clean the boards with erasers, they had to be washed. The teachers who ignored them complained about the janitors or felt they were above them never had clean boards. No matter how hard the teachers tried, they could never erase the chalk completely.
Those trying to earn their salvation are like the teachers who tried to clean their own boards. We cannot earn salvation. We cannot wipe the slate clean. It is only by the washing of our sins through the shed blood of Jesus that we receive justification (Titus 3:5).
Glorification means the transformation of our bodies into the body of Christ. Transformation is a process that takes place as we grow in the knowledge, understanding, and truth of Jesus. Transformation takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.
Summary Statement:
…as of our nature to the Son of God by his incarnation, when he became our brother, our near kinsman, flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone; and we and he were of one, that is, of one nature, (Heb. 2:11, 14, 16)…of the vital union of our persons to him in regeneration, when we are quickened by the power and grace of God, Christ is formed in our hearts, and we become new creatures in him, and are in him as living fruitful branches in him, the living vine; which is our open being in Christ, in consequence of a secret being in him from everlasting by electing grace (see Rom. 16:7; 2 Cor. 5:17, 12:2). …the more open and manifest union of the saints to God hereafter; who being once in Christ, are always found in him; die in union to him, rise from the dead by virtue of that union; and who will then, in soul and body, be one in God, Father, Son, and Spirit; as the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father; whose union to one another is the pattern and exemplar of theirs; and for the open manifestation of which Christ prays (John 17:21, 23).[4] – John Gill
We are justified, purified, empowered, and glorified at the point of our salvation by the presence of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lives in us in the form of the Holy Spirit who saves us and has given us eternal life. It is through the light revealed in us that we can now see the truth of the new birth and enjoy the fruits that have been prepared for us. Being in fellowship with God and one another gives us the peace that we seek as we maneuver through the harsh winters of life.
Lesson within the Lesson:
Explain the concept of the light revealed to us in Jesus. Read 1 Corinthians 2:9-11.
How did the gift of salvation complete in us? Read Colossians 2:9-12.
If we are unworthy of standing before God how can we be justified while still in our sin (Romans 5:8)?
What does “ready to be revealed in the last time” mean and how does that relate to positional purity?
[1] Benjamin C. Chapman, 1 John, Liberty Bible Commentary, © 1983, Old Time Gospel Hour, Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, Tennessee, p. 2630.
[2] Gaebelein, Arno Clemens. "Commentary on 1 John 1:1". "Gaebelein's Annotated Bible". http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gab/view.cgi?bk=61&ch=1. 1913-1922.
[3] John Piper, The Destiny, Eternal Life, © 2015 Desiring God foundation, Website: desiringGod.org.
[4] John Gill, The Body of Doctrinal Divinity, grace-ebooks.com/library/John%20Gill/ JG_Body%20of%20Divinity%20Vol%201.pdf, Public Domain, 1767, P. 295.
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