MONDAY 23rd
1 John 1:1-4
‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—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. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.’
Today we move in our devotions to the first of John’s short letters, this is the same John who wrote the Gospel according to John and also received the revelation as we read in the book of Revelation.
In his gospel, John commenced with the words ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.’ (1:1-2)
John had had what is very evident to us an incredible understanding concerning who Jesus really was. In fact in the first chapter of Revelation he says that he ‘bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ’. Revelation 1:2
John had been a very privileged person in that he saw Jesus physically as a man who walked the dusty roads of Galilee, being one of the disciples, he had not only seen Jesus but had witnessed first-hand all the spectacular things that he had done and heard personally all the things that Jesus had spoken. He also had the privilege of seeing the resurrected Jesus as recorded for us in the gospels, but even more, he had the privilege of seeing in a vision the resurrected and ascended Jesus as recorded in Revelation and this is how he described what he saw, ‘Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’ Revelation 1:12-18
Wow, it must have been an incredible experience that he had had and John out of anybody at all is one who could record with surety what he had seen, heard and witnessed, therefore we can be assured that what John has recorded for us is not a fable, it is not some made up story he has concocted to impress, it is fact based upon what he has witnessed, (John 19:35, John 21:24) and recorded for us so that we too may come to know Jesus personally ourselves, as both our Saviour and Lord.
In his gospel John says, ‘Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ John 20:30-31
In our next devotion we will uncover something of what John has recorded in his opening comments in this his first epistle. I will split the opening verses into three sections.