First John 1:1-That which was from the beginning...
Introduction- The focus of John’s first epistle is “that which was from the beginning”, which is the Word of Life. It is interesting to note that John uses the phrase "
from the begining" several times in his epistles. The phrase can be used to refer to the overall message, a message in the form of a command, or Jesus Christ Himself (depending on the context). This first portion will deal with
the message which was from the beginning. Later we will deal with the person and the command which were from the beginning.
- A message.
1 John 2:24- Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
So we see that there is a message that was from the beginning that we need to abide in. Throughout His epistles, John is charging His readers to abide and remain in what they had heard from the beginning, (ie the Gospel). This brings us to one of the main purposes of John’s epistles. Many Christians had heard the Gospel proclaimed and had placed their faith in Jesus Christ and believed the Gospel, but seducers were going out into the world preaching another gospel and leading many astray (2 John 1:7). They were claiming to have “secret knowledge” that was not available to all Christians, but was only granted and revealed to some. This secret knowledge denied all the fundamental truths of the Gospel, even denying that Jesus came in the flesh (the real incarnation). This was dangerous, because a denial of Christ’s true humanity is in essence denying a real crucifiction and a genuine resurrection. If Christ did not come in the flesh, He could not have shed literal blood for our sins, and He could not have arisen bodily from the dead. This destructive teaching was posing as Christianity, but was actually a denial of everything Christ and the apostles taught.
Just as there were those who would pervert the Gospel in those days, there are those who would pervert the Gospel today. It is very important for us as Christians to abide and remain in the message that was preached from the beginning and resist the temptation to be drawn to novelties that beguile us away from the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ.
2 John 9- Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
The message of the Bible has always been the same, the preaching of the Apostles applies to every age and the Gospel never changes, Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
Next portion- Jesus, our life.
