In Jesus alone

In Jesus alone

Preamble

Circumstances of the life of the Apostle John
We could say to ourselves that there is certainly more important to share, in view of the circumstances we are going through (COVID), than to scrupulously follow the first epistle of John.

For example:

• Should we be afraid of vaccination? Wouldn’t the mark of the beast be in it?
• The Council of States accepts marriage for all…
• Restriction of freedoms, including that of expression and the life of faith.
• Where are we with the prophecies of Revelation?

There is no shortage of important and exciting, even worrying subjects, OK, but taking a step back…

Subjects of the 1st century
But looking more closely at the century that the apostle John lived through, we can see that he experienced circumstances that were just as delicate or even more so. The life of the apostle spans the first century of history after the birth of Jesus.

1st century rulers 1st
century political leaders were

• quite spicy,
• crazy,
• psychopathic,
• dictators
  among the skewer of the first century, we can cite the Roman side and the Jewish side:

Roman side

• Pilate, as procurator of Judea,
• the Roman emperors,
• Caligula,
• ​​Claudius,
• Nero,
• Vespasian,
• Titus.

On the Jewish side
Herod the Great, with the massacre of all newborns.

Events of the first century
The significant events during the life of the apostle:

• crucifixion of Christ,
• martyrdom of Stephen,
• martyrdom of James,
• famine in Judea,
• expulsion of the Jews from Rome,
• burning of Rome and persecution of the Christians,
• revolt of the Jews against Rome and flight of the Christians from Jerusalem to the east of Jordan,
• martyrdom of James the brother of Jesus,
• martyrdoms of Paul and Peter,
• falls of Jerusalem and Masada,
• great Roman persecution of the Church.

Circumstances XXL
The circumstances were very dramatic.

The message of the apostle John

It’s interesting to see what message the apostle writes, after going through this century.
Would it be
that of • freedom of expression,

• heterosexuality,
• freedom of worship,
• an independent state for Israel,
• justice at the international criminal tribunal?

Jesus and believers
What the apostle shows us in this epistle is that the two important subjects he deals with concern

• Jesus
• and those who have put their faith in Christ.

JESUS

The first message underlines the fact that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, incarnate in man: divine and human dimension!

Because by touching on one or the other of these aspects, we call into question

• the salvation,
• the mediation,
• the substitution
  that Christ accomplished.

Hidden Message

As early as the first century, there were beginning to be people who said there was a hidden message more important than the Bible.

Other gospels which said that the nature of Jesus was not really that presented by the apostles.

In the second century, it will give the Gnostics and Gnosticism.

Flaws of gnosis
Without going into details, there is one aspect that does not stick, it is that the principle of gnosis is initiation into all that is hidden.

As if the deep meaning of life were an “off” mystery, in the shadows, revealed only to the elite who know it.

Creation
It doesn’t fit with the creative act which is clear, in broad daylight and for everyone.

God in history
It doesn’t fit with the attitude of God who reveals himself in the history of men and not behind their backs.

Jesus
It doesn’t fit with the ministry of Jesus who had nothing to hide and who had a public ministry, and not an initiatory brotherhood.

John recalls in his epistle that God is light
God is light and there is no darkness in him 1 John 1/5

The one who is in the shade
In general, the Bible clearly shows that the one who hides,
disguises himself, dissimulates his intentions, it is the enemy of God. Most certainly, this marks the inspiration of these ideologies.

First-hand info with Jean
Let’s understand the importance of having a writing from a person who is very close to Jesus, it’s first-hand info!

Variation for us today
Patrice, you put us to sleep with these remarks, what does it bring us?

Echoes repeated from time to time, on the supposed importance of other gospels which would give the true information…
“And if one had hidden them to us”?

THE BELIEVERS

The second message is that all who have placed their life in Christ are called to express the same life as Him.

Current Events in John’s Time
Current Events in John’s Time
The other side of the times is that all the power of Rome was used to spin the hedonism of the people in Rome.
Roman conquests were siphoned off for the welfare of Rome and Roman cities operating on the same principle.

Hedonism was king and the meaning of everyday life
Hedonism: priority search for pleasure and avoidance of suffering.

Impact on ideas
This had a strong influence on the ideas of the century.
For example, the Gnostics claimed to achieve salvation and perfection without moral effort and without real inner personal transformation in everyday life.

Impact in history up to us
It seems to me that it was well infused in the centuries that followed until ours, when we hear:

• “Young people are sacrificed generations”.
• “Year 2020 the worst year”.
• The young people of 1914-18 or 1939-45 were absolutely not!
• It is hedonism that is hurting and the economic sector linked to it: restaurants, cinema, concerts, festivals, theatre, travel, hotels, skiing, etc.
  And secondary centers of interest become central!

The only valid answer
In the face of the repeated expression of evil and in the face of the distortion of priorities, there is no better answer for humanity, and this in every century, than the one that God gives in the Bible and in this first epistle of John.

Meaning for all of life
The first epistle of John reminds us that God, through Christ, gives us the starting point, the way and the conclusion of a victorious life.

One
Christ, the way of life,
Christ, the only way of his life.

Why Him and not another?
We have already seen that the preceding verses insisted on the Father-Son filiation, but the apostle answers this question by calling several witnesses.

Let’s read together

The first epistle of John, chapter 5, verses 6 to 13.
The first 6 verses:

1 John chapter 5 verses 6 to 12
6 It is he, Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood; not with water only, but with water and blood. And it’s the Spirit that bears record of it, because the Spirit is the truth.
7 Thus there are three who bear witness:
8 the Spirit, the water and the blood, and the three are in agreement.
9 If we receive the testimony of men, let us recognize that the testimony of God is greater because it is the testimony of God, that which he gave concerning his Son.
10 He who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in himself; he who does not believe God makes him a liar, since he does not believe the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.
11 Now, this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

In what the apostle John says here:

The exclusivity of Jesus is attested by three witnesses
He points out several facts which show the exclusivity of Jesus Christ:
1) water, in relation to His baptism, the beginning of His ministry;
2) the blood, in connection with His death, the completion of His ministry;
3) the Spirit, the divine witness given by the Spirit, at the time of Christ’s ministry and now in the hearts of believers.

Several witnesses possible

He could take the many testimonies of men, apostles and opponents of Jesus, people who have been healed by Jesus, that of demons, that also of believers of past centuries, of those of our century and of our testimony.

Controlled divine origin
However, these three testimonies are of God:
controlled divine origin,

• not tainted by sin,
• not subjective,
• not dependent on the context of an era.

Obvious or lying God
This Controlled Divine Origin reasons as clear, obvious to those who are attached to Christ.
Conversely, it’s nonsense for those who are not attached to Christ. By saying that it is “nonsense”, we are saying that God is a liar…

In Christ
The heart of God’s testimony is that the true life, the victorious life, is in His Son Jesus Christ.

So what are the three testimonies that God has given?

It should be noted that, in the Old Testament, to establish a truth, there had to be the testimony of two or three witnesses.

WATER

1) WATER, in relation to His baptism, the beginning of His earthly ministry…

Matthew 3:16-17
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came out of the water. And behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him.
17 And behold, a voice came from heaven saying these words: This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.

signs the beginning of the ministry: in solidarity with sinful men, Jesus is baptized, He shares their experience.

Public witness given to His identity by the Spirit and the Father. The three are in agreement.

THE BLOOD

2) The BLOOD, in relation to the death of Jesus, the end of His earthly ministry and His resurrection…

Hebrews 9:14
how much more will the blood of Christ, which by an eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God,
cleanse your conscience from dead works, that you may serve the living God!

completion of His ministry here below where He gives himself, the perfect victim for sin, for sinners. It’s the same one who dies!

MIND

3) THE SPIRIT

Luke 1. 35-34
“The angel answered him,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
This is why the holy child who will be born of you will be called the Son of God.”

Acts 10:38
“You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,
who went about doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil,
for God was with him.”

Presence of the Spirit, from the beginning and in the continuation of the ministry of Jesus and during the resurrection.

Unique
Note that these three aspects are unique in all of human history:

• Who was named as the son of God? Only Jesus.
• Who demonstrated by His death, His resurrection, His total victory over death, sin?
• Who showed the tangible effect of the working of the Spirit in the eyes of those around Jesus during his ministry, the many healings and at his resurrection?

Human witnesses?
The apostle could have appealed to what he had been able to observe. He who was at Jesus’ side throughout His ministry, but that could have been questionable.

Irrefutable and Consequences
But it takes the unmistakable testimony of God Himself.
So that those who dispute it can also take responsibility for their words.
By contesting Jesus as Son of God and Savior Messiah, it is to make God a liar and we must and will have to assume it…

Objectives of the Apostle John
What does the Apostle John seek to emphasize to his readers?
God has made it clear, publicly, indisputably, at several strategic times and in a unique way, that Jesus is His Son.

Unique
Nowhere, at no other time, does God do or has done the same thing for someone else: the person of Jesus is unique!

God’s Part
God has done His part so that there is no doubt about Christ’s mission of salvation.

No doubt
So that faith in Christ is not heckled by doubt.

Great value and responsibility
From our point of view as humans, it gives enormous value and great responsibility to our lives which must position themselves (for or against) in the face of the testimony of God in Christ.

The Testimony of God
This testimony is simple:

1 John chapter 5 verse 11
11 Now this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Accepted
If this testimony is received accepted, then Christ is the victory

• for our present life,
• for eternity.

Jesus Christ is

• the beginning
• and the continuity
  for a triumphant life.

Refused
On the other hand, if this testimony is

• disputed,
• called into question,
• refused:
  That is to say, to refuse Christ, today’s text underlines
  1 John, chapter 5 verse 12
  “he who has not not the Son of God does not have life. »
• for the present life,
• as for eternity.

Believers
For those who believe and accept Christ, this is truly an encouragement. The Christians to whom the apostle writes were troubled by twisted ideas:
1 John chapter 5 verse 13
“I have written this to you, to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you eternal life.”
This still applies to us!

Certainty
Let us never be troubled by insidious thoughts,

• Christ is not an option,
• Christ is a certainty!

The unbeliever
If I don’t believe God in what He has done through Christ,

• then I am a stranger to life
• and there will be a serious explanation with God for calling Him a liar…

Image
For all men, God puts us behind the wheel of an exceptional vehicle, our life. What good is a vehicle without a lens? For what destination? How to use it?

Two Options

Take advice
Either take advice from its designer,

• to use it,
• use the GPS (with the right address), listen to and follow the voice and the directions to get to the right place.

Send it upside down
Either send the designer upside down,

• grope in an empirical way to try to move the machine forward
• and go around in circles pushing the vehicle for a lifetime, without objective or destination,
• to wonder what is the point such a vehicle…

God’s solution
God gives us a life (there is nothing more beautiful and perfect on earth),
God gives us

• instructions for use,
• usefulness,
• value through the Bible.
  God gives us the key to start through Christ: the voice of the GPS is not a synthetic voice but His Spirit, the Holy Spirit

God has demonstrated this several times in the history of humanity,

• either I believe in it and advance validly in life,
• or I do otherwise
• and taste a survival,
• aimless
• and useless.

Nothing is irremediable, I can always start. The key is Christ and that is more certain than all my certainties!