EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY

1 John 1:2, “And we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us.”

That a man named Jesus once lived is an undeniable truth. Secular historians spoke of Him. Even the numbering of years on our calendars testifies to the reality of His existence. The question is: “Who was (is) He?” (Cf. 1 John 4:2; Matt. 16:15). A corresponding question is equally important: “Why did He come?”

The Apostle John wrote his first epistle in part to refute some heretical teaching. False teachers were distorting the truth concerning Christ’s person and work. They claimed to have an exclusive understanding of the truth. They believed in Jesus, but denied that He had actually come in the flesh (1 John 2:22, 4:2). They likewise denied the reality of His sufferings. These heresies reflected perversions of the gospel that undermined the spiritual health of the church.

The Apostle John was an eyewitness of Jesus. He saw Him, heard Him, and touched Him (1 John 1:1). What did he see, hear, and feel? John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John saw Jesus. He saw Him as He truly was (and is), the Divine Son of God who came in human flesh (Cf. 1 John 4:2). The Christmas we will soon celebrate is a celebration of these very truths. “Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown when Thou camest to earth for me.”

A common theme runs through both John’s gospel and epistles. That theme is “life.” In seeing, hearing, and touching Jesus, John was a witness to life, specifically “eternal life.” We…”proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (1 John 1:2). Jesus = “eternal life.” Amongst the many definitions provided by Webster’s dictionary for life, you will find this: “spiritual existence transcending physical death.” As a song says, “There is more to this life than living and dying.” This is true. True life is bound up in Jesus--eternal life, meaningful life, abundant life, satisfying life, the life we were created to experience in fellowship with God. John repeatedly testified to this:

• John 1:4, “In Him was life.”
• John 5:26, “He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.”
• John 6:35, “I am the bread of life.” (The terms “life” or “living” are used some 18 times in this chapter).
• John 7:38, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’”
• John 10:10, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.”
• John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
• John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
• John 17:3, “And this eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.”
• John 20:30-31, “Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed…but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
• 1 John 5:11-12, “And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

The Apostle John was an eyewitness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He devoted his life to proclaiming the truth that he himself had witnessed. He willingly suffered persecution to defend and proclaim these truths (Rev. 1:9). He yearned for others to experience the true life that is bound up in Jesus. He testifies to us this day through God’s inspired and inerrant word that eternal life is found in Him. He who died on the cross and rose from the dead is able to impart life to sin-dead souls (Cf. Eph. 2:1). That very same Jesus who called a rotting Lazarus from the grave, is able this very day to revive any man and bring him into an eternal fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:3). Life is in the Son. Do you have the Son? If so, you have the life—it is yours by His gracious provision! If not, don’t delay in calling on Him. He came that you might have life (John 10:10).

Pastor Jerry