An apostolic eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry
1 John 1:3 “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
The regular course of the sentence, broken by 1Jhn. 1:2, is now resumed, by the repetition of that which we have seen and heard. Only the order is reversed: seen and heard instead of heard and seen (1Jhn. 1:1), and the two elements of experience, sight and hearing, are thrown together without the repeated relative that which. In 1Jhn. 1:1, the climax advanced from the lower evidence of hearing to that of sight. Here, in recapitulating, the process is reversed, and the higher class of evidence is put first.
John seeks to establish, or perhaps to broaden, the fellowship between himself and his readers. Fellowship here means a close association or relationship. In Christian terms this means mutual acceptance of and submission to the verities of Christian faith. It means sharing in personal knowledge of and heartfelt obedience to God through Jesus Christ.
Unto you also (καὶ ὑμῖν)
The also is variously explained. According to some, referring to a special circle of Christian readers beyond those addressed at the conclusion of the Gospel. Others, again, as referring to those who had not seen and heard as contrasted with eyewitnesses. Thus Augustine on John 20:26 sqq. He Thomas touched the man and confessed the God. And the Lord, consoling us who, now that He is seated in heaven, cannot handle Him with the hand, but touch Him by faith, says, because thou hast seen thou hast believed; blessed are they who have not seen and believe. It is we that are described; we that are pointed out. May there therefore come to pass in us that blessedness which the Lord predicted should be the Life itself has been manifested in the flesh, so that the thing which can be seen with the heart alone might be seen with the eyes also, that it might heal our hearts.
fellowship with us... Four persons with whom to have fellowship:
1. God the Father (Isa. 57:15; John 14:23; 17:21-23; 1Cor. 6:13; 1Jhn. 1:3-7)
2. God the Son (Mat. 18:20; John 14:23; 15:1-8; 1Cor. 1:9; 10:16; 1Jhn. 1:3-7)
3. God the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1Cor. 3:16; 2Cor. 13:14; Phlp. 2:1)
4. The Christian (Acts 1:14; 2:1, 2:42-47; Eph. 5:19; Phlp. 2:1-2; 1Jhn. 1:3-7)
Fellowship (κοινωνίαν)
This word introduces us to one of the main thoughts of the Epistle. The true life in man, which comes through the acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God, consists in fellowship with God and with man. On the word, see on Acts 2:42; see on Luke 5:10. The verb κοινωνέω to come into fellowship, to be made a partner, to be partaker of, occurs 1Pet. 4:13; 2Jhn. 1:11; Heb. 2:14, etc. The expression here, ἔχειν κοινωνίαν is stronger, since it expresses the enjoyment or realization of fellowship, as compared with the mere fact of fellowship. See on John 16:22.
Forty Kinds of People NOT to Have Fellowship With
1. The ungodly (Psm. 1:1-6)
2. Scorners (Psm. 1:1-6)
3. Workers of iniquity (Psm. 6:8)
4. Vain persons (Psm. 26:4)
5. Evil workers (Psm. 26:5)
6. Criminals (Prov. 1:10-15)
7. The foolish (Prov. 9:6; 14:17)
8. The angry man (Prov. 22:24)
9. An excommunicated church member (Mat. 18:17)
10. Those causing divisions (Rom. 16:17)
11. Backsliders (2Jhn. 1:9-11)
12. False teachers (1Tim. 6:3-5; 2Jhn. 1:10)
13. The disorderly (2Thes. 3:6)
14. The disobedient (2Thes. 3:14-15)
15. Unbelievers (2Cor. 6:14)
16. Infidels (2Cor. 6:15)
17. Fornicators (1Cor. 5:9)
18. Covetous people (1Cor. 5:10)
19. Extortioners (1Cor. 5:10)
20. Idolaters (1Cor. 5:10)
21. Railers (1Cor. 5:11)
22. Drunkards (1Cor. 5:11)
23. Lovers of themselves (2Tim. 3:2)
24. Boasters (2Tim. 3:2)
25. Proud people (2Tim. 3:2)
26. Blasphemers (2Tim. 3:2)
27. Those who are disobedient to parents (2Tim. 3:2)
28. Unthankful people (2Tim. 3:2)
29. Unholy people (2Tim. 3:2)
30. Those without natural affection (2Tim. 3:3)
31. Trucebreakers (2Tim. 3:3)
32. False accusers (2Tim. 3:3)
33. Incontinent (2Tim. 3:3)
34. Fierce people (2Tim. 3:3)
35. Despisers of those who are good (2Tim. 3:3)
36. Traitors (2Tim. 3:4)
37. Heady people (2Tim. 3:4)
38. High-minded people (2Tim. 3:4)
39. Those who love pleasure more than God (2Tim. 3:4)
40. Hypocrites—those who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof (2Tim. 3:5)
The reason God made man in the first place, was for fellowship with him.
Our fellowship (ἡ κοινωνία ἡ ἡμετέρα)
More strictly, the fellowship, that which is ours, according to John's characteristic practice of defining and emphasizing a noun by an article and possessive pronoun. See on John 10:27. Ours a possessive instead of personal pronoun indicating fellowship as a distinguishing mark of Christians rather than as merely something enjoyed by them.
John 14:20 “At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
With the Father and with His Son (μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ)
Note the repeated preposition μετά with, distinguishing the two persons, and coordinating the fellowship with the Father, and the fellowship with the Son, thus implying the sameness of essence. The fellowship with both contemplates both as united in the Godhead. Plato says of one who lives in unrestrained desire and robbery, such an one is the friend neither of God nor man, for he is incapable of communion κοινωνεῖν ἀδύνατος, and he who is incapable of communion κοινωνία us also incapable of friendship Gorgias, 507. So, in the Symposium (188), and he defines divination as the art of communion κοινωνία between gods and men.
We read so much about man being made in the image of God. This is exactly what this Scripture is stating here. It is our spirit that becomes like the God Spirit. God is a Spirit. If we are to be like Him, it is in our spirit. To fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ, we would have to become spirit man, not flesh man.
Flesh fellowships with other flesh.
Fellowship does not mean social relations, but that his readers were to be partakers (or, partners), with John in possessing eternal life. John writes not only to affirm the physical reality of Jesus (verses 1-2), but also to produce salvation in the readers. That genuine Christians are never out of fellowship is clear, since this verse equates fellowship with salvation.
To fellowship with God, we must crucify our flesh and live in the spirit. John was just such a man. On the Isle of Patmos, when no one else was looking, he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. Let your Spirit rule over your flesh, and you will be like John.
Again, the objective John had in mind in writing about these significant realities was that you, the readers, may have fellowship with us, the apostles. Since he later, in 1Jhn. 2:12-14 made it perfectly clear that he regarded the readers as genuine Christians, his goal was obviously not their conversions. It is an interpretive mistake of considerable moment to treat the term fellowship as though it meant little more than to be a Christian. The readers were already saved, but they needed this letter if they were to enjoy real fellowship with the apostolic circle to which the author belonged. In the final analysis that apostolic fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Probably the false teachers denied that the readers possessed eternal life (see 2:25; 5:13). If so, and if the readers would begin to doubt God’s guarantees on that point, their fellowship with the Father and the Son would be in jeopardy. This, of course, is not the same as saying that their salvation would be in jeopardy. As believers they could never lose the gift of life which God had given them (cf. John 4:14; 6:32, 6:37-40), but their fellowship depended on walking in the light (1Jhn. 1:7). The danger to the readers was that they might be allured into darkness by the siren song of the antichrists. How seductive their godless appeal was emerging in this letter. John’s aim, therefore, was to furnish his readership with a necessary reaffirmation of the basic truths of their faith so that their fellowship with God would be sustained.
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