Daily Devotional Friday 10th November 2023
by William Moody1 John 1
The Word of Life
1:1 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—2 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—3 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. 4 And we are writing these things so that our1 joy may be complete.
Walking in the Light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Footnotes
[1] 1:4
Some manuscripts your (ESV)
This letter was written by the Apostle John about AD90 to believers in Asia Minor. The letter was to assure believers of their salvation (5 v13).
In this opening section John teaches that Jesus is the Gospel (v1-2). It is all about who Jesus is, what He has done and knowing him. This Gospel they are to proclaim (v1-3), is more than a belief system; it is the person of Jesus.
John speaks of hearing, seeing and even touching the Word of Life. This is to get across that Jesus was a truly physical human being and not just a spiritual entity. This is counteracting the false teaching of Gnosticism which denied the truly human nature of Christ. Jesus became fully human to lift fallen humanity.
Jesus is described as ‘the eternal life, which was with the Father’ (v2). Jesus; the one Mediator between God and man is fully God and fully man. We must be careful never to deny or diminish either natures in our thinking.
The word ‘life’ dominates as it is mentioned three times (v1-2). Christianity is vibrant as it is about life. Jesus gives true and eternal life (John 17v3).
This life is in a relationship and through fellowship with God (v3). Fellowship with God creates fellowship with God’s people (v3) and a life of joy (v4).
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