1 John 4:7-11 | December 27, 2020 | Day of St. John the Apostle

 Theme: John Provides a Record of…

1. The proof of Christ’s birth (Hope and Expectation)

2. The effect of Christ’s work (Evidence and Effect)

1 John 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

The idea of record keeping was a sub-theme within the Christmas story. We’re familiar with the way that Luke 2 began, Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered… One major geo-political event that led up to the birth of Christ was the Roman census – a tracking of the people within the empire.

God had his own records of importance in the Scriptures as well. Matthew 1 lists the complete genealogy from Abraham (the father of the Jewish nation) to Jesus. This was a vital resource for the Jewish believer. Luke 3 contains a genealogy that connects Jesus to the very beginning of life with Adam, the first man. Though we don’t often read through the genealogies around Christmas time, we cannot discount the value they provide as we witness a historical record of God’s plan of salvation throughout the ages.

Today, as we consider the input of the Apostle John on the life and work of Jesus, we see that he provides another record of sorts. It’s not a genealogical record, or a list of peoples within a nation. John’s record is more like Jesus’ birth certificate. John’s purpose is very simple – to verify that Jesus indeed was born into this world. Now, as we know, the life of Jesus is not that simple. There’s a lot connected to His birth, as John certainly indicates. But it all traces back to the birth in Bethlehem when Jesus took on human flesh. Without that singular moment, nothing else in the plan of salvation would have happened. John’s message attempts to remind us of that truth.

Now, a birth certificate is an important document. It verifies the birth. It can be used later in life to obtain other documents of importance. It’s essentially the first record of a person’s existence. But, it is also is quite simple – typically one piece of paper with an individual’s name, date and location of birth, and parents. However, imagine if a birth certificate also went on to state what that child would go on to do in life – what their passions and hobbies would be, what their occupation would be? Even more than that, what if that birth certificate also stated how that child would make you feel, what important memories you would have with them, and a detailed list of their major accomplishments in life? That would be something indeed.

And that’s somewhat like what John provides for us in the birth of Jesus. John not only wrote a Gospel record about the life of Jesus, he also provided three epistles about the meaning of Jesus’ work for believers. But everything John wrote came back to the birth of Christ – without that pivotal event, there was nothing. And so, John spends time showing us the evidence – essentially telling us what happened.

Listen to the opening words of John’s first letter: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

The theme is clear, John wants you to have a record of Christ’s coming into the world – he wants you to see as he saw.

One of the ways John got this point across was an emphasis on the manifestation of Christ. The idea of this word is to make known something that was concealed or hidden from sight. John uses it 6 times in this letter, including verse 9 of our text.

There’s a two-fold purpose in this approach by John. For Old Testament believers, the manifestation of the Savior was a critical element in their faith. They were waiting for God to fulfill His promises. As we see with the genealogies of the New Testament this waiting extended back to Adam and Eve as the first parents of all people, and also to Abraham as the father of the Jewish people. Without the manifestation of the Messiah, not just in thought but also in human form, there would be no substance to the Old Testament believer’s faith. The peoples’ expectation flowed from God’s promise – there would be a visible Savior who would tangibly make payment for the sins of the world.

When you understand this about the faith of Old Testament believers, you can go back to the Gospels and see deliberate attempts by Jesus to affirm that He was the manifested Messiah. For example, in Luke 10:24 Jesus stated, "for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

In other instances, Jesus would connect His physical presence with Old Testament prophecies. In Luke 4 Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2 and concluded by saying, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He was telling them, I am the revealed Savior from God. You are seeing it. You are hearing it. This is not something mysterious and concealed – God is making it known for all to witness.

But clearly, the visible and audible witness of Christ was only for a time – and a short time at that. Though many saw and heard directly, many, many more did not. John is also aware of this reality and so his message is also directed at New Testament believers like us. John wants us to be able to rely on his eyewitness testimony so that, as he writes, “you also may have fellowship with us.”

Today, more than ever, people want irrefutable evidence of the claims of Christianity. The birth of Jesus is not exempted from that discussion. Many modern eyes see Christmas as nothing more than fable or myth. Many modern ears hear the story as little more than traditional fairy tale – right up there with Santa and Rudolph. John sets the record straight – Jesus was manifest. God revealed His Son by natural birth, and I am giving you the record. Therefore, Christianity is not blind faith because it is based on evidence delivered to us through the Bible. 

John was not just addressing people who wanted faith, he was addressing people who wanted evidence. In this way, John had in mind not only the Jewish believer – to whom religion would have been natural, but also the Greek skeptic – who saw the world through reason and logic. Those two categories continue to exist today in our culture, as some people find religion to be natural and others do not. John provides testimony to both. We see that most clearly in the first verse of his letter. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—

This verse is very similar to the first verse in John’s Gospel: John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. By defining Jesus as the “Word” John is connecting with both groups of people. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises which God delivered by words. Jesus continues to be manifested through the Scriptures in our hearing and using of them. But John also wrote in Greek to a Greek culture. The word employed by John here was Logos, which is the basis of our English word logic. We might wonder why it is then translated as word.

It is true, on the one hand, that logos can mean individual words, it also has a deeper meaning referring to the substance (effect) of words. In this way, the logos was extremely important to Greek culture. Greek philosophers throughout the ages compared the idea of logos to the theoretical goal of their philosophical pursuits. They indulged in the activity of pursuing wisdom for the express purpose of finding the logos – the deeper meaning of life. And the path they walked in that pursuit was rhetoric – the use of words. John takes that meaning and attaches Christ to it – Jesus is the logos, not just the fulfillment of words, but the fulfillment of our lives. Jesus is the deeper meaning, the finish line of pursing wisdom. And the critical point of today’s lesson is that Jesus has been revealed by God as such. He is manifest for all by His birth.

This is truly an amazing lesson from John as it was given to him by the Holy Spirit. But, John adds one more miraculous truth – Jesus’ birth impacts our birth into God’s kingdom. Again, what a strange thing it would be if a child’s birth certificate also contained a record of their impact of your life. But this is also what John provides for us as he testifies about Christ’s incarnation. Just as it was with the word “manifest” in John’s letter, so we see this come out in the word “born,” which also occurs 6 times. In our text, John states in the opening verse (the effect on our lives), “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

The message of Christmas is not just one of expectation, it is also one of effect. Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem (and went on to accomplish what He did) we have the effect of a rebirth in God’s kingdom by faith in Jesus. John connects this spiritual truth to the physical reality of Jesus’ birth. Therefore, Jesus is not the only One that John declares as manifest to the world. We are too. No longer in our fallen, sinful state, but as holy, redeemed, and cleansed children of God. Through Jesus, the world sees for the first time, what God intended us to be – the new self that is born by faith.

And so John concludes in the final chapter, giving us the final thought about our rebirth - 1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith.

God sets the record straight through John by giving us the birth certificate of Jesus. The gospel was built on expectation and now from it flows gracious effects in our lives. And in the same way, with expectation and effect, we wait for the God’s final promise to be fulfilled, that we would be born into eternity at His side in heaven. Amen.