Christ is all in all
May 3, 2008 (Saturday)
THE WORD OF LIFE: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete” (1 John 1:2-4 NIV).
John’s favorite words, or so it would seem from his writings, are “Light,” “Love,” and “Life.”
All three of these key qualities, virtues and/or powers were manifested in the Eternal Son of the Living God during his sojourn on earth as our Messiah. Jesus Christ is unique: eternal yet finite, divine yet human. John wrote this way to refute the Gnostic theories of the day. Tragically, these same ideas have surfaced in recent years in the good old U.S.A. Ever hear of the DaVinci code? Something new, uncovered recently? No, something as old as heresy in the early church.
John wrote of Light, Love and Life in Jesus Christ, exalting the gospel as we preach it today, based upon his experience with Christ, promoting fellowship with God and fellow Christians, and too good to keep to Himself.
He wrote these things to make our joy complete. Let no one deprive you of your joy in Christ through pseudo-intellectual speculation that causes doubts about the existence of God, the Love of Christ and salvation for all in Him. This is indeed serious business, and the time has come for you and me as children of God to say to these know-it-all skeptics, “Don’t mess with our faith.”