Podcast: 1 John: Proclaiming Eternal Life

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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 — 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 – 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.
-1 John 1:1-3

A lot of people are asking these days, as they have always asked, if we can really know God. God is infinite, and we are finite. God is Spirit, and we are trapped in this physical world. God is eternal, and we’ve only been here a few short decades.

So do we have any hope to know Him? It is a good question. We may as well ask, as C. S. Lewis once did, if there is any hope in Hamlet knowing Shakespeare. Hamlet is the creation, trapped within a created play amongst other creations. All of it came from the same source – that is, Shakespeare.

In the same way, everything around us comes from the same source. Is there any hope of one of the created people or things to rise up to the Eternal and know God?

But the answer, C. S. Lewis tells us, to his question is a simple one. If Hamlet would know anything of Shakespeare, it would have to be by Shakespeare’s doing. If Shakespeare wrote himself into the play, it is by this that Hamlet could know him.

One thing I love about the writing of John is the excitement he has. Look at this passage again, at the awe and wonder with which he tells about Jesus. But there is good cause for that, because he has met God. Jesus, John tells us, was in the beginning. In the words of John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Here too Jesus is called the Word, but “the word of life.” But not simply some abstract or theological topic to be discussed over tea, but a person, God made flesh, a man who stood amongst them, who ate with them, who walked with them. John was there when our Lord was crucified, and he witnessed Jesus’ death. And he was also witness to the risen Lord.

This is not the testimony of someone who heard a story about a mythological god that took place somewhere and at some time. No, John was there, and he saw. He stresses this in the introduction, “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands.”

John transitions from talking about Jesus as the Word to talking about Jesus as life. Indeed, in the words of Jesus Himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John wonderfully picks up on these words and uses them to help us understand. This was no mere man whom he saw and touched. It wasn’t just some teaching on the street. It wasn’t some guy with a word from God, but He was THE Word. It wasn’t some guy who figured out the way to eternal life, but He is THE way and THE life.

There is an absolutely sense of wonder that John has here, and this is why. You know, I constantly see people get excited about a philosophy or some sort of guide to life. “You gotta read this book,” they’ll say. “It changed my life.”

Well, a self-help book can only give you ideas about where to go and what to do to improve your life. What John is saying here is that this is no self-help book. He hasn’t found a system to make your life better. Instead, he was found by God Himself, come in the form of a man, who died for us.

What John proclaims the eternal life, he isn’t proclaiming a set of rules or instruction. Look at how he uses this phrase again. “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.” When John says he is proclaiming eternal life, in truth he is proclaiming Jesus.

Now, why is that? See, most people will tell you to be a good person and you’ll get into heaven. You know, follow the rules and be nice to people, and you will live forever in heaven. You find these people everywhere. All religions are based on this concept. Do good and you’ll be rewarded. When they proclaim eternal life, they are proclaiming a way of doing things. They are proclaiming a set of rules or practices.

In Christianity, things are a little different. You see, the truth is that you can’t earn heaven. Our thoughts, words, and actions are driven and controlled by lust, greed, selfishness, pride, and even hatred. We mess up constantly, and these mistakes are called sins. Sometimes we do things we are not supposed to do, which are sins of commission. Sometimes we do not do things we should do, which are sins of omission. Either way, we are sinning.

These are things we may blow off, but they are offenses against a just and righteous God. He knows our thoughts, and will judge us by them. If you understand even that one sentence, you will understand that we cannot earn heaven.

So if I’m going to proclaim eternal life to you, it better not be by your actions, because that’s not going to do it. But that’s why the birth, life, and death of Jesus are so important.

Jesus lived a sinless life in every way. In thought, word, and deed He was perfect. He is the only one who even lived that did not deserve to die, and yet He died anyway. Upon that Cross, He bore the punishment for our sin. He took our place in death so that we could have life.

John proclaims eternal life, and that life is Jesus. Only He has earned it, and He gives it freely. The call of the Gospel is not, “Try harder, do better.” The call of the Gospel is, “Repent and believe in Jesus Christ.”

Jesus told us, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” It’s not about what we do, but what He already did.

That is a message worth getting excited about.