In his sermon titled 'Christ, the Source of Our Fellowship and Joy,' Mike Davenport explores the foundational themes of 1 John 1:1-4. He emphasizes the apostle John's intent to address heresies, particularly Gnosticism and Docetism, which denied the fullness of Christ's humanity and divinity. Davenport explains that John's epistle serves to affirm the true nature of Christ as both God and man, stressing the importance of sound doctrine for believers. The sermon highlights the use of witness testimony to confirm the incarnation of Christ, detailing how John and other apostles heard, saw, and touched Jesus, providing a compelling account of His life and ministry. Davenport underscores the significance of the term 'manifested,' explaining that it refers to the revelation of Jesus as the eternal Son of God made visible to humanity. This manifestation is central to understanding the gospel, as it reveals God's plan for salvation through Christ's life, death, and resurrection. The sermon concludes by reinforcing the need for believers to hold tightly to biblical doctrine, which forms the foundation of true fellowship with God and fullness of joy.

The scripture text this morning comes from 1 John chapter 1 verses 1 through 4. 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. 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. 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.

And these things we write to you that your joy may be full let's pray Lord thank you for the book of 1st John we are excited as we embark on this book having had a an overview taste last week we pray now that you would be with Mike Davenport as he comes to exposit these verses Lord that your power and the fruit of your word would be manifested Lord we pray you'd sanctify us We thank You Lord and we eagerly anticipate the work You will do. Thank You Lord for Your goodness to us. Be merciful on us as a church Lord. We ask these things In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.

Well, today we begin our journey in 1 John together. And what a joy to think about today as we think about the resurrection of Christ. Our labor is not in vain in the Lord. It's not in vain. If Christ had not risen, we would of all men be the most pitiable, but He has risen.

And therefore, even the labor of preaching and hearing the Word of God is not in vain. I've entitled my message Christ the Source of our Fellowship and Joy. Christ the source of our fellowship and joy. Christ, the source of our fellowship and joy. And I had my brother Al read the first four verses even though we will be only covering the first two this morning.

But I wanted you to see the flow of this introduction in verses 1 through 4 to have a complete picture even as we look at verses 1 and 2 together. Now this is the first epistle of the apostle John. Children, do you know what an epistle is? What is an epistle? Well it's another word for a letter.

Now why would they choose to use the word epistle? Well, it actually comes from the Greek word which means to write. Epistello is the word there and that's where we get the word epistle something that's been written so that we are studying what we are studying here today and throughout the time period that we will spend could be called the first written letter of the Apostle John. And the designation of first is not given to indicate that it was the first letter that he had ever written we do not know. But simply that it appears as the first letter written by the Apostle John that is found in the canon of Scripture.

So as we begin this epistle it becomes apparent in the opening words that this is not a typical epistle. It does not open as most epistles do by declaring who the writer is and to whom he is writing. Neither does it end the way the other epistles end, most often with greetings to and from others. One has only to turn a couple pages to the second epistle and third epistle of John where in the second epistle he opens it up the elder to the elect lady and her children and then he ends with the children of your elect sister greet you amen And then in his third epistle it says, the elder to the beloved, Gaius, whom I love in truth, and ends with our friends, greet you, greet the friends by name. So it's not even a typical epistle.

Now there are many themes throughout this first epistle of John, but the thread with which he begins this letter, I would argue, is the main theme that runs through the entire letter and that is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He has come in the flesh. In these opening verses, John gives us the foundation upon which he brings all the arguments from his letter. The theme seems to emerge out of an urgency to deal head-on with two heresies that were prevalent in John's day, Gnosticism and Dost-ism. At the heart of both of these heresies is the denial that Christ the Son of God came in the fullness of humanity. These heresies emerged out of Greek thought of the dualistic nature of all things, that the difference between the spirit and the flesh is nothing less than the difference between evil and good.

So in this commentary on 1 John, Joel Beeke makes the following helpful observations that show us how this introduction ties in to the remainder of the epistle. This is what he says, both these heresies affected the way believers in John's day lived, but in surprisingly different ways. Some held that because the body is evil, it must be subdued with harsh rigor and be denied every kind of satisfaction or pleasure. Others turned to hedonism, the unbridled pursuit of pleasure. Gnosticism enabled them to draw a sharp line between their spiritual lives and the things done in the body.

The sins of the flesh forbidden to ordinary men became matters of indifference to those who had been enlightened. Sin was no longer sin, so why not indulge? In this epistle, John deals with the problems of Gnosticism and Dostatism by reassuring the gospel that he and the other apostles proclaimed, focusing on those points that refute the heresies that were creeping into the churches. John affirms that God came to earth, joining His glory to our frailty in the person of his son to save sinners. Having reasserted this truth, Beeke goes on, John goes on to explain the doctrinal, experiential, and ethical implications of that gospel so that those in the church could examine themselves and know whether or not what they believed and practiced was the real gospel.

He makes clear that sin ruptures our relationship with God and sentences us to everlasting ruin if grace doesn't intervene. True believers would be encouraged and strengthened by this teaching, while those who were tainted with Gnosticism, Docetism, or other heresies would be exposed and ashamed. So That is how we see a link between how John opens this epistle with the remainder of what he writes in this epistle. So verses 1 and 2, 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, 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.

So we will be looking at these two verses under the following three headings. First, the eternal Son of God from the beginning. The eternal Son of God from the beginning. Secondly, the incarnate Savior made manifest to all. The incarnate savior made manifest to all and thirdly Lord willing the word of life declared to us the word of life declared to us so first the eternal Son of God from the beginning.

And I just want to, from the outset, say these first two verses are very doctrinal in nature. It is the third and fourth verse that we really see the applications of these working out. So I ask you to bear with me and let's dig together to see what John is saying is so important for us in these opening verses. So I first want to deal with, I want to skip over a little bit of that which, those first opening words, and I want to focus first on from the beginning, that which was from the beginning and that he later says in verse 2, was with the Father. As we seek to understand these words, we must read them in the context in which they were written.

As we have already seen, John is writing to the church in order to keep heresy out of the church. He finds it necessary to start his letter by declaring the person and work of Jesus Christ. And in declaring His person, John deals with the two natures of Christ, the divine nature and the human nature. In Declaring Jesus as from the beginning, John is declaring the truth that Christ is eternal God. He is From the beginning.

His use of the word beginning is the beginning mentioned in Genesis 1.1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. This word beginning is the same beginning mentioned in John 1.1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

And This word beginning is the same beginning mentioned in Proverbs 8 22 and 23 where we read of Christ incarnate wisdom saying this the Lord possessed me at the beginning of his way before his works of old. I have been established from everlasting from the beginning before there was even an earth. Now in the context of these two verses please also note that John reiterates the same idea by stating in verse 2 that eternal life was with the Father, was with the Father long before being manifested. He was with the Father. John is being very deliberate in his attempt to Connect the divinity and the humanity of Christ the spirit of the living God and human flesh He begins his epistle in the same way that it begins his gospel seeking to establish the two natures of the God man The church was under attack on these very fields of theological battle.

It was under attack then, And it is still under attack to this day. The Baptist version of the Shorter Catechism deals with the union of divinity and humanity in Christ in the following way. Question 22. Who is the Redeemer of God's elect? The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God became man, and so was and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever.

This one of whom John speaks and who he declares is the eternal Son of God who was with the Father from eternity past. He did not become the Son at His incarnation, but He did take on flesh at an appointed time. He did become man. He who had always been became that which he had never been. Christ being fully God became fully man, and now continues as both God and man in their fullness.

And these two distinct natures reside in the one person, Jesus Christ, and will do so forever. Note also John's zeal to prove the fact of Christ's deity when he writes later in chapter 2 verses 22 and 23. He says, who is a liar? But he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. He is Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.

Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either. He who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Again, look at chapter 4 and verse 15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. Then in chapter 5, verses 1 and 5, Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves him who begot also loves him who is begotten of him.

Verse 5, who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Dear brothers and sisters, we dare not take the doctrine that has been handed down to us and Hold it tightly. We dare not take that doctrine handed down to us and hold it lightly We cannot hold it lightly the doctrine we hold has been Delivered to us it has been fought for It has been died for by the church in ages past. And shall we not seek to grasp it, to understand it, and to be changed by it? It is upon such foundation that the walls of the church must stand if stand they will.

John is not seeking to merely fill intellect or make his letter feel more apostolic with some doctrine used as filler. He's not trying to keep up with Paul. No. He sees this doctrine as extremely important. We live in a day, we live in a day sadly, when many churches shy away from biblical doctrine.

They say that it is dry, that it is unimportant, that it just divides and separates. It is necessary for us as a people to study right doctrine to be compelled by right doctrine and to embrace right doctrine We must Understand that biblical orthopraxy that is what we do can only flow out of biblical orthodoxy what we know When Paul was instructing Timothy Regarding the scriptures that they are God breathed He told them told him that they were profitable. What was the first thing he told them that they were profitable for? For doctrine. For doctrine.

And why is that doctrine important? Because it is what makes the man complete. It's part of the Scriptures. It equips the man for every good work. And so John begins this epistle by reaching back into all eternity to show that this one of whom he speaks was with the Father before the world began, that He was there in the beginning with God, that the worlds were made by Him and that nothing that has been made was made apart from his working.

The Word was with God and the Word was God, the eternal Son of God from the beginning. But secondly we see in this text the incarnate Savior made manifest to all. The incarnate Savior made manifest to all. Notice with me that John uses the words we and our. We and our.

John does not speak alone. He very easily and truthfully could have used the pronouns I and my. But John knows the law. John knows that there must be multiple witnesses in order for one's testimony to be established. And so this is the testimony of John and the other disciples or apostles with him.

Now Jesus had spoken to his disciples in the upper room in John 15-27 saying, And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. Now Jesus here looks to these men to be witnesses of all the things that they had heard and seen and experienced since they had walked with him from the beginning of his ministry. And Jesus last recorded words to these very men before his ascension are found in Acts 1 8 and he says to them, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth later in his epistle in 414 John reiterates the testimony of the apostles yet again in 1 John 414, and we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son and Savior of the world." The witness we receive from John and the other apostles is a witness from men who were with him from the earliest days of his ministry. These men had left their families. They had left their occupations.

They followed Jesus for three years, the entirety of His earthly ministry. Their witness is a first-hand witness. As John comes to the close of his gospel, he writes the following in John 21, 24. This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things and we know that His testimony is true Even the testimony of the Sanhedrin is recorded for us in Acts 4.13 and they, the Sanhedrin, realized that they, the apostles, had been with Jesus. The very ones who hated the Son of God knew that these men had been with Jesus and their testimony was true.

In fact, these men did not even deny the report of the unconverted guard that stood over the tomb when Christ was resurrected. They sought to lie even about the testimony of unconverted men. And there are obviously more witnesses than even these to the historicity of Jesus Christ. We read in 1 Corinthians 15, 6 of over 500 people at one time seeing Christ in his risen state. So John is not alone.

His testimony is established upon the multiplicity of witnesses, not bystanders, but men who were constantly with Jesus. We need not doubt the truthfulness of their witness. And this is what they said, 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." We see from John's and the other Apostles witness an ever-increasing burden of proof. From hearing to seeing to gazing upon to handling. As He provides proofs, He calls upon their ears, upon their eyes, and upon their hands as witnesses to this very thing.

This as I said before is not secondhand information that is being passed along. Linsky, the commentator, helpfully comments, the four statements are cumulative. The evidence is piled up mountain high. Each added verb says more than the one that recedes it. The four progress and they form a climax.

To see is more than to hear. To behold more than to see. To handle more than behold. Four direct contacts constitute these witnesses as true and competent witnesses. Any one of these contacts would be sufficient to make one a witness.

The four contacts are exhaustive. Ears, eyes, hands, all were employed. So these are men who have heard. They have heard. What did they hear?

They heard the call of Christ to them, come follow me. They heard the parables of Christ. They heard the preaching of Christ, the teaching of Christ. They heard the claims of Christ. I am.

I am the door. I am the good shepherd. The way, the truth, and the life. The bread of life. The resurrection and the life.

The true vine. The Christ, the Son of the living God. And John himself heard most if not all of the sayings of Christ from the cross. These men heard him speak to the waves and the wind. They heard him rebuke demons and they heard the call of Jesus to Lazarus, come forth.

These men heard. But they not only heard, they saw him with their own eyes. They saw his many miracles. They saw his tears that came down upon His cheeks. They saw Him in agony and prayer.

They saw Him walk on water. They saw the waves and the winds obey His voice. They saw with their own eyes the dead raised to life, the blind receiving sight, the lame walking and the deaf hearing and speaking. Jesus was transfigured right before their very eyes. John himself their very eyes.

John himself saw the blood which did flow from the wounds received on Calvary. They saw His very body after the resurrection, and they saw Him ascend up into the clouds. They saw Him. But there were times that required longer glances, an intense gaze. John tells us in his gospel in chapter 1 and 14, and The Word became flesh and dwelt or tabernacled among us.

And we beheld, beheld His glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The word beheld here is used to indicate viewing attentively or a deep contemplation. Beeke interjects the following thoughts regarding this contemplation of the gaze of John. He looked upon Jesus as the divine teacher, the physician of souls, the defender of the weak, the light of the world, the servant of servants at the Last Supper, the great sufferer and intercessor, the uplifted Savior, the conqueror of death, and the ascended King.

Simple eyes looking didn't see that. It was an intense gaze, a contemplation of all of these things that his eyes saw, the beholding of these things that led him to these very facts. Because of their deeper contemplation as well as the work of the Spirit upon them They saw him in a way that others who simply looked on didn't see him. But their senses did not stop with simply the seeing and hearing. He says that they handled him with their own hands.

Peter knew the touch of him that drew him out of the boisterous waves. John Did rest his head on the breast of Jesus as they reclined at dinner as was the custom of the day in like manner it was the hands of Jesus that took the disciples feet and washed them and dried them and such was the fellowship among Jesus and his disciples that Jesus could freely say to Thomas reach your fingers here and look at my hands and reach your hands here and put into my side do not be unbelieving but believing. And add to this incomplete list the remainder of the things set forth in the gospel that I have not mentioned concerning what they heard, what they saw, what they gazed upon, and what they handled. And when you have comprised a list of all of the things set forth in the witnesses of the gospel, then consider what John tells us in two places at the end of his gospel, John 20-30 and 21-25. And truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book.

And there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. That's the testimony of multiple witnesses who heard, who saw, who gazed upon, and who handled concerning the Word of Life. Well, he says here that this life was manifested and we have seen and bear witness that life which was manifested to us. The idea of this word manifested in the Greek is to make visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, whether by words or deeds or in any other way. So even the word manifest to show what had not been shown, to make visible what had not been visible.

And so even in this word manifest we see that the Word of Life has always been. Jesus had no beginning. His coming to earth was simply the manifestation of that which had been previously hidden and unknown. The Apostle Paul refers to this manifestation as a revelation of a mystery. The revelation of a mystery.

In the close of his epistle to the Romans In chapter 16 verses 25 through 27, this is what Paul says, Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began, but now made manifest, and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all nations according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith, to God alone wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen." Paul said it was the revelation of the mystery. A mystery kept silent and secret since the world began, but now, now made manifest. This was the manifestation that John was speaking of, a revelation of the mystery. I again quote the shorter catechism.

Quote the shorter catechism. Question number 23. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man? Answer. Christ, the Son of God, it's recognizing this eternal state, Christ the Son of God, became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her, Yet without sin.

It was the hand of Almighty God that made visible and known that which had been hidden and unknown, even His glory through the incarnation of His Son, who is the express image of the invisible God. It pleased God to reveal Himself, to reveal His attributes, to reveal His plans, To reveal His will through the sending of His Son. Do you remember the prayer of Simeon when he took that small baby into his arms? Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word for my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared before the face of all people." Simeon knew that people. Simeon knew that his eyes were beholding the salvation of his God, the Messiah who was to bear the sins of his people.

Peter in the first chapter of this second epistle says and I think I have a wrong text here I'm not sure my text but but Peter does mention this. He steps forward and declares himself an eyewitness of this word of life. His testimony gives evidence of a manifestation that goes beyond what he heard, saw, and handled. He declared himself an eyewitness of the very majesty of Jesus Christ at his transfiguration, a declaration that only John and James could join him in. He says the following, for we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eyewitnesses of His majesty." It's 2nd Peter 1, 16-18.

For he received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and we heard this voice Which came from heaven when we were with him on? The holy mountain We did not follow cunningly devised fables we were eyewitnesses of his majesty it was it was not the stuff of once upon a time they were describing the things that God was manifesting to them in a progressive sense These were things that they witnessed that often they did not understand at the time of witnessing them. Many things already witnessed became manifest to them after Jesus was gone. Often we read of the slowness of these men to see what Christ was manifesting to them even through their ears, their eyes, and their hands.

We are told multiple times throughout the Gospels, then they remembered. Even as John wrote concerning those who deny the divinity of Christ as we saw earlier in chapter 22 or chapter 2 verses 22 and 23. He also wrote concerning those who would deny the humanity of Christ. Look at 1 John 4 1-3. Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world." You see here that John claims that He was already at war. It's already in the world Those who are not only ready to deny the divinity of Christ, but the very humanity of Jesus Christ But brothers and sisters John tells us Christ was manifested He was manifested and why Why was Jesus Christ made manifest? John reveals the very heart and soul of this manifestation.

Chapter 3 and verse 5, and you know, and you know that he was manifested to take away our sins And in Him there is no sin. You see, even in this very verse, He's declaring to us the divinity and the humanity of Jesus Christ so beautifully, He in whom no sin could be found. Why? Because He was divine. But he was manifested in order to take away our sins in the flesh by bearing these sins in his body on the tree.

So even in this manifestation he is declaring the divinity and the humanity of Jesus Christ. Praise God that it pleased him to manifest himself to us through his Son, even to us who were his enemies, to declare his majesty and glory, to reveal the Word of Life, to take away our sins. And that brings us thirdly and lastly to the Word of Life declared to us. The Word of Life declared to us. And we return to the opening words of the epistle, that which.

Having seen him who was from the beginning, who was made manifest, Let's return to those opening two words, that which. Were we to have been given a pen and paper, and I asked my children this yesterday, If we were to have been given a pen and paper to convey these same thoughts apart from the leading of the Spirit, we most likely would have written something like this. He, He who was from the beginning, whom we have heard, whom we have seen with our eyes, whom we have looked upon and our hands have handled the word of life. It would seem to us more appropriate to use the second person singular pronoun when referring to Christ. But John, under the inspiration of the Spirit, has more in mind.

Listen to the following explanation by the commentator Linsky. The neuter conveys more than the masculine would. Namely, in addition to the person, all that this person was and is and ever will be for us throughout these neuter relative clauses and he says clauses because he says that which which which which Throughout these neuter relative clauses speak of the person plus the grace, plus the power, plus the salvation, etc., that are conveyed to us by His person. Jesus Christ cannot be separated from what He was and is for us. Both belong to us, or belong together like the Sun and its glorious light.

I love the way he puts that. Like the Sun and its glorious light they belong to us. Jesus, His person, Jesus, His person, His work, His glory, His power, His salvation. You see, the way John introduces Christ flies in the face of Gnosticism and Docetism. John delivers one blow against these heresies by bringing together the divinity and the humanity of Christ.