1 John 1:1. 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, of the Word of life;
You know who that is, who it is that John had heard, and seen, and looked upon, and handled, even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
1 John 1:2-3. (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us), that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
The Father delights in his risen Son, no more to suffer and to die, having accomplished all his work; and I am sure that we have fellowship with the Father in that rejoicing. Then think what is the joy of Christ, who has passed through the shades of death, and risen from all the gloom of the sepulcher no more to die. I trust, dear brethren and sisters in Christ, that we have fellowship with him, for we also have risen with him unto newness of life.
1 John 1:4. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
«There,» the apostle seems to say, «if you have doubts, they will kill your joy. Doubt is a great joy-killer; but we have seen him, we have heard him, we have handled him who is the fountain of all true joy. Let no doubts come into your hearts, for these are well-attested facts of which we speak.
We live still,» saith John,-though, perhaps, when he wrote, he may have been the last survivor of the eleven,-«we live still, by our testimony concerning Christ, to confirm your faith, that your joy may be full.»
1 John 1:5-7. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. if use say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
That is, if we walk in the brightest light we can ever know, and if our fellowship with God is the highest that can be enjoyed this side heaven, we shall still need the cleansing blood of Jesus; and, blessed be God, we shall still have it, and we shall still find that it «cleanseth us from all sin.»
1 John 1:8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
We are walking in darkness when we thus talk of light. It is easy for a blind man to talk of light though he cannot see it; and there are some who boast of very superior light who, nevertheless, are so much in the dark that they cannot even see their own sin.
1 John 1:9-10. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The Lord bless to us the reading of his Word! Amen.
This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 33:1. and 1 John 1:1.