“fellowship with the Father and with His Son”
Download discussion questions: 1 John 1:1-10 Observations
1 John 1:1-10 Outline
1 John 1:1-10 Outline & Notes
Jump to beginning of 1 John Discussion Group Blog
Jump to Introduction to 1,2,3 John
This week’s handouts took several different forms (as described below). First John is the outcome of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the human mind of John the teacher and writer. How did that divine/human combination structure the truth that was to be communicated? How might the organization of John’s inspired words help us understand that truth?
Text, Observation, Outline
Our usual inductive approach of Observation, Interpretation, Application naturally starts with looking through the text. What are connections, repeated words and ideas, related topics, and other clues about the passage? Using the handout for marking those observations is usually a helpful exercise to discover subtle details of a passage.
Some passages, like 1 John 1, almost seem to contain too much detail, too many connections, ideas repeated multiple times in different forms. The resulting labyrinth of lines can be less helpful than hoped for.
(See the 1 John 1:1-10 handout for a more detailed view.)
At the same time, a key to observation is diligence, like a detective looking for clues. No good detective (or Bible student) should ignore a clue (or an observation) because it doesn’t seem important at the time. Any good Agatha Christie fan knows how the most insignificant evidence can be the key to a solution. The same is true in good inductive Bible study. So making many observations almost always pays off, and there is another way.
As an alternative, observations can be marked using colored pens or, even easier, in a word processor. These may be more helpful in seeing the structure of the passage.
(See the 1 John 1:1-10 Observation handout for a more detailed view.)
Someone in our group commented that the highlighted portions “draw your eye” into the text and make the observation stand out. Note that the highlighted areas above are not exhaustive. Look for the numerous additional observations that can still be marked – light, darkness; Father, Son; walk, practice; sin, unrighteousness; cleanse, forgive; and so on. The goal is to see how those observations and the marks that “draw us in” to the passage can help us see the structure of John’s message.
Structure
Writers tend to agree that John opens this letter with attention-getting style and structure.
First John opens with a calculated flourish that bristles with words, concepts, and doctrinal allusions. Most if not all of these will gradually emerge as central themes of the letter.[1]
The first four verses of 1 John immediately give the readers a sense of John’s intensity and passion about what he is writing. Those verses
“… constitute an impressive introduction to the work, and are constructed with dramatic sensitivity … the interest in the passage is constantly thrown forward… the suspense is built up and intensified in the movement toward this climax by a series of similar, short (and sometimes repeated) phrases….”[2]
Some commentators have noted that John’s letter has a pace and a rhythm for the listening, the “aural design of a text intended to be read aloud.”[3]
John recognizes that some of his earlier writing (in Revelation and the gospel he wrote) had been misunderstood or even intentionally misused. We learn later (2:19) that the community was divided over doctrine to the point that some had already left.
It is written to a believing community that is dealing with fallout from the departure (2:19) of persons with beliefs and practices the author cannot endorse. But for now, the opening verses angle toward addressing a bedrock truth that for John rules out the legitimacy of these persons and their ways: the character of God (1:5).[4]
John makes that “bedrock truth” as simple as possible and as easy to understand as the contrast between light and darkness (v. 5). He exposes and corrects errors by “repetition and emphasis of themes and topics.”[5] He wants his readers to have a clear understanding of the true message of “the word of life” (1 John 1:1).
The careful observations marked with the colored highlights can offer guidance to the structure that was in John’s Spirit-guided writing. The resulting outline-style organization suggests the flow of John’s thinking.
(See the 1 John 1:1-10 Outline handout for a more detailed view.)
Sometimes constructing an outline can be a helpful aid toward interpretation. Just remember that our outlines are not inspired, God’s text is. Any time the outline seems to get in the way of understanding or interpreting the text, adjust the outline. Don’t force the text to make a more orderly outline!
A member of our discussion commented on the organization of the outline, “It helps to see the points better. It draws attention.”
Interpreting from Observations
John clearly expresses several parallel ideas, each starting with “[That] which…” followed by a personal sensory experience: heard, seen, looked upon, touched (v. 1). Someone commented that each “which” seems to point to a distinct experience John had. The repetition underscores John’s stress on the physical reality he experienced (along with others, expressed by “we” – more on this later).
One person noted that those personal, physical encounters are “unimpeachable” evidence for John’s credibility. Another member pointed back to a recent discussion on 2 Peter. There another apostle points to his experience of the Transfiguration as the endorsement of his message (2 Peter 1:16-17).
John’s Purpose
The observations, highlighted in the outline, reveal two explicit statements of John’s purpose in writing.
That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you so that you too may have fellowship with us … (v. 3, emphasis added)
And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (v. 4, emphasis added).
As one person pointed out in another recent discussion, we will do well to keep the author’s expressed purpose in mind as we continue working our way through 1 John. How can our mutual fellowship and our shared joy be heightened? How does John’s message (see below) and the implications he draws from that message contribute to our fellowship and to our joy?
John’s Message
John’s concentration of real, sensory descriptions begins his message, and he picks up that same emphasis several times (“seen” in v. 2, “seen and heard” in v. 3, “heard” in v. 5). He establishes the groundwork, then he repeatedly reaches back to that foundation to summarize his point in verse 5.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
It is a reasonable assumption that John’s summary statement of his message will be a part of the entire letter. That core message should be a part of our interpretation process throughout 1 John.
Joy and Fellowship
Next, we turned to the connections between John’s two themes. How does fellowship contribute to joy? Is joy dependent on fellowship? Is fellowship essential for joy to be “complete” (v. 4)?
One of the first comments pointed to trust as the link between joy and fellowship. People in genuine fellowship trust one another. They can believe each other, count on each other. Creatures made in the image of the relational Triune God are designed for joy in fellowship with others.
Trinitarian Fellowship
John expresses this reality in his description of believers’ divine fellowship as a purpose of his message.
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 1:3, emphasis added)
His wording is as significant as it is subtle. Note that he does not say “with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.” He chooses not to combine Father and Son together as the general object of generic fellowship. Instead, he points to distinct fellowship with (μετὰ, meta, “in company with”[6] or “together with, in the company of”[7]) each Person. Just as our fellowship with other believers involves both individual and corporate relationships, so also is our fellowship with the Three-Personal God.[8] (For more discussion on individual and corporate human/divine fellowship, see John Owen’s Communion with God[9] and Bruce Ware’s Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. [10])
Complete Joy
Another question came from our observation of the text. What does John mean by “complete” joy in verse 4?
And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
A few English translations[11] use “full” (KJV) or “fully share” (NLT) for John’s word πληρόω (plēroō). Interestingly, while the large majority of translations do use “complete,” the first meaning of the word in several dictionaries and other reference sources is “to make full”[12] or “to fulfill”[13] or even “fill to the full.”[14] Of the eighty-six times the word is used in the New Testament it is translated “complete” in thirteen passages but “full” fifty-seven times. For example, in John 12:3 when Mary broke the ointment over Jesus’ feet, “the house was filled with the fragrance.” Perhaps “full” is a helpful (and legitimate) translation in this passage as well.
The concept of “complete” or “full” joy is used by John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul as well as the apostle John. Each of the following passages use plēroō to describe the quality or extent of joy.
-
- The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. (John 3:29)
- These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11; cf. John 16:24, 17:13)
- May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13; cf. 2 Timothy 1:4)
The sensory image from John 12:3 of the fragrance filling the house can be applied to the joy that the New Testament repeatedly describes. The descriptions suggest a joy that pervades every part of life, “filled to the full” with an experience as pleasing as perfume permeating the whole house.
Relational Joy
As a person in our group pointed out, John definitely connects fellowship with fullness of joy. That insight corresponds to C. S. Lewis’s insight into praise, the expression or sharing of delight with others.
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.[15]
Like “delight,” joy is most fully experienced when it is expressed and shared with others. Our group noted that conveying joy to someone increases our joy for at least two reasons. First, our love for the other person wants them to experience what we are delighting in. Second, that expanded enjoyment magnifies the source of our joy. Ultimately, that source is God Himself, but other “channels” of joy – art, nature, literature, sports, etc. – also draw other’s appreciation when we impart or receive joy. That joy in relational contexts might be watching another person enjoying music that we enjoy. Fellowship among believers often provides the joy of seeing God at work in another’s life.
We also discussed the discouragement when shared joy is not grasped, when our excitement about God (or art, nature, literature, sports, music) is met with indifference or even antagonism.
It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch….[16]
That kind of reaction can be heart-breaking and even lead to self-doubt, “Am I getting this wrong?” At the same time, we have to remember the earlier comment that authentic joy is supernatural. It is not something we can generate either in ourselves or in others. Like any supernatural spiritual work, joy can only be perceived by direct experience no matter how well we describe it,
…as the sweet taste of honey is [different] from the ideas men have of honey by only looking on it and feeling of it.[17]
Another question concerned our reaction when someone shares an experience of joy that we find, frankly, uninteresting. Do we honestly tell the person? Do we pretend to be interested? While there is no simple answer, one suggestion was helpful. If we genuinely care for the person, we can be curious. We can ask them to explain more about why they have delight in the experience. The act of explaining their delight, as Lewis described above, will add to that delight. And it is also possible (maybe even probable) that increased understanding may enable us to see that joy for ourselves.
Someone else pointed out an exciting implication of joy and fellowship. In paradise we will be part of countless saints all augmenting and amplifying one another’s joy in magnifying God. Another perception was our tendency to spend more time on our struggles and difficulties than on the joy we are experiencing. We certainly need to bear one another’s burdens as we share struggles. At times describing joys can feel as if we are boasting. But John’s letter makes it clear that sharing our experiences of God’s work and His character contributes to the joy of others. Intentionally sharing the joys that God brings into our life can expand a group’s vision of who God is.
John used his experiences with the incarnate Lord as the basis for drawing others into a mutual fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. The intention was to complete the shared joy, to make that joy as real and as delightful as a fragrant perfume spreading throughout all of life. Keeping John’s objective in mind through our study of his letter should increase our ability likewise to share in each other’s joy.
[1] Robert W. Yarbrough, 1-3 John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008), 29.
[2] Stephen S. Smalley, 1,2,3 John, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, 1984), 4.
[3] Brickle, quoted in Karen H. Jobes, 1, 2, and 3 John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2014), 38.
[4] Robert W. Yarbrough, 1-3 John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008), 29; emphasis added.
[5] Watson, quoted in Karen H. Jobes, 1, 2, and 3 John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2014), 38.
[6] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 636.
[7] Murray J. Harris, Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011). 163.
[8] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis Signature Classics (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2021) Kindle Edition location 2025, page 160.
[9] John Owen, Communion with God; Abridged and made easy to read (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1991).
[10] Bruce Ware, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, & Relevance (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2005).
[11] https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20John%201%3A4
[12] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 828.
[13] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/pleroo
[14] James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976), 520.
[15] C. S. Lewis, “A Word About Praising” in Reflections on the Psalms (London: Collins Fontana Books, 1969), 81.
[16] C. S. Lewis, “A Word About Praising” in Reflections on the Psalms (London: Collins Fontana Books, 1969), 81.
[17] Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Banner of Truth Trust, 2001), 133.