The Foundation For Fellowship: Jesus, The Word Of Life Series

- So when a life threatening disease strikes us or someone we love, and we fall to our knees and call on Jesus' name, asking for his healing touch even though the doctors say recovery is a long shot, we know we are praying to the Son of God, who banished disease from Palestine during his earthly ministry. That gives us hope when the world sees no reason for hope.

- Or when healing doesn't come and death is seemingly victorious, we know we serve the Son of God, who gives us eternal life because he stepped out of his grave and conquered death once and for all. And that hope, that victory translates into every area of our lives. Whenever trouble comes, we know Christ is our refuge; and Christ is no mere man, he is the risen Son of the living God.

- Well, the other important truth contained here, as in the Johannine gospel, is the true humanity of Jesus. So secondly, we need to notice that:

[OUR JOY IS COMPLETE WHEN WE UNDERSTAND JESUS' HUMANITY]

- John says that what was from the beginning has now been heard, seen with their own eyes, looked upon and touched with their own hands. Here again John is combating a heresy that was prevalent in the early church – the idea that Jesus only appeared to be human. I've mentioned it before, it's called Docetism, and it was based upon the Gnostic idea that matter is evil. Since matter is evil and Jesus is good, it is obvious that Jesus could not have really had a physical body.

- But John says “No. I heard his voice. I watched him walk, talk, eat, and drink. I saw him when he was on the cross, bleeding and suffocating and crying out in pain. I touched his wounds when he appeared to us after his resurrection. Don't tell me Jesus wasn't a real human.”

- So what does his humanity mean for us today? How does this truth contribute to our own joy? Most of us know the familiar words of Hebrews 4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

- If Christ's deity means he is “God enough” to handle our problems, our worries, our cares, our sin; then his humanity means he is “man enough” to understand our problems, our worries, our cares, and our sin – all while maintaining holy perfection.

- So when that same life threatening illness hits, we know we worship and serve a God who not only has the ability to heal, and grant eternal life whether or not he chooses to heal, but also a God who understands what we are going through while we are going through it.

- But there's another nuance here as well, and that is Christ's historical reality. In other words, what John writes tells us that Jesus really existed. His story is not a finely crafted religious fable. We have the testimony of the men who lived with him and watched him do all that he did. Jesus is as real as the chair you're sitting in. (And aren't you glad the chair you're sitting in is real?)

- So like the readers of this letter, our joy is complete when we know the real Jesus – the one who is both God and man. Now what does knowing the real Jesus do for us? Notice thirdly that: