1 John 1:4
We write these things so that our joy may be complete.
We write these things
The phrase "We write these things" indicates the apostolic authority and communal nature of the message. The "we" suggests a collective witness, likely referring to John and other early church leaders. This communal aspect underscores the authenticity and shared experience of the apostles, who were eyewitnesses to Jesus Christ's life and ministry. The act of writing serves as a means of preserving and disseminating the truth of the Gospel, ensuring that the message remains unaltered and accessible to future generations. Historically, the written word was a powerful tool for teaching and maintaining doctrinal purity within the early church.

so that
This phrase introduces the purpose or result of the writing. It is a conjunction that connects the action of writing with the intended outcome. In the Greek, "hina" is often used to denote purpose, indicating that the subsequent statement is the reason for the preceding action. This highlights the intentionality behind the apostolic writings, emphasizing that they are not merely historical records but are crafted with a specific spiritual goal in mind.

our joy
The term "our joy" reflects a shared, communal joy that encompasses both the writer and the recipients of the letter. In the Greek, "chara" denotes a deep, abiding sense of gladness and delight that transcends circumstances. This joy is rooted in the fellowship with God and with one another, as described earlier in the epistle. It is a joy that is both personal and collective, reflecting the unity and love that characterize the Christian community. Theologically, joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and is often associated with the presence and work of God in the believer's life.

may be complete
The phrase "may be complete" suggests a process of fulfillment or perfection. The Greek word "pleroo" conveys the idea of being filled to the brim, reaching a state of fullness or completion. This implies that the joy of the believers is not static but is meant to grow and reach its full potential. The completion of joy is linked to the reception and application of the truths being communicated in the letter. In a broader scriptural context, this completion is part of the sanctification process, where believers are continually being conformed to the image of Christ, resulting in a deeper, more profound joy.

Persons / Places / Events
1. John the Apostle
Traditionally believed to be the author of 1 John, John was one of Jesus' closest disciples and a key figure in the early church. His writings emphasize love, truth, and fellowship with God.

2. Early Christian Community
The recipients of John's letter were likely early Christians facing challenges such as false teachings and the need for assurance in their faith.

3. False Teachers
During the time of John's writing, false teachers were spreading heretical views, particularly Gnosticism, which denied the incarnation of Christ.
Teaching Points
The Source of Joy
True joy is found in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is not dependent on external circumstances but on the internal reality of knowing and abiding in Him.

The Role of Fellowship
Joy is made complete in the context of Christian fellowship. Sharing in the truth and love of Christ with others enhances our joy.

The Importance of Truth
Holding to the truth of the Gospel is essential for complete joy. False teachings can disrupt our fellowship and diminish our joy.

The Purpose of Writing
John's purpose in writing is to ensure that believers experience the fullness of joy. This underscores the importance of Scripture in guiding and sustaining our spiritual lives.

Joy as a Witness
A joyful Christian life serves as a powerful testimony to the world. Our joy in Christ can draw others to seek the source of that joy.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of joy in 1 John 1:4 relate to your personal relationship with God? What steps can you take to deepen this joy?

2. In what ways can Christian fellowship contribute to the completeness of your joy? Reflect on a time when fellowship with other believers enhanced your joy.

3. How can you guard against false teachings that might disrupt your joy and fellowship with God? Consider the role of Scripture in this process.

4. Reflect on a time when you experienced joy despite difficult circumstances. How did your faith in Christ sustain you during that time?

5. How can your joy in Christ serve as a witness to others? Identify practical ways you can share this joy with those around you.
Connections to Other Scriptures
John 15:11
Jesus speaks about His joy being in believers and their joy being complete, highlighting the connection between abiding in Christ and experiencing fullness of joy.

Philippians 2:2
Paul encourages believers to be of the same mind, having the same love, and being in full accord, which contributes to complete joy in the community of faith.

Psalm 16:11
This verse speaks of the fullness of joy in God's presence, aligning with the theme of joy found in fellowship with God and His people.
Fulness of JoyJames Morgan, D. D.1 John 1:4
Happiness Helpful to HolinessJ. B. Figgis, M. A.1 John 1:4
Joy GiversT. C. Cuyler.1 John 1:4
Joy in BelievingHomilist1 John 1:4
Knowledge of Christ the Foundation of JoyC. Bradley.1 John 1:4
Open the Heart to JoyT. C. Cuyler.1 John 1:4
Our HappinessJ. B. Figgis, M. A.1 John 1:4
Religion a JoyJames Stalker, D. D.1 John 1:4
The Full Joy of Christian FellowshipN. Hardy, D. D.1 John 1:4
The Joy of the Lord, and its FulnessR. S. Candlish, D. D.1 John 1:4
The Joyfulness of a Christian LifeR. S. Storrs, D. D.1 John 1:4
Appropiating FaithAnon.1 John 1:1-4
Christ the Revealer of GodS. E. Pierce.1 John 1:1-4
Contemplative FaithA. R. Fausset, M. A.1 John 1:1-4
Fellowship with the FatherJ. M. Gibbon.1 John 1:1-4
IntroductionR. Finlayson 1 John 1:1-4
John's Testimony to ChristT. M. Herbert, M. A.1 John 1:1-4
Obedient Hearing1 John 1:1-4
The Apostle's Aim and MethodW. Jones 1 John 1:1-4
The Apostles' DoctrineC. Stanford, D. D.1 John 1:1-4
The Divine and Human in Christ1 John 1:1-4
The Incarnation of Christ, Before and AfterNewman Smyth, D. D.1 John 1:1-4
The Mystery of the Holy IncarnationMorgan Dix, D. D.1 John 1:1-4
The Perfect SaviourD. C. Hughes, M. A.1 John 1:1-4
The Preface to the First Epistle of JohnGeorge G. Findlay, B. A.1 John 1:1-4
The Realisation of FaithDean Goulburn.1 John 1:1-4
Witnesses of the Word of LifeN. Hardy, D. D.1 John 1:1-4
People
John
Places
Ephesus
Topics
Complete, Fulfilled, Full, Joy, Order, Writing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 John 1:4

     8283   joy
     8322   perfection, human

1 John 1:1-4

     2427   gospel, transmission

Library
Walking in the Light
'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.'--1 John i. 7. John was the Apostle of love, but he was also a 'son of thunder.' His intense moral earnestness and his very love made him hate evil, and sternly condemn it; and his words flash and roll as no other words in Scripture, except the words of the Lord of love. In the immediate context he has been laying down what is to him the very heart
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Message and Its Practical Results
'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. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7. 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. 8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, He is
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

June the Twenty-Seventh God is Light!
"In Him is no darkness at all." --1 JOHN i. That wonderful mansion of God's Being is gloriously radiant in every room! In the house of my life there are dark chambers, and rooms which are only partially illumined, the other parts being in the possession of night. Some of my faculties and powers are dark ministers, and some of my moods are far from being "homes of light." But "God is light," and everything is glorious as the meridian sun! His holiness, His grace, His love, His mercy: there are
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

On Working Out Our Own Salvation
"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:12-13. 1. Some great truths, as the being and attributes of God, and the difference between moral good and evil, were known, in some measure, to the heathen world. The traces of them are to be found in all nations; So that, in some sense, it may be said to every child of man, "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; even to do justly, to love mercy, and to
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Good Man Useful in Life and Happy in Death.
"Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: For the end of that man is peace." * * Preached at the funeral of Asa Witter, Esq. Oct. 9th, 1792. The subject of this psalm is the way and end of the righteous and the wicked. It is designed to calm the minds of good people when tried with adversity, and to reconcile them to the divine administration in the unequal distributions of Providence, and the apparent disregard of character, in those distributions. With these views, the writer, after glancing
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

Fellowship with God
And now, my brethren and sisters in the common faith of our Lord Jesus, this morning I trust that many of us can say, "Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." Did the apostle John need to say, "Truly"--as much as though some doubted or denied it? We, too, have sometimes an occasion to make as solemn an affirmation as he has done. There are certain sectaries who exalt the form of their church government into a sine qua non of piety, and they say of us that it is impossible
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861

The Life of God
1 JOHN i. 2. 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! What do we mean, when we speak of the Life everlasting? Do we mean that men's souls are immortal, and will live for ever after death, either in happiness or misery? We must mean more than that. At least we ought to mean more than that, if we be Christian men. For the Bible tells us, that Christ brought life and immortality to
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Acts 17:26 "One Blood. "
[6] THIS is a very short and simple text, and even a child knows the meaning of its words. But simple as it is, it supplies food for much thought, and it forms part of a speech delivered by a great man on a great occasion. The speaker is the Apostle of the Gentiles, St. Paul. The hearers are the cultivated men of Athens, and specially the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The place is Mars' Hill at Athens, in full view of religious buildings and statues, of which even the shattered remains are a
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

"For what the Law could not Do, in that it was Weak through the Flesh, God Sending his Own Son in the Likeness of Sinful Flesh,
Rom. viii. 3.--"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh." The greatest design that ever God had in the world, is certainly the sending of his own Son into the world. And it must needs be some great business, that drew so excellent and glorious a person out of heaven. The plot and contrivance of the world was a profound piece of wisdom and goodness, the making of men after
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Union and Communion with God the End and Design of the Gospel
Psalm lxxiii. 24-28.--"Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, &c. Whom have I in heaven but thee? &c. It is good for me to draw near to God."--1 John i. 3. "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."--John xvii. 21-23. "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, &c." It is a matter of great consolation that God's
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all These Things Shall be Added unto You. "
Matth. vi. 33.--"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The perfection even of the most upright creature, speaks always some imperfection in comparison of God, who is most perfect. The heavens, the sun and moon, in respect of lower things here, how glorious do they appear, and without spot! But behold, they are not clean in God's sight! How far are the angels above us who dwell in clay! They appear to be a pure mass of light and
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Light.
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.--1 John i. 5. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light; because their deeds were evil.--John iii. 19. We call the story of Jesus, told so differently, yet to my mind so consistently, by four narrators, the gospel. What makes this tale the good news? Is everything in the story of Christ's life on earth
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

Synopsis. --Biblical Miracles the Effluence of Extraordinary Lives.
V SYNOPSIS.--Biblical miracles the effluence of extraordinary lives.--Life the world's magician and miracle worker; its miracles now termed prodigies.--Miracle the natural product of an extraordinary endowment of life.--Life the ultimate reality.--What any man can achieve is conditioned by the psychical quality of his life.--Nothing more natural, more supernatural, than life.--The derived life of the world filial to the self-existent life of God, "begotten, not made."--Miracle, as the product of
James Morris Whiton—Miracles and Supernatural Religion

The Next Petition Is, Forgive us Our Debts. ...
The next petition is, FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS. In this and the following petition our Saviour has briefly comprehended whatever is conducive to the heavenly life, as these two members contain the spiritual covenant which God made for the salvation of his Church, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts." "I will pardon all their iniquities" (Jer. 31:33; 33:8). Here our Saviour begins with the forgiveness of sins, and then adds the subsequent blessing, viz., that God would
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith

Divine Fellowship
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.'. (1 John i. 3.) My mind and heart have been dwelling upon that sweet word 'fellowship'. We all know what it means in ordinary social intercourse--it means acquaintance, friendship, communion of spirit, interchange of thought and feeling. But I want you to see that all this marks the fellowship prevailing between the Lord
T. H. Howard—Standards of Life and Service

The Way of Fellowship
When man fell and chose to make himself, rather than God, the centre of his life, the effect was not only to put man out of fellowship with God, but also out of fellowship with his fellow man. The story of man's first quarrel with God in the third chapter of Genesis is closely followed, in the fourth chapter, by the story of man's first quarrel with his fellow, Cain's murder of Abel. The Fall is simply, "we have turned every one to his own way."[footnote1: Is. 53: 6] If I want my own way rather than
Roy Hession and Revel Hession—The Calvary Road

Sanctification.
In the last chapter we showed that the doctrine of justification deals with the sinner's change of relation, or change of state. We also learned that faith is the instrumental or applying cause of justification. In another place we showed that true faith presupposes penitence, and this again presupposes a sense and knowledge of sin. Again we showed that penitence and faith are the two essential elements of conversion; that where these elements are found there is a change of heart, and the beginning
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

The Apostolate.
"That ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."--1 John i. 3. The apostolate bears the character of an extraordinary manifestation, not seen before or after it, in which we discover a proper work of the Holy Spirit. The apostles were ambassadors extraordinary -- different from the prophets, different from the present ministers of the Word. In the history of the Church and the world they occupy a unique position and have a peculiar
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Character of the New Testament Scripture.
"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full."--1 John i. 4. From the two preceding articles it is evident that the New Testament Scripture was not intended to bear the character of a notarial document. If this had been the Lord's intention we should have received something entirely different. It would have required a twofold legal evidence: In the first place, the proof that the events narrated in the New Testament actually occurred as related. Secondly, that the revelations received
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Communion of Goods.
"If we walk in the light, we have fellowship one with another."-- 1 John i. 7. The communion of saints is in the Light. In heaven alone, in the halls of the eternal Light, it shall shine with undimmed brightness. Even on earth its delights are known only inasmuch as the saints walk in the light. This communion of saints is a holy confederacy; a bond of shareholders in the same holy enterprise; a partnership of all God's children; an essential union for the enjoyment of a common good; a firm not of
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The External History of the Pelagian Controversy.
Pelagius seems to have been already somewhat softened by increasing age when he came to Rome about the opening of the fifth century. He was also constitutionally averse to controversy; and although in his zeal for Christian morals, and in his conviction that no man would attempt to do what he was not persuaded he had natural power to perform, he diligently propagated his doctrines privately, he was careful to rouse no opposition, and was content to make what progress he could quietly and without
St. Augustine—Anti-Pelagian Writings

By the Same Author.
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. COLOSSIAN STUDIES. EPHESIAN STUDIES. TO MY YOUNGER BRETHREN ON PASTORAL LIFE AND WORK. OUTLINES OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. (In the Theological Educator Series.) VENI CREATOR: THOUGHTS ON THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE. Third Edition. LIFE IN CHRIST AND FOR CHRIST. "NEED AND FULNESS." "PATIENCE AND COMFORT." THOUGHTS ON CHRISTIAN SANCTITY. THOUGHTS ON UNION WITH CHRIST. THOUGHTS ON THE SPIRITUAL LIFE. SECRET PRAYER. "AT THE HOLY COMMUNION." Thoughts for Preparation and Communion.
Handley C. G. Moule—Philippian Studies

Reception Christ Met With.
JOHN i. 1-18. In describing the Word of God, John mentions two attributes of His by which His relation to men becomes apparent: "All things were made by Him," and "the life was the light of men." By whom were all things made? what is the originating force which has produced the world? how are we to account for the existence, the harmony, and the progress of the universe?--these are questions which must always be put. Everywhere in nature force and intelligence appear; the supply of life and power
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I

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