1 John 1:4 These things we write,
so that our joy may be made complete.
INTRODUCTION
How can we as God’s people enjoy getting ourselves centered around the Written Word, the Bible and the
Living WORD Jesus Christ. When I read 1 John 1:4, its words leap off the page and
into my heart: “These things we write, so that our joy may be made
complete.” These words communicate the main thought of: "Joyful
Word-Centered Christianity."
A Little bit about the
Apostle John – the man who lived the joyful word-centered life
Now mind you when the Apostle John wrote these words, he was
writing some sixty years after Jesus Christ had ascended into heaven. John by
this point in his life was in his early to mid-nineties. He was under the ever-watchful gaze of the
Roman Empire, was providing pastoral oversight to seven churches in Asia Minor,
and would face within a short span of time exile to the Isle of Patmos, where
he, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would compose the Book of
Revelation. Within a span of less than
five years John wrote the Gospel of John, this letter of 1 John, two other
shorter letters (2 and 3 John) and the final book of the Bible – the Apocalypse
or more commonly known simply as “The Revelation”.
There was no doubt about it, the Apostle John was a man of the
Word and THE WORD. John was known as
“the beloved disciple”. (John 13:23; 21:7,20).
His nickname “The beloved disciple” stemmed from the joyful love that He
had for the Living Word and the written Word.
In 10 places in his Gospel and all three of his little letters, John
refers to “Joy” or “enjoyment” in contexts where either Christ, the Living Word
is the subject or speaker, or where the written Word is being shared.
It has been commented that the Apostle John
is known as “The Apostle of Love”, since the theme of love is mentioned almost
40 times in his Gospel, almost 40 times in 1 John and 10 more times in 2 and 3 John. Yet this insatiable love of John is not
unaccompanied without the tone of joy that we see in His thrill over the Living
Word – Jesus Christ, and the Written Word of God.
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