1 John 1: 1, 2
We Have a Story to Tell…
According to a tradition among the
natives of
We find the thoughts of a grown man
searching for eternal life in a fountain incredible. But, consider the modern
equivalents to Ponce De Leon’s efforts. People all over the world are searching
for life. Some are looking in test tubes, some through telescopes and others
are sending space probes deep into outer space in search of life. Others wander
the highways and byways of drugs, sex, wealth and materialism in search of the
same thing. And, they will no more find the answers to the “How, when and where” of life than did Ponce De Leon in his fountain. And that is
where you and I come in. For, in Christ, we have a story to tell.
In this passage, the Apostle John
gives us one of the greatest truths I have ever discovered in my study of God’s
word: It is simple, yet profound. The truth is: Jesus is life. I want to
share with you three aspects of his life: life
is eternal, it is God’s life and
it is available to humans.
Life is Eternal:
Let’s begin by contrasting life with
its antithesis, which is death. Death is most often defined as the condition that
exists when our bodies cease to function physically. And, conversely, life
exists when we are moving and breathing: when our bodies are functioning. We go to funeral visitations and look at the
body in the casket and we perceive what we see as death.
But, the scriptures say that neither "life" nor "death" is dependent upon the state
of our physical existence. Rather, death is that spiritual state-of-being
passed down to us by our ancient ancestors. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created to have and enjoy
eternal life, but they chose death. Genesis 2:16:
“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree
of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil you shall not eat, for in
the day that you eat of it you shall die.”[2]
“…for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Adam and
Eve did not die physically on the day they ate of the forbidden tree. But, God did
banish them from the garden so they could not also eat from the tree of life
and live forever. Life exists in communion with God, not in a mere state of
physical existence. Thus, from the fall of humanity to the present, every
human, save One, has been born into a state of death – separated from God. That
is what Paul meant when he wrote, in Ephesians 2:2, "…you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…."
W. B.
Hinson, a great and godly preacher of many years ago said this just before his
death: "I remember a year ago when a doctor told me, 'You have an
illness from which you won't recover.' I walked out to where I live 5 miles
from
Life is
eternal. There are no other forms of life in existence than eternal life. All
else is death for, apart from faith in Christ, all else is separated from God. For,
life exists in Jesus
Christ alone. Rev. Hinson, who so eloquently spoke of the beauty of his life,
was no longer dead in his trespasses and sins. He was eternally alive because
he was connected to the life of God through faith in Christ. He was connected
to the One who is life: Jesus Christ.
The Life of God: Life resides in Jesus Christ
alone because the only life that exists is the life of God.
John uses
the phrase "That which was from the beginning" to describe the
eternal, divine nature of Jesus Christ. John is saying to you and to me that
Jesus Christ is eternal God.
God the Son
is the creator of all things including you and me. It was the Son of God who
breathed the breath of life into Adam and Eve. For, he is life. And the breath he breathes is eternal life because it
is the breath of eternal God. As John says, he is "the eternal
life, which was with the Father".
Shared with humans: And this is where you and I come in. It is this life
that God shares with us in his coming to us as Jesus Christ. Had Jesus Christ not
come, we would be without hope, for we willingly gave up life in the Garden of
Eden. But Jesus brings life anew to all who believe on him.
Billy Graham once used the following statement to explain
Christ’s incarnation: He said, “I was
walking near my home, and I looked down and saw an anthill that had just been
crushed. I saw that the carefully planned home was ruined and that several ants
had been killed and many had been injured. As I watched them writhing in agony
and confusion, I wished for a moment that I were an ant. I wanted to be one of
them so I could explain that I wanted to help them and tell them that I was
sorry for the disaster. But I had no way of communicating with them, so I went
on my way. But, when God looked down and saw the world [dead in sin], He did not go away! For God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but may have eternal life (John 3:16). That is what the
Incarnation means.”[4]
God looked upon our state of death
and chose to share his life with us through Jesus Christ. That is whom John
describes as the One, “which we have
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched
with our hands”. Jesus is life. He is the eternal life of
God shared with us. Otherwise, we would have remained “dead in our trespasses and sins.”
Jesus is the only live one - if you will. And, by faith,
his life is your life. Paul says in
Colossians 2, "You, who were dead … God made alive together with him,
having forgiven us all our trespasses…."[5]
I have
referred to Jesus as “The Live One”. Have you ever heard a faithful and
evangelistic Christian spoken of as a “live
one”? When we testify candidly about our love of Jesus, we often hear, “Oh, man I’ve got a live one on my hands!” That statement should be made of everyone who
claims Christ as Lord, because, of all the people on earth, we are truly the “live ones.” Jesus says in John 5, “…truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me has eternal life… He… has passed from death to
life.”[6]
We are alive. We share in and live God’s
life, not because we are brighter or smarter than the others, but because, by an
incomprehensible decree, God has reconnected us to Himself by faith and we
share God’s life.
And like his disciples, we are called
to share his life with others. But, to whom are we to testify? With whom are we
to share the wonderful story with which we have been entrusted?
Early 20th century
evangelist, Billy Sunday, was looking for people to tell about Jesus. Since he
was going to be in a particular city he wrote a letter to the mayor asking for
the name of individuals whom he knew had a spiritual problem and needed help
and prayer. Sunday was quite surprised when the mayor sent him a city telephone
book.[7]
Everybody needs Jesus because
everyone is dead in trespasses and sins. All humans need Jesus because Jesus alone is life.
On the way home from church a little
girl said, “Mom, I’ve been thinking.”
The mother said, “Oh! About what?”
The girl replied, “Well, my teacher this
morning said God is bigger than we are. Is that true?” Again the mother
replied, “Yes.” “Well,” said the girl. “If God
is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”
To believe on Jesus Christ is to live
his life and to testify to others of that life. His life is to show through us
to a hurting and dying world. To believe on Jesus Christ means, in part, to “testify …and proclaim … the
eternal life, which was with the Father.
Conclusion: I will conclude with a verse from 1 John, chapter 5.
It says, “And this is the testimony, that
God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does
not have life.”[8]
People all over the world are
searching for life. Some are looking in test tubes, some through telescopes and
others are sending space probes deep into outer space in search of life. Others
are wandering the highways and byways of drugs, sex, wealth and materialism in
search of the same thing. And, they will no more find the answers to the “How, when and where” of life than did Ponce De Leon in his fountain.
If you believe on Jesus Christ, you
have eternal life because Jesus is life. Whom do you know who
is looking for life in all the wrong places? You have a story to tell: a
testimony to give. You have life to share.
Jesus is life. His is eternal life and he
desires to share it with you and through you to the whole world. Amen.
[1]Attributed to “Foster” under “eternity” at “Tan, P. L.
(1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of
illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and
Christian workers].
[2]The Holy
Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 (Ge
[3] Attributed to "W. B. Hinson" under
"Eternal Life" at eSermons.com
[4] Attributed to “Billy
Graham, The Mystery of the Incarnation,
members.aol.com/sebutton/-homepage/praysalv.htm,
[5] The Holy Bible : English standard version.
2001 (
[6]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Jn
[7] (EM Griffin, The Mindchangers, Tyndale House, 1976,
p. 151. Contributed to Sermon Central by: Roy Fowler)
[8]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (1 Jn