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That which was from the Beginning (1 John 1)
Beginnings can be very encouraging and wonderful.
The Chinese proverb tells us that a journey of a thousand miles begins
with the first step. The Roman Horace goes further, declaring, "He has
half the deed done who has made a beginning". I often remind myself of
this when I sit to write these Briefings. It certainly gives you momentum
and direction once you have made a start. But it is Sir Francis Walsingham
who made the wise observation:
"There must be a beginning of any great matter,
but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields
the true glory"
In our text John is testifying to a Saviour who "continued unto the end
until it be thoroughly finished" and enjoyed the true glory. In his gospel
John informs us that Jesus, "the Word", was there in the beginning when
the world was created (John 1:1-2). He was there when man was created,
indeed, we are told that he was the agent of creation:
"Through him all things were made; without
him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life…For by him all
things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or authorities; all things were created by him
and for him"(John 1:3; Col.1:16)
The order of heaven was established as God made man in his own image and
gave him dominion over the creation:
So God created man in his own image, In
the image of God he created him; Male and female he created them God blessed
them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth
and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air
and over every living creature that moves on the ground (Genesis 1:27-28)
Man's first act of dominion was the naming of animals (Ge.2:19), just
as God had named every element in his creation (Ge.1). Under God, man
and woman were to rule God's creation, to reflect in their rule the image
of the God who made them. But Satan deceived them and they fell from grace
being cast out of the paradise in which God had placed them (Ge.3). We
learn later that the whole human race fell with Adam because we were 'in
Adam' when he fell (Ro.5:12) and the order of heaven was broken for all
who were 'in Adam'.
God determined, indeed planned since before time, to save his creation.
So, "that which was from the beginning" didn't turn his back on man, who
he created in his image and gave dominion over creation. Rather, he came
in fulfilment of the promises he made to restore man to his rightful place
(Ge.3:15; Is.9, 11, 53; Jer.31cf). John writes in his gospel:
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came
from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14)
And goes on to promise:
"He was in the world and though the world
was made through him, the world did not recognise him. He came to that
which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who receive
him to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God" (John 1:10-12)
God became flesh in order to do what he had always determined to do, establish
the order of heaven in his creation. But how do we know when he has succeeded?
John, in his letter, declares that, "that which was from the beginning",
that which in his gospel he refers to as 'life' appeared and he goes on:
"That which was from the beginning, which
we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of
Life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim
to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to
us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may
have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with
his Son, Jesus Christ."
This not simply a reference to the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth
but a testimony of the risen Christ who saw the work through until it
is "thoroughly finished" with nothing more to accomplish. That is why
he cried from the Cross "tetelesti", it is finished or, more accurately,
"paid in full", meaning the penalty for sin, the sin of Adam and the sins
of all who turn to him in true faith. There can be no greater testimony
than that of John and others who have heard, seen touched and experienced
and it testifies that fellowship with God is now possible again, as it
was in the beginning.
The apostle Paul wrote to believers in Philippi:
"Forgetting what is behind and straining
towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenwards in Christ. All of us who are mature
should take such a view of things"(Ph.3:13-15)
God made man in his image in the beginning. Through Christ, through faith
in his name, fallen man can enter again that fellowship with God that
was lost in the beginning, reflecting again the image of the God who made
him. With a new beginning every Christian is called to reflect God's image
by pressing on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called
us heavenwards in Christ. If you haven't already, make a beginning this
week.