Reliable Words
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1 John 1.1-4
Reliable Word #1
[ 14 March 2016 10:25 PM ]
 09.07.2014 – First UMC St. Cloud
Note from Pastor Mike: I want to encourage our church family to look
deeper into what God speaks to us through the Message.
Here at First United Methodist Church of Saint Cloud we believe that
God speaks to us through the Message. One way for all of us to hear
from God more clearly is to read the Scripture verses and the
Message again during the week.
I would really like to hear your comments and how God is challenging
you through the worship service and the Message. It would be great
to hear your discussion ideas. Please feel free to send me your
discussion points.
Your friend on the journey,
Pastor Mike
Contact Pastor Mike at:
 Pastor.Mike.FUMC@gmail.com
OR
 First UMC St. Cloud 1000 Ohio Avenue Saint Cloud, FL 34769
 (NIV) 1 John 1.1-4 – 1That 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. 2 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. 3 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.
4 We write this to make out joy complete.
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Introduction: Reliable
1. No introduction
The “Big Idea” – There is good evidence that words of the Bible are historically
reliable.
A. In Person
Now, we are going to begin with our text in 1 John 1.1-4, where John bases the
power of his letter to this ancient Christian church (and to us) on his actually
having known Jesus in person.
1. You might imagine, a group of the first Christians, maybe only a few decades
after Jesus returns to heaven, gathered together to read a letter from John.
John. John who spent three years with Jesus. John who saw the miracles.
John who heard Jesus teach about abundant and eternal life. John who
witnessed Jesus crucifixion and death. John who saw the empty tomb and
then ate a meal with the risen Lord.
2. You might then imagine one of these Christians, maybe a church leader who
wants to protect this fledgling church family from being swayed by false
teachings, ask, "So, John, why should we listen to your message?"
3. In his letter to this church, John launches right into the answer to this all so
important question. To begin with John declare that the subject, the reason,
for the letter is that, (NIV) 1 John 1.1a – 1That which was from the beginning
John immediately directing our attention to the One, to Jesus, from whom
not only does the message of the Church originate but in whom the Church
itself exists. The "from the beginning" refers to Christ's birth and more
specifically his time of preaching and healing and miracles and meals.
4. Then John makes the claim that is the focus of our conversation this morning.
He proclaims (NIV) 1 John 1.1b – which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched. John is
almost desperate for us to know that his message comes from the source.
Not "a source" he heard about from others, who heard it from others, but "the
source" itself, "that which was from the beginning," that he heard, that he
saw, that he looked at and that he even touched with his own hands. John
knew Jesus in person.
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a. The verb tense here is significant. "we have heard" and "we have seen"
are in are in the perfect tense typically expressing an action in the past
which continues to effect the present. The "we have looked at or behold"
and "have touched" are in the aorist tense indicating events at a certain
point in time. Two claims about Jesus and John's message about Jesus are
being made here−1) This life appeared at a specific point in history and 2)
the appearance of this life continues to have power in the present.
5. Then John gets to the central point of the introduction and of the whole
letter. (NIV) 1 John 1.2 − 2 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. The eternal life of God became visible and audible and
even touchable in Jesus the Christ. John experienced this life when he met
Jesus in person. John is now passing that message on but more than simply
giving a history lesson, John is proclaiming that this life that he found in the
person of Jesus, that same eternal life, can be found in the message (the
accounts of eyewitnesses) of Jesus. Through the Bible you and I know and
experience the abundant and eternal life of Jesus.
B. 1000 Years of Transmission
There is good evidence that what we read now reflects what was originally
written even after 1000 years of transmission.
1. So, let's begin with the Old Testament which is the Jewish Scriptures but
arranged in a slightly different order. There are 39 books (chapters but written
at different times and places by various people.) These are the Scriptures that
Jesus read when he was on earth as fully God and fully human. These were
also accepted by the first Christians as being what we would call "sacred
scripture" through which God speaks.
a. We are told in the Bible that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is the
Pentateuch (five) in the Jewish faith. Moses lived some 1500 years before
Jesus was born. The accounts that occurred before Moses life were likely
handed down for centuries by word of mouth or in written form. There is
some evidence and thought that these books were put in the form we
now have them by 500-300 years before Christ. The other books were
written and complied in their final forms by about 450 years before Christ.
b. There are many reasons to trust that what we read today in the Old
Testament has been faithful transmitted to us through the centuries. There
is ample archeological finds which align with the accounts in the Old
Testament. The obsessive care the scribes of Israel took in copying the
words from one scroll to another makes accurate transmission very likely.
This morning I want to mention just one.
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2. The Masoretes were the Jewish scholars who between 500 and 950 years
after Christ who compiled the final form to the Old Testament. There were a
number of reasons including the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in
70AD and the dispersion of many Jews to other cultures
around the world. It become important to preserve these
ancient texts which through which God had guided and
encouraged the people of Israel for literally centuries.
3. During this time there are two major school (gatherings) of
the Masoretes. One in Babylon and the other in Palestine
(right in the middle of the world's modern day hot spots.) One of these
scholars in Palestine, Moses ben Asher, in the 800 and 900's, produced what is
today the standard Hebrew text of the Old Testament.
a. So, you say, "The oldest Old Testament we have is only
from around 900 years after Christ and is based on a text
put together about 100 years after Jesus?" "Right," I say."
And right you are to say that is not that long ago
considering the time frame of the Old Testament going
back to the dawn of our time.
4. Here is the cool part. In March of 1947 a Bedoin shepherd
boy named Mohammad goes looking for a lost goat. He
throws a rock into a cave in the face of a cliff on the west
side of the Dead Sea. [see CAVE IN CLIFF picture] He is
surprised to hear not a crashing rock but the shattering of
pottery. What he discovers in the cave are stone jars containing scrolls,
wrapped in linen cloth. Because the jars [see JARS picture] are so carefully
sealed, the scrolls have been wonderfully preserved for over 1900 years!
a. In this trove of scrolls is what is known as the "Great Isaiah" scroll, measuring
some 24 feet long and 10 inches high. This scroll is dated to about 125
years BEFORE Christ. They belonged to the monk like Jewish community
that lived in the desert at Qumran around the Dead Sea [see QUMRAN
map] at the same time a Jesus walked our earth. It is likely they hide these
sacred documents around 68-70 years after Jesus birth, at the time the
Romans were destroying the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple.
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5. [see INSIDE CAVE picture] Now we have a copy of the Old
Testament book of Isaiah (as well as parts of all the other
Old Testament books except Esther) dated from around
125 years before Jesus birth to compare to our oldest copy
of Isaiah from around 916 years after the birth of Jesus. That
is a span of almost thousand years.
6. [see ISAIAH SCROLL picture] Here is what we find. Of the
166 words in Isaiah chapter 53, there are only 17 letters in
question. Ten of these letter are simply a matter of spelling,
which does not affect the sense. Four more letters are mere
stylistic changes. The remaining letters three comprise the
word "light," which is added to verse 11 and does not
affect the meaning greatly. (Other ancient copies have the word "light" in
this place.)
a. So, in 166 words of Isaiah chapter 53, only one word of three letters is in
question after 1000 years of transmission−and this word does not
significantly affect the meaning of the passage.
C. God Worked Through Humans
I want us then to look at how we received the writing that make up our New
Testament and see how the grace of God worked through humans to collect
these writing together.
1. I think we see God's grace working to offer us the Bible in the formation of the
Cannon. The word "canon" comes from the Greek κανών, meaning "rule" or
"measuring stick".
2. From the Apostles to 170 AD: By the end of the 1st century all of the books of
the New Testament were in existence. They were, as treasures of given
churches, honored as containing the word of Jesus or the teaching of the
apostles. In every assembly of Christians from the earliest days the words of
Jesus were taught as well as the Old Testament. In each church to which an
epistle (letter from an Apostle) was written that epistle was likewise read. Paul
asked that his letters be read in this way (1 Thess 5:27; Col 4:16). The widening
of the area of the church and the departure of the apostles from earth
emphasized increasingly the value of that which the writers of the New
Testament left behind them.
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3. Examination of the testimony to the New Testament in this
early time indicates also that there was no initial intention of
framing the canonicity of New Testament books. Clement of
Rome, in 95 AD, [see CLEMENT OF ROME picture] wrote a
letter in the name of the Christians of Rome to those in
Corinth. In this letter he uses material found in Matthew and
Luke. He has been much influenced by the Epistle to the Hebrews. He knows
Romans, Corinthians, and there are found echoes of 1 Timothy, Titus, 1 Peter
and Ephesians. Ignatius also quotes 1 Peter and 1 John.
a. The Epistles of Ignatius (115 AD) have correspondences with our gospels in
several places and incorporate language from nearly all of the Pauline
epistles. The Epistle to Polycarp makes large use of Philippians, and
besides this cites nine of the other Pauline epistles.
4. Irenaeus [see IRENAEUS picture] (c. 202 year after Christ) was born in Asia
Minor, lived and taught in Rome and became afterward bishop of Lyons. He
had, therefore, a wide acquaintance with the churches, and was peculiarly
competent to speak concerning the general judgment of the Christian
world. As a pupil of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John the Disciple, he is
connected with the apostles themselves. He makes the New Testament in
great part his authority, and often appeals to it; The four
Gospels, the Acts, the epistles of Paul, several of the other
epistles and the Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation) are to
him Scripture in the fullest sense. They are genuine and
authoritative, as much so as the Old Testament ever was.
a. Clement of Alexandria [see CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA picture] (150-215
years after Christ) quotes all four gospels as “Scripture.”
b. By the end of the 2nd century the canon of the gospels was settled. The
same is true also of the Pauline epistles. Indeed, at this time it may be said
that the new canon was known under the designation
“The Gospel and the Apostles” in contradistinction to the
old as “the Law and the Prophets.” The title “New
Testament” appears to have been first used by an
unknown writer against Montanism (circa 193 AD). It
occurs frequently after this in Origen and later writers.
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c. In considering all this testimony two facts should have
emphasis: [see CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES map] (1) Its wide
extent: Clement and Irenaeus represent parts of
Christendom which are widely separated; (2) The relation
of these men to those who have gone before them. Their
lives together with those before them spanned nearly the
whole time from the apostles. They but voiced the judgment which
silently, gradually had been selecting the “Scripture” which they freely
and fully acknowledged and to which they made appeal.
5. Eusebius, [see EUSEBIUS picture] in the early part of the 4th century (270-340
AD), bishop of Caesarea before 315, sets before us in his Church History (III,
chapters iii-xxv) his estimate of the canon in his time. He does not of course
use the word canon, but he “conducts an historical inquiry into the belief and
practice of earlier generations.” He lived through the last great persecution in
the early part of the 4th century, when not only places of
worship were razed to the ground, but also the sacred
Scriptures were in the public market-places consigned to
the flames (Historia Ecclesiastica, VIII, 2). It was, therefore,
no idle question what book a loyal Christian must stand for
as his Scripture. The question of the canon had an earnest,
practical significance.
a. Despite some obscurity and apparent contradictions, his classification of
the New Testament books was as follows: (1) His criteria for each of the
acknowledged books was authenticity and apostolicity: the Gospels,
Acts, and Paul’s epistles, including Hebrews. (2) The disputed books which
had obtained only partial recognition: James, Jude, 2 Peter and 2 John.
About the Apocalypse also he was not sure.
6. Athanasius [see ATHANASIUS picture] in one of his pastoral
letters in connection with the publishing of the
ecclesiastical calendar gives a list of the books comprising
Scripture, and in the New Testament portion are included
all the 27 books which we now recognize. “These are the
wells of salvation,” he writes, “so that he who thirsts may be satisfied with the
sayings in these. Let no one add to these. Let nothing be taken away.”
7. For a considerable time the Apocalypse was not accepted in the Palestinian
or Syrian churches. The Syrian church did not accept all of the other non-Paul
epistles until much later.
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8. The Council of Carthage in 397, [see CARTHAGE map] in
connection with its decree “that aside from the canonical
Scriptures nothing is to be read in church under the name
of Divine Scriptures,” gives a list of the books of the New
Testament. After this fashion there was an endeavor to
secure unanimity, while at the same time differences of judgment and
practice continued. The publication of the Vulgate (Jerome’s Latin Bible, 390405 A.D.) virtually determined the matter.
9. In conclusion let it be noted how much God worked through humans in the
whole process of forming our New Testament. No one would wish to dispute
a providential overruling of it all. Also it is well to bear in mind that all the
books have not the same clear title to their places in the canon as far as the
history of their attestation is concerned. Clear and full and unanimous,
however, has been the judgment from the beginning upon the Gospels, the
Acts, the Pauline epistles, 1 Peter and 1 John.
D. Brings Us Into Fellowship
So, we see that the early church discovered that the words for those who knew
Jesus personally or were close to who knew Jesus personally brought them into
fellowship with Jesus and with the church. And they still bring us into that same
fellowship.
1. John explains what he intends to happen in the reading of his letter. (NIV) 1
John 1.1-4 – 3 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. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. Now, let's
work backwards. You might suspect that the writer of a letter would say
something like, "It would be so much more meaningful it I could say this to
you in person." Yet, John says simply that to write this for his friends in this
church family to read makes his joy complete. To read this letter is enough,
more than enough.
2. Enough of what? Enough to have fellowship. You see, the early church
Christians did not pick and choose the letters they liked. They came to hold
as sacred Scripture letters whose words brought them in contact with the
person of Jesus the Christ. Letters that did not were read less and lost to time.
This is the same with the Old Testament.
a. The Greek word here is koinonia which speaks of a partnership in a
venture or joint ownership in a concern.
b. So in reading this letter, in reading the Bible, there is enough for us to have
fellowship, a joint venture together with God, that is, to enter the life-ofGod.
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c. Also, fellowships with John, who knows Jesus in person, but also with others
believer throughout the generations, in a joint ownership of the Christian
faith and the work of the church.
“Action Point” – Trust the words of the Bible to bring you into the life of God and
into the life and work of the church.