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Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:1-2; 2:25; 3:15; 5:11-13, 20; John 1:4; 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:47, 63; 8:12; 10:10, 28; 11:25; 14:6; Acts 11:18; Rom. 5:10, 17, 21; 6:23; Eph. 4:18; Col. 3:4; 1 Tim. 6:12, 19; 2 Tim. 1:10; Titus 1:2; Heb. 7:16; 2 Pet. 1:3; Rev. 2:7; 22:1-2, 14, 17, 19; Matt. 19:16, 29
In this message we shall begin to consider the divine life as revealed in 1:1 and 2. Then in a later message we shall go on to consider the fellowship of the divine life. The divine life and the divine fellowship are both of crucial importance. According to 1 John, first we have eternal life, and then we have the fellowship of the eternal life.
First John 1:1 says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld, and our hands handled concerning the Word of life.” This Epistle begins with the words “that which.” The apostle John uses the expression “that which” to open his Epistle and unfold the mystery of the fellowship in the divine life. The fact that he does not use personal pronouns here in reference to the Lord implies that what he intends to unfold is mysterious.
Paul’s ministry is to complete the divine revelation (Col. 1:25-27) of God’s New Testament economy, that is, the Triune God in Christ as the life-giving Spirit producing the members of Christ and building up the Body of Christ so that the Triune God may have a full expression — the fullness of God (Eph. 1:23) — in the universe. Paul’s writings were completed around A.D. 66. His completing ministry was damaged by the apostasy preceding and following his death. Then after a quarter of a century, around A.D. 90, John’s writings came forth. His ministry was not only to mend the ministry of Paul that had been broken, but also to consummate the entire divine revelation of both the Old Testament and New Testament, of both the Gospels and the Epistles. In such a ministry, the focus is the mysteries of the divine life. In his Gospel, as the consummation of the Gospels, the mysteries of the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ are unveiled. In his Epistles (especially the first), as the consummation of the Epistles, the mystery of the fellowship of the divine life, which is the fellowship of God’s children with God the Father and with one another, is unfolded. Then in his Revelation, as the consummation of the New Testament and the Old Testament, the mystery of Christ being the life supply to God’s children for His expression, and the center of the universal administration of the Triune God is revealed.
In 1:1 John speaks of that which was “from the beginning.” This differs from “in the beginning” in John’s Gospel (1:1). In the beginning traces back to eternity past before creation; from the beginning proceeds forward from the creation. This indicates that John’s Epistle is a continuation of his Gospel concerning the believers’ experience of the divine life. In his Gospel he shows the way for sinners to receive eternal life — by believing in the Son of God. In his Epistle he points out the way for the believers who have received the divine life to enjoy it in its fellowship — by abiding in the Son of God. And in his Revelation he unveils the consummation of the eternal life as the believers’ full enjoyment in eternity.
The phrase “from the beginning” is used twice in the Gospel of John, eight times in this Epistle, and two times in 2 John. In John 8:44; 1 John 1:1; 2:13, 14 and 1 John 3:8 it is used in the absolute sense, but in John 15:27; 1 John 2:7, 24 (twice); 1 John 3:11 and 2 John 5, 6, it is used in the relative sense.
John’s writings are not mainly for study and understanding; they are primarily for the enjoyment of God’s children. When you come to a feast, it is not your purpose to study the different courses of food. Study at such a time would frustrate you from the enjoyment of eating. In like manner, we should come to John’s writings — to his Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation — regarding them as courses of a spiritual feast. When some hear this, they may wonder how we can say that John’s writings are a feast. The answer is that no other writings in the Bible emphasize the matter of eating as much as John’s writings do. Of course, Paul speaks about spiritual eating, but he does not speak about this as much as John does. One chapter in the Gospel of John, chapter six, is almost entirely devoted to eating. There the Lord Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 48). Then He goes on to say that He is the living bread and that if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever (John 6:51); that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, we have no life in us (John 6:53); that he who eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life (John 6:54) and abides in Him (John 6:56); and that the one who eats Him will also live because of Him (John 6:57), for he who “eats this bread shall live forever” (John 6:58). To be sure, eating is strongly emphasized in chapter six of John’s Gospel. To eat of the Lord as the bread of life is to feast on Him.
John also has much to say concerning eating in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 2:7 the Lord Jesus says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” To eat of the tree of life is to enjoy Christ as our life supply. It was God’s original intention that man should eat of the tree of life (Gen. 2:9, 16). But due to the fall of man the tree of life was closed to him (Gen. 3:22-24). Through the redemption of Christ, the way to touch the tree of life, which is God Himself in Christ as life to man, has been opened again (Heb. 10:19-20).
In Revelation 2:17 the Lord Jesus says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna.” Manna is a type of Christ as the heavenly food enabling God’s people to go His way. The children of Israel ate of manna during their years in the wilderness (Exo. 16:14-16, 31). To partake of the hidden manna certainly is to enjoy Christ by eating Him.
Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” In this verse “dine” means to take the principal meal of the day at evening. Here the Lord promises to dine with the one who opens the door to Him. To dine is not merely to eat certain foods, but it is to enjoy the riches of a meal. This dining may refer to the eating of the rich produce of the good land of Canaan by the children of Israel (Josh. 5:10-12).
These verses from the book of Revelation indicate that the Lord desires to recover the eating by God’s people of the proper food as ordained by God and typified by the tree of life the manna, and the produce of the good land, all of which are types of the various aspects of Christ as food to us. In his writings John definitely emphasizes the rich enjoyment of Christ by feasting on Him.
John also speaks of eating in the last chapter of Revelation. Revelation 22:1 and 2a say, “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life....” The tree of life is for God’s people to receive and enjoy. For eternity all God’s redeemed ones will enjoy Christ as the tree of life as their eternal portion. According to these verses, the tree of life is the life supply available along the flow of the Spirit as the water of life. Where the Spirit flows, there the life supply of Christ is found.
In Revelation 22:14 we have a promise concerning the enjoyment of the tree of life: “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” This verse may be regarded as a promise related to the enjoyment of the tree of life, which is Christ with all the riches of life. Through Christ’s redemption, which has fulfilled all the requirements of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness, the way to the tree of life is opened to the believers. Therefore, those who wash their robes in the redeeming blood of Christ have the right to enjoy the tree of life as their portion.
All these quotations from John’s Gospel and Revelation show the importance of eating in John’s writings. This also indicates that his writings are mysterious, far beyond our natural understanding.
The writings of John can be compared to a Chinese feast consisting of many courses. It would exhaust our mentality to study all the courses of such a feast and their ingredients. You come to a feast not to study, but to enjoy the food by eating it. The principle is the same with John’s writings. It is impossible for us to say how many “courses” are found in these writings. We need to come to John’s writings for nourishment, that is, to eat and digest the spiritual food they contain.
Often before we partake of the main course at dinner, we are served an appetizer. In 1 John 1 the apostle John also gives us an “appetizer.” This appetizer is the Word of life. No doubt, John’s intention is to serve us the divine life. But in order to stir up our appetite he serves us the Word of life as a spiritual appetizer. This is the Word mentioned in John 1:1-4 and John 1:14, who was with God and was God in eternity before creation, who became flesh in time, and in whom is life. This Word conveys the eternal life and is the divine Person of Christ as an account, a definition, and an expression of all that God is. In Him is life, and He is life (John 11:25; 14:6). The phrase “the Word of life” in Greek indicates that the Word is life. The Person is the divine life, the eternal life, which we can touch. The “Word” mentioned here indicates that the Epistle is a continuation and development of John’s Gospel (see John 1:1-2, 14).
If we could ask the apostle John about the Word in 1:1, he would probably refer us to his Gospel. John 1:1 and 4 say that in the beginning was the Word, that the Word was with God and was God, that in this Word was life, and the life was the light of men. Furthermore, according to John 1:14, the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace and truth and having the glory as of an only begotten from a father. In all these verses we have a definition of the Word. The Word is the very God. In this Word is life, and the life is the light we need. Then this wonderful One, God the Word, became flesh. This means that He became a man. As a man, He tabernacled among us. Actually, He was the tabernacle. Furthermore, this tabernacle becomes a mutual abode, in which both God and we may abide. Here in the tabernacle we enjoy grace, we receive the reality, and we see the glory. This is the Word of life mentioned in 1:1.
We have pointed out that the expression “the Word of life” actually indicates that the Word is life. This Word, who is the eternal life, became a man. As a man, He is the dwelling place as a mutual abode for both God and man. In this dwelling place we may enjoy Him as grace, receive Him as our reality, and behold His glory. This glory, which is the glory of God, has now become the glory of God’s only begotten Son. Again I say, this Word is life, and this life is the expression of God. This means that the Word of life is God’s expression.
The writings of John are books of mysteries. In this Epistle, life, that is, the divine life, the eternal life, the life of God imparted into the believers in Christ and abiding in them, is the first mystery (1 John 1:2; 2:25; 3:15; 5:11, 13, 20). Issuing out of this mystery is another mystery, the mystery of the fellowship of the divine life (1 John 1:3-7). Following this is the mystery of the anointing of the Triune God (1 John 2:20-27). Then we have the mystery of abiding in the Lord (1 John 2:27-28; 3:6, 24). The fifth is the mystery of the divine birth (1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18). The sixth is the divine seed (1 John 3:9). And the last is the water, the blood, and the Spirit (1 John 5:6-12).
We should not spend too much time studying about the Word of life. Instead, we should eat the Word and enjoy it. We need to remember that John uses the Word of life as an appetizer to stir up our appetite. This appetizer, therefore, is for us to eat. However, our natural mind may want to inquire further and ask how this life expresses God. There is no need for us to make this inquiry. Rather, we need to eat the Word. Then we shall know how the Word of life can express God.
The kind of food we eat is reflected in our facial color. Suppose you do not eat well for some time. This may cause your face to have a very unhealthy appearance. But if someone has a healthy diet, this will be expressed in his facial color. By looking at his face you will know that he has been eating nourishing food, for the food he eats causes him to have a healthy appearance. The principle is the same with eating God. The more we eat God, the more we express Him.
Some Christians oppose the matter of eating God and ask how such a thing is possible. However, the concept of eating God, a divine thought, is absolutely according to the Bible, although religious people often miss it. They may prefer to worship God merely in an objective way, declaring that He is holy. But we would follow the Scriptures to partake of God and enjoy Him as our food. When you come to the dining table, you eat the food set before you. Likewise, when we come to the Lord, we should eat Him as our food.
The result of eating God is that we express Him. After we enjoy the divine life, we express the divine life. God is life, and the Word also is life. This Word speaks, defines, explains, and expresses God. God speaks for Himself. But He does not merely speak objectively from the heavens. He also speaks subjectively through us as a result of our eating of Him. Today our God speaks not only from the heavens; He also speaks through us, through our being. In what way does God speak through us? God speaks by our eating and enjoyment of Him.
In the early years of my ministry, most of my speaking was doctrinal. But today my speaking is mainly the expression of my enjoyment of the Lord. For many years I have been eating the Lord daily. Just as eating physical food makes me strong and active, so eating the Lord makes me strong and active in spirit. Spontaneously, as the result of enjoying God and digesting Him, I become very active in spirit.
Some may claim that it is heretical to teach that God can be digested by us. But I would say that it is heretical to deny that God is edible and that we can eat Him and digest Him. The Bible reveals that Jesus is the very God. Furthermore, according to John 6, we know that the Lord Jesus is edible. In this chapter He speaks clearly concerning our eating of Him. If we trace the thought backward from chapter six of John to chapter one, we shall see who Jesus is. The Jesus who speaks in John 6 concerning the eating of Him is the One who, in John 1, is the Word who was with God, who was God, and who became flesh. For the Lord Jesus to say that He is edible indicates that God Himself is edible. Therefore, we can boldly declare that our God is edible and that we can partake of Him, eat Him, and digest Him. When we eat God and digest Him, He speaks through us subjectively.
We may say that the food we eat and digest speaks for itself not objectively but subjectively; that is, our facial color indicates whether we have been eating nourishing food. The principle is the same with the Word of life as God’s expression. The divine life is actually God Himself. When we eat God as life and digest Him, in our experience this life becomes the Word to define, explain, and express the very God we enjoy.
If we enjoy God as our nourishment, He will eventually become the constituent of our being. Dietitians tell us that we are what we eat. This means that the food we eat becomes the element or constituent of our being. For example, a person who eats a great deal of beef and drinks a great deal of milk eventually will be constituted physically of beef and milk. In a similar way, if we eat and drink of God day by day, we shall be constituted of God. Then the God of whom we have been constituted will express Himself from within us.
In what way is the God whom we eat and digest and of whom we are constituted expressed from within us? God is expressed in us by means of His attributes. God is love and light, and He is holy and righteous. When we eat and drink of God, we shall live Him as love, light, holiness, and righteousness. These divine attributes will become our virtues as the expression of God. How can we tell that someone has been eating and digesting God? We can tell this by the expression of God from within him. This expression of God is God’s speaking. The human virtues that are produced through assimilating God with His divine attributes become the expression of God, and this expression is actually God’s speaking.
This is the way we become God’s testimony. A testimony is a matter of speaking or testifying. To become God’s testimony means that the very God as the Word speaks Himself out from our being. This is the expression of the divine life.
The Word in 1:1 is the eternal Logos, the expression of God. We know from John 1:1 and 14 that this Word, the Word of life, was incarnated and manifested in the flesh. Moreover, this Word was “from the beginning.”
Let us read 1:1 once again, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld, and our hands handled concerning the Word of life.” This verse indicates that the Word of life has been manifested solidly and tangibly, for the Word was heard, seen, held, and handled by the apostles. The sequence here is “have heard,” “have seen,” “beheld” (gazing with a purpose), and “handled,” that is, touched by hands. These expressions indicate that the Word of life is not only mysterious, but is also tangible because of being incarnated. The mysterious Word of life in His humanity was touched by man, not only before His resurrection (Mark 3:10; 5:31), but also after His resurrection (John 20:17, 27) in His spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:44). At the time of John’s writing there was a heresy that denied the incarnation of the Son of God (1 John 4:1-3). Hence, such strong expressions to indicate the Lord’s solid substance in His touchable humanity were needed.
Toward the end of the first century the philosophical concepts of Gnosticism began to invade the church. One Gnostic concept was that matter was evil. Those who held this concept did not believe that Christ actually came in the flesh. To them, Christ was abstract, something like a phantom. This view of Christ is heretical. The apostle John was burdened in his Gospel and Epistles to fight against this heresy. For this reason, in John 1:14 he purposely used the word “flesh.” In John 1:1 he says that the Word was with God and was God. This is abstract and rather mysterious. But then John goes on to say that this Word became flesh. For the Word to become flesh is for the Word to become solid and tangible. Then in his first Epistle John points out that the apostles heard the Word of life and then saw, beheld, and handled this Word. The apostle John even leaned upon the Lord’s bosom. The expressions John uses concerning hearing, seeing, beholding, and handling the Word were an antidote to inoculate the believers against heretical teachings regarding the Person of Christ.
In one sense, the divine life is abstract and invisible. But in another sense the divine life is solid and visible, for the Word of life has been incarnated. The incarnated Word could be heard, seen, beheld, and touched.
The first Epistle of John is both a continuation and a development of the Gospel of John. In the Gospel of John we see how to receive the divine life by believing in the Lord Jesus. However, in John’s Gospel we cannot see much concerning how to enjoy what we have received of the divine life. Therefore, in 1 John, the apostle John gives us a continuation and development of his Gospel, showing us that after receiving the divine life we may enjoy the riches of the divine life. As we shall see in a forthcoming message, it is through fellowship that we enjoy the riches of the divine life.
