“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:1-4).
“Christ was alive when the world began, yet I myself have seen him with my own eyes and listened to him speak. I have touched him with my own hands. He is God’s message of Life. This one who is Life from God has been shown to us and we guarantee that we have seen him; I am speaking of Christ, who is eternal Life. He was with the Father and then was shown to us. Again I say, we are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may share the fellowship and the joys we have with the Father and with Jesus Christ his Son. And if you do as I say in this letter, then you, too, will be full of joy, and so will we” (1 John 1:1-4 TLB).
That which was from the beginning is nothing less than the eternal Son of God Himself, Who is the Word of Eternal Life, and has been preached to us, shown to us, declared to us, the same that was, is and always will be with our Heavenly Father.
That which was from the beginning is also the eternally reciprocating fellowship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That communing has always flowed in The Trinity. Inside the Triune God, this flow always was, is, and shall be. Amazingly, God desired to include us in this fellowship. Not that we would ever become God, but He has begotten us so we can partake in the Divine life and fellowship, just as we read in Peter’s epistle.
This message has also been given to us so that we may have fellowship with all born again believers. As we do, we discover that our fellowship is simultaneously with the Heavenly Father God, with His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit.
Just as in our human body, all the living cells partake, participate, and commune with each other through the circulation of the blood, so also we, the living members of the body of Christ, partake, participate, and commune or fellowship with the other members of the body of Christ as well as with the Head of the body, Christ Himself! When we fellowship with Christ, we also access the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The veil has been rent in two. The heart of Jesus has been lanced open at the cross. The way into God Himself is wide open for all believers. We can enter inside God and abide there, stay there, live there, making our home in Him.
There, through the Blood of Jesus, we believers can share the fellowship and the joys we have with the Father, with Jesus Christ His Son, and with the Holy Spirit.
God caused these things to be written in 1 John 1:1-4 so that our joy may be full, so that we would be full of joy.
That is a promise. God’s own promise. Believe it! Come in! You are welcome! Dwell inside God Himself, in intimate fellowship with Him.
And as you fellowship with Christ, you will spontaneously have fellowship with other believers who also have Christ dwelling in them.
Let’s pray:
“Father, how open and available You are! With arms wide open You have received me into Your fellowship, to always commune with You, just as You always commune with Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit.
Thank You that the fellowship I have with other believers, is really having more fellowship with You! It is not merely on the horizontal level, human with human, but there is also the vertical connection with You, my God, abiding in each born again believer.
Thank You that You have brought me into Yourself, to dwell inside You, in intimate fellowship with You.
Oh, how wonderful You are! I love You!
And oh yes, I want to specially thank You that You caused John to write 1 John 1:1-4 so that my joy may be full, so that I would be full of joy! You, Who cannot lie, have given me this joyful promise.
Oh, how thrilled I am that You love me so much that You want me to be happy, so happy that I can be literally full of joy!
Wow! You are overwhelmingly wonderful! I just snuggle into You, through the rent veil, through Your lanced side, right into Your open heart, with great joy.
In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
From Conversing With God – Chapter 3