1 John 1:1

1 John 1:1 says. 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;  This verse states more than one truth.  That which was from the beginning refers to the fact that Jesus Christ existed before anything else, because He is the eternal God.  James then added that they, the people who lived at that time, had heard of him, especially the disciples, of which Johne was one.  John said that they had heard and touched Jesus, since He was also a man like us, except without sin.  John concluded by saying that Jesus Christ is the Word of Life.  His word brings life.  These things are still true, except for the fact that we see, hear, and touch Jesus spiritually instead of physically, but we do acknowledge that He was a man and God.  

Verse two adds, (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.   John then spoke about the eternal nature of Jesus Christ, Who was with the Father, but was then made manifest to John and others.  Jesus Christ existed before the world was created, and He still exists today, but no longer physically.  He came so that we might have everlasting life by putting our faith in Him.   

Verse three continues, 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.  John said that he and those who had seen Jesus Christ and heard what He taught and how He died and rose again they now declared to the lost people of world around them.  They did this so that lost people might accept God’s gift of salvation and become a part of the fellowship of believers.  This is still our purpose in sharing the gospel today, to all people and not just to certain people.  

Verse four concludes, And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.  John said that they wrote these things to others so that the joy of others might be complete by putting their faith in Jesus Christ, which is the only way to find real joy.  We can either see John saying we as the royal or third-person use of we, or we can see it as his speaking of the writings of other men inspired by God as well as himself.  I am inclined to believe the latter. 

 

James Review

James wrote a lot about works and faith.  We often want to make them opposing ideas, but as he taught by God’s inspiration, God expects us to do good works of faith once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  We are saved by faith alone, but our faith should lead us to do the good work that God calls us to do.

James also wrote about lusting for what other people had.  He warned us that as followers of Christ, we should not do this but should pray for God to provide us with what we need.  This is the opposite of what some Christians proclaim today.  

He also taught that lust and envy can lead to wars, and we see a lot of wars today because people of another country have what we lust for.  Of course, we also see this with people within our country lusting after what others have and fighting with them over it instead of praying to God for Him to meet our needs and help us overcome our lust and envy.  

James said that we have not because we ask not, or that we asked amiss.  If we pray to God for our needs to be met, that is all we need to do.  We don't need to pray that our wants and desires will be met. 

James warned us about becoming rich with no concern for others and putting our faith in our riches instead of in God.  He said we cannot be faithful to God and faithful to the material things of this world at the same time.  As Christians, we can never put the things of the world ahead of being obedient to God and be faithful to Him.

James warned us about controlling our tongue, which is but a small part of our body but is often very hard to control.   He said it is like a bit in a horse’s mouth or a rudder on a ship, both being small things that controlled the direction of much larger things.  He said that the tongue can be the same way for people, determining how we react to other people.  He also that cursing and blessing cannot come out of the same mouth.  We should use our tongue to proclaim God’s love to all people and not to curse or condemn others, even lost people of the world.

James warned us about the brevity and uncertainty of our physical life, saying we shouldn't make plans that assume we will always have another day, but should put our future in God's hands.  

James also tells us if we know to do good and don't do it, that is a sin.  It is not just the things that we do that are against God's will that is sin, but the things that we know we should do and then don't do as well.

Next, we will look at 1 John.

James 5:17

James 5:17 says, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.  James then referred to Elijah, who he said was a man subject to the same passions or desires as all men are.  He was no different than any other man physically, but he was different than many spiritually.  James said that even though Elijah was just a man, when he prayed that it not rain by faith in God’s power, that it didn’t rain for three and a half years.  That is great faith, and it is the kind of faith we need today.  

Verse eighteen adds, And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.  James said that when Elijah prayed for it to rain after these three and a half years, that it rained and the earth began to be fruitful once more.  This was all done to show God’s power and not Elijah’s.  If our prayers are to be effective, we need to pray for God’s will to be done and not our own.  

Verse nineteen continues, Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;  James gave the example of some fellow believer erring from the truth and our converting them or bringing them back to God’s truth.  I believe that we witness to people about the truth of God and their faith converts them to the truth.  

Verse twenty concludes, Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.  Then, instead of converting a fellow Chrisitan from error, James refers to converting a sinner.  He said if we did lead someone to accepting God's gift of faith that we would hide a multitude of sins.  We can interpret this as hiding a multitude of our sins, but I believe it means a multitude of the sins of the person who is converted, since our sins can only be hidden from God’s sight by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.

James 5:13

James 5:13 says, Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.  James said if anyone is afflicted, let him pray.  I don't believe that this means we aren't to see a doctor if we can, but we are to put our healing in God's hands by praying for God's will to be done in the situation.  We may not be healed, as Paul wasn't when he prayed about the thorn in his flesh three times, but we should pray in faith.  James also said if we were merry, or happy, that we should sing psalms, which are songs of praise to God.  

Verse fourteen adds, Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  James then said if we are sick, that we should call on the elders, or spiritual leaders of the church to pray over us and anoint us with oil.  We don't do this as much anymore, but maybe we should, as long as we are asking for God's will to be done.  

Verse fifteen continues, And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  James said that a prayer of faith would save the sick, and they would be lifted up and forgiven of any sins they had committed.  The key is putting our faith in Jesus Christ and our fate in His hands.  If we pray for healing, it has to be that it happens in God's time, and it may not be in this lifetime.  If we are praying in faith that God's will be done, then we will be forgiven of our sins, now and forever.  

Verse sixteen concludes, Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  James then said that we are confess our faults to one another and to pray for one another so that we might be healed.  He then said that the effectual fervent pray of a righteous man availed much.  We must be sincere in our prayers, and we must be a follower of Christ to be righteous, since we will never be righteous without being His follower.