“That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” (1 John 1:3-4 ESV)
Conversion is not the ultimate goal of missions. While, in some ways, it is the goal of the missionary, it is only a step toward the ultimate goal, which is to glorify God and enjoy him forever as we share intimate fellowship with him. The Apostle John understood this. John’s goal for receiving the message through eyewitness testimony and proclaiming it to others is, as he says, “that [they] too may have fellowship with us.” What he has in mind is not primarily the horizontal fellowship enjoyed between humans but the unified communion that God’s people enjoy with God himself.
Fellowship is a beautiful reality and one that only Christians can enjoy in its truest sense. Those outside of Christ can experience a shallow glimpse of what that means, but it is only through the regenerating work of the Spirit to effectually call us into union with Christ, and thereby union with one another, that we enjoy this fellowship.
This is made clear by John’s statement, “indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” Through the preaching of the gospel, the lost are found, and those who are alienated from God are sovereignly brought into spiritual communion with the Lord. The end goal of missions is the eternal communion and worship described in Revelation 21, and John is communicating that to his readers.
From eternity past, Father, Son, and Spirit have enjoyed perfect union with one another and the expression of divine, intertrinitarian love. John says that he proclaims the message of the gospel to his readers so that those who repent and believe may partake in that divine love. We will not, of course, be incorporated into the divine being in any way, but as we are united to Christ through faith, we experience the same intimate fellowship that is shared between Father, Son, and Spirit.
John continues, “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” Those who are united to Christ by faith should be the most joyful people in the world. There is neither lasting fear nor sorrow for those who have been redeemed by the Lord.
Matthew Henry comments,
The gospel dispensation is not properly a dispensation of fear, sorrow, and dread, but of peace and joy. Terror and astonishment may well attend mount Sinai, but exultation and joy mount Zion, where appears the eternal Word, the eternal life, manifested in our flesh.
John’s desire is to see his readers and hearers come to Christ, that both their joy and his may be brought to completion as Christ’s church is built. He does not mean that his personal joy in Christ is somehow incomplete without their conversion, but more broadly, that the joy of God’s people will only be fully consummated when the full number of the elect are brought into union with Christ.
He is also reminding his readers where they ought to place their joy. Not only will John’s joy be complete through the faith of his hearers, but their joy will also be complete as they turn and cling to Jesus as the only Savior. Their completeness, or fullness, of joy is found only in Christ. John Calvin notes,
By full joy, he expresses more clearly the complete and perfect happiness which we obtain through the Gospel; at the same time he reminds the faithful where they ought to fix all their affections.
John’s desired result of his first epistle ought to be the desired goal of anyone who shares the gospel: that those to whom they speak may turn in repentance from their sin to Christ in faith and, in so doing, find full fellowship and complete joy in the One for whom we were made.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
In Christ, we have intimate fellowship with you and experience full and complete joy. Keep us from looking for such blessing in any other sources, and may our faith and affection for you increase each day.
For Christ’s, amen.
Prayer Requests:
- Tuesday: Pray for missionaries serving with Impacto Biblico Baptist Church in Santa Marta, Colombia.
- Wednesday: Pray for Live Global partners Felix and Oana as they are church planting in Romania.
- Thursday: Pray for missionaries and national partners reaching rural Burmese communities.
- Friday: Pray for the students and staff at Goroka Baptist Bible College in Papua New Guinea.
- Saturday: Pray for the ABWE missionary team serving in the Czech Republic.
- Sunday: Pray for missionaries in Argentina.
- Monday: Pray for missionaries serving in Communications and Media roles.
Featured Serving Opportunity:
Director/Coordinator of Administration Management
Location: South Asia
Our team needs a humble and willing individual skilled in administration and management to come serve as the Director/Coordinator of Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh.
