Fellowship with God, and fullness of joy.

Please see 1st John 1....


The title of this devotional, includes two of the reasons that John wrote this letter.
I'd like to today, just take a running start at this first chapter, by looking at the first number of verses, and then to also understand some of the background that prompted John to write what he did in this letter. So, here we go........


Jesus existed before the beginning. That is, the beginning of all that was created. That's how the Bible opens in Gen 1, with in the "beginning".....So, before that time, before creation, there was nothing that existed. There was only the eternal God, Father, Son, and Spirit. God has no beginning. So, we learn right off the bat here, that Jesus was from the beginning, that makes Him God. Only God has this eternal nature. ( There are many other parts of the Bible that state more explicitly, that Jesus was not created )

Then John goes on to explain his and the other apostles personal experience with Jesus. 

We have heard Him, ( with our own ears ) 

We have seen Him with our own eyes. 

We have looked upon Him. ( Gazed upon Him ) 

We have handled Him with our own hands. 

We have seen, heard, touched, and looked upon the Word of life he says. 

That's another name for Jesus Christ. He is the Word of Life.

John uses this name, and title for Jesus in his gospel......See John 1:1. 

Further explanation about Jesus is given here. The life ( Jesus ) was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness to you that eternal life which was with the Father was manifested to us. So, Jesus is the Word of life, and He was manifested to the apostles when He came to the earth. 

And, here's the first purpose, desire, hope through the teaching here. That is, that the readers might share in this. That is, that they might fellowship with ( the apostles ) and, then John adds, that truly our fellowship, our sharing is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. The word fellowship means, to share in, to have communion with, participation, contribution, intimacy.


And, he says, these things we are writing to you, that your joy may be full. 

So, fullness of joy, is the second reason this letter was written. this is a second purpose if you will in this letter being written. 

What is fullness of Joy? Joy, means to have peace, and to be glad. To have fullness of joy, is to be as joyful and as happy as you can be. And, that is one of the purposes of this letter. To help the readers have fullness of joy. 

So, let's move on, and see what else John says......

He says, "this is the message we have heard from Him".....

How interesting. Here's what Jesus told us, and we are going to tell you about it now.

God is light......and in Him is no darkness at all.............

That is, God is pure, and there is nothing evil, or sinful in Him. 

I think it's helpful to know what John was trying to ward off through His teaching..

It's called Gnosticism..........

It's a heresy.

It had begun to make inroads into the church at that time...


Gnosticism taught.....


1. Knowledge is superior to virtue. 


2. The nonliteral sense of Scripture is correct and can be    understood only by a select few. 


3. Evil in the world precludes God's being the only Creator.


4. The incarnation is incredible because deity cannot unite itself with anything material such as a human body.


5. There is no resurrection of the flesh. 


The ethical standards of the Gnostic's were so low, so John emphasized the reality of the incarnation and the high ethical standard of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, says Charles Ryrie. 


Well, that's enough for now. 
This will be a great time of growing in and through 1st John 
May our fellowship with the Lord grow, and may our joy come to that place of fullness 


Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia. 

God's will includes these two things.

1John1:1 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, concerning the Word of life--

1John1:2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us--

1John1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

1John1:4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

In these passages, we are given two of the reasons this epistle was written. Both reasons have to do with our own personal lives, as to what God can do in them, and wants to do in them, and what we can have in Christ from God.

The first reason this epistle was written is found in 1:3, and the second is found  in 1:4.

Firstly, we are told, " it's fellowship"  that we might have fellowship with the Father and with the Son. Take a look again, just below, and see, that this is exactly what John says...

1John1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to have fellowship with Jesus and with the Father? The word fellowship, means communion, to communicate, to partake, to have in common, sharing together, to give a share in something, a willingness to give a share in, generosity. The Bible tells us that........we have been called into this fellowship with God.

1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Secondly, please notice in 1John1:4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. Here we are given this second reason. And, it is that our joy may be full. What a wonderful thought to have not only joy, but, to have full joy. Joy, or gladness, joyfulness, joyfully. It's a sense of well being in-spite of our circumstances.

At any rate, we will be talking more about all these things. But for now, it's a blessing to realize that through this letter, God's intentions are given to us. That we might communicate with Him, and that He might give us fullness of joy.
Thank You Lord.

A warning, and an encouragement from the Lord.

God's encouragement to beware, don't fall, but grow in grace.

2 Peter 3:17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;

2 Peter 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

As Peter winds up his letter, he again uses the familiar term, "Beloved" to remind us of how the Lord regards us and views us. He loves you, and considers you dear to Him. 

Peter now, encouraging his readers, that in light of what they knew, ( which is a reference to all that he had shared in his 2nd letter, and in particular the things of this last chapter, having to do with the coming events for this earth in God's plan, and the eternal plans that God has for us in Christ ) he calls us to beware lest we fall from our own stedfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. 

It never hurts to be warned about something that could happen. And, such is the case here. Beware, means, to guard, to watch, to keep watch, to keep your eye upon, to guard that you might remain safe. 

The readers, were stedfast, or resolutely firm and unwavering.....they were standing firm. But, he is warning them to remain so. Don't fall from that place and position and walk says Peter. Don't fall into the error of the wicked, don't be led away by their error, i.e their willful denial of the truths of creation and of the flood in Noah's day etc. Stick with the truth Peter says, and you won't fall.

The final thing that he says to his readers, is that contrast to falling, grow........advance, in two things. The grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To grow, is to increase, to multiply, to cause to grow. Grace is God's unmerited and undeserved favor. The knowledge of God, is to grasp, to comprehend, to come to know......to perceive......

So, don't fall, but grow.

Don't be led away by error.

But, advance in knowing the Lord. 

Stay with the Lord, and keep moving forward.

How do we grow in these things? Well, that was the subject of a good portion of the 1st Chapter of this letter.
See 2nd Peter 1:5-11

As a quick re-cap of what he said, includes the idea, that because you are born again, then this growth is for you. Be diligent to grow, make this something you put yourself into. He then lists 7 or so characteristics of growth. In fact, as are adding one of them, then we naturally will also be adding others. It's becoming more Christlike, more Spirit led, less led by our own flesh, and more under the control of the Holy Spirit. 

God bless you.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

The longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.

The Longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.

2 Pet 3:15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,

2 Pet 3:16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

The reason given by Peter as to the "apparent delay" in the judgement of God coming, is not really a delay at all, but rather, it's called "the longsuffering" of God. That is, He is very patient. And, He does not want anyone to perish, but that all would come to salvation. 

So, Peter here in 3:15 picks up this truth about God again, having mentioned it there in 3:9, and says, that because God has been longsuffering, or patient, it means that many have been saved in the meantime. God has waited, and waited to bring His final judgement on the world, and in doing so, it has provided a chance for people to be saved. 

Peter then refers to Paul, as a beloved brother ( by the way, Paul was the one who rebuked Peter in the past for Peter's failure to stick to the truth of salvation by grace, and was caving in abit to peer pressure by legalists, See The Epistle to the Galatians ) the point is, that Peter was humble enough to receive the rebuke, and here, he calls Paul "our beloved brother". Peter was far from perfect, as we all are, but, he was humble enough to receive what was given to him by way of rebuke. 

Anyways, Peter, says that Paul had also written about the longsuffering of God and the salvation of God in his letters....and then, adds, that some of the things that Paul has written about are not easily understood, or that they are hard to understand. How true. But, the point being made by Peter here, is that it's the irresponsible people, who do not know what they are talking about, who take and twist the Word of God every way that they want to, and in doing so, ( as they do with other scriptures as well ) they twist them to their own destruction. This is no doubt a ref to the false teachers he had mentioned earlier. 

So, in summary, the Lord wants us to consider that the longsuffering of the Lord is salvation. Right now, God is being patient, and think of how many people you know who need to be saved. This is their opportunity, this opportunity is being provided for them by the Lord in His great patience. 

And, also, back to Paul for a minute. Paul's letters dealt with the same truths as did Peter's letters, albeit from different perspectives, but essentially explaining the same truths. Some portions of the Bible are not easily understood, but, they are also not meant to be twisted and turned into false doctrines that encourage ungodly behavior and filthy lifestyles as was being taught by the false teachers. 

Good and true Bible teaching and explanation, leads to good and true living, according the righteousness of God and the examples given to us in Scripture. Our lives are to be measure by the Word, rather then trying to take the Word and make it fit into our lives, and what we might want to do etc. 

God has given us His Word to save us not to destroy us. 

May God greatly bless you today with His peace, and His grace, and His mercy. 

Pastor Bob Grenier 

Calvary Chapel Visalia 

Even though Judgement is coming, here's what we are looking for

2 Pet 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

2 Pet 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

Peter, having just spoken about the fact of the day of the Lord coming as a thief in the night, and the heavens and the earth being burned up and dissolved, that is, all we can see will be gone. He now states whats coming beyond the day of the Lord. 

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. So, beyond this world, that is, when it literally ceases to exist, it will be melted, burned up, and dissolved so that nothing of it is left, ( God has a new heaven and new earth for us ) This would be a reference to the time period after the great white throne judgement, at the end of things as we know them to be. This would be after the rapture, after the tribulation, after the 1000 year reign of Jesus on the earth, and then as mentioned after the final Great White Throne Judgement. All will be gone, and a brand new heaven and earth will be created, and it will dwell in righteousness. 

How can it be, that it will dwell in righteousness.? Because, Satan, and his angels, along with all the wicked who have refused salvation, will be in the lake of fire, and the only people who will dwell in this new earth will be glorified saints, along with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God the Father, and the holy angels. That's it. No one else. Thus, there will be no sin, devil, death, tears, sickness, trouble etc, only righteousness. 

In light of this wonderful promise, truth and future we have from God, here's some application for us. 

2 Pet 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

Again, we are beloved, and we are looking forward to these things............here's what we are told. Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless. 

That is, may our lives be lived in the peace of God, not at any odds with the Lord as it were, but walking in His peace. No spots ( meaning absolutely clean, immaculate, without faults, or moral blemishes , pure ) and blameless. ( blameless, means innocent of any wrongdoing ) Not walking in sin, and simply walking hand in hand with Him. 


While what Peter has been talking about is actually going to happen down the road ( that's not to say the rapture could not happen at any moment ), but regardless of what may be down the road, the focus of what the Scripture is teaching, has to do with our right now living. And, our living the right way, right now. 


That's not just a play on words. It's the Biblical Calling to any and all who have faith in Jesus Christ. Live now, the way the Lord has called you to live, live as you ought to live. Again, let's look at this scripture one more time.


2 Pet 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;


First of all, live in hope. "looking forward" etc.


Secondly, "be diligent" or careful and conscientious in one's work or duties. Take delight in. 


Thirdly, In peace and without blemish. Have God's peace in your life, by letting His Word call the shots as it were in your life. Look to His Word for direction and understanding and then seek to obey His Word. This will keep you walking blamelessly before Him. 


May God richly bless you.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia