Fellowship
One of the reasons John wrote the letter we call “1 John” is because he desired fellowship with those to whom he was writing. His approach to fostering fellowship though wasn’t by writing a letter about personal relationships. There would have been nothing wrong with such a letter. The Bible is full of teaching that helps us to live in harmony with others.
Nevertheless, John’s approach, one which we would be wise to take to heart, is to point his readers first to Christ. The way it is said in verse three of our text is: 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.
Rather than asking them to turn their faces toward him so that they could look at each other as a means to create fellowship among them, he asks them to turn their faces toward Christ. And if both of them, John, and those to whom he wrote, would do that they would have fellowship with one another.
While it can be helpful to learn principles and truths about interpersonal relationships, if we leave out the most important relationship, our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we will be unmooring ourselves from the most important key to loving and lasting fellowship. When two people, or a whole group of people are each in fellowship with God and his Son Jesus Christ, they automatically foster fellowship with one another.
