I had a vision...

Experiential Theology in 1 John

I once received a vision—not in a dream or trance, and not one of clouds or fire. This was better. It was the Triune God, revealed in ink and, by the Spirit, ushered from the words of Scripture into my heart. I saw Him—not with my eyes, but with my soul. Upon reading, He stood before me clear and radiant.

You can behold Him too. You must. But many are concerned that mere doctrines about the nature of God (God’s triunity, simplicity, impassibility, etc.) have no bearing on everyday life. Do these doctrines strengthen the weak knees of a crippled modern church?

Thankfully, the doctrine of God is being snatched from the jaws of dead orthodoxy. It’s happening in our day. It’s something to rejoice in. This retrieval happens by returning to the ancient Scriptures. If you crack open your heart and the ancient letter of 1 John, you, too, will behold the Triune God.

Retrieving by Returning

The inspired biblical authors were the first to model an experiential doctrine of God. I often forget that church history didn’t begin with Aquinas, Anselm, Augustine, or Aristides but with the Apostles themselves.

Cue John the Apostle. He gave a letter to the church (what we call 1 John), which teaches a doctrine of God that touches the very crevices of our hearts and every facet of our daily lives.

John’s burden was for his doctrine of God to lead believers into true fellowship with the Trinity and, therefore, a life characterized by assurance, light, and love.

Triune

My family and I enjoy going on hikes together. We’re not super-hikers who sleep with our boots on and take on large summits, but we do our best to enjoy God’s creation even when these hikes are breeding grounds for lots of yelling and whining (some of that coming from my kids). One of the things my kids get fearful of is when there is a steep hill or a cleft in a big rock that we need to climb. My son, especially, has a hard time convincing himself to go forward. What helps him is knowing that I’m behind him, holding him up, guiding his feet to the next solid step.

The church in the first century was being ransacked with false teaching and false teachers, causing John to guide their feet past fearful doubts into full assurance. We learn a bit later in 1 John that his central aim for writing is the assurance of the believer: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

To accomplish this, John desires his readers to be brought back in time to the time when there was no time. In Chapter 1, we read, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us…” (1 John 1:1–2).

The Dutch theologian, Herman Bavinck, once quipped, “God, and God alone, is man’s highest good.” But he goes on to explain why that is. Unlike plants, which have no consciousness, and animals, which have a kind of awareness but no consciousness of eternal, non-sensuous things, mankind has a God-consciousness, being made in His image. Our thinking and knowing transcend the transient and sensuous and naturally enter the non-corporeal realm.

Thus, John draws the reader to the triunity of God, particularly the eternal Son of God, called “The Word of life.” The relationships between the persons of the Trinity can be seen even in John’s gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1–4).

The incarnation of the preexistent Son, His relationship with God the Father, and the Spirit (1 John 1:2), ground our entire Christian life. Why? Because John tells us, “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).

Our understanding of the immanent Trinity—i.e., the Son of God who was with the Father and “from the beginning”—grounds every ounce of our joy because, through trust in Him, we too have fellowship with Father and one another. This reality transcends any temporal joy or difficulty.

Think of it. In John’s gospel, when the disciples were troubled, fearful, and in despair at the thought of Jesus departing, Jesus encouraged them with the Trinity. He laid out His work as mediator—He brings His own to the Father. He promised to send the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to come and cure the fatherlessness of His servants and friends (John 14-16).

This One God, existing in three distinct co-equal persons, is the unchanging rock beneath your feet, for you have fellowship with Him. There is an unbreakable union and relationship utterly dependent upon His eternality and faithfulness.

Don’t allow the Trinity to fall to the level of your subconscious. John didn’t. When you’re troubled, think upon the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. Think of God the Son who, for us and our salvation, became incarnate. Think of God the Spirit, who is worshiped and adored with the Father and the Son. He spoke through the prophets and brought the comforting presence of Christ into the depths of your soul, and does so even today.