However, before we can examine the tests, we must lay the foundation. The first four verses of 1 John 1 remind us that the foundation of our faith must be Jesus Christ. James Boice stated it this way, “The most important thing John has to say in his preface is that Christianity is Jesus Christ.” This message of the Gospel is not new. It is from the beginning. Christ, our Creator, existed eternally. John began His Gospel with the same reminder. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John is also pointing out something important beyond Christ’s eternality. He reminds us that God’s plan of redemption was not secondary. This was God’s plan before He created anything. This is the perfect plan. So, we cannot change it to fit what we want. We cannot claim that there is something better. Instead, we must understand that there is only one plan. We follow it and find life, or we reject it and find death.

This eternal plan of redemption is the Grand Story Line of the Bible. From the beginning of Genesis in the Garden of Eden to the end of Revelation in the Garden of Heaven, the theme of the Bible is the redemptive work of God through Christ. As we wonder how we can know if we are Christians, we must start with God’s redemptive plan. This plan informs us that we are sinners alienated from God. We cannot earn or declare our way to God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Instead, Jesus Christ (God Himself) took on human form and took our punishment on himself. Only through faith in Christ can this be applied to us. True faith involves complete surrender to Jesus as our Lord. It requires repentance of sin. And it results in a desire to please God in everything. Over the next few weeks, we will look at John’s tests to determine if our faith is genuine.