First John/Chapter 1:1-4/Commentary

First John Chapter 1:1-4 Outline: Preface/Introduction: 1:1-4 The Moral Implications of Fellowship with God: 1:5-10 God Is Light/Therefore We Must Walk in the Light: 1:5-7 Sin Must Be Acknowledged and Confessed: 1:8-10 Introductory Comments: “The opening of the Epistle is remarkable in that it lacks any salutation or personal reference. In this it differs from all the other New Testament Epistles except Hebrews” (Stott p. 57). “In the original Greek the first three and a half verses form one long sentence”. 1 In these opening verses John sets forward the following: His right to speak for he was an eyewitness (1:1-2). His purpose in writing, so that others could have fellowship with God (1:3) and this fellowship could be filled with confidence and joy (1:4). That the events concerning the life of Christ were not mythical.

“The earthly life of Jesus, an ineffable wonder but no dream, an indubitable reality. His readers might doubt it, since they belonged to a later generation and had never seen Jesus; but John had seen Him, and he assures them, with The New International Commentary On The New Testament. 'The Epistles of John'. I. Howard Marshall p. 99.

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elaborate iteration, that it is no dream. ‘The greatness of the thing demanded that its truth should be certain and proved, he insists much at this point’” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 169). Today we hear people saying, “How can I be sure that the Bible I currently possess is accurately describing events that really happened?” We tend to forget that various New Testament letters were written to people who had not witnessed these events either! In the opening verses there is a wonderful parallel between the introduction of the Gospel of John and this epistle: The Gospel

First John

“The beginning” (1:1) “The Word” (1:1) “Word became flesh” (1:14) “Word as with God” (1:1)

“The beginning” (1:1) “The Word” (1:1) “Was manifested” (1:2) “Which was with the Father” (1:2)

“Both open with a reference to the beginning, both speak of the Logos in connection with the Father and with life, both declare that the Eternal entered history, both add that the divine manifestation was seen by men, both mention testimony resulting from what men saw, both speak of Christ as the Father's Son and both describe the result of responding to Christ in terms of a new relationship with God (John 1:12-13; 1 John 1:3)” (Stott pp. 66-67).

1John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life” “That which”: “What was” (NASV). “Instead of a personal pronoun in the masculine gender which we would ordinarily expect in this instance, the sentence begins with a neuter relative ‘that which’. The reference is thus not to Christ contemplated as a person only, but to the attributes and

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characteristics which He, the Word possesses” (Woods p. 210). “This expresses a collective and comprehensive whole (John 4:22; 6:37), the attributes of the Logos rather than the Logos Himself are indicated” (P.P. Comm. p. 1). Some commentators feel that the "Word of life" under consideration in these opening passages is the Gospel Message, hence John's point would be that what these Christians have believed and what He preaches is the original and authentic message from God. While such a concept is true, I do not think that it is found in these passages. From the language given it seems clear that the Word of Life under consideration in these passages is Jesus, Who was "seen" and "handled" (1:1). “Was”: “It was already existing when the succession of life began” (Vincent p. 304). “In other words, John tells us that this Logos, this Word, was in existence before the created world. Therefore we would be fully justified in translating this first clause, ‘Before there was a beginning, the Word had been’”. 2 The same expression is found in John 1:1. Where was Jesus in the beginning?

He simply "was", that is, He was already present, which is one more indication that Jesus is eternal (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 9:6).

“From the beginning”: The word "beginning" can refer to different "beginnings" and is used in the writings of John for example: The beginning of one's relationship with God (1 John 2:7,24), or the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry (John 6:64). Some point before the Creation (John 8:44; 1 John 3:8).

It can also refer to the remotest time that man can think of, thus virtually a synonym for "eternity" (John 1:1; 1 John 2:13-14). “In our text from the beginning points to that period before creation, and therefore into the eternity which precedes it. It is an affirmation of the eternal characteristics of the Lord and the attributes which He possesses” (Woods p. 210) (John 17:5). “We”: Probably refers to the other apostles, since the individuals that John had written to had not "seen, heard or handled Jesus". The repeated use of the term "we" makes the point that the credibility of the existence of Jesus did not depend on the testimony of one man (1 Corinthians 15:6).

‘Have heard”: “What follows is in a climax, making the meaning clearer at each 2

Was Christ God. Zodhiates. p. 39.

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step: ‘seeing’ is more than ‘hearing’, and ‘handling’ than ‘seeing’” (P.P. Comm. p. 1). “Seen”: At this point we discover that John is not talking about the gospel message, but rather the focal-point of that message, Jesus Christ. Jesus can be described as the Word of life, because He is the central point of the Gospel. Without Him, there is no message or life (Heb. 1:1-2). “Our writer here wants to emphasize that the Christian message is identical with Jesus; it took personal form in a person who could be heard, seen, and even touched” (Marshall p. 102).

At this point we need to make a couple of practical applications: Seeing that Jesus is the heart and soul of the Gospel Message, such a message cannot be changed by time and culture, because Jesus is not changed by such things (Hebrews 13:8). To say that the New Testament needs to be updated to "contemporary society" is the same as saying that Jesus has become "outdated". You cannot say one thing about Jesus and the opposite about the New Testament (John 12:48; 1 Cor. 14:37). Paying close attention to the Bible is not worshipping the Bible, rather it is worshipping Jesus (John 14:15).

“Beheld”: ”THEAOMAI-to behold, view attentively, contemplate. It signifies a more earnest contemplation than the ordinary verbs for to see, a careful and deliberate vision” (Vine p. 115). “To gaze at someone, or at something, until a long look has grasped something of the meaning and the idea is not that of a passing glance, and a quick look, but of a steadfast searching gaze. A quick glance at Christ never made a man a Christian” (Barclay p. 27). “Also inherent in the meaning of the word is the idea of contemplating with pleasure, looking with delight, finding satisfaction in the object thus contemplated” (Woods p.

211). By this word John is telling us that he did not have just a passing glimpse of Jesus, rather he had many opportunities to simply gaze upon Him. Not only was John an eyewitness, but an eyewitness who had plenty of time with Jesus.

“Our hands handled”: “Suggests the most tangible, intimate, and definite evidence which John offered” (Woods p. 211) (Luke 24:39). At this point John is clearly making an attack upon the theories of the Gnostics.

“Here John is thinking of the people who were called the Docetists. These people were so spiritually minded that they held that Jesus never at any time

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had a flesh and blood body, but that He was only a phantom appearing in human form. They refused to believe that the God, who was pure spirit, could ever soil Himself by taking human flesh and blood” (Barclay pp. 27-28). “The first clause (which was from the beginning) assures us that Jesus was no mere man. The second clause assures us that He was really man” (P.P. Comm. p. 2).

We should also stress the point that in taking upon Himself the nature of man (John 1:14; Hebrews 2:14), Jesus proved that human nature or the human body is not inherently depraved, for He had no sin (1 Peter 2:22).

“The Word of Life”: The Word Who Is Life (John 1:4; 5:26; 6:35; 11:25; 14:6; Acts 3:15. In reference to the question, “Why is Jesus called the Word”. “It seems to me that as our words are the means that permit us to communicate with others, John used it to show that Jesus Christ is the only means whereby He (God) chose to communicate with man. Jesus Christ, then, is God's speech or discourse to man” (Zodhiates p. 51). The Father could be making the point that Jesus is His sole avenue of communication (Matthew 17:5; Heb. 1:2). In Greek the expression "Logos" (Word), means more than just mere speech. It also means rational and articulate utterance of thought. From it we derive the English words logic and logical. Thus Jesus is the only logical explanation for this Universe (Colossians 1:15-17). Or, in Jesus Christ one will find all the answers to the questions of life. The expression also reminds us that in the beginning God simply spoke and things came into existence (Genesis 1:3).

Later we learn that Jesus was the active agent in that Creation (John 1:2-3; Colossians 1:6). Jesus is "The Word", the Word of God "par excellence", the final word and revelation to mankind (Hebrews 1:2; Matthew 17:5), the crowning and sealing of all God's revelations to man.

1John 1:2 “(and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal {life}, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)” “And”: This verse is placed in parenthesis for it explains how the events of the previous verse happened, or how John could testify of such things. “The life”: Life is the essential nature of Jesus (John 1:4). “Was manifested”: To make

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visible, clear, known (Vine p. 36). To show or reveal one self, appear (Arndt p.

853). The word "manifested" here refers to when Jesus became flesh (John 1:14; 1 Timothy 3:16). “The entry of Jesus into the world of men was a real entry” (Barclay p. 28). “John was particularly careful to guard his readers against the conclusion that the Word of life was merely some speech or saying delivered by Christ, and hence emphasized that it was the actual, literal, fleshly body of Jesus which he had seen, beheld, heard, and his hands had handled” (Woods p. 212).

“Bear witness and declare unto you”: The expression you makes it clear that the we in these verses refers to another group other than those to whom John is presently writing. Bearing witness and declaring is something even more than hearing, seeing, beholding or handling. “The historical manifestation of the Eternal Life was proclaimed, not monopolized. The revelation was given to the few for the many. They were to dispense it to the world. John desires his readers to enjoy the same advantageous position which he himself and his fellow-apostles enjoyed, as regards the knowledge of God in Christ” (Stott p.

61). The plan was not that Jesus would be seen by everyone who ever lived, instead God would enter this world, and a few were chosen to share that message with others. Thus, if one wants a relationship with God, they must accept what the apostles wrote (1 Cor. 14:37). “Bears witness”: “Carries the stage further, the communication of the experience” (P.P. Comm. p. 2). Since he had seen, heard, and touched Jesus, John was fully competent to give accurate testimony. Stott notes, that both the phrases "bear witness" and "declare" imply an authoritative testimony. The first implies the authority of experience. “The true witness speaks not of what he has gathered secondhand from others, but of what he has himself personally seen and heard” (p.

62). The word “declare” indicates the authority of commission, Jesus gave His apostles an authoritative commission to spread this message (Matthew 28:1920). “The author insists that he possesses these necessary credentials” (p. 62).

“The life, the eternal life which was with the Father”: In this passage we have two beings which are both eternal (John 1:1), this is simply another verse which clearly teaches that Jesus is Divine. Note that Jesus is called “the eternal life”, thus Jesus is not a created being. “With the Father”: Same

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as John 1:1. The Greek word rendered "with" is "pros". Zodhiates notes, “This could be translated toward to express the idea of motion. It is as if the Logos and the Father were facing each other. There is no suggestion of the Son following the Father. Here we have two equal personalities” (p. 71). The word with “presents a place of equality and intimacy, face to face with each other” (Robertson [Gospel of John] p. 4). This verse informs us as to what Jesus was doing or His relationship with the Father before He came to this earth (John 17:5; Phil. 2:6).

1John 1:3 “that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” “That which we have seen and heard”: The thought of verse 1 is continued.

“The proclamation was not an end in itself; its purpose, immediate and ultimate, is now defined” (Stott p. 63). “Fellowship”: Means partnership, joint participation, communion. “The aim of every preacher and of every teacher must always be to bring men closer to one another and closer to God” (Barclay p. 25). “Fellowship renders a Greek word which literally means ‘having in common’. Here in this verse the writer clearly wants to make known his message to his readers so that by their acceptance of it they may become and remain his partners” (Marshall p. 104).

"Fellowship" is inherently tied to "what is written". Fellowship with other believers and with God is dependent upon practicing and believing the truth (2 Thess. 3:14; 2 John 9). This is why false doctrine is so dangerous. It is not simply a side issue. It is something that threatens our relationship to God. Be impressed that one cannot have a relationship with God without hearing and accepting what God has said (John 8:32; 2 John 9). “With us”: One cannot claim fellowship with the apostles if one is not abiding in what they wrote.

Even though most of the apostles were probably dead when God wrote this statement, all faithful Christians, living or dead, have a common relationship with God (Heb. 12:23).

John 17:20-22 is a wonderful parallel with the above verse: Christ wanted all

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believers to be "one". Christ contemplated people believing on Him, who had never seen Him (17:20). Clearly, Jesus knew that enough "evidence" would exist for people to believe on Him, even though they never "heard, saw or touched" Him. The only way to have fellowship with Jesus and the Father is to accept what the apostles wrote (17:20 “believe in Me through their word”; (17:21) “that they also may be in Us”. “In a practical sense, man's fellowship with God is possible only as man is taught, hears, learns, and comes to Him (John 6:44-45; 1 Cor. 1:9)” (Plain Talk 13/4/4).

“Our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ”: One cannot have fellowship with the Father without also having fellowship with Jesus. This is another verse which stresses the fact that Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6; 1 John 5:12). “His Son Jesus Christ”: “The use of the full title ‘His Son Jesus Christ’ (3:23; 5:20) perhaps contains a side-glance at the heretics, who denied that the man Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God” (Stott p. 64). Stott makes a good point when he says, “This statement of the apostolic objective in the proclamation of the gospel, namely a human fellowship arising spontaneously from a divine fellowship, is a rebuke to much of our modern evangelism and Church life. We cannot be content with an evangelism which does not lead to the drawing of converts into the Church, nor with a Church life whose principle of cohesion is a superficial social camaraderie instead of a spiritual fellowship” (p. 64).

1John 1:4 “and these things we write, that our joy may be made full” “These things”: What is found within this letter, which means that everything written therein is vital to our relationship with God. “We write”: John will repeat this idea that these things are written so that they can have and maintain their fellowship with God (1 John 2:26; 5:13). Thus, this letter agrees with 2 John 9 that refusing to abide within what is written cuts one off from God. “Our joy”: “Of us and of you” (Alford p. 1695). “May be made full”: Notice the “may”, which infers freewill on the part of those who read this letter. God earnestly desires that we have a full and complete joy in a relationship with Him, but the final choice for arriving at such a goal is ours.

John often uses the expression fullness of joy (John 3:39; 15:11; 16:24; 17:13;

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2 John 12). The ultimate aim of preaching is the joy that comes from a true fellowship with God. Preaching must not stop at the condemnation of sin, one needs to show the sinner what they are presently missing by holding on to their sins.

This letter would bring joy because it is reminding them that their faith rested on eyewitness testimony, and fellowship with God was possible, even though one never has seen Jesus. One can have confidence in their relationship with God (5:12-14), and doubt is not something that the Christian must simply live with, a person can have fellowship with God even though they have sinned in the past (1:8-10). The joy that was brought to John was his own fellowship with God and seeing others remain faithful (2 John 4; 3 John 4).

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