The Book of I John: Chapter 1 verses 1-4

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— 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—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— 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. 4 And these things we write to you that your[a] joy may be full.

I John 1:1-4

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

The Gospel of John 1:1-3

Several thoughts about this passage: (not exhaustive)

I

There are two sets of credentials presented here. The former gives credence to the later. Without the former the later doesn’t matter. What John has to say here is legitimate because he received it from “That which was from the beginning”. He is not giving us his opinion, which he came up with. Nor is he telling us about someone else’s opinion. If John was spouting his own opinion we could say “Well, that’s a very nice idea John, but there are thousands upon thousands of opinions on how we ought to live our lives and yours isn’t anymore legitimate than the next fellows”. Even if John were presenting an idea from a great teacher our argument would still hold. John, by himself, wouldn’t have the authority to tell us to get out of bed in the morning. At best John could present his case and we could choose to follow it or not follow it.

But if John is repeating what he heard from The Word, who was in the beginning, who was with God and who was God, then what he has to say takes on importance. What John has to say is now legitimate and has basis because he has heard, seen, touched and handled That which was from the beginning. He was there, he has heard and he is now going to communicate to us what The Word has to say to us. .

II

Jesus was not just a great moral teacher. He is much more than that. John tell us in his gospel that Jesus, presented here as The Word, existed in the beginning. He is not a creature that was made by God but that he is God himself. There was never a time where Christ did not exist. So great is this Jesus that He had created all things; without Him nothing was made that was made. John, later in his gospel, tells us that The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. God the creator takes on the flesh and becomes like the created. He becomes the God-man. It is this God-man that John hears, sees and handles. It is this Word that was manifested before John’s eyes.

III

John gives us the purpose of this letter in verse 3. The purpose of the letter is this: that the reader will have fellowship with those whose fellowship is with the Father and the Son. True happiness is found only in fellowship with brethren that are in fellowship with God the Father and God the Son. These are believers joined together by virtue of their faith in Christ. Again, the fellowship with the brethren is important because it is in fellowship with God the Father and God the Son. We will explore this concept later in the book.