That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have 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 - 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.
This is my first blog entry that deals solely with a text of Scripture. I am actually quite nervous because I know that teachers will be judged more strictly, though I don't know exactly how that is going to work itself out. I feel inadequate; I feel the weight of my sin; I feel the seriousness of the task. All I can ask is that you would read prayerfully, and it is my hope that constantly your eyes would be drawn away from what I have written and to the bolded Word of God.
These four verses at the beginning of 1 John are a sort of prologue. Though John does not begin this letter in the same manner as Paul usually does, by giving his name, there is no reason to doubt that the author of this letter is the same as the author of the fourth Gospel account, the disciple whose identity was wrapped up in the incredible truth that he was loved by Jesus. John was "the disciple whom Jesus loved". It is no surprise then that the letter of 1 John will go on to address in great detail what it means to love God and what it means to be loved by God.
Verse 1: 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 -
John is talking about Jesus in these four verses. When he refers to "that which was from the beginning", he is probably referring to Christ's pre-existence. There has never been a time when Christ was not. In verse 1, John uses the word "we" three times, and he is referring to himself and the other apostles. John and the others were eyewitnesses of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. In referring to Jesus and his ministry as that, "which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands," John pulls us into the reality that this is a very real story that took place with very real flesh-and-blood people, that we have a very real flesh-and-blood Savior, who has graciously descended from Heaven, giving up the rightful comforts associated with his God-hood, in order to offer up that flesh-and-blood to the cross. John isn't making this stuff up, and it didn't come to him in some ecstatic trippy vision. He heard it, saw it, touched it.
Verse 2: 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 -
In Jesus we see life. Twice in this verse we read that life and eternal life was made manifest. This means that it was taken and made tangible, so that it could be publicly seen and recognized and known. This eternal life is with the Father; it is the life Jesus experiences with the Father, and when we are in Christ we get this sort of life! As the reader, a central part of what John means to do is testify to and proclaim this eternal life. He has it, and he wants us to have it.
Verse 3: 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.
Again, John has seen and heard the Gospel lived out in Jesus. He proclaims it to us, and to what end? Why? In order that we may have fellowship with [them]. The result of our hearing about who Jesus was and what he did is that we can have fellowship with believers. But it isn't like any other fellowship. It is a fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. This goes radically beyond a mere prayer-and-saved-from-hell kind of religion. We are saved from wrath, and we are saved to a sweet fellowship with believers, but even better, we are saved to loving fellowship with the Father and the Son. And though we do not see it explicity in this text, we get the Spirit living within us to help us and to magnify the worth of the Son and the Father.
Verse 4: And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
John's stated purpose here is to promote joy. It follows from this verse that to not write these things would mean he would be settling for an incomplete joy. The kind of joy we have in God, and the joy that we obtain from resting in the Gospel is an unselfish joy. It abounds more and more as it is shared. Far from diluting the joy, when we give it away, it becomes that much more intense.
Prayer: God, please help me to trust in your Word, to receive confidence in Jesus because we have John as an eyewitness. Let me know this eternal life and this fellowship with the Father and the Son. Lord, cause me to complete my joy in proclaiming the Good News. You are holy, holy, holy, and to you alone be the glory. In the name of Jesus, amen.
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