Real Christianity: Fellowship with God Through Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1-2)

John begins his epistle with a long and convoluted sentence. Grammatically the subject and main verb of the sentence do not appear until verse 3. “We [subject] declare [verb] to you [indirect object] what we have seen and heard [direct object].” Sorry for the grammar lesson, but grammar can help sometimes (!). Verse 1 is an expanded explanation of the direct object and verse 2 is an aside to identify “the Word of Life.” Clear as mud? {This is what an advanced degree can do for you.} If so, read it again looking at your Bible. If you still have trouble leave a comment below.

Verse 1, then, tells us the content of John’s declaration to us. The content is what the apostles witnessed as they followed Jesus through His ministry “from the beginning” to end. They are bearing witness to us what God revealed to them (verse 2). And they are identifying this “Word of life” that they witnessed. Of course we know that John is talking about the incarnate Second Person of the Trinity. The apostles heard, saw, beheld (looked upon, viewed attentively, contemplated) and handled (remember the loaves and fish?) what Jesus did. His point here is that they were physically involved with a physical Jesus who is also the “Eternal Life” who “was with the Father.” [More on that later.]

Everything that the apostles witnessed of Jesus revealed the Father. What Jesus did included securing our salvation. Everything Jesus did in revealing the Father and securing our salvation was so that we might have fellowship with God. This tells us what God thinks of our having fellowship with Him. This is our purpose in life. We exist, are saved, and live out our days here to have fellowship with Him, not just to miss Hell and land in Heaven. Of course, Heaven will be more and better fellowship.

More to come, God willing…

(Here is a diagram of verses 1-3a:

We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard.

                what was from the beginning

                what we have heard

                what we have seen with our eyes àconcerning the Word of Life

                what we beheld                                (This prepositional phrase

                and our hands handled                       can modify each clause.)

[And

             The Life was manifested (this is why we could witness Him), and

             We have seen and

    bear witness and

    declare to you the Eternal Life

                                                            Who was with the Father,

                                                            And was manifested to us.])