Exploring 1 John: Concerning the Word of Life
1 John 1:1-2; John 1:1-13 - John was there, in person, and knows Jesus!
”What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—“
1 John 1:1-2 NASB1995
This epistle of 1 John starts off with a Paulian-style run-on sentence, which is unique for this apostle, who is usually known for shorter sentences. I’m starting this series by tackling just the first two verses, which are part of that long sentence. This immediately lays the groundwork for what John is trying to do by writing this longer epistle (or sermon).
John appears to be relating back to the beginning of his Gospel:
”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.“
John 1:1-3 NASB1995
However, many of the Biblical commentators that I consult fall into two camps for the meaning of “beginning” as it is stated in 1 John:
From the beginning of the Gospel (Jesus coming as the Son of Man) OR
From the beginning of eternity past or from creation - He was with the Father for all eternity (which has no beginning) and brought all things into being at the creation.
I think it is probably meant to be a blend of both ideas. John is first speaking of His eternal nature and creating the link in readers minds to the beginning of his Gospel, but then immediately talks about the sensual (as in the five senses) experiences that the apostles (“we”) had, by hearing Jesus, seeing Him, and touching Him and also seeing Him eat and drink and suffer. He became the Word of Life manifest at that point not far in John’s past. Here is what Enduring Word has to say about this passage; Guzik is of the opinion that the beginning is before anything was created:
That which was from the beginning: The beginning John wrote of is not the beginning of this world; nor is it the beginning of creation. It is the beginning of Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1, the beginning there was before there was anything, when all there existed was God.
The beginning of Genesis 1:1 is simple: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The beginning of John 1:1 is profound: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John takes us back to this time in eternity past, to meet this One which was from the beginning.
Whoever, or whatever, John wrote of, he said his subject was eternal and therefore was God because the subject existed before all else and was the source and basis of the existence of all things.
Which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled: This indicates that this eternal being – the One from the beginning – came to earth, and John (among others) personally experienced this eternal One.
“We deliver nothing by hearsay, nothing by tradition, nothing from conjecture; we have had the fullest certainty of all that we write and preach.” (Adam Clarke) The idea is that this eternal subject of John has been audibly heard, physically seen, intently studied (have looked upon), and tangibly touched (hands have handled). This idea would have enormous implications for his readers.
The implications were enormous because they said that this eternal God became accessible to man in the most basic way, a way that anyone could relate to. This eternal One can be known, and He has revealed Himself to us.
The implications were enormous because they proved that John’s words have the weight of eyewitness evidence. He did not speak of a myth or of a matter of clever story-telling. He carefully studied this eternal One and he knew whom he spoke about.
[Implications were ]Enormous because it debunked dangerous teachings that were creeping into the church, known as Gnosticism. Part of the teaching of Gnosticism was that though Jesus was God, He was not actually a physical man, but instead some kind of pseudo-physical phantom. Yet John declared, “I heard Him! I saw Him! I studied Him! I touched Him!”
I explained a little bit in the introduction to this series about the error in belief known as Gnosticism. This was starting to creep into the early churches during John’s life, but was even more widespread later in the second century. The scattering of many heterodox beliefs were carefully culled into the orthodoxy in the fourth century that makes up the context of the Christianity that most of us now follow. Rather than try and go down this philosophical bunny trail through my own limited understanding, here is a good and succinct summary from scholar D. Edmond Hiebert, as found in Precept Austin:
As a speculative philosophy of religion, Gnosticism was marked by a kaleidoscopic variety of views. Basic was the dualistic view that spirit is good and matter is inherently evil, and that the two are in perpetual antagonism. This assumed dualism created a gulf between the true God and this material world. The Gnostics, meaning “knowing ones,” held that spiritual excellence consisted not in a holy life but in their superior knowledge, which enabled them to rise above the earthbound chains of matter in their apprehension of the heavenly truth that had been made known to them. This knowledge, they claimed, had been made known to them through Christ as the Messenger of the true God. Thus “the Gnostic Christ was not a Saviour; he was a revealer. He came for the express purpose of communicating his secret gnosis.” This undermined the Christian view of sin and the atonement.
Acceptance of Gnostic dualism made the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation unthinkable; two alternative views were advanced.
Docetic Gnosticism held that Christ seemed to have a human body; His supposed humanity was a phantom.
Cerinthian Gnosticism, named after Cerinthus, a late contemporary of John at Ephesus, held that the man Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary, was preeminent in righteousness and wisdom, that “the Christ” came on Him at His baptism and empowered His ministry, but left Him before His crucifixion; it was only a man who died and rose again.
Ironically, although 1 John was written to correct these errors in thinking, if you go to Wikipedia and read about Gnosticism, the writers there allege that John was somewhat responsible for influencing this belief system, as were the writings of Paul. I’m not a big fan, by the way, of using Wikipedia for anything that describes Christianity; there is an underlying bias in their scholarship that tries to induce subtle and not-so-subtle skepticism into any and all topics about Jesus.
The Word of Life follows on to the beginning of the Gospel of John and to the “I am” sayings of Jesus in that Gospel. Word comes from the Greek word λόγος or lógos and has this special meaning from the writings of John (from the Biblical usages in the Blue Letter Bible Lexicon):
In John, denotes the essential Word of God, Jesus Christ, the personal wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world's life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man's salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah, the second person in the Godhead, and shone forth conspicuously from His words and deeds.
Life comes from the Greek word ζωή or zōḗ and has these special meanings from Biblical usage, beyond just the standard definitions of vitality or animation:
of the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature
life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.
Jesus is the eternal life that was manifested and was with the Father. Manifest comes from the Greek word φανερόω or phaneróō and has the following Biblical usages:
to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way
make actual and visible, realised
to make known by teaching
to become manifest, be made known
of a person
expose to view, make manifest, to show one's self, appear
to become known, to be plainly recognised, thoroughly understood
who and what one is
John knows Him as the Word of Life and knows the person of Jesus, the Son of Man. John laid his head on Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper. John had his feet washed by Jesus. He saw the transfiguration of Jesus and knew the true Word at that moment; I can imagine that experience is like seeing a total solar eclipse except so much more profound. He witnessed hundreds of miracles, but also saw Jesus sleeping in a boat because He was tired. He witnessed Him care for His earthly mother and ask John to do the same. He was the only disciple who was at the foot of the cross during the crucifixion and saw Jesus suffer and die. He ran to the tomb ahead of Peter to witness to the Resurrection. He can proclaim the eternal life! Here are some more thoughts on this passage from Enduring Word - this is superb, by the way:
The life was manifested: This life was manifested, meaning that it was made actually and physically real. John solemnly testified as an eyewitness (we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you) that this was the case. This was no fairy tale, no “Once upon a time” story. This was real, and John tells us about it as an eyewitness.
Eternal life which was with the Father: In calling Jesus eternal life, John remembered the words of Jesus (John 5:26, 6:48, and 11:25). He also repeated the idea expressed in his first words of this letter: that Jesus Himself is eternal, and therefore God.
We can say that people are eternal, but we say this with the understanding that we mean they are eternal in the future sense – they will never perish, being immortal (John 5:29). Yet people are not eternal in the past sense; to say that something is eternal in the past sense is the same as saying it is equal to God or God’s Word.
The eternal existence of Jesus is also declared in Micah 5:2 – But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. The word everlasting here literally means, “beyond the vanishing point.”
Which was with the Father: This refers to the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. There was an eternal relationship of love and fellowship between the Father and the Son. Jesus referred to this in John 17:24: “For You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
This eternal relationship is clearly described in the Scriptures, but we could also understand it from simple logic. If God is love (1 John 4:8) and God is eternal (Micah 5:2), we understand that love in isolation is meaningless. Love needs an object, and since there was a time before anything was created, there was a time when the only love in the universe was between the members of the Godhead: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Was with the Father: The word with indicates that this being, who is eternal, and is eternal life Himself, is distinct from the Father. John builds the New Testament understanding of the Trinity – that one God exists as three Persons, equal and one, yet distinct in their person.
The Bible links together the names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a way that is unimaginable for other persons. We read, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Yet we would never say, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of Michael the Archangel.”
We read, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14). Yet we would never say, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of the Apostle Paul, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
We read, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2). Yet we would never say, “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of the Apostle Peter.”
A couple of takeaways from this commentary, which is describing how John firmly established the Trinity:
The Triune God and love are eternal and everlasting. To have love means there must be an object of that love and the three-in-one are that love.
The Triune God has distinct names that are linked together like no other names in the invocations that we follow. We ask for things, praise, confess and evangelize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
My next devotional examines 1 John 1:3-4 - John proclaims our fellowship.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Eternal Lord - Thank You for apostles like John, who worked diligently through Your Spirit to explain the mysteries of the Word of Life. I ask for Your guidance daily as I read and study Your Word. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 3/25/2024 to review the lexicon for Word, Life and Manifest.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Precept Austin was accessed on 3/25/2024 to review commentary about Gnosticism.