Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament - 1 John 1:3
1:3 report (b-9) 'Bring back the report of,' from something we have learnt. fellowship (d-17) fellowship (d-22) Koinonia . see Hebrews 2:14 . read more
1:3 report (b-9) 'Bring back the report of,' from something we have learnt. fellowship (d-17) fellowship (d-22) Koinonia . see Hebrews 2:14 . read more
Fellowship with God in Light1. Observe the grammatical form of 1 John 1:1-3. In 1 John 1:1 a sentence is begun which, interrupted by the parenthesis in 1 John 1:2, is continued in 1 John 1:3. The sense is, ’We declare unto you that which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, etc., concerning the Word of Life.’ From the beginning] cp. John 1:1. Heard.. handled] the evidence of eyewitness. The Docetists taught that Christ was a mere phantom: cp. Luke 24:39. Of the Word of life] RV... read more
[1.The Exordium (1 John 1:1-4).(1)OBJECT AND PURPOSE OF THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING: The setting forth of the historical Christ for the spread of human fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:1-3).(2)DESIGN OF THE EPISTLE: Fulness of joy for those who should read it (1 John 1:4).](1) That which was from the beginning.—The profound emotion, the hearty sympathy, the tender anxiety which St. John feels as he begins his counsels to his friends, mark off this introduction very distinctly from... read more
1 John 1:1 The ancient philosophers, too, spoke of a wise man who was the type and exemplar of all goodness, about whom strange paradoxes were affirmed that he was a king, that he might be happy on the rack, and the like. This was their mode of describing philosophy. But they never supposed that Socrates or Chrysippus, or any other great teacher, really fulfilled this ideal. They did not 'see with their eyes,' nor 'touch with their hands,' the Word of Life. Nevertheless the Greek ideal, which... read more
Analysis and Annotations I. THE LIFE MANIFESTED CHAPTER 1:1-4 The opening verses of this Epistle are very precious and are the key to the whole Epistle. Three Scriptures speak of what was in the beginning. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 ). This is the beginning of all things which God called into existence out of nothing. “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 ). This takes us beyond the first verse of... read more
1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, {2} that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.(2) The use of this doctrine is this, that all of us being coupled and joined together with Christ by faith, might become the sons of God: in which only consists all true happiness. read more
Unlike his second and third epistles, this first from John’s pen waits for no salutation, but more like Paul’s to the Hebrews, immediately begins with a precious declaration of the glory of the Person of Christ. “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, of the Word of life.” Does it not almost startle us with wonder that this blessed Person should be so introduced by the use of impersonal... read more
GOD IS LIGHT First John is addressed to no particular church or individual, but it is thought that the apostle had in mind a cycle of churches like the seven of Asia (see Revelation 1:0 ). It is likely that the Christians to whom he wrote were of Gentile rather than Jewish origin, as judged by the few references to the Old Testament, and by such allusions as that in 1 John 5:21 . The epistle was written later than the Gospel by the same author, as gathered from the circumstances that an... read more
Beginnings 1Jn 1:1-5 IN beginning his Gospel the Apostle John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In writing this Epistle he says, "That which was from the beginning." The Apostle was a man who took in a whole horizon. A clever man only takes in points; a clever man can, therefore, be dogmatic and impudent. The inspired man is filled with a sense of inexpressibleness, and, therefore, he must be sometimes apparently indefinite, but always he... read more
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 John 1:3
"You," the recipients of this epistle, must have been genuine believers in view of how John referred to them (cf. 1 John 2:12-14; 1 John 2:21; 1 John 2:27; 1 John 5:13). They had not known Jesus Christ in the flesh as the apostles had. John wrote so they could enter into and continue to enjoy the intimate fellowship with Him that the apostolic eyewitnesses enjoyed (cf. Acts 10:40-41). [Note: Westcott, p. 4.] "This verse introduces the purpose of the Epistle: ’that you also may have fellowship... read more