1 John 1:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 John 1:1-4

The apostle omits his name and character (as also the author to the Hebrews does) either out of humility, or as being willing that the Christian reader should be swayed by the light and weight of the things written rather than by the name that might recommend them. And so he begins, I. With an account or character of the Mediator's person. He is the great subject of the gospel, the foundation and object of our faith and hope, the bond and cement that unite us unto God. He should be well known;... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 1:1-4

1:1-4 What we are telling you about is that which was from the beginning, that which we heard, that which we saw with our eyes, that which we gazed upon, and which our hands touched. It is about the word of life that we are telling you. (And the life appeared to us, and we saw it, and testify to it; and we are now bringing you the message of this eternal life, which was with the Father and which appeared to us). It is about what we saw and heard that we are bringing the message to you, that... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 1:1-4

Here at the very beginning of his letter John sets down his right to speak; and it consists in one thing--in personal experience of Christ ( 1 John 1:2-3 ). (i) He says that he has heard Christ. Long ago Zedekiah had said to Jeremiah: "Is there any word from the Lord?" ( Jeremiah 37:17 ). What men are interested in is not someone's opinions and guesses but a word from the Lord. It was said of one great preacher that first he listened to God and then he spoke to men; and it was said of... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 1:1-4

John's message is of Jesus Christ; and of Jesus he has three great things to say. First, he says that Jesus was from the beginning. That is to say, in him eternity entered time; in him the eternal God personally entered the world of men. Second, that entry into the world of men was a real entry, it was real manhood that God took upon himself. Third, through that action there came to men the word of life, the word which can change death into life and mere existence into real living. Again and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 John 1:1

That which was from the beginning ,.... By which is meant not the Gospel, as if the apostle's design was to assert the antiquity of that, and clear it from the charge of novelty; for though that is called the word, and the word of life, and is the Spirit which gives life, and is the means of quickening dead sinners, and brings the report of eternal life and salvation by Christ, yet the seeing of it with bodily eyes, and handling it with corporeal hands, do not agree with that; but Jesus... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 1:1

That which was from the beginning - That glorious personage, Jesus Christ the Lord, Who was from eternity; him, being manifested in the flesh, we have heard proclaim the doctrine of eternal life; with our own eyes have we seen him, not transiently, for we have looked upon him frequently; and our hands have handled - frequently touched, his person; and we have had every proof of the identity and reality of this glorious being that our senses of hearing, ὁ ακηκοαμεν , seeing, ὁ ἑωρακαμεν... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 1:1

Verse 1 He shows, first, that life has been exhibited to us in Christ; which, as it is an incomparable good, ought to rouse and inflame all our powers with a marvelous desire for it, and with the love of it. It is said, indeed, in a few and plain words, that life is manifested; but if we consider how miserable and horrible a condition death is, and also what is the kingdom and the glory of immortality, we shall perceive that there is something here more magnificent than what can be expressed in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 1:1

The first clause states what or how the object is in itself; the next three state St. John's relation to it; "which," in the first clause nominative, in the others is accusative. The neuter ( ὅ ) expresses a collective and comprehensive whole ( John 4:22 ; John 6:37 ; John 17:2 ; Acts 17:23 , etc.); the attributes of the λόγος rather than the λόγος himself are indicated. Or, as Jelf expresses it, "the neuter gender denotes immaterial personality, the masculine or feminine... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 1:1-4

1. THE INTRODUCTION . It declares the writer's authority, based on personal experience; announces the subject-matter of his Gospel, to which this Epistle forms a companion; and states his object in writing the Epistle. These opening verses help to raise the reader to the high frame of mind in which the apostle writes. Emotion, suppressed under a sense of awe and solemnity, is shown by the involved construction through which his thoughts struggle for utterance. We are reminded of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 1:1-4

Dr. Edersheim £ makes the remark that there are two great stages in the history of the Church's learning of Christ: the first, to come to the knowledge of what he was by experience of what he did; the second, to come to experience of what he did and does by knowledge of what he is. The former, he says, is that of the period when Jesus was on earth; the second is that of the period after his ascension into heaven and the descent of the Holy Ghost. This is true. And there is also an... read more

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