1 John 1:5 NIV

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 John 1:5-7

1 John 1:5-7. This then is the message That is, one part of it; which we have heard of him The Son of God; that God is light The light of truth, wisdom, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye; and in him is no darkness at all Not the least mixture of ignorance or error, of folly, sin, or misery; if we say Either with our tongue, or in our heart; if we endeavour to persuade ourselves and others, that we have fellowship with him If we... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 John 1:1-10

1:1-2:17 LIVING IN THE LIGHTFellowship with God (1:1-2:6)In the opening few words of his letter, John states clearly certain facts about Jesus Christ that are basic to Christianity. Jesus Christ is the eternal God and he became a real man whom John and his fellow apostles have seen, heard and touched (1:1-2). John’s joy will be complete if he knows that he and his readers share together in the eternal life that comes to them through Jesus Christ. This life unites them to one another as well as... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 John 1:5

This then = And this. message . Greek. angelia. Only here and 1 John 3:11 . of = from. App-104 . as 1 John 1:1 . declare . Greek. anangello. See Acts 20:27 . God . App-98 . light . App-130 . no . . . at all. Greek. ou oudeis. A double negative. This is the Figure of speech Pleonasm ( App-6 ), as in 1 John 1:8 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 John 1:5

And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.It is not merely an abstract teaching with regard to the nature of God that John presented here (though some of that is in it). His general theme regarded the fellowship mentioned in the prologue; but as Roberts said, "John's thoughts are not arranged logically and symmetrically."[23] The most practical organization of the next few verses lies in the arrangement of his... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 John 1:5

5. First division of the body of the Epistle (compare :-). declare—Greek, "announce"; report in turn; a different Greek word from 1 John 1:3. As the Son announced the message heard from the Father as His apostle, so the Son's apostles announce what they have heard from the Son. John nowhere uses the term "Gospel"; but the witness or testimony, the word, the truth, and here the message. God is light—What light is in the natural world, that God, the source of even material light, is in the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 John 1:5

This verse provides a basis for what follows in 1 John 1:6-10 and, in a sense, the whole rest of the letter. One commentator regarded this verse as the main burden of the epistle. [Note: Yarbrough, p. 46.] It gives the standard against which the three following Christian professions fall short.The "message" is the truth that Jesus Christ, the first "Him," revealed to the apostolic eyewitnesses.The figure of light that John used to describe God emphasizes His ability to reveal and His ability to... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 John 1:5-11

II. LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD 1:5-2:11"Since the apostle’s expressed concern is that his readers might have fellowship with the apostolic circle and thus also with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:3), it is reasonable to specify what this fellowship is really like. So, as an introductory section to his epistle, John discusses the nature of true fellowship with God" [Note: Idem, The Epistles . . ., p. 57.] read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 1:1-10

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

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 John 1:5-10

[2.First Half. God is Light (1 John 1:5 to 1 John 2:28).(1)STATEMENT OF THE LEADING THOUGHT (1 John 1:5).(2)FIRST INFERENCE: The true fellowship (1 John 1:6-7); the Christian must not sin.(3)SECOND INFERENCE: Confession of sins (1 John 1:8-10); the Christian must not conceal his sin.(4)THIRD INFERENCE: Remedy for sins (1 John 2:1-2).(5)OBEDIENCE THE SIGN OF WALKING IN LIGHT (1 John 2:3-8).(6)ESPECIALLY BROTHERLY LOVE (1 John 2:9-10).(7)THE THINGS THEY MUST NOT LOVE IF THEY WALKED IN THE LIGHT... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 1 John 1:1-10

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