Verse 2
"Life" is a title of Jesus Christ here as "Word" is in John’s Gospel (John 1:1). It reflects Christian experiences about which John wrote here whereas "Word" (Gr. logos) reflects the facts Jesus declared and that John recorded in the fourth Gospel. Grace and truth explain the Logos in John’s Gospel (John 1:14), but light and love clarify Life in his Epistles.
In 1 John 1:1 the progression in the series of verbs (heard, seen, beheld, and handled) reflects increasingly intent attention to Jesus as the essence of fellowship. The progression in the verbs in 1 John 1:2 (manifested, seen, bear witness, and proclaim) shows the result of contemplating Jesus Christ and enjoying His fellowship, namely, witness. One first sees the manifested Christ. Then, having seen, he or she is able to bear witness. Finally one feels impelled by what that one has seen to announce to others the message of life.
There is a strong stress on the eternality of the life, Jesus Christ, in this verse. The emphases on the quality of the life (eternal) and its equality with the Father make this point (cf. John 1:2). The Incarnation is in view.
Eternal life is such a dominant theme in this epistle that one writer even entitled his commentary on 1 John, The Epistle of Eternal Life. [Note: G. Goodman.] In John’s writings "eternal life" is synonymous with "salvation." [Note: Smalley, p. 10.]
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