1 John 1:1-4

“The Incarnation of the Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.” 1John 1:1-4
 
Discussion:
 
Verse 1- John continues to use words such as “we” which is talking about him and the apostles that followed Jesus throughout the three years of ministry.  In this verse John is showing that Jesus has existed forever and was on the earth among John and the other apostles. Through this, John is revealing that Jesus was on the earth, saying, “which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched.” This contradicts that idea of Gnosticism, which said that Jesus only seemed to have a body and that it was not real. John is saying that Christ was both truly divine and truly human.
 
Verse 2- Jesus is being referred to as “the life” because He is the source of life (being the God who created life) and He is sovereign over life. The letter of 1John begins and ends with the idea of eternal life.
 
Verse 3- fellowship is the spiritual union of the believer with Christ. This idea is described in the figures of the vine and the branches (John 15:1-5) and the body and the head. (1Co 12:12; Col 10:18). Fellowship is also referred to as the communion with the Father and with fellow believers. Through John proclaiming what he has seen and heard, he is inviting us into fellowship with his congregation of believers.  
 
Verse 4- John knows that his joy in the LORD could not be complete until those who read this letter share the true knowledge of the Christ.
 
Overall-these four verses begin a letter that testifies that Jesus was really God in the flesh and that He came to earth. John has seen and interacted with Jesus personally. John is most likely writing to the first generation church. Many of the people in his church were alive as Jesus was on the earth. John writes this book in order to encourage those who live in Christ to not loose focus on what Jesus had taught to His believers.
 
Answer/ Think about
Who is John talking about…….the One?
What do we learn about Jesus/The Father?
Why is John joyful?
If people looked at our lives what would it testify or proclaim?
How have we seen or experienced Jesus at work in our lives? If we haven’t, how can we get to know him and experience him?
How do we proclaim Truth?