Paul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 John 1:1 - 1:4

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 John 1:1 - 1:4


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

Christ's Person and Office.

Concerning the person of Christ:

v. 1. 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,

v. 2. (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us,)

v. 3. that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and, truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

v. 4. And these thing's write we unto you that your joy may be full.

The apostle here announces the topic, or subject matter, of his letter: Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, became flesh for the salvation of mankind. In the form which shows his intimate knowledge of the subject he writes: What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our own eyes, what we inspected and our hands touched, concerning the Word of Life. The Word of Life is his theme, the eternal, essential, personal Word, which was in the beginning with God and was God, Joh_1:1-14. It is Jesus Christ, called the "Word," because in Him, God has revealed Himself, has made Himself and His entire counsel of salvation known to men. He is the "Word of Life," because He, as the true God, has the fullness of true, everlasting life in Himself, because He is the Source and Fountain of all true life, and because He gives eternal life to all those that come to Him in truth. Of Him St. John says that He was from the beginning; He did not come into existence at the beginning, at the creation of the world, at the period when time first began to be reckoned, but He was. He already existed: He is from eternity. The eternal Son of God became man, for John says that he heard Him, that his own ears received the doctrine of life from His lips; that he saw Him with his own eyes. Yea, more: he had opportunity enough to gaze upon this wonderful God-man, to inspect Him closely, to note everything that He did: his hands even touched and handled Him, because he was the beloved disciple, and the evening of the Passover meal in the upper room was undoubtedly not the only time when he leaned on the breast of Jesus.

John has still more to say of the incarnation and its purpose: And the Life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and declare to you the eternal Life, the very one which was with the Father and was manifested to us. The Life, He who is the Life, the embodiment of all true life. was manifested, revealed, to men. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, Joh_1:14. John purposely speaks of their seeing as having taken place for a long time. They were with the Lord long enough to know that they were not dealing with a phantom, but with the personal revelation of the second person of the Godhead. They had every reason, John and his fellow-apostles, to be so certain of their declaration and of their witness. They saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father. They knew that Jesus Christ was the true God and eternal Life. As such, as the eternal embodiment and source of all true spiritual life, as Him who was with the Father from eternity and was made flesh, was manifested to us, lived among men, God and Man in one person, John had proclaimed Him and was proclaiming Him.

The apostle also states the purpose of this emphatic proclamation: What we have seen and heard we declare also to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. John and the other disciples made that the work of their entire life, to preach the wonderful Gospel-message, to tell the wondrous story of Jesus and His work of redemption, in order that other people also might learn to know Christ, to believe in Him, and thus to enter into the most intimate spiritual fellowship with the apostles and with all true believers. By faith all believers on earth, regardless of race and social position, are united in the communion of saints, in the Christian Church. This fellowship, moreover, involves still more: But our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. By faith the Christians are not only united in an association holding the same tenets and held together by the same profession, but they thereby become members of the body of Christ and enter into intimate relationship with God the Father Himself. For as the eternal Father of Jesus Christ, His Father also after the incarnation, as He Himself repeatedly testified, He is also our Father by virtue of the redemption of Christ. The Savior has removed all cause of enmity by bearing both our sins and their guilt and atoning for them with His blood, thereby reconciling God the Father to us. Thus we are all children of God by faith which is in Christ Jesus. It is a wonderful, a glorious relationship in which we stand. No wonder the apostle is constrained to add: And this we are writing that your joy may be complete. This assurance of the sonship of God, of the fact that all causes for apprehension and fear have been removed, will ever have the same effect upon the Christians, namely, that of making their joy in faith complete and perfect, of causing them to rest their salvation in Christ and their heavenly Father without the slightest hesitation or doubt, of imparting to them that inexpressible happiness of faith which no man can take from the believers, which they retain in the very midst of misery and tribulation. That is John's introduction to his letter, a remarkable example of the comforting quality of the Gospel-message.