Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 John 1

The reader is clearly pointed back to Jn 1:1—“In the beginning was the Word”—and from there to Ge 1:1—“In the beginning God”—with this difference: The Gospel deals with the “personal word” of God’s eternity and his entrance into time. The letter centers on the life heard and in turn proclaimed (cf. Acts 5:20). This message is from the beginning because it is of God. It precedes creation, time, and history. But in God the message of life also draws near to humanity and finds its culmination in Jesus. In him the Word of life becomes incarnated, manifested, and hence can be seen, touched, and even handled. The author’s stress is twofold. He states what has always been true about the Gospel. His witness, unlike that of his opponents, represented neither innovation nor afterthought. Moreover, his witness was based on the immediate evidence of the senses. It is not a fabricated tale. The use of the pronoun “we” assures the reader that the message is being proclaimed by those who had heard the Gospel with their own ears and who had touched him with their own hands (perhaps a reference to the Resurrection appearances—Lk 24:39). Already the writer is mounting his polemic against the heretics who denied that Christ had a human body.

Because this is the nub of John’s argument, he takes pains to restate it: The life to which he bears witness, the life that was with the Father, is precisely the life manifested in the historical person of Jesus. That is why John can say he has seen it, can bear personal witness to it, and can make an apostolic declaration concerning it. The three verbs “seen,” “testify,” and “proclaim” present personal experience, responsible affirmation, and authoritative announcement. The phrase “eternal life” underscores the divine character of the life described, not its length.

This verse introduces the purpose of the letter: “that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” The Greek word rendered “fellowship” (koinonia; GK 3126) occurs here and in v.6. It is not easy to translate. Suggestions are “fellowship,” “communion,” “participation,” “share a common life,” and “partnership.” Its root word means “common” or “shared” as opposed to “one’s own” (koinos; GK 3123). The Greeks used this word group to describe partners in business, joint owners of a piece of property, or shareholders in a common enterprise. In the NT it refers to Christians who share a common faith (Phm 6), who share possessions (Acts 2:44; Acts 4:32), or who are partners in the Gospel . Koinonia and other words in that word group occur over sixty times in the NT in reference to the supernatural life that Christians share. This supernatural life is disclosed in the incarnate Christ. It is the eternal life that comes from the Father and becomes the life shared individually and corporately by the company of believers. Oneness with God is what causes the oneness of faith. That the words “fellowship with us” precede in the text the words “fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” may be significant. There can be no fellowship with the Father or with the Son that is not based on apostolic witness. So John stresses “fellowship with us” as having priority in time.

The author links his concern for his readers to his own standing as an apostolic witness. Their obedience will result in the completion of “joy” (GK 5915) in him, and therefore also in them and in the whole fellowship. This joy is mentioned in his gospel: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (cf. also 16:22–24; 17:13). Clearly this joy is inseparable from the salvation that is present in the Son, but it is directly bound up with the person of the Son, who is himself present in the fellowship. Joy is a gift of the Father, even as the Son is a gift of the Father; it is present wherever the fellowship truly appears. But joy can never be perfectly known or fully complete because the fellowship itself, though real, is imperfectly realized. The present joy in the fellowship is a token of the ultimate expression of joy, which depends on the final revelation of the Son. In John’s gospel, this final revelation required Jesus’ “going away” so that he may “come again” (cf. Jn 16:16). II. Requirements for Fellowship With God Who Is Light (1:5–2:28)

John begins his exposition by referring to the message heard from Jesus. His allusion is probably not to a specific word of Jesus but to Jesus himself as the Son in whose life and death the Father manifested himself. As in vv.1–4, in contrast to the false teachers he opposes, the author shows the authority that lies behind his own apostolic witness. The message that “God is light” needs to be compared with declarations elsewhere by John that “God is spirit” and “God is love” . All three stress the immateriality of God and the “Godness” of God—i.e., God in his essence. Light emphasizes especially the splendor and glory of God, the truthfulness of God, and his purity. Certain OT ideas dominate the Christian concept of “light” as a description of God. Light stresses the self-communicative nature of God and the action of God for human beings and for their salvation. The psalmist catches this with such utterances as “In your light we see light” (Psalms 36:9) or “The LORD is my light and my salvation” (Psalms 27:1). John expounds this in vv.5–7 (cf. Jn 1:9). Light also accents God’s empowering activity in our lives. God as light not only shines downward for our salvation but enables us to walk in the light. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (cf. also 12:35). John encourages his readers to walk in the light (v.7; cf. Ephesians 5:8–14). Light, then, is the presence of God’s grace. God’s light also has the character of a demand. That is certainly the meaning here in vv.5–6. If people turn from the light or love darkness rather than light, it is because their deeds are evil . In the world of first-century religious thought, the word “light” described ultimate realities. But there the weight was on the metaphysical implications. John is far removed from that type of speculation. He is concerned with the goodness of God and also the goodness of the human race. The latter part of v.5 is a negative corollary emphasizing the statement that God is light. As darkness has no place in God, so all that is of the darkness is excluded from having fellowship with God. This idea stands out as the author now discusses the behavior pattern of his opponents.