1 John 1:1-10

The Word Made Manifest (Vs 1-2)

John starts immediately by declaring statements authoritatively in a manner which an apostle would. Hence, he declares the fundermental authority of his proclamation which is built of the foundation of “that which was heard, seen, looked upon, touched concerning the word of life.”

As a result, the apostolic teaching is built of the foundation of the revelation of Christ, fully God and fully man (flesh); Christ incarnate or historical Christ. Hence, the authority of the apostle functions through the testimony and proclamation of the gospel inaugurated in through Christ; who was seen and also deity. It would be a false gospel to proclaim Christ in Spirit without Christ in flesh or vis-versa. More so, that which was seen is also eternal.

John’s declaration is also to stabilize the nature of the gospel, as unchanging. As it was in the beginning, so it should be, and continue to be. False teacher aimed to change the gospel through their mystical forms of authority that separates from the apostolic teaching. This truth is the key to the purpose of the epistle: John is fighting a Christological heresy that involved the denial of the incarnation of deity, that is, the denial that the Christ was the historical Jesus.

Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, vol. 38 of The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 54.

The Joy of Fellowship (Vs 3-4)

Compared to Vs 1, John indicates a primary focus on seeing before the hearing of the Word of life.

John is calling the believers to remain or persevere in their fellowship with Him. Fellowship with John, means that his audience should participate and partner with him in the proclamation of the gospel against the false teachers. However, we must note that this proclamation comes in different forms such as loving one another (1 John 2:9-11), walking in the light (1 John 1:6-7),

John is not simply calling believers to fellowship with him in isolation, but demonstrating that their fellowship with him (as an apostle) signals their fellowship with the Father and with His son, Jesus Christ.

More importantly, the knowledge of Christ goes alongside with the knowledge of the Father. John 14:8-9

John 14:8–9 ESV

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John further declares that his writing is to make the believer’s joy complete.

When the believer continue to know that they are eternally in fellowship with God, their joy is complete.

The believer’s joy is manifested or flows from their fellowship. Ephesians 2:4-6

Ephesians 2:4–6 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Fellowship of Light (Vs. 5-7)

With the rise of false teachers, John calls believer’s to discern between those who are of Christ and those who are deceptively in Christ.

Hence, the message proclaimed is that “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness.” As a result, a claim to know eternity or be of eternity is only demonstrated through walking in the light. If one claims to be in the light of filled with deep knowledge of God, and they walk in darkness, they lie and do not practice the truth.

Believers must showcase a life of practicing godliness and avoiding sin in order to solidify their claim to any knowledge of God.

To walk in the light then is conditioned by fellowshipping with one-another. Fellowshipping with LIGHT, will always be manifested with feelowshiping with other believers.

To walk in the light is to receive forgiveness of Sin. Walking in the light reveals our weaknesses, but in Christ and with Christ’s blood, they are forgiven and purified. The believer does not hide the sin from God but confesses the sin.

Fellowshipping in Christ’s Forgiveness (8-10)

The seccessionist claimed that one needed to be sinless to fellowship with Christ.

Akin puts it well when he states, “Therefore they claimed to be sinless. Yet in this very claim they rejected God’s word (1:10; i.e., the truth God has revealed in Jesus, 1:8), deceived themselves, and made God out to be a liar.”

Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, vol. 38 of The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 74.

John points out that the condition for fellowship is confession of sins. Hence, God is able and righteous to forgive sins and cleanse from unrighteousness.

The believer then must trust the manifestation of eternal life , Christ, and his death, which is the ground for forgiveness.

John again delivers a stronger grounding for the believer’s sins, by showcasing that God’s truth is a basis for the believer’s sin. So, we call God a lier and we demonstrate a absence of having his word (e.g. 1 Kgs 8:46; Ps. 14:3; Eccl. 7:20; Isa. 53:6; 64:6)