John's Epistles

By James D. Quiggle

“The details of John’s Epistles pulled me and provoked thought, and not in such a way that would take away from a clear message, but actively challenging me to take in the message.” —Ben H., College and Young Adult Pastor

“John’s Epistles has an in-depth analysis format and style that works well as a learning tool for me. I utilize many of the passages and themes as part of my teaching in our adult Sunday School class.” — Eddy D., Adult Bible Studies Teacher

“If you are looking for a verse by verse commentary series that isn’t afraid to tackle every verse, including the difficult ones that so many other commentaries leave out or shallowly touch and move on, then you need to buy and study the commentary series by James Quiggle. It will help you in your everyday study as well as prepping for sermons and lessons.” — Jody M., Pastor, Southwest Baptist Church

“I have been a Christian for over 50 years and this book challenged me. It scrubbed my soul. It encouraged me. I have read the Epistles of John multiple times and have sat in Bible classes on them. But this book gave me time to chew on ideas, word definitions, and verb tenses, giving me an in-depth understanding I did not have until reading it. I was encouraged because I realized that the Holy Spirit is still working through men in this century to teach and disciple the church body. Yahweh is still on his throne!” — Libby, Adult Women’s Bible Teacher

• Language: English
• Publisher: James D. Quiggle
• Release date: Sep 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370486113

James D. Quiggle

James D. Quiggle was born in 1952 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He grew up in Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. In the early 1970s he joined the United States Air Force. At his first permanent assignment in Indian Springs, Nevada in a small Baptist church, the pastor introduced him to Jesus and soon after he was saved. Over the next ten years those he met in churches from the East Coast to the West Coast, mature Christian men, poured themselves into mentoring him. In the 1970s he was gifted with the Scofield Bible Course from Moody Bible Institute. As he completed his studies his spiritual gift of teaching became even more apparent. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bethany Bible College during the 1980s while still in the Air Force. Between 2006–2008, after his career in the Air Force and with his children grown up, he decided to continue his education. He enrolled in Bethany Divinity College and Seminary and earned a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theological Studies.As an extension of his spiritual gift of teaching, he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to begin writing books. James Quiggle is now a Christian author with over fifty commentaries on Bible books and doctrines. He is an editor for the Evangelical Dispensational Quarterly Journal published by Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary.He continues to write and has a vibrant teaching ministry through social media.

Book preview

A Private Commentary on the Bible

John’s Epistles

James D. Quiggle

BOOKS BY JAMES D. QUIGGLE

DOCTRINAL SERIES

Biblical History

Adam and Eve, a Biography and Theology

Angelology, a True History of Angels

Essays

Biblical Essays

Biblical Essays II

Biblical Essays III

Biblical Essays IV

Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family: A Biblical Perspective

Biblical Homosexuality

A Biblical Response to Same-gender Marriage

Doctrinal and Practical Christianity

First Steps, Becoming a Follower of Jesus Christ

Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

The Literal Hermeneutic, Explained and Illustrated

Christian Living and Doctrine

Spiritual Gifts

Why Christians Should Not Tithe

Dispensational Theology

A Primer On Dispensationalism

Understanding Dispensational Theology

Dispensational Eschatology, An Explanation and Defense of the Doctrine

Antichrist, His Genealogy, Kingdom, and Religion

God and Man

God’s Choices, Doctrines of Foreordination, Election, Predestination

God Became Incarnate

Life, Death, Eternity

Did Jesus Go To Hell?

COMMENTARY SERIES

The Old Testament

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Judges

A Private Commentary on the Book of Ruth

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Esther

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Song of Solomon

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Daniel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jonah

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Habakkuk

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Haggai

The New Testament

The Gospels

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Matthew’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Mark’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1–12

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 13–21

The Parables and Miracles of Jesus Christ

The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ

The Christmas Story, As Told By God

Pauline Letters

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Galatians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Ephesians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philippians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Colossians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Thessalonians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philemon

General Letters

A Private Commentary on the Book of Hebrews

A Private Commentary on the Bible: James

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 1 Peter

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 2 Peter

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John’s Epistles

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jude

Revelation

The Epistle of Jesus to the Church

REFERENCE SERIES

Dictionary of Doctrinal Words

Translation of Select Bible Books

Old and New Testament Chronology (Also in individual volumes: Old Testament Chronology; New Testament Chronology)

TRACTS

A Human Person: Is the Unborn Life a Person?

Biblical Marriage

How Can I Know I am A Christian?

Now That I am A Christian

Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

What is a Pastor? / Why is My Pastor Eating the Sheep?

(All tracts are in Kindle and/or Epub format and cost $0.99)

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Copyright Page

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John’s Epistles

Copyright © 2016 James D. Quiggle. All rights reserved.

Revised 2021, minor corrections to minor typing errors, footnotes changed to in-text notes, and light editing here and there for greater clarity.

Smashwords Edition

Translation of 1, 2, and 3 John by James D. Quiggle.

Translations not otherwise identified are from James D. Quiggle, Translations of Select Bible Books.

Some Bible versions were sourced from PC Study Bible®, version 5, release 5.2. Copyright© 1988–2008, by BibleSoft, Inc.

American Standard Version (ASV). Public Domain.

Authorized (King James) Version (KJV). Public Domain.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, by Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

New King James Version® (NKJV). Copyright © 1982, 1983 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The New Testament, a translation by William Barclay. Copyright © 1968, 1999 by the estate of William Barclay. Westminster John Knox Press, 1999. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

ONE JOHN

Introduction

1 John One

1 John Two

1 John Three

1 John Four

1 John Five

TWO JOHN

Introduction

Exposition

THREE JOHN

Introduction

Exposition

Appendix One, Translating the Present Tense in 1 John

Appendix Two, Word Repetitions in 1 John

Appendix Three, Translation of the First Epistle

Appendix Four, Translation of the Second Epistle

Appendix Five, Translation of the Third Epistle

Sources

Preface

The Private Commentary on the Old and New Testaments is my interpretation of the Bible, neither more nor less. I am responsible for the use made of all quoted and cited material.

The scope of the Private Commentary series is to bring the reader to a practical understanding of the scriptures. I explain and discuss each verse, idea, theme, and biblical truth as discovered in turn during the course of the exposition. My target audience is the Bible college/seminary student, Bible study/small group leader, Sunday School teacher, and local church Pastor. My point of view is a conservative theology. Other opinions concerning the Scripture are presented and discussed as I believe will profit the target audience. Bible students who desire to understand and apply the scriptures are invited to study the book with me and come to their own conclusions.

This material is copyrighted to prevent misuse or abuse. Those persons using this material in their teaching/preaching ministry may copy and distribute individual pages (e.g., an excursus, a table/list, or an appendix) for distribution to one’s students or auditors. The entire book may not be copied and/or distributed, nor large portions of the book, such as a chapter or extended comments on Scripture passages. The cost of this work has been kept as low as possible so every interested teacher, preacher, and student may afford a personal copy.

The Amazon Kindle edition of A Private Commentary on the Bible: John’s Epistles contains the same material as the print edition, reformatted for the Kindle reader.

Abbreviations

AD Anno Domini (In the year of the Lord [since Christ was born])

ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers

BC Bello Christo (Before Christ [was born])

ca. about (an approximate date) (Latin: circa)

cf. compare (Latin: confer)

e.g. for example (Latin: exempli gratia)

etc. and so forth, and so on (Latin: et cetera)

Ibid in the same place (referring to the source cited in the previous entry) (Latin: ibidem)

i.e. that is (Latin: id est)

JQT Author’s translation

NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers

LXX Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament completed ca. 130 BC)

n. note (referring to a footnote or endnote in the work cited)

s. v. under the word (Latin: sub verbo)

v. verse

vv. verses

John’s Epistles

ONE JOHN

James D. Quiggle

The First Letter of John the Apostle

Introduction

In the first centuries of Christianity, the letters of John were always copied and distributed as having been written by John the apostle. No ancient manuscripts [copies] of John’s Epistles do not bear his name . . . of 143 witnesses (representing 180 total manuscripts), only two lack the name ‘John’ in either the superscription or subscription [Yarbrough, 13]. The more recent claims (from the 1800s forward) denying apostolic authorship are more speculative than convincing. The textual witness for John’s authorship of 1 John is uniform and pervasive [Yarbrough, 13].

The place of writing has always been assumed to be Ephesus, the last known location where John lived until his death. Minuscules 607, 1751, and 1838, which do not have John’s name, have the subscription written from Ephesus [Yarbrough, 13]. Historically recent and critical studies (critical of apostolic authorship) theorizing a second century Johannine community responsible for writing the gospel and the three letters were questionable from their inception, based as they were on imaginative literary analysis of the four documents. No historical proof has been found to substantiate these theories. This is not to say that there was not a community of churches—Ephesus, its daughter churches, and others in the region, such as Smyrna—which looked to the apostle John for leadership, and to which First John may have been intended as a circular letter [Kruse, 4–5].

I address the issue of John the Presbyter or Elder in the introduction of letter two, which begins with the word presbúteros, elder. In brief, there is no direct evidence for a person known as John the Elder or Presbyter John living at the same time as John the Apostle.

The date of the three letters is most reasonably assigned to the late first century; most conservative scholars give dates from AD 80–100. I have used a mean of AD 90, because I believe the letters were written prior to John’s work as the scribe for Jesus, when he (Jesus) gave the Revelation (Revelation 1:1–2, 19), circa AD 95, through John.

Documented use of 1 John by the church began in the middle of the second century through quotations in the writings of several church fathers, e.g., Irenaeus (AD 130–202), Tertullian (AD 160–220), and Clement of Alexandria (AD 150–215). The church fathers testify the letter was written by the apostle John. First John 1:1 is quoted in the Muratorian Fragment, AD 170 [http://www.bible-researcher.com/muratorian.html]. Misuse of John’s letters by gnostic heretics (second century, ff.) also testify to its existence and authorship. Two and Three John appear in the oldest Greek manuscripts. Some churches accepted these two letters as the genuine writings of John, and other churches rejected them, up to the beginning of the fourth century, when they began to be universally acknowledged as inspired [Schaff, History, 517, 518].

Eusebius (AD 263–339) in his Ecclesiastical History (3.39.7) stated Papias (AD 70–163) made use of testimonies from the first epistle of John. The writings of Papias are lost, but Eusebius cites Irenaeus (AD 130–202) as stating they were five in number, known as the Oracles of the Lord, and said Papias was a hearer of John. Papias is said to have testified that he interacted with Andrew, Peter, Philip, Thomas, James, John, and Matthew, asking minutely after their sayings.

Papias was a contemporary of Clement of Rome, AD 30–100 (author of the letter, The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, likely written toward the end of his life). Clement of Rome was quite probably the Clement mentioned at Philippians 4:3. (Philippians is believed to have been written circa AD 57–63.) Eusebius’ testimony places 1 John in the hands of two of John’s contemporaries, Papias and Clement. There is no sound historical reason to doubt Eusebius verifying the authenticity of the letter and the apostle John as its author.

Justin Martyr (AD 110–165), Dialogue with Trypho, chapter CXXIII, has a phrase that may indicate Justin knew this epistle: and called God’s true children and are, which is very similar to 1 John 3:1, that we should be named children of God, and are. The Greek text for Justin’s comment reads, kai theou tékna alethina kaloumetha kai esmén; the Greek text at 1 John 3:1 reads, hina tékna theoû kalethomen kai esmén [Plummer, 72].

Many modern scholars believe 1 John was written because of heresy within the group of local churches of which John was the spiritual leader (or, in the critical view, by the leaders of a Johannine community). This theory is based on verses such as 1 John 2:18–28; 4:1–6; 5:6–7. The prevailing theory is that individuals once associated with the community had developed heretical doctrines and left the churches (hence they are known as secessionists), but continued to spread their false teachings to believers in the group of churches associated with Ephesus and John. In response to this situation, states this theory, 1 John was written with two primary objectives: to combat the propaganda of the false teachers (doctrinally, morally, socially); to reassure believers [Akin, 29, 30]. This view makes the letter polemical in nature.

False teaching is one of many issues addressed in the letter. Almost every New Testament letter combats false teaching. Attacks against Christianity began early in the church (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:2, written about AD 52), so it would not be uncommon or unusual for John, writing circa AD 90, to warn believers against false teaching and false teachers, cf. 2 Timothy 3:1–13 (ca. AD 68); Jude 3–4 (ca. AD 67–70).

John did not write his first letter to combat secessionists, but to instruct Christians. I tend to agree with A. W. Pink’s observation: the object of his epistle is to delineate the character and distinguishing marks of God’s regenerate sons [Pink, 16]. John’s first letter, then, is the necessary follow-up to his gospel.

John 20:31, These have been written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in his name.

1 John 5:13, These things I have written to you, in order for you to have assurance that you do possess eternal life, to you who believe on the name of the Son of God.

John wrote his gospel to produce faith, his first letter to make clear the fruits of faith [Plummer, 120].

What is in view throughout the letter is the kind of Christianity that should be the habitual practice of every believer in Christ the Savior. This objective naturally includes warnings against false doctrine and false teachers. John’s first letter is pastoral, not polemic.

John’s letters are full of doctrine, but his focus is on how doctrine affects life. John uses the Greek word peripatéō to express this focus [Zodhiates, s. v. 4043]. Literally, peripatéō means to walk. When used metaphorically, as it usually is in the New Testament, peripatéō indicates the manner in which a person is to live his or her life, i.e., the manner in which one orders his or her behavior/conduct. The word is used only in the metaphorical sense in John’s letters (1 John 1:6, 7; 2:6 (x2), 11; 2 John 4, 6 (x2); 3 John 3, 4). In all of John’s letters I have translated peripatéō, as live his/her life, order his/her behavior, or conduct. Other versions translate this word as walk or walking.

Orthodoxy of doctrine is no substitute for righteousness of life [Bruce, 42], which is to say that right beliefs must be expressed in right actions: one acts out of what one truly believes. Right actions from right beliefs is John’s message, a message that not only identifies the genuine believer from the false professor, but provides a standard by which the Christian life may be personally evaluated and rightly formed.

Throughout my translation I have indicated John’s use of the Greek present tense through words such as habitually or continually. The Greek present tense viewed action occurring in the present time as in progress or ongoing. For example, 1 John 3:6, a believer may commit an act of sin, but is not habitually sinning: Every person habitually abiding [present active participle] in him is not habitually sinning [present indicative]. Every person habitually sinning [present active participle] has not discerned him, nor does he know him. Consistently translating the present tense in this way is controversial (see appendix one), but is, I believe, how the first readers would have understood John’s doctrine.

Arguments persist as to whether or not 1 John is a letter. The document does not have the customary epistolary opening of the times. Perhaps in being copied, the opening John, an Apostle of Jesus Christ (or some such), was transferred to a superscription heading the copy. Perhaps not identifying himself is simply John’s style; compare the opening of the Gospel. Perhaps the document is a direct transcript of one or more of John’s sermons, taken and used by him as a circular letter to the group of churches who looked to him for leadership. Perhaps it is a pastoral letter that needed no introduction other than that of the messengers sent to deliver it to the churches: here is a letter from John the Apostle. Theories abound. Regardless of which theory one chooses, I will refer to 1 John as a letter from the Apostle John to believers in local churches in and around Ephesus, circa AD 90.

John’s style is to repeat certain words and phrases to lead the reader to a new (or related) subject. I have listed the most significant of these in appendix two. Another stylistic issue is the use of the first person plurals we, us, and our. This use is especially striking in passages where John speaks of sin, e.g., 1:7–10. Is John including himself among the (theorized) secessionists who, e.g., say they have fellowship with God but walk in darkness; say they have no sin; or say they have not sinned? Is this simply the writing style of the day? Or does John’s use of first person plurals indicate that he, like every believer, is occasionally sinning but habitually practicing righteousness? What seems most likely is that John is writing to professing Christians, and includes himself as a professing Christian subject to the same problems and blessings affecting all Christians.

The First Letter of John the Apostle

Translation and Exposition

1 John One

Translation 1 John 1:1

1 What was from the beginning, which we heard, which we perceived with our eyes, which we contemplated, and our hands touched, concerning the Word who is the Life—

TRANSLATION NOTES

The Greek word hos, which I have translated in its four occurrences as what, which, which, which, is a relative pronoun variously meaning who, which, what, or that [Zodhiates, s. v. 3739]. In this verse hos is in the grammatical form nominative neuter singular. Several versions translate the occurrences of hos as that which, which, which, which. Another translates hos as that which for each occurrence. Yet another translates hos as what in each occurrence. Any of these translations effectively communicates the meaning of hos.

The Greek word translated perceived is horáō, "to see, perceive with the eyes, look at, transitively implying not the mere act of seeing, but also the actual perception of some object, thus differing from blépō, to see" [Zodhiates, s. v. 3708].

The Greek word translated contemplated is theáomai, to behold, view attentively, contemplate, indicating the sense of wondering consideration involving a careful and deliberate vision which interprets its object [Zodhiates, s. v. 2300].

The phrase the Word who is the Life translates the genitives of tou logou tēs zōēs (these are the grammatical forms), which (translation) is explained in the exposition, below.

The NIV ends v. 1 with this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The NIV’s proclaim, is not in the Greek text.

EXPOSITION

My plan is to examine verses 1–4 in the order in which John has written them, but it is worth noting that some expositors have rearranged these verses to clarify their sense. Calvin said, the passage [vv. 1–3] is abrupt and involved, and rearranged it so [Commentaries, 22:157]:

We announce to you the word of life, which was from the beginning and really testified to us in all manner of ways, that life has been manifested in him;

[Or]

What we announce to you respecting the word of life, has been from the beginning, and has been openly shewed to us, that life was manifested in him.

Yarbrough [33] translated and rearranged vv. 1–4 thus:

3 [With this letter] we report to you, too, what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us—and, indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 [We report] what was from the beginning—something we heard and saw with our eyes, something we beheld and our hands felt concerning the word that bestows life. 2 This life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life that was with the Father and revealed to us. 4 These things we write to you so that your joy may be complete.

Rearranging verses can assist understanding, but the Holy Spirit guided John’s thoughts in a certain way to produce the words in a certain arrangement. It is ever the Spirit’s object to magnify that blessed One who is despised and rejected of men, and here He [the Holy Spirit] does so by presenting Him [Christ] as the Source and Fount of life [Pink, 6].

John might have begun his letter with a masculine pronoun, giving the translation, The one from the beginning, the one we heard, the one we perceived, etc. (Or perhaps, The one from the beginning, he we heard, etc.) But John chose the neuter form of hos because he understood the other-worldliness of deity incarnate. Saint John employs the neuter as the most comprehensive expression to cover the attributes, words, and works of the Word and the Life manifest in the flesh [Plummer, 14]. Jesus the God-man was more than a human being. He was God the Son, sent by God the Father to be born into the world through incarnation with Jesus of Nazareth, through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in order to be the Christ, Psalm 2:2, 7; Luke 1:35.

John’s opening leads his readers back to the beginning of his Gospel: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and God was the Word. He was in the beginning with God. John is going to speak of God incarnate, so he causes his readers to think on the Gospel he wrote. In the beginning—that historical moment when all created things began their existence—God the Son had been present from eternity. We know from Genesis 1:2 and Colossians 1:16 that in creating the universe the Father worked through the Son, and the Father and Son worked through the Spirit. (The Father operates through the Son, and the Father and Son operate through the Spirit [Hodge, 1:445]. That order is never changed throughout Scripture.) In the perspective of John’s Gospel 1:1–3, God the Son created the beginning; therefore he existed before the beginning.

The burden of John’s declaration in 1 John 1:1–3 is the incarnate person God the Son became. What was from the beginning, 1 John 1:1 (not in the beginning as at John 1:1; cf. John’s use at 1 John 2:7; 2:13; 2:24; 3:8; 3:11), is the incarnation of God the Son with Jesus of Nazareth. John said we heard, perceived, contemplated, and touched the incarnate God.

Since no one has seen God at any time—John 1:18 and 1 John 4:12—how is it John can say at 1 John 1:1 that deity could be comprehended by the physical senses of hearing, seeing, and touching, with the result that deity was perceived and contemplated with eyes and mind? Because the deity God, in the Person God the Son, assumed human nature and human physical body to itself, and thereby became incarnate (See my book, God Became Incarnate). Through that incarnation the Son declared the Person God, causing God to be physically heard, perceived, contemplated, and touched in the God-man (cf. John 14:8–9). The one and only begotten Son being in the bosom of the Father, he [the Son] declared him.

This declaration in John 1:14–18 was John’s summation of the incarnation and its purpose. Jesus Christ was the incarnate Word who was with God and was God and joined himself to humanity in order to declare God to man. The incarnate Word never ceased to be God, for he is, present tense, in the bosom of the Father . . . The Word, God the Son, was cherished by God, and in his incarnation he continued to be cherished by God [Quiggle, John 1–12, 28–29].

What John is declaring at 1 John 1:1 is that he and others were eyewitnesses to God incarnate, which (incarnation) is the beginning of their eyewitness testimony. The proof of their eyewitness is that they physically heard, physically touched, and physically saw and investigated that God had become incarnate.

"As the greatness of the subject requires that the truth should be certain, and fully proved, this is what is here much dwelt upon. For these words, What we have seen, what we have heard, what we have looked upon, serve to strengthen our faith in the Gospel . . . and how difficult it is for us to believe, every one of us knows too well by his own experience. To believe is not lightly to form an opinion, or to assent only to what is said, but [is] a firm, undoubting conviction, so that we may dare to subscribe to the truth as fully proved. It is for this reason that the Apostle heaps together so many things in confirmation of the gospel" [Calvin, Commentaries, 22:157 (emphasis Calvin)].

John states that he and others heard that manifested life. The Greek word is akoúō, to hear [Zodhiates, s. v. 191]. The word is used in a wide variety of meanings, such as to hear physically, to hear with attention, to hear with the intent to obey, or to hear with understanding and comprehension. Looking at the other words John used to describe the experience he and others had with God incarnate, the meaning here is understanding and comprehension. John is not saying he and the others understood everything Jesus said at the time he said it, but that they understood the person speaking to them was a genuine person, sent by God with a message from God to reveal God to them. John’s main point in vv. 1–3 is that the person they heard was genuinely God in the flesh, cf. 4:2.

John states that he and his companions perceived, horáō, God incarnate. Because horáō can be used figuratively in the sense to know, John clarifies that he perceived God incarnate with his physical eyes (ophthalmós), i.e., not the mind’s eye, but physically saw/perceived a physical Jesus. Because John uses horáō, not blépō, we know he means more than the physical act of seeing (blépō). John means he and those witnesses with him saw the Son face to face, were personally acquainted with him, had conversations with him, and had fellowship with him.

John and others contemplated God incarnate, the Greek word theáomai. They saw him and considered what they saw. They viewed him attentively and contemplated the person they saw, seeking understanding. Theáomai requires interpreting the object of contemplation. They asked themselves, "Who is this person, (e.g., Luke 7:49), and thought about the answer in terms of his words and works. We find here an answer to their investigation: the life that was from the beginning was manifested, seen, heard, understood, and declared to be God’s Son, Jesus the Christ (1:3).

John continues: our hands touched the life manifested. The word translated touched is psēlapháō [Zodhiates, s. v. 5584]. The word means exactly what the English touched means: to make physical contact, to feel an object. John affirms the physicality of God incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. Compare Hebrews 2:17; Wherefore he ought in all things to be made like his brothers. In this letter John doesn’t mention Christ after the resurrection, but Plummer [15] suggests that psēlapháō may be a tacit reference to Christ resurrected, citing the similarity to John 20:27; Luke 24:39.

What was from the beginning was the person John and others had heard with understanding and comprehension, whom they had seen face to face, with whom they had become personally acquainted, with whom they had conversation and fellowship, had viewed attentively and contemplated, and had physically touched. On the basis of their eyewitness experiences, they understood Jesus was the person he declared himself to be: God the Son (John 10:30; 5:26), the Son of God (John 5:17–18; Luke 23:46), Jesus the Christ (John 4:25–26; Mark 14:61–62).

John’s eyewitness testimony is concerning the Word who is the Life. The phrase in v. 1, the Word who is the Life, occurs only here. In most English translations the text in 1 John 1:1 is translated the word of life, giving the same English translation as at Philippians 2:16. But the text in Philippians, logon zōēs, an accusative and genitive, is not the same grammatical form as the text at 1 John 1:1 where all four words are in the genitive: tou logou tēs zōēs.

The purpose of the genitive case is to show possession or apposition. At Philippians 2:16 the genitive shows possession: the Word of life. At 1 John 1:1 the genitive shows apposition: the Word which is the Life or the Word who is the Life [Plummer, 14, 16].

In Philippians Paul is not referring to the Person Christ but is referring to the faith, the same thing Jude refers to at Jude 3, which is the written body of revealed truth, i.e., Scripture. There is no doubt that Jesus is the Word of God, Revelation 19:13; the Word who is God, John 1:1, the Word become flesh (incarnate), John 1:14, and the Word, 1 John 5:7. But that is not what John is saying here. John’s point in vv. 1–3 is the incarnation of God the Son in a human being. Having spoken of his humanity, he introduces his deity: "concerning tou logou tēs zōēs, literally, the Word which is the Life."

I chose to translate according to the genitive of apposition, and use who is versus which is, for two reasons. One, the phrase meets the grammar test for the genitive of apposition: "replace the word of with the paraphrase which is or that is, namely, or, if a personal noun, who is. If it makes the same sense, a genitive of apposition is likely [Wallace, 95 (emphasis Wallace)]. (In the next paragraph I will explain why Word" is a personal noun.) Two, the genitive of apposition meets the doctrinal test: the Person identified as the Word does not merely possess eternal life, he is the origin and source of eternal life. Jesus Christ is the Word who is the life.

Is John speaking of the Person, the Word, or the thing, the word, i.e., the scriptures? The phrase tou logou tēs zōēs is preceded by perí, translated concerning, indicating John is thinking of a person. In ten uses in 1 John, perí is used of persons seven times, of things two, strongly indicating the tenth use, in v. 1, is of a person. In 3 John 2 the use is of things. In the Gospel of John perí occurs sixty-seven times, of which seventeen uses refer to things, fifty-seven to persons. In John’s writings perí is most often used of persons.

Jesus Christ is the Way and the Life, i.e., he is the only way to eternal life, which eternal life he is, and which eternal life he gives. Jesus the Christ has life-in-himself, John 5:26, and communicates eternal life to all who believe, John 10:28; hence the credibility of John’s eyewitness testimony concerning the Word who is the Life. The character of the one who is eternal life is declared in v. 2.

Translation 1 John 1:2

2 —and the Life was revealed, and we have looked intently, and are testifying and declaring to you the eternal Life that was with the Father, and revealed to us—

Translation note

The Greek text of v. 2 opens with the word kaí [Zodhiates, s. v. 2532], a copulative conjunction, usually translated and. The kaí indicates v. 2 is a continuation of the sentence began in v. 1 (not a new sentence, as in the NIV). As a continuative kaí may be translated and; even; also; namely. Kaí should not be translated the as in the NKJV and NIV, nor that as in the HCSB; nor for as in the KJV; nor this as in the NLT. Here, and is the best translation of kaí as continuing the thought begun in v. 1.

Verse 2 is explanatory of the Word who is the Life. An em dash (—) between vv. 1 and 2, used in the NKJV HCSB, ESV, and YLT, serves the sentence better than the parenthesis used in the KJV and ASV.

The Greek word I have translated intently is horáō, to see with perception. The same word was used at 1:1 and there I translated it perceived. I chose to translate this occurrence as intently to convey the sense of evaluation leading to understanding, which in turn led to eyewitness testimony, resulting in proclamation of the Word who is the Life.

EXPOSITION

The phrase the Life refers to the Person who is the Word. He is the visible, audible Revealer of the Godhead, the One who was with the Father, the One in whom the eternal life of the saved originates (cf. 1 John 5:11–12) [Cf. Kruse, 57]. In v. 1, John spoke of the Word being revealed in the incarnation. In v. 2, the deity of the Word is in view. John is not saying all who saw Jesus during his earthly ministry understood him to be God incarnate. Only those to whom Jesus becomes the Life are able to understand deity became incarnate, and are able to testify and declare that eternal life who is Jesus the Christ.

Jesus the Christ is the the Word who is the Life because he is the origin and source of the eternal life he gives to his saved people. He is the eternal life because he has life-in-himself, John 5:21, 26, given to him by the Father, in the Father’s eternal generation of the Son, John 1:1. Note the strong argument for the equality of the Father and the Son: the Word, who has eternal life and is eternal life, is with the Father, who has eternal life and is eternal life. Father and Son (and Spirit) are co-equal, co-eternal, co-essential.

The Greek word translated revealed is phaneróō [Zodhiates, s. v. 5319], to make known, to show openly. The word is in the grammatical form aorist indicative passive in both occurrences in this verse. John is stating a fact: the Word—whose life-in-himself is that eternal life of which deity is the sole origin and source—was shown openly to the world. The passive voice means he did not make himself known, he was made known.

By whom was the Word who is the Life made known? By the Father in sending the Son into the world in the incarnation; by the Father revealing the Son to the world through the words and works he sent the Son to do, John 5:36. Jesus said that no one knows the Son except the Father, Matthew 11:27, and no one knows the Father except the Son and the person to whom the Son reveals the Father. Compare Matthew 16:17, the Father must reveal the Son. The Father reveals the Son so the Son may reveal the Father. Only the Father can reveal the Son; only the Son can reveal the Father. John and the other eyewitnesses can reveal the Son as deity incarnate because the Father revealed the Son to John and others. The same process of divine testimony and human witness has continued to the present day, and into the future.

The aorist tense of phaneróō, to make known, indicates the revealing is viewed as a whole, i.e., the revealing of the Word who is the Life was a complete (though not necessarily completed) revelation. All things needed to understand the Word and to receive eternal life have been revealed in, by, and through the incarnate Son.

John said we have looked intently at the Word who is the Life. Intently is horáō, to see with perception. They saw him face to face. They were personally acquainted with him. They had conversations with him. They had fellowship with him. Horáō is in the perfect tense, indicating a past completed action with continuing results. They were able to tell the world about Jesus because they had known him intimately, with the result they continued to know him intimately.

To whom did the Father reveal the Son? To witnesses. Many saw Jesus, but he was revealed as the Son sent by the Father only to a few who were chosen by the Father to be eyewitnesses to the Son incarnate. men who accompanied us, in all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, beginning from John’s baptism until the day in which he was taken up from us, one of these to become a witness of his resurrection with us. Acts 1:21–22. Many, then and now, know something about Jesus Christ, but his witnesses are only those persons who have known him and seen him by saving faith.

John uses two words to tell the result of knowing the Word who is the Life. I have translated these words testifying and declaring. John and others were testifying, the Greek word marturéō, meaning to be a witness, to bear witness [Zodhiates, s. v. 3140], to testify to the truth of what he/she has seen, heard, and knows. Because they knew Jesus, these people were able to tell others who Jesus was and what Jesus had done. They were able to appaggéllō, to announce [Zodhiates, s. v. 518], what the Son incarnate had done as the Word who is the Life. The word appaggéllō is in the present tense: they were actively testifying and actively declaring the Word who is the Life to all who would listen. John is continuing his witness and declaration of Jesus Christ through this letter. Others hearing and believing the eyewitnesses