1:1 The 1Logos is the source; everything commences in him. The initial reports concerning him that have reached our ears, and which we indeed bore witness to with our own eyes – to the point that we became irresistibly attracted – now captivates our gaze. In him we witnessed 2tangible life in its most articulate form. (The Logos – the 1Word. To touch, 2psallo, to touch the string of a musical instrument, thus resonance.)
1:2 The same life that 1was 2face to face with the Father from the beginning, has now dawned on us. The infinite life of the Father became visible before our eyes in a human person. (Again, as in his gospel John 1:1, he uses the Active Indicative Imperfect form of the verb 3eimi, namely aen [ἦν] to continue to be, [in the beginning ‘was’ the Word etc…], which conveys no idea of origin for God or for the Logos, but simply continuous existence, “I am.” The Preposition 2pros says so much more than ‘with,’ it suggests towards; face to face. See John 1:1&2. Also John 1:14 “Suddenly the invisible eternal Word takes on visible form. The Incarnation. In him, and now confirmed in us. The most accurate tangible display of God’s eternal thought finds expression in human life. The Word became a human being; we are his address; he resides in us. He captivates our gaze. The glory we see there is not a religious replica; he is the authentic begotten Son. The glory (that Adam lost) returns in fullness. Only grace can communicate truth in such complete context.” Also John 1:18 “Until this moment God remained invisible; now the authentic begotten Son, the blueprint of mankind’s design who represents the innermost being of God, the Son who is in the bosom of the Father, brings him into full view. He is the official authority qualified to announce God. He is our guide who accurately declares and interprets the invisible God within us.”)
1:3 We include you in this conversation; you are the immediate audience of the logic of God. This is the Word that always was; we saw him incarnate and witnessed his language as defining our lives. In the incarnation Jesus includes mankind in the eternal friendship of the Father and the Son. This life now finds expression in an unreserved union. (We do not invent fellowship; we are invited into the fellowship of the Father and the Son.)
1:4 My heart is bursting with joy as I write this epistle; the thought of you reading these words, completes my delight. (The reading ημων [our joy] is preferred over υμων [your joy] since John’s own joy would be incomplete unless his readers shared it; whereas copyists, insensitive to such a nuance, would have been likely to alter it. [Bruce Metzer NT Textual Commentary] In all these years since the ascension of Jesus, John, now ninety years old, continues to enjoy unhindered friendship with God and desires to extend this same fellowship to everyone through this writing. You are never too old to learn to write or become computer literate.)
1:5 My conversation with you flows from the same source which illuminates this fellowship of union with the Father and the Son. This then, is the essence of the message: God is radiant light, and in him there exists not even a trace of obscurity or darkness at all. (See James 1:17 Without exception God’s 1gifts are only good; it’s perfection cannot be flawed. They come from 2above (where we originate from); proceeding like light rays from its source, the Father of lights, with whom there is no distortion, or even a shadow of shifting to obstruct, or intercept the light; nor any hint of a hidden agenda.(The principle of a 1gift, puts “reward-language” out of business. The word, 1anouthen,means, from above. See John 3:3, 13. The Father’s resolve stands in total contrast to the perverted passions of sin, claiming it’s illegitimate parenthood of mankind. Js 1:2; Js 1:12-16.)
1:6 This is the real deal. To live a life of pretense is such a waste of time. The truth has no competition. Truth inspires the poetry of friendship in total contrast to a fake, performance-based relationship. Light is not threatened by darkness. Why say something with darkness as your reference?
1:7 We are invited to explore the dimensions of the same light that engulfs God; when we see the light in his light, fellowship ignites. In this light, we understand how the blood of Jesus Christ is the removal of every distortion and stain of sin. (Sin [hamartia] isa distorted identity. From the words, ha, without and meros, form. To walk in the light as he is in the light means to see your life and everything that concerns you, exclusively from your Father’s point of view. Ps 36:9. 1 Pet 1:18,19.)
1:8 To claim innocence by our own efforts under the law of personal performance, is to deceive ourselves and to deliberately ignore the truth. The truth about us, does not mean that we now have to go into denial as if we haven’t done anything wrong. (If you’ve hurt or wronged someone, go to them and be reconciled. To apologize restores harmony; but the essence of confession is a conversation inspired by the revelation of the love of God demonstrated in Christ. The focus of this conversation shifts from what you did wrong, to what Jesus did right. One cannot afford to cheat oneself by living a double life, acting out “the fellowship thing”, while still hosting stuff in one’s life that is inconsistent with the life of our design. You do not need to first get rid of darkness and then bring the light. Light deals most effectively and effortlessly with darkness. The light of the gospel does not reveal sin; it reveals our freedom from it.)
1:9 Our 1conversation takes on a brand new dynamic when we take sides with what God believes about us. So, instead of telling God about the detail of your sin, you remind yourself about the detail of your redemption. God doesn’t need the information, you do. God’s faithfulness and righteousness is the basis of our 2forgiveness and 3cleansing from every distortion. Jesus removed every bit of condemning evidence against us. (The word traditionally translated “confession” is the word 1homologeo fromhomos, the same, and logos the Word. The context of verse 7 suggests that we say what God says about us. The word translated forgiveness, or remission is the word 2aphiemi, from apo, away from, and hieimi an intensive form of eimi, I am; thus forgiveness is in essence a restoring to your true ‘I-am-ness.’ The injury, insult, shame, hostility or guilt would no longer define the individual. The words, αφη aphe, from aphiemi [to forgive] and καθαριση 3katharitse, from katharitzo, [to cleanse from every stain] are in the Aorist Subjunctive, which indicates a definite outcome that happens as a result of another stated action.)
1:10 If we judge ourselves innocent by the law of our own works, then we make Jesus Christ, and what his word and blood communicate within us, irrelevant. (See John 1:3-5 The Logos is the source; everything commences in him. He remains the exclusive parent reference to their genesis. There is nothing original – except the Word. His life is the light that defines our lives. [In his life, we discover the light of life.] The darkness was pierced and could not comprehend or diminish this light. [Darkness represents mankind’s ignorance of their redeemed identity and innocence [Isaiah 9:2-4, Isaiah 60:1-3, Ephesians 3:18, Colossians 1:13-15]).
