1 John 1:1,2 - That which was from the beginning

1:1

The opening of 1 John is most unusual in that there is no indication given of who it is from, nor who it is written to. Apparently, the Greek is rather a mess, but I am not a Greek scholar so I cannot comment on that. Instead of the usual greetings, John proclaims the purpose of the letter, which is the proclamation of the gospel, the good news.

There are some similarities with the opening of John’s gospel in the reference to “that which was from the beginning”. Then John goes on to stress that he, or rather we, have been eyewitnesses to Jesus. “Concerning the word of life”. There is debate here about whether the word, logos, here is referring to the Son, or to the gospel. In one sense it does not matter that much, for the good news is the good news of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1).

If we bear in mind that part of the purpose of the letter is to counter gnosticism, then the  fact that John says they have touched the Son is significant. Jesus came as fully human, and the body is not inherently corrupt, it is only corrupt because of our sin.

1:2

“The life was made manifest”. Jesus lived among them, He demonstrated the reality of eternal life. The gnostics talked about hidden life, John preached about clearly visible life. The Father sent the Son. John is emphasising the physical reality of the gospel and of Jesus. Eternal life is far more than just life going on forever, it is about the very nature of life. When man sinned , man died. Now Adam did not physically die for some 900 years later, but he was spiritually dead long before then. The eternal life talked about in the gospel comes direct from God, it is not man-made.