| That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.
"In the beginning ": Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1Jo 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;  There is so much contained in this first verse of 1John. It begins with the Witness of the Apostles, of which John was the youngest. As the Elder, or Bishop, he was the Highest ranking authority of the clergy, so very holy. This is a one-time dispensation for the First Century, along with the 12 Apostles. They are all so very holy, yet, people, like us, with the same yearnings and impulses. We cannot achieve their crown of Apostle, because, they are unique, but, we are given hope of an even more astonishing legacy. The final Witnesses, will stun the world, provoke the powers of this world, and shake to the core, every principality on Earth, even above and below.  The Apostles HEARD, SAW (seen with our eyes), LOOKED UPON, and FELT (our hands have handled) the WORD of LIFE- Jesus Christ. (The words are similar to Thomas' own when he doubted Christ was risen. ) These men saw the risen Christ. and the preeminent throne of His glory. John grew up seeing him as a brother. If he wasn't his natural biological 1/2 brother, he was his 1rst cousin, like John, the Baptist. ______________________________________
*(Second look at lines)
"looked upon" in its' totality of variations, comes down to a practical application, for us, and heavenly application, for when God looks upon us. Gen 6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
Jhn1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Pro 8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. ___________________________________________ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John 1:2 and 1John1 open with a variation on the Apostle's signature message = En arche en LOGOS! In the beginning was the Word... "In the beginning" is how the Torah opens in the First Book, which we call "Genesis" but, which was known as "Be'erishiyth" for the first word spoken. The WORD IS the Prime Mover of the Universe, which exceeds our concepts, and who has a connection to all life. He spoke the WORD and it began. He spake again, in the NT, as John dramatically demonstrates, by giving us LOGOS, one of the Names of Christ, The WORD of GOD, the "Word of Life" LOGOS ZOE! THE NEW COVENANT. The first covenant was the LAW which condemned sinners to death. The second covenant was the GRACE and SALVATION of Christ, who became our sin offering. We are clothed in HIS righteousness, if we keep HIS WORD, AND THE SPIRIT OF THE WORD. In other words, we need to constantly walk with God. We've got to do what He says. ___________________________________ ___________________________________
 1Jo 1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. __________________________________ *********************************************** John has a unique dispensation, as the Bishop. What a powerful history he has in Christ, so when he declares what he has seen and heard, he is giving his holy Witness, as having been blessed to love the Lord, as a brother, in the flesh.  ______________________________________________________________________ We are blessed by his same original revelations, and his witness of Christ. He was so holy that he evaded death, and by the time the Government of Rome finally got around to him, they exiled him to Patmos, to live out his days. He closed the First Century at around 100 years old. My brother, in Christ, used to muse that there's nothing that says John died, at all, and Christ inferred that John would not necessarily die. Whether he was translated, like Enoch and Elijah, or stuck around, is never established. My logic tells me John physically died, and gave up the ghost, like we all do. It's not the flesh where life lives, but, in God's breath. My brother would muse about going from Turkey to Jerusalem, and looking for him. I feel like we don't need to see John, with our eyes, because, he left a substantial record of his witness, from the Gospel to these letters, and finally Revelation. It's Christ we seek, and John gives us sacred information, right here, in these otherwise prosaic words, like "The word of life." These words are the building blocks to immortality, in the Beloved, Christ our Savior. **************************************** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. ___________________________________ ___________________________________ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  ___________________________________ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ___________________________________ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ___________________________________ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ___________________________________ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It's hard to be constantly reminded about our sins.
Most of us, in Christ, don't want to sin, and we suffer,
trying to train our spirit and mind to think good things,
meditate on good, and treat all people with respect.
As workers, we need the rewards of just wages, and
it's hard to give back the righteousness, we've worked
hard to achieve. That's God's Commandment to obey
the LAW of God, and we try so hard. Yet, many of us
also get to a point where we believe we "WERE" sinners,
but, no longer are in sin.
John points out that we are lying if we say we have no
sin. The carnal will is to war with the Holy Spirit, on
all levels. If we lust, hate, covet, gossip, etc, we've
sinned, from God's point of view.
Even when we become believers, and love God, in
Jesus Christ, with all our heart, we are certainly
still vulnerable, (in fact, moreso, as that's when
the spiritual warfare begins.)
The Law taught us about sin, and condemned us,
before a perfect holy God, but, God had a Plan
for us to overcome corruption, and our constant
warfare with the flesh, and the agents that
act upon our infirmities.
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