1 John 1:4 - Exposition

While 1 John 1:1-3 refer to the Gospel, this refers to the Epistle; but, although ταῦτα in 1 John 2:26 and 1 John 5:13 refer to what precedes, there is no need to limit ταῦτα here to these opening verses; it covers the whole Epistle. The reading ἡμεῖς seems preferable to ὑμῖν , and ἡμῶν to ὑμῶν . But ἡμεῖς and ἡμῶν are not coordinate: ἡμεῖς is the apostolic "we;" ἡμῶν means "your joy as well as mine." This verse takes the place of the usual "grace and peace" in the opening of other Epistles; and as 1 John 5:3 recalls John 17:21 , so this recalls John 17:13 . The joy is that of knowing that, though in the world, they are not of it, but are one with one another, and with the Father and with the Son. The gospel is always joy: "Rejoice alway" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:16 ); "Rejoice in the Lord alway" ( Philippians 4:4 ). To know that the Eternal Life has been manifested, that we have communion with him, and through him with the Father, must be joy. Whereas Gnosticism, by denying the atonement, and "the personal office of God in the salvation of the world," cuts off one great sphere of God's love, and consequently one great cause of the believer's joy. To sum up this introduction: St. John gives his Gospel to the Church ἀπαγγέλλομεν in order that all may share in the union for which Christ prayed; and to the Gospel he adds this Epistle καὶ ταῦτα γράφομεν , that all may realize the joy resulting from this union— that our joy may be fulfilled.

In this introduction we find the following expressions which are characteristic of St. John, serving to show the common authorship of the Gospel and Epistle, and in some cases of the Revelation also: ὁ λόγος ἡ ζωή φανερόω μαρτυρέω ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἦν πρός ἡ χαρὰ ᾖ πεπληρωμένη . It is among the many excellences of the Revised Version that characteristic expressions are marked by a uniform translation; whereas in the Authorized Version they are obscured by capriciously varying the translation: e.g. μαρτυρέω is rendered in four different ways—"bear witness," "bear record," "give record," "testify" (cf. page 10).

Verses 1 John 1:5-2:28

2. FIRST MAIN DIVISION . God is Light.

Verses 1 John 1:5-2:6