1 John 1:3

Contextual Overview

¹ We want to tell you about the Word that gives life—the one who existed before the world began. This is the one we have heard and have seen with our own eyes. We saw what he did, and our hands touched him. ¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- ¹ That which was fro the begynninge concerninge which we have hearde which we have sene with oure eyes which we have loked vpon and oure hondes have hadled of the worde of life. ¹ That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life ¹ What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— ¹ We write you now about what has always existed, which we have heard, we have seen with our own eyes, we have looked at, and we have touched with our hands. We write to you about the Word that gives life. ¹ That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life 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; ¹ That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life ¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have beheld, and our hands have handled of the word of life:

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

which: 1 John 1:1, Acts 4:20

declare: 1 John 1:5, Psalms 2:7, Psalms 22:22, Isaiah 66:19, John 17:25, Acts 13:32, Acts 13:41, Acts 20:27, 1 Corinthians 15:1, Hebrews 2:12

ye also: Acts 2:42, Romans 15:27, Ephesians 3:6, Philippians 1:7, Philippians 2:1, 1 Timothy 6:2, Hebrews 3:1, 1 Peter 5:1,*Gr.

our fellowship: 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:23, 1 John 2:24, John 14:20-23, John 17:3, John 17:11, John 17:21, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Philippians 2:1, Philippians 3:10, Hebrews 3:14

with his: 1 John 5:10, 1 John 5:11, Colossians 1:13, 1 Thessalonians 1:10

Reciprocal: Leviticus 3:1 - a sacrifice Numbers 10:32 - General Deuteronomy 12:12 - And ye Job 13:1 - ear Psalms 66:16 - Come Psalms 119:63 - a companion Song of Solomon 2:3 - I sat Matthew 10:2 - John Luke 24:48 - General John 1:41 - first John 16:24 - that John 17:22 - that John 17:23 - I John 20:30 - General Romans 1:3 - his Son 1 Corinthians 9:23 - that 1 Corinthians 10:16 - the communion of the blood 2 Corinthians 1:19 - the Son Galatians 2:9 - fellowship Philippians 1:5 - General Philippians 2:2 - Fulfil Philippians 2:28 - and that Philippians 3:8 - win Colossians 1:12 - the Father Philemon 1:17 - thou count Hebrews 1:9 - thy fellows 1 Peter 1:25 - this 1 John 1:6 - fellowship 1 John 2:1 - these 2 John 1:9 - he hath

Cross-References

Job 36:30
See how he spreads the lightning around him and how it lights up the depths of the sea.

Job 36:30
Behold, he spreadeth his light around him; and he covereth the bottom of the sea.

Job 36:30
Look, he spreads his light around him; And he covers the bottom of the sea.

Job 36:30
Watch how God scatters his lightning around him, lighting up the deepest parts of the sea.

Job 36:30
See how he scattered his lightning about him; he has covered the depths of the sea.

Job 36:30
Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.

Job 36:30
Behold, he spreads his light around him. He covers the bottom of the sea.

Job 36:30
"Behold, He spreads His lightning around Him [against the dark clouds], And He covers the depths of the sea.

Job 36:30
Behold, he scatters his lightning about him and covers the roots of the sea.

Job 36:30
and leite with his liyt fro aboue, he schal hile, yhe,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

That which we have seen and heard,.... This is repeated, both to confirm and illustrate what had been before said, and to carry on the discourse to what follows:

declare we unto you; in the ministry of the word; the person and offices of Christ being the sum and substance of the Gospel ministration, that declares him to be the true God and eternal life, God over all, blessed for ever; and truly man, made of a woman, and made under the law; and to be the only Mediator between God and man, to be prophet, priest; and King, and to be the alone Saviour and Redeemer: this declares the greatness and excellency of his salvation, what an able, proper, and suitable Saviour he is; and what precious promises and spiritual blessings are in him, even all grace and eternal glory. And this declaration of him is made in the Gospel, for the following ends and purposes,

that ye also may have fellowship with us; in hearing, seeing, and handling of Christ in a spiritual sense; and by enjoying the same privileges in God's house and family, the same ordinances and spiritual provisions; joining and partaking with them in all the immunities and advantages of a Gospel church state here; and by being with them to all eternity hereafter.

And truly our fellowship [is] with the Father; the Father of Christ, the covenant God and Father of his people; and which they have with him, when under the influence and witnessings of the spirit of adoption, and can in the strength of faith call him their Father, draw nigh to him through Christ as such, and are indulged with his presence, and the discoveries of his love:

and with his Son Jesus Christ; being in union to him, they become partakers of him, and of his blessings; they receive out of his fulness, and grace for grace; they are admitted to an intimacy and familiarity with him; they are had into his chambers of secret retirement; they are brought into his banqueting house, where his banner over them is love, and where he sups with them, and they with him; and into this fellowship are they called by the grace of God, through the Gospel; as also they have fellowship with the blessed Spirit, though not here mentioned; see 2 Corinthians 13:14.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you - We announce it, or make it known unto you - referring either to what he purposes to say in this Epistle, or more probably embracing all that he had written respecting him, and supposing that his Gospel was in their hands. He means to call their attention to all the testimony which he had borne on the subject, in order to counteract the errors which began to prevail.

That ye may have fellowship with us - With us the apostles; with us who actually saw him, and conversed with him. That is, he wished that they might have the same belief, and the same hope, and the same joy which he himself had, arising from the fact that the Son of God had become incarnate, and had appeared among people. To “have fellowship,” means to have anything in common with others; to partake of it; to share it with them, (see the notes at Acts 2:42); and the idea here is, that the apostle wished that they might share with him all the peace and happiness which resulted from the fact that the Son of God had appeared in human form in behalf of men. The object of the apostle in what he wrote was, that they might have the same views of the Saviour which he had, and partake of the same hope and joy. This is the true notion of fellowship in religion.

And truly our fellowship is with the Father - With God the Father. That is, there was something in common with him and God; something of which he and God partook together, or which they shared. This cannot, of course, mean that his nature was the same as that of God, or that in all things he shared with God, or that in anything he was equal with God; but it means that he partook, in some respects, of the feelings, the views, the aims, the joys which God has. There was a union in feeling, and affection, and desire, and plan, and this was to him a source of joy. He had an attachment to the same things, loved the same truth, desired the same objects, and was engaged in the same work; and the consciousness of this, and the joy which attended it, was what was meant by fellowship. Compare the 1 Corinthians 10:16 note; 2 Corinthians 12:14 note. The fellowship which Christians have with God relates to the following points:

(1) Attachment to the same truths, and the same objects; love for the same principles, and the same beings.

(2) The same kind of happiness, though not in the same degree. The happiness of God is found in holiness, truth, purity, justice, mercy, benevolence. The happiness of the Christian is of the same kind that God has; the same kind that angels have; the same kind that he will himself have in heaven - for the joy of heaven is only that which the Christian has now, expanded to the utmost capacity of the soul, and freed from all that now interferes with it, and prolonged to eternity.

(3) Employment, or cooperation with God. There is a sphere in which God works alone, and in which we can have no cooperation, no fellowship with him. In the work of creation; in upholding all things; in the government of the universe; in the transmission of light from world to world; in the return of the seasons, the rising and setting of the sun, the storms, the tides, the flight of the comet, we can have no joint agency, no cooperation with him. There God works alone. But there is also a large sphere in which he admits us graciously to a cooperation with him, and in which, unless we work, his agency will not be put forth. This is seen when the farmer sows his grain; when the surgeon binds up a wound; when we take the medicine which God has appointed as a means of restoration to health. So in the moral world. In our efforts to save our own souls and the souls of others, God graciously works with us; and unless we work, the object is not accomplished. This cooperation is referred to in such passages as these: “We are laborers together (συνεργοί sunergoi) with God,” 1 Corinthians 3:9. “The Lord working with them,” Mark 16:20. “We then as workers together with him,” 2 Corinthians 6:1. “That we might be fellow-helpers to the truth,” 3 John 1:8. In all such cases, while the efficiency is of God - alike in exciting us to effort, and in crowning the effort with success - it is still true that if our efforts were not put forth, the work would not be done. In this department God would not work by himself alone; he would not secure the result by miracle.

(4) We have fellowship with God by direct communion with him, in prayer, in meditation, and in the ordinances of religion. Of this all true Christians are sensible, and this constitutes no small part of their special joy. The nature of this, and the happiness resulting from it, is much of the same nature as the communion of friend with friend - of one mind with another kindred mind - that to which we owe no small part of our happiness in this world.

(5) The Christian will have fellowship with his God and Saviour in the triumphs of the latter day, when the scenes of the judgment shall occur, and when the Redeemer shall appear, that he may be admired and adored by assembled worlds. Compare the notes at 2 Thessalonians 1:10. See also Matthew 19:28; Revelation 3:21.

And with his Son Jesus Christ - That is, in like manner there is much which we have in common with the Saviour - in character, in feeling, in desire, in spirit, in plan. There is a union with him in these things - and the consciousness of this gives peace and joy.

(There is a real union between Christ and his people, which lies at the foundation of this fellowship. Without this union there can be no communion. But a “union with Christ in these things, i. e., in character and feeling, etc.” is nothing more than the union which subsists between any chief and his followers; and why the apostle Paul, or others after him, should reckon this a great mystery, is not easily comprehended. Ephesians 5:32; Colossians 1:27. For a full view of the subject, see the author’s notes, with the supplementary note at Romans 8:10.)

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 John 1:3. That which we have seen and heard — We deliver nothing by hearsay, nothing by tradition, nothing from conjecture; we have had the fullest certainty of all that we write and preach.

That ye also may have fellowship with us — That ye may be preserved from all false doctrine, and have a real participation with us apostles of the grace, peace, love, and life of God, which communion we have with God the Father, who hath loved us, and given his Son Jesus Christ to redeem us; and with his Son Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for the life of the world and through whom, being God manifested in the flesh, we have union with God, are made partakers of the Divine nature and dwell in God, and God in us.