seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
This is the commentary I use.The life was manifested: This life was manifested, meaning that it was made actually and physically real. John solemnly testified as an eyewitness (we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you) that this was the case. This was no fairy tale, no “Once upon a time” story. This was real, and John tells us about it as an eyewitness.
Fellowship: The idea of fellowship is one of the most important ideas in this letter of John’s. It is the ancient Greek word koinonia, which speaks of a sharing, a communion, a common bond and common life. It speaks of a living, breathing, sharing, loving relationship with another person.
Fellowship… with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ: This simple and bold statement means that one can have a relationship with God. This idea would surprise many of John’s readers, and it should be astounding to us. The Greek mind-set highly prized the idea of fellowship, but restricted to men among men — the idea of such an intimate relationship with God was revolutionary.
Fellowship… with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ: The kind of relationship John described is only possible because Jesus is who John says He is in 1 John 1:1-2. If someone invited you to have a “personal relationship” with Napoleon, or Alexander the Great, or Abraham Lincoln — or even Moses or the Apostle Paul — you would think them foolish. One cannot even have a genuine “spiritual” relationship with a dead man. But with the eternal God who became man, we can have a relationship.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him: John first deals with a false claim to fellowship. Based upon this, we understand that it is possible for some to claim a relationship with God that they do not have. We can also say that it is possible for someone to think they have a relationship with God that they do not have.
If we say we have no sin: John has introduced the ideas of walking in the light and being cleansed from sin. But he did not for a moment believe that a Christian can become sinlessly perfect.
These letters are written by John. He was the best friend Jesus had here on earth. John understood Jesus better than anyone else. John says "Jesus was truly an old soul".
John was the best friend Jesus had on earth. I think he really understood that Jesus was what we would call "an old soul". Only Jesus really was that "old soul" because Jesus was there before everything began. Jesus was there when God said "let's make a bunch of universes, Son". Jesus was there when the design of everything was conceived. That's what John tells us.
Jesus was there before the Mayans built their temples. Jesus was there before the Egyptians built their pyramids. Jesus was there when the plates split apart separating east from west. Jesus was older than the earth, in a young human body.
We can't be perfect. We can't go very long without sinning in some way or another. That's just the way it is. We are human... we sin. We didn't start our education of what is right and what is wrong until well after the earth was formed. Jesus started His back when God was designing the universes that hold our galaxy, and the earth where we run around messing everything up.
When God created Adam, Jesus was there. Jesus loved the human. He could walk and talk and ask questions and make decisions! Jesus found humans as much fun as a new puppy or kitten.
Jesus went through all the human emotions, including what it's like to be murdered. Jesus didn't sin.... He made it through life without sinning. We can't do that and we should get used to that fact. If you think we are sinless just because we are Christian... you are deluded.
Jesus didn't sin... He's all light. Humans sin constantly... we're stinky with sin. Jesus knows how hard it is to face down temptation. He knows how hard it is for humans to resist temptation. Like a bone or a ball of yarn, sin just drives us mad!
Jesus was an old soul who faced down temptation, so He understands what we go through.
Jesus was an "old soul".