First John 1:1-10

I John 1:1-4:

^1:1That-which used-to-be from (the) beginning, which we heard², which we saw² with our eyes, which we gazed-upon, and our hands touched-after – concerning the word of the life – ^.2and the life was manifested, and we saw², and we witness, and we announce to you the life, the eternal (life), the-one-which used-to-be towards the Father and was manifested to us – ^.3which we saw², and we heard² – we announce also to you in order that also you may have a sharing-in-common with us, but also the sharing-in-common, our (sharing-in-common, is) with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ, ^.4and we write these-things in order that our joy may be having been filled²;

John writes:

• That-which used-to-be from the beginning (referring to the content of God’s Word, the subject matter of the words that God spoke to mankind; it was continuing to exist during a past time, historically, away-from the time of the start, since the commencement, the origin of mankind),
• which we heard and continue to hear (we listened to it, and that truth has not changed),
• which we saw and continue to see with our eyes (we perceived it with our eyes and understood the object-of-sight in our mind's thoughts, and that truth has not changed),
• which we gazed-upon (we looked at it with a purpose),
• and our hands touched-after (we felt after it as though with our hands stretched-out searching for it) –  
  • concerning (about, as regards to, encompassing, the central point being)
  • the word (the spoken-account containing individual words constituting what is spoken)
  • of the life (which is, consists of, issues, emanates the life, enables people to receive God’s life) –
    • and the life was manifested (the life has already been caused to be evidenced, brought to light, shown-forth),
• and we saw and continue to see (the life),
• and we witness (we attest with information, we give the declaration of knowledge that we personally have and therefore we state and confirm it on the strength of our own authority concerning the life),
• and we announce to you (we message, report, relate to you)
  • the life,
    • emphatically and specifically the eternal life (agelong, lifelong, everlasting life),
    • the life which used-to-be towards the Father (the life was continuing to exist during a past time, historically, with a purposed reference to the Father; God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and all holy-people; God is the only One Who previously had this eternal life)
• and was manifested to us (God’s life has now been evidenced, brought to light, shown-forth to us by God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ) –
  • which (referring to the content or subject matter of the word of the life) we saw and continue to see,
  • and we heard and continue to hear –
  • we announce also to you (additionally we message, report, relate the word of the life to you)
    • for the purpose and result that also emphatically you would have (hold; in Greek there is a definite word for “you” plus the verb meaning “you may have” giving emphasis – you yourselves may have)
• a sharing-in-common with us (a partaking of/in/with the same-thing, participation, communion with one-another of what is common to all of us in company and association with us, sharing what all of us already have in the spirit category in full manifestation during the everyday living of our lives in the walk/behavior category),
  • but also (even, with emphasis) the sharing-in-common,
    • emphatically our sharing-in-common (relative to the spirit category),
    • is in company and association with the Father (the only true God; our relationship with God is that He is our Father)
    • and in company and association with the Father’s son who is Jesus Christ,

…and emphatically we write these-things (what is written in this letter; in Greek there is a definite word for “we” plus the verb meaning “we write” giving emphasis – we ourselves write these-things [some Greek texts include “to you”]) for the purpose and result that…

• our joy (rejoicing [some Greek texts read “your joy”])
  • would be in the state of having been filled and continuing full (filled-up, made full).

The Greek word aionios may be translated “eternal” or “agelong”. In the context of verse 2 above, the life that is now being manifested to mankind will not end. It is eternal, agelong, lifelong, everlasting. It lasts throughout all durations of life, all ages from the time a person receives it. This life can only be received from God by God's giving of holy spirit by means of the Lord Jesus Christ. All holy-people (Christians) have received holy spirit-life within us, which is the spirit of Christ in us; it is the deposit, token, earnest of what we will receive at a future time. This holy spirit-life will remain for the duration of God's life which will not end. The full completeness for us will come to pass when our Lord Jesus Christ will come to gather all holy-people together with him giving us new spiritual bodies, the life of which will be holy spirit-life, like the body he has already received from God, his Father and our Father, when God raised him up alive from-among the dead-people.

Jesus Christ was dead but now he is alive. God marked Jesus Christ out as the son of God by raising him up from among the dead-people giving him his spiritual body. God gave him the name that is above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ, and his name includes the name – SON – God’s son; he inherits everything that the firstborn son should inherit from his Father, the only true God. The word ‘son’ emphasizes origin, quality, and essence. The spirit of holiness is the spiritual essence of the resurrected Christ Jesus. Refer to Matthew 3:17, 17:5; John 17:1; Acts 2:21 and 38, 3:6 and 16, 4:7-12 and 30, 9:20, 13:33, 26:23; Romans 1:3, 4 and 9, 5:10, 8:3, 29 and 32; I Corinthians 1:9, chapter 15; II Corinthians 1:19; Galatians 2:20, 4:4 and 6; Ephesians 1:19-23, 4:13; Philippians 2:9 and 10; Colossians 1:13 and 18; I Thessalonians 1:10; II Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 1:1-8, 3:6, 4:14, 5:5-10, 6:6, 7:3, 21 and 28, 10:29; II Peter 1:17; I John 1:3 and 7, 2:22-24, 3:8 and 23, 4:9, 10, 14 and 15, 5:5, 9-13 and 20; II John 1:3 and 9; Revelation 2:18.

[Reference: Genesis 2:9, 3:15 and 22-24; John 1:1-18, 3:16, 5:24, 14:6, 15:11, 26 and 27; Acts 4:20, 5:20, 13:46-48 and 52; Romans 2:7, 5:21, 6:22 and 23, 15:13; I Corinthians 1:9, 9:1; II Corinthians 6:14, 13:14; Philippians 2:2 and 16; Colossians 1:26 and 27, 3:4; I Timothy 3:16; II Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:7; I John 2:25, 4:9-14, 5:11 and 13; II John 1:12; III John 1:4.]

Verse 5:

^.5and this is the message which we heard² from Him and we announce to you, that God is Light and there is not not-one darkness in Him.

This is the message (report, declaration, announcement)…

• which we heard and continue to hear from Him (God is the One Who spoke the words from Himself to us to hear)
• and we presently and actively announce (this verb in Greek is a little different from verses 2 and 3 above because it has the addition of “up” or “back” – we message-up, report-back, relate the information that we received) to you, that…
  • God is Light (absolute light)
    • and there is not not-one darkness in Him (a double negative figuratively emphasizes that definitely there is no darkness in God, there is not any darkness, no darkness at all, absolutely none, an absence of darkness, there is not even a hint or a suggestion of it).

[Reference: Acts 26:18; II Corinthians 4:6; I Timothy 6:16; James 1:17; I Peter 2:9; Revelation 22:5.]

Verses 6-10:

^.6If-ever we may say that we have a sharing-in-common with Him and we may walk in the darkness, we lie and we do not do the truth; ^.7but if-ever we may walk in the light as He is in the light, we have a sharing-in-common with one-another and the blood of Jesus His son cleans us from all sin. ^.8If-ever we may say that we do not have sin, we cause ourselves to wander and the truth is not in us. ^.9If-ever we may express-agreement (regarding) our sins, He is believable and righteous in order that He may dismiss from us the sins and He may clean us from all unrighteousness. ^.10If-ever we may say that we did not sin², we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

If it should happen at any time (even on one occasion) that…

• we would say that we presently have a sharing-in-common with Him (a partaking of/in/with the same-thing, participation, communion in company and association with God of what is common to God and ourselves in full manifestation during the everyday living of our lives in the walk/behavior category)
  • and at the same time we would be walking in the darkness (‘walking’ is literally to move the feet around, going on foot in the darkness; but here it is figuratively referring to walking around or behaving during the everyday living of our lives within the sphere of action of the lack or absence of the light that God provides for us, conducting ourselves in the character and attributes of darkness),
• we lie (we are speaking a lie, committing a falsehood in our behavior with our intent being to deceive, we are showing a lying statement for the purpose of misleading, we are communicating false evidence from ourselves)
  • and we do not do the truth (we are not doing, performing, making, producing the actions and activities in accordance with the truth, which is what God says, the essential reality, God’s inherent verity);

…but if it should ever happen that…

• we would be walking in the light (presently behaving, conducting ourselves within the sphere of action of the light that emanates from God Who is Light, walking in His presence, which includes walking in accordance with His words to/for us)
  • as emphatically He is in the light (in comparison to how God is within the sphere of action of the light; in Greek there is a definite word for “He” plus the verb meaning “He is” giving emphasis – God Himself is continuing to walk/behave in the light that He emanates),
• we have a sharing-in-common with one-another (a partaking of/in/with the same-thing, participation, communion with God of what is common to us – God and ourselves, in full manifestation during the everyday living of our lives in the walk/behavior category)
  • and the blood of Jesus (his blood was shed when he was killed being the one true sacrifice, he died on our behalf)
    • His son (God’s son)
    • cleans us from all sin (makes us free from all mixture, causes us not to be mixed with every sin, cleans us from that-which would be contrary to God’s intention for us – this includes the sin of not having holy spirit-life plus committing any sinful actions, missing the mark of God’s Word, aberration from what God says, in the walk/behavior category).

If it should happen at any time (even on one occasion) that…

• we would say that we do not have sin (in other words: at the present time we don’t require any cleaning by the blood of Jesus His son),
  • we cause ourselves to wander (we make ourselves err, we are causing ourselves not to stay in our rightful place, leading ourselves astray from our correct location in the walk/behavior category, like a planet is constantly moving around when viewed from the earth unlike the stars which retain their position relative-to each other)
  • and the truth is not in us (the truth of the words that God speaks to/for us is not within our sphere of action because we would not be behaving within the realm of the truth).

If it should ever happen that…

• we would be expressing agreement regarding/with our sins (presently saying the same words, speaking agreement with, assenting to the same spoken things regarding our sins, agreeing that we have committed sins against God, that we performed aberrations from God's Word, missing the mark of what God says to/for us by behaving badly since we became holy-people, Christians),
  • He is believable (God presently and actively is faithful, trustworthy; we can rely on God’s words and actions)
  • and righteous (God is just, in the state of justness in what He says and does)
    • for the purpose and result that
    • He may dismiss from us the sins (God would leave, send-away, discharge, acquit, set-free, let-go from His concern, remit the sins that we committed in the walk/behavior category from us so that we will not receive the punishment which is rightly due to us for the sinful actions we carried-out since we became holy-people, Christians)
    • and He may clean us from all unrighteousness (God would make us free from all mixture, cause us not to be mixed with every injustice, unjustness, the state of not being just/right in the walk/behavior category).

If it should happen at any time (even on one occasion) that…

• we would say that we did not sin and continue not to sin (we have not actively missed the mark of what God says to/for us, we did not commit any sinful action and this fact has not changed),
  • we make Him a liar (we make God out to be One Who speaks and lives lies, falsehoods, a falsifier)
  • and His word is not in us (God’s Word, the spoken-account containing individual words constituting what He speaks to/for us, is not within our sphere of action because we would not be behaving within the realm of His Word).

[Reference: Matthew 6:22 and 23; John 17:17 and 25; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:19, 3:22-26 and chapter 5, 7:25, 8:3; I Corinthians 1:9, 10:13; II Corinthians 1:18, 4:6, 6:14; Ephesians 2:13, 4:21 and 25, 5:2, 8, 9, 15 and 25-32, 6:12; Colossians 3:9; I Thessalonians 5:4-11 and 24; Titus 2:14; Hebrews chapters 9 and 10; James 5:14-16; I Peter 1:2, 3:18; I John 2:2, 4 and 16, 5:10. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]