1 John 1:1-4 Bible Study Notes

Bible Study Notes – 1 John 1:1-4

In this week’s passage, we consider “The Word of Life” (1 John 1:1-4) and “Walking in the Light” (1 John 1:5-10). 

Consider the following ideas and questions as you study the passage.

“The Word of Life” (1 John 1:1-4)

• What exactly does John mean by the phrase, “That which was from the beginning.” Is he referring to Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1?  Is he making a theological statement about the pre-incarnate Logos who assists in the creation of the universe? 
• Logos means “the Word.”  Theology means literally rational thought about Almighty God.  Jesus reveals the “Word” which God speaks as He speaks the universe into existence.
• As we relate to Jesus, we relate the very essence of divine and creative power.  We relate to “That which was from the beginning.”

• John attests he and the other disciples heard, saw and touched “the Word.”  He speaks of a direct relationship.  He references the natural senses as evidence of this relationship.
• For our personal purposes, we allude to our personal relationships with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as evidence of His incarnation.
• Let’s discuss the power of personal testimony in sharing the gospel versus declarations of propositional truth.
• John mentions his direct and physical experience of the Jesus, “the Word of Life” to combat the prevalent “Docetic” teachings of the time.  This heresy held that Christ did not come in the flesh but an image of Him similar to a ghost appeared to reveal divine truth.  Docetism further reasoned that imperfect humans, the creatures of the Holy Creator, could not possess the power to crucify the Christ, the Creator.  In the opinions of the Docetists, Almighty God in the Person of Jesus Christ would not submit to such an irrational arrangement.
• Using legal language as if he were a sworn witness in a court proceeding, John in the second verse testifies to the “truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth” that “The Life appeared.” 
• He reiterates his actual experience of the incarnate Christ and his stories and recollections are Jesus’ primary teachings.
• Today, our testimony functions as sworn witness to the power of the resurrected Christ in our lives. 
• Partially, we believe the Bible and its contents because our personal experience correlates with the miraculous power of Christ.  We believe biblical miracles because we experience personal ones.  We know Christ’s transformative power directly.  In the words of the second stanza of the Bill Gaither hymn, “I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary,” “I believe that the Christ who was slain on the cross still has the power to change lives today.  For, He changed me, a new life is mine.  That is why by the cross I will stay.”
• The Life which the apostle and his contemporaries proclaim is eternal life which exists with the Father at the foundation of the world. 
• By the grace of Almighty God, this Life appeared to John and the other apostles.  Moreover, this Life appears to each person who encounters Him directly.  Refer to John 1:1-18, 3:16-21, 3:31-36, 5:24, 20:10-18 and 20:24-29.
• John mentions his missionary purpose in offering his witness of to the Life.  His proclamation enables those persons who hear and believe to enjoy fellowship with other believers.  More significantly, it affords them the opportunity to share in the disciples’ fellowship with the Father and with His One and Only Begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, in whom we have abundant and eternal life.
• The fourth verse reveals John’s secondary objective in writing this epistle.  In setting the record straight and testifying to the unequivocal truth of Christ’s revelation, the great apostle of love seeks to complete the joy of his fellow disciples and that of any future believers who genuinely desire to know the love of God in Christ Jesus.

• Recite 1 John 1:3-4 in The Message.