1 John 1:1-4 – 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.
John 1:1-2 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. This is a testimony to the divinity of Jesus, the Son of God, the Pre-Existent One who has always been one with the Father throughout the triune God’s eternal existence (John 10:30). Father, Son and Holy Spirit, always one, eternally existing with no beginning and that is true whether understood by mankind or not. He had no beginning. (Romans 1:20, Isaiah 57:15) In the eternity of God all three have been together because they are one. (Deuteronomy 6:4) John was strongly testifying that Jesus was God and eternally so. Jesus was God before His life on earth, during His time on earth, and everlastingly so into eternity.
If one believes in and loves the Father, so they must believe in and love the Son. To not do so is to call the Father a liar for they have not believed the testimony of the Father that He gave to His prophets in the Old Testament. (1 John 2:22)
This beginning 1 John is about the eternal Jesus, the eternal Word, and His appearance and ministry here on earth. From the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry John was with Him. In John’s later days, when this epistle was written, John was an old man who dearly loved the flock that he ministered to, and all of the flock of Jesus. John was, in this epistle, bequeathing what he had experienced with Jesus to them and to us. As parents, grandparents and great-grandparents have passed on their legacy to their decendents, as ancestors have always done, as John’s ancestors had done, so John was passing on the traditions that God has given to all who are called to become saints through Jesus Christ.
John wrote to his eternal family about their heritage. The Jews passed on their heritage and did so with a fierce dedication to accuracy. Now we who have Jesus within must pass on the sacred truth of God handed down through generations of those who love Him. We must pass it on to the next generation ad infinitum unto His return. Should a day come when the Bible cannot be found in written form, when it is no longer studied and passed down, when Jesus is not spoken of, then surely true hope for the future will be robbed from mankind. Any false hope will be manifestly false. The Word of God must be passed on by reading it and by uncovering the beauty and sureness of it from generation to generation. It is our great hope.
We pass from one generation to the next the life within us that only those who belong to Jesus may have. Within us is an eternal flame and we share it so that the Lord will ignite the flame in others. We are diligent to do so and the Holy Spirit Himself ignites the flames in the hearts of all those who will follow the Lord. Jesus commissioned us to do so. (Matthew 28:18-20) If we love the Lord we share the flame. If we are blessed, our beloveds will have the flame lit in them. Passing on eternal life from our life to others until the day of His return. What a blessing! What a great hope! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.