1 John 1:1

That which was from the beginning The similarity to the opening of the Gospel is manifest: but the thought is somewhat different. There the point is that the Word existed before the Creation; here that the Word existed before the Incarnation. With the neuter -that which" comp. John 4:22; John 6:37; John 17:2; Acts 17:23 (R. V.). The Socinian interpretation, that -that which" means the doctrineof Jesus, and not the Incarnate Word, cannot stand: the verbs, -have seen", -beheld", -handled", are fatal to it. In using the neuter S. John takes the most comprehensive expression to cover the attributes, words and works of the Word and the Life manifested in the flesh.

was not -came into existence", but was already in existence. The difference between -to be" (1 John 1:2) and -to come to be" or -become" (1 John 2:18) must be carefully noted. Christ wasfrom all eternity; antichrists have arisen, have come into existence in time.

from the beginning The meaning of -beginning" must always depend upon the context. Here it is explained by -was with the Father" in 1 John 1:2. It does not mean the beginning of the gospel, or even of the world, but a beginning prior to that. It is equivalent to -from all eternity". The Gospel is no new-fangled invention, as Jewish and heathen philosophers contended. The same Greek phrase is used in LXX. for -Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God?" (Habakkuk 1:12), and when this is denied of idols (Wis 14:3). See on John 1:1.

which we have heard With this clause we pass from eternity into time. The first clause refers to something prior to the Creation. Here both the Creation and the Incarnation have taken place. The second clause refers to the teaching of all the Prophets and of the Christ. There is no need to make -which" (better, that which, to bring out the exact similarity of the first four clauses) in the different clauses refer to different things; e.g. the words, miracles, glory, and body of Christ. Rather, each -which" indicates that collective whole of Divine and human attributes which is the Incarnate Word of Life.

have seen with our eyes Note the climax: seeing is more than hearing, and beholding (which requires time) is more than seeing (which may be momentary); while handling is more than all. -With our eyes" is added for emphasis. The Apostle would have us know that -see" is no figure of speech, but the expression of a literal fact. With all the language at his command he insists on the reality of the Incarnation, of which he can speak from personal knowledge based on the combined evidence of all the senses. The Docetic heresy of supposing that the Lord's body was unreal, and the Cerinthian heresy of supposing that He who -was from the beginning" was different from Him whom they heard and saw and handled, is authoritatively condemned by implication at the outset. In the Introduction to the Gospel there is a similar assertion; -The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory" (John 1:14). Comp. 2 Peter 1:16.

which we have looked upon&c. Rather, that which we beheld and our hands handled: we have first an imperfect, then a pair of perfects, then a pair of aorists. -Beheld" implies deliberate and perhaps pleasurable sight (John 1:14; John 1:34; Acts 1:11). We can hear and see without intending to do so; but we can scarcely behold and handle unintentionally. The aorists probably refer to definite occasions on which the beholding and handling took place. -Handled" seems to be a direct reference to the test demanded by S. Thomas (John 20:27) and offered to the other disciples (Luke 24:39, where the same verb is used as here). "The clear reference to the Risen Christ in - handled" makes it probable that the special manifestation indicated by the two aorists is that given to the Apostles by the Lord after the Resurrection, which is in fact the revelation of Himself as He remains with His Church … The tacit reference is the more worthy of notice because S. John does not mention the fact of the Resurrection in his Epistle" (Westcott). Tertullian is very fond of insisting on the fact that the Lord was -handled": Adv. Prax.XV. twice; De AnimâXVII.; De Pat.III.; comp. Ad UxoremIV. So also Ignatius (Smyr.iii.); "I know and believe that He was in the flesh even after the resurrection: and when He came to Peter and his company, He said to them, Take, handleMe, and see that I am not a bodiless demon." Bede points out that the argument has special force as coming from the disciple who had lain on the Lord's breast. No greater proof of the reality of His Body before and after the Resurrection could be given.

of the word of life Better, concerning the Word of life; it is not the single genitive, but the genitive with a preposition. The preposition is strongly in favour of -Word", i.e. the personal Logos, rather than -word", i.e. doctrine. For this preposition used of testimony concerning personscomp. 1 John 5:9-10; John 1:15; John 1:22; John 1:30; John 1:48; John 2:25; John 5:31-32; John 5:36-37; John 5:39; John 5:46, &c. We can hardly doubt, moreover, that -Word" or -Logos" in this Introduction has the same meaning as in the Introduction to the Gospel; especially as the Epistle was written as a companion to the Gospel. -The Word", therefore, means the Son of God, in whom had been hidden from eternity all that God had to say to man, and who was the living expression of the Nature and Will of God. See on John 1:1 for the history of the term, which is peculiar to the phraseology of S. John. But of the two terms, Word and Life, the latter is here the emphatic one as is shewn by 1 John 1:2 and by the fact that -the Life" is one of the main topics of the Epistle (1 John 2:25; 1 John 3:14; 1 John 5:11-12; 1 John 5:20), whereas -the Word" is not mentioned again. -The Word of life" may be analogous to -the tree of life", -the water of life", -the bread of life", where -of life" means -life-giving"; but more probably to -the temple of His body", -the sign of healing", where the genitive is one of apposition. -The Word which isthe Life" is the meaning. Christ is at once the Word of God and the Life of man.