1 John 1:1-4

Father, thank you for those who come to this site, and may you get honor and glory from our study of 1 John together. Amen

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;"

Do you find the Holy Spirit's use of the word "That" to open this letter a bit unusual? I do, until I read the rest of the phrase. Then I begin to get comparisons to other Scripture. "In the beginning God"- "In the beginning was the Word" - then I begin to understand.

Again, the word "That" - why not the word who, or just say the Creator was from the beginning? From Genesis and the Gospel of John we know that this verse is about God; but the use of "That" opens the door to much more than a name or title.

I am sure that each of you have commentaries on this Book. They are great - but they are secondary. We are more interested in what the Author is saying to you as we meditate.

Some of you have contributed to this study. I am so happy about that. Your comments and contributions will be posted.

Our assignment was to meditate on the first four verses, and then to come back to a close read of verse one. We are looking for the PURPOSE of John's letter. Have you found that?

WORD STUDY: Here are the three words: WORD - LIFE - ANNOUNCE. If you are not familiar with word studies, please let me know. There are several way to do it and I will help you.

Keep those comments and contributions coming by posting, email, or facebook - all are encouraging. Your moderator is all smiles.