Contributor J B: In these opening verses of greeting, John establishes his position with Jesus; his history of personal, first-hand knowledge; his deep belief and his current walk with the Lord.
More importantly, John underlines Christ's identity; His position in the history of creation, His life-giving power and the reality of His existence for all time.
John begins to introduces his purpose in writing to his audience and to motivate them to hear what remains.
The frist readers of this letter from the apostle John were, like us, in challenging times for Christians; false doctrines were being spread, some were being led astray and others were questioning. John models for us the concern we should have for our brothers and sisters, that they should be encouraged and built up in truth and their paths should lead them away from doubt and into full knowledge of the truth.
this is the third time try and trying to post. here goes. we are not traveling to heaven alone. many Christians try to isolate themselves from the body of Christ and then fall prey to false doctrines and stinking thinking. the Holy Spirit inspired John to write this letter to remind us of the importance of church family and to be able to provide a spiritual checkup when times of doubt come to the Christian life.
Contributor ktfordalord: on an introduction to the first four verses:
I really like how personal the introduction is. John uses the pronoun "we" to include all believers, but he also includes himself. He is writing a personal testimony to share. What is he testifying about? This question solely is answered by verse one. He testifies of his experience with "the Word of life." I believe this is not only his lifespan as a Christian, but the eternal life (past, present, and future) that he received in Christ. This is a testament of our heritage, our relationship with our heavenly Father and our existence as children of the King.
4 comments:
Contributor J B:
In these opening verses of greeting, John establishes his position with Jesus; his history of personal, first-hand knowledge; his deep belief and his current walk with the Lord.
More importantly, John underlines Christ's identity; His position in the history of creation, His life-giving power and the reality of His existence for all time.
John begins to introduces his purpose in writing to his audience and to motivate them to hear what remains.
The frist readers of this letter from the apostle John were, like us, in challenging times for Christians; false doctrines were being spread, some were being led astray and others were questioning. John models for us the concern we should have for our brothers and sisters, that they should be encouraged and built up in truth and their paths should lead them away from doubt and into full knowledge of the truth.
this is the third time try and trying to post. here goes. we are not traveling to heaven alone. many Christians try to isolate themselves from the body of Christ and then fall prey to false doctrines and stinking thinking. the Holy Spirit inspired John to write this letter to remind us of the importance of church family and to be able to provide a spiritual checkup when times of doubt come to the Christian life.
Contributor ktfordalord: on an introduction to the first four verses:
I really like how personal the introduction is. John uses the pronoun "we" to include all believers, but he also includes himself. He is writing a personal testimony to share. What is he testifying about? This question solely is answered by verse one. He testifies of his experience with "the Word of life." I believe this is not only his lifespan as a Christian, but the eternal life (past, present, and future) that he received in Christ. This is a testament of our heritage, our relationship with our heavenly Father and our existence as children of the King.
comment from blogger:
"Not sure I can do the "word by word" part. No language scholar here, certainly not Greek or Aramaic."
T-Bone says, "we have newborn Christians to near scholars on this blog. Everyone is a part and we want to hear what our Holy Spirit shows each one."
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