Phrase

NT

1 John 1:1-10

esv

That which was

from the beginning,

Temporal

which we have heard,

which we have seen

with our eyes,

Means

which we looked upon

and have touched

with our hands,

concerning the word

Reference

of life—

Discriptive

the life was made manifest,

Explanation

and we have seen it,

Result 1&2

and testify

to it

and proclaim

Result 3

to you

Destination

the eternal life,

Content

which was

with the Father

Accompaniment

and was made manifest

to us—

that

which we have seen

and heard

we proclaim also

to you,

so that you too may have fellowship

Advantage #1

with us;

and indeed our fellowship is

Distinction

with the Father

and with his Son Jesus Christ.

And we are writing these things

so that our joy may be complete.

Advantage #2

This is the message we have heard

from him

Source

and proclaim

to you,

that God is light,

and ... is no darkness at all.

in him

Context

If we say

Condition

we have fellowship

with him

while we walk

in darkness,

Manner

we lie

and do not practice

Result

the truth.

But if we walk

in the light,

as he is

Comparison

in the light,

we have fellowship

with one another,

and the blood ... cleanses us

of Jesus

Producer

his Son

from all sin.

Separation

If we say

we have no sin,

we deceive ourselves,

and the truth is not

in us.

Conditon

If we confess our sins,

he is faithful

and just

to forgive us our sins

Purpose

and to cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

If we say

we have not sinned,

we make him a liar,

and his word is not

in us.

1) After seeing how you phrased verses 2, and though I considered "breaking the rules" by subordinating verse 2 under "life"in 1j, I feel there is still a good argument in interpreting verse 2 as John is expanding on the phrase "the life was made manifest" in 2a from what was said in 1i-j. 2) NASB & NET both use "kai" from the Greek as their first word. Kai is normally translated using the words namely, and, even, and also. All of these words give the impression of the expansion of the word "life. KJV on the other hand uses the words "For the life was" alluding again to expansion of thought. 3) The word "eternal life" in 2g is said to be "with the Father". With the connection of the relation pronoun "which" in 2h to 2gh again confirms that John is expanding on the word "life" back in 1j. 4) Lastly, this also led me to consider my genitive labeling of "life". In looking through some of my commentaries. James Montgomery Boice states the following, "Here, however, we come to the first of several technical problems in John’s letter, for we find ourselves asking, At what points in the preface is John actually speaking of Jesus? At first glance this seems to be easy to answer, for the phrase “the Word of life” immediately makes us think of “the Word [who] became flesh” from the prologue to the Gospel. Since “the Word” in the prologue is Christ, it seems that “the Word” in the preface should be Christ too. In this case the phrase “of life” should be taken as a descriptive genitive, and the phrase should be understood as “the life-giving Word” or “Christ who gives life.” There are several reasons for questioning this first and easy identification of “the Word of life” with Jesus, however. In the first place, as we read on in the letter, we find that it is the word “life” that is actually used of Jesus, rather than “Word.” In fact, this occurs in verse 2, for there Christ is portrayed as that “eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.” Second, it is “life” rather than “Word” that is emphasized. This would be strange, granted John’s concern for the centrality of the historical Christ, if the “Word” were Jesus. Finally, the phrase “the Word of life” does not stand alone as a subject or even as an object of its sentence, but rather as what may best be taken as an independent adverbial clause introduced by peri (“concerning”). In other words, it is not the “Word” that is proclaimed, but Christ, who is the content of it. For these reasons it seems best to take “Word” as the gospel that is centered in Christ, “beginning” as referring to the beginning of the Christian era, and the other phrases as referring to Jesus, who is proclaimed by those who heard, saw, beheld, and touched him during the days of his earthly ministry." Boice, James Montgomery. 2004. The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. This makes a lot of sense to me in observing John's flow of thought through verse 2. Verse 1 - Christ Verse 2 Salvation that flows from Christ.

The main verb "we proclaim" has 2 purposes. 1) Fellowship, with God, and with one another in the Body of Christ. 2) That we may find out joy solely and completely in Christ and His message of redemption.

HEAD: The message being proclaimed is that God is Holy. His holiness is not only in His perfection but also in His inability to mix with evil. This is a very similar comparison to God's Word being both inerrant and infallible. God is so holy he is perfect in His being and perfect in His practice. This first point is critical to our thinking as we move into the next 5 verses which discusses both our practice and the assurance that we truly are in the faith. HEART: This message should effective my feelings toward the holiness of God by being broken before Him. I grew up an a legalistic home, so I am bent toward rating myself against myself instead of how Hebrews 12:2 puts it "looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith". This passage definitely reminds me of the importance of prayer and needing to continually remind myself there is nothing that I bring to the table. HANDS: This message should effective my life practice in response to the holiness of God by the following reasons. 1) Having a relationship that is based on truth, through regular repentance and turning toward Him in obedience. John 1:9 2) Desiring to know Him through the reading and studying of His Word. Philippians 3:10 3) Walking in the light through working out my salvation with fear and trembling. That I may be like Him. Philippians 2:12 4) Being prayerful over the temptation of pride that leads to sin, and ultimately death. James 1:15 5) Regular thankful praise for the sacrifice of Christ at the cross who has paid the penalty in my place s0 that I may live for Him and not for myself, Isaiah 12:4-5

phrasing