What is the content of this letter?

What's always been (was with the Father), our personal experience of it (was manifested), as it relates to the Word of Life who is the Eternal Life, He was with

1 What we proclaim has always been, but we have an eyewitness account of it ourselves to tell you about

Who is the Eternal Life?

What would make their joy complete? If the hearers would join their fellowship w/ the Father and Son

6 if we say we are fellowshipping w/ God while doing darkness

neither

1. what we say is true nor

2. what we do is true

1 John 1:1-4

Fact 1: What was from the beginning,

Fact 2: what we have heard,

Fact 3: what we have seen with our eyes,

Fact 3': what we have looked at

Fact 2': and touched with our hands,

Fact 1': concerning the Word of Life --

1.	What are John's first three descriptions of the subject of His letter in this verse? last three?

2.	Organize these sets of threes. ?chiasm. What arena does he start in, to which arena does he move us?

a.	Facts 1 and 1' relate to the preexistence and power (transcendence) of the Word. The other facts relate to the incarnation (immanence) of the Word.

3.	So, what is it in verse one that was from the beginning?

Interp:

Context:

1.	From the context, what does it mean to have been "from the beginning"?
What else in 1 Jn 1 was "from the beginning"?

Comparison:

2.	What is John claiming about his own experience by setting these sensory descriptions alongside "What was from the beginning," and "the Word of Life?"

3.	What is the theme? or What do these things have in common?

a.	A personal account of the deity in bodily form. Eyewitness of the incarnation.

verse2

Fact 1: and the life was manifested,

Fact 2: and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you

Fact 3: the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us --

1.	What happened with this life?

a.	it was manifested

2.	What actions has this manifestation prompted?

a.	have seen, testify, proclaim to you

3.	What sort of life did they see and do they now proclaim?

a.	the Eternal Life which was w/ Father, and was manifested to us

Interp:

Context:

1.	What must happen before one can see, testify and proclaim?

a.	a manifestation

2.	What does it mean for a life to be manifested?

a.	become observable w/ the senses

3.	What is so significant about that happening? What kind of life is this that's being manifested?

Comparison:

4.	What does it say about the eternal life that it was manifested?

verse3

Fact1: what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also,

Fact2: so that you too may have fellowship with us;

Fact3: and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

1.	What do they proclaim?

2.	Why, what does this proclamation enable to happen?

3.	What claim does he make about their fellowship?

Interp:

Context:

1.	What is it they have seen and heard?

a.	A manifestation of the Eternal in human flesh.

Comparison:

2.	What is the result of this proclamation?

a.	Inclusion in fellowship w/ John and others, but

3.	What is the full implication of having fellowship with John and the others?

a.	Their fellowship is also w/ God

4.	How does their proclamation enable that? Isn't that a pretty tall order for some information, that it brings people into fellowship with each other and with the Transcendent/Immanent One? What sort of proclamation must this be?

a.	A powerful one. What else? An incarnation!

b.	We gain fellowship with each other through our fellowship with the Transcendent One! It doesn't go, proclam, human fellowship, divine fellowship, but instead, proclam, divine, then human fellowship. Somehow through the proclamation of Jesus as God in the flesh, those who hear can enter into fellowship with Him. Why? How does proclaiming the experience you've had with the Transcendent/Immanent One, enable others to enter into fellowship with Him?

i.	The proclamation is not just a story, it is an incarnation itself.

verse4

Facts:

1.	These things we write,

2.	so that our joy may be made complete

1.	What medium is John putting all this stuff in?

2.	What is his purpose?

Interp:

1.	How does writing these things to his hearers make John's joy complete?

2.	In what way is his joy not complete?

a.

Read verses 1-3 and note the progression

1. from beginning and source (transcendent) to sensory perception

2. from manifestation to proclamation

3. from proclamation to fellowship with the proclaimers and the transcendent

What experience must take place before we can have fellowship together? (Manifestation) We must have seen Jesus. So it doesn't do any good to correct people left and right who have never seen Jesus. Maria earring story.

John is single-minded, he's only interested in proclaiming one thing. Jesus. His own experience of Jesus–no one else's.