That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.
John is starting the letter by showing that he is writing about events and a person he has seen and experienced. This is a big help because we know we are reading someone’s eyewitness words.
Question 1
What is John talking about in these verses? What events has John witnessed? (John has also written a book in the Bible – how about taking a look through it to see what John has seen).
Question 2
Why does John want to share what he has seen and learned? (verses 3 and 4)
Question 3
In what ways does this give you assurance that you have believed the right things?
Pray:
Thank you, Father, for being real. Thank you for not asking us to believe in things that have been made up – instead you have had people write what they have seen so that we know it’s all true. Please strengthen my faith and open the eyes of my heart to see that Jesus is your Son. Amen.
