Introduction: On my most recent short trip to Ethiopia, I was made very welcome by the attendants on Ethiopian Airlines! I can’t remember exactly how it came up but the Senior Steward and a couple of the Stewardesses wanted to shake my hand and they talked repeatedly with me! Why? Because I had met the Emperor Haile Selassie when he was in power, shaken his hand and spoken with him! They were obviously in love with Ethiopian past history and hearing from reports I had become an eye-witness reporter! Here we have an eye-witness report of one who walked and talked with Jesus!
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Comment: The style and the substance of this first chapter is reminiscent of the beginning of John’s gospel. I have highlighted various words in different colours! Firstly ‘word‘ – God has two varieties of words which He uses when He speaks to mankind – the written word, the Bible, and the spoken word, Jesus. Second is the word ‘life‘. Genesis says. ‘Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.’ But the right to eternal life was denied when Adam sinned and was expelled from the garden, in which was the ‘Tree of Life’. Jesus brought again the possibility of eternal life! Thirdly ‘light‘ and fourthly, closely associated with it, ‘darkness‘. I think of these as meaning ‘understanding‘ and ‘ignorance‘. Maybe that is simplistic – if you have a fuller explanation please write to me! And finally the highlighted sentence – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What a thrilling concept to be able to stand before God forgiven and cleansed! And forgiven and cleansed we can have true fellowship in both the vertical and horizontal planes, with both God and fellow believers!
John 1: 4&5 – In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for walking among people!
As I read it! 