Bible Commentaries

From beginning; the beginning of the new dispensation, that is, from the commencement of the ministry of Christ.--Which we have heard, &c. By these expressions John intends to declare, emphatically, that he had every conceivable means of knowledge that his testimony in respect to the life, death, and resurrection, of Christ was true.--Of the word of life; Jesus Christ

And show unto you; declare John in unto you.--Which was with, the Father. This corresponds in a striking manner with the declaration in 1 John 1:1,2:14. that he who was manifested in the flesh, as the Savior of men, previously coëxisted with the Father.--Was manifested; by becoming flesh, and dwelling upon the earth.

May have fellowship with us; may join with us in acknowledging and obeying him.

That your joy may be full; that you may attain to perfect and eternal joy.

That God is light. There are several of the divine perfections which might be represented metaphorically by light. That holiness is the one here intended, is evident from 1 John 1:7, where it appears that it is an attribute of God, in respect to which men are bound to conform to him.

With him; with God.--Walk in darkness; live in sin.--Do not the truth; do not act consistently with truth.

The blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ denotes the death of Christ, and the sufferings attendant upon it,--including the whole of that protracted scene of suffering, which, commencing at Gethsemane, and ending on the cross, constituted the great propitiatory sacrifice by which the world was redeemed.

Make him a liar; since he has in so many ways declared that the conduct and characters of all men are entirely inconsistent with the requirements of his law.