1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

3That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

4And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

COMMENTARY by Dr. Dave Burnette

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: John the Apostle

Date Penned: (85-90 AD)

Overview: John Reassures Christians (c 1-5)

Theme: God is Light (c 1-2)

Message: Jesus Christ is God's Son (v 1-10)

1 John 1 Commentary

(1:1-4) John"s Introduction - John’s first letter opens as does his Gospel—with a prologue. When John began his Gospel, he recalled how he (and the other disciples, for whom he was a spokesman) had beheld the Son’s glory, the glory as of a unique Son from the Father (John 1:14). Then John described Jesus as the one who was both God and the Son of God living near the heart of the Father (John 1:18). In both the Gospel and the letter, John revealed that he (with the apostles) had heard, seen, and even touched God in his bodily expression in Jesus Christ. The apostles realized that the Word of Life, who had been in face-to-face fellowship with the Father for all eternity, had entered into time to relate to them in a human body. They shared the Good News so that, across the world and down through the ages, we might also experience this fellowship.

(1:5-10) Living in the Light - When Jesus was on earth, his divine life illuminated the inner lives of his followers. Everywhere he was present, he gave light. This light penetrated people—exposing their sin and revealing divine truth. No one could come into contact with Jesus without being enlightened.

LIFE APPLICATION by Dr. Dave Burnette

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we start the book of 1st John with Chapter 1 and today we see John sharing how God is light, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and how we are to live in the Light of Jesus Christ. In making application we see that we are to have a relationship with a holy God who loves us and died for us. How about you? Is Jesus your light? Let us learn from our text today and the reminder of John to see that Jesus is our light and we are to navigate our lives through the pages of the Bible following the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as he reveals God's Daily Plan for our lives.