Word, Life, and Fellowship With God

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; (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;) That 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. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. I John 1:1-4 (KJV)

Let’s break down each of the verses in this passage and see what we glean from it.

Verse 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;

Jesus was with God from the beginning, and John 1:1 reinforces this statement. Jesus is with us from the beginning to the end and during the in-between time of our lives. We are not alone because Jesus is with us. As they saw and handled Jesus in the flesh, we can do the same as we study and abide in His Word, because he is the Word. As we look into the Word, we see Jesus through our hearts’ eyes. We handle Him as we handle the Word of Life. “Which we have looked upon” speaks of John 1;14, which tells of the Word made flesh that dwelt, or tabernacled and pitched His tent among us. John tells us that just as they had a physical relationship in the flesh wth Jesus, we can now have a spiritual one. We do this by the written Word through which we learn of Jesus, the Living Word.

Verse 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;)

The life was manifested refers to Jesus, whom the disciples saw in His earthly life. Jesus, eternal life, was with the Father in eternity past. Jesus, the eternal God, manifested so the disciples and others saw God in the flesh. Now, through God’s Word, Jesus manifests Himself to us. And the Father, by the Spirit with His written Word, manifests life to us. This goes back to John 1:4 which tells us that in Jesus was life and that life was the light of men. In John’s Gospel, Jesus said that he is the life and the light. As we fellowship with Jesus, He “lifes” us and “lights” us so we can live in Him and see Him as He is.

Verse 3: That 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.

John is sharing with us what He heard and saw. We are to tell others what we have seen and heard from Jesus. John says that, as a result, there may be fellowship, or having things in common where we share in our love for Jesus and one another. True fellowship takes place at this level only in the Father and His Son. True fellowship occurs when we share who God is and that which He gives us. Thus, there is a manifestation of God and Jesus to others.

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

God has written his Word down for us to have, to read, and to know Him. I’ve heard it said that when you can’t hear God, read God. And I’ll go a step further and say that when you can’t feel God, read God. When you do, God will manifest Himself to you.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 (KJV)

God IS His Word. God is with us by His Word! As we read His words, we can see, feel, and have fellowship with God. God will “life,” “light,” and love us by His written Word. The more time we spend in it, the more we get to know God and experience His manifest presence. We can start to fellowship and know God as we spend our time with Him in His Word.