Have you ever been to a restaurant that was so good you started telling everyone around you that they should also go to that restaurant? Maybe you told them about what the restaurant looked like inside and how the food tasted and smelled. If someone disagreed with you, you might have tried to remind them of how good it was by telling them to just remember how good it tasted. You loved that restaurant so much that it would bring you happiness for others to experience it too. In 1 John 1:1-4 this is what John is doing, he has experienced Jesus and telling everyone about it, for those who were also there as eye witnesses to Jesus he is reminding them of how good He was and is. There is nothing that would bring him more joy than for these people to know Jesus!

John begins this letter by grounding his message in what he heard, saw, and touched. He was an eye witness to Jesus and has first-hand experience with Jesus. The people teaching in Ephesus were trying to spiritualize the gospel but John makes the point that they cannot spiritualize away his testimony. In verse 1 John tells us that the same God that was in the beginning, was born and the Word of Life lived with them on earth, that even some of the people receiving this letter, with John, have heard, seen with their eyes, and touched with their hands the person of Jesus.

John says the Word of Life was made manifest or visible. The Jesus who is Life was made known through the incarnation, not only this but they saw Him and could testify and proclaim that Jesus is fully God and fully man. John is saying we have experienced Jesus and we want you to have what we have, which is eternal life with Jesus. Not only does John want them to have eternal life with Jesus but he wants them to have fellowship with other believers on earth and with the Father and Jesus who all believers are in fellowship with. There is nothing that would make us happier than if you knew Jesus.

This proclamation of the gospel that John has seen and heard and experiences is what we are all commissioned to do in the commissions in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 6:15, Luke 24:46-48, John 20:21, and Acts 1:8. The Holy Spirit will guide you as you talk about what you have seen and heard and experienced and to proclaim the gospel to the people around you. For believers and unbelievers take a moment this week to ask some of the believers around you what they have seen, heard, and experienced. Look for opportunities for you to share what you have seen, heard, and experienced too. Nothing would make me happier than if you knew Jesus.

1. John twice uses the term “fellowship” to describe our relationships with Christ, with the Father through Christ, and with one another in his church. How does John’s description challenge us to refresh our vision of the church’s gatherings?

2. Do you share with others what you have seen, heard, and experienced? Do you ever doubt that the Holy Spirit guides you?

a. If you are not sharing about what you have seen, heard, and experienced, why not? (ex. don’t have faith, fear of rejection, feel unequipped)

3. John says that he is writing these things “so that our joy may be complete.” Does reading and studying scripture and spending time in fellowship with God increase your joy? Why or why not?

4. Is it true for you that nothing would make you happier than if those around you knew Jesus?

Read 1 John 1:1-4 with your family and use these questions to guide your conversation about what 1 John 1:1-4 says and what it means for our lives today.

1. In verses 1-2, John acts like an investigative reporter sharing facts. Why is it so important that our faith is based on solid, historical eyewitness accounts rather than just good ideas?

2. John says that Jesus existed "from the beginning" and was with God the Father. How does this truth shape how we view Jesus' authority over our everyday lives?

3. John calls Jesus the "Word of Life". If your life was a book, how would it show that you know Jesus?

4. John writes so that "our joy may be complete." How does fellowship with God and His people bring true joy? Have you experienced this in your own life?