By Pastor Dave Farmer

Topic #5 Prologue of 1 John 1:1-4 Part 1

This article is examines 1 John's opening statement "What was from the beginning." What beginning?

Introducing The Logos of Eternal Life

This prologue is very reminiscent of the introduction to the Gospel of John, John 1:1-18. The Gospel of John was completed around 89 A D., several years before Alpha John. 1 John is shorter, but both begin by introducing Jesus Christ as the LOGOS ¹. There are several features in this opening prologue that are very distinct:

There are several features in this opening prologue that are very special:

The Salutation

There is none! This is not the usual way a letter was written during this period of history. The Apostle Paul's letters are an example of the proper form. We start with a from section, next a to section, and then a greeting:

Galatians 1:1–3

FROM: 1] Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),

TO: 2] and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

GREETING: 3] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

This is not John's style. In fact, in the five letters he wrote, which were placed into the Canon of Scripture, none have a salutation, and he never formally introduces himself by his given name. Even in 2 and 3 John, the closest we get to a personal introduction is when he calls himself the Elder. This has led a few voices to question the authorship of these writings, but the best scholars have overwhelmingly supported John the Apostle. The naysayers are few and insignificant.

The Structure of First Verse

A structural analysis of the verse one indicates that the four relative clauses are the direct objects of the main verb. We don't get to the main verb until verse 3, APANGELLO "we are reporting." In the English we would write this sentence like this, "We are reporting what was from the beginning, what we have heard, seen, examined, and touched." It is important to see the structure so that we might arrive at a correct interpretation of these clauses.

The Rule of Agreement

The four relative pronouns in verse one are in the neuter gender. This is unusual for the unspoken antecedent of the relative pronoun is the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, should be in the masculine gender. However, John uses the neuter gender. Interestingly, some translations simply do not recognize the neuter gender. They give them a masculine translation.

"We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning." Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Jn 1:1). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

"Christ was alive when the world began" Taylor, K. N. (1997). The Living Bible, paraphrased (1 Jn 1:1). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House

This is the rule of Greek grammar:

The relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, but its case is determined by the function it has in its own clause.²

So, what about the violation of this rule of Greek grammar? Let's note three things:

1. This is not a mistake made by the writers of Scripture. Their so-called grammatical error has a purpose, and understanding this will occasionally yield a point of doctrine.

2. Here, John is emphasizing "the things -neuter" about the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to develop the doctrines related to His humanity. The truth about the humanity of Christ was being rejected by Christians who were being swept away into gnostic heresies. So, in place of the masculine gender, where normal agreement exists between relative pronoun and its antecedent, he threw the gender out of harmony, neuter instead of masculine. In this way, John was shining a light on the unique humanity of Christ and the doctrines that support a Biblical view of Christ, and that’s why we translate the relative pronouns WHAT, rather than WHO.

3. This method of mismatching genders is found in a number of passages: John 4:22; Philemon 10; Acts 26:17; 1 Corinthians 4:17; Colossians 2:19; Galatians 4:19; 2 Peter 2:17; 2 John 1; Revelation 13:14; and others.

The Beginning - 1 John 1:1a

Our first statement about the things related to the Lord Jesus Christ is "What was from the beginning." You will notice the similarities with how he began the Gospel of John "In the beginning." Are they the same? There are three different points of view among evangelical scholars when attempting to explain "The Beginning." What beginning?

Before Creation

First, one view is that these two statements, John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1, are equal or parallel in thought. They have different prepositions, EN meaning "In the beginning" John 1:1 and APO meaning "from the beginning" 1 John 1:1. Essentially there is no difference between the two phrases. Both point to a time before the foundation of the world when the Lord Jesus Christ existed eternally. Both are stressing the eternality of the Lord Jesus Christ, thus His deity.

From Creation

A second view is that there is a difference between the two prepositional phrases. In John 1:1 the Apostle looks back to a time before creation but in 1 John 1:1 he starts at creation and looks forward. In this view, "the beginning" is the Creation of the Universe. This is a possible interpretation and does recognize the different prepositions.

Start of His Ministry

Whatever view is held must square with the context and John gives us four clues to answer the question, what beginning? The beginning he is referring to is when the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ began. How do we know that? Let's test this. When did he hear the Lord Jesus Christ for he says, "We are proclaiming to you what we have heard." When did he see the Lord Jesus Christ for he says, "We are proclaiming to you what we have seen." So he begins his epistle by establishing the fact that he was an eyewitness to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw firsthand all that he is about to report. He heard Him speak and teach the way of God. He touched Him proving that He was no ghost. Certainly, these mark the beginning of His earthly ministry.

The Beginning Is To Be Determined By The Context

John uses this prepositional phrase in a variety of ways:

1. In John 1:1 - The beginning refers to the eternal past. A time before creation.

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God.

John looks back into the eternal past before anything existed and he sees "The Logos of Eternity" always existing. John presents Jesus Christ as the always existing Logos, and by so doing is establishes His deity in the Gospel of John.

God is eternal. The Logos is eternal. Therefore, the Logos is God.

2. In 1 John 2:7 The beginning is when the believer became a Christian.

1 John 2:7

Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

3. In 1 John 3:8 The time before the creation of humanity.

1 John 3:8

the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

This period focuses on the angelic rebellion which was led by Satan and occurred after the creation of angels.

4. In 1 John 1:1 The start of His ministry

1 John 1:1

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—

So John says, " I am going to introduce you to the Logos of Eternal Life at the point where His ministry began. John looks back into the past when it all began for the disciples and recalled those magnificent words of John the Baptizer, "There He is! The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. The one in whose shoes latchets I am unworthy to fasten. The one whose popularity must increase, while my own decreases."

Summary:

From A Historical Perspective

1. The Lord Jesus' public ministry began at the river Jordan when he was baptized by John the Baptist. Andrew and John were disciples of the Baptist, John 1:35-39. He had created great excitement in Israel with his message. The long-awaited Messiah was at hand. He could appear at any moment. Then, as One Person was leaving the river, the Baptizer pointed to Him and said: "Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." The following day, John and Andrew began to follow Jesus; they were his first disciples. John's fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ began that day, and he shared every day with the Lord through the most significant three and a half years in the history of this world, no not just this world, but in the history of the entire universe.

2. He was the last surviving Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. We learn from Paul that over 500 Christians saw Christ after His Resurrection and before His Ascension [ 1 Corinthians 15:6], but there were only twelve men that were called to observe our Lord Jesus Christ's life and work, and who were by His side for three and half years. John has a unique perspective.

3. In the opening verses, he is flexing his Apostolic muscles. He establishes his authority by mentioning that he was an eyewitness to the things about Christ that he will disclose. His authority is greater than all the false teachers, for he has direct and actual knowledge of what Jesus said and did.

4. Finally, this is a new beginning in God's manner of speaking to humanity. It is at that point our Lord becomes the manifested member of the Godhead, John 1:18; 6:46; 1Tim 6:16; 1 John 4:12.

A Doctrinal Perspective

This is John's defense of the incarnation and the doctrinal things that pertain to it. It is his opening salvo in defense of the humanity of Christ. This means that the birth of Christ, the Hypostatic Union, the doctrine of the impeccability of Christ, the doctrine of the sustaining ministry of the Holy Spirit, His substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross and Resurrection hinge on the reality of the humanity of Christ. If Christ did not have a true human nature, all these doctrines are nullified.

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ENDNOTES

¹ The English translations use "WORD" to represent the meaning of LOGOS, but I prefer to transliterate this because it is a technical word- a very special word in Gnosticism. For six hundred years before the New Testament period, the Hellenistic philosophers talked about the LOGOS. It was the centerpiece of their discussions. So, by translating LOGOS rather than transliterating it, we lose valuable insight into why John wrote this Epistle. In fact, he borrowed it from them and then used it to refute their Gnostic heresies.

² Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (p. 336). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.