1 John 1:1-10
The Incarnation of the Word
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
John 20:30-31
Purpose of John's Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
2 Peter 1:12-21
Peter and the Disciples Were Eyewitnesses to Jesus
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
John and Peter are great evidence to believe in God and to believe in Jesus...
Before John and Peter were selected by Jesus as Disciples I do not know how much evidence they needed or had to believe in God...I believe they both believed that a Messiah was coming, but they at first did not know the Messiah was Jesus...And I think that both John and Peter believed in the evidence that they had to believe in God, even before they met Jesus...When the New Testament was later written, the gospels and the epistles are no part of a biblical view that things should be believed where there is no evidence...And as John and Peter got to know Jesus over His ministry -faith, reason, and evidence all belong together and all came together...Something phenomenal happened when these two men and the other Disciples met and followed Jesus...
I consider an competent eyewitness to be evidence to a story or situation...Both John and Peter make their eyewitness cases for Jesus...John writes that he wrote his gospel about Jesus so that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His name...John calls Jesus the Word of Life...And the Word of Life has been here from the beginning, which we have heard about and now have written about...And John and the Disciples got to see with their own eyes...But not only did they touch Him, they heard Him speak and saw His miracles...They have touched Jesus in the flesh—and this he and others would proclaim concerning the Word of Life...The Word of Life did, in fact, appear...The Disciples have seen Him and testify to Him and about Him...And the Disciples proclaim to us that Jesus brings us eternal life, and He was with the Father and has now appeared to the chosen Twelve...The Disciples proclaim to us what they have seen and heard, so that we also may have fellowship with them...And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ...They have written what they have written to make our joy complete...
Peter would write in his latter days, before his own death, that he wanted to remind us of these amazing things about Jesus, even though we know them and that they are firmly established in the truth we now have from the New Testament writings...Peter thought it was right to refresh our memory as long as he was still alive and was living in the tent of his body, because he know that soon he would put it aside, as our LORD Jesus Christ has made clear to him...And Peter would make every effort to see that after his departure we would always be able to remember these things about Jesus and what He did and who He was...For the Disciples, did not follow cleverly devised stories when they told us about the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of His Majesty...He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is My Son, whom I LOVE; with Him I AM well pleased.”...We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain...
Peter and John were two of the main eyewitnesses of Jesus...They said what they said about Jesus, and wrote what they wrote about Him so that we would believe in Him -and believe in God...Peter and John understand that what they have written is to be regarded as part of the evidence on which our faith is based...And Jesus living and being with the Disciples is evidence for the belief in God...