John’s first letter starts with a prologue that echoes the prologue of his Gospel, but with new emphases. Both focus on the Word of life that has existed from the beginning, but this prologue focuses on the Word’s appearance in flesh that could be seen and touched. John draws a direct connection between the Word he saw and lived with, and the Word he now proclaims. In First John, the Word refers to Jesus, the gospel message, and the life it describes in fellowship with Jesus. The genitive phrase, the Word of life is pregnant with meaning—the Word that gives life or the Word that is life. The Gospel message has been passed down from Christ himself to the author of the letter, and to his recipients

The beginning – 1 John 1:1

the beginning. See notes on Gen. 1:1; Jn. 1:1. In the prologue to the Fourth…