When the elder wrote this, he was explaining that the principle of generation is not separate from the principle of creation. For when he says which was from the beginning he is referring to the generation of the Son which has no beginning, because he exists coeternally with the Father. Therefore the word was signifies eternity, just as the Word himself, that is, the Son, which is one with the Father in equality of substance, is eternal and unmade. When he says that our hands touched the Word of life, he means not merely the Son’s flesh but his power as well. One tradition has it that when the disciple touched Christ’s physical body he put his hand right inside and was not stopped by the hardness of the flesh from doing so, because the flesh made way for the disciple’s hand.

Many think that these words apply to the postresurrection appearances of Jesus and say that John is speaking of himself and the other disciples who first of all heard that the Lord had risen and afterwards saw him with their own eyes, to the point where they touched his feet, his hands and his side and felt the imprint of the nails. For even if Thomas was the only one who actually made physical contact with him, he was representative of the others, for the Savior told them all to touch him and see for themselves.^[1] But others take these words in a deeper sense, noting that they do not simply speak about touching but also about handling the word of life which was from the beginning. Who can this refer to, other than to the one who said: I am that I am?^[2] Another interpretation is that we have now seen openly with our own eyes the one who was in the beginning, of whom the law and the prophets spoke, saying that he would come. He has indeed come and was seen in the flesh, and after much handling of the scriptural texts which bear witness to him, this is what we believe about the Word of life.

This book is very sweet to every healthy Christian heart that savors the bread of God, and it should constantly be in the mind of God’s holy church. But I choose it more particularly because what it specially commends to us is love. The person who possesses the thing which he hears about in this epistle must rejoice when he hears it. His reading will be like oil to a flame. . . . For others, the epistle should be like flame set to firewood; if it was not already burning, the touch of the word may kindle it.

How can you believe that what always existed took a beginning later on?

Given that this same John also said, No one has ever seen God,^[1] how can he assure us that the living Word of life has been seen and touched? It is clear that it was in his incarnate and human form that he was visible and touchable. What was not true of him by nature became true of him in that way, for he is one and the same indivisible Word, both visible and invisible, and without diminishing in either respect he became touchable in both his divine-human nature. For he worked his miracles in his divinity and suffered for us in his humanity.

The disciples were with Jesus from the beginning, and so they could preach what they had seen and heard in his presence without any ambiguity.

It was against heretics like Cerinthus and Marcion that John wrote his Gospel, stating both in his own words and in those of the Lord that the Son is consubstantial with the Father. Here in his letter he does the same thing again by conveying the Lord’s teaching in his own words and confounding the foolishness of the heretics with his apostolic authority.

John writes this against both the Jews and the Greeks, because they were protesting that the mystery which has appeared among us is too new to be taken seriously. He therefore answers them by saying that in fact it is very old and has been there from the beginning. It is higher than the law and even higher than the creation itself, because while creation has a beginning this was there already.

When John talks about having seen this life, he means that the disciples understood its meaning, and when he says that they touched it, he means that they had investigated it thoroughly. ^[1] THIS LETTER NOT BY THE APOSTLE JOHN. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: About this epistle many have erred, supposing that it was written by the apostle John, yet if they had investigated the matter they would have seen that the thought, shape and authority of this letter are greatly inferior to the sound words of the Evangelist. COMMENTARIES.^[1]

Note that there is an important difference between seeing and contemplating. For what is seen can be told to others, which is not always possible with things which are contemplated. For there are many things which may be perfectly well contemplated but which cannot be expressed in words because they are known by some ineffable understanding. In this verse it should be noticed that those who are bearing witness are not validating the life of Jesus but improving themselves by their confession.

The life itself has been manifested in flesh, so that what can be seen by the heart alone might be seen also by the eyes, in order that hearts might be healed.

John says this with reference to the close union of the Word with the flesh. Or perhaps he says this with reference to the resurrection, considering the way in which it was made known to the apostles by the action of Thomas. That proved that Christ rose again with the same flesh in which he had been crucified.

The life of which John is speaking here was the same as that of which we read in his Gospel, when Jesus said: I am the resurrection and the life.^[1] It was manifested and declared in the flesh by the divine miracles, and the disciples who were present saw and later testified to them with undoubted authority.

Our fellowship is in the unity of our faith here on earth and in the eternal dwelling place of God in heaven.

What did they proclaim, but that eternal life has appeared to us and that we have become witnesses of it? What you gain from this proclamation is the right to share this experience with us. For the one who is in fellowship with us has fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and since you share in the same fellowship, we shall all have joy together, in that we have been united to God.

John shows quite clearly that those who want to have fellowship with God must first of all be joined to the church and there learn that faith and be blessed with its sacraments, which the disciples truly received during the time of Christ’s incarnation. Nor do those who believe the apostles’ testimony belong any less to the Lord than those who believed him when they heard him preaching in the flesh do, although there might be some distinction in the quality of the works of faith which they perform.

The disciples saw the Lord in the flesh, and they heard his words, which they made known to us. We have also heard but have not seen. Are we less happy than they, who both saw and heard? No, for John goes on to say that the reason for his preaching is that we might share in their fellowship.

The fullness of joy comes when we are in fellowship with the apostles, as well as of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The joy of all teachers is complete when by their preaching they bring many into the fellowship of the holy church and also into the fellowship of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, through whom the church is strengthened and grows.

John says that having his hearers as fellow participants in the grace of eternal life will make him and the other disciples happy in the same way that a sower is happy to have the reapers alongside him on the day of harvest.

John is not defining the essence of God, but desiring to declare his majesty, God has adapted something belonging to divinity and used it to suit his purpose. Paul also calls God unapproachable light.^[1]

God is light, according to John. The only-begotten Son therefore is the brightness of that light, proceeding from God without separation, as brightness from light, and lightening the whole creation.

John wrote that the proclamation, by which it was stated that God is light, with no shadows in him at all, was made by the Savior himself to his disciples. Now he is sharing it with his readers so that they too might believe the same thing about God.

When John says that there is no darkness in the light of God, he proves that all the lights of others are stained by some blemish.

God is the light of purified minds, not of these bodily eyes. For then^[1] the mind will be able to see that light, which right now it is not yet able to do.

What is this message? It is that eternal life has appeared to us. For the Father so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, and this is what we proclaim to you—that the Word of God who has come into the world and become a man is both God and light.

In this verse John shows the excellence of God’s purity, which we are also called to imitate, as the Lord himself said: Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.^[1] He also proves that the Manichaean belief that the nature of God was overcome by the prince of darkness and corrupted is an absurdity.

Let no one deceive you. God is light, and to those who have entered into union with him, he imparts of his own brightness to the extent that they have been purified.

A lie has no fellowship with the truth, any more than light with darkness. The presence of one excludes the other.

The truth is light, so if we do not walk according to it, we are in the dark.

John says that if we sin we have no fellowship with God, but if we do the works of light, then we have fellowship with one another.

John calls sin heresies, and hatred darkness. Therefore the mere confession of one’s faith is not enough for salvation if there is no sign of good works confirming that faith. But at the same time, the goodness of the works is of no value either, if they are not done in the simplicity of faith and love. Anyone who is in any way surrounded by darkness is totally unable to have fellowship with the One in whom there is no sign of wickedness at all.

See to it, brothers, that while we seem to be in God and think that we have communion with him, we should not be found excluded and separated from him, since we do not now see his light.

God’s teaching is here called blood.

The blood of animal sacrifices was enough to cleanse people from whatever particular sin they had committed, but the blood of Christ is sufficient to cleanse those who walk in love from all sin.

Note the different verbs which John uses. God dwells in the light, but we are told that we must walk in it. The righteous walk in the light when they do good works and thereby go on to better things. God does not need to improve because he is already the perfection of all goodness, which is why he is said to dwell in the light. John also gives us an indication of how we can know that we are on the right track, and that is whether we rejoice in the link of brotherly fellowship which we have with those who are journeying along with us toward the pure light. However, even if we are shown to be doing the works of light, and even if we are seen to be maintaining the bonds of mutual love, we must never think that we can be cleansed from our sins by our own progress and effort, as the last part of the verse reminds us. For the sacrament of our Lord’s passion has both cleansed us in baptism from all our previous sins and forgives us by the grace of our Redeemer for whatever we have done in our human weakness after baptism. For along with all the works of light which we do, we also humbly confess our wrongdoings to him every day, whenever we receive the sacraments of his blood, when we forgive those who have trespassed against us and ask him to forgive our trespasses against him, and when we cheerfully endure all adversity, remembering what he did for our sake.

Since God is light, there is no darkness in him at all, and he has nothing to do with darkness. The person who is enlightened by his light walks in the light, according to the words of the Savior himself: While you have the light, walk in the light, lest the darkness take hold of you.^[1] Anyone who walks in the darkness of sin but claims that his mind is not darkened and that he has a relationship with God is lying.

It is pride to presume that it is easy not to sin, since the presumption itself is sin.

Let no one deceive you, brothers. Not to know your sin is the worst kind of sin.

If you say that you are not a sinner but act otherwise, you are deceiving yourself.

This is how John describes the Jews who dared to say: Let his blood be upon us and upon our children,^[1] as if they could crucify Christ without being sinners. If we say such things, we deceive ourselves.

This verse refutes the teachings of the Pelagians, who say that babies are born without sin and that the elect can make such progress in this life that it becomes possible for them to attain perfection. We cannot live in the world without guilt, since we brought it with us when we came into the world. As David said: I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.^[1] But the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, so that our guilt does not keep us in the power of the enemy, because the man Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and man, has freely paid the price on our behalf, even though he did not owe anything himself. He surrendered himself to the death of the flesh, which he did not deserve, in order to deliver us from the richly deserved death of our souls.

In his epistle John has combined the fact that we should entreat God for our sins and that we should obtain mercy when we do so.

If we acknowledge our sin and confess it, he will forgive it, and not only that one but all our sins. For when a person repents and is baptized into the name of Jesus Christ, God forgives all his sins which he has committed both against himself and against heaven.

Since we cannot live in this world without sin, the first hope we have of salvation is through confession, nor should anyone be proud enough to claim that he is righteous in God’s sight. The next step is love, which John often commends to us in this letter, because love covers a multi-tude of sins.^[1] Each of these things encourages us to pray for our sins and to ask God’s forgiveness when we do so. This is why John says that God is faithful and will forgive our sins, pointing to the reliability of his promise, for he who has taught us to pray for our sins and trespasses has also promised the Father’s mercy and the forgiveness which flows from that. John also says that God is just, because he will rightly forgive anyone who truly confesses his sins. In this life God forgives the everyday, trivial sins of the elect, which we cannot avoid as long as we are here on earth, and after our death he cleanses us from all sin and brings us into that life in which no one wants or is able to sin. Now he forgives those who pray their greater temptations, so that they will not be overcome by them, and he forgives the least as well, so that they will not suffer any harm. But in the life to come he will cleanse us from every sin, so that there will no longer be any sign of wickedness in the eternal kingdom of the blessed.

To say that God is faithful means that he is reliable, for faithful is a word which is not just applied to those who believe but also to those who can be relied upon. It is in this second sense that it is applied to God. He is also just in that he does not refuse anyone who comes to him, however seriously they may have sinned.

Among holy men it is impossible not to fall into those small lapses which occur because of something said, some thought, some surreptitious act. These sins are quite different from those which are called mortal, but they are not without blame or reproach.

Who is there on earth without sin? Even a baby has contracted it from its parents.

If we say that we have not sinned, we reject his word, which is spirit and life.^[1]

God’s word says: Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.^[1] He himself has taught us not only that we cannot escape sin but also that we should pray: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.^[2] Therefore when we see even the apostles praying for their sins to be forgiven, as the Lord taught them, no one should think, as Pelagius taught, that it is possible to lead a sinless life here on earth.

Moreover, how much are they both greater in faith and better in their fear, who . . . confess this very thing to God’s priests, and make the conscientious avowal. . . . I entreat you, beloved brethren, that each one should confess his own sin, while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his confession may be received, while the satisfaction and remission made by the priests are pleasing to the Lord.

In the church you shall acknowledge your transgressions, and you shall not come near for your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . But every Lord’s day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.

You shall judge righteously. You shall not make a schism, but you shall pacify those that contend by bringing them together. You shall confess your sins. You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of light.

[The Gnostic disciples of Marcus] have deluded many women, who have their consciences seared as with a hot iron [2 Tm 3:6]. Some of them, indeed, make a public confession of their sins; but others are ashamed to do this, and in a tacit kind of way, despairing of [attaining to] the life of God, have, some of them, apostatized altogether; while others hesitate between the two courses.

Yet most men either shun this work, as a public exposure of themselves, or else defer it from day to day. I presume [they are] more mindful of modesty than salvation; just like men who, having contracted some malady in the more private parts of the body, avoid the probing of physicians, and so perish of their own bashfulness.

Moreover, how much are they both greater in faith and better in their fear, who . . . with grief and simplicity confess this very thing to God’s priests, and make the conscientious avowal, put off from them the load of their minds . . . I entreat you, beloved brethren, that each one should confess his own sin, while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his confession may be received, while the satisfaction and remission made by the priests are pleasing to the Lord.

But I wonder that some are so obstinate as to think that repentance is not to be granted to the lapsed, or to suppose that pardon is to be denied to the penitent, when it is written, “Remember whence you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works” [Rv 2:5], which certainly is said to him who has fallen, and whom the Lord exhorts to rise up again by his deeds [of penance], because it is written, “Alms deliver from death” [Tb 12:9] (ibid., 51:22).

When you have been baptized, hold fast to a good life in the commandments of God, that you may guard your baptism even to the end. I do not tell you that you will live here without sin; but they are venial, without which this life is not. For the sake of all sins was baptism provided; for the sake of light sins, without which we cannot be, was prayer provided. What has the prayer? “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” Once for all we have washing in baptism, every day we have washing in prayer. Only, do not commit those things for which you must be separated from Christ’s body: which be far from you! For those whom you have seen doing penance, who have committed heinous things, either adulteries or some enormous crimes: for these they do penance. Because if theirs had been light sins, daily prayer would suffice to blot these out. . . . In three ways then are sins remitted in the Church; by baptism, by prayer, by the greater humility of penance.