John Wesley

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is…

“That which was - Here means, He which was the Word himself; afterwards it means, that which they had heard from him. Which was - Namely, with the Father, ver. 2, before he was manifested.”

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.

“That ye also may have fellowship with us - May enjoy the same fellowship which we enjoy. And truly our fellowship - Whereby he is in us and we in him.”

We write these things so that our joy may be complete.

“Here the joy of faith is directly intended. It is a concise expression. Your joy - That is, your faith and the joy arising from it: but it likewise implies the joy of hope and love.”

And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

“And this is the sum of the message which we have heard of him - The Son of God. That God is light - The light of wisdom, love, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye.”

If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

“If we say - Either with our tongue, or in our heart, if we endeavour to persuade either ourselves or others. We have fellowship with him, while we walk, either inwardly or outwardly, in darkness - In sin of any kind.”

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 cleanses us from all…

“The imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son - With the grace purchased thereby.”

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

“If we say - Any child of man, before his blood has cleansed us. We have no sin - To be cleansed from, instead of confessing our sins, 1 John i, 9, the truth is not in us - Neither in our mouth nor in…”

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

“This may seem strange; but upon the evangelical principle of atonement and redemption, it is undoubtedly true; because, when the debt is paid, or the purchase made, it is the part of equity to cancel the bond, and consign over the purchased possession.”

If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

“Yet still we are to retain, even to our lives' end, a deep sense of our past sins. Still if we say, we have not sinned, we make him a liar - Who saith, all have sinned.”

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin.

“I write these things to you, that ye may not sin - Thus he guards them beforehand against abusing the doctrine of reconciliation.”

He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

“And he is the propitiation - The atoning sacrifice by which the wrath of God is appeased. For our sins - Who believe.”

But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:

“Hereby - By our keeping his word. We know that we are in him - So is the tree known by its fruits.”

Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.

“He that saith he abideth in him - which implies a durable state; a constant, lasting knowledge of, and communion with, him. Ought himself - Otherwise they are vain words.”

Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you.

“It was exemplified in him, and is now fulfilled by you, in such a manner as it never was before. For there is no comparison between the state of the Old Testament believers, and that which ye now enjoy: the darkness of that dispensation is…”

If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.

“He that saith he is in the light - In Christ, united to him. And hateth his brother - The very name shows the love due to him. Is in darkness until now - Void of Christ, and of all true light.”

Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.

“He that loveth his brother - For Christ's sake. Abideth in the light - Of God. And there is no occasion of stumbling in him - Whereas he that hates his brother is an occasion of stumbling to himself.”

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

“He that hateth his brother - And he must hate, if he does not love him: there is no medium. Is in darkness - In sin, perplexity, entanglement. He walketh in darkness, and knoweth not that he is in the high road to hell.”

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.

“But from the thirteenth to 1 John ii, 13-27 the twenty-seventh verse, he divides them particularly into "fathers," "young men," and "little children." Because your sins are forgiven you - As if he had said, This is the sum of what I have now written.”

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

“The desire of the flesh - Of the pleasure of the outward senses, whether of the taste, smell, or touch.”

The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

“The world passeth away, and the desire thereof - That is, all that can gratify those desires passeth away with it. But he that doeth the will of God - That loves God, not the world.”

They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us.

“They were not of us - When they went; their hearts were before departed from God, otherwise, they would have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest - That is, this was made manifest by their going out.”

You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

“But ye have an anointing - A chrism; perhaps so termed in opposition to the name of antichrist; an inward teaching from the Holy Ghost, whereby ye know all things - Necessary for your preservation from these seducers, and for your eternal salvation.”

I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth.

“I have written - Namely, 1 John ii, 13. To you because ye know the truth - That is, to confirm you in the knowledge ye have already.”

Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son.

“Who is that liar - Who is guilty of that lying, but he who denies that truth which is the sum of all Christianity?”

And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.

“And now, beloved children - Having finished his address to each, he now returns to all in general. Abide in him, that we - A modest expression.”