1 João 1

1 João 1:1

Barclay writes that "The verb for to gaze is theaomai, and it means to gaze at someone or something until something has been grasped of the significance of that person or thing. So Jesus, speaking to the crowds of John the Baptist, asked: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at [theaomai]?’ (Luke 7:24); and in that word he describes how the crowds flocked out to gaze at John and wonder who and what this man might be. Speaking of Jesus in the prologue to his gospel, John says: ‘We have seen his glory’ (John 1:14). The verb is again theaomai, and the idea is not that of a passing glance but of a steadfast searching gaze which seeks to discover something of the mystery of Christ." (Daily Study Bible) Theaomai - 22x in 22v in the NAS - Translated look(1), look over(1), looked(1), noticed(3), saw(5), see(3), seeing(2), seen(5), watched(1). Matthew 6:1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 11:7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Matthew 22:11 "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, Comment: This verse helps us discern the added attention inherent in the verb theaomai (to look over) compared with simply seeing (he saw a man). He saw the man was distinctive because he had looked attentively (theaomai) over the guests. Matthew 23:5 "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. Comment: The ostentatious religious leaders did not just want others to see them, but to see them with special attention (theaomai). Mark 16:11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. Mark 16:14 Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. Luke 5:27 After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me." Comment: Jesus not only saw Levi (Matthew) but gave him special attention (theaomai). Luke 7:24 When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Luke 23:55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Comment: They looked at the empty tomb with special attentiveness. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw (Beheld - theaomai) His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Comment: This might refer to John's experience on the Mount of Trans-figuration, when he and Peter and James saw Jesus’ glory unveiled (Mk 9:2-7, Mt 17:11-13, Lk 9:28-36). Peter also refers to the transfiguration in his second letter to emphasize that he and the other two apostles "did not follow cleverly devised tales" but that they "were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” (2Pe 1:16-note). This use of theaomai helps one understand that this verb does not describe a mere casual glance, but an intentional, contemplative gaze. John 1:32 John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. John 1:38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?" John 4:35 "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest '? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Comment: Jesus used theaomai rather than a verb meaning simple sight, because He wanted His disciples not only to see the people streaming out of the city, but to contemplate the meaning and significance of this. John 6:5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?" John 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. Comment: They had come and were there to be eyewitnesses to the miracle of Lazarus' resurrection from the dead. Their "seeing" including their contemplating what they saw with the result that they believed in Jesus. Acts 1:11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." Comment: The 11 disciples had followed this Man for three years and now He was gone. This is the last time they would see Him in this lifetime, so they were not just casually looking into the sky. Acts 21:27 When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him (Paul) in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, Acts 22:9 "And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. Romans 15:24 whenever I go to Spain-- for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while-- 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-- 1 John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time; if (ean = used in a 3rd.-class conditional clause. which views the condition as possible) we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected (brought to completion or to the goal) in us. Westcott comments that "Here the thought is of the continuous beholding that answers to abiding fellowship." 1 John 4:14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Handled (5584) (pselaphao from psáo = touch lightly) means to feel or grope about expressing motion of hands over a surface, so as to feel it. To verify by contact (see Ge 27:21,22). The figurative sense means to search for or to make an effort to come to know something (Acts 17:27). Thus pselaphao denotes not merely the bare handling, but the searching, exploring use of the hands, that tests by handling. The New Linguistic & Exegetical Key to the New Testament says pselaphao means "to grope or feel after in order to find, like one blind or in the dark; hence, “to handle, to touch.” The idea of searching sometimes disappears altogether; here (1Jn 1:1) it naturally suggest all the evidence available for sense perception other than hearing and sight. The author is claiming a physical contact with Jesus. Perhaps this is to combat a type of Docetism (Editorial Comment: In simple terms this heresy taught Jesus only seemed to have a body -- He did not really have a flesh and blood body but was only a ghost in human form! They refused to believe that God could ever degrade himself by taking human flesh and blood upon Himself. John would counter by saying we touched Him! Understand the import of this genre of heresy -- if Jesus did not have a real human body, then He would not be qualified to serve as genuine atoning sacrifice for sins for such a sacrifice demanded a perfect victim and spillage of His blood. John more directly refutes this heresy in 1Jn 4:2,3 and in 2John 7). (The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament) Vincent has this note on pselaphao "“It never expresses the so handling an object as to exercise a molding, modifying influence upon it, but at most a feeling of its surface (Lk 24:39, 1Jn 1:1); this, it may be, with the intention of learning its composition (Ge 27:12, 21, 22); while, not seldom, it signifies no more than a feeling for or after an object, without any actual coming in contact with it at all” (Page 58 in Trench's Synonyms of the New Testament). Compare Acts 17:27. Used of groping in the dark, Job 5:14; of the blind, Isa. 59:10; Deut. 28:29; Judges, 16:26. See on Heb. 12:18. (Word Studies) There are 4 uses of pselaphao in the NT. Here are the other 3 uses… Luke 24:39 (Context - Jesus' appearance to His disciples after His Crucifixion and Resurrection) "See (aorist imperative) My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch (aorist imperative) Me and see (also aorist imperative) , for a spirit (NET = "ghost") does not have flesh and bones as you see (theoreo - observe with sustained attention, be a spectator) that I have." Jamieson comments that here Jesus "lovingly offering them both ocular (sense of sight) and tangible (sense of touch) demonstration of the reality of His resurrection." Compare this to John's affirmation in 1Jn 1:1 - heard, saw, beheld, held (touched). As he saying goes "looks can be deceiving" but touch would not. So He commands the disciples to touch Him and verify that He had a human body and that He was not a ghost. Clearly the apostle John got the point! They heard His command, saw His Body and presumably touched His Body, the very order John follows in his description on 1Jn 1:1 Acts 17:27 (Context - Acts 17:24, 25, 26) that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; Comment: The verb gives the idea of groping after God in the darkness when the light of His full revelation is not available. (Bruce) Hebrews 12:18-note For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind Pselaphao - 17x in 15x in the Septuagint (Lxx)- Gen 27:12, 21,2; Deut 28:29 (2x); Jdg 16:26; Ps 113:15; 134:17; Job 5:14; 12:25; Nah 3:1; Zech 3:9; 9:13; Isa 59:10 (2x). Virtually all of the Lxx use denote literal touching with the hands. Here are some uses of pselaphao (3x) in the Old Testament… Genesis 27:12 "Perhaps my father will feel (Hebrew = mashash = feel or grope as with one's hands; Lxx = pselaphao) me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing."… 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come close, that I may feel (Hebrew = mush = handle an object with one's hands; Lxx = pselaphao) you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." Deuteronomy 28:29 and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you. Judges 16:26-note Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, "Let me feel (Hebrew = mush = handle an object with one's hands; Lxx = pselaphao) the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them." Psalm 115:7-note They (idols) have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. Life (2222)(zoe) signifies the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate. Zoe is life real and genuine, active and vigorous. Zoe is the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God. In the New Testament zoe speaks of life as a principle, life in the absolute sense, life as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself, and as John says "is in His Son." (1Jn 1:2) Zoe is "the higher life", the life that is really worthwhile. True life is only in Christ. Eternal life (zoe) is the present possession of the believer because of his or her relationship with Christ (Jn5:24, 1Jn 3:14). This zoe is assured by the Resurrection of Christ (2Ti 1:10, 1Cor 15:19, 20, 21, 22, 2Cor 5:4) Contrast the other Greek Word for life = bios- used by John in 1Jn 2:16+, 1Jn 3:17. Bios refers to everyday life including the daily functions of one's life on earth, such as our natural preoccupation with food, clothing and shelter Kenneth Wuest in his comments on Phil 1:21+ has this description of zoe "Christ is Paul's life in that He is that eternal life which Paul received in salvation, a life which is ethical in its content, and which operates in Paul as a motivating, energizing, pulsating principle of existence that transforms Paul's life, a divine Person living His life in and through the apostle. All of Paul's activities, all of his interests, the entire round of his existence is ensphered within that circumference which is Christ. (Comment: And beloved believer what was true in Paul's life is true in your life. Do you really believe this statement? It is true whether you believe it or not. And God wants us to live the rest of our days in light of this grand truth. (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) John later emphasizes the incredible, difficult to fully grasp, truth that Jesus is now the believer's very life (!)… And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life , and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1Jn 5:11-12) Comment: Observe that John uses the word "witness" indicating that this truth is something the believer knows because of the inner witness of the Holy Spirit (1Jn 5:7) and the witness of the Word (1Jn 5:13). While in this lifetime we can hardly begin to comprehend all that this truth signifies, we nevertheless can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is true of us now and forever! Hallelujah! "Given" signifies a gift from God, not something we earn (Jn 10:27, 28, 29, Ro 6:23, Eph 2:8, 9) and that this gift is not a concept or an idea but a Person, Christ Jesus! In 1Jn 5:12 the definite article ("the" in Greek) appears before the word “life,” pointing out a particular life, specifically that life which God is and which He gives sinners who place their faith in His Son. In other words, believers receive not just “life” but “the life”—the life “which is life indeed” (cp 1Ti 6:19). John has a similar opening in his Gospel… John 1:1+ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. Comment: Observe (1) The Word (Whom John unequivocally identifies as Jesus in Jn 1:14) was present at the beginning (twice) with God emphasizing His pre-existence (2) He was the Creator of all things. (3) He is life. (4) He is light. John introduces the reader to contrastive themes that occur throughout the gospel. “Life” and “light” are qualities of the Word that are shared not only among the Godhead (5:26) but also by those who respond to the gospel message regarding Jesus Christ (Jn 8:12; 9:5; 10:28; 11:25; 14:6). John uses the word “life” (zoe) about 36x (in 32v) in his Gospel, far more than any other NT book. It refers not only in a broad sense to physical and temporal life that the Son imparted to the created world through His involvement as the agent of creation (v3), but especially to spiritual and eternal life imparted as a gift through belief in Him (3:15; 17:3; Eph. 2:5). Paul relates zoe to Jesus in the opening verse of his last letter… Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life (zoe) in Christ Jesus (2Ti 1:1+) Comment: Here Paul uses zoe in the genitive (possessive case) indicating that the content of the promise is life and then explaining that this life is found in Christ Jesus. Writing to the Colossians Paul explained to the believers their source of spiritual existence… When Christ Who is our life (zoe), is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Col 3:4+) Comment: The verse more literally (and powerfully) reads "When the Christ -- our life -- is revealed… " There is no verb "is" in the original Greek. The phrase "Who is'' is added by the translators, but I think "Christ our life" is even better! We as His bride are to be so focused on His return to take us home to His Father's house that (in the context of the practical section of Colossians 3) we are thereby motivated to lay aside our old filthy fleshly garments and put on His robe of righteous acts (see Col 3:5,10,12 for what those ''acts'' consist of… they in fact constitute our "wedding gowns" which we are in the process of making ready as John describes in Rev 19:7). See Jn 1:4. The life is not only "with" Christ, it "is" Christ. [Cp Jn14:6; 2Co 4:10,11; 1Jn4:9, 5:11,12, 2Ti1:1]. If your life does not demonstrate this new life in Christ you have missed the whole point about what this new life is about. Wayne