Verse 2: And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
The Word of Life, as stated in verse 1, is now defined further by John. The life refers to Jesus, Who has been “described as eternal life even before his incarnation,”1 and was revealed to the world by His physical appearance. In his gospel, John declared that He came so that those who would believe in Him “may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This life He offers is an eternal existence with the Godhead.
This particular Greek word for life is used 135 times in the New Testament. Nearly half of these instances are in John’s writings (66 times)2, where he emphasizes the reality of Jesus Christ and the importance for everyone to secure eternal life—“that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).
The ‘life’ principle as we now know it on earth is not of the same essence as eternal life, it is an intermediary or transitory life. The existence that most people consider as normal life is in fact a human construct, most often understood apart from their Creator, the God of the universe. Little do they consider that it began for every member of the human race when the Creator breathed life into each individual at birth (Genesis 2:7; cf. Acts 17:25), and it ends at death. But death is not meant to be a meaningless end in a cold grave. For some who have failed to believe in Jesus Christ, there is judgment (Hebrews 9:27; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10), an eternity separated from God and tormented forever (Luke 13:28; cf. Luke 16:28). But for those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, Our Lord declared:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24; cf. John 10:28)
Note carefully: once a person believes, he continuously has eternal life. And this is the abundant life promised by Our Lord. W.E. Vine indicated that the Greek word for ‘abundant’ primarily means “what is above and over, superadded, hence came to denote ‘what is superior and advantageous.’”3 Now ask yourself, what could be more advantageous: eternal life with God or eternal judgement?
More Evidence
Next, John reiterates the evidence of verse 1, “what we have seen,” and now adds two more evidences. First, we “testify.” John is reaffirming the validity of his witness and confirming that he was present during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, just as he did at the end of his gospel account.
This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24)
For those who were alive at the time that John lived and witnessed the events surrounding Our Lord, they would have had no problem accepting the authenticity of his testimony. Otherwise, John’s divinely inspired writings would not have been preserved to this day.
Second, we “proclaim.” John declares that he continuously provides, verbally, the truth concerning the eternal life—personified as Jesus Christ, the Word of Life. This calls to mind the incident recorded in Acts 4, where Peter and John were commanded by the Jewish Council “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). The reply that Peter and John gave at that time is what John is reaffirming here: “For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Even though we were not actually present during Our Lord’s earthly ministry, do we have the same aspiration to unfailingly proclaim the gospel of salvation with our whole being to others about us?
The Eternal One
John persistently4 testifies and proclaims that Jesus Christ, the personification of eternal life, “was with the Father.” The Greek word ‘was’ is of great significance, for this verb implies a continuous ongoing status in the past.5 This expresses the theological truth that Jesus Christ existed in eternity with the Father prior to His incarnation. Otherwise known as the Doctrine of the Trinity, a term that articulates the triune Godhead: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit—one God in three persons. Thus it is aptly explained that “in all three persons of the Godhead resides the same essential divine nature, the same majesty, the same eternal glory.”6
Not only does John assert clearly that Jesus Christ exists in eternity with God the Father but that He “was manifested to us.” The Holy Spirit saw fit to inspire John to use this verb ‘manifested’ twice in this verse. In both instances the tense of the Greek “states the fact of the action.”7 And W.E. Vine explains exactly what this implies, “that to be manifested is to be revealed in one’s true character.”8 When we consider all the evidences John has provided, it is incomprehensible to deny the true nature of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul attested to this when he wrote: For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form. (Colossians 2:9)
Also the writer of Hebrews affirms this:
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3)
Primarily, Scripture states that Jesus Christ is absolute deity with the Father, and the empirical evidences—having been seen, heard and touched—conclusively attests to His true humanity.
[1] Beetham, Christopher A. (Ed.) (2021). The Concise New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, p. 351.
[2] His gospel (36), 1 John (13) and Revelation (17).
[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.15.
[4] This is the force of the Greek present tense. Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 182.
[5] Wallace, D. B. (1996) Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, p. 548.
[6] Thieme, R.B., Jr. (2022). Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, Houston, TX: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, p. 273.
[7] Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p.193.
[8] Vine, 2.32.
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