1 JOHN 1:4 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete — the literary purpose (graphō) is not mere information transfer but the completion of joy (chara). The joy is shared joy: it increases through the reader's participation in the testified fellowship. The writing becomes sacramental, extending into the present the completed joy of apostolic fellowship.
Church Fathers on 1 John 1:4
“And we have seen and are witnesses.” 1 John 1:2 Perhaps some of the brethren who are not acquainted with the Greek do not know what the word “witnesses” is in Greek: and yet it is a term much used by all, and had in religious reverence; for what in our tongue we call “witnesses,” in Greek are “martyrs.” Now where is the man that has not heard of martyrs, or where the Christian in whose mouth the name of martyrs dwells not every day and would that it so dwelt in the heart…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!