We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
- KJV That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
- NKJV that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
- NASB what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
- NLT We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John proclaims Christ so his readers may share in genuine fellowship, which is union with the Father and the Son. The gospel creates real communion with God and one another.
Overview
The purpose of apostolic testimony is fellowship (koinonia), a shared life that joins believers to God and to each other. This fellowship is mediated through Jesus Christ, the Son. The verse shows that knowing the true Christ is not abstract but draws us into living relationship with the triune God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 34
- 1 Cor 1:9God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
- John 17:3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- John 17:21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
- Acts 4:20For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
- Phil 2:1Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
- 2 Cor 13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
- 1 Jn 1:7But 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 sin.
- Heb 3:14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.
- 1 Jn 2:23–24Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
- 1 Pet 5:1As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:
- Phil 3:10I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,
- 1 Jn 1:1That 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 the Word of life.
- Heb 3:1Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.
- 1 Jn 5:10–11Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son.
- Col 1:13He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
- Acts 20:27For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.
- Heb 2:12He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”
- 1 Cor 1:30It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- Eph 3:6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
- John 17:25Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
- 1 Tim 6:2Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.
- John 17:11I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
- Phil 1:7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.
- Acts 13:32And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers
- Acts 2:42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
- 1 Th 1:10and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
- 1 Cor 15:1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm.
- 1 Jn 1:5And 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.
- John 14:20–23On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
- Rom 15:27They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings.
- Acts 13:41‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”
- Ps 22:22I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.
- Ps 2:7I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.
- Isa 66:19I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. So they will proclaim My glory among the nations.
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'
How 1 John 1:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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