Limitless Word
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.
1 John 1:3 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB 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.
  • 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 is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
  • John 17:3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
  • John 17:21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
  • Acts 4:20For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
  • Phil 2:1If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
  • 2 Cor 13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
  • 1 Jn 1:7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
  • Heb 3:14For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
  • 1 Jn 2:23–24Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
  • 1 Pet 5:1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
  • Phil 3:10That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
  • 1 Jn 1:1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
  • Heb 3:1Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
  • 1 Jn 5:10–11He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
  • Col 1:13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
  • Acts 20:27For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
  • Heb 2:12Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
  • 1 Cor 1:30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
  • Eph 3:6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
  • John 17:25O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
  • 1 Tim 6:2And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.
  • John 17:11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
  • Phil 1:7Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
  • Acts 13:32And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
  • Acts 2:42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
  • 1 Th 1:10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
  • 1 Cor 15:1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
  • 1 Jn 1:5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
  • John 14:20–23At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
  • Rom 15:27It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
  • Acts 13:41Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
  • Ps 22:22I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
  • Ps 2:7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
  • Isa 66:19And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 John 1:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.