Bible Strands
1 John 1:2
And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The apostle writes to a community of believers, opening his letter with a claim of direct, sensory contact with the Word of life (v. 1) before stating the purpose of his proclamation (v. 3).
The words — ἐφανερώθη (ephanerōthē) is a passive aorist: the life was not discovered but actively made manifest, a completed event. The subject is ζωὴ (zōē), not a quality or metaphor but the thing itself, identified as eternal and previously with the Father.
The thread — John 1:4 locates this same life in the pre-incarnate Word; 1 Timothy 3:16 echoes the manifestation language ("He appeared in the flesh"); 1 John 5:20 returns to the result—knowing the Son who is true.
Why it lands — The verse places the reader in the position of recipient, not investigator: the life was with the Father, was revealed, was seen, and is now proclaimed to you. It asks the reader to accept testimony as the means of access rather than to claim independent discovery.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
Cross-references
- John 1:4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
- 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
- 1 Timothy 3:16 By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
- John 17:3 Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Titus 1:2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
- 1 John 3:8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
- 1 John 3:5 But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.
- 1 John 5:11 And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.