"...and the life was manifested, and we have seen and are witnessing and are proclaiming to you the eternal life which was toward the Father and was manifested to us..."
-This Life, this Word of life, was manifested. John is talking about Jesus, Who appeared, was brought to light and made visible. He had been with the Father from all eternity, but in the fulness of time He made His appearance on planet earth, right there in Galilee and Judea, among that diminuitive band of simple fishermen and tax collectors and prostitutes and carpenters. John is clearly aware of the monumental privilege it was for him and his friends to have seen in the flesh this Son of God Who was Life, THE Life (John 14.6). He says it again, they saw it, they saw Him, and their testimony was (and IS) credible, they were first-hand witnesses.
-I think that John is talking about more than the simple fact that he and his friends saw Jesus, however. He is talking about eternal life. Yes, Jesus is the Source of this life, He is the Way to this life, and this life begins with Him and is all about Him. But I think John also has in mind the simple fact of eternal life. Do you want to live forever? Do you want to live, even after you die? This is what I’m talking about, he says. I have an announcement, and it pertains to your eternal destiny. And guess what? My friends and I, we actually saw eternal life show up, plain as day. We saw it happen, played out in our midst. This One Who was had existed forever with the Father in eternity, He came to earth, lived among us, was actually killed - put to death and buried - but then came back to life. Eternal life, on display. He defeated death and appeared among us in a resurrected never-to-die-again body which we both saw and touched. He could go thru walls. He could appear out of nowhere. And He finally was taken up into heaven where He reigns on high and will someday return to take up to heaven all who have believed in Him in this life. That’s what I’m talking about!
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