1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
As John writes to this church, or cluster of churches, he is writing with and authoritative "we", as one of the apostles who witnessed the Word made flesh, and was commissioned by Him to set the Church in motion. But he is not interested in maintaining some sort of exclusive club: he wants us to join with him in this Fellowship of the Father and the Son - to experience this oneness and relationship with them and one another. So, whereas when he says: "we proclaim to you" he is speaking by his apostolic authority, when he comes to verse 4 his "our" includes his readers and us: that OUR joy may be complete. Let us join in and rejoice in the fellowship opened to us in Christ and His Church.
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