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*H That 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.
Ver. 1. The first two verses and part of the third have a great conformity with the beginning of S. John's gospel. The construction is somewhat obscure, unless we observe that the second verse is to be taken by way of a parenthesis, and the sense is not complete till these words, we declare to you, &c. The whole may be expressed in this literal paraphrase: We declare and preach to you the eternal and always living word, which was from the [1] beginning, (for this word which was with the Father from eternity, hath appeared, [2] and manifested himself to us, when he took upon him our human nature, and was made flesh). This word I say, incarnate, we have seen with our eyes, we have heard him preach his gospel, we have touched his true body with our hands, as we witness and declare to you, that you may have fellowship with us, and be made partakers of the graces which God came from heaven to bestow upon mankind, to make us his adoptive sons and heirs of heaven. Wi.
* Footnote * John 8 : 12
Again therefore, Jesus spoke to: them, saying: I am the light of the world. He that followeth me walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.*H And this is the declaration which we have heard from him and declare unto you: That God is light and in him there is no darkness.
Ver. 5. God is light, [3] &c. We cannot have this fellowship with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, if we walk in the darkness of sin: we must walk as the children of light. Wi.
* Footnote * Hebrews 9 : 14
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?* Footnote * 1_Peter 1 : 19
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled* Footnote * Apocalypse 1 : 5
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth, who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood* Footnote * 3_Kings 8 : 46
But if they sin against thee, (for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry, deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies, far or near;*H If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
Ver. 8. Not that we say or pretend we have no sin; [4] thus truth would not be in us, and we should even make God a liar, who has declared all mankind guilty of sin. We were all born guilty of original sin; we have fallen, and still frequently fall into lesser sins and failings. We can only except from this number our Saviour Christ, who, even as man, never sinned, and his blessed Virgin Mother, by a special privilege, preserved from all kind of sin: and of whom S. Aug.[5] says, "that for the honour of our Lord, when we speak of the holy Virgin Mary, he will have no mention at all made of any sin." Wi.