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1 João 1

ARC · Chapter 1/5

1O que era desde o principio, o que ouvimos, o que vimos com os nossos olhos, o que temos contemplado, e as nossas mãos tocaram da Palavra da vida

2(Porque a vida já foi manifesta, e nós a vimos, e testificámos, e vos annunciámos a vida eterna, que estava com o Pae, e nos foi manifestada);

3O que vimos e ouvimos, isso vos annunciamos, para que tambem tenhaes communhão comnosco; e a nossa communhão está com o Pae, e com seu Filho Jesus Christo.

4Estas coisas vos escrevemos, para que o vosso gozo se cumpra.

5E esta é a annunciação que d'elle ouvimos, e vos annunciamos: que Deus é luz, e não ha n'elle trevas nenhumas.

6Se dissermos que temos communhão com elle, e andarmos em trevas, mentimos, e não praticamos a verdade.

7Porém, se andarmos na luz, como elle na luz está, temos communhão uns com os outros, e o sangue de Jesus Christo, seu Filho, nos purifica de todo o peccado.

8Se dissermos que não temos peccado, enganamo-nos a nós mesmos, e não ha verdade em nos.

9Se confessarmos os nossos peccados, elle é fiel e justo, para nos perdoar os peccados, e purificar-nos de toda a injustiça.

10Se dissermos que não peccamos, fazemol-o mentiroso, e a sua palavra não está em nós.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

John testifies about Jesus, whom he personally saw, heard, and touched, proclaiming that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. He teaches that confessing our sins brings forgiveness and cleansing through Jesus.

Explanation

John, who was likely already a very old man when he wrote this letter, begins by reinforcing his personal, physical experience with Jesus—likely to counter a teaching that denied Christ's true human, bodily reality. The statement that 'God is light and in him is no darkness at all' sets an absolute moral and spiritual standard by which to measure the Christian life, with no middle ground between light and darkness. The invitation to confess sin, with the assurance that God is 'faithful and just to forgive,' offers practical, ongoing hope for those who fail, without denying the reality of sin or falling into despair. Today's application is that sincere confession of our failures, rather than denying them, is the path to experiencing God's forgiveness and cleansing.

Fun facts

  • The apostle John is traditionally identified as the author of the fourth Gospel as well as this letter and the book of Revelation, and is the only one of the twelve original apostles who, according to tradition, did not die as a martyr, living to an old age in Ephesus.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 João 1:1Describing Jesus as “that which was from the beginning,” something their own hands had touched, emphasizes that He was a real, physical person, not an apparition or abstract idea — a direct counterpoint to teachings circulating at the time that denied Christ had actually come in the flesh.
  2. 1 João 1:2Repeats the idea from the letter’s opening: the “eternal life” that existed with the Father from the beginning became visible through Jesus, and John is simply telling readers what he saw with his own eyes.
  3. 1 João 1:3Explains the reason for writing: sharing this direct experience with Jesus is meant to include readers in the same fellowship — and this fellowship, the text says, is already shared with God the Father Himself and the Son.
  4. 1 João 1:4States that the practical purpose of the whole letter is simple: to make readers’ joy complete through this shared fellowship.
  5. 1 João 1:5Saying “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” establishes the moral foundation for the rest of the letter: if God is entirely light, then claiming to have fellowship with Him while living in darkness is a contradiction, as the text itself explains next.
  6. 1 João 1:6Continues the reasoning about light and darkness from the previous verse: claiming to have fellowship with God while living in darkness (bad choices) is a contradiction — the text calls this directly a lie.
  7. 1 João 1:7The phrase about “the blood of Jesus Christ” cleansing from all sin is tied to the idea of walking in the light mentioned earlier — it doesn’t describe automatic forgiveness independent of any attitude, but something that is part of a life lived in transparency, without hiding wrongdoing.
  8. 1 João 1:8Saying that whoever claims to have no sin “deceive ourselves,” as the verse puts it, is a direct correction against any claim to moral perfection — the text assumes everyone sins, and the problem is not sinning, but denying it.
  9. 1 João 1:9The promise that confessing sins leads to forgiveness, because God is “faithful and just,” describes confession as an ongoing process, not a one-time event — fitting the chapter’s idea that no one is exempt from needing it.
  10. 1 João 1:10Closes the chapter with the same logic as verse 8: denying that one sins, besides being self-deception, makes God a liar, since His own word affirms that everyone sins.

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