1 John · 10 verses
1 John 1
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
The Word of life is introduced by a remarkably practical inventory: heard, seen, gazed upon, and touched—after which the writer says the writing is meant to complete a joy.
A life handled and proclaimedvv. 1–4
The writer begins with what was “from the beginning,” but gives it no misty entrance: it has been heard, seen, gazed upon, and touched. This revealed life is proclaimed as eternal life with the Father, so that fellowship may join the hearers to the proclaimers, to the Father, and to Jesus Christ. Then comes the wonderfully personal reason for the letter: joy, apparently, is a thing that can be brought to completion by writing.
Light, darkness, and the peril of innocencevv. 5–10
The message now turns to a stark arrangement: God is light, and darkness has no lodging in Him. Anyone claiming fellowship while walking in darkness is called a liar; anyone claiming to have no sin deceives themselves, and anyone claiming never to have sinned goes further still, making God out to be a liar. Confession, by contrast, meets faithfulness, justice, forgiveness, and cleansing, while walking in the light brings fellowship with one another and cleansing through the blood of Jesus.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
1 John 1:1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
1 John 1:2And 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.
1 John 1:3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:4We write these things so that our joy may be complete.
1 John 1:5And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:6If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
1 John 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 229 passages were voted onto 10 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 9Psalms 32:5Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
- 9Proverbs 28:13He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- 9Jeremiah 33:8And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
- 7Ephesians 5:8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- 5John 8:12Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- 9Psalms 51:2–5Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
- 91 John 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- 5James 1:17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- 8Romans 3:23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
- 7Romans 13:12The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- 9Ezekiel 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- 5Isaiah 60:19No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.
- 7Revelation 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- 5Psalms 27:1Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
- 8Ecclesiastes 7:20Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
- 9Hebrews 10:23Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
Onward