“the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you
that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (1 John 1:2, NKJV) 

Only God has life in Himself. Only God has inherent being. Our existence is derived. God is self-existent, uncreated. That is illustrated at the burning bush in Exodus 3. The bush burned but was not fuel for the fire. The fire existed in itself. It’s no wonder that God would use that image to communicate His name to Moses. “I am who I am. Tell them I AM has sent you” (Exo. 3:14). 

Jesus would take that name for Himself. Seven times in John’s Gospel, He presents Himself as I AM. That declaration would be most conspicuous in His confrontation with unbelieving Jews: “Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM’” (John 8:58). The Jews understood full well what Jesus was claiming. That’s why they picked up stones to execute Him, for He, a mere man in their eyes, made claim to be God. 

At the outset of his Gospel, John describes Jesus as the eternal Word of God, who had life in Himself (John 1:4). Now in his epistle, John speaks of “the Word of life” who became manifest: “the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (1 John 1:2). Manifest means to cause to be known. It’s like opening the hood of a car to make apparent why the vehicle is as powerful as it is. 

John shows us Jesus. More pointedly, he shows us life. Life is bound up in Christ. Spiritual life is found in Jesus. Eternal life if found in Jesus. Abundant life is found in Jesus. John takes what was made manifest to him and makes Him manifest to us. He bears witness to Him who is full of grace and truth, who is the glory of the Father. Like a prospector discovering a vast vein of gold and taking others to show them, so John discovers Jesus in whom is life and takes us to Him, that we might have life in Him. 

Words like manifest, testify, bear witness, declare, proclaim are all descriptive of how the message of life in Christ becomes known. Faith does not function as a leap in the dark but as a resting in what has been revealed. It is not just believing but believing in. Faith does not take up where knowledge leaves off, but jumps on board the train of knowledge confident of its destination, fully assured that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). 

What sort of life is bound up in Jesus Christ?