1 John 1:3
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →John declares what he witnessed so that his readers may share the same fellowship he enjoys with the Father and the Son.
What Does 1 John 1:3 Mean?
What the apostles saw and heard they now declare, and they do so with a purpose: that the readers may have fellowship with them. This shared life is not merely human company. Their fellowship, John says, is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
The aim of testimony is communion. The gospel is told not to fill the mind with facts but to draw us into a shared life with God and with one another. Through the Son we are brought near to the Father, and through Him believers are bound together. To know Christ is to be welcomed into a fellowship that began in God and overflows to all who believe.
In the Original Language
koinonia (κοινωνία), 'fellowship' -- a deep sharing in common life, here with the Father, the Son, and one another.