1 1That which was 2from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have aseen with our beyes, which we 3beheld and our hands 4chandled, concerning the 5Word of 6life
12 This differs from in the beginning in John's Gospel (John 1:1). In the beginning traces back to eternity past before creation; from the beginning proceeds forward from the creation. This indicates that John's Epistle is a continuation of his Gospel, which concerns the believers' experience of the divine life. In his Gospel, John revealed the way for sinners to receive the eternal life — to believe in the Son of God. In his Epistle he pointed out the way for the believers, who have received the divine life, to enjoy that life in its fellowship — to abide in the Son of God. And in his Revelation he unveiled the consummation of the eternal life as the believers' full enjoyment in eternity.
The phrase from the beginning is used four times in the Gospel of John, eight times in this Epistle, and twice in 2 John. In John 8:44; 1 John 1:1; 2:13-14; and 3:8, it is used in the absolute sense; whereas in John 6:64; 15:27; 16:4; 1 John 2:7, 24 (twice); 3:11; and 2 John 5-6, it is used in the relative sense.