1 John 1:3-4 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
John sees a link between relationships. He was one of the 12 apostles who lived with Jesus and learned from him for three years. He and other eye witnesses (the “we”) then told others (the “you”) about what they had experienced. “Our fellowship” could include both the “we” and “you”. The end result of witness is fellowship with the Father and Son. The closer we come to God, the closer we can come to one another. This cycle completed John’s joy. It may it full. This was the goal of this epistle. If the readers would listen and respond positively to his letter, he would have a deep satisfaction that his mission was being fulfilled. Our mission is best completed when we find ourselves drawing closer to God in obedience to the command to “go into the world,” and we find ourselves drawing closer to other people because we have obeyed the command to love one another.