What Does 1 John 1:3 Mean in the King James?

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.
1 John 1:3 · KJV
The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

The announcement does not deliver information alone; it opens you into the shared life linking the witnesses with the Father and the Son.

What is seen and heard reaches you as a way into shared participation. Your fellowship with those who declare it opens into the same relationship they have with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Testimony here is more than information to hold; it is a connection you enter.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The verse undoes the belief that hearing about God leaves you only an observer, outside the relationship the message describes.

κοινωνία

koinōnia

GROWS FROM

κοινων-

⁨κοινων-⁩ (koinōn-): sharing in common; participation as a partner.

English “fellowship” can sound like friendly association; ⁨κοινωνία⁩ (koinōnia), shared participation, carries the sense of having a share in common. The verse joins participation with the witnesses to participation with the Father and the Son, so the announcement opens into a relationship already shared.

ALSO GROWS

koinōnos: partner, sharer

κοινωνός

The same ⁨κοινων-⁩ stem names a person who shares in something, showing that fellowship makes you a participant, not just a listener.

koinōneō: to share, participate

κοινωνέω

This verb uses the same stem for the act of sharing, making the verse’s fellowship an active participation in common life.

Shared life with God joins people to one another rather than leaving them isolated observers.

A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Psalm 133:1 · KJVShared life among people is presented as a good in itself.
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
John 17:21 · KJVOneness among people is bound directly to shared life with the Father and the Son.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14 · KJVCommunion with God is spoken as something shared among the people.
God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:9 · KJV

The same Greek term, ⁨κοινωνία⁩ (koinōnia), means shared participation. Here it names your share in the Son, clarifying the fellowship announced in 1 John as participation centered in the Father and the Son.

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1 John 1:3 KJV Meaning