1 John 1:1

1 John 1:1 says. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;  This verse states more than one truth.  That which was from the beginning refers to the fact that Jesus Christ existed before anything else, because He is the eternal God.  James then added that they, the people who lived at that time, had heard of him, especially the disciples, of which Johne was one.  John said that they had heard and touched Jesus, since He was also a man like us, except without sin.  John concluded by saying that Jesus Christ is the Word of Life.  His word brings life.  These things are still true, except for the fact that we see, hear, and touch Jesus spiritually instead of physically, but we do acknowledge that He was a man and God.  

Verse two adds, (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.   John then spoke about the eternal nature of Jesus Christ, Who was with the Father, but was then made manifest to John and others.  Jesus Christ existed before the world was created, and He still exists today, but no longer physically.  He came so that we might have everlasting life by putting our faith in Him.   

Verse three continues, 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.  John said that he and those who had seen Jesus Christ and heard what He taught and how He died and rose again they now declared to the lost people of world around them.  They did this so that lost people might accept God’s gift of salvation and become a part of the fellowship of believers.  This is still our purpose in sharing the gospel today, to all people and not just to certain people.  

Verse four concludes, And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.  John said that they wrote these things to others so that the joy of others might be complete by putting their faith in Jesus Christ, which is the only way to find real joy.  We can either see John saying we as the royal or third-person use of we, or we can see it as his speaking of the writings of other men inspired by God as well as himself.  I am inclined to believe the latter.