1 John 4:14

We. That is, the apostolic group (cf. on verse 6), those who had personally seen the One whom the Father sent. The pronoun is emphatic in the Greek.

Have seen. Gr. theaomai, “to view attentively,” “to gaze upon,” “to contemplate” (see on verse 12). Compare on 1 John 1:1, where the verb is translated “to look upon.” The form of the Greek verb indicates the abiding results of the past action. The apostles never forgot the revelation of God that they had witnessed in Jesus Christ. Although they, in common with other men, had never seen God (verse 12), they had seen His Son, and that sufficed.

Do testify. Or, “are bearing witness” (cf. on 1 John 1:2). In so doing, John and his fellow preachers were fulfilling their Master’s command (Acts 1:8). The Christian church was largely built upon the testimony of the disciples who had studied the nature of God as revealed in the life of the Saviour, and had compared Christ’s life with the OT prophecies of the Messiah. In the early church there were many who had been converted by the Saviour’s own work; others accepted the faith through the witness at Pentecost; countless more believed because of the apostles’ subsequent testimony; but a still larger number, including ourselves, have been dependent upon the written witness as contained in the NT.

The Father sent. Literally, “the Father has sent.” The form of the Greek verb is the same as in verse 9 (see comment there).

To be the Saviour. The words “to be the” are supplied, and the clause may rightly read, “the Father sent the Son, a Saviour of the world.” Jesus did not become the Saviour by being sent, but was the Saviour before as well as after the incarnation. In spite of all that John has to say about Christ’s redemptive work, the word “Saviour” occurs only in one other place in his writings (John 4:42), and there is also qualified by the words “of the world.” For the significance of “Saviour” see on Matt. 1:21.

Of the world. That is, of the people in the world, although Christ’s work will ultimately include the renovation of the earth (Rev. 21:1,5). The Saviour’s death made possible the salvation of every member of every nation (John 3:16, 17; 12:32). The result of His sacrifice is not limited to the Christian Era. Christ is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8; cf. Gen. 3:15; 4:3, 4; 22:13; Num. 21:9). Christ is the Saviour of all who will be redeemed, no matter the age in which they may happen to have lived.