1 John opens by describing "the word of life" as something the witnesses heard, saw, and touched, then proclaimed. The point is that the life was revealed and testified to publicly. See 1 John 1:1–2.
In 1 John 1:1–2 the writer opens by stressing direct, shared experience. What is being spoken about was “from the beginning,” and it has been encountered through hearing, seeing, and even touch. These verses function as the letter’s opening frame, setting up how the writer intends to speak: not as speculation, but as public testimony grounded in experience.
These opening lines present the writer’s message as public testimony grounded in direct experience. The repeated “we have heard… seen… looked at… touched” aims to establish credibility and shared access to what is being proclaimed, not private speculation.
A common mistake is to turn the wording into a slogan. The better reading keeps the phrase tied to the passage, the speaker, and the problem the book is addressing.
Start with 1 John 1:1-2, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
1That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life
2(and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us);