Book
of 1 John Introduction
Title:
The
epistle’s title has always been 1 John. It is the first and largest
in a series of 3 epistles that bear the Apostle John’s name. Since
the letter identifies no specific church, location, or individual to
whom it was sent, its classification is as a general epistle.
Although 1 John does not exhibit some of the general characteristics
of an epistle common to that time e.g., no introduction, greeting, or
concluding salutation, its intimate tone and content indicate that
the term epistle still applies to it.
Authorship:
The
epistle does not identify the author, but the strong, consistent and
earliest testimony of the church ascribes it to John the disciple and
apostle compare Luke 6:13-14. This anonymity strongly affirms the
early church’s identification of the epistle with John the apostle,
for only someone of John’s well known and preeminent status as an
apostle would be able to write with such unmistakable authority,
expecting complete obedience from his readers, without clearly
identifying himself (e.g., 4:6). He was well known to the readers so
he didn’t need to mention his name.
This
letter could probably be classified as a general letter. It is as
current for our church today, as it was for then. The apostle John,
who wrote the Gospel of John and Revelation, is without doubt the
author. He calls himself the elder see 2 John 1, which seems to have
been John’s self designation in the final years of his ministry.
The purpose of the letter was probably to help the church avoid error
in its teaching.
John
and James, his older brother (Acts 12:2), were known as the sons of
Zebedee (Mat. 10:2-4), whom Jesus gave the name Sons of Thunder (Mark
3:17). John was one of the 3 most intimate associates of Jesus along
with Peter and James; compare Mat. 17:1; 26:37), being an eyewitness
to and participant in Jesus’ earthly ministry (1:1-4). In addition
to the 3 epistles, John also authored the fourth gospel, in which he
identified himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, and as the one
who reclined on Jesus’ breast at the Last Supper (John 13:23;
19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). He also wrote the book of Revelation (Rev.
1:1).
Date:
The
letter was probably written from Ephesus but is uncertain. The exact
date of the writing was uncertain, as well. It was probably written
in the 90’s A.D. This letter brings special teaching on Jesus as
the Light, Life, and Love.
Church
tradition consistently identifies John in his advanced age as living
and actively writing during this time at Ephesus in Asia Minor. The
tone of the epistle supports this evidence since the writer gives the
strong impression that he is much older than his readers (e.g., my
little children; 2:1, 18, 28). The epistle and John’s gospel
reflect similar vocabulary and manner of expression. Such similarity
causes many to date the writing of John’s epistles as occurring
soon after he composed his gospel. Since many date the gospel during
the latter part of the first century, they also prefer a similar date
for the epistles. Furthermore, the heresy John combats most likely
reflects the beginnings of Gnosticism, see below, which was in its
early stages during the latter third of the first century when John
was actively writing. Since no mention is made of the persecution
under Domitian, which began about A.D. 95, it may have been written
before that began. Considering such factors, a reasonable date for 1
John (is ca. A.D. 90-95). It was likely written from Ephesus to the
churches of Asia Minor over which John exercised apostolic
leadership.
Background
and Setting:
Although
he was greatly advanced in age when he penned this epistle, John was
still actively ministering to churches. He was the sole remaining
apostolic survivor who had intimate, eyewitness association with
Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, death, resurrection, and
ascension. The church Fathers (e.g., Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement
of Alexandria, Eusebius), indicate that after that time, John lived
at Ephesus in Asia Minor, carrying out an extensive evangelistic
program, overseeing many of the churches that had arisen, and
conducting an extensive writing ministry (e.g., epistles, The Gospel
of John, and Revelation). One church Father (Papias), who had direct
contact with John described him as a living and abiding voice. As the
last remaining apostle, John’s testimony was highly authoritative
among the churches. Many eagerly sought to hear the one who had
first-hand experience with the Lord Jesus.
Ephesus
(compare Acts 19:10), lay within the intellectual center of Asia
Minor. As predicted years before by the Apostle Paul (Acts 20:28-31),
false teachers arising from within the church’s own ranks,
saturated with the prevailing climate of philosophical trends, began
infecting the church with false doctrine, perverting fundamental
apostolic teaching. These false teachers advocated new ideas which
eventually became known as Gnosticism from the Greek word knowledge.
After the Pauline battle for freedom from the law, Gnosticism was the
most dangerous heresy that threatened the early church during the
first 3 centuries. Most likely John was combating the beginning of
this virulent heresy that threatened to destroy the fundamentals of
the faith and the churches.
John
writes that ye may know that ye have eternal life (5:13). In a sense
he seeks therefore, merely to strengthen the faith of his readers.
Yet he writes also to combat a specific threat to his readers’
faith: Gnosticism. This was a deviant form of Christianity. Its
adherents’ views varied, but they tended to value knowledge as the
means of salvation rather than the Cross, to assert that physical
matter was evil, and to teach that the Son of God could not,
therefore, have come in the flesh. These and other aberrant teachings
seem to be the target of many of John’s avowals.
A
lack of love for fellow believers characterizes false teachers,
especially as they react against anyone rejecting their new way of
thinking (3:10-18). They separated their deceived followers from the
fellowship of those who remained faithful to apostolic teaching,
leading John to reply that such separation outwardly manifested that
those who followed false teachers, lacked genuine salvation (2:19).
Their departure left the other believers, who remained faithful to
apostolic doctrine, shaken. Responding to this crisis, the aged
apostle wrote to reassure those remaining faithful and to combat this
grave threat to the church. Since the heresy was so acutely dangerous
and the time period was so critical for the church in danger of being
overwhelmed by false teaching, John gently, lovingly, but with
unquestionable apostolic authority, sent this letter to churches in
his sphere of influence to stem this spreading plague of false
doctrine.
Historical
and Theological Themes: 1
John is distinctive in its emphasis on assurance of salvation. This
stress is seen by the numerous references to what the believer knows
(2:3, 5, 29; 3:14, 16, 19, 24; 4:13, 16; 5:15, 18-20). Further, John
often speaks in terms of polarities or contrasting elements: light
and darkness, love and hate, God’s Spirit and the spirit of
Antichrist, God’s children and the children of the Devil.
As
we go through these 3 letters of John, notice the closeness he had
with Jesus that made him even more aware of the person of Jesus.
Considering
the circumstances of the epistle, the overall theme of 1 John is a
recall to the fundamentals of the faith or back to the basics of
Christianity. The apostle deals with certainties, not opinions or
conjecture. He expresses the absolute character of Christianity in
very simple terms; terms that are clear and unmistakable, leaving no
doubt as to the fundamental nature of those truths. A warm,
conversational, and above all, loving tone occurs, like a father
having a tender, intimate conversation with his children.
1
John also is pastoral, written from the heart of a pastor who has
concern for his people. As a shepherd, John communicated to his flock
some very basic, but vitally essential, principles reassuring them
regarding the basics of the faith. He desired them to have joy
regarding the certainty of their faith rather than being upset by the
false teaching and current defections of some (1:4).
The
book’s viewpoint, however, is not only pastoral but also polemical;
not only positive but also negative. John refutes the defectors with
sound doctrine, exhibiting no tolerance for those who pervert divine
truth. He labels those departing from the truth as false prophets
(4:1), those who are trying to deceive (2:26; 3:7), and antichrists
(2:18). He pointedly identifies the ultimate source of all such
defection from sound doctrine as demonic (4:1-7).
The
constant repetition of 3 sub-themes reinforces the overall theme
regarding faithfulness to the basics of Christianity: happiness
(1:4), holiness (2:1), and security (5:13). By faithfulness to the
basics, his readers will experience these 3 results continually in
their lives. These 3 factors also reveal the key cycle of true
spirituality in 1 John: a proper belief in Jesus produces obedience
to His commands; obedience issues in love for God and fellow
believers (e.g., 3:23-24). When these 3 (sound faith, obedience,
love), operate in concert together, they result in happiness,
holiness and assurance. They constitute the evidence, the litmus
test, of a true Christian.
The
letter was full of statements stressing what we know of the Lord and
His teachings. It is specifically, or indirectly, mentioned over 30
times. I have said this before in the gospel of John, but John knew
Jesus better than any of the other apostles. The love that John had
for Jesus, and Jesus for John, was like a great relationship of two
brothers.
