1 John

 

INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN

INTRODUCTION

A.  It seemed to be a healthy church. It was growing and there appeared, from all intensive purposes, a pervading spirit of unity. But something, something lurking behind the scenes, was creating a undercurrent of unrest and confusion in the church, at first barely noticeable. But over time, this undercurrent moved to the forefront as certain teachers in the church began espousing an view of Christianity different from that which was being taught by the leadership. As a result, a number of people had left the church in recent weeks. Some of these people had been very influential in the church for years. But now they had each chosen to leave and in fact, form another “church” to rival this church! This group that left claimed enlightenment to a new, an improved, a restating of the gospel. Yet though they had left, some from this group had not severed ties. Instead, some from the group that had left maintained contact to some individuals in the church and thereby, were now exerting an influence upon them to also accept this new teaching and join up with them in this new group. The situation is now tense! Error has infiltrated the church — its negativity affecting the faith of the believers. To this perplexing predicament and dire dilemma, a certain man gets out his quill and composes an intimate, caring, straightforward letter of the biblical understanding of Christianity, thereby showing where this group has distorted the truth. This letter he writes to the believers we call First John!

B.  The situation he confronts should not surprise us. From the beginning, the truth of God’s Word has been opposed. We need look no further than the third chapter of the first book of the Bible where Satan tempts Eve in Genesis 3 by doubting, distorting, denying and denouncing the Scriptures and the God of the Scriptures. It only continues — and that, according to the Apostle Paul — in ever increasing quantities:

“But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13)

So it is to the recipients of 1 John that false teaching has crept in, divided and now threatens to sting with its frightful fangs and potent poison. Members of this church have left, members who are described in 2:19. To address this threatening situation, the letter of 1 John is written and sent to the believers. And what a wonderful letter it is for our edification today, years removed from this situation but just as pertinent in today’s setting where cults continually draw in unsuspecting prey, many from the churches. But dare I say that false teaching is not reserved simply for the cults. Countless churches flood our land where unbiblical instruction is being taught from pulpits and classrooms. For you and I today, the truths of 1 John are a necessary refresher course on the basics of Christianity and a reminder of the convictions we need to hold onto as believers at the threshold of a new millennium.

C.  As we begin an inspection of this book called 1 John, a theological treatise communicated in the form of a personal letter, we want to consider the totality of this letter as we embark on a study of

THE COMPOSITION OF 1 JOHN

This overview of the book will take the form of an interview comprised of five questions: Who, Whom, What, When and Why! If we can comprehend or grasp the whole of the book through these five questions, we will have a greater comprehension or grasp of the smaller units of the book we call chapters – five chapters.

1. Who wrote 1 John?

The answer to the first question may seem obvious, yet it still needs to be asked, “Who wrote 1 John?” The obvious assumption is that the title says it all — John! And so we clear the slate and wait for the next question. But we mustn’t be so hasty! Some scholars are not convinced that John is the writer and at best, that a group of followers of John wrote on behalf of him. Without venturing off into their views, for sake of time, let’s see from the internal evidence of the book itself and then from external evidence that the scales points heavily toward the Apostle John, the writer of the Gospel of John, as the writer of 1 John. Though John does not identify himself in this epistle, it is certain the recipients know who the writer is via the terms of endearment and intimacy that are used. The address “My dear children,” or “little children,” which first occurs in 2:1, is used 9 times in the book, indicating most likely that the writer is advanced in age and intimately related to their well-being. The address “dear friends,” “brethren,” or “beloved” occurs seven times (the first one in 2:7), indicating the writer to be some type of father figure in the church and one who considers his readers to be his spiritual offspring. Taken together, these phrases of intimacy are used 16 times in this brief, five-chapter book. John doesn’t need to identify himself for he has taught and preached in their churches and is a long-time resident in this area. Simon Kistemaker, in his commentary on 1 John, writes:

“Tradition holds that John wrote this epistle during his ministry in Ephesus and that this first epistle was addressed to a church or group of churches whom the author knew well. Succeeding Paul and Timothy, John was a pastor in Ephesus until his death in about A.D. 98.”

Following his pastorate at Ephesus, John was exiled to Patmos, a small island southwest of Ephesus, where he then penned his final book, Revelation. It is clear from the content of 1 John that the writer of 1 John possessed spiritual authority. Certainly John, as an apostle, would fill just such a credential! In the opening verses of 1 John, the writer includes himself among the group who in 1:1 “heard, saw, looked upon and handled” the Word of Life. In other words, the writer includes himself in the group who were eyewitnesses of the Lord! Certainly John would fill this requirement as one of the original twelve. The Book of 1 John radiates with an emphasis on love — the word is used almost 50 times. That’s interesting considering the Apostle John is referred to in the Gospel of John as the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” Who better then to write on the love of God? But what is perhaps the clearest indication of John as the writer of 1 John is the sizable similarity between Jesus’ intimate discourse with His disciples prior to His death, as recorded in the Gospel of John 13-17, and the Book of 1 John. Though the books of John and 1 John in themselves are similar, at least 35 phrases that occur in John 13-17 surface in 1 John! Clearly there is some relationship between John 13-17 and 1 John and that relationship stems from a common writer — John! External evidence to the authorship of John is affirmed by a number of the early church fathers — Ignatius (bishop of Antioch), Polycarp (a disciple of John), Papias (bishop of Hierapolis), Justin Martyr in Rome, Irenaeus (bishop of Lyons), Tertullian of Carthage, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Dionysius (bishop of Alexandria). Certainly the early church fathers considered 1 John to be from the hand of the Apostle John! So too does the weight of evidence point us there!

2. To Whom is 1 John written?

Having considered who wrote 1 John, now we shall consider the second question, “To whom is 1 John written?” As we just saw, the recipients are called “dear children” or “little children” and “dear friends” or “beloved,” denoting an intimacy between the writer and the readers. He knows them and they know him. John uses the first person pronouns “we” and “I” 90 times in this five-chapter, 105-verse book, evidencing to us that the bond between the writer and readers is strong and hence this resultant personal letter. Because he has this relationship and because he has spiritual authority, he is able to write with a clear and concise style that addresses the issues as “black and white.” For example, the contrasts he draws are quite evident in the book:

* life and death

* love of Father and love of world

* light and darkness

* truth and the lie

* love and hate

John sees no gray areas as he writes to them and thereby conveys the position they have in Christ! They know he cares for them as a shepherd for his sheep — he has evidenced that to them over the years. Thus he can “shoot straight” with them! The recipients of this letter come in all spiritual shapes and sizes, 2:12-14 attest to this — from fathers to young men to little children. It is probable that the recipients, however, are not new believers or recent converts to Christianity as evidenced by John’s words in his letter — they have heard the gospel from the beginning, they know the teachings of Christ, they obey his commands, they confess his name, they are aware of these false teachings and they are familiar with the words “antichrist” and “false prophets.” In summary, the recipients seem to be a group of believers John is very familiar with and in fact, shepherding to some extent! It’s been said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care! Here that truth is proven as the continual care of John gives him an open-hearted audience concerning his exhortation to them!

3. What is contained in 1 John?

Now we proceed to the third question, “What is contained in 1 John?” The answer to this question has an obvious correlation with the challenge the believers were facing concerning the false teachers’ distortion of the truth. Hence 1 John emphasizes several key phrases, words and concepts to address this distortion. First, the book focuses on the issue of sin in every chapter. Nearly 30 times the word is repeated. Why? This group that had broken away from the believers was perverting this theological teaching of sin. So John reminds the believers that Christ purifies us from every sin when we confess it. He is willing to forgive and cleanse us from sin when we come to Him. We are self-deceived when we say we have no sin. This is the position some from the broken-off group had taken — that they were beyond good and evil. Theological scholar F.F. Bruce writes,

“They maintained that they had no sin, not in the sense that they had attained moral perfection but in the sense that what might be sin for people at a less mature stage of inner development was no longer sin for the completely ‘spiritual’ man” (page 26).

Yet, John writes, we all sin but through the redemptive work of the resurrected Christ, our sins can be forgiven. Not only does 1 John focus on the issue of sin, it also focuses on the knowledge of God. John writes in 2:13-14 that we can know God. False teachers, some called Gnostics, were perverting this Scriptural truth with a different form of superior understanding concerning God — an understanding that only certain individuals could attain! Hence John writes that all believers can know God and thereby, have a confidence in their walk with God. And since the believer knows God, he then has the ability to distinguish between teachings that come from God and teachings that are false. This is the gist of John’s words in 4:6. A third focus of 1 John is upon eternal life. John begins to address eternal life in the second verse (1:2) and concludes on eternal life in the second-to-last verse (5:20). Throughout this letter, John speaks of eternal life which God gives to the believer, pointing out that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of eternal life. The splintered-off group might have been proclaiming concerning eternal life, “We’ve got it! You don’t!” Hence John writes what he does in 5:12. Eternal life is the possession of those who know Jesus Christ as Savior, those who have accepted the incarnate Son of God. This certainly didn’t include the Gnostics, who denied the incarnation. It’s not based on some superior understanding that only a few have! In fact, the New Testament was written in Koine Greek – everyday language. This idea of eternal life through the bodily resurrection of Christ also did not sit well with the false teachers since to them, there could be no resurrection for the body is impure. They denied the humanity of Christ. For to them, Christ’s resurrection was not a body resurrection but a spirit resurrection, for his body would be sinful. The Apostle Paul sums up the ramifications of such teaching:

“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is also vain.” (1 Cor. 15:13-14)

The content of what John writes of in his letter is to reaffirm the Christians of their standing despite the influx of false teaching around them and in fact, into the church. John’s brush strokes are right to the point as he declares to them as a father to his children.

4. When was 1 John written?

The fourth question we need to ask is this, “When was 1 John written?” The majority of commentators place this book at the end of the first century and rightly so. Gnosticism was becoming influential near the end of the first century and this is, to be sure, one form of false teaching John is confronting in his letter. As we’ve seen before, John would later be exiled to the island of Patmos where he would write the Book of Revelation. Tradition has it that John was a church leader, presumably the pastor, in Ephesus and from here he would be deported to Patmos. Since the writing of Revelation is late first century, it seems that this book, written a short time before Revelation, would also be late first century. There are also parallels between the Gospel of John and 1 John — they are, after all, by the same writer. Yet whereas the Gospel reflects a time period significantly earlier — for it narrates the life of Christ and has a distinct Jewish audience — the Book of 1 John is written with seemingly more reflection and contemplation to a predominately Gentile audience. It appears to be from a more mature John who has some additional life experiences under his belt and now writes from a more elderly vantage point in 1 John. There appears to be no clear thematic thread woven throughout the book. Attempts to trace a consecutive argument throughout it have not been successful. That’s because John is reflecting and pondering a number of theological truths at this older stage in his life that causes the book to be repetitive and spiral as John looks at these truths from several different angles in an ascending way — we call it progressive theology!

5. Why was 1 John written?

So we come to the last question in our overview of 1 John, “Why was the book written?” I trust by now you have gathered that a primary reason is to make straight the distortion that false teaching had stirred up in the church. A new brand of doctrine with a claim that it was of God was being transmitted by false teachers. The believers, lest we forget, did not have the totality of the Bible at their fingertips and so a decision on the validity of this teaching was not easy to reach. With the teaching containing bits and pieces of the Scriptures, it seemed rather authentic and thereby deceptive. John, as a leader in the church, sets to the task of addressing the claims from this broken-off group by reaffirming the Christians in basic doctrine. Hence John addresses the concerns that have been raised via this distortion of truth through a refresher course in Basic Christianity 101 and 102! Yet we cannot pass over perhaps the main reason for John’s writing this epistle since he himself states it in 5:13. In this one verse, John touches upon a foundational truth of the entirety of the Bible — that we may know we have eternal life. The additional recurring themes of 1 John of sin and the knowledge of God are intended to give John’s readers a panoramic view of the truths that are being attacked by the false teachers. John’s style of restating the truth in a slightly different way would help his readers to learn more about it! His profound thoughts come forth in simplistic expression!

CONCLUSION

A.  There have been those who from the beginning have come along with the latest and greatest new-fangled revision of God’s plan. Cults abound in our society as individuals get routinely sucked into the “itching of ears” philosophy they propound. As such false teaching infiltrated the church, John could not sit idly by and allow error to remain. Instead, with one mighty writing he tackles the dilemma head on. Instead of running, instead of ignoring it, instead of hoping it would pass, John sets to the task of correcting the situation. It would not be the conclusion of the matter for John — as evidenced by the additional writings we call the Book of 2 John and the Book of 3 John — additional letters to address the influx of false teaching in and around the church.

B.  How would you have responded if you were John, observing the situation around you. But that was nearly 2,000 years ago? It’s just as prevalent today. You are sitting in a classroom at school and you hear something coming from the lips of the teacher that doesn’t sound right — it isn’t what you’ve heard at church! The classroom is science and the teacher is leading a discussion of our human origins. She instructs the class that we have evolved over millions of years from apelike ancestors to our present composition. She instructs the class that our world has been around for billions of years. She instructs the class that it all started with a bang — a catastrophic collision of elements that culminated in the formation of the planet system as we know it today. How will you respond? What will you think? What will you do? Is your faith strong enough to defend what you believe? What do you believe?

C.  You are sitting in the church pew talking with your friend about recent events in each other’s lives. The conversation turns to your friend’s daughter who stopped attending church years ago. She has recently married a man and they are expecting a baby. You offer congratulations but your friend tells you that there’s been a problem in the pregnancy and the doctors have told the mother-to-be that chances are high she will deliver a mentally-handicapped baby. The doctors have advised the expecting parents to have an abortion. Your friend tells you that her daughter and husband have talked about it and believe abortion to be the best avenue. Your friend supports their decision. After all, there’s already enough misery in life and couples already have enough stress and challenges in their marriage. What will you say? Anything? Will you sit there nodding your head though you sense that this isn’t the right thing to do?

D.  We have around us a world that is in disarray. They’re seeking after answers from anyone who will tell them what they want to hear, what makes them feel good, and what allows them an easy way out of their situation. That thinking has crept into the church and infiltrated our belief system. Though we have convictions, they are slowly eroding over time. After all, what difference can you — one person — make! Thank goodness, the Apostle John did not operate under such rationale. Instead, he set his hand to the task of penning this letter we call 1 John. And praise be to God for this precious 5-chapter theological treatise we have before us.