First John - Introduction Robert Erger

First John  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Please join me in prayer!
Today/Tonight we are going to be introduced to the epistle of 1 John. We will discover who wrote the letter( as if it isn’t very obvious), the intended audience(besides us), the purpose or focus of the book, and finally how can we use the book in our lives? For those of you who are relatively new to the Bible, you will find 1 John near the end of your Bible. We will also be referencing other areas of the Bible, but you might want to bookmark 1 John and the gospel of John.
You have probably heard the old joke “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?” Well we must first identify the author.

Who Wrote This Book?

Actually it is not stated in the book of First John who wrote the book. However, one can note many similarities in First John with the Gospel of John. For example, note John 20:30-31 and 1 John 5 where the same phrases occur.
John 20:30–31 (NKJV)
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
1 John 5:1 (NKJV)
1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
1 John 5:5 (NKJV)
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Most Bible commentators suggest that the Apostle John wrote this book. For example,
The Grace New Testament Commentary (Introduction)
Ancient tradition assigns these epistles to John the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles. Although efforts have been made to evade the implication that an eyewitness wrote 1:1–4, these efforts are faulty. The statement of 4:6 (“We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error”) would be pompous, to say the least, if it was not penned by an apostle.
The efforts made by critical scholarship to find non-apostolic authors for the Fourth Gospel and the epistles are perhaps not surprising, due to scholarship’s usual bias against apostolic eyewitness accounts. But the attempt to differentiate the authorship of the Gospel from that of the epistles and even, sometimes, that of First John from Second and Third John, is a stunning display of tunnel vision. It would be hard to find four books anywhere in Greek literature that exhibit a style more likely to stem from one mind than does the style of the Gospel and the epistles. Even the English reader can detect this, but in Greek the impression of a single writer is overwhelming. This being the case, the strong support given by ancient tradition to authorship by John the son of Zebedee for both the Gospel and the epistles should be seen, not as two sets of evidence but as a single voice.
Zane Clark Hodges, The Epistle of John: Walking in the Light of God’s Love (Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), 21.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary First John among the Johannine Writings

Traditionally, the Gospel of John and 1 John were considered products of the same author, John the Apostle (e.g., Papias apud Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.39.16; Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 3.16.5; the Muratorian Canon; Dionysius apud Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 7.25.7; and Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.25.2). Early Christians linked the Gospel of John and the Letters of John with a common author (Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. AD 263–339), Ecclesiastical History 7.25.7, 10; compare 2.23.25).

It is important to identify the author, due to the connections that we have with that certain individual. If the author was not John who wrote the Gospel and Revelation, we might not be able to correlate certain passages with that person. However; we can trust that the early scholars were extremely competent in their research.
We make these same conclusions about certain patterns in our lives on a constant basis. For example, I know my spouse extremely well. I know he behaviors and idiosyncrasies. Occasionally my pre-school grand children will sneak a bite of candy. When asked “did you eat that candy?”, the exclaim “no Oma ate the candy!”. I know that my wife didn’t eat the candy. They might write on a piece of paper and blame it on their brother or sister. Although, rather simple examples they portray the arguments which lead to the true identity of the author.
We can feel confident that the apostle John authored the book aptly named in his honor!!

John, the Apostle, wrote this book.

To Whom Was It Written?

Let’s examine the scripture and references to certain individuals.
"brethren" is mentioned 17 times in 1 John
Why would John call a non-believer a brethren? The distinction that repeats in I John contrasts loving a brother as compared to hating a brother. Clearly this refers to believers
The use of "little children" is used 14 times in this book
He encourages “little children” to abide in Him. Non believers cannot abide in Christ.
The fact that he mentions "forgiveness of sins " [1 John 2:12] 1 John 2:13 “I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.”
He includes himself [using we or us] many times along with the recipients e.g. 1 John 2:3–5 “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.”
These same sentiments were echoed by the authors of the Lexham Bible Dictionary. Listen to their conclusions.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Purpose)
The prologue of 1 John indicates that the author was known to his recipients. He addresses his recipients in friendly and familial terms: “Beloved” (or “Dear friends” [NET]) (1 John 2:7 et al.); “My little children” (2:1); “children” or “little children” (2:12–13, et al). He writes with a clear objective in mind: namely, the spiritual health of his recipients (1:4; 2:1, 7–8, 12–14, 26; 5:13; compare 5:21). He writes as an authoritative interpreter and applier of Jesus’ love command (compare John 13:34–35): 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11–12.
In the Holman Concise Bible commentary they once again draw a similar conclusion.

Recipients. The letter has no named recipients mentioned within it. Identification of the readers as “dear children” (2:1) and “Dear friends” (2:7) suggests they were a group well known by John. It is best to view the letter as addressed to a group of people perhaps in more than one Asian community. John personally knew them and wrote to warn them of the infiltration of false teaching (4:1–2).

Zane proposes some other possibilities for the audience.

First John was a circular letter (hence no specific addressees are mentioned), and was intended to be passed around the circuit of churches for which John felt special responsibility, perhaps the seven churches of Asia. It is even possible that First John might have actually been intended for the leaders of the various churches to which it went. There are indeed indications within the epistle (2:12–14; 2:20; see Commentary) that the readership is regarded as spiritually mature. In that case, the First Epistle was intended to fortify the leaders who would bear the major burden of resisting the false teachers. At the same time, John would have expected the letter to be read to the congregation(s) and, when that was done, the apostle’s expression of confidence in the competence of the leaders would enhance the esteem in which the believers held them.

Since the members and leadership of the local church were believers this would correspond with the other comments.
Since John is the author, wouldn’t he identify the audience as either believers or unbelievers?
John 20:31 “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
The audience sets the tone for every book in the scripture. Even now as I preach, I must consider my audience. Only those who have believed on Jesus for the free gift of everlasting life can possibly understand the the scripture by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is possible for unbelievers to be in the physical audience, but the letter was written to “believers”!!!!

When Was It Written?

Dating letters is extremely important. Unfortunately, most authors did not place the date of their writings on the documents. Therefore, we must use other data to ascertain the date of the writings. The date is important in order to better understand the events at the times. I have finally lived long enough to have my own personal life experiences that provide an insight to the circumstances of the times. For example, I was in school during the cold war. My father was enlisted in the Air Force and I lived on a couple of military bases during my childhood. I remember having “bomb” drills during school. At the sound of the siren we would take cover under our desks hoping to be protected from falling debris. If I were to write a letter about my experience, one might be able to surmise from my behavior that I lived during a time of war. I could also describe my father being a pilot of an F102 fighter jet. Since the life expectancy of the F102 was about twenty years, someone could narrow the time period down to decade of the sixties or early seventies.
We also use the arguments of our experts to help us discover the possibilities of the time period for 1 John. This will help us understand the circumstances surrounding the intended audiences.
One of the most catastrophic events surrounding the Jewish nation occurred in 70 AD. For those of you unfamiliar with history, let us briefly discuss. Jerusalem, of Israel, was a very prominent city during the time of Christ. It was the capital of Israel and home to the Jew’s place of worship also known as the temple. The entire region was under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Romans allowed for the locals to live under their own religious practices. Therefore, the Jews were able to worship using their sacrificial system in Jerusalem. At this time there were approximately 1-2 million Jews occupying the area of Jerusalem.
Like many nations ruled by outside nations, the Jews wanted to become self governing. As a result, there was an uprising in 70 AD that lead to Roman armies annihilating Jerusalem. Over one million Jews were killed and the temple was demolished. Like my era of my childhood, can you imagine me recalling my experiences without mentioning any events that lead to the Cold War. I would have mentioned World War II, the Korean war and the Vietnam war. Likewise the absence of the destruction of the temple would have been a monumental evident that most authors would have mentioned in their writings.

There are no clear internal indications of the date at which the Johannine Epistles were written. It is likely that they were written after the Fourth Gospel, but this cannot be definitely proved. It is also likely, but unprovable, that they were written before the Book of Revelation.

The date of the Gospel is most likely prior to A.D. 70. As J. A. T. Robinson pointed out in Redating the New Testament, if the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 had already occurred, the Gospel’s silence about this is puzzling.

Why Was It Written?

Of all that you have heard this morning, the most important aspect of understanding God’s Word is determining the purpose intended by the Author.
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”
God used John, the beloved, to convey to his readers something important enough to compose a letter. We believe those letters were to be circulated to various congregations for instruction. John’s authority to promote doctrine was beyond reproach. We should examine those verses very seriously in light of nature of the Author(ultimately the Holy Spirit working through John).
Most authors of any form of literature will either explicitly or implicitly state the purpose of their writing. John states the purpose of his Gospel in John 20:31 “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” John wrote to unbelievers in order to convince them that by believing in Jesus for the free gift of everlasting life they would live forever with Jesus. Likewise John exclaims to us in 1 John his purpose for his letter. 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
John wants to communicate to us the concept of being in “fellowship”. A more exhaustive study of 1 John would address the fellowship problem. Most of Christendom falsely interprets this book. They use 1 John to promote the false premise of “losing salvation” as opposed to a loss of “fellowship”. In his Gospel, John clearly explains the concept of justification by faith alone apart from works.
Read this letter to better understand how one can be in or out of fellowship with God.

Application for Us

Although we don’t live during these times, we can extrapolate from these circumstances to use in our times today. I often ask my history teachers “Why do we study history?” They generally retort “In order to learn from our past mistakes!” or “So we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past!”. I usually ask “Well don’t we continue to make the same mistakes? So, how can we learn from the situation that was occurring back then?
We must first be honest with ourselves about being in and out of fellowship. Most people who claim to be “Christians” in a general sense are aware of the concept of sin and being out of fellowship. However; we must be careful on what this means concerning “justification”. Let us put to rest that we cannot lose our justification. This letter addresses our fellowship and not our “loss of salvation”.
But we should be serious about our “loss of fellowship”. Constantly experiencing eternal life can occur as we remain in fellowship. A deeper dive into 1 John will insure that we can remain in fellowship. We should be encouraged by 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 NKJV
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We must guard ourselves from being out of fellowship. This not only affects us, but our fellow brethren.
So how can we continue in fellowship? Through confession we can be restored. We are also provided with the Holy Spirit. He can help us to remain in fellowship. Living our life in fellowship results in a better life.
For me personally, I have hope through the letter that I can overcome sin in my life. I have dealt with various sins in my life and I have experienced overcoming. What a wonderful concept of being restored in fellowship. The Lord knows my heart. He understands when I fail and allows me to constantly return to him. He has given me hope to keep abiding.
I want you to think about how many religions don’t have the concept of grace. I believe that you will find there are none. I exhort you to go live life by abiding in Christ. I believe you will eventually find that as you grow closer to God the more the World will become less appealing to you. The cares of world will depart and your yearning to grow and learn will become greater.
So what can we conclude. John was written to us in order to keep us abiding in the Light(Christ). Although this book was written a very long time ago, the principles of the book are enduring through time. The book applies to all those who have believed in Christ for everlasting life (believers). We can believe these because God entrusted John the apostle to deliver this message to us.
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