1. Introduction to 1 John

An Introduction to 1 John A Letter of Experimental Faith

Happy Resurrection Day morning. This Sunday in particular the everyone celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead but the reality is we celebrate His resurrection every Lord’s Day. It was on the first day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples. And just as God sanctified the 7th day as a day of rest after He finished creating and codified it in the 10 Commandments after He redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt the Lord’s Day has now been changed to the first day to commemorate the new creation we are in Christ and His redemption of His people from slavery to sin. So the resurrection for us is everything for it is just as Paul said in 1Co 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Providentially beginning 1 John has much to do with Christ’s propitiating and atoning sacrifice.

There is no book in the Bible that is written without purpose. We have just finished 1 Peter. Can anyone tell me the purpose of that letter? This letter was written with a purpose just as 1 Peter was a different purpose. Because it is different it is important to know the who, what, when, where, why and how of this letter. It is important to do the background work in studying a book in the Bible because the writer, the recipients, and the purpose of writing the letter never change. As we go through these letters over and over again the lessons and application, we glean may get bigger. It is just like going fishing. The people who catch are the ones that know what is under the surface. As we study the Scriptures we apply the principles of study, observation, interpretation and application

1Jn 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— (2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— (3) that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (4) And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

I. The Author

The first question is who is the author? Unlike most epistles he is not identified by name. This epistle is not structured like the others. What can we learn from this letter about the author?

1) He was an eye-witness concerning the Word of Life being manifested. He heard, he saw, he touched.

2) We can assume he was aged because of his many references to ‘little children’ 1 Jn 2:1, 28, 3:7, 18; 4:4, 5:1

3) The fact that he does not identify himself could mean that he was already known. There was no question as to who it was writing.

4) the author has authority, speaks with authority, and issues commands to be obeyed.

5) Teaches true faith and addresses false teaching.

6) The writer uses a lot of contrasts. Light vs darkness, truth vs lie, righteousness vs unrighteousness, love vs hate, children of God vs children of the devil.

From those facts we can deduce apostolic authorship. It is from the church fathers that identify specifically that John is the author: Polycarp bishop of Smyrna (AD 156), Irenaeus (c. a.d. 140–203), Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215), Tertullian (c. 155–222) and Origen (c. 185–253) all designated the writer as the apostle John.

II. The Recipients and place

Unlike other epistles the physical destination of the letter is not mentioned but it addressed to Christians. Much like 1 Peter that was written and circulated to the churches he mentions, this letter was also circulated. From church history we know the Apostle John lived and ministered in Ephesus. The letters written to the seven churches in Revelation include Ephesus but also cities in relatively close proximity to Ephesus. But it was for all Christians no matter what there stage of maturity in the faith. 1Jn 2:12-14 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. (13) I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. (14) I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

III. Time and Purpose

This would also imply a later date of writing of 90 AD or later as the book of John and Revelation were written in that time frame. Gospel of John was written that they might believe. Joh 20:30-31 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; (31) but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

1 John was written for their assurance. 1Jn 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

Revelation was written for them to be ready.

The primary purpose of the letter is one of assurance. How can they know they are Christians? John lays that out quite clearly for them. John uses ‘to know’ 40x in 32 verses. The primary means of assurance is love to God and love to the brethren. Love is used 46x in 26 verses. But there are other purposes stated. That our/your joy may be made complete 1:4; they may not sin 2:1; they may not be deceived 2:26.

The theme of the letter can be summarized 1Jn 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

IV. The Problem being Addressed

In verses 1-4 there is an affirmation of the eternality and reality of the Word of Life, the Son of God Jesus Christ. Could John have been addressing errors concerning the doctrine of Christ? 1Jn 2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

Error concerning sin: 1Jn 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. John references sin 26x in 105 verses.

Hatred of the Brethren: 1Jn 2:9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

When you take all these factors into account it points to at least a proto-Gnosticism. What is Gnosticism?

Gnostics means “knowing ones” and they believed that they had the supremacy of intellect and the superiority of mental enlightenment to faith and conduct. It was a hodge-podge of mysticism and philosophy with a little Christian teaching thrown in.

Gnostics believed in the inherent evil of matter and everything material. If all matter is evil and Jesus Christ had a human body, then Christ could not be God or not have a real human body. One form of Gnosticism was Docetism which said that Jesus was divine but did not have a real body: it was a body of ghostlike qualities. 1Jn 4:2-3 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, (3) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already..

Because all flesh is sinful, Gnostics took two approaches to this problem. Some said the 1) soul was free of sin but the body evil; therefore feed the flesh with all licentious deeds. These became known as antinomians (those who are against law). 1Jn 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.2) The other extreme was to asceticism which denied the body any and everything. These folks believed they could reach some state of human perfection: 1Jn 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Another more prominent form of Gnosticism was Cerinthianism, started by a man called Cerinthus. This view says that God could not create evil, so they devised a system where evil could be explained. God, or the pleroma, created an angelic being and from this first creation which was nearly perfect many more sub-angelic beings evolved and these were called aeons or emanations. Each emanation away from god and closer to man became more evil. Jesus Christ was merely one of this sub-angelic beings. Thus Cerinthianism denied that Jesus Christ was true deity, because he had a sinful flesh. 1Jn 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 1Jn 5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? We still have a form of Gnosticism with us today. The Jehovah Witnesses believe that Christ was the first created being and from him everything else was created. Thus they deny the deity of Jesus Christ because they do not believe he was and is eternal.

The Gnostic made a distinction between the Jesus and the Christ. Jesus was simply 1) a man, 2) not born of a Virgin and, 3) sinful but at his baptism the Christ came upon him and was with him until his death. Just before death, the Christ left him and the man Jesus died as the sacrifice.

This brings us full circle to Resurrection Day. The very errors John was attacking has everything to do with what we are celebrating today. If Jesus was a mere man He would be born in sin and sinful. He would not be our federal head. He could not be the once and for all time offering for sin. If He is not the once and for all time offering for sin then God would not be pleased with the sacrificial offering of Jesus of Himself and God would not have raised Him from the dead. As a result we would be still be dead in our sins and without hope and without God in the world. The beauty of 1 John is that it is not a second hand account but an eye witness account. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— (2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life.

V. Pastoral Presentation

1 John is more than addressing what was wrong with the church. IT has very much to do with what God has done in and through Christ for His people. 1Jn 4:9-10 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (10) In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.The love of God for His people expressed through the inspiration of the Spirit to His people in terms of love. 1Jn 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are., in terms of endearment calling them beloved and little children. The working out of that love in Christ being our Advocate and the propitiation for our sins. 1Jn 2:1-2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (2) He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

John answers the question of how may I now I am a Christian plainly, in black and white terms that are easily understood. The Christian is the one who holds to Biblical truth and is confessional, that truth is worked out experimentally or experientially in love to God and love to the brethren in keeping His commands. There are not two classes of Christians spiritual and unspiritual. There are two classes of people children of God and children of the devil. 1Jn 3:10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

This morning we have waded at the edges of a tidal pool leading to an infinite ocean depth of the inspired word of God that is the book of 1 John. My prayer is that as we work our way through verse by verse that you will take it upon yourselves to read and re-read this precious letter over and over again until it becomes your own. That your prayer will be like mine that the Holy Spirit will open our hearts and minds to understand, not just understand but to apply and that we would wrestle with the difficult passages just as Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord. And from beginning to end we will have reason after reason to break out in spontaneous doxology to the Lord for His abundant love for us.