Walking in Fellowship with God - An Introduction to First John

Introduction

This book is John’s extension of his Gospel. It is not a book about salvation to eternal life or salvation from temporal wrath as many New Testament books are. Instead, this book is about having fellowship with other believers, with the Father, and with the Son.

Why Was It Written?

Is NOT About Salvation

Unlike the Gospel of John, 1 John is NOT about salvation from Hell, about gaining everlasting life. Compare the two purpose statements:

John 20:31 NKJV

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.

In the Gospel of John, we see that John wrote this book so that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing you may have life in His name”.

IS About Fellowship

1 John 1:3 NKJV

that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

But in 1 John, John instead writes of “what we have seen and heard” so that his readers “may have fellowship with us”, and with the Father and the Son.

To Whom Was It Written

1 John 2:1 (NKJV)

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1 John 2:12 (NKJV)

I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

1 John 2:28 (NKJV)

And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

John was obviously writing to early Christians, believers, as seen from his addressing them as “little children” in verses 2:1, 12, 13, 28 and more, and as “Beloved” in verses 3:21 and 4:1, 7, and 11. It is also obvious that the recipients were known to John due to the familiar address he uses and the specific issues he addresses. According to tradition, John spent many years of ministry in Ephesus and the surrounding churches, and this may certainly have been the audience for this letter.

The purpose of the Epistle of 1 John is clearly spelled out in verse 1:3, namely that the readers of the letter may have fellowship, and not just fellowship with each other, but with the apostles themselves. And through having fellowship with the apostles, they can have fellowship with the Father and the Son. But more than just telling his readers that they can have fellowship, John gives instruction in ways to maintain fellowship - abiding in Him, and pitfalls in the path of fellowship - walking in darkness.

There are many ways to divide up 1 John, but I want to look at three themes in the Epistle. John lays in three major themes ways in which a believer can have - or not have - fellowship with the Father and the Son.

Light vs. Darkness

1 John 1:5 NKJV

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

The first theme John addresses is the that of walking in light - with God - or in darkness - without God. To walk in the light is to walk in truth, even in the midst of sin by asking for forgiveness, while walking in darkness means walking in sin, unrighteousness, and wickedness (1 John 2:8-11).

Righteous vs. Unrighteous

1 John 2:18 NKJV

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

In this second theme, John starts to address the issue of antichrists in the church, about false teachers who, although they started in fellowship with the church, have departed from the teachings because “they do not have the Father” (1 John 2:23). In this section John implores the believers not to listen to these men, but instead to remember the truths he taught them.

Love vs. Hate

1 John 3:11 NKJV

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

In this third theme, John emphasizes the need to love one another, not to distrust or hate one another “as Cain who was of the wicked one” (1 John 3:12). He contrasts what it means to love someone unconditionally (agape) as opposed to one who hates his brother. In this, John also tells us the rewards that await us if we love one another in deed and truth (3:18).

Application

Is NOT About Salvation

Unlike the Gospel of John, 1 John is NOT about salvation from Hell, about gaining everlasting life. Compare the two purpose statements:

John 20:31 NKJV

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 1:3 NKJV

that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel of John, we see that John wrote this book so that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing you may have life in His name”. But in 1 John, John instead writes if “what we have seen and heard” so that his readers “may have fellowship with us”, and with the Father and the Son.

IS About Fellowship

What the Epistle of 1 John DOES do for us, just as for the original recipients of this letter, is tell us both the reasons for maintaining fellowship with other believers, the Father, and the Son, as well as giving us practical instructions on how to maintain that fellowship. Additionally, and equally as important, John’s letter gives us instruction on how NOT to lose fellowship. Most important for John is the love we have and the love we practice as we strive to abide in fellowship.