When Jesus to earth, He came not only to live a life, but to give life:
"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." - Jhn 10:10
The Gospel of John was designed to produce faith so that we might have life (Jhn 20:30-31). However, it is The First Epistle of John which describes the nature of that life in greater detail (e.g., 1Jo 3:14). That we might be sure to live the sort of life God offers through His Son Jesus Christ, a careful study of The First Epistle Of John is in order.
It is assumed in this study that the author is John, the beloved disciple of Jesus (Jhn 13:23; 19:26-27; 20:2; 21:7,20). Similarities in style, vocabulary, and themes in both this epistle and the Gospel of John certainly offer internal evidence for this conclusion.
There is also external evidence that John is the author. Polycarp, a close associate of John, appears to make reference to this epistle in a letter to the Philippians at the beginning of the second century. Irenaeus, a student of Polycarp, quoted from the epistle and attributed it to John.
No one is specifically mentioned by name. John may have been in Ephesus at the time, and some think this was a general epistle to Christians throughout Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Comments in 1Jo 2:20,27 could imply that John was addressing a specific group of Christians that possessed certain spiritual (miraculous) gifts.
Estimates range from 60 A.D. to 100 A.D. Most modern scholarship places it around 95 A.D., but there are also good reasons for believing it was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (Re-dating The New Testament, John A. T. Robinson).
In his epistle John frequently states why he was writing:
While these reasons may state the positive purpose for John's letter, it appears he was also responding to errors prevalent at the time ("these things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you" - 1Jo 2:26). If not fully developed in Johnâs day, there was at least a precursor to Gnosticism.
Those who later came to be called Gnostics claimed to have a superior knowledge (the Greek word for knowledge is gnosis). A fundamental presupposition was that all matter was evil. Therefore they believed that God did not create or have anything to do with the material universe (rather, it was created by a demi-god). Also, that Christ could not have come in the flesh (cf. 1Jo 4:1-3).
One branch of Gnosticism, Docetism (dokein, "to seem"), taught that Jesus only seemed to be physical (contrast that with Johnâs statement in 1Jo 1:1). Cerinthus, a contemporary of John, taught that "Jesus" was physical, but that the "Christ" came upon Him at his baptism, and then left before His death, so that the "Christ-spirit" never suffered (cf. 1Jo 5:6).
The Gnosticsâ application to everyday living took two different directions. Since all matter was considered evil, some taught one should abstain altogether from anything that would satisfy the flesh. Others claimed it did not matter what one did in the flesh (it was evil anyway), and to have "full knowledge" it was proper to explore everything.
Johnâs purpose therefore appears to be two-fold:
As the theme of this epistle, may I suggest:
Eternal life is in Jesus Christ, who has come in the flesh
Here is an outline of the book, from the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary...
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
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