Intro to 1 John

8 February 2015 pm – 1John 1:1 – 1Jn 2015 – Scott Childs

Introduction: Before any good contractor builds a house, he levels the ground and prepares the foundation. Every good house has a solid foundation. Jesus said that a house build on a rock will stand the storms of life, but one built on the sand will fall.

In 2 Timothy 2:15 we read, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” In order to rightly divide or rightly understand a book of the Bible, we must study it carefully. This begins with learning about the background of the book.

Transition: This evening, my goal is to lay a foundation for our study through the book of 1 John. This introduction will be more information than application, but it will help us rightly divide this book.

1.        The Author

The human author did not identify himself in the book. However, the style and contents of the book are very similar to that in the Gospel of John. The two books share many common terms. Several of the very early church writers said that John wrote the book. It seems very evident that John the apostle wrote the book

2.        The Date, Place, and Recipients

a.         The Date

We have no solid evidence as to when John wrote the book. Because he used similar terms in both this epistle and the Gospel of John, it is likely that he wrote it after the Gospel.

I think Thomas Constable is correct when he states, “In view of the nature and the conclusion of the Book of Revelation, which seems to be God’s final word to humankind, I think John probably composed his Epistles before that book. So a date for 1 John in the early 90s, A.D. 90-95, seems most probable to me.” Constable’s Notes

b.         The Place

Tradition states that John ministered in Ephesus. He certainly knew the Asian churches mentioned in his book “The Revelation”. It is likely that he wrote 1John from Ephesus.

c.          The Recipients

Though they are not identified, they were quite obviously Christians. They were people who had truly come to know the Lord as their Saviour.

1)         Nine times he calls them his “little children”.

2)         Eleven times he refers to their “brother”, a term used of a fellow Christian.

3)         Five times he calls them “beloved.”

4)         Twice he calls them his “brethren”.

3.        The Style

Throughout the book, John makes many comparison statements or “if – then” statements. The first example of this is in 1Jn 1:6-10. (Read) By using “if – then” statements, John is urging the readers to examine their own hearts regarding their fellowship with God.

4.        The Key Words

1)         Fellowship

2)         Truth or True

3)         Dark or Darkness

4)         Light

5)         Love

6)         Abide (continue, remain, dwell)

7)         Know

5.        The Purpose

a.         The first purpose was to give joy

V   (1 John 1:4) “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

b.         Another purpose was to warn of error

1)         In John’s day, false teachers called Gnostics taught “that Christ was only in appearance and seemingly, but not in reality, a man; that though he seemed to converse, to eat, to suffer, and to die, yet this was merely an “appearance” assumed by the Son of God for important purposes in regard to man. He had, according to this view, ‘no real humanity;’” Barnes

2)         Gnostics taught that the unknowable God was far too pure and perfect to have anything to do with the material universe which was considered evil. CARM

3)         Gnostics claimed that they had superior spiritual knowledge. They believed that salvation was achieved only through their special knowledge.

4)         Gnostics believe anything done in the body, even the grossest sin, has no meaning because real life exists in the spirit realm only. Gotquestions.org

5)         To counter this, John emphasised the humanity of Christ, knowing Christ, abiding in Christ, and not loving the world. He warns against these false teachings.

6.        The Theme

a.         Many teach that 1John is about evidence of salvation

1)         Several verses in the book lead them to this conclusion. For example:

V   (1 John 1:6) “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”

V   (1 John 2:4) “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

V   (1 John 2:9) “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.”

V   (1 John 3:14) “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”

2)         If these verses are about evidence of salvation, then “abiding” in Christ must equal salvation.

a)         Abiding cannot equal salvation. In John 15, Jesus urged his disciples to abide in him.

b)         In 1Jn 2:28, abiding does not equal salvation because the reader is commanded to abide in Christ.

3)         If the theme is evidence of salvation then we have a problem with the word “sin”. We are forced to say that it refers to continuous sin. Then we must define how much can we sin before it is continuous.

V   (1 John 3:8-9) “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

V   (1 John 1:8) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

V   (1 John 2:1) “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

b.         I believe the theme of 1John is fellowship with God

1)         Walking in the light is staying in close fellowship with Christ. Abiding in darkness is living out of fellowship with the light.

2)         Abiding in Christ is staying in close fellowship with Him. When abiding in Christ we cannot sin.

3)         Keeping his commandments, knowing Christ, loving our Christian brothers, and having the Son are things that give assurance of salvation and enable a person to have fellowship with God.

V   (1 John 1:3) “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

Conclusion: God wants you to know him personally (1Jn 5:13). He wants you to have fellowship with him daily (1Jn 1:7). Sin, disobedience, worldliness, and hate will keep you from that fellowship. If you do not know for positive that you know the Lord as your Saviour from hell or if you are not walking in fellowship with Him, deal with your need before you leave this evening.

Song: Jesus Loves Even Me – 492