1 John

First John

First John was written by the apostle John, who was a disciple of Jesus. The book of First John is any epistle, which means “letter”. The letter was written to those who believed in Jesus and were saved so they may be sure of their salvation and trust in Jesus. This is mainly what this book is: a test to see whether or not one’s life is in accordance with God’s word to be sure of salvation.

The apostle John was a disciple of Jesus during his ministry. He wrote the gospel John, the three epistles bearing his name, as well as the book of Revelation. He was the son of Zebedee and brother to James (Holy Bible, Matthew 10:2). According to Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40, his mother was Salome, who may have been the sister of Mary according to John 19:25 (The Man John). John was a Galilean fisherman, as well as his father and brother, which is shown in Matthew 4:21, “And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them”(Holy Bible, Matthew 4:21). In the book of Mark, when Jesus appointed the twelve apostles, both James and John received the name “Boanerges”, which means “Sons of Thunder” (Holy Bible, Mark 3:17). This brings to my attention that they both probably had a intense personality. One can also think that John could be described as “passionate”, as he was one of Jesus’ close friends. It also seems that John’s family was well off in the area of finances. This can be seen by three reasons. These three reasons were that the household had hired servants, the fact that Salome, his mother, had gotten spices to anoint Jesus’ body, and that he personally knew the High Priest, which was considered upper class (The Man John).

John’s family had hired servants, “And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him”(Holy Bible, Mark 1:20). To have hired servants, John and his family must have had money. His mother, Salome, also purchased spices to anoint Jesus, “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him”(Holy Bible, Mark 16:1). The fact that Salome, his mother, was able to buy the sweet spices for the anointing of Jesus after his death also shows that this family must have been well off financially. Finally, there is the issue that John was personally acquainted with the High Priest, “Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest” (Holy Bible, John 18:15).

John was a close friend of Jesus. All throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, John was one in the intimate circle with Jesus. One can see this in many instances. One would be that he was one of the ones sent to prepare the Last Supper, “So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it’”(Holy Bible, Luke 22:8). John was sent to prepare this very important meal, the Passover, where they would gather and institute the Lord’s Supper. We also find that John was the one who is told to care for Jesus’ mother, while he’s on the cross! “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home”(Holy Bible, John 19:27). I can imagine Jesus being very selective as to who would take care of his mother. He must have been in a very close relationship with John if he told him to take care of his mom.

The book of First John was written to Christians; however, the community of Christians is not known (Background and Setting). Although the specific audience John wrote to in this letter is not known, when we look at the background of the writing of these letters, it is conceived that they were written in Ephesus (Background and Setting). Those who provide evidence for this is Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon, and Eusebius. John is also said to have been buried in Ephesus, according to Polycrates and archaeological evidence found in Turkey (Background and Setting).

The main purpose of this book was for Christians to see how their life lined up with God’s word, and to give assurance of salvation. However, throughout each chapter, there is a specific purpose. In John Chapter1, the specific purpose is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ(Guzik, David Study guide 1 John 1). This was, “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-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-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. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (Holy Bible, 1 John 1-4). Throughout this chapter, we see many aspects which in turn turn to Jesus. These parts include evidence of Jesus, and because of that, we have the knowledge to have communion with God as well as have abundant joy. There is then a description of God, instructions on how to walk the Christian life and the benefits from it, our way to forgiveness and the horrible consequence for denying our sin (Henry, Matthew Study guide 1John 1). In John Chapter 2, the specific purpose is that we don’t sin, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (Holy Bible, 1 John 2:1). We are sinners, and it is inevitable that we will sin, however, sin is something we should be concerned about as Christians. We can have victory over sin because of Jesus Christ, however, we let our flesh trample over this victory (Guzik, David Study Guide for 1 John 2). In 1 John Chapter 3, the specific purpose is to understand the glory of God’s love for us, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God; and so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him” (Holy Bible, 1 John 3:1). In this chapter, we see as John tries to show us about the magnitude of this statement. It says to “behold”, or “study intently”, that love. This love is given to us so that WE can be HIS children (Guzrik, David Study Guide of 1 John 3). In 1 John Chapter 4, the specific purpose was to be aware of false prophets and to test the spirits, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world”(Holy Bible, 1 John 4:1). We are warned here that we must be able to discern and test the spirits we encounter to see if they are of God because there are those going around spreading wrong doctrine, for example, Gnosticism.

In Gnosticism, there are many things which are taught that are false. One of these key beliefs is that the body (the matter making up the body) was evil and was what separated us from God, not our sin (Biblica). Jesus’ identity was also denied in this belief. There were two ways Jesus’ identity was believed: Christ only appeared to have a body, or that Christ (the divine from Heaven) came into Jesus at his baptism and left the body before he died (Biblica). Both of these views were slamming the presupposition that Jesus was fully human, as well as fully divine. Finally, this belief system believed that salvation was not by faith, but by having a kind of “secret knowledge”, which in turn, took everything that Christ had done on the cross and said it was worth nothing (Biblica).

In 1 John chapter 5, the specific purpose is that we may know and be assured of eternal life, “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” (Holy Bible, 1 John 5:13). This is actually the broad purpose of this book. We can know that we have eternal life by seeing if our lives are being lived out according to the Word of God. When John wrote this book, it was to test those who proclaimed they were believers, and to give assurance to those who were the actual followers of Christ.

The Book of First John was a book that really made me think about where I stand with God. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the world and lose focus of what’s important. While reading First John, I felt like I was chastised by God. When I read the first chapter, a specific verse stood out to me, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth”(Holy Bible, 1 John 1:6). I have wondered how many times my life has gotten off track and I have started slipping in the darkness. When I am in the darkness, I cannot have fellowship with God because he cannot have darkness; He is pure light. When my mother passed away almost two years ago, I started doing a lot of running from God. I started becoming part of the world and I felt lost. I felt as though no one cared and that God was not as faithful as I thought He was. It’s funny when we struggle, we question God. I started walking in darkness, and during that time, my spiritual life was non-existent. I have since then repented for that sin, but now as I reflect, how many times do I walk in darkness each day? Do I continually walk in God’s light so that others can see Him?

Another few verses that really caught my attention were, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16-18). These verses make me wonder, Do I really love? Would I be willing to lay my life down, as did Christ? It is easy to talk the talk and say we would, but in all actuality, I wonder deep in my heart if I really would give up everything instead of being selfish. Something has changed in me, and I can feel it. I found a friend of mine from a few years ago, and she is going to be leaving the states soon. She is so in love with Christ, and wants to live “a life poured out”. She has been selling all of her possessions, and will be leaving to become a medical missionary in Guatemala. When I saw this, the same questions came to my mind, “Would I do this? Would I give up everything to show others who Christ is? Would I lay down my life for them?” When I found that I had no answer, I had to look deep within myself. I feel like this is not a coincidence, but a reality check from God Himself.

Studying the Book of First John has been one of the most rewarding Bible studies of my life, and I have become changed because of it. I found that I do not measure up to God’s standard. Because of this study, I will now take my life and change it to look like HIS. As I live my life, I want to live with no fear or worry, but abundant joy! I want to live my life “poured out” to God. And I have realized through this study, that that is the only way God can really use me.

Works Cited

1 John. 3 December 2011 .

Background and Setting of 1 John. 3 December 2011 .

Guzik, David. "Study Guide for 1 John 1." Enduring Word. Blue Letter Bible. 7 Jul 2006.2011. 3 Dec 2011.

Guzik, David. "Study Guide for 1 John 2." Enduring Word. Blue Letter Bible. 7 Jul 2006.2011. 3 Dec 2011.

Guzik, David. "Study Guide for 1 John 3." Enduring Word. Blue Letter Bible. 7 Jul 2006.2011. 3 Dec 2011.

Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on 1 John 1." . Blue Letter Bible. 1 Mar 1996.2011. 3 Dec 2011.

Holy Bible. ESV

The Man John. 3 December 2011 .