1 JOHN
First John is a wonderful book, it has the feel of a letter from a favourite uncle. However, it is also one of the most difficult books in the Bible to interpret because it is both abstract and absolute at the same time. Moreover, some of these unqualified statements seem on the surface contradictory.
Author
Nowhere in the book does the author identify himself. He does tell us he was an eyewitness of the earthly life of Christ (1 John. 1:1-2) and he calls himself an apostle (In 1 John. 1:1-3, 4:14). The style and vocabulary are so like John’s Gospel that most acknowledge that these books are by the same author, the apostle John. Early church history and tradition supports this conclusion.
Recipients
Nothing in the book indicates a date of composition. Most experts suggest a late date, around 90-95AD. The assumption is that the Gospel of John was written later than the other gospel accounts and 1 John was written after that. The tone suggests that of an elderly gentleman addressing a younger generation. He repeatedly calls them his “little children.”
John wrote to believers. There was no doubt in his mind that they were Christians for he calls them “brethren” in 2:7; 3:13 and “beloved” in 3:2, 4:1, 7, 11). They had been believers a long time. It is even possible that he is addressing the leaders. Even so, the book was meant to be read by everyone.
Almost from the time of their establishment, the churches in and around Ephesus had been troubled by false teaching. These problems increased over the decades that followed, and early records indicate that the person most concerned with correcting them was John, possibly the last surviving member of the original twelve apostles. However, John was concerned with more than just opposing false teaching. A central purpose of his Gospel was to lead people to faith in Christ, so that they might experience the fulness of eternal life that Christ made possible. A central purpose of all his three letters was to reassure troubled believers of their possession of this eternal life, so that they might enjoy it fully in fellowship with God and with one another.
Message
The message of 1 John is fellowship (1 John. 1:3). The message is believers should not allow incorrect doctrine to creep in. By doing this they should then be able to maintain fellowship with God and love for their Christian brothers and sisters.
Structure
First John is commonly called a letter, yet it does not have the elements of an ancient letter, like a salutation, thanksgiving, prayer, etc. It some ways it is more like an essay.
I. 1:1-2 Prologue
II. 1:1-2:17 Living in the light
III. 2:18-29 Enemies of Christ
IV. 3:1-5:5 The life of love
V. 5:6-17 Assurance of eternal life
VI. 5:18-21 Epilogue
Purposes
The first purpose of 1 John is pastoral it is to promote fellowship. First John was written to promote fellowship (1 John. 1:3), to prevent sin (1 John. 2:1), to proclaim forgiveness (1 John. 2:12), to protect the saints (1 John. 2:26), and to provide assurance (1 John. 5:13).
The second purpose of 1 John is to protect the church against the deception of the false teachers. If the Christian community are deceived by false doctrine, they will not continue in fellowship. False teachers were spreading ideas that were part of a developing destructive heresy. This led to damaging false teaching in relation to the person and work of Jesus Christ and the salvation and behaviour of Christians. (For further discussion on Gnostic-type teachings of the region see introduction to Colossians.)
Because the false teachers believed that a good God could not come in contact with an evil world, they refused to accept that divinity and humanity were joined together in Jesus Christ. As a result, they denied that the Son of God became a man and died on the cross. John saw this as an attack on the very basis of Christianity and he openly denounced the false teachers. He insisted that if they refused to accept either Christ's true humanity or full deity, they were not followers of Christ but in enemies of the gospel.
These teachings also created problems in relation to everyday behaviour. The Gnostics asserted that those who accepted their teachings entered a spiritual realm that placed them above ordinary people. The evil of the material world could no longer affect the purity of the soul, and therefore people were free to express themselves without the need for self-control. The result was immoral behaviour. John said this behaviour was further evidence that such people were not even Christians, despite the fact they mixed in Christian company (1 John 2:4; 1 John 3:6; 1 John 3:8). True Christians were self-disciplined, obedient to God's commands, and considerate of other people (1 John 2:6; 1 John 3:3; 1 John 3:17; 1 John 5:3).
Summary:
John wrote to believers dealing with false teachers to urge them to continue living in what they heard from the beginning so they would maintain their fellowship with God and love for each other. Believers should maintain their fellowship with the Lord and manifest their faith by correct doctrine, righteous living and wholehearted love for their brothers and sister in Christ.