Introduction to 1 John

I. Purpose

The author mentions 5 specific reasons for the writing of this epistle. 1) That we might have fellowship with one another and fellowship with Christ (1:3). 2) That we might have joy in our Christian walk (1:4). 3) That we might not sin (2:1-2). 4) That we might overcome error in teaching (2:26). And finally, 5) that we might have assurance in our salvation (5:13).

The author’s motivation for writing 1 John is due to the rise of false teachers within the church (2:18-19; 26). They were called “antichrists” and they had risen up and were leading people away from sound Biblical doctrine. These false teachers were once participants in the local assembly, but were not actually a part of the church as seen in verse 19, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us…” These were unsaved men or women. Verse 26 adds that the antichrists were “trying to lead [the believers] astray”.

What was their false teaching about? We have some clues within the text to help us understand. They made many false claims such as:

• “claiming to have fellowship with Christ yet walking in the darkness” (1:6)
• “claiming to be without sin” (1:8)
• “claiming to have not sinned” (1:9)
• Claiming to “know” God but not doing what God says (2:4)
• Claiming to walk in the light while still hating their brothers (2:9)
• The denial that Jesus was actually the Christ (2:22; 5:1,5)
• The denial that Jesus came in the flesh (4:2; 5:6)
• A possible claim that they had a deeper understanding of scripture (2:20,27; also see 2 John 9)
• A dependence on false revelations from evil spirits (4:1)

It is also possible that the false prophets were characterized by a deeper love for the world and its desires than for doing the will of God (2:15-17). Further insight is found in the second and third book of John, which was addressed to the same group of people.

So is this a book for us to study today? It surely is. Today we have many antichrists who are leading people in the church away from the truths of scripture. This is important information to know because Biblical literalism is at an all time low. The current status of Biblical knowledge that exists among the churched is in a deplorable state. How do we know who will be lead astray from our faith? Will you be one of them? 1 John gives us some answers.

Just like the false teachers of their day, we have many today who claim that Christ did not exist, that he was not God, and that true righteousness can be found apart from knowing Jesus Christ. In many circles, Christ has been reduced to nothing more than a good teacher, or a moral leader on par with men such as Gandhi. But Christ is in fact God, and he must be worshiped as such.

All of us deal with sin as well. Wouldn’t it be encouraging to understand how to live in a righteous way and to experience the joy we have in Christ? First John will lay the foundational truths of salvation at everyone’s doorstep and reveal to each one who studies the book on how well they are fulfilling the commands of Christ.

II. Structure

One of the best ways to grasp the main idea of an author is to look for structure and key words. An outline serves us well also. But there is perhaps no other book in the scriptures which has been so difficult for people to outline as 1 John. Several scholars have started to abandon the idea of a well-structured outline and have begun to focus on “ideas” found within the text. I. Howard Marshall states that, “it seems preferable to regard the Epistle as being composed of a series of connected paragraphs whose relation to one another is governed by association of ideas rather than by a logical plan”. He further states that “this does not mean that John is illogical, but rather that his Epistle is not meant to be divided into large sections on a logical basis”.
So here is the proposed list of “ideas” that Marshall presents and of which I will be using for this series of sermons:

Prologue – the Word of Life. 1:1-4
Walking in the Light. 1:5-2:2
Keeping his commands. 2:3-11
The new status of believers and their relation to the world. 2:12-17
A warning against antichrists. 2:18-27
The hope of God’s children. 2:28-3:3
The sinlessness of God’s children. 3:4-10
Brotherly love as the mark of the Christian. 3:11-18
Assurance and obedience. 3:19-24
The spirits of truth and falsehood. 4:1-6
God’s love and our love. 4:7-12
Assurance and Christian love. 4:13-5:4
The true faith confirmed. 5:5-12
Christian certainties. 5:13-21

It also helpful to take notice of words repeated throughout the text. John is a writer who frequently makes use of key words, which makes his writings very simple to understand. If a person wants to really grasp the meaning of the book of 1 John, he must come to understand what these oft repeated words are saying:
Know (36 times)
Abide (23 times)
World (22 times and almost entirely in reference to evil)
Love (46 times)
Life (14 times)
Light (6 times)
Sin (28 times)
Son (22 times)
Believe (8 times)

In addition to the frequent repetition of words and ideas, John is noted for his use of sharp contrasts to make his points clear. Notice the comparisons between:
Light vs. darkness
Love vs. hate
Truth vs. lies
Death vs. life
Love of the world vs. love of God
Children of God vs. children of the devil

III. Author and Audience

The author of 1 John does not name himself, but rather is known among his audience (according to 2 and 3 John) as “the elder”. This title, though generic in nature, has strong support from early historians as being a special title given to the apostle John. He was the oldest and last surviving member of all the apostles, and by the time of this writing was well-revered and quite aged. Surely the people who received this letter were familiar with the man, which would explain why no introduction is made by the author.

Other clues support the Apostle John as the author. In 1 John 1:3, the author is proclaiming “what we have seen and heard”, a very clear reference to one who literally looked upon the face of the Christ himself. The words, illustrations, and imagery included in this epistle as 2 John and 3 John have strong similarities to the Gospel of John which has received virtually unanimous support for John the Apostle as the author.

No clues are given within 1 John to tell us to whom the book was addressed. The reason for this may be found in that this writing is not a letter (no greetings and conclusions as were considered standard in the time), but rather an address or a sermon to be delivered to a specific church. Since it is an established fact that the Apostle John lived in and ministered to the churches of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) it can be safely assumed that the churches of this region was his targeted audience.