An Apostolic Letter written by John, one of the twelve disciples. He is credited for writing the Gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, 3rd John and the book of Revelation. John is the only apostle that lived a long life and died a natural death, all of the other apostles were martyrs of the faith. John was also one of the three disciples that were in Jesus's inner circle of friends along with Peter and James. So you could say that John knew what he was talking about. He had first-hand experience.
To understand this letter one must understand some of the things that were going on in the "church" at this time that John was addressing in this letter. There are four important factors which prevailed in the "church" and throughout the Roman world.
1. People were comfortable with Christianity. Many believers were children and grandchildren of the 1st generation Christians. The excitement of the first days had faded. In the first days the believers had a love and a passion for Christ but this was not now the case. Jesus had warned of this in Matt. 24:12 "because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold...but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Many years later when John wrote in a letter to the church in Ephesus he wrote in Revelation 2:4 "I hold this against you...you have forsaken your first love..remember the height from which you have fallen and repent" You could say that these people had forsaken their first love. They needed to repent (turn from their sin) and follow God. We will discover in this letter that Loving God means Obeying God.
2. The high standards of the early Christians in the church made the Christians different from those around them and the next generation of believers did not want to be different. Believers were called "saints" (set apart for the sole use of God) in the early church. The Christians of this time were "copycat" Christians programed by the computer of compromise. They were cast from a different mold than the followers to whom Jesus said in John 15:19 "If you belong to the world it would love you as its own, as it is, you do not belong to the world but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you". In John 17:14 "I have given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of this world anymore than I am of this world". There was a breakdown of morals and a desregard for the word of God.
3. Persecution was not the enemy of Christianity as it was in the early years. The danger to the church was not persecution from the outside but seduction from the inside. Again no surprise. Jesus had warned of this in Matt. 24:24 "for false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible...see I have told you ahead of time". Paul warns of this in Acts 20:29-30 "I know that after I leave savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them...so be on guard."
Christianity was not in danger of being destroyed but of being changed,. The attempt was being made to "improve it" Give it intellect and respectability and let it speak in the terms of popular ideas.
4. The "salvage wolves" Paul was referring to, had come to the church through a group of people who taught Gnosticism (a mixture of Judaism, Christianity and Greek mystery religions) They claimed to have special knowledge in addition to the knowledge of the apostles and early disciples of Christ. Some of what they taught was: All matter and material was evil, only the spirit is good, therefore they despised the body. All of them denied Jesus as the Christ. They denied that Jesus was born of a virgin. God would not come through a body because the body was evil. (John 1:14 says the WORD (Jesus) became flesh and made His dwelling among us. ) They taught that Jesus did not have a body, he just looked like he did. When he walked he left no footprints. They taught that Jesus was completely human until his baptism then he was divine but it left him at the cross. (1st John 4:2-3 tells us how to recognize false prophets by saying "every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God".) They also taught that Salvation is the escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ but by "super knowledge" which of course they had.
As I read over these problems in the church at that time, I realized not much has changed. These problems are still in the church today. Many "Christians" are comfortable with Christianity and take their faith for granted. They are not willing to "stretch" theirselves and get out of their comfort zone and generally speaking cannot be differentiated from other "good" people. They are "copycat" Christians who go to church and imitate everyone else. False teaching runs rampant in many "Christian" churches today. Many teach that there are many ways to God. That the way you live isn't important and the Bible is not the truth among other things. Having said that.... they are many good, bible believing churches in America. God always has a "faithful" remnant of true believers. Your job is to find one and grow in your relationship to God through Christ. I do not know where I would be today if it wasn't for my church family.
In addtion to addressing the errors of this false religion, John gives 5 reasons why he wrote the book of 1st John. So that we can have fellowship with God and the church (1John 1:3). So that we can experience joy (1John 1:4). So that we do not (practice) sin (1John 2:1). So that we can "know" that we have eternal life (1John 5:13). So that we believe in the name of the Son of God, Jesus (1John 5:13)
What does it mean to have "fellowship" with God? Do you "know" that you have eternal life? Who is this Jesus anyway? (Continue with me through this study and you will find out)
These letters are often referred to as "family" epistles. The church is a body of believers in a postion where we are blessed with all spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Jesus Christ. (Eph. 1:3). We are given that position when we hear the message of Jesus Christ and believe. Believing brings us into the family of God, which results in repenting of our sins, and being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38) We have a relationship with God and with each other which can be broken (2 Cor. 2:7-8, 1 Cor. 5:11, Matt. 18:15-18, 2 Thess. 3:14) but restored when we confess our sins. (1 John 1:9) "When we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
I like to say we Admit it and Quit it! Confession is agreeing with God that what we did was wrong, and choosing to do right. God knows our heart and our intentions and he forgives our sins. We may be able to fool each other but we cannot fool God.
In 1st John there are three definitions of God:
a. God is Light - 1 John 1:5
b. God is Love - 1 John 4:8
c. God is Life - 1 John 5:12
The word Love appears at least 33x's and the word Sin appears at least 27 x's. Both words very important in the Christian Life. Because of God's great love for us..while we were still sinners God loved the world so much that he sent His only begotton Son, Jesus, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. (Romans 5:8, John 3:16) The book of 1st John begins and ends with the theme of eternal life.
In this study we will be reminded of the basics of Christianity. We will be reminded of what God intended the Christian life to look like. In 2 Corinthians 13:5 we are told to "examine" ourselves to see if we are in the faith. We will have many opportunities to do this as we study together. I believe in the "security" of the believer but I also believe in the "insecurity" of the make-believer. Which one are you?
I encourage anyone that has any questions or comments to feel free to connect with me on this blog or privately at robinmartin3@hotmail.com I look forward to learning together.
Joyfully Serving Jesus
Robin Martin
*alot of what I will be sharing, I have learned from a documentary written by J. Vernon McGee. It is my understanding that he is in the presence of our Savior but his teaching goes on. To God be the Glory!!
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