Overview of 1 John
This letter has the unique status along with Hebrews where its author is not explicitly identified. However it is widely, though by no means universally accepted, that this letter was written by John who also authored the fourth gospel. He wrote his first epistle to establish his ‘children’ in the faith and help them know the assurance of eternal life,[1] and that his and their joy would be complete.[2] A.E. Brooke says the chief purpose of the letter was for the ‘edification of his ‘children’ in the true faith and life of Christians’.[3]
Gordon Fee states that the letter is a ‘treatise that offers assurance to some specific believers, encouraging their loyalty to Christian faith and practice – in response to some false prophets who have left the community’.[4] The letter indicates both a pastoral and polemical purpose due to the existence of false teachers in the churches in Asia Minor. The letter is polemical as John seeks to expose such false teachers whom he also labels ‘False prophets’,[5] as they seek to deceive and lead the believers astray. The false teaching which they propagated, struck at the core of the gospel message itself and undermined its truth, which resulted in deception and the church being unsettled. Many members were in an insecure state, hence John’s letter being also pastoral in an effort to reassure and comfort them, as well as help them discern the difference between the true and false believer.
The error of the false teachers was both theological and ethical. On the theological plane, their teaching was a direct attack on the doctrine of the incarnation – a denial that Jesus was the Christ, that He was the Son of God and that He had come in the flesh.
Their ethical error firstly manifested in disobedience to Christ’s commands and such disobedience brought about licentiousness and an absence of brotherly love.[6]
Various false teachings existed in Asia at the time of John’s writing and many acknowledge that the heresy which was being directed to the congregation was a form of Gnosticism, and perhaps more specifically, the teachings of a Gnostic called Cerinthian. John Stott states that ‘John’s arguments make sense if they are understood as directed against Cerinthus and his disciples’.[7]
Gnostics ‘tended to define sin in various ways, hence some Gnostics believed that they were incapable of committing real sins, although their bodies could engage in behaviour non-Gnostic Christians considered sinful’.[8] They regarded the soul/spirit to be imprisoned by the flesh and were therefore concerned with ‘deliverance from the flesh by the acquisition of knowledge’.[9]
The Son of God in human flesh posed difficulties for Gnostic teaching as it couldn’t reconcile how Christ could have become incarnate by taking on human flesh which was subject to suffering and pain. Cerinthus taught that Jesus had a natural birth, but after His baptism, Christ descended upon Him. He further taught that Christ later departed from Jesus and that while Jesus suffered and died, Christ incurred no pain or injury. In other words there was a ‘severance of the man Jesus from the Divine Christ or Spirit’.[10] Gnosticism essentially saw enlightenment as the means of salvation. In light of the Gnostics influence, John wrote that Jesus Christ was God who came in human flesh and he testified to having actually seen, heard and touched Him. He also in his opening remarks pointed out that one cannot have fellowship with God apart from having fellowship with Jesus and he sought to assure his readers that the Christian message was true and that they had eternal life. John struck at the core of their heresy by contrasting it with true Christianity which is characterized by the belief that Jesus is God come in the flesh, and demonstrated in obedience to God’s commands by exhibiting brotherly love.
To expose the heresies of the false teachers and restore confidence and assurance to the believers, John poses three tests. One is doctrinal, one ethical and the third is social. John demonstrates that the false teachers have failed all three, whereas the church has passed them.
The false teachers by virtue of failing theses tests are called ‘children of the devil’, they are said to be not from God and have a spirit of error. Continuing in this vein, John further adds that they don’t have the love of the Father in them, nor are able to love God whom they have not seen.
The believers in passing these three tests have their assurance strengthened and are described as ‘having come to know Him’, and that God’s love is perfected in them, causing them to know that they are ‘in Him’.
The moral test which John sets is recorded in 1 John 1:5-2:27.
John asserts that ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all’. He adds that if one claims fellowship with God, but at the same time walks in darkness then such a one is a liar and does not practice the truth. The false teachers were claiming to have fellowship with God but were living a lifestyle which was characterized by ‘darkness’.
In 1 John 2:7-11, John presents his ‘social’ test to expose the lack of love exhibited by the false teachers. He says that’ if anyone says he is in the light and hates his brother, he is still in darkness’ (v.9). In both the moral and social tests, it’s significant to note John’s use of the word ‘light’. This was clearly to challenge the Gnostic claim of being enlightened and possessing the knowledge of God.
In setting his doctrinal test, John says that whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. Furthermore, he says whoever does not believe in the Father and the Son is an ’antichrist’.
This epistle reminds the church that heresies and false teachings still exist, and that one of the pressing needs of the hour is to cultivate a knowledge of Scripture to aid in cultivating discernment.
[1] 1 John 5:13.
[2] 1 John 1:4.
[3] Brooke, Alan England. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1912, pp17-18.
[4] Fee, Gordon, D., & Stuart, Douglas. How to read the Bible Book by Book. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002, p411.
[5] 1 John 4:1.
[6] 1 John 2:4.
[7] Stott, John R.W. The Letters of John. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1988, p50.
[8] Keener, Craig. The IVP Bible Background Commentary. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1993, p736.
[9] Carson, D.A., & Moo, Douglas J. An Introduction to the New Testament. Leicester: Apollos, 2005, p679.
[10] Stott, John R.W. The Letters of John. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1988, p49.
[10]
Gordon Fee states that the letter is a ‘treatise that offers assurance to some specific believers, encouraging their loyalty to Christian faith and practice – in response to some false prophets who have left the community’.[4] The letter indicates both a pastoral and polemical purpose due to the existence of false teachers in the churches in Asia Minor. The letter is polemical as John seeks to expose such false teachers whom he also labels ‘False prophets’,[5] as they seek to deceive and lead the believers astray. The false teaching which they propagated, struck at the core of the gospel message itself and undermined its truth, which resulted in deception and the church being unsettled. Many members were in an insecure state, hence John’s letter being also pastoral in an effort to reassure and comfort them, as well as help them discern the difference between the true and false believer.
The error of the false teachers was both theological and ethical. On the theological plane, their teaching was a direct attack on the doctrine of the incarnation – a denial that Jesus was the Christ, that He was the Son of God and that He had come in the flesh.
Their ethical error firstly manifested in disobedience to Christ’s commands and such disobedience brought about licentiousness and an absence of brotherly love.[6]
Various false teachings existed in Asia at the time of John’s writing and many acknowledge that the heresy which was being directed to the congregation was a form of Gnosticism, and perhaps more specifically, the teachings of a Gnostic called Cerinthian. John Stott states that ‘John’s arguments make sense if they are understood as directed against Cerinthus and his disciples’.[7]
Gnostics ‘tended to define sin in various ways, hence some Gnostics believed that they were incapable of committing real sins, although their bodies could engage in behaviour non-Gnostic Christians considered sinful’.[8] They regarded the soul/spirit to be imprisoned by the flesh and were therefore concerned with ‘deliverance from the flesh by the acquisition of knowledge’.[9]
The Son of God in human flesh posed difficulties for Gnostic teaching as it couldn’t reconcile how Christ could have become incarnate by taking on human flesh which was subject to suffering and pain. Cerinthus taught that Jesus had a natural birth, but after His baptism, Christ descended upon Him. He further taught that Christ later departed from Jesus and that while Jesus suffered and died, Christ incurred no pain or injury. In other words there was a ‘severance of the man Jesus from the Divine Christ or Spirit’.[10] Gnosticism essentially saw enlightenment as the means of salvation. In light of the Gnostics influence, John wrote that Jesus Christ was God who came in human flesh and he testified to having actually seen, heard and touched Him. He also in his opening remarks pointed out that one cannot have fellowship with God apart from having fellowship with Jesus and he sought to assure his readers that the Christian message was true and that they had eternal life. John struck at the core of their heresy by contrasting it with true Christianity which is characterized by the belief that Jesus is God come in the flesh, and demonstrated in obedience to God’s commands by exhibiting brotherly love.
To expose the heresies of the false teachers and restore confidence and assurance to the believers, John poses three tests. One is doctrinal, one ethical and the third is social. John demonstrates that the false teachers have failed all three, whereas the church has passed them.
The false teachers by virtue of failing theses tests are called ‘children of the devil’, they are said to be not from God and have a spirit of error. Continuing in this vein, John further adds that they don’t have the love of the Father in them, nor are able to love God whom they have not seen.
The believers in passing these three tests have their assurance strengthened and are described as ‘having come to know Him’, and that God’s love is perfected in them, causing them to know that they are ‘in Him’.
The moral test which John sets is recorded in 1 John 1:5-2:27.
John asserts that ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all’. He adds that if one claims fellowship with God, but at the same time walks in darkness then such a one is a liar and does not practice the truth. The false teachers were claiming to have fellowship with God but were living a lifestyle which was characterized by ‘darkness’.
In 1 John 2:7-11, John presents his ‘social’ test to expose the lack of love exhibited by the false teachers. He says that’ if anyone says he is in the light and hates his brother, he is still in darkness’ (v.9). In both the moral and social tests, it’s significant to note John’s use of the word ‘light’. This was clearly to challenge the Gnostic claim of being enlightened and possessing the knowledge of God.
In setting his doctrinal test, John says that whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. Furthermore, he says whoever does not believe in the Father and the Son is an ’antichrist’.
This epistle reminds the church that heresies and false teachings still exist, and that one of the pressing needs of the hour is to cultivate a knowledge of Scripture to aid in cultivating discernment.
[1] 1 John 5:13.
[2] 1 John 1:4.
[3] Brooke, Alan England. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1912, pp17-18.
[4] Fee, Gordon, D., & Stuart, Douglas. How to read the Bible Book by Book. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002, p411.
[5] 1 John 4:1.
[6] 1 John 2:4.
[7] Stott, John R.W. The Letters of John. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1988, p50.
[8] Keener, Craig. The IVP Bible Background Commentary. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1993, p736.
[9] Carson, D.A., & Moo, Douglas J. An Introduction to the New Testament. Leicester: Apollos, 2005, p679.
[10] Stott, John R.W. The Letters of John. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1988, p49.
[10]
