First John was universally accepted without dispute as authoritative by the early church. Internal evidence supports this tradition because “we” (apostles), “you” readers, and “they” (false teachers phraseology places the writer in the sphere of apostolic eyewitness (1:1-3; 4:14). John’s name was well-known to the readers, and it was unnecessary for him to mention it.
The style and vocabulary of 1 John are so similar to those of the Fourth Gospel that most scholars acknowledge these books to be by the same writer. First John was probably written in Ephesus after the Gospel of John, but the date cannot be fixed with certainty.
Times: AD 89-95
Key Verses: 1 Jn 1:3-4; 2:25; 2:29
Theme: Shortly after the church began, people like the Gnostic community tried to recast the gospel in their own terms. Gnosticism made a distinction between the material or carnal, which was evil to them, and the spiritual, which was pure. John writes as one who knew Jesus personally, physically, and spiritually. He wants the reader to take the Christ he knew at face value. John wants his readers to believe the truth of his experience of Jesus and not the philosophical speculation of the Gnostics. In these letters, we see the same themes as John’s Gospel, light and darkness, truth and falsehood, life and death, love and hate. John weaves these themes together with a straightforward skill and fatherly care.
Introduction, The Incarnate Word
1:1 [I AM writing about] what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life [the One who existed even before the beginning of the world, Christ]
1:2 and the Life [an aspect of His being] was manifested, and we have seen [it as eyewitnesses] and testify and declare to you [the life], the eternal Life who was [already existing] with the Father and was [actually] made visible to us [His followers]
1:3 What we have seen and heard we also proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship [as partners] with us. And indeed, our fellowship [which is a distinguishing mark of born-again believers] is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
1:4 We are writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be made complete [by having you share in the joy of salvation].
1:1-4 These verses emphasize the personal experience of the apostles with the Incarnate Word. The memory of Jesus burned in the mind of John as he reflected on the three and a half years that he and the other disciples were with the Lord. Now he wanted to be sure that the churches under his care enjoyed fellowship with the resurrected Lord and other disciples.
1:2 The Life[ an aspect of His being] was manifested. The life was not hidden or obscured so that few, if any, could find it. Rather, this life was made known openly and had its origin in God the Father. God had provided truth about Himself in nature and through the prophets of old, but the revelation in His Son (Heb 1:1-2) is God’s finest and clearest presentation of Himself.
1:3 Have fellowship. The idea of this word carriers both the thought of a positive relationship that people share and participation in a common interest or goal.
God is Light
1:5 This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].
1:5 God is Light. This is God’s nature, in His essential being, just as He is Spirit (Jn 4:24) and love (4:8). Light refers to God’s moral character.
No darkness at all. God is holy, untouched by any evil or sin. Because God is light, those who desire fellowship with Him must be pure.
1:6 If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth;
1:6 fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness. To walk in the darkness means to live contrary to the moral character of God, to live a sinful life. To claim fellowship with God without living a moral life or practicing the truth is to live a lie, since God cannot compromise His holiness to accommodate sin.
1:7 But if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin[by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations.
1:8 I we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1:9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose.
1:8-9 If we …confess To confess is to agree with God, to admit that we are sinners in need of His mercy. If a believer confesses his or her specific sins to God, He will cleanse all unrighteousness from that person. Forgiveness and cleansing are guaranteed because God is faithful to His promises. Those promises are legitimized because God is just. God can maintain His perfect character and yet forgive us because of the perfect and righteous sacrifice of Jesus, his own Son.
1:10 If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.
Christ is Our Advocate
2:1 My little children (believers, dear ones), Iam writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God’s law. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father’s will in every way—purpose, thought and action.
2:1 My little children…that you will not sin. John’s statements about sin (1:8-10) were designed to make believers aware of sin’s ever-present danger and to put them on guard against it. According to Greek grammar, the if before anyone sins carriers the added sense of “and it is assumed that we all do.” This statement is not an encouragement to sin but a warning to all Christians to be on guard against sinful tendencies.
2:2 And He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins [the atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us because of our sinful nature—our worldliness, our lifestyle: and not for ours alone, but also for [the sins of all believers throughout] the whole world.
2:2 Propitiation. This act brings about the merciful removal of guilt through divine forgiveness. In the Greek Old Testament, the Greek term for propitiation was used for the sacrificial mercy seat on which the high priest placed the blood of the Israelites’ sacrifices (Ex 25:17-22). This practice indicates that God’s righteous wrath had to be appeased somehow. God sent His Son and satisfied His own wrath with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Our sins made it necessary for Jesus to suffer the agonies of the crucifixion; but God demonstrated His love and justice by providing His own Son.
2:3 And this is how we know [daily, by experience] that we have come to know Him [to understand Him and be more deeply acquainted with Him]; If we habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings).
2:3 We have come to know Him. The New Testament speaks of knowing God in two senses. One who has trusted Christ knows Him (Jn 17:3), that is to say, has met Him. One who has previously met the Lord can also come to know Him intimately (Php 3:10). In this verse John is talking about knowing the Lord intimately.
2:6 Whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.
2:6 Lives in Christ. Living in Christ means pursuing habitual obedience. It has the idea of settling down in Christ or resting in Him. It is evidenced by a life modeled after Christ. Ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself. This admonition to live by the teaching of Jesus reveals that this conformity comes from us. The Christian, as a child of God, ought to obey God because of a sincere desire to do so. It should be because of a sincere desire to do so. It should be a joy to follow in the footsteps of the One who died for us.
2:8 I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true and realized in Christ, and in you, because the darkness [of moral blindness] is clearing away and the true Light [the revelation of God in Christ] is already shining.
2:8 New commandment. This refers to love (v.10). It may be that John is simply repeating the statement of Christ in John 13:34. The command to love reached its truest and fullest expression in the life of Christ. He demonstrated what true love is by coming into our world and giving His life for us.
2:11 But the one who habitually hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is in [spiritual] darkness and is walking in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
2:11 The one who habitually hates (works against) his brother. Hating ones brother opposes the teaching of Christ to love one another. The idea that one could hate a brother and yet claim fellowship with God shows the utter darkness that has blinded the Christian to the truth.
2:12 I am writing to you little children because your sins have been forgiven for His name sake and you have confessed His name believing in Him as Savior.
2:13 I am writing because you young men who have been victorious and have overcome the evil one and because you have come to know the Father.
2:14 I am writing you , fathers, because you have been victorious over the evil one [by accepting Jesus as Savior]
Do Not Love the World
2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
2:15 Do not love the world. These words may be rephrased as “stop loving the world..” John’s readers were acting in a way that was inconsistent with the relationship with Christ. “World” here is the morally evil system opposed to all that God is and holds dear. In this sense, the “world” is the satanic system opposing Christ’s kingdom on this earth. (v:16; 3:1; 4:4; 5:19; Jn 12:31; Eph 6:11-12; Jas 4:4)
2:16 For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world.
2:16 Lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. The world is characterized bt these three lusts, which have been interpreted as corresponding to the three different ways Eve was tempted in the garden (Gen 3:6), or the three different temptations Jesus experienced (Lk 4:1-12). However, John may not have been alluding to either of these. Instead, John was probably making a short list of the different ways believers could be lured away from a loving God. Lust of the flesh refers to desires of sinful sensual pleasure. The lust of the eyes refers to covetousness or materialism. The pride of life refers to being proud about one’s position in this world.
2:17 The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives for ever.
2:17 Passing away. John highlights the brevity of life. To be consumed with this life is to be unprepared for the next.
2:18 Children, it is the last hour [the end of this age] and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming [the one who will oppose Christ and attempt to replace Him], even now many antichrist (false teachers) have appeared , which confirms our belief that it is the last hour.
2:18 Antichrists. This word is the combination of two Greek words; anti, meaning “instead of” or “against”; and christos, meaning “anointed one.” Antichrists most likely means those who seek to take the place of Christ.
2:19 …[not being born again] they went out [teaching false doctrine], so that it would be clearly shown that none of them are of us.
2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One [you have been set apart, specially gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit], and all of you know [the truth because He teaches us, illuminates our minds, and guards us from error].
2:20 Anointing. This is a reference to either the Holy Spirit or to Scripture. This anointing is the protection that believers have against the false teachers. The true Anointed One, Jesus, also has representatives who are anointed. One of the main heresies the first century church faced was Gnosticism, whose followers claimed to have secret knowledge of the truth that led to salvation. Here John was opposing this teaching by asserting that all believers knew the truth.
2:21 I am writing to you because you know the truth.
2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ and the one who consistently refuses to acknowledge the father and the Son?
2:23 Whoever denies and repudiates the Son does not have the Father. But the one who confesses the Son has the father also.
2:22-23 That Jesus is the Christ. Denying that Jesus came in the flesh is to deny His status as the Anointed One. A person cannot worship God while denying Jesus’ full deity and full humanity.
The Promise is Eternal Life
2:25 This is the promise which he Himself promised us—eternal life.
2:28 Now, little children remain in Him [with unwavering faith] , so that when He appears [at His return], we may have [perfect] confidence and not be ashamed and shrink away from Him at his coming.
2:28 Ashamed and shrink away from Him at His coming. The shame is the result of not having had a lifestyle of obedience when Christ returns.
2:29 …everyone who practices righteousness [doing what is right and conforming to God’s will has been born of Him.
Children of God Love One Another
3:1 See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us,…
3:1 What an incredible quality of love. John stands in amazement of God’s love. But the greater amazement and appreciation is for the fact that God’s love is expressed to human beings and that Christians are included in His family.
3:2 It is not clear what we will be later [after His coming]. We know that when He comes and is revealed, we will [as His children] be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is[in all His glory].
3:2 We have a new family. One of the primary benefits of becoming a Christian is that we also become part of Christ’s family. The Bible refers to this as born again. (Jn 3:3). When an individual places his faith in Christ as Savior, he is born again into a new, spiritual, familial relationship with God (Gal 3:26). He gains God as father (Eph 4:6) and other Christians as brothers and sisters (Heb 3:1). God also adopts us when we become His children (Eph 1:5). This image implies a dramatic transformation of status from slave to son (Gal. 4:1-5). One is no longer in bondage to the master but becomes a free son possessing all the rights and privileges of sonship. One of these benefits is the right to call God Abba, an affectionate term meaning “Father” (Romans 8:15) A marvelous relationship is possible when one becomes a part of the family of God. There are responsibilities. The Christian must exhibit the family character and grow into spiritual maturity.
3:3 Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (holy, undefiled, guitless).
3:3 Everyone who has this hope. Knowing that Christ is morally pure helps a person pursue purity even more.
3:4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness.
3:4 Sin.. This verse is referring to a consistent lifestyle of sin. Lawlessness is an active rebellion against the law.
3:5 He appeared in visible form in order to take away sins. And in Him there is no sin. He does not have a sinful nature and has not committed any sin.
3:6 No one who abides in Him habitually sins.
3:5-6 No one who abides in Him …practices sin. Habitual sinful conduct indicates an absence of fellowship with Christ. If we habitually sin our status can legitimately be questioned.
3:8 The one who practices sin separates himself from God and is of the devil.
The devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
3:8 Destroy the works of the devil. A person who sins is of the devil in the sense that he is participating in the devil’s activity (2:19). John is indicating that it is possible for believers to do that which is of the devil.
3:10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness[seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother.
3:10 Children of the devil. Believers who sin are not expressing their nature as children of God; instead, they are following the devil’s pattern.
3:15 Everyone who hates his brother (works against) his brother [in Christ] is {at heart] a murderer and will not have eternal life.
3:18 Let us not love in word, but in action.
3:20 God knows all things and nothing is hidden from Him.
3:24 The one who habitually keeps His commandments remains in Him.
3:24 We have a witness. Some of the benefits of being a believer are best described as being spiritual or even mystical. God carries on a permanent relationship with us because He is always there for us. We sense His presence primarily through the work of the Holy Spirit. As we abide in Christ, He nourishes us spiritually the same way that a vine gives nourishment to its branches.
Testing the Spirits
4:1 …Test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out in the world.
4:1 False prophets. These persons obey evil spirits. A true prophet is one who receives direct revelation from God. A false prophet claims to have received direct revelation from God but in fact promotes erroneous ideas.
4:2 By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ has [actually] come in the flesh [as a man] is from God [God is its source]:
4:2 Jesus has actually come in the flesh. This was also aimed at the Docetists who taught that Christ did not have a physical body. This may also have been aimed at the followers of Cerinthus who claimed that Jesus and “the Christ” were two separate beings, one physical and the other spiritual. John is careful to use the name and title of Jesus Christ together to clearly express the complete union of the two titles in one person.
4:4 Little children, you are of God and belong to Him and have already overcome them [agents of the antichrist] because He who is in you is greater than he [Satan] who is in the world [of sinful mankind].
God is Love
4:7 Love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God.
4:8 The one who has not loves has not been acquainted with God.
4:8 It is impossible to know God without loving others
4:9 The love of God was displayed in us, in that He sent His only begotten unique Son into the world that we might live through Him.
4:10 In this love , He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [the atoning sacrifice and satisfying offering] for our sins [ fulfilling Gods requirement for justice against sin.
4:13 We know [with confident assurance] that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given to us His Holy Spirit.
4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him , and he in God.
4:17 In this [union and fellowship with Him]n love is completed and perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment] with assurance and boldness to face Him; because as He is, so are we in this world.
4:18 there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment. So the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love.
4:19 We love, because He first loved us.
$:20 If someone does not love his brother who he has seen, he cannot love God whom he has not seen.
Overcoming the World
5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) is born of God [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], and everyone who loves the father also loves the child born of Him.
5:2 We love the children of God when we love God and obey His commandments.
5:3 For the true love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts.
5:4 Everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world. The victory that has conquered and overcome the world is our [continuing , persistent] faith in Jesus the Son of God.
5:6 …It is the Holy Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is truth. [He is the essence and origin of truth itself].
5:7-8 There are three witnesses: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three are in agreement [ their testimony is perfectly consistent].
5:10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony within himself [because he can speak authoritatively about christ fro his own personal experience].
5:11 The testimony is this: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son [resulting in our spiritual completeness , and eternal companionship with Him].
5:12 He who has the Son [by accepting Him as Lord and Savior] has the life [that is eternal]; he who does not have the Son [by personal faith] does not have the life.
This Written That You May Know
5:13 These things have been written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you will know that you [already] have eternal life.
5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him that if we ask anything according to His will, [consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us.
5:15 And if we know that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.
5:16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he will pray and ask [on the believer’s behalf] and God will for him give life to those whose sin is not leading to death. [But] there is a sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for this [kind of sin].
5:16 There is a sin that leads to death. This phrase refers to blaspheming the Holy Spirit, rejecting Christ as Savior, rejecting the humanity or deity of Jesus, a specific sin such as murder (3:12.15), or a life of habitual sin. Whatever it is, the sin seems to be a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the Christian community. John is encouraging us to help fellow believers who are straying.
5:17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death [one can repent of it and be forgiven].
5:18 Anyone born of God does not habitually sin. Jesus who was born of God keeps and protects him.
5:19 We are of God, and the whole world [around us] lies in the power of the evil one opposing God and His precepts].
5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come [to this world] and has given us understanding and insight so that we may [progressively and personally] know Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
5:21 Little children, guard yourself from idols—false teachings, moral compromises, and anything that would take God’s place in your heart.
CONCLUSION
John wants his readers to experience the Son of God that he knew who represented the essence of God and mirrored the Father’s character in every way. He also stressed that it was Jesus’ sacrifice that enabled to have eternal life. And we have an obligation to be righteous and show the world we are God’s by showing our love for one another. He also discourages following the Gnostic way of thinking.
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