1 John - Introduction
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ScribdTranslations1 John - Introduction
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ScribdTranslationsIntroduction to First John
Authors: 1, 2, and 3 John have been attributed since the early times of the
church of the apostle John, who also wrote the Gospel of John. The
content, style, and vocabulary seem to support the conclusion that these
three epistles were addressed to the same readers as the Gospel of
Juan.
Date of its Writing: The Book of 1 John was probably written
between 85-95 AD.
Purpose of the Writing: The book of 1 John appears to be a synopsis
in which the knowledge of the Gospel is assumed by its
readers, according to what is written by John, and where they are provided security for their
faith in Christ. The first epistle indicates that the readers were
confronted with the error of Gnosticism, which became a
more serious problem in the second century. As a philosophy of religion,
He argued that matter is evil and spirit is good. The solution to the
tension between these two, was the knowledge, or gnosis, through which, the
man ascended from the mundane to the spiritual. In the message of
Gospel, this led to two false theories concerning the person of
Christ. Docetism - which described the human Jesus as a ghost -
and the Cerinthianism - which asserted that Jesus possessed a dual
personality, sometimes human and sometimes divine. The primary purpose of
1 John is to establish the limits on the content of faith and to give to the
believers the assurance of their salvation.
Key Verses:
1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all wickedness.
1 John 3:6, "Everyone who abides in him does not sin; everyone who...
Sinner, he has not seen him, nor has he known him.
1 John 4:4, "Little children, you are from God, and you have overcome them; because
greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
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1 John 5:13, "I have written these things to you who believe in the
name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life, and for
that you believe in the name of the Son of God.
Brief Summary: The false teachers were a major problem in the
primitive church. Because there was not yet a New Testament
complete to which the believers could consult, many churches fell
traps of these deceivers, who taught their own ideas and were
they elevated themselves as leaders. Juan wrote this letter to establish
the truth about some important points, particularly the
concerning the identity of Jesus Christ.
This letter from Juan helped his readers to reflect honesty in their faith,
because it deals with the fundamentals of faith in Christ. This helped them to
answer the question, Are we true believers? John told them that
they could say it, observing their actions. If they loved each other
others, that was evidence of God's presence in their lives. But if they
they argued and fought all the time, or they were selfish and did not look out for each other
the others were then demonstrating that, in fact, they did not know
God.
That didn't mean they had to be perfect. In fact, Juan also
acknowledgment that believing involves admitting our sins and seeking the
God's forgiveness. Relying on God to cleanse us of guilt, just as
admitting our faults against others and correcting them was another aspect
important to come to know God.
Connections: One of the most cited passages regarding sin, is
find in 1 John 2:16. In this passage, John describes the three aspects
from the sin that recalls the first and most globally destructive
temptations throughout the Scripture. The first sin - the disobedience of
Eva was the result of her surrender to the same three temptations.
as we find in Genesis 3:6: the desires of the flesh ('good for
eating"; the desires of the eyes ("pleasant to the eyes"); and the pride of
life ("coveted to attain wisdom").
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Practical Application: The book of 1 John is a book of love and joy.
Explain the fellowship we have with one another and with Jesus Christ.
It makes the difference between happiness, which is temporary and fleeting, and the
true joy, regarding which 1 John tells us how to attain it. If
we take the words written by Juan and apply them to our lives
daily, true love, commitment, companionship and joy that
we long for it, it will be ours.
The apostle John knew Christ well. He tells us that we can all
to also have that close relationship with Jesus Christ. We have the testimony
of men who had direct and personal contact with Him. The
the writers of the Gospels present their testimony solidly
structured around a historical reality. Now, how is that applied to
our lives? We are told that Jesus came here as the Son of God,
to create a union with us based on Your grace, mercy,
love and acceptance. There are so many times that people think that Jesus
He's far away, in some distant place and He really doesn't care about
our daily struggles, problems, and worries. But Juan is helping us
saying that Jesus is right here with us, both in the matters
simple and mundane aspects of our lives, as in the complex ones
sufferings of the soul. Juan bears witness as a witness based on his
personal experiences, that God became flesh and dwelt among us
men. That means that Christ came to live with us and He still lives
with us. Just as he walked the world alongside Juan, so too...
walk through each day with us. We need to apply this
truth in our lives and live as if Jesus were standing right next to
our side every second of the day. If we put this truth into practice,
Christ will add holiness to our lives, making us more and more
similar to Him.
