Introductory Remarks on The First Epistle of John - Bible Study Notes

Bible Study Notes – 

Introductory Remarks on The First Epistle of John

We begin a study in 1 John which primarily teaches disciples how to live, individually and collectively, in the “beloved community” which the “Church” personifies.  The author, the Apostle John, “the Beloved Disciple” who also wrote the Gospel of John as well as the other two epistles and the book of Revelation, instructs believers on the practicality of living in fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ (the Logos and the Life) within a community of fellow believers.  John simply defines God as love.  This epistle or sermon in the thinking of some biblical scholars defines agape (supreme, ultimate and divine love which includes selfless sacrifice, covenantal commitment, fierce loyalty, unwavering fidelity and redemptive results) in relational terms.  In many ways, John’s First Epistle is a canonical or intramural biblical commentary on “The Great Commandment.” 

Counteracting the prevalent false teachings of his time relating to the incarnation of Jesus, John’s teachings supply orthodox principles and personal methods for rightly relating to a holy and perfect God who is “the Light of life.”  Establishing and progressing within a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ whom Almighty God sends as the quintessential representation of Himself is the surest means of fellowshipping with God.  Knowing Jesus Christ who perfectly personifies God’s love is the most effective way of learning God’s love.  However, a disciple’s knowledge of divine love is not theoretical.  Rather, it is relational and experiential.  To claim legitimately to know the love of God in Christ Jesus, disciples must share their developing knowledge, understanding and wisdom of divine love in the context of mutually respectful and beneficial relationships with each others.

Biblical tradition holds the Apostle John as the last living disciple of the original twelve who walked with the Lord.  He was the youngest at the time of Jesus’ public ministry which lasted three and a half years, approximately 26 AD/CE to 30 AD/CE.  After the final Jewish revolt against Rome in 66 to 70 AD/CE, John left Palestine and settled in Asia Minor, more specifically in the magnificent city of Ephesus located in modern day Turkey.  

There, he formed out of a hodgepodge of house churches “the beloved community,” a collectivity of local Christians who wanted to hear the original stories about Jesus from someone who directly knew Him. 

In addition to answering these personal requests to hear primary source stories about Jesus, John addresses an increasing theological problem adversely affecting the Church at the time.  The heresies relating to the empirical revelation and incarnation of Christ (Docetism) and the types, levels, certainty and means acquiring of divine wisdom (Gnosticism) threatened the doctrines, governance, unity and fellowship of the Church.  Conservative Bible scholars date John’s First Epistle around 97 AD/CE.  Parenthetically, they date the Gospel of John circa 90 AD/CE.  At that time, the Church witnessed its third or fourth generation of Christians.  Not surprisingly, as younger believers ascended to leadership with the Church, additions, editions, glosses and errors influenced Christ’s teachings and Church doctrines.  The venerable sage, the Apostle John, offers this epistle as a correction to the prevalent theological trends that potentially contaminated the teachings of Jesus Christ.

As with the Gospel of John, the letters of John emphasize love (agape) as the essence of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ.  Whereas the Apostle Peter emphasizes Law (rules, rites, rituals and religiosity) as a means of fully comprehending God’s gift of Christ and the Apostle Paul accentuates Liberty (grace, mercy, and Spirit), the “Apostle of Love,” John incorporates his fellow apostles’ emphases in his theological, personal, relational and communal definition of divine love as Christ reveals it.