The First Epistle of John

Towards the end of the New Testament appear three letters apparently written by the apostle John, author of the fourth gospel.  The first is not long (105 verses); the other two are much shorter.

The first letter is a general pastoral letter, concerned about the growth of people in a church.  (The other two letters are addressed to individuals.  II John is addressed to an unknown "lady chosen by God", possibly a single individual, possibly a more general address to the Church personified.  III John is addressed to Gaius, "my dear friend."  Both of these letters address the issue of hospitality to visiting ministers.)

The theme of the first letter of John is that True Christianity has three parts:

1. Belief that Jesus came in the flesh;
2. Obedience to God;
3. Love for others.

The certainty of one's relationship with God is theological, moral and social.

I John includes Hebrew parallelisms. In this book there are sharp contrasts: antichrists/Christ, light/darkness, purity/sin. At each turn, the reader is presented with only two options; everything is black or white. The World is an important topic in this book, as is true Christian fellowship.

Like the book of Hebrews, the teaching is cyclical (or spiral), returning to the same concepts again and again.  Like the book of Hebrews, there is no named author or reader; like the book of Hebrews the concern is of believers, those already committed to following Jesus.

(The book contains 105 verses, could be memorized in 15 weeks at a verse a day.)

I have, as a reference, a nice commentary by John Stott, The Letters of John, from InterVarsity Press, 1988. (At this time, used copies are available from Amazon for 99 cents.)

Other online resources for I John

There is a nice summary of I John at OverviewBible.com.  Summaries of the second and third letters are here and here. The Bible Project now has a nice video summary here.)

Wikipedia, of course, covers I John, II John and III John, and also has an overview of the three Johannine epistles.

The Comma

There is a fairly notorious medieval corruption of Scripture in I John 5: 7-8, where presumably a scribe elaborated on the concept of the Trinity in the margins of an ancient text and the elaboration crept into medieval translations. An account of this insertion is given here on the evangelical Christian website of Bible.org. Appearing in the King James translation of the Bible, this added sentence has been removed and footnoted in more modern translations. This medieval corruption of Scripture was noted by Erasmus, who refused to put it into his New Testament translation of Greek. As a mathematician, I will point out that Sir Isaac Newton (!!) wrote a paper, An Historical Account of Two Corruptions of Scripture, on this very problem.

I John 1, God is Light

The author of the fourth gospel also wrote several letters to churches. Here is the beginning of his longer letter, I John. This first chapter is quite short but packed....

1 John 1:1-4, The Word of Life
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

NIV footnotes: Some manuscripts say "make your joy complete" instead of "make our joy complete".

This letter, written as a general pastoral letter, might be a follow-up to the gospel of John. The goal is to reinforce belief by emphasizing the eternal fellowship that should flow out of belief.

There is a progression from "seen with our eyes" to "we looked at".  The latter phrase implies an investigation.

When was "the beginning"? At Creation? Or the Incarnation?  Contrast/compare this passage with the first four verses of the gospel of John.

The Father and Son are mentioned but not (yet) the Holy Spirit. Why?

The words "testify" and "appeared" emphasize a clear historical event; Jesus appeared at one moment in history; John was fortunate enough to be able to "testify" to that occurrence. Christianity is foremost a response to a historical event.

Comments (A little Greek): There is a process described here in the Greek words angelia (1:5, message), koinoinia (1:3, twice, fellowship) and chara (1:4, joy). The message leads to fellowship and then joy.

1 John 1:5-7, God is light, not dark -- we must live this way
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

What are qualities of light?
What does it mean, "God is light"?
What are the results of "walking in the light"?
Are you purified from all sin? What does this mean?

I once met one who claimed that as a Christian he was completely sinless.  He cited some Bible verses and I countered with others and then he lost his temper and slammed his door in my face.

There are only two options portrayed here: light, purity, fellowship, truth vs. darkness, sin, separation, lies.  This stark contrast is characteristic of John.

1 John 1:8-10, Recognition of sin
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

Some questions: So -- wait a minute -- which are we? Are we light? Or are we in sin?

Why this digression in verses 8-10? Is this a statement about salvation? Or a statement after salvation (about sanctification)?

What two attributes of God are mentioned in verse 9? Why is God just to forgive sin?

According to verse 9, what are the two results of confessing sin? What is the meaning of "word" in verse 10. Compare with verse 1.

Comments: John Stott (in The Letters of John) puts verse 10 with the first two verses of chapter 2.

For further contemplation: What exactly is "sin"?  Although the word and related concepts appear throughout the Bible, common attempts to explain "sin" degenerate into a legalistic list of things one should do or not do. Such superficial approaches to the concept of sin are convenient, but detrimental.
So ... what is "sin" -- and how does it pervade the human race?

Conflict with the World, Part 1, Theory

In John 17:14-16, Jesus prays that his disciples not be "of the world" since he is not. Jesus then goes on to say that the World will hate the disciples of Jesus. In John's first epistle (I John 2:15-17), he tells the followers of Jesus to "not love the world."

As we move from the Gospel of John into the epistles (letters) of John, we might look at this concept of "the world". The Bible has a fair amount to say about the "World" (Greek "kosmos") and the path of the citizen of heaven.  According to the Bible, the cosmos is under the control of Satan (I John 4:4 and I John 5:19.) The world is the object of God's every action. Other passages on examples of "loving the World" include Genesis 3:6, Joshua 7:21, 2 Sam 11:2. New Testament verses on "the World" are John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11.  (I'll return to these at some later time.)

In my country (USA) in my times (late 20th, early 21st century) the Christian conflict with "the World" has often been misunderstood. This conflict is often interpreted to mean that believers must wage some type of "war" on the culture around them.

The New Testament view of "the World" is quite different. The follower of Jesus recognized that there was a higher kingdom, a higher citizenship (see Hebrews 11: 13-16) and that the political establishment (primarily the Roman empire) and the social establishment (civic Judaism) was in principle opposed to the things of God. Even the local social fabric in Israel seemed to promote a fake religiosity that allowed one to act spiritual (to act like a sincere Jew) while being insincere.

This has not significantly changed in two millenia. The Christian still should not expect to be rewarded socially or politically by his/her commitment to follow the Messiah. One of Jesus's teachings (Matthew 10:34-39) is particularly depressing in that regard, unless we are indeed looking for the City God has prepared for us.

The relationship between the Christ-follower and their community is a complicated one. It should be so.  There should always be a certain tension between a Christ-follower and the community within which he/she lives, just like there is a certain tension in traveling overseas, in a culture and community that is not one's home.

Some of our community culture comes from within "the church", from religious organizations. Just as  Jesus experienced the sharpest conflict with the Jewish religious leaders, so too the Christ-follower will discover that religion (Christian religion) is in conflict with genuine spiritual growth and action. In any society in which Christianity has begun to hold significant social or political power, the culture has invaded the church. In my experience, we may need to be most alert to the influences of "the World" on Sunday. And it will not be in ways we first expect.

I have been in a number of churches that used Romans 14: 13-21 -- a passage that emphasizes compassion for spiritually weaker brothers or sisters -- to prohibit the drinking of alcoholic beverages. This is not because of some deep understanding of Scripture, but instead a long running cultural response to Prohibition in twentieth century America. A thoughtful reading of that passage in Romans should lead one to act differently in a number of ways -- and alcohol is the least of the problems of the church!

At some point, one has to decide with Habbakuk (Habbakuk 4: 17-18): "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

In the New Testament one might observe the "Agrippa Principle" -- Christians often speak from chains -- (Acts 26: 28-29)... Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"  Paul replied, "Short time or long--I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."

I will try to flesh this out further in a second, later post.  At one time I was very much immersed in the political fight against "the World". At one time I was president of the local chapter of Citizens for Decency, leading a campaign to rid the community of pornography (among other concerns.) I lost track of the true focus of the Christian life and stooped for political influence.  I regret that.

The Farewell Teachings of Jesus

The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, all record a last supper of Jesus with his disciples, followed by prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and then, finally, the arrest of Jesus in the garden. (See Matthew 26: 17-56, Mark 14: 12-42, and Luke 22: 7-45.)  The apostle of John elaborates on these events by providing additional details about the upper room conversations including more private instructions which occur after the traitor, Judas, has been dismissed.

Merrill Tenney calls this "The Period of Conference" in his commentary on the Gospel of John. These last teaching of Jesus roughly follow the five chapters of John 13-17. They include:

1. The Last Supper, including washing the disciples' feet and the dismissal of Judas,
2. The announcement of upcoming events followed by questions from Peter, Thomas, Philip and Judas (not Iscariot). 
3. These responses elaborate the teachings on the Holy Spirit (John 14.)
4. Teachings on the Vine, primarily John15
5. Teachings on the eventual conflict with the world, primarily John 16,
6. Lengthy prayer for the disciples, John 17.

Some of these teachings occur in the Upper Room in Jerusalem; some presumably occur while walking to the Mount of Olives.

Here is an online exposition of this passage, as a series of linked sermons (I think)from Bible.org.

There are a number of good Wikipedia articles on the Last Supper and the Farewell Discourse, along with an article on the Cenacle, a supposed location of the upper room in Jerusalem.

The Samaritans

A reader of the New Testament learns that there is a collection of people called "the Samaritans." They are mentioned by Jewish leaders in derogatory ways (in the Gospel of John, for example) while Jesus uses them in his story about the "Good Samaritan."  The Samaritans represent a New Testament ethnic and racial division and it is interesting to see how Jesus interacts with the Samaritans.

To the devout Jew, the Samaritans were a mixed breed, involved in a false version of Judaism. To many the term "Samaritan" was derogatory. When Nicodemus challenges the Jewish leaders in John, they respond by calling him a Samaritan.

The Samaritans developed as a separate, distinct portion of Israel, probably around the time of the Assyrian invasion in 721 BCE. They may have originated from the northern tribes of Israel and were later accused of intermarriage with the local, pagan inhabitants.  A lengthy Wikipedia article on the Samaritans provides considerable details of their history.

In that racial environment, Jesus goes out of his way to include them in his ministry.  He deliberately begins a conversation with a single Samaritan woman in John 4, breaking a number of social taboos. He heals Samaritans in the gospels.  He uses a Samaritan as his central figure in a lecture on the meaning of the phrase "Love your neighbor" (see Luke 10: 30-37.)  Luke's gospel also records Jesus healing ten lepers; it is the Samaritan who returns to thank him (Luke 17: 11-19.) In John 8, Jesus is accused of being a Samaritan, a charge which he does not refute.  (He is also charged with being demon-possessed and does respond to that accusation.)

In Acts, Samaria is the next region, after Judea, to be evangelized. (Acts 1:8, Acts 8:1-25.)

John's Presentation of the Messiah

Theologian Merrill Tenney outlines the Gospel of John as follows:

1. 1: 1 - 1: 18, Prologue
2. 1: 19 - 4: 54, Period of Consideration
3. 5: 1 - 6: 71, Period of Controversy
4. 7: 1 - 11: 53, Period of Conflict
5. 11: 54 - 12: 36a, Period of Crisis
6. 12: 36b - 17: 26, Period of Conference
7. 18: 1 - 20: 31, Period of Consummation

(Obviously Tenney enjoys poetically making everything "P... of C...".  He also seems to like 7 divisions for this book.)

In the "Period of Consideration", Tenney sees Jesus presented at the beginning of his ministry to a number of different groups.  In chapter 1, John the Baptist claims witness to the Messiah and introduces the Messiah to his disciples.  In chapter 2 of John's gospel, Mary presents her son to family and disciples, after which Jesus makes a statement in Jerusalem about the future of Jewish worship by driving out the temple merchants.  A Jewish religious leader, Nicodemus, gets a private interview in chapter 3, followed again by witness from John the baptist.  After that, a non-Jew, a woman from the reviled Samaritans, also gets a private interview.

These presentations of the Messiah occur primarily in Judea and Jerusalem and apparently happened before the opening of Jesus's great Galilean ministry.  A. T. Robertson, in his classic harmony of the gospels, puts the opening of Jesus's Galilean ministry, recorded in Mark 1:4, Matthew 4:17 and Luke 4:15, after the visit with the woman of Sychar, which ends at John 4:45.

Beginning in John 4:46, Jesus is presented to the people of Galilee as he heals a nobleman's son in Cana, the site of the earlier wedding.  The nobleman is from the town of Capernaum, a place that Jesus will shortly set as his home.

Prelude to the New Testament

The Old Testament ends with a number of prophetic passages, probably written around 400 BCE. More than four centuries later, Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee and we have the writings of the New Testament. It might be good to review the history that leads up to the New Testament.

The Old Testament records God calling Abraham out of the area of modern Iraq to Canaan, the site of modern Israel, around 2000 BCE.  The children of Abraham's grandson, Jacob, eventually settle in Egypt, where they become a large tribe which eventually leaves Egypt about 1500 BCE under the leadership of Moses.  This tribe, the people of Israel, settles the land of Canaan where, around 1000 BCE, they are a nation ruled by a king, David.  The nation of Israel reaches its greatest strength during the reign of David's son, Solomon, but splits into two kingdoms, the northern ten tribes ("Israel") and the southern two tribes ("Judah") at Solomon's death.

Much of the Old Testament history then chronicles the ups and downs of these two countries, as they are repeatedly urged to return to God and Mosaic law.  Eventually the two kingdoms are invaded by the Babylonian empire with Judah becoming a Babylonian vassal around 605 BCE.  Shortly after this, the inhabitants of Judah (such as the young man, Daniel) are deported to Babylon.  The Jews living in Babylon were allowed to return to their original land then around 538 BCE, an event covered by the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.  Shortly after that time, the Old Testament prophets go silent.  But we know from other sources that Alexander the Great conquered the region around 332 BCE, as he expanded his empire east and that the region was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty from 301 BCE to 198 BCE and then by a number of Jewish priest-kings after the Maccabean revolt in 167 BCE. In 63 BCE the Roman ruler Pompey conquered Jerusalem and after that time, the Romans ruled Judea, delegating their authority a series of Jewish kings given the name Herod, beginning with Herod the Great, the founder of the Herodian dynasty. It is within this dynasty that Jesus is born.  The nation of Israel was officially ruled by Herod the Great, but ultimately Herod answered to Caesar Augustus in Rome.

This Wikipedia page has more details on the history of Israel.

The New Testament opens with four accounts of the ministry of Jesus. The “synoptic gospels”, Mathew, Mark and Luke have much in common (thus the term "synoptic" or "similar") and presumably reflect the early accounts of Peter and others on the ministry of Jesus.  These three gospels often tell of the same episodes, with slightly different points of view.  Matthew, a Jew, emphasizes that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.  Mark, while reporting Jesus as the Messiah (in Greek Christos) also portrays Jesus as a man of action, engaged in reformation of Israel.  Mark's gospel is a sequence of short vivid accounts of Jesus's acts and words and is most likely the life of Jesus as reported by Peter during Peter's later ministry.  Luke, a Gentile convert, emphasizes the role of Jesus as a universal savior, savior not just of the Jews but of all mankind.

The Gospel of John is apparently the report of the young disciple John. John was probably a teenager during the ministry of Jesus and, written after the other gospels, this account fills in details missed by the earlier ones.  It also adds a philosophical view, from the vantage point of sixty years after the events.  John describes Jesus as not just the Jewish Messiah but the (Greek) Logos, the Creator of the universe appearing in the flesh, living among mankind.

We will continue in the Gospel of John tomorrow.