The Epistle of 1 John – Part One

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

This is the first part of a series on the epistle of 1 John written by John the apostle. In this series we will cover the basic concerns John had for writing this letter to Christians. Included are the fourteen reasons he wrote these epistles of 1, 2 and 3 John as well as the eleven assurances we have that establish our salvation as a Christian.

 

Verse one states, “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.”

 

In the first few verses of 1 John we see an intimate association between what “was from the beginning,” “the Word of life” and our understanding of who Jesus Christ was and is. That which was from the beginning which was heard, seen, looked at, touched and proclaimed was Jesus Christ the Son of God.

 

Jesus embodies the message of the gospel and the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father. Jesus was heard speaking this gospel of salvation as He verified who He was, God in the flesh. John gives detailed information about the manner in which Jesus was known because he knew he had to defend the gospel from Gnostic false teachers. Gnostics believed the physical body was evil and sinful and was separate from the spiritual being of a person. They rejected the idea that a divine being would inhabit an evil physical body and therefore rejected Christ’s deity in several ways. Some Gnostics believed Christ’s physical body was an illusion and not real, that only His spirit was real. Other Gnostics believed that Jesus had a physical body but that the divine spirit descended upon Him at His baptism, but left Him before the crucifixion. John is giving us in the opening verses numerous methods by which Jesus, the Word of Life, was evaluated to be a Divine Spirit living in a human body.

 

John tells us that Jesus’ words were heard as He taught about the gospel and God’s Kingdom. We also know that Jesus had casual conversations with His disciples as well as other individuals with whom He came in contact. John further tells us that Jesus was seen by him and others. He elaborates on this visual confirmation by using words that describe a close visual examination of Jesus. The Greek word for “looked at” is “theaomai” and is defined as “to look at closely” or “to look at for a prolonged period of time.” Jesus was not only casually seen, He was intimately viewed in great detail and on numerous occasions.

 

John also states that Jesus, the embodiment of the Gospel, was touched with human hands. The Gnostic belief that Jesus’ human body was an illusion is debunked by this statement. Jesus had a physical body that could be touched and verified to be real. I am sure that the disciples and others hugged Jesus, shook His hand and experienced His healing touch. This verifies that Jesus really did have a true physical body. John’s proclamation is trustworthy and true in every respect about the Word of Life, Jesus Christ our Savior.

 

In verse two John writes, “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.” Here John continues with verification of his observations of Jesus and His message of salvation. The Word of Life, Jesus, appeared in Bethlehem as a baby in a manger and upon reaching adulthood and beginning His ministry was seen by numerous individuals. John repeats his testimony of this and verifies his proclamation that the “eternal life,” Jesus Christ, was with our Heavenly Father in Heaven. This is another statement that verifies Jesus’ eternal nature and divinity. Jesus Christ has existed before time began. He participated in the creation of the world and universe as part of our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16). These statements by John attack the false beliefs of the Gnostics. John provides testimony that Jesus was divine and came to earth as a human baby to grow and mature physically so that He could provide salvation through His death on the cross.

 

Stressing repetition of his observations, John once again in verse three states, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,” and then he gives us the first of the fourteen reasons for writing this epistle and the first of eleven reasons we can be assured we are a Christian, “so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

 

John tells us he is proclaiming his knowledge and observations of Jesus and the gospel of salvation because he wants to promote fellowship between Christians in the faith and encourage their fellowship with their Heavenly Father. One benefit of being a child of God is the fellowship we have with other members of the family of God. Another benefit of being a Christian is having fellowship with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit our triune God. This fellowship with other Christians and with God is the first assurance John mentions that we are truly saved. If you have fellowship with God, sense His presence in your life and see Him work in your daily life, you can have assurance that you are a Christian and saved from your sins.

 

Several other scripture passages talk about our fellowship with God as Christians. 1 Corinthians 1:9 tells us we are called to fellowship with God as Christians, “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 also talks about our fellowship with our triune God. “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

 

In verse four we find the second reason that John wrote this epistle, “We write this to make our joy complete.” John wants to experience godly joy and he wants his readers to experience this joy as well, so he writes about his knowledge of God’s truth as evidenced in the life of Jesus Christ, the Word of life. We can have this same joy as we live our lives according to God’s Word and as we are led by the Holy Spirit. This joy is deep and totally different from the happiness of the world we may experience. Joy is lasting and is both poured out upon us by God (Romans 15:13) as well as the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:5-6). This joy also flows out from our heart and soul as we live in obedience to God (Romans 14:17-18). The assurance of our salvation, our knowledge of Christ as Savior and our fellowship with God and other Christians, produces a joy that is beyond expression at times. This joy can manifest itself in good and bad times as other Christians minister to us and as God stands by us during times of trials and blessings. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” We also know that one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22-23).

 

John next writes in verse five a deep truth concerning God. He states, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” This is a strong statement of basic Christian doctrine that will be used to illustrate how the Gnostic false teachers are walking in darkness. John tells us that God is light. Light being illuminating and revealing, exposes everything coming in contact with it. God being light exposes error and sin. God being light is pure, holy and perfect. God being light cannot allow any darkness in His presence. Darkness and light cannot coexist in any manner or degree. They are totally incompatible.

 

Now that John has established some of the reasons he is writing these epistles and the foundation upon which the gospel rests, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, he moves on to discuss some of the false claims of the Gnostic false teachers. There are three basic false statements that John covers and they could be called lying statements revolving around “darkness,” “deception” and “defamation.”

 

First John discusses the false statement concerning “darkness.” In verse six he writes, “If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” The false teachers were claiming to be in fellowship with God, yet they lived horribly sinful lives. Because they felt the spirit of a person was good and that it could be unaffected by the actions of their physical body, they pursued all sorts of passionate sinful living. They were walking in darkness while at the same stating that they had close intimate fellowship with God. This idea is close to the lie of “antinomianism” which is the belief that because we live under God’s grace and forgiveness we can live any way we like. What a lie this is as Romans 6:1-4 tells us. John’s gospel in chapter 3:19-21 speaks to this fact where it says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” Here John makes a comparison between light and darkness. The Light is Jesus Christ and the gospel, but the love of darkness will cause men to lie to others and even themselves. They will seek to justify their behavior while at the same time claiming to be in fellowship with God. We should be very cautious how we associate with those who walk in darkness. That was one of the reasons John wrote this letter to Christians, to warn them that these Gnostics who were claiming to be Christians were not believers. They were walking in darkness and should be avoided because of their false beliefs.

 

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 addresses this fact when it says “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” We will have casual relationships with non-believers but should be very careful how we involve ourselves with them in business dealings or intimate relationships. It is not that we are better than non-believers. It is that we have realized how sinful we are and have chosen to serve our risen Savior. We must not jeopardize our commitment to God by allowing those who do not know God, who walk in darkness, to influence our dedication to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We must show love and compassion to non-believers and strive to share the message of the gospel with them so they too can walk in the light.

 

Let us experience the fellowship of other Christians and our Heavenly Father. Let us experience the joy of the Lord as God’s servants. Let us be cautious of those who walk in darkness and make sure we are walking in the light on a continual basis. “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Philippians 1:27