Why John Wrote 1, 2, 3 John – Part One

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

There are many books in the New Testament that are what termed “epistles.” An epistle is a writing or letter that is directed or sent to a person or group of individuals. It is usually in the form of an elegant and formal didactic letter. Didactic is a term that refers to the method by which the letter was written and means that the intent or purpose of the letter was for teaching and/or instruction.

 

Contained in the New Testament are the epistles of 1, 2 and 3 John written by the apostle John. It is interesting to study why John wrote these epistles because this has much to do with their content and how they apply to us today as Christians.

 

John gives us the reasons he wrote these books of the Bible but scatters them throughout 1, 2 and 3 John. There are fourteen reasons that are given and we will cover each one in this series.

 

The major themes of 1, 2, and 3 John is first to assure Christians of their salvation and secondly to refute the false teachers that are attempting to lead Christians astray. John wishes to repeatedly remind Christians of why he is writing to them so that they can understand and remember that God wants them to be assured of their salvation and not let false teachers undermine their faith in God.

 

REASON ONE

 

So that fellowship can continue between Christians, as well as between Christians and their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

 

“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.”

1 John 1:3

 

John wants to encourage fellowship between all Christians and he does this by talking about how they should love one another while they grow in their faith. He also wants to foster their relationship with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and he does this by explaining the importance of obeying God’s Word and not listening to false teaching. When Christians have proper relationships with each other as well as God, righteous holy living takes place, God is glorified, the gospel spreads and God’s Kingdom is built.

 

In Acts 2:40-44 we see that when Christians spend time building their relationships with each other and the Lord, spiritual growth occurs and miracles take place that validate God’s message of life and salvation.

 

1 Corinthians 1:9 tells us that God calls us to fellowship with His Son. So part of our calling as Christians is to fellowship with the Lord. But He also calls us to fellowship with the Holy Spirit as well and this is spoken of in 2 Corinthians 13:14 as well as Philippians 2:1.

 

Philippians 2 also covers the necessity of being like minded as Believers and putting the needs of others first. When we are on the same page as other Christians, we are likeminded and there is love in our relationships. Relationships include family members, friends and our Heavenly Father as well. Fellowship is a core concern of God, whether it is between Christians or with Him. Philippians 2:1-4 states:

 

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

 

1 John 1:6-7 further elaborates on John’s first reason for writing his epistles.

 

“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.”

 

This verse tells us that we can’t walk in darkness and sin on an ongoing basis and claim to have fellowship with God. When a person is walking in darkness they are not living by the truth of scripture. They are choosing to walk in the dark shadows of sinful practices and are avoiding the light of living under the instruction of the Holy Spirit. Walking in darkness implies that there is no relationship with God and the person has not accepted Christ as their Savior. This is what the false teachers were doing, they were Gnostics and believed that you could sin with your body and still have a relationship with God. Christians do sin at times but these sins are brought to light because they walk in the light. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will reveal the sins we commit as Christians because they are exposed by these sources of truth and godly influence. It is critical when a Christian is walking in the light and a sin is exposed that they respond to this conviction and ask for forgiveness of their sin. This reestablishes their relationship with their Heavenly Father and can also restore their relationships with other Christians.

 

At the time John wrote these epistles there was a strong influence of false teachers promoting Gnosticism. Part of Gnostic belief was that you could do anything you wanted with your body because it did not affect the spiritual aspects of who you were as a person. These false beliefs promoted sinful pursuits of passion and destroyed relationships in the Christian Church. John’s intent in writing to these Christians was to establish the foundation for relationships. This foundation is living godly lives by obeying God and avoiding sin, but if sins were committed to ask for forgiveness. This repentance restores relationships and fellowship with others and our Heavenly Father.

 

REASON TWO

 

To make the joy of Christians complete.

 

“We write this to make our joy complete.”

1 John 1:4

 

John knew Nehemiah 8:10, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” and he wished to make his joy and every Christian’s joy complete through the writing of these epistles. John’s words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, were full of instructions for godly living, knowledge to refute false teachers and advice for serving God and each other. When God’s truth is heard and obeyed joy grows in all Christians everywhere. God’s joy in His children also grows as well.

 

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us the fruits of the Spirit and one of these fruits is joy. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” When we live in step with the Spirit one of the manifestations will be joy in our lives. John had a passion to write what he did so that the joy of Christians would increase and spread within the Body of Christ. He knew his joy would be their joy as well if they received his instruction of obeying God’s commands and standing against the false teachers.

 

Joy in the Christian is intimately involved with being filled with the Spirit. Several verses speak of this.

 

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.”

Romans 14:17-18

 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

 

“You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.”

1 Thessalonians 1:5-6

 

Joy in the life of a Christian is a result of their close relationship with the Lord. When we love what God loves and hate what He hates, God rewards us by anointing us with joy (Hebrews 1:9). As we think, act and behave like our Heavenly Father this brings joy to our heart, mind and soul.

 

Christian Joy can be experienced even in the darkest moments of life because God draws close to us in these times and ministers to us. Because we are grounded in His Word and have the Holy Spirit living within us we know God cares for us and will give us strength to cope. This is the joy that James encourages us to have when we undergo trials (James 1:2-4) because we understand that it will build our faith and trust in God.

 

John wanted every Christian to experience the joy of knowing truth of God, that they can be assured of their salvation and how to stand against false teachers. This motivation caused him to write these very important epistles. His reasons apply to us today as well, for the joy of the Lord can also be our strength. There are numerous false teachers traveling through our country and the world attempting to deceive and we must stand against them and their false doctrines.

 

May we seek to obey the Word so that our holy living fosters good relationships with those we come in contact with and builds a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father. We will experience a the deep joy of the Lord as we live appropriately in step with the Holy Spirit.