Themes in the book of 1st john

John calls followers of jesus to share in gods own life and love by devoting themselves to loving one another. This short work was written before john was exiled to the island of patmos, and before he wrote the book of revelation. A study of the epistles of john gene taylor 6 first john. Dec 14, 2009 the main theme of 2 john is the tests of true christian care. This is one of my own personal favorites of all the sixtysix books of the bible.

To be born again by the spirit of god is the only way to come into the kingdom of god, only god himself can instigate this because of his work. Themes john stressed the seriousness of sin, and while he acknowledged that christians still sin, he presented the love of god, proven through the sacrificial death of his son jesus, as the solution to sin. Near the end of the 1st century, john was exiled to the island of patmos. This description likely pointed to john for three reasons. When jesus talks about eternal life, he doesnt mean that well all be immortal after all, there can be only one. The book of 1 john describes the nature of life with faith in greater detail than the gospel of john. How long does it take you to recognize a familiar face. The epistles of john show jesus as the way, the truth and the life. Since the author of 1 john seems to build on concepts and themes found in the fourth gospel see 1jn 2. The epistle and johns gospel reflect similar vocabulary and manner of expressionsee historical and theological themes. Despite the fact that there is no direct internal evidence that the.

A second john known as john the elder in view of suggestions that he wrote 2 and 3 john and from papias reference to john the elder but this need not be distinct from john the apostle 2. These letters are so called because they are addressed to the universal church in general, and not to a specific community, as, for example, the philippians. He wanted us to know that we can find eternal life for ourselves. Despite the fact that there is no direct internal evidence that the apostle john wrote the three epistles called 1, 2 and 3 john, the conclusion of most church historians from the second century onwards is that the author was the apostle john. The book went through two to three stages, or editions, before reaching its current form, at the latest, around ad 80100. These three books are often referred to as letters, though only 1 and 2 john truly fit that description.

Since the letter identifies no specific church, location, or individual to whom it was sent, its classification is as a general epistle. Jun 25, 2019 he had ministered to the church in ephesus. Thus, at the end of the 19th century scholar ernest dewitt burton wrote that there could be no reasonable doubt that 1 john and the gospel were written by the. The key personalities are the apostles peter and paul.

He first established his credentials as as an eyewitness to the resurrection of jesus christ, mentioning that his hands had touched the risen savior. No one is really sure how people think or how they process information so quickly. John 1 john 2 john 3 john revelation only paul authored more new testament books than john. Walking in the light bible commentary produced by tow project although written under greatly different circumstances than james, 1 1 john also challenges the notion that faith can live without works, that is, acts of obedience toward god. Dionysius noted that john did not name himself in his epistles, not even in the second and third epistles, although they are short. Just like water and blood are real, so was the coming of the son of god, jesus. Christians must confess, ask forgiveness, and repent. He desired them to have joy regarding the certainty of their faith rather than being upset by the.

Is this a comforting idea or dangerous one for the figures in the gospel. The early christian church was afflicted with doubts, persecution, and false teaching, and the apostle john addressed all three in his encouraging book of 1 john. This theme places christians to be true followers of christ. Truth as its used in the gospel of john isnt only about listing off facts and figures. The apostle john begins with the purpose of writing this letter by stating, i am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Here is a summary and commentary on first john chapter two. It encourages us to live the life god wants us to live. Introduction to 1 john bible exposition commentary. It is the first and largest in a series of 3 epistles that bear the apostle johns name. Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society. The three books share the same writing style, however, and so are likely from the same hand. As a shepherd, john communicated to his flock some very basic, but vitally essential, principles reassuring them regarding the basics of the faith. Written by a christian named john, the contents of the book indicate quite clearly that the author was not the john who was one of the twelve disciples of jesus, for it contains no direct personal references of the type that one would expect from an intimate.

It was written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. Various people have been proposed as the author of this epistle. The gospel of john is the latestwritten of the four biographies of jesus that have been preserved in the new testament. The opening verses beautifully describe jesus as the word. John also wrote the fourth gospel and the book of revelation. These themes intertwine and support one another throughout john s gospel. The way one should behave and live, to be a sermon in shoes is critical because peter links between mans behavior and gods judgment 1 pet 1. Preoccupation with deliverance from the flesh dualistic view of man matter was evil and spirit was good. In case a christian does sin, though, he has jesus christ as his advocate before the father. The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter authoritative, believing it was written by john the apostle. The book of 1 john may be one of the most difficult books within the bible for the christian to understand, particularly in light of the plethora of scriptural passages in the new testament that clearly teach that eternal spirit salvation justification is by faith alone in christ alone. The main themes of the epistle are love and fellowship with god. But the central focus of first john seems to be distinguishing the false teachers from children of god, so heres my take.

The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first. Book of john overview insight for living ministries. Jan 29, 2014 the main theme of john is all over this gospelin jesus words and works. The gospel of john was written in greek koine and was therefore intended for an audience that spoke this language, which was spoken in egypt and most of the near east, except the palestinian jews. John calls followers of jesus to share in gods own life and love by. Who was the intended audience of johns gospel answers. John returns to a theme he started with in the beginning of the letter. The main theme of 3 john is genuine leadership versus false leadership. John writes this letter to encourage love and obedience on the part of a christian lady and her children. He is referring to a spiritual life with god that continues even after death.

The book of john is a gospel that contains narrative history, sermons, parables, and a few prophetic oracles. General introduction overview suppose you are heavily involved in some cause or movement. John wrote this gospel with the purpose that we might believe that jesus is the son of god. In these epistles john the apostle of love will share his concerns about those things that would threaten the welfare of the church at the end of the first century. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the johannine works. He expresses hope of seeing her soon ii john 12 and sends greeting to her nieces and nephews. The structure of 1 john is difficult to outline because transitional. Themes in the gospel of john the predominant theme in the book of john is the revelation of god to man through his living illustrationjesus christ, the word made flesh. When the authors of john s gospel say that everything written in this book is true, what do they mean. In 1 john, truth is intricately intertwined with its other themes. This begins the study in the most spiritual book in the entire bible, the book of john. The love of our incarnate god brings promised victory over the antichrist. Stay connected amidst social distancing receive weekly bible studies to share with family and friends. The key personalities of this book are jesus christ, his twelve disciples, mary magdalene, john the baptist, lazarus, his sisters mary and martha, jewish religious leaders.

The books also address deceivers who spread false teachings and fear rather than love. The apostle john is the author of the gospel of john, 1, 2, and 3 john and revelation. The children of god keep his commands 1 jn the spirit of god affirms jesus first coming 1 jn 4. The author nowhere indicates his name, but through all the centuries it has been attributed to john, the beloved disciple. Pdf version printable version listed below are various themes that are threaded throughout the gospel of st. Book of first john overview insight for living ministries. The son of god came as a human being, lived a human life and died while human. View chuck swindolls chart of first john, which divides the book into major sections and highlights themes and key verses. Second john is the second shortest book of the biblethird john is the shortest by word count. Listen to chuck swindoll s overview of first john in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. With all johns reasons to write, scholars have a hard time forming an outline from johns letter. Many contemporary biblical scholars believe that the writer of the letters was not the author of the gospel. In light of the circumstances of the epistle, the overall theme of 1 john is a recall to the fundamentals of the faith or back to the basics of christianity.

Outline of the book of i john floral heights church of. This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his son jesus christ, and love one another, just as he. The author of the first epistle is termed john the evangelist, who most scholars believe is not the same as john the apostle. The content, style, and vocabulary seem to warrant the conclusion that these three epistles were addressed to the same readers as the gospel of john.

This summary of the book of 1 john provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 john. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. The gospel of john tells us that jesus is the only source of truth. First john also is pastoral, written from the heart of a pastor who has concern for his people. A number of reasons were involved in writing 1 john.

Since the author of 1 john seems to build on concepts and themes found in the fourth gospel, it is reasonable to date the letter somewhere between a. Second and third john, however, are written to specific audiences. Euangelion kata ioannen is the fourth of the canonical gospels. Thats because eternal life was key to jesus ministry. The gospel of john, the three johannine epistles, and the book of revelation, exhibit marked similarities, although more so between the gospel and the epistle especially the gospel and 1 john than between those and revelation.

One who is really born of god will inevitably evidence it by the way he lives in holiness, the way he loves as christ unconditionally loves, and by. He warns the sister about giving hospitality to false teachers. Studies from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd john bible study guide. John shows that more important than what we say or know is whether we walk in the truth and obey gods commandments. Traditionally, the authorship of 1, 2, and 3 john has been ascribed to the apostle, john son of zebedee, who also was understood to be the author of the gospel of john and revelation. We are going to do something we know works for our brains. This letter repeats many themes from johns first letter, and third john reflects these themes as well. The book of 1 john describes the nature of life with faith in greater detail than the. Third john exhorts the church to persevere in the true faith which they have received. The main theme in the bible book of john is to prove conclusively that jesus is the son of god and that all who believe in him will have eternal life. Its purpose was to warn about the increasing threat of false teachings and to reassure christians of their faith and love in jesus christ.

Believers are challenged to look at contrasting themes such as walking in the light instead of darkness, truth versus lies and deception, loving god more than loving the world, and the meaning of true fellowship and community rather than shallowness. Most scholars therefore treat the five as a single corpus of johannine literature, albeit not from the same author. The book of 1 john is not a personal letter nor a letter written to one church as much as it is an impassioned office memo from headquarters corporate letter. The first letter of john is the fourth of seven catholic or universal letters of the new testament of the bible, along with the james, the first and second letters of peter, the second and third letters of john, and jude.

It is written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first of the johannine epistles of the new testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. Major themes of 1 john john places a great deal of emphasis on the reality of jesus christhis incarnation and his role as the messiah. The book of john is not like the book of matthew, mark, or luke which cover the same period of time.

Considering the circumstances of the epistle, the overall theme of 1 john is a recall to the fundamentals of the faith or back to the basics of christianity. To grasp the message of john writing, one must search out and follow these themes through the whole of his gospel. The parallelisms in 1 john are striking for their simplicity. These themes intertwine and support one another throughout johns gospel. Important themes in 1 john 1 john 1 5 print this lesson bookmarkshare. Approaches to the structure of 1 john anyone attempting to work on the structure of 1 john would do well to stop for a moment and reflect on just how different this letter is, especially in comparison with contemporary examples of letters and with 2 and 3 john both of which exhibit almost all the characteristics of first century a. First john calls readers back to the three basics of christian life. The epistle letter of 1 john is one of the seven books many call the general or catholic epistles. Its only one chapter long, and has only thirteen verses. It has no traditional introduction from whom, to whom.