This is an incredible book in terms of content, applicability, education, encouragement, correction, inspiration, and just general usability! It contains superior theology (however not systematic theology) and yet almost the entirety of the book you can pick it up and install it into your daily life today and it’s exceedingly useful! It really is entirely incredible! It’s so universal and generally profitable that even though it was written some 2,000 years ago, it’s almost like it was written this year!
John doesn’t date this book. He doesn’t identify himself within it. And we don’t have any indication within the letter itself where it was written. We do however have historians and scholars that have objectively concluded that the first epistle (letter) of John was written between 70 and 90AD, perhaps even 100AD. Most agree that this letter and his other two were written after he penned the Book of Revelation. None of these statements are without controversy but virtually all Bible scholars within the faith agree that this is the same John that gave us the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation. (You will find ten identical verses in between The Gospel of John and 1 John)
This letter was most likely written while John was in Ephesus as according to several historians, namely Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Eusebius, Polycrates, and even a Syriac work mentions the Apostle John returning to, settling in and living in Ephesus after his exile. John never identifies himself in this letter or to whom specifically he is writing this letter which is odd and folks have their own ideas as to why but he does reference himself in the other two epistles but not by name. He simply refers to himself as “the elder…”
According to church history, when John was very old, they used to carry him to places where believers had gathered to have church. And once he was there, it was like, all eyes on him. This is the man whom Jesus loved. The man that was so close to the Lord that he laid his head on Jesus’ chest. Heard the power of the heartbeat of God…. At one point he was condemned to death and sentenced to be executed by boiling him in oil, (the Romans were a creative bunch…), but he just chilled in it like a hot tub… It didn’t harm or kill him because God wasn’t through with his earthly ministry as of yet…
So, the Roman Emperor Titus Flavious Domitianus exiled him to the island of Patmos and while in exile, according to Revelation 1:9, God unlocked End Game for him from which we have, the Book of Revelation. Having been rescued from Patmos and taken to Ephesus, he was the last of the remaining Apostles of Jesus Christ. And so, they would bring him in and the room would go quiet. All eyes on him in astonishment and according to church history, in a soft voice, he would simply say to the crowd, “Clean your life up!” “Stop sinning!” “Vote Republican!” “Tithe 10%!” “Make sure you drink your Ovaltine!” HA, no…, All he would say, with all eyes on him and everyone hanging on every word, “Little children, love one another.” That’s it. Entire message. Five words…, what more is there to say?
The reason for this letter is given to us thematically within the letter itself. First showing up in Chapter 1 verse 4, John says, “These things we write to you that your joy may be full!” And in Chapter 2 verse 1, “My little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin.” And also in Chapter 5 verse 13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” Those three statements, although different in wording, are truly the same statement…
1 Peter 1:8, John 15:7, John 15:11, and John 16:23-24 all teach us that the fullness of joy comes from a closeness, and abiding in Jesus. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 16:11, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is the fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore!” I truly believe and state with complete confidence that it is the will of God, the purpose of God, the plan of God and the mission of God for me and for you to have a life FULL of joy, and even more, to glimpse and perhaps even grasp the fullness of joy!
Joy is a quality of the spirit. A fruit of the Spirit according to Galatians Chapter 5. It is a glow in the heart of a person that has been exposed to the King of kings, the Lord of lords. Happiness is a variable because it is related to outward circumstances which can change suddenly and drastically! Joy is a constant that is related to and a result of my relationship with God which does not change once it is established…, it is secure and therefore always present. Fullness of joy is walking in that reality and realization of His salvation imputed to me and secured for me by His grace through the blood of Jesus Christ!
1 John Chapter 1 Verses 1 - 4
· I love John’s credentials. I’ve heard Him, I have seen Him, I have observed/studied Him, I’ve even physically touched Him. He offers his proximity to Jesus, his exposure to Jesus, his personal intimacy with Jesus as his credentials and really as the factors that identify him as a man AND as someone worth listening too! I love those credentials. There are none higher. All the things we’ve done and accomplished and earned and achieved…, but how close are you to the heart of God? Does anything else matter!? I saw a post once that went like this, “It doesn’t matter if you have a GED, a BA, MBA, PHD, or MDIV if you aren’t sync’d in heart to G.O.D.!”
· Reminds me of Acts Chapter 4. Peter and John had been open-air preaching and just talking with people about Jesus and His resurrection. And the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees were all upset because it tells us in Acts 4 that the crowd had grown to a number over 5,000 and all of them were giving their lives to Jesus…, so they were stopped, put into custody…
· And we read in Acts 4:13, “When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus….” John recalls that boldness and authority in this letter…
· And his description of Jesus is also authoritative! He says he is speaking of Jesus who is “that which was from the beginning…” Which beginning? The Bible speaks of two. There is the Genesis 1:1 beginning, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And so, there was a beginning of creation. Is that the beginning John is talking about? Some cults will tell you yes but that would be an error…
· John speaks of another beginning in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John uses a specific word in the Greek in John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1 that speaks of a beginning before Genesis 1:1…, before the beginning of creation. He uses the word, “arche.” It means the furthest… The before… “The extremity or corner of early…” It’s really, the eternal before…
· Why is this important? Because Jesus is not part of creation as many cults and false religions will tell you. The Bible says that He Himself is the divine eternal and in fact He Himself is the Agent through which creation came. Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on the earth, visible and invisible,” (that tells you Jesus is the Actioner of Genesis 1:1), “whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”
· So, check this out, not only is Jesus the Agent of creation, this is all and was all and ever was, His! Why did Jesus come and not the Father? Why did Jesus come and not the Holy Spirit? Why did Jesus subject Himself to the form of a man and die for the sins of the earth? Because it and everything in it was His to redeem. He is and was and forever will be the Goel (kinsman Redeemer) of the earth and everything in it!
· And John says we’ve heard Him, seen Him, been with Him, touched Him, that’s who I’m telling you about and these are my credentials to tell you what is the Word of life! In the Bible there are three forms of life. There is the “psyche,” or the soul. There is the “bios,” or the physical life. And then there is “zoe” or the fullness of life. This is the life that John is concerned with in describing Jesus as the Word of the FULLNESS OF LIFE!
· And that is the flavor of this book! This is indeed, 1 John, is the letter of life and of love. Pound for pound, word for word, ounce for ounce, this short letter mentions the theme of life and love more than any other book in the Bible. Check this out, 45 times in only 5 short chapters John uses and mentions and instructs us on love. And always, every time, its agape. Why?
· Because folks, that is what this life is for, about and from. God is love. Unconditional, unrestrained, unrestricted, unthwarted and undefeatable pure holy and perfect love. What’s life about? Agape… In the end that’s all that matters and in the beginning, that’s all there was. To discover, find, encounter, walk in and become part of agape love… Nothing is sweeter, nothing is more meaningful, nothing is worth anything compared to this cause… And so, John sits down and pens a letter saying, “I’m writing this that yours, you life, your joy, your agape…, might be full!”