The First Epistle of John

1
The First Epistle of John Introduction (11-4)
2
Facts About the Apostle John

• - Also, wrote The Gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, 3rd
  Epistles of John, and Revelation (Patmos).
• - Sons of Thunder (headstrong Luke 928-29)
• - Son of Zebedee, brother of James
• - Among the 1st disciples called (Peter, John,
  and James)
• - Classically known as, John the Evangelist or
  John the Revelator
• - Not to be confused with John the Baptist

3
Overview of 1st Epistle of John

• Written by the Apostle John, although no author
  is mentioned.
• This anonymity strongly affirms the early
  churchs identification of the epistle with John
  the Apostle, for only someone of Johns well
  known and preeminent status as an apostle would
  be able to write with such unmistakable
  authority, expecting complete obedience from his
  readers, without clearly identifying himself.
  MacArthur Study Bible.

4
The Background of 1st John

• Written approximately at the end of the 2nd
  Century.
• - Last surviving eye witness of Jesus Christ
• - Papias of Hierapolis (hearer of John)
  described John as, a living and abiding voice.
  
• - According to the Church Fathers, John lived
  out his life in Ephesus.
• Extensive evangelistic ministry
• Supervised many churches
• Completed writings (except Revelation)

5
The Background of 1st John

• Why Ephesus?
• - Cultural, Philosophical, and Intellectual Hub
• Gnosticism salvation through secret knowledge
• - gnosis
• - The aim of salvation is for the spirit to be
  awakened by knowledge so the inner man can be
  released from his earthly dungeon and return to
  the realm of light where the soul becomes
  reunited with God.
• Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible

6
1st John 11-4

• That which was from the beginning, which we have
  heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
  have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of
  the Word of life. 1st John 11 (KJV)
• - Usage of we speaks regarding the eye
  witnesses
• - Manifested in the flesh

7
1st John 11-4

• He begins with the description of the person of
  Christ who he makes one and not two and him both
  God from everlasting (for he was with the Father
  from the beginning, and is that eternal life) and
  also made true man, whom John himself and his
  companions both heard, beheld, and handled.
  Geneva Bible
• Deity of Christ (All Man, Full God)

8
1st John 11-4

• And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
  (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
  only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
  truth.
• John 114 (KJV)
• - dwelt translates literally as tabernacled.
  
• Just as the Tabernacle was a physical building
  that housed God, Jesus Christ was a physical
  being that housed the Spirit of God.

9
1st John 11-4

• Let this mind be in you, which was also in
  Christ Jesus Who, being in the form of God,
  thought it not robbery to be equal with God But
  made himself of no reputation, and took upon him
  the form of a servant, and was made (kenoo, to
  make empty) in the likeness of men. -
  Philippians 25-7 (KJV)
• - Kenosis, The Self-Emptying God
• - Jesus is the vessel which received the essence
  and attributes of God as they were emptied into
  him.

10
1st John 11-4

• Controversy
• (For the life was manifested, and we have seen
  it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that
  eternal life, which was with the Father, and was
  manifested (unto us). 1st John 12 (KJV)
• The same was in the beginning with God.
• John 12 (KJV)
• - with (pros)

11
1st John 11-4

• with (pros)
• Thayer Definition
• 1) to the advantage of
• 2) at, near, by
• 3) to, towards, with, with regard to
• Part of Speech Preposition (shows the
  relationship between a noun or pronoun and other
  words in a sentence.)

12
1st John 11-4

• which was to, towards, with, with regard to
• (with) the Father 1st John 12 (KJV)
• The same was in the beginning to, towards, with,
  with regard to (with) God. John 12 (KJV)
• Reconciling the Language
• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
  with God, and the Word was God. John 11 (KJV)

13
1st John 11-4

• was God in substance and essence God or was
  possessed of essential or proper divinity. Thus,
  each of these brief but pregnant statements is
  the complement of the other, correcting any
  misapprehensions which the others might occasion.
  Was the Word eternal? It was not the eternity of
  the Father, but of a conscious personal
  existence distinct from Him and associated with
  Him. Was the Word thus with God?
• Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown Commentary

14
1st John 11-4

• It was not the distinctness and the fellowship
  of another being, as if there were more Gods than
  one, but of One who was Himself God - in such
  sense that the absolute unity of the God head,
  the great principle of all religion, is only
  transferred from the region of shadowy
  abstraction to the region of essential life and
  love. Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown Commentary

15
1st John 11-4

• But why all this definition? Not to give us any
  abstract information about certain mysterious
  distinctions in the Godhead, but solely to let
  the reader know who it was that in the fullness
  of time was made flesh. After each verse, then,
  the reader must say, It was He who is thus, and
  thus, and thus described, who was made flesh.
• Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown Commentary

16
1st John 11-4

• That which we have seen and heard declare we
  unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with
  us and truly our fellowship is with the Father,
  and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things
  write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
• 1st John 13-4 (KJV)
• Theme of Epistle The Basics of Christianity

17
1st John 11-4

• Proof Little Children used 9 times in 1st
  John
• Divisions of 1st John
• - The Conditions for Fellowship
• - The Cautions to the Fellowship
• - The Characteristics of Fellowship
• - The Results of Fellowship
• 1st John is considered a General Epistle
  because it does not identify a specific church,
  location, or individual.

18
1st John 11-4

• that your joy may be full. 1st John 13-4
  (KJV)
• That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith
  that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
• May be able to comprehend with all saints what is
  the breadth, and length, and depth, and height
• And to know the love of Christ, which passeth
  knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
  fulness of God. Ephesians 317-19 (KJV)

19
1st John 11-4

• That ye might be filled with all the fulness of
  God this is the last petition, and is to be
  understood, not of a full comprehension of the
  divine Being, nor of a communication of his
  divine perfections, nor of having in them the
  fulness of grace, which it has pleased God should
  dwell in Christ but either of that fulness of
  good things, which they may receive from God in
  this life as to be filled with a sense of the
  love and grace of God with satisfying views of
  interest in the righteousness of Christ with the
  Spirit, and the gifts and graces thereof

20
1st John 11-4

• with full provisions of food for their souls
  with spiritual peace, joy, and comfort with
  knowledge of divine things, of God in Christ, of
  Christ, of the Gospel, and of the will of God
  and with all the fruits or righteousness, or good
  works springing from grace or else of that
  fulness which they shall receive hereafter, even
  complete holiness, perfection of knowledge,
  fulness of joy and peace, entire conformity to
  God and Christ, and everlasting communion with
  them.
• John Gills Exposition of the Bible