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An introduction to 1 John.
First John is the longest
of the apostle John’s three inspired letters.
John was likely in or near Ephesus
when he wrote his letters in about 98 C.E.
He also wrote his Gospel account
at about the same time.
John did not address his first letter
to any individual
but wrote it as a general letter
to all Christians.
His purpose was to strengthen
the faith of fellow Christians
in the truths that God had revealed
to the Christian congregation.
The letter addresses three main themes:
the antichrist, sin, and love.
First John contains five chapters.
In chapter 1,
John tells us that “God is light”
and that Christians must walk in the light.
To walk in the light,
we need to recognize that we are sinners
and need forgiveness
based on Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice.
Chapter 2 warns us about antichrists.
Among other things,
they claim that Jesus was not the Christ
and that the Son of God
had not come in the flesh.
Did you know?
More than three decades earlier,
it was foretold that false teachers
would bring in destructive sects
and try “to draw away the disciples
after themselves.”
John’s writings show
that this apostasy was well under way.
In chapter 3,
John contrasts the children of God
with the children of the Devil.
The children of God love one another.
The children of the Devil,
like Cain, hate their brother.
The theme of love continues in chapter 4.
Here John reminds us
that we cannot rightly profess to love God
if we do not love our fellow Christians.
In the final chapter, we read:
“This is what the love of God means,
that we observe his commandments.”
Also, John assures us
that God hears all our prayerful requests
when these harmonize with His will.
As you read 1 John,
note how we must reject apostates,
how we can guard against the practice of sin,
and how we should cultivate love
for our fellow subjects of God’s Kingdom.

Introduction to 1 John