More details about I John

Why did John write I John?

• We do not know for certain why John wrote this letter, but it could be for the same possible reason that Peter wrote his two letters: John was close to death and saw issues that he wanted to discuss with all Christians. He decided to do that in a letter, which is I John.

The central theme: Love

• Love is the central theme to this letter, the next letter, and even in the Gospel of John. You can see from the Outline below that John focused on love. As an example, consider these six verses from the letter. I will include them here, and as an exercise count how many times you read the word "love" or some form of "love":
• 4:7-12: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."
• That is thirteen times in six verses, or an average of more than twice a verse. Now, not all of John is like that, but it is a good illustration to show how John focused on love as a defining characteristic.
• An example from John's life that will make this point clearer: This is not found in the Bible, but many scholars do believe it happened. John was an old man after he was released from the island of Patmos and was back in Ephesus. By this point, in the late 90s, he was the last living Apostle. Therefore, many people came to John and asked questions about Christianity, how to live, how to run churches, etc. But instead of answering the questions, John always gave the same answer: "Love one another." Then one day someone finally asked him why he didn't answer the questions. John answered: "Because it is the Lord's command, and if it alone is done, it is enough."
• Therefore, for John, who at this point (in the late 90s) had seen the church develop over 65+ years with many conflicts, the most important aspect of a Christian is love.
• Examining the main point of three authors we have covered:
• Paul = faith and unity
• James = action
• John = love

Against Docetism

First a refresher on the differeces between heresy, error, and opinion.

• First, a definition of heresy: basically it is a false teaching that attacks an idea about the Trinity. A heresy is different and "deeper" than having a error or opinion. For example:
  • A belief that states "Jesus was not God" is a heresy because it attacks a core belief of Christianity.
  • An error is when one Christian believes that another Christian has misunderstood Scripture but the misunderstanding is not enough to rise to the level of heresy. Therefore, both Christians would say that the other one is truly a Christian, just that the other person misunderstands a "secondary" issue from Scripture.
  • A difference of opinion is when different Christians agree on Scripture but disagree on how to act out or carry out that Scripture.
  • The difference between error and opinion is more difficult to determine. For example: One church has a bishop whereas a different church does not use bishops. You would not say that one of the groups teaches a heresy, but someone from a church that doesn't use bishops might say that using a bishop is an error because it misunderstands Scripture, and vice versa.
  • An example of a difference of opinion would be the question of what type of music to play during a worship service.
  • As a refresher on Docetism, go here. By this point, Docetism had become a major threat to Christianity. Remember that one of the main points of Docetism was that Jesus wasn't physical and therefore didn't die on the cross, but instead was a messenger from the highest god. We can see John write against that idea in this letter:
  • 4:2: "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God."
  • This is a direct reference to the docetic idea that Jesus was a spirit or phantom and wasn't physical.

  Outline

  • 1:1-4: Definition of Jesus.
  • 1:5-2:17: Short essay on loving others and not the "world."
  • 2:18-27: Warning against heresies.
  • 2:28-3:10: Christians are children of God.
  • 3:11-24: More instructions on loving others.
  • 4:1-6: Warning against false teachers.
  • 4:7-the end of 5: Love for others and the confidence that comes from faith in Jesus.