Introduction to 1 John
Author - The Apostle John
Audience - Unknown, perhaps to churches like those mentioned in Rev. 2:8–3:22.
Setting
No later than AD 90
probably written from Ephesus
Theme - true doctrine, obedient living, and faithful devotion
The style and vocabulary of John’s Gospel and 1 John are so similar that a common author is extremely likely. This is particularly evident in the opening verses of the respective writings, but the language of the Gospel echoes across the whole epistle.
The rhetoric of 1 John is challenging. John rarely sustains a clear line of argument for more than a few lines or verses. He wanders from subject to subject, unencumbered by any discernible outline. Yet if he has no plan, he does follow a pattern: after leaving a subject he often returns to it. His style of thought has been termed circular rather than linear.
First John is ostensibly an epistle, but its content is more fluid than what is found in most NT epistles. The topic changes with virtually every paragraph, so the best advice for reading the book is to “think paragraphs.”
God’s will is for readers to receive the saving message of Christ’s coming, rejoice in the commands of Christ’s teaching, and revel in the love of the Father as it continually translates into Christian love for one another and ministry to the world.
The letter itself gives us no clue as to where it was sent. Tradition strongly connects it with Asia Minor, and especially with Ephesus, where, according to tradition, John lived for many years.
Both the form and the personal character of First John will be explained if we think of it as what someone has called "a loving and anxious sermon" written by a pastor who loved his people and sent out to the various churches over which he had charge.
The trouble which First John seeks to combat did not come from men out to destroy the Christian faith but from men who thought they were improving it. It came from men whose aim was to make Christianity intellectually respectable. They knew the intellectual tendencies and currents of the day and felt that the time had come for Christianity to come to terms with secular philosophy and contemporary thought.
The two marks which characterize genuine Christianity are love of the brethren and obedience to the revealed commandments of God.
Christian Standard Bible - Robert W. Yarbrough
Second century sources reported that, around AD 70, the year the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, John left Jerusalem where he was a church leader and relocated to Ephesus where he continued his pastoral work in that region and lived until nearly AD 100. Ephesus is probably the place where John wrote the three new testament letters that bear his name.
John’s Purpose Statements:
He wrote to promote his readers’ fellowship and joy.
He wrote to help readers avoid the pitfalls of sin, yet find forgiveness when they stumbled.
He wrote to protect believers from false teachers.
He wrote so that Christians have assurance of eternal life.
Purpose for Writing
Throughout this sermon, the Apostle John restated his purposes for writing. It was his desire that these Christians would possess assurance that they belonged to God and confidence they were living in communion (right relationship) with Him and others. His primary emphasis was the necessity of placing trust in Jesus as the Son of God, the perfect atoning sacrifice for sin, and the Giver of eternal life. It was through the acceptance of this truth that Christians could “conquer the world” and be confident before God.