Josh's Stuff - Background

Good evening. Tonight we are going to begin another study. I think that this study will be a great way to work through another book of the bible that can bring us so many great insights. Tonight we are going to begin looking through the book of I John. What I want to do tonight to get us started is to simply spend the evening looking at some background information concerning the book of I John.

The first thing that we notice is that this is the first book in the series of three. These three letters are the only triplet books in the Bible. The next thing that we see is that the author never mentions them self. Later in II and III John the author calls himself “the elder.” Many other aspects in early Christian writing leads people to believe that the author of all three would be the obvious answer, and that would be the apostle John.

I John was quoted as early as the end of the first century AD. It was found in writings of Papias of Hierapolis. So the date of I John would be guesses to be around 90 AD.

When John was called he was found mending his nets. John is a mender. His written ministry comes in after the church has been in existence for several decades, and at a time when problems were beginning to creep in. There was need of a voice to call people back to the original foundations and that is the ministry of the Apostle John. He calls men back to truth. When we begin to drift, when some false concept creeps into our thinking or into our actions, it is John who is ordained of the Lord to call us back, to mend the nets and to set things straight again.

So who was this set of letters written to? The answer is that it is not addressed to any particular Local Church. It was probably first sent to churches scattered throughout Asia Minor where John had ministered to, he records these places later in Revelation chapter 2 and 3.

They would be the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatiara, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

So what is this letter about? Church fights are not some new age idea. Even in the early decades of the Christian movement there were divisions and church splits. This is when John discovered that several churches under his care were in turmoil. At first the cause of this turmoil was hard to detect. Some deceivers moved in and began to question some of the teachings that John had given to them. They began to see all of the evil in the world and in the human flesh and concluded that Jesus could not have come and became a human. They concluded that Jesus only appeared to be human, Jesus was just God pretending to be a man. He was more like a ghost.

The themes for I John are to get back to the basics, find out what to do when you have done something wrong, and to examine ways to deal with problems and problem people.

One of the main problems was Gnosticism. That was the false teaching that was creeping into the Christina churches around Paul’s leadership. Gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge.

They believed that they had special knowledge that was deeper than what ordinary Christians had. They also believed that the flesh was evil, and only the spirit was good.

With that in mind it would lead them to two extremes. One is that they would deprive the body. When doing that they would fast, abstain from sex, and abstain from marriage. They were depriving the body of any pleasure or satisfaction.

The second thing that they would go to the extreme with would be indulging the body. When doing this extreme they would go crazy with everything. Eating, having sex, being with more than one mate and the list goes on. Then their excuse would be that their body made them do it. They could do this because they again believed that the flesh was evil, but the spirit was good.

When John answers their heresy he kept in mind that they felt that they knew everything. When he answers them he repeatedly uses the phrase “We Know.” Well here are some ways that We Know We Have Come To Know The Father:

We know we have come to know the Father if we OBEY HIS COMMANDS. We have to be able to walk in his obedience. In I John 2:3 it says just that. Here in I John 2:3 it says, “1”

And then later in 2:29 it says, “1”

We have to be able to walk in obedience to His commands.

The second thing is that we know we have come to know the Father if we LEAVE A LIFESTYLE OF CONTINUAL SIN. I John 5:18 brings this point out. Here in I John 5:18 it says, “1”

Again later in 3:4-9 it says, “1”

Now even as Christians we know that we will still sin, even when we don’t want to. The thing that Christ calls us to do is not to be sinless, but rather we are to sin less and less.

Third, we know we have come to know the Father if we LOVE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST. In I John 3:14-19 John is urging us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Here in 3:14-19 it says, “1”

Now the main verse here in understanding this point would be verse 18. Here it says, “1”

And finally we know we have come to know the Father if we HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT. In I John 4:13 it says, “1”

We have to have the spirit in us in order to know the Father. And we know that the only way to receive that Holy Spirit is to do as it says in Acts 2:38. Here in Acts 2:38 it says, “2”

Those are four of the things that John tells to the Gnostics that “We Know.”

Some other problems that the people these letters where written to dealt with three different influences. The first influence was of false teachers. They also had the influence of lax practices. The final influence was form hostile rival religions and the threats of persecution.

There really is no sure outline for the order of things in I John. Numerous outlines of I John have been proposed. However none have been adopted to be universal. But a way to share in advance with you what some of the topics will focus on in the future, a broad outline would look a little something like this:

Maintaining Fellowship can be found in chapters 1:1- 2:17.

Some of the ways to accomplish this would be as follows:

1. By establishing fellowship with the Father. (1:1-4)
2. By walking in the Light. (1:5-7)
3. By developing a proper attitude toward sin. (1:8-2:2)
4. By faithfully keeping His commandments. (2:3-11)
5. By growing to Christian maturity. (2:12-14)
6. By rejecting what the world has to offer. (2:15-17)

The next section would be Maintaining Truth in chapter 2:18-28.

This can be done by:

1. By recognizing the true nature of heresy. (2:18-23)
2. By abiding in God’s Word. (2:24-26)
3. By the anointing of the Spirit. (2:27-28)

Maintaining Righteousness can be found in chapters 2:29-3:10.

This can happen when we:

1. Recognize the source of righteousness (2:29-3:1)
2. Anticipate the future of the righteous (3:2-3)
3. Understand the true nature of unrighteousness (3:4-5)
4. Establish proper family ties. (3:6-10)

Then Maintaining Love would be found in chapters 3:11-4:21.

Love can be maintained by:

1. By obeying God’s age-old command. (3:11-16)
2. By putting your love to action. (3:17-24)
3. By surrendering to God’s Spirit. (4:1-6)
4. By following God’s example of Love. (4:8-21)

The last section would be Maintaining Assurance. And it can be found in chapter 5:1-21.

This can happen when we

1. Live victoriously (5:1-5)
2. Accept God’s testimony. (5:6-10)
3. Believe God’s Word. (5:11-13)
4. Continue in prayer. (5:14-17)
5. Know that we belong to God. (5:18-21)

The final things that I would like to share with you tonight before we begin the study next week are the three outstanding characteristics that mark John’s letters.

First it is written with simple words. John used easy words like love, light, darkness, sin, born, brother, and so on. Repeatedly John called his readers, “dear children” or “little children.” He put the truth on a level everyone could understand. Sometimes people have told me after I have preached that I used simple words and did not go above their heads. I laugh and think inside myself that the reason for that is because if it were much higher of a level, I would be speaking above my own head. Paul did a great job of using simple words and making it easy for his readers to understand the concepts that he wanted them to gain.

The second characteristic is that Paul had profound concepts. John’s use of simple language does not mean that he had small ideas to share. Once you begin to think deeply about what John has said, you find no bottom, no limit to the implications of the truth. In chapter 4:16 is John simplest statement. “God is love.” As simple as that may seem, who can grasp the depth of love imbedded in the character and actions of God? John is able to use simple words yes, but he brings out profound concepts with those words.

The third characteristic of John’s letters is that they are dramatic contrasts. John liked to present his ideas as black or white—no gray area, no shades of meaning it was one way or the other. He would give contrasting ideas, and you had to choose one way or the other. In chapter 2:9 it says, “1”

Now many of us may say, what if I hate my brother only some of the times? Are we all right in God’s light?

In I John 3:7-8 it says, “1”

Well I try to do what is right and usually I succeed. But if I fail, even just once am I out of the program? John has a lot of contrasting ideas that require us to not be in the middle, but to choose one side or the other.

As we begin studying the text next week and for the next several weeks we are going to be exposed to several great learning opportunities. I have a feeling that we are about to begin a great journey, and I can’t wait to see what God is going to teach us through this book of I John.

Let’s pray.

Tonight there is not a lot of decision making type of material. However, we are still going to offer that time. Perhaps something you have heard today, or in the past has been eating away at you and you would like to discuss with someone the decision of Baptism, then we urge you to come forward. Perhaps there is just some other thing that you would like to have prayer for, then this time is for you too. If any of these then wont you come as we sing.