1 John

That Ye May Know

John wrote his Gospel “that ye might believe” (John 20:31). He wrote this letter so that those who already believe would be sure of it: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (5:13). It is a letter about assurance, and it gives three tests for telling real faith from counterfeit: what you believe about Jesus, whether you obey God’s commands, and whether you love your brothers and sisters.

The vocabulary is simple: light and darkness, truth and lies, love and hate, life and death. A child could read it. But the depth is endless. This short letter contains two of the most profound sentences ever written about God: “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1:5), and “God is love” (4:8, 16).

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Authorship & Setting

The letter never names its author, but it opens like an eyewitness: “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” (1:1). Its style and vocabulary are so close to the Gospel of John that the early church took it as written by the same man, the apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. Tradition places him in Ephesus in old age, around AD 85–95, as the last surviving apostle, writing to churches he oversaw in the region.

A split had just happened. Some had left the fellowship: “They went out from us, but they were not of us” (2:19). They apparently claimed special knowledge and denied that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh (4:2–3), treating the body as unimportant and sin as irrelevant to the spiritual life. The early church remembered a teacher named Cerinthus as one of John’s opponents. Irenaeus tells a story, passed down from Polycarp, that John once ran out of a public bathhouse when Cerinthus walked in, fearing the roof would fall on the enemy of the truth.

John writes as a father to the believers left behind, shaken and wondering whether they were the ones who had it wrong. Again and again he calls them “little children.” He is not writing to scare them, but to settle them.

Key Figures

• John — the aged apostle and eyewitness, writing to his spiritual children.
• Little children, fathers, and young men — believers at different stages of growth, each addressed with encouragement (2:12–14).
• Jesus Christ the righteous — our Advocate with the Father and the propitiation for our sins (2:1–2).
• The antichrists — the many who denied that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh, and who “went out from us” (2:18–19).
• The false prophets — who had “gone out into the world” and must be tested (4:1).
• Cain — “who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother” (3:12), an example of hatred.

Greek Word Study

ὁμολογέω · homologeō

“To confess,” literally to say the same thing, to agree with. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”(1:9). Confessing sin is agreeing with God about it, calling it what He calls it. John uses the same word for confessing that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh (4:2). Faith says the same thing God says, about our sin and about His Son.

παράκλητος · paraklētos

“Advocate,” one called to stand beside you, especially in court. “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (2:1). In John’s Gospel, the same word is used for the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. The Spirit pleads God’s case in our hearts. Christ pleads our case before the Father.

ἱλασμός · hilasmos

“Propitiation,” the sacrifice that turns away God’s righteous wrath (2:2; 4:10). It is closely related to the word Paul uses for the mercy seat in Romans 3:25. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (4:10). John defines love by the cross.

ἀντίχριστος · antichristos

“Antichrist,” one who is against Christ or claims His place. John is the only biblical writer who uses the word. He says a final antichrist is coming, but that “even now are there many antichrists” (2:18). His test is simple: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?” (2:22). The spirit of antichrist is any spirit that denies who Jesus is.

Eight-Movement Outline

MOVEMENT ONE

The Word of Life (1:1–4)

John begins with what he heard, saw, looked upon, and touched: the Word of life, the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed. He declares it “that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1:3). “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1:4). The gospel is not a theory. It is a Person John walked with.

MOVEMENT TWO

Walk in the Light (1:5–2:2)

“God is light, and in him is no darkness at all”(1:5). If we claim fellowship with Him while walking in darkness, we lie. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1:7). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1:8). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1:9). John writes so that we will not sin, “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (2:1–2).

MOVEMENT THREE

Hereby We Know (2:3–17)

“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (2:3). Whoever says he knows God but does not obey is a liar. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (2:6). Whoever hates his brother is still in darkness. John encourages the little children, the fathers, and the young men, then warns them all: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (2:15). “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father”(2:16). The world passes away, “but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (2:17).

MOVEMENT FOUR

Many Antichrists (2:18–29)

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists” (2:18). They went out from the church, showing they never truly belonged. But the believers who stayed are not defenseless: “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (2:20). The liar is the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, denying both the Father and the Son. Let what you heard from the beginning stay in you. “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming” (2:28).

MOVEMENT FIVE

Behold What Manner of Love (3:1–10)

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (3:1). “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (3:2). “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (3:3). Whoever is born of God does not go on living in sin as a way of life. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (3:8). Children of God and children of the devil are known by their fruit: doing righteousness and loving their brothers.

MOVEMENT SIX

Love in Deed and in Truth (3:11–24)

From the beginning the message was to love one another, not like Cain, who killed his brother. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (3:14). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (3:16). If someone sees a brother in need and shuts up his heart, how does God’s love live in him? “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (3:18). And when our hearts condemn us, “God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” (3:20).

MOVEMENT SEVEN

Try the Spirits; God Is Love (4:1–21)

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (4:1). “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” (4:2). “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (4:4). Then John turns to love. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (4:8). “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (4:10). “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (4:18). “We love him, because he first loved us”(4:19). “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar” (4:20).

MOVEMENT EIGHT

That Ye May Know (5:1–21)

Everyone who believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (5:3). “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (5:4). Jesus came by water and blood, and God has given His witness concerning His Son. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (5:11–12). John wrote so we may know we have eternal life, and so we may pray with confidence: “if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (5:14). His final words: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen” (5:21).

Christ Typology

The Advocate and the High Priest. Aaron wore a breastplate set with twelve stones engraved with the names of Israel’s tribes. God commanded that “Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place” (Exodus 28:29). Christ, our Advocate, goes before the Father bearing the names of His people, not engraved on stones, but written in His own heart and hands. When we sin, He does not abandon our case. He pleads it, and He pleads His own blood.

The Propitiation. On the Day of Atonement, blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat so that a holy God could dwell among a sinful people. John says Jesus is the propitiation, not for Israel only, “but also for the sins of the whole world” (2:2). What the high priest did for one nation once a year, Christ did for people from every nation once for all.

Water and Blood. John says Jesus came “by water and blood” (5:6). John was there when the soldier pierced Jesus’ side, “and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34). In the wilderness, water flowed from the struck rock to give Israel life. At Passover, blood on the doorposts turned death away. Both flowed from the side of Christ, who is our cleansing and our covering.

From the Beginning. John opens with “That which was from the beginning,” echoing his Gospel’s “In the beginning was the Word” and Genesis 1:1. The eternal life “which was with the Father” (1:2) was manifested in time. The Tree of Life that was guarded after the fall (Genesis 3:24) points to the Life that came down to us, so that “he that hath the Son hath life.”

The Light That Shines. On the first day of creation, God said, “Let there be light.” In the wilderness, He led Israel by a pillar of fire. David sang, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1). John writes that God is light and that in Him is no darkness at all, and that the darkness is passing away and “the true light now shineth” (2:8). That light has a name: Jesus, the light of the world.

Personal Application

You can know. Many believers live with constant uncertainty about their salvation. John wrote so that you may know you have eternal life. The ground of that assurance is not your feelings. It is God’s record about His Son: he that hath the Son hath life. Then the tests of obedience and love confirm that your faith is real.

Confess, don’t hide. Pretending we have no sin is self-deception. Confession is not groveling. It is simply agreeing with God about what we did. And the promise attached is not that He might forgive, but that He is faithful and just to forgive. The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin.

Love in deed, not just in word. Talk is cheap. John’s test of love is what you do when you see a brother in need. Love that never opens a wallet, a door, or a calendar is not the love of God.

Test the spirits. Not every voice that claims to speak for God does. John’s first test is what a teacher says about Jesus: that He is the Christ, come in the flesh. Believers are not supposed to be gullible. We are supposed to be discerning, with the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the word of God as our guide.

Perfect love casts out fear. If you are afraid of God’s judgment, look at the cross. Herein is love: He loved us first and sent His Son to bear the judgment we feared. We love Him because He first loved us. And keep yourselves from idols, anything that takes His place in your heart.

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY · MARANATHA

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