A Study of the First Letter of John

The first Letter of John takes us back to "the beginning" when eternal life was first manifested in this world in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ: "the word of life" (1:1). The apostle wants our joy in the realities of Christianity - eternal life in fellowship with the Father and the Son, and with one another - to be full, and for us to give expression to them in righteousness and love. As we do this we shall become like the Lord Jesus and walk here "even as he walked" (2:6). Being children of God by new birth we have the moral capacity for this though in terms of the progress we are making we may be fathers, young men or babes.

There is so much in this world to displace Christ in our lives and deface our moral likeness to Him, but if we let God's Word abide in us, we will "abide in the Son and in the Father" (2:24) and the Spirit within will instruct and empower us. John also sets the prospect of the Lord's coming before us: " we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" and "every one that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure" (3:2-3). As this happens, God and His love - expressed supremely in sending "his Son a propitiation for our sins" - will be displayed in us who "believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and ... love one another" (4:10; 3:23). But we must not miss the apostle's postscript urging us to guard against anything that might take the place of God in our lives; "Children, keep yourselves from idols" (5:21).

This study aims to help us grasp John's message by identifying the patterns he uses to present the truth and explaining the bearing of his words according to their root meaning and context.