Taking a Look at 1-3 John

PURPOSE: To reassure Christians in their faith & to challenge false teachings.

AUTHOR: The apostle John

DATE WRITTEN: Probably between 85-90 A.D. from Ephesus.

            Today we will begin to look into the apostle John’s 3 pastoral letters to several Gentile congregations. John is older at this time and may be the only surviving apostle at the time of this writing. It was definitely prior to his banishment to the island of Patmos. If we put John’s gospel and these letters side by side we can see many similarities. John is called the ‘apostle of love’ in that love is mentioned throughout his writings.

            “First John was written to dispel doubts and to build assurance by presenting a clear picture of Christ. Entering history, Jesus was and is God in the flesh and God in focus – seen, heard and touched by the author of this letter, John the apostle. John walked and talked with Jesus, saw him heal, heard him teach, watched him die, met him arisen and saw him ascend. John knew God – he had lived with him and had seen him work. And John enjoyed fellowship with the Father and the Son all the days of his life.”¹

            Starting tomorrow we will dive into John’s first letter to see how he goes about bolstering believers faith and countering the false teachings that existed at that time. Even today many will say Jesus was either simply a good man or a crazed egomaniacal lunatic, but those who had the faith to believe knew him as Almighty God in the flesh. Let’s embark on this interesting study together. I hope I can do it justice. May God’s will be done. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

¹The Life Application Study Bible introductory notes for 1 John; page 2805; Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; New Living Translation.