Overview of I John  

• Through the Bible…
  • There are two ways to teach the Bible – VERSE by VERSE or TOPICAL…
    • We teach through the Bible VERSE by VERSE – chapter by chapter – book by book…
    • Not that there is anything wrong with TOPICAL teachings…
    • But there are TWO main STRENGTHS to going through the bible VERSE by VERSE!
  • 1^st – Learn the Bible in context…
    • When a pastor teaches a TOPICAL Bible study – picking out a few verses…
      • The danger is you do not know the CONTEXT of those verses…
      • It is easy to change the meaning of a single verse when taken out of CONTEXT…
      • Most errors in Bible interpretation come from taking a verse out of CONTEXT…
      • Satan quoted the Bible when he tempted him to leap from the Temple – Psalm 91:11-12
      • Luke 4:10-11 – “He shall give His angels charge over you – to keep you… In their hands they shall bear you up – lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
      • Note – never in Psalm 91 does it say to jump off of tall buildings – CONTEXT!
      • Which is why Jesus countered – you shall NOT temp the Lord – Deuteronomy 6:16
    • One of the most important concepts in understanding the Bible is CONTEXT…
      • Understanding a verse in the context of the other verses before and after…
      • The context within the chapter – within the book – within the whole Bible!
      • That is why we study the whole Bible – teachings chapter by chapter…
      • We learn the Bible in CONTEXT – having an accurate understanding of the Word!
  • 2^nd – The whole counsel of God…
    • If a pastor only teaches TOPICALLY – or just certain books – we miss the whole counsel…
    • Pastors will tend to teach on certain topics they LIKE and overlook ones they DISLIKE…
    • When was the last time you heard a teaching from Obadiah or Habakkuk!
    • But every part of the Bible is Gods inspired Word – all of it is necessary…
    • By teaching through the whole Bible – book by book – chapter by chapter…
    • We learn ALL of the Word – and we focus on the topics God deems important!
    • Acts 20:27 – “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”
  • 3^rd – Both the Old and New Testament…
    • The NT sits on the foundation and history of the OT – and is essential to unveiling its truths!
    • If there is any doubt on how important the OT is – the NT lets us know…
    • The New Testament included approximately 250 express Old Testament quotations…
    • If we include indirect or partial quotations – the number jumps to more than 1000!
    • The quotes come from every book of the Old Testament – with the exception of Obadiah!
    • We study through the New Testament every Sunday morning – from Matthew to Revelation
    • And during the Midweek we study through the Old Testament – Genesis to Malachi
    • Cause if we only get a chance to hear the NT – we will miss out on about 75% of the Bible!
    • A good encouragement to get into both the Old and New testaments!
  • 4^th – The NEXT book…
    • Having finished II Peter – we pick up our study through the Bible today in I John
    • I John is the 23^rd book of the NEW Testament – the first of his THREE letters…
    • It has FIVE chapters – but it ONLY has 105 verse [comparatively short chapters]
    • There are SEVEN things we want to look as an INTRODUCTION to the Book!
      
• 1^st – The Author…   
  • 1^st – DISCIPLE…
    • John was one of the TWELVE disciples of Jesus…
    • Listed FOUR times in the New Testament – Mark 3:13-19 / Luke 6:12-16 / Acts 1:13
    • He was CHOSEN by Jesus to be see EVERYTHING – and go and tell EVERYONE!
    • Mark 3:14 – “Then He appointed twelve [Apostles] – that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach…”
    • The word APOSTLE – means to be sent out…
    • Is a picture of an ambassador – a representative of God to the world…
    • EVERYTHING we have SEEN Jesus do in our lives – we are called to go tell EVERYONE…
    • You might think that you will NEVER be an APOSTLE – but we are all called to be sent out!
    • II Corinthians 5:20 – “We are ambassadors for Christ…”
  • 2^nd – FISHERMAN…
    • John was a fisherman – along with his brother James…
    • They had a FISHING business along with Peter and his brother Andrew – Luke 5:10
    • Not that they were very GOOD fisherman – they never seemed to catch fish…
    • Both times we read about them fishing – they caught NOTHING – Luke 5:5 – John 21:3
    • Because God had not called him to catch FISH – instead catch MEN!
    • Luke 5:10 – “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
    • Too often people in life use the gifts God has given them for their own purposes…
    • Then then wonder why their lives are EMPTY – no fish in the net!
    • We are only going to be EFFECTIVE in life – when we become what God desires…
    • When we use our GIFTS for His PURPOSES – we will have a life that is FULL!
  • 3^rd – IMPATIENT…
    • Jesus gave both James and John the names – the SONS of THUNDER – Mark 3:17
    • Because when the SAMARITANS refused to let Jesus pass through their city…
    • James and John wanted to call down FIRE on them like Elisha did – II Kings 1:1-15
    • Luke 9:55-56 – “[Jesus] turned and rebuked them and said – You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For [I] did not come to destroy mens lives but to save them.”
    • We need to remember – people who do not know Jesus – are NOT our ENEMIES…
    • They are our MISSIONS field – they are the ones we are called to LOVE!
  • 4^th – PRIDEFUL
    • When Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem for the FINAL time…
    • James and John [Matthew tells us it was their mother] – ask Jesus a question…
    • Jesus told the DISCIPLES everything that would happen – Mark 10:32-34
    • But James and John completely missed what Jesus SAID – He would be CRUCIFIED…
    • And instead ASSUMED He was on His way to establish His KINGDOM – conquer the WORLD!
    • Mark 10:37 – “Grant us that we may sit – one on Your right hand and the other on Your left…”
    • And the other TEN disciples were very UNHAPPY with the brothers – because of their PRIDE!
    • Mark 10:43 – “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.”
    • Leadership in the church should not look like the leadership in the world…
    • It is the opposite – a leader in the church does not tell others what to do…
    • A leader is the one who lives his life to serve everyone else!
  • 5^th – SPECIAL…
    • John was one of the inner THREE: Peter – James – and John
    • Jesus resurrects the little girl – Mark 5:37 – Mount of Transfiguration – Matthew 17:1
    • Only they went with Jesus when He prayed in Gethsemane – Matthew 26:37
    • This leads us to believe these disciples were SPECIAL – SUPER disciples…
    • But they were NOT better than the rest – they were more TROUBLE…
    • Jesus ALWAYS had these three with Him – because He was afraid to let them be alone!
    • We may think that God only uses those with great gifts – ability…
    • But God uses the FOOLISH – ignorant and unlearned FISHERMEN…
    • Which is a HUGE encouragement – because that means He can use us!
    • I Corinthians 1:27-29 – “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise… that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
  • 6^th – Full of the SPIRIT…
    •  John was there in the UPPER room on the day of Pentecost – Acts 1:13
    • Which explains HOW – because John was FULL of the Holy Spirit…
    • God was able to use a PRIDEFUL – IMPATIENT – Son of THUNDER…
    • A man who could not even catch a FISH – and make him an APOSTLE!
    • Being used by God is not a matter of EDUCATION – John had THREE years with Jesus…
    • And yet the final words of the LORD – do NOTHING until the Spirit comes – Acts 1:4
    • It also does NOT matter how many times we FAIL – or how recently [Peter]
    • It is simply about being filled with the Spirit of God – then we have POWER!
    • II Corinthians 4:7 – “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
  • 7^th – LEADER…
    • John was a PILLAR of the church – Galatians 2:9
    • The first EIGHT chapters of the book of Acts are devoted to the ministry of Peter and John…
    • Because he was full of the SPIRIT – God used him mightily to help build the CHURCH!
    • Often we can be impatient with the LORD – we want to do GREAT things for God NOW…
    • But LONG before God can do a GREAT work through us – He must FIRST do a work in us…
    • He has to take a PRIDEFUL – IMPATIENT – TROUBLEMAKER – and HUMBLE us…
    • So we can learn our NEED to depend on Jesus – and be FILLED with His SPIRIT!
  • 8^th – AUTHOR…
    • John the APOSTLE – not the same as John the Baptist – wrote MANY books in the NT…
    • He wrote the Gospel of John – as well as I – II – III John – and the book of Revelation!
    • Because he wanted to make sure to tell EVERYONE about Jesus!
  • 9^th – LOVED…
    • The name JOHN – is mysteriously absent from all but the Book of REVELATION…
    • But four times in the GOSPEL of John – he refers to himself as the disciple Jesus LOVED…
    • Including the cross – where JOHN was the ONLY disciple still with Jesus – John 19:26
    • John – who became HUMBLE – chose not to mention himself – because it is all about Jesus!

• 2^nd – The Audience…
  • 1^st – HEBREW style…
    • John has a very JEWISH style to his writing…
      • Hebrew POETRY does not attempt to RHYME words – it is not based on similar sounds…
      • Hebrew POETRY is formed by the COMPARING or CONTRASTING ideas…
      • An idea will be stated – then a number of verses will be dedicated to COMPARING it…
      • OR the idea will be CONTRASTED – a RHYME of COMPARING or CONTRASTING ideas!
    • Examples…
      • John contrasts – LIGHT and DARKNESS – I John 1:5
      • He contrast – TRUTH and LIES – I John 2:4
      • He contrasts – JESUS and the ANTICHRIST – I John 2:22
      • He contrasts – RIGHTEOUSNESS and SIN – I John 3:6-10
    • Challenging to study…
      • When you STUDY one of the LETTER of Paul – they are very organized…
      • He builds a natural outline into his writing – dealing with one point at a time…
      • But John will bounce back and forth between points…
      • As he desires to CONTRAST ideas to paint a BLACK and WHITE picture of our FAITH! 
  • 2^nd – LITTLE children…
    • John wrote his letter – to his LITTLE children – mentioned SEVEN times…
    • John 2:1 – “My little children – these things I write to you…”
    • Little CHILDREN [τεκνίον] – 9x in NT – a term used by teachers for their disciples…
    • Likely John picked up the TERM from Jesus – who used it to describe His DISCIPLES – John 13:33
    • Meaning John is writing to ANYONE who is a DISCIPLE of Jesus…
    • The book is written to us – as John wants to encourage us in our walk!

• 3^rd – The Theme…
  • 1^st – KNOWLEDGE…
    • The word KNOW – is used 42 times in 105 verse…
    • KNOW [γινώσκω] 25x in I John – indicates a relation – knowing a person…
    • KNOW [εἴδω] 17x in I John – speaks of observing something with our eyes…
    • There was a FALSE teaching – running through the church in the days of John…
    • GNOSTICS – from the Greek word [γνῶσις] – those who have KNOWLEDGE…
    • They PRIDEFULLY believed they had special KNOWLEDGE about God – HIDDEN truths…
    • They believed anything PHYSICAL was EVIL – and anything SPIRITUAL was GOOD…
    • Spreading the LIE – that Jesus was NOT a man – He was ONLY a SPIRIT!
    • I John 4:2 – “By this you KNOW the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the FLESH is of God.”
    • We are CALLED to be able to DEFEND our faith against FALSE teachings…
    • The ONLY way to do that is to KNOW [γινώσκω] Jesus – and KNOW [εἴδω] His word!
  • 2^nd – LOVE…
    • The word LOVE – is 51 time in 105 verses…
    • LOVE [ἀγαπάω] – verb – to give unconditional LOVE…
    • LOVE [ἀγάπη] – noun – to have unconditional LOVE…
    • BELOVED [ἀγαπητός] – adjective – to receive unconditional LOVE…
    • The THEME build to the amazing statement made by John – that God is LOVE – I John 4:8
    • Making the KEY verse to the Book – LOVING one another…
    • I John 4:11 – “Beloved – if God so loved us – we also ought to love one another.”
    • We are not just to LOVE – when we FEEL like it – or when people DESERVE it…
    • We are COMMANDED to ALWAYS love EVERYONE…
    • We are IDENTIFIED as children of God – through our LOVE…
    • Because we have RECEIVED the unconditional LOVE that comes from God!
    • John 13:35 – “All will know that you are My disciples – if you have love for one another.”

• 4^th – The Location…
  • 1^st – Ephesus…
    • Although we do NOT know for certain – there are TWO possibilities…
    • FIRST is the city of EPHESUS – in what is now modern day Turkey…
    • A commonly held church tradition states John was the pastor there in his later years…
    • The assumption is he would have written FOUR of the FIVE books there!
  • 2^nd – Patmos…
    • We do KNOW – John wrote the book of Revelation from Patmos – Revelation 1:9
    • Again church tradition states John was exiled here by the Romans…
    • While on the Island he received the VISION that is the final book of the Bible…
    • It is possible he also wrote the GOSPEL and THREE letters while he was there!

• 5^th – The Time…
  • Although we do NOT know the time – the best guess is between 85 -95 A.D.
  • There are THREE reasons given to help establish this timeline…
  • FIRST – the writing of some of the early church fathers – Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria
  • SECOND – the focus on refuting the FALSE teachings of the Gnostics…
  • THIRD – the fact John calls himself OLD in his letters – II John 1:1 – III John 1:1
  • ELDER [πρεσβύτερος] – speaking both of being MATURE in the LORD and OLD in years!

• 6^th – The Purpose…
  • There are TEN reasons why John wrote the book:
  • 1^st – JOY…
    • I John 1:4 – “These things we write to you that your joy may be full.”
    • John wrote the book so we could have JOY in Jesus!
    • Happiness is not the same thing as JOY – happiness depends on our circumstances…
    • JOY is far deeper – it is not based on your circumstances – it is based on Jesus…
    • Jesus never changes – the same Yesterday – Today – and Forever – Hebrews 13:8
    • So no matter what our circumstances – we can ALWAYS have Joy because of Jesus!
    • Psalm 16:11 – “In Your presence is fullness of joy…”
  • 2^nd – No SIN…
    • I John 2:1 – “My little children – these things I write to you – so that you may not sin.”
    • John would go on to say those who ABIDE in Jesus – do NOT sin – I John 3:6
    • And whoever is BORN again – does NOT sin – I John 3:9
    • This does NOT mean we are SINLESS – or that we will never make MISTAKES…
    • But we cannot be SAVED – and live continually in unrepentant SIN [present]
    • Romans 6:1-2 – “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound. Certainly not!”
  • 3^rd – New COMMANDMENT…
    • I John 2:8 – “A new commandment I write to you.”
    • What is interesting is John says he will NOT give us a NEW commandment – I John 2:7
    • Because HE is not giving us anything NEW – he is telling us about what Jesus gave to us!
    • John 13:34 – “A new commandment I give to you – that you love one another…”
  • 4^th – We are FORGIVEN…
    • I John 2:12 – “I write to you – little children – because your sins are forgiven.”
    • John wanted us to KNOW – Jesus has FORGIVEN us or our SINS!
    • FORGIVEN [perfect] – ALL of our SINS – PAST – PRESENT – FUTURE…
    • Not because of ANYTHING we did [passive] – Jesus did it all…
    • And there is no DOUBT [indicative] – it is a statement of FACT!
  • 5^th – We KNOW Jesus…
    • I John 2:13 – “I write to you – little children – because you have known the Father…”
    • John wrote this letter to those who already [perfect] KNOW the Father!
    • But as much as we may KNOW – they LORD – we want to KNOW Him more…
    • There is only ONE way to get to KNOW [γινώσκω] someone better – spend TIME with them…
    • The way we spend time with God – is through His WORD!
  • 6^th – We have OVERCOME…
    • I John 2:13 – “I write to you… because you have overcome the wicked one.”
    • John wrote this letter to REMIND us – we have VICTORY in Jesus…
    • We have an ENEMY – who would love nothing more than to destroy us – John 8:44
    • But we have NOTHING to fear from him – because he was defeated on the cross!
    • I John 4:4 – “You are of God – little children – and have overcome them – because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
      
  • 7^th – We are STRONG…
    • I John 2:14 – “I have written… because you are strong – and the word of God abides in you.”
    • John wanted to REMIND us we are STRONG – because of the WORD!
    • Do not MISS this – our STRENGTH does NOT come from us – it comes from Jesus…
    • And we are STRONG when we ABIDE in His Word!
  • 8^th – Know the TRUTH…
    • I John 2:21 – “I have not written… because you do not know the truth – but because you know it!”
    • John wrote to REMIND us – we ALREADY know the TRUTH!
    • TRUTH is something the world attacks today more than anything else…
    • TRUTH is RELATIVE – what is TRUE for you might not be TRUE for me – John 18:38
    • But TRUTH is not a concept – it is a PERSON – Jesus is TRUTH!
    • John 14:6 – “Jesus said – I am the way – the truth – and the life.”
  • 9^th –DECEIVERS…
    • I John 2:26 – “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.”
    • John wanted us to KNOW there are those who want get us to WANDER from God!
    • DECEIVE [πλανάω] – where we get the word PLANET…
    • People who try to convince us to live for this LIFE rather than eternal LIFE!
    • I John 3:7 – “Little children – let no one deceive you…”
  • 10^th – Eternal life
    • I John 5:13 – “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God – that you may know that you have eternal life!”
    • Finally – John wanted us to KNOW we have ETERNAL life…
    • Talk about a LOT of REASON to write a short FIVE chapter – 105 verse book…
    • Packed with TRUTHS about how and why we should live our life for Jesus!

Section 3 – God is LIFE [mentioned 7 times] – I John 5

7^th – The Division…

Section 1 – God is LIGHT [mention 6 times] – I John 1-2

Section 2 – God is LOVE [mentioned 57 times] – I John 3-4