1 John - Introduction (1 John 1:4) (Sermon 1)

One writer (Howard Marshall) has said about the Three Epistles of John:

" All three of these Epistles are concerned with the very Fundamentals of Christian

Belief & Life. The reader who grasps the message of these letters will have

a sound basis in Christian Doctrine."

A recent commentary by Peter Barnes, has the title: 'Knowing Where we Stand.'

• John wrote his Epistles at a time when False Teachers were undermining the Faith of Christians in the Churches of Asia Minor - (the Western part of what we now call Turkey).

• Their greatest need was to get back to the Fundamentals of Christian Belief & Living.
• They needed to be able to say: " We Know Where we Stand. "

John gives these Christians several Tests of Faith, with a distinct purpose in mind.

• He wanted them to come to a definite Assurance of Salvation.
• He wanted them to look at the Conflicting Claims of the different groups within the Church, and to be able to discern who was right & who was wrong.

In our own day, we are faced with a great Spiritual & Moral Decline in our Nation:

• We are faced with more Christian Cults & more False Religions than ever before.
• Therefore, we too, are in great need of getting Back to Basics.
• We need to Know Where we Stand, lest we be tempted to follow after

New Forms of Christian Doctrine & Lifestyle.

As we begin this series, we need to Understand the Background to John's First Epistle.

Firstly: John's First Epistle was Written on the Foundation of the Teaching of his Gospel

• The Gospel of John was written with a clear aim in mind:

"These (things) are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name " (John 20:31).

• John's greatest desire is that we may Believe that Jesus is the Eternal Son of God;
• His desire is that we may receive Eternal Life through Faith in Christ.

From the very outset, John proclaims both the Divine & Human Nature of Christ:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God from the beginning … The Word became Flesh & lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One & Only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace & truth" (John 1:1-2 & 14).

• The Apostle John goes on to record Jesus' encounter with John the Baptist, who said:

" Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)

John tells us about Our Need of Salvation, through Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus

"I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (3:3)

• Jesus tells this Jewish Leader that the Only Way to Eternal Life is by

Believing in him, & having Faith in his Atoning Work on the Cross:

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life " (Jn 3:14-15).

Immediately after this incident with Nicodemus, the Apostle John records

the Final Testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus, saying:

"The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.

Whoever believes in the Son has Eternal Life, but whoever rejects the Son will

not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (Jn 3:36).

The Apostle John leaves us in no doubt that Jesus is the One & Only Way of Salvation.

• It is John who records these words of Jesus (Jn 14:6):

" I am the Way, the Truth & the Life. No-one comes to the Father except through me."

In his First Epistle, the Apostle John makes it perfectly clear that he is writing to people who already Believe the Foundational Teaching of his Gospel Account:

John begins his First Epistle by saying::

"We proclaim to you what we have seen & heard, so that you may have fellowship

with us. And our fellowship is with the Father & with his Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).

He ends this Epistle by reminding us that he is Writing to Believers (1 John 5:13 & 19):

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God … We know that

we are children of God, & that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."

John is NOT writing to Persuade Unbelievers of the truth of the Christian Faith.

• Rather, he is writing to Believers, to give them an Assurance of Salvation.

We are looking at the Background to the First Epistle of John:

Firstly: John's First Epistle was Written on the Foundation of the Teaching of his Gospel

Secondly: John wrote his First Epistle at a time when the Church was facing False Teaching

• John wrote this Epistle when he was an Old Man, about 50 or 60 years after the

events recorded in his Gospel Account.

• He wrote this Epistle after the Church of Christ had been established in many towns,

cities & villages. In other words, he wrote after the events recorded in the Acts of the Apostles By then, False Teachers had arisen, who questioned the true Deity & Humanity of Christ.

• The point had been reached where there was actually a split in the Church.

If we are to understand this Epistle, we need to know the Background of this False Teaching

• These False Teachers were called Docetists, a group of people who had

adopted an early form of Gnosticism.

The name of the Heresy of 'Gnosticism' comes from the Greek word 'Gnosis',

which means 'knowledge.

• They claimed to have a 'special knowledge' & claimed to be an Elite Group of Believers.
• Their boast was: 'We Know the Truth'.
• They claimed to have a 'unique revelation', which they learned in some kind of mystic state.

However, in reality, this 'special knowledge' was really nothing but 'idle speculation.'

• Although they claimed to know the truth, they lacked any real spirituality.

The word 'Docetist' comes from a Greek word which means 'I think, 'I seem', or 'I appear'.

• They taught that Christ 'appeared' to be a man but was not truly human.

• This was a False Teaching which denied the Incarnation.

• They denied that Jesus is the Mediator between God & Man.

Firstly: Some said that Jesus only had a 'Phantom' & did not have a true body.

• They said that the Word was not made Flesh, but the Word, the Eternal Son of God,

came and put on a sort of phantom body. They denied the teaching of John 1:14

• This means that Jesus was only acting when he was eating, drinking or sleeping.

• This also means that he could not suffer on the cross or die as a substitute for sinners.

That is why the Apostle Paul said to the Colossians:

"For in Christ All the Fullness of the Godhead lives in bodily form " (Colossians 2:9).

That is why the Apostle John said in his First Epistle (4:2-3):

"This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that

Jesus Christ has come in the Flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not

acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have

heard is coming and even now is already in the world."

Ignatius of Antioch wrote vigorously against one person who held this view, saying:

"He blasphemes my Lord by denying that he ever bore a real human body.

In saying that he denies everything about him. "

Secondly: Others said, there is a distinction between the 'Man' Jesus & the 'Eternal' Christ

• They argued that the 'Eternal' Christ, descended on the 'Man' Jesus at his baptism,

but then left him before the Crucifixion.

• They said that the Eternal Christ certainly did not die for our sins,

but it was only the 'Man' Jesus who was put to death on the cross.

• Hence, there was no real Sacrifice for Sin at Calvary.

This is why the Apostle Paul says:

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile

to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace

through his blood, shed on the cross " (Colossians 1:19-20).

This is why the Apostle John says (1 Jn 2:1-2 & 1:7):

"My dear children, I write to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins … the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin. "

Thirdly: This False Teaching was based on a sharp distinction between 'Spirit & Matter',

which resulted in a 'false view of Sin':

• The 'spiritual' was regarded as divine & good, whilst the material was created & evil.

• They argued that the material world could not have been created by the Supreme God.

They devised ways of explaining how the 'material world' came into existence:

• One method was to postulate a series of 'beings or aeons' emanating from God.
• They speculated on how man forms of being there must have been between the Holy God, and the 'aeon' who created the world.

This kind of teaching led to the Extreme Reaction of a kind of 'Liberalism':

• They argued that, although the flesh is evil, the soul is not in the flesh,

so it doesn't matter what the flesh does.

• Therefore, they said, there is no such thing as sin. Even if I do something wrong, it doesn't matter, because the flesh will be destroyed. Only the 'soul' goes to God after death.

The Apostle John argues very strongly against this pernicious doctrine, saying (1 Jn 1:8-10):

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves & the truth is not in us … If we claim

we have not sinned, we make (God) out to be a liar & his word has no place in our lives."

John leaves these Believers in no doubt about his opinion of these False Teachers, saying:

"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us" (1 Jn 2:19).

"They are trying to lead you astray … by preaching a 'counterfeit' Gospel (1 Jn 2:26-27).

The Believers who remained in the True Church were beginning to feel a little discouraged.

• Their Christian Assurance was at a very low ebb.
• They had begun to feel confused about who was teaching the Real Form of Christianity.
• They began to think that, perhaps this other group of Christians are right after all.
• They began to ask the question: "How do we know that we have the Truth?
• They had begun to lose the 'Joy of their Salvation'!

These First Century Believers have not been alone in their doubts & lack of Assurance.

C H Spurgeon said:

"I have been in a state of mind in which I questioned the possibility of

there being a grain of grace in me, and yet I cling to Jesus with a death grip."

John Bunyan talked about being: "Much tumbled up & down in his thoughts."

These men of God had times of testing & doubting, But, in the midst of all the testing they could say: "I cling on to Christ and, in his name, I know that I truly possess Eternal Life.

With the background of Docetism & Gnosticism, we can understand why the Apostle John constantly refers to the word 'knowledge' in his Three Epistles.

• Time & again, John uses two Greek words which are translated as 'To Know'.

• In fact, these words are found about Thirty-eight times in John's Epistles.
• Time & again, John uses the terms 'You know' & 'We know'.

1:3 "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands."

2:20 "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth."

3:5 "You know that Christ, the sinless one, takes away your sin."

3:14 "We know that we have passed from death to life."

4:13 "We know that we live in Christ & he lives in us, because he has given us of his Spirit."

5:19 "We know that we are children of God."

Throughout the Epistle John is arguing against these False Teachers, saying:

"You claim to know the truth, but all you do is to speculate & debate.

We know the truth because the Almighty God has revealed it to us.

We know that the Holy Spirit teaches us the truth."

The Apostle John wrote to his 'spiritual children' to give them an Assurance of Salvation.

"We write this to make your joy complete " (1 Jn 1:4).

"I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God so that

you may know that you have Eternal Life " (5:13).

The Apostle John sums up Assurance in a simple but very powerful manner, saying:

Assurance is simply this: "You know that you have Eternal Life."

John is saying:

• Even in times of Testing & False Teaching, you may possess the Joy of a Full Assurance.

John wanted them to experience the Joy that Peter describes as:

"An inexpressible & glorious joy (A.V. joy unspeakable & full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8).

Dr Lloyd-Jones once said:

"Assurance is not essential to salvation , but it is essential to the joy of salvation. "

In our own day & age, we need this SAME Assurance of Salvation:

• We need to be able to say: "We know the Truth, because it is revealed in God's Word."

• We live in an age which is no different to the time of the Apostle John.
• False Teachers are all around us, seeking to draw us away from the truth.
• There are a multitude of False Cults that deny the Deity of Christ.
• There are many who deny the reality of the Incarnation & the Atonement.
• There are many so-called Christians who do not believe in an 'Historical Jesus'.
• There are many who say All Religions have a 'knowledge of the truth' which leads to God.

The Main Question for Believers today is the same as that of John's day:

• With so many religions in the world, and a myriad of Cults who call themselves Christians: How can we know that we possess Eternal Life?

• When a group of people come along, who call themselves Christians, but they preach

a different message, how can we test what they are saying?

• When doubts arise in our minds & hearts because of some so-called 'new teaching' that has come along, how can we know that we are on the right track in what we believe?

We are looking at the Background to the First Epistle of John:

Firstly: John's First Epistle was written on the Foundation of the Teaching of his Gospel

Secondly: John wrote his First Epistle at a time when the Church was facing False Teaching

Thirdly: John wrote his First Epistle with the Aim of giving several Tests of Faith

to help Believers possess Assurance, when their Faith was under attack.

• This Epistle is immensely practical in its explanation of the Christian Faith.
• The Apostle John presents us with a number of propositions that we can identify with.

• He explains what it means to live like a Christian in this sinful world.
• He writes to sons & fathers; mothers & daughters, in a simple language that

everyone can understand, from the youngest to the oldest.

• He deals with the implications of Christian Doctrine for day-to-day Christian Living.

John's style of communication is marked by stark contrasts.

• He uses very strong & vivid language to drive home his teaching:

For example:

"The man who says, 'I know him', but does not do what he commands, is a liar,

and the truth is not in him" (1 Jn 2:4).

"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness" (2:9)

The Apostle John provides Three Tests of Faith to help Christians in Every Generation

to 'Know' that they Possess Eternal Life

Firstly: John gives us a Doctrinal Test.

"This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges

that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God " (1 John 4:2).

• The False Teachers in John's day did not think rightly of Christ.
• They did not believe in the true Deity & Humanity of Christ.
• They spoke about Christ and no doubt they sometimes sounded like Christians,

but they actually believed in a Christ of their own imagination & speculation.

The same is true today: Every single Christian Cult or Sect has a defective view of

either the Deity or Humanity of Christ.

Those who have Eternal Life have received the Spirit of God:

• Jesus has promised that the Spirit will teach us all things (Jn 14:26)
• We can only claim that the Spirit of God is within us, that we have been born again of the Spirit of God, if we believe the right doctrine about the Deity & Humanity of Christ.
• In his Epistle, John is saying that, anyone who disagrees with the Fundamental teaching that Christ is the Mediator between God & Man, cannot claim to be a born-again Christian.

John Newton makes this point in a very poetic manner:

"'What think ye of Christ?' is the test, To try both your state & your scheme;

You cannot be right in the rest, Unless you think rightly of him."

Secondly: John gives the Relationships Test or the Brotherly Love Test.

"If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not

love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has

given us this command: Whoever loves God must love his brother" (1 Jn 4:20-21).

John is saying: "If God is Love, and I claim to know him, then I must show Love to others.

I must especially show love to those who of the Household of Faith."

• Indeed, the Lord Jesus, who gave himself for those who are enemies of God, says:

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:44-45).

When Jesus was asked the question, Which is the greatest commandment, he replied:

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with

all your mind.' This is the first commandment. And the second is like it:

'Love your neighbour as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:37-39).

The Apostle John argues that Christian Love is a major Test of Faith.

• Love is the mark of the True Christian, because Love is the Characteristic of God himself.
• Love is the sign that God lives in us, even though we cannot see God.

Without Love any Christian Knowledge or Faith that we may claim to have, means nothing.

• Remember what the Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians:

"If I speak in the tongues of men & of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy & can fathom all mysteries & all knowledge, & if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor & surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Cor 13:1-3).

Thirdly: John gives the Obedience Test (1 Jn 2:3-4).

"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says,

'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

John tells us that one of the greatest Hindrances to an Assurance of Eternal Life is Sin - which is a failure to keep the Commandments of God.

• When we live the godly life, we have Assurance & Joy; but, when we are Disobedient to God's commands & fall into sin, we begin to doubt our Salvation.
• There is nothing that upsets our Assurance & Confidence more than sin.
• It leads to an uncertainty & unhappiness.

We must be careful to note that the Apostle John is not saying that

the Believer can live a life of Perfect Obedience:

• John is not claiming that Christians can expect to attain Sinless Perfection in this life.

Indeed, he is telling us the very opposite - we cannot attain Sinless Perfection.

John makes this clear in Chapter One, by saying:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves & the truth is not in us … If we claim

we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar & his word has no place in us" (1:8-10).

One writer comments on these verses, saying:

"Nevertheless, a Christian's obedience, while imperfect, can be real,

habitual & substantial"

The Apostle John tells us that, when we are truly born-again, the Spirit dwells within us,

and gives us a deep desire to be Obedient to the Commands of God.

• He reminds us of this truth in Chapter Three:

"Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know

that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us" (1 Jn 3:24).

• John is reminding these believers about the Power of the Holy Spirit to Sanctify them.

• He tells us that we need the Spirit's help to go from one degree of Sanctification to another.

• He tells us that we must actively make every effort to keep God's commandments.

What John is teaching is the essential link between Justification & Sanctification.

Peter Barnes says:

"You can no more separate Justification from Sanctification than you can separate the

circulation of the blood from the inhalation of air. Breathing & circulation are two

different things, but you cannot have one without the other; they go together, and they

constitute one life. So you have Justification & Sanctification; they go together, and they

constitute one life."

The Apostle John provides Three Tests of Faith to help Christians in Every Generation

to 'Know' that they Possess Eternal Life

Firstly: John gives us a Doctrinal Test or the Belief Test.

Secondly: John gives the Relationships Test or the Brotherly Love Test.

Thirdly: John gives the Obedience Test.

One of the main characteristics of John's First Epistle is the manner in which

he constantly returns to these Three Main Themes of Belief, Love & Obedience.

• This Epistle has been likened to a Musical Score,

in which several motifs recur a number of times.

• John appears to be going around the same themes,

nevertheless, he is gradually progressing through his teaching.

John deals with the question of Right Belief in 1:1-4,

Then he returns to that theme in 2:18-27; then in 4:1-3 & 5:5-12.

He raises the matter of Sin & Obedience in 1:5 to 2:2,

Then he returns to this motif in 2:28-29; then again in 3:3-10 & 5:16-17.

John deals with the issue of Loving the Brethren in 2:7-11.

Then he comes back to that same theme in 3:11-18 & 4:7 to 5:3.

Each time John takes up a particular spiritual motif, he develops his teaching a little more.

Howard Marshall says:

"John conducts a tour through his subject, pausing at the points that interest him, returning

to areas of interest, seeing familiar objects from different angles, and yet all the time

progressing toward a conclusion. His starting point is firm & solid: it is the Word of Life,

the revelation of God in Jesus (1 Jn 1:1-4). His goal is clear; it is the possibility of

Fellowship between Men & God through Jesus Christ, his Son."

In Chapter Three verses 21-24, John refers to his three main themes together.

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and

receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases

him. And this is his command: to Believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to Love

One Another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in

them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

Take note of how John says in verse 24 that these three spiritual themes

are to be used as Three Tests of Faith:

• This is how you can know that you live in him, and he lives in you.
• We know it through the way we react to God's commands about Belief, Love & Obedience.

• We know it by the way the Spirit is seen to be working within us to produce these reactions.

At the close of this Epistle, John makes his aim absolutely clear:

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God

so that you may Know that you have Eternal Life " (1 Jn 5:13).

In John's opinion, the Greatest Tragedy that could ever happen would be

for Genuine Believers to be uncertain about their Eternal Salvation.

• John is at pains to tell these doubting Christians that they may possess Assurance right now.
• These tests are not given to produce doubts in their minds.

• Instead, he gives these Tests of Faith to remove the Doubts & Uncertainty caused

by the False Teaching & Speculation of the early Gnostics called Docetists.

There is no doubt whatsoever that these Same Tests of Faith are still needed today:

Peter Barnes, prefaces his recent commentary called 'Knowing Where we Stand', by saying:

"In these days of spiritual & moral decline we stand in particular need of the message

of John's Epistles. We need to test ourselves first to see where we stand before God and

then, with charity of heart & clarity of mind, we need to test the claims of others too.

That is why John's Epistles are so important for us."