Bible Academy Start free trial

General letters · New Testament · 5 chapters

The book of 1 John

Knowing that you have eternal life

Author
The apostle John (according to tradition; the letter bears no name)
Written
Around AD 85–95, probably from Ephesus
Time covered
The end of the 1st century, when teachers who had left the church deny that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh
Key word
Assurance

With no greeting, John goes straight to the point: he has seen, heard, and touched “the Word of life” (1:1). God is light: to walk with him is to confess our sins, which the blood of Jesus cleanses (1:5-9). Jesus is our advocate (2:1). Whoever knows God keeps his commandments, loves his brother, and does not love the world (2:3-17). The antichrists, already here, deny the Father and the Son (2:18-23). As children of God, believers practice righteousness and love “in deed” (3). We must try the spirits, for God is love and loved us first (4). Faith overcomes the world and gives the assurance of eternal life (5).

Main theme

Those who are born of God walk in the light, keep his commandments, love their brothers, and confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh: by these signs they can know that they have eternal life (5:13).

Outline

  1. 1 John 1 — The Word of life and the light

    John’s eyewitness testimony, then fellowship with a God who is light.

  2. 1 John 2 — Knowing God and abiding in him

    Obeying, loving one’s brother, refusing the world, and unmasking the antichrists.

  3. 1 John 3 — Children of God

    The Father’s love, the break with sin, and brotherly love in deed.

  4. 1 John 4 — Trying the spirits; God is love

    Discerning the truth and living by the love of God shown in his Son.

  5. 1 John 5 — Victorious faith and assurance

    The witness to the Son, the certainty of eternal life, and prayer.

Key points

  • John saw, heard, and touched the Word of life: faith rests on eyewitnesses (1:1-3).
  • “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1:9).
  • Jesus Christ the righteous is our advocate with the Father and the propitiation for our sins (2:1-2).
  • Three tests of true faith: obeying the commandments, loving one’s brothers, confessing Jesus Christ come in the flesh (2:3-11; 4:2).
  • Love not the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life pass away (2:15-17).
  • Love is defined by the cross and lived out in deed, not only in word (3:16-18).
  • “God is love”: he loved us first and sent his Son as the propitiation (4:8-10, 19).
  • The letter is written so that believers may know that they have eternal life (5:11-13).
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 John 1:7 — Walking in the light and being cleansed from all sin by the blood of Jesus.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. 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.
1 John 2:1–2 — The Christian who falls is not abandoned: he has an advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 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.
1 John 3:1–2 — The wonder of being a child of God and the hope of seeing Christ as he is.

Jesus in 1 John

Jesus is “the Word of life” who was with the Father and whom the apostles saw and touched (1:1-2): the true Christ came fully “in the flesh” (4:2). He is our advocate and the propitiation for the sins of the whole world (2:1-2), who came to destroy the works of the devil (3:8). John concludes: “This is the true God, and eternal life” (5:20).

Did you know?

  • The phrase “God is love” appears only twice in the whole Bible, both times in 1 John (4:8 and 4:16).
  • The word “antichrist” appears only in John’s letters (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7), and not in Revelation.
  • Some translations, such as the KJV, add in 5:7 “the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost”; this mention, absent from the oldest Greek manuscripts, does not appear in most modern translations, which name only “the Spirit, the water, and the blood” (5:8).

Quiz on 1 John

What “message” does John declare at the beginning of his letter (1:5)?

What does God do if we confess our sins?

Which statement about God does John repeat twice in chapter 4?

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start your free trial.