Walking in Deceitful Times – 1 John 4:1-6

Posted on November 3, 2026 by dkoop

Eureka!
This simple Greek word—meaning “I have found it!”—became a life slogan for thousands of California gold prospectors in the mid-1800s. It summed up every treasure hunter’s dream and expressed the thrill of striking pay dirt. For James Marshall (the first to discover the precious metal in 1848) and the “forty-niners” who followed him, the term eureka meant instant riches.
But would-be prospectors quickly learned that not everything that appeared to be gold actually was. Riverbeds and rock quarries could be full of golden specks that were nevertheless entirely worthless. This “fool’s gold” was iron pyrite, and miners had to be careful to distinguish it from the real thing. Their very livelihood depended on it.
Experienced miners could usually distinguish pyrite from gold simply by looking at it. But, in some cases, the distinction was not quite so clear. So, they developed tests to discern what was genuine from what was not. One test involved biting the rock in question. Real gold is softer than the human tooth, whereas fool’s gold is harder. A second test involved scraping the rock on a piece of white stone, such as ceramic. True gold leaves a yellow streak, whereas the residue left by fool’s gold is greenish black. In either case, a miner relied on tests to authenticate his finds—both his fortune and his future depended on the results.
Spiritually speaking, Christians often find themselves in a similar position to the California gold rushers of the mid-1800s. When confronted with various doctrines and religious teachings, all of which claim to be true, believers must be able to tell those that are biblically sound from those that are not.
As was true in the gold rush, just because something glitters doesn’t mean it’s good. Christians need to be equally wary of spiritual “fool’s gold.” They must not accept something as true without first testing it to see if it meets with God’s approval. If it fails the test, Christians should discard it as false and warn others also. But if it passes the test, in keeping with the truth of God’s Word, believers can embrace and endorse it wholeheartedly. California gold prospectors would cry “Eureka!” only when they found true gold. When it comes to spiritual things, Christians should be careful to do the same.

Those who have the Holy Spirit within (3:24) have the ability to discern the truth from error because the anointing of the Spirit teaches them about these things. The doctrinal test is outlined in this paragraph. Those who have the Spirit of God confess that Jesus, God’s Son, has come in bodily form. In other words, they acknowledge the full reality of the Incarnation. False prophets who deny these basic truths are antichrists. In analyzing the wide spectrum of teachers and books on spirituality available today, the test should be: What do they teach about the person of Jesus Christ?

Those who are Deceitful will…

 1. Downplay Jesus

4:1 The test believers are to use is given in 4:2–3. The responsibility for testing the spirits rests not merely on scholars or church leaders but on every Christian. Do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit means that the believers should not believe everything they hear just because someone says it is a message from God. They should test the message to see if it is truly from the Lord. One way is to check to see if it matches God’s word, the Bible.

 The most important test of all, however, is what they believe about Christ (4:2). Do they teach that Jesus is fully God and fully man? The first-century world was filled with many false prophets who were claiming to speak for God. The believers needed to apply these tests in order to discern truth from error.

The term “false prophets” is another name for the many antichrists. Whereas a true prophet is one who receives direct revelation from God, a false prophet only claims to have received direct revelation from God, but has not. The test is similar to that administered to false prophets in Deuteronomy 13:1–5; 18:15–22.

4:2 To know that a prophet has the Spirit of God, that is, if his message is truth from God, we must discover if he acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human being. A true teacher of God believes that Jesus of Nazareth as revealed in the Gospels is the Messiah of God, God’s only and unique incarnation of himself. A true teacher must also teach that Jesus became a man with a human body. God the Son is forever fully God and fully man, though in immortal, incorruptible flesh. A teacher who denies Jesus’ full and true humanity proves that he is not from God.

4:3 The false prophets claimed to speak by the Spirit’s inspiration. In this context, refusing to acknowledge Jesus means denying Jesus’ true person as both God and man. Those who do that are not from God. Therefore, there is only one other source: the spirit operating in the false prophets is the spirit of the Antichrist (2:18), the spirit of deception (4:6). Pronouncements about false teachers, false messiahs, and the coming of the Antichrist should not have been news to Christians, for they had heard that these people were coming. Jesus had warned the disciples (Matthew 24:15, 24–26); the apostles, in turn, had warned the believers about false teaching (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3–12; 2 Peter 3:3–7).
The spirit of the Antichrist is already here refers to the hostile attitude of those who were denying that Christ had already been present. John does not seem to have been saying that the final Antichrist had come (see 2:18). As Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:7–8, the man of lawlessness has not yet been revealed, but his spirit is at work.

4:4 In contrast to those who are against God, John reassured his readers that they belong to God. Though these believers may have been feeling weak and confused, they had remained true to the faith and so had already won their fight with these false prophets. They had not been won over to the false point of view, nor had they abandoned the church. Christians don’t have to overpower false teachers to conquer them; rather, they can overcome false teachers and their teachings by recognizing them and then refusing to follow them. These believers had already done this; they had not succumbed to the false teachers. They had done this by the power of God’s Spirit within them, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world (referring to the Devil who inspires false prophets in their work of deception, see also 1 Timothy 4:1).

The Deceitful teachers will also….

2. Distribute Worldly Viewpoints

4:5 These people are the false prophets who belong to this world and not to God. In John’s Gospel and letters, the term world describes the world system of beliefs and the community of those who stand in opposition to God (see 4:3). The false teachers, being a part of the world system, speak from the world’s viewpoint and so find acceptance by the world that listens to them. False teachers are popular with the world because, like the false prophets of the Old Testament, they tell people what they want to hear. John warned that Christians who faithfully teach God’s word will not win popularity contests in the world. People don’t want to hear their sins denounced; they don’t want to listen to demands that they change their behavior. A false teacher will be well received by non-Christians.

The last test or what we can know about the deceitful is that they…..

3. Do not Listen to God

4:6 The we primarily refers to the apostles, who were the first true teachers of Christ, followed by many others who taught the truth of the gospel. The world gladly accepts and listens to false teachers, but the apostles found another audience—those who know God or were open to knowing God. The world, or those who do not belong to God, rejected the apostles’ message.
This provides another way to determine who has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. According to the Gospel of John (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13–15), the Spirit of truth is the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from God and teaches the truth about Christ (see also 1 Peter 2:20, 25). All who are indwelt by the Spirit of truth and anointed by the Spirit can know the truth; God did not reserve that truth for only a special few. The spirit of deception comes from Satan, the “father of lies” (John 8:44), and leads people into error. Believers can distinguish between these “spirits” by the character and message of the one speaking.

In a world full of demonic false teaching, believers must constantly test the spirits to discern what is from God and what is not. Using the tests that John has outlined here, they can discern true spiritual gems from doctrinal “fool’s gold.” Like the noble Bereans, today’s saints are called to compare every spiritual message they encounter to the revealed standard of Scripture (Acts 17:11). Only then can they obey Jude’s admonition to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3). By faithfully guarding the truth in the present, believers will preserve it in purity both for themselves and for future generations.

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Sources: Bruce Barton et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 1162–64.
John MacArthur, 1, 2, 3 John, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2007), 151–52.
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Walking in Troubling Times – 1 John 2:18-28

Posted on October 27, 2026 by dkoop

Have you noticed that Jesus is under constant attack? Why is Jesus Christ is used as a cuss word?  When someone stubs their toe or gets angry they don’t say, “oh Buda!”  Why do organizations want all Nativity scenes removed from the courthouse lawns?  Why is/was prayer banned in schools?  Why do some people complain about the Bible verses on In N Out’s cups and demand that they’re taken off? Why do people want Chick-fil-a or Hobby Lobby, who are closed on Sunday due to their Christian owner’s convictions to open anyway?  Christians are under attack right now in Nigeria and many other countries. 

In today’s passage, John warns us all about these troubling times.

2:18 The term last hour is used only here in the New Testament. It refers to the “last days” or the “end times”—the time between Christ’s first and second comings (see Joel 2:28; Micah 4:1). The first-century readers of 1 Peter lived in the “last days,” and so do believers today. The word last also gives a sense of urgency. Christ will return soon.

You have heard (referring to the teachings from the apostles) that the Antichrist is coming. (Paul wrote about this in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–10.) John mentioned this not so that believers would try to identify the person, but so that they might be ready for anything that would threaten their faith.
Besides, as John went on, already such persons who could fit that description have come on the scene—already many such antichrists have appeared. From the earliest days of the church in and around Ephesus, false teachers had been a problem. When Paul bid his final farewell to the elders of the Ephesian church, he warned, “I know full well that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you” (Acts 20:29). These are merely precursors to the one Antichrist. Throughout history there have been individuals who epitomized evil and who were hostile to everything for which Christ stands. These antichrists have lived in every generation and will continue to work their evil. There are many cult leaders today who, through their teachings, draw people away from true faith. Then just before Christ’s second coming, a completely evil man will arise. He will be Satan’s tool, equipped with Satan’s power (2 Thessalonians 2:9). This man will be the Antichrist.

Realize People will Fall Away

These other “antichrists” are the false teachers who deny (1) that Jesus is the Christ (2:22), (2) that Jesus is God’s Son (2:23), and (3) that Jesus was God incarnate in human form (4:2; 2 John 1:7). They are liars and deceivers. Jesus warned about them in Matthew 24:24.
During this “last hour,” these antichrists—these false teachers who pretend to be Christians and who lure weak members away from Christ—will continue to be active, just as they were in John’s day. Believers must be grounded in God’s word. They must teach the truth clearly and carefully to the peripheral, weak members among them in the church so that they won’t fall prey to these teachers.

2:19 These false teachers, these antichrists, were not total strangers to the churches; they had been part of the church community, in fellowship with John and the other believers. Then these people left the churches and evidently became promoters of false teachings about Jesus (see 4:1; 2 John 7). When their teachings were not accepted by the Christians or by those in leadership, they left. John explained that they never really belonged among the Christians in the first place. When the false teachers left, they proved that they were never true believers. If they had been true believers, John stated, they would have stayed.
All who attend church may not be true believers. The true believers may not now be able to discern the false believers, but they may in time. It may happen when some leave the churches and the teachings of Christ, proving that they never belonged. Or it may not happen until the Day of Judgment when Christ will separate his true followers from those who never belonged.

Recognize  False Teachers

2:20 John faced the false believers head-on by telling the true believers that the Holy Spirit has come upon them and they know the truth. The Holy Spirit has been given to believers by the Father and the Son and promised by Jesus (John 14:16–17; 15:26 16:13). When a person becomes a Christian, he or she receives the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21–22). John compared the believers with the ones who had left the fellowship and thus proved that they never belonged there. They did not receive Jesus Christ as Savior, so they did not receive the Holy Spirit. They did not know the truth, even though they may have claimed special wisdom and insight. Christians can withstand false teachers’ attacks by relying on the Holy Spirit’s help (see 2:27).

2:21 Those with the Holy Spirit (2:20) not only know the truth about the Father and the Son but can also detect the difference between truth and falsehood. John wrote, not giving them further teaching; the false teachers were attempting to do that. Instead, he was reaffirming the truth that had already been taught to them and that they had believed.

2:22 The great truth is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who came in the flesh to die for sin. To deny this amounts to blatant heresy—John battled this as the central focus of the false teaching. A man named Cerinthus, an avowed enemy of the apostle John, said that Jesus is not the Christ. He spoke of “Jesus” and “the Christ” as two separate beings who were united only from the time of Jesus’ baptism to the time of his crucifixion. Cerinthus taught that “the Christ” left Jesus at the Crucifixion. In other words, Jesus was no more than a mere man who, for a time, had been given divine power. Anyone who would teach this heresy, said John, is the great liar. Such people are antichrists, for they have denied the Father and the Son. They are believing a lie, and lies are from Satan (John 8:42–44).

2:23 Apparently, the antichrists in John’s day were claiming faith in God while denying and opposing the Son. To do so, John firmly stated, is impossible. Because Jesus is God’s Son and the Messiah, anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father either. Many cultists today call themselves Christians, but they deny the deity of Jesus Christ. Some churches, such as the Unitarian church, deny the unique status of Christ as the Son of God.
John reiterated that no one can claim to have special knowledge of God while denying Jesus Christ’s deity and humanity. In both his Gospel and his letters, John made it very clear that the Father can be known only through the Son (John 3:11; 5:37; 6:46; 8:16, 29, 38; 16:32). Three times Jesus announced that he and the Father were one (John 10:30, 38; 14:9–10; 17:21). Denying Jesus means denying God, then the converse is also true: anyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. The disciples, however, found it difficult to conceptualize the Father about whom Jesus so often talked. During his last discourse with his disciples, Jesus again spoke of the Father. Exasperated, Philip blurted out, “Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied” (John 14:8). Jesus told Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” The Son was and has always been the image of the invisible God (2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3).

2:24–25 Many of these Christians had heard the gospel message from John himself. They knew that Christ was God’s Son, that he had died for their sins, that he had been raised to give them new life, and that he would return and establish his Kingdom in its fullness. But their fellowship was being infiltrated by teachers who were denying these basic doctrines of the Christian faith, and some of the believers were in danger of succumbing to false arguments. John encouraged them to remain faithful to what they had been taught from the beginning—to hold on to the Christian truth that had changed their lives. If the believers resisted the lies of the antichrists, they would continue to live in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. By clinging to the truth about God the Father and Christ his Son, believers can be sure they will never be separated from fellowship with God. That fellowship will literally continue forever, for Jesus promised that his followers would be given eternal life. John recorded many of these promises in his Gospel (John 3:14–15, 36; 6:40, 47, 57; 17:2–3). The believers understood the character of the one who made these promises and could trust that he would fulfill them.

2:26 As in 2:12–14 and 2:21, John took pains to clarify his purpose in writing and to affirm the practical import of his teachings. The false teachers were trying to lead people into error, away from the basic gospel that had been taught in the beginning. John wrote as he did because the Christians needed to be aware of those who want to lead them astray. To move away from the basic teachings into various sidelines that contradict those basics is to be “led astray” into heresy. These false teachers not only left the faith and the fellowship, but they wanted to lead others astray as well.

Remain in Christ

2:27 The true believers had received the Holy Spirit and he lived within them. This means that believers can place their total trust in him, rely on him for guidance and strength, and live as he directs. It implies a personal, life-giving relationship. The same idea is in John 15:5, in Jesus’ words about his being the vine and his followers the branches (see also 1 Peter 3:2–4; 4:15).
You don’t need anyone to teach you means that Christians can tell the lying antichrists, “We do not need another teacher because the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, teaches us, so we will continue in what he has taught us, and continue to live in Christ.” This does not mean that Christians should turn away from the counsel of faithful ministers and attempt to make it on their own—in fact, that often will lead them astray. Instead, it means that Christians can discern truth and reject falsehood. The better believers know the truth, the more easily they will be able to identify a lie.
The fact that the Spirit teaches all things refers to the basic gospel truths essential for salvation. This does not mean that all believers will know and understand everything, nor does it mean that the Spirit will add new revelation to what has already been taught. Instead, through the Spirit, believers know enough to keep them from throwing away their faith in Christ and believing the lies of the false teachers.

2:28 John was so anxious for the believers’ spiritual lives that he said over and over that they should continue to live in fellowship with Christ. Although believers already have fellowship with Christ through his indwelling Spirit, a time is coming when they will see him face-to-face in all his glory (3:2). Those who have continued in him will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame when he returns at his second coming. Persevering in our relationship with Christ ensures that we will remain in the true faith. Continuing in the faith keeps us truly ready for Christ’s return.

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Additional Source: Bruce Barton et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 1156–58.
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Walking in the Truth – 1 John 1:1-4 (Who is Jesus?)

Posted on October 21, 2026 by dkoop

Have you noticed that AI is getting pretty good at taking someone’s voice and making it seem real or making a person that looks real but in reality is not?

For Pastor Appreciation month, Hector sent this image of the pastors of our church, mainly from Leander.    This is cute and creative, but not real.  That is not Jerry, Brian, Joe or me.   I do not have hairy arms like that or a cleft chin!  We were never on a ship together.   This image is creative and cute but it’s not real. Unfortunately many people have taken the REAL Jesus and made a counterfeit;  which they think is cool, or culturally relevant but not real.

How can we discern what is real when constant counterfeits surround us?

By the time 1 John was written around AD 90, considerable events had already happened. Jesus had already lived, died, and resurrected, and the gospel had traveled into Greek territories.

As the news spread, stories about this Jewish Messiah were adapted to fit new interests and pursuits, and the newly planted churches began to call what they were originally taught into question.

Why were these stories different?

How could they know the truth of Jesus and discern what was real?

John wrote this letter to answer those very questions, and set right what was becoming chaotic. John’s experience living alongside Jesus helped the readers to see the amplified truth of Him and the fundamentals of the faith they follow.

John starts with the essential true characteristics of Christ— and the authentic message that comes from Jesus and how to walk in the Truth.

1. Christ is Eternal.

It’s possible that John starts this letter by referencing the gospel of John, which also begins with “in the beginning.” It’s meant to be a harkening back to Genesis to remind the readers that what he was talking about was true before there was time.

Consider that for a moment: they saw, heard and touched that which was from the beginning, Jesus. The eternal stepped into time; the unknowable introduced Himself to us. John is telling us that they had a personal experience with the transcendent becoming eminent. This historical thing was not merely before all things, but the generator of all things.

John continues connecting his letting with the gospel when he says “the word of life.” In his gospel, he calls Jesus “the Word.” To the Jews, they understood that the “word” was the creative expression of God— it’s how all things were made. God spoke creation into existence. He spoke to express His will. John is driving home the reminder that the very source of life showed up, and they saw that in Jesus.

2. Christ is a Historical Figure with a Staggering Amount Written About Him

If you were to make up a story, you would stick to mere ideas or concepts, careful to craft the subject matter to be just beyond the reach of truth. And yet, when we look at Scripture, we see that Jesus’ life was made manifest, and it is subject to verification. All of it— the time, places, dates, people, events—can be investigated and verified. The Bible roots itself in history.

It wasn’t formed or created, it was revealed, and they were witnesses to it.

You can tell when an event is big news by tall the new feeds, trending on Twitter, blog posts, articles and publicity it causes.  These types of media frenzies give evidence that something noteworthy happened. When it comes to events that happened in our past, we can look to the eye witnesses or the written accounts. This is how history is recorded and verified, by comparing the accounts. It’s very telling when we do this for Jesus.

“There is far more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus than for any single event in the history of the world” says Ralph Muncaster an intellect with degrees in science, mathematics and logic who once was a skeptic of the Bible, of Jesus, of the Resurrection.  He decided to investigate these so called fables he became startled with his findings and now is a believer and advocator of the faith.  He says, “History can never be proved.”  He means empirically like in science, (observable and testable, provable).  Evidence is the only basis for verifying historical fact.

Magnitude of records coincides with the magnitude of the impact it made.  For instance if you do a Google search you see what impact something has made by how many times it has been written about. For Sept. 11th 2001, the number is high.   For Abraham Lincoln it’s higher, for Jesus Christ even more, even today he still is written about daily.

The magnitude of the  record of Jesus Christ stands far above any record of anyone who has ever lived upon this planet.

Existing early manuscripts exceed 24,000.  The earliest written records were within 25 years of  Jesus death.  No other work of antiquity approaches Christ’s documentary vastness. This includes all works we accept as historical fact. Let’s take for instance  the records, and writings of and during the Roman empire.  We regard these as historical fact about the Roman empire.  Of Julius Caesar and the Gaelic Wars we have 10 early records, the earliest is 900 years after Julius Caesar lived.  Of the 14 books of the history of Rome by Tacitus  only 4 survive, Other records and documents from Roman era by Thucydides,  there are 8, from Herodotus there are  8, from Pliny the Younger we have 7.  There are more but not close to the magnitude of the records of Christ.     Of  portions of manuscript copies of the New Testament which testify of Christ there are in existence today over 24,000.  24,000 copies verses a handful during the same  time period.  No other document of antiquity even begins to approach such numbers of attestation.   On the other hand the original books of the New Testament were written between 25-100 AD. The earliest manuscript in existence today dates from 90-130 AD.

24 thousand NT manuscripts portions recording the life are in existence.  The vastness of the number is particularly extraordinary considering:

  •  Jesus was not in a political position of power such as governor, general or dictator which are the ones usually written about. When I die there won’t be much written about me that will survive time, but if I were the president or a political power figure. Jesus was from a small, distant town and was a lowly carpenter with only three scant years of ministry.  But there are 24000 manuscripts of his life, death and resurrection.
  • The records survived the most intensive eradication effort. Rapidly growing in numbers Christian witnesses were executed.  First by Nero beginning in 54 AD, then Domitian, Trajan, Decius, Valerian and Diocletian.  They were crucified, burned thrown to the lions and gladiators in the coliseums.  Any one professing belief in Christ was executed and any records found were burned.  **In 303 AD an Imperial Edict was passed that ordered all scriptures burned in the entire Roman controlled world and anyone found with them executed.  But still 24,000 exist.
  • There was no printing press and the world population was low. The number of surviving early manuscripts is absolutely staggering considering they were all hand copied by a far smaller population base than even existed. Of 138 million people in the entire world including the far east and China , Rome was under control of half of that population and 24,000 manuscript copies exist today with no automatic duplication.

The gospel exploded because of the passionate testimony of witnesses. As fervid Jesus followers began spreading His message after His death and resurrection, this small group of people changed all of Rome within a few years. To this day, a third of the world aligns themselves with Jesus.

Now, it is our turn to proclaim what we know, have seen, heard, and touched to the world. Why? So they can fellowship with us, the Father, and Jesus.

3. Christ is Relational.

Isn’t it amazing to think that the very foundation of creation is a being you can know, and who who wants a relationship with you?

More than we need content, we need a connection.

More than we need an inspirational message, we need to know the Messenger.

When John referenced Jesus as “eternal life” in 1 John 1:2, he wasn’t calling to mind a concept, he was talking about a person. Paul wrote that “we preach Christ” in 1 Corinthians to present this same idea. Our message is the Messenger. We don’t just preach ideas about Jesus, we preach Jesus. It’s about a relationship with Him.

4. Christ’s Invitation is Open

The faith we profess is an open-invite party and not a secret club.

Wait, why do we need an invite if we are His creation?

While we are made in the image of God, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Sin leads to death and separation, and when we take a look at the mess we have made, we don’t have to look long to know that something is off.

But the good news is that we don’t have to climb to God, He came to us through Jesus. He paid the debt of our sins and took on our death so He could offer us eternal life.

If you are in Him, wouldn’t you want others to be too? Our fellowship is with God, and we should want people to know Him and enjoy Him too.

6. Christ is Joy

John is writing this letter so his joy is made complete. This is not selfish, “I’m-doing-this-for-me” language. Rather, John is filled with joy when they know God through the grace of His Son. John knows, like we do, that life is found in Jesus. If you know that He has changed your life, your joyful invitation is to tell others that He can change theirs, too.

Let’s read John’s words again.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

1 John 1:1-4

Jesus Christ is not just an idea or a concept, He is a Person. Jesus, the Eternal One, became historical so that He could make a way for us to be in a relationship with the Father and Him. Because we know Jesus and how He changed our lives, we tell others so they may know Him as well.  We walk in the Truth of Jesus.

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1 John Overview

Posted on October 20, 2026 by dkoop

Who is Jesus?  “A GOOD man… yes… perhaps one of the best who ever lived… but just a man,” say many. Some believe He is just a prophet, others believe is he only an angel, Satan’s brother. The Gnostics of John’s time believe He was just a spirit that didn’t leave footprints.  And still today, the argument rages over the true identity of Jesus.  However, all would agree that Jesus left his mark on history.

Hearing these discussions, even Christians can begin to wonder and doubt. Is Jesus really God? Did he come to save sinners like us? Does God care about me?

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.

The elder statesman in the church, John wrote this letter to his “dear children.” In it he presented God as light, as love, and as life. He explained in simple and practical terms what it means to have fellowship with God.

At the same time, false teachers had entered the church, denying the incarnation of Christ. John wrote to correct their serious errors. So John’s letter is a model for us to follow as we combat modern heresies.

John opens this letter by presenting his credentials as an eyewitness of the Incarnation and by stating his reason for writing (1:1-4). He then presents God as “light,” symbolizing absolute purity and holiness (1:5-7), and he explains how believers can walk in the light and have fellowship with God (1:8-10). If they do sin, Christ is their advocate (2:1, 2). John urges them to obey Christ fully and to love all the members of God’s family (2:3-17). He warns his readers of “antichrists” and the Antichrist who will try to lead them away from the truth (2:18-29).

In the next section, John presents God as “love”—giving, dying, forgiving, and blessing (3:1-4:21). God is love, and because God loves us, he calls us his children and makes us like Christ (3:1, 2). This truth should motivate us to live close to him (3:3-6). We can be sure of our family relationship with God when our lives are filled with good deeds and love for others (3:7-24). Again, John warns of false teachers who twist the truth. We should reject these false teachers (4:1-6) as we continue to live in God’s love (4:7-21).

In the last section, John presents God as “life” (5:1-21). God’s life is in his Son. To have his Son is to have eternal life.

Do you know the real Jesus Christ? Do you know that you have eternal life? First John was written to help you know the reality of God in your life through faith in Christ, to assure you that you have eternal life, and to encourage you to remain in fellowship with the God who is light and love. Read this letter written by one overwhelmed by God’s love, and with renewed confidence, pass on his love to others.

Vital Statistics

Purpose: To reassure Christians in their faith and to counter false teachings

Author: The apostle John

Original Audience: The letter is untitled and was written to no particular church. It was sent as a pastoral letter to several Gentile congregations.

Date Written: Probably between A.D. 85 and 90 from Ephesus

Setting: John was an older man and perhaps the only surviving apostle at this time. He had not yet been banished to the island of Patmos, where he would live in exile. As an eyewitness of Christ, he wrote authoritatively to give this new generation of believers assurance and confidence in God and in their faith.

Key Verse: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (5:13).

Key People: John, Jesus

Special Features: John is the apostle of love, and love is mentioned throughout this letter. There are a number of similarities between this letter and John’s Gospel—in vocabulary, style, and main ideas. John uses brief statements and simple words, and he features sharp contrasts—light and darkness, truth and error, God and Satan, life and death, and love and hate.

The Blueprint

  1. God is light (1:1-2:29)
  2. God is love (3:1–4:21)
  3. God is life (5:1-21)

John wrote about the most vital aspects of faith so that his readers would know Christian truth from error. He emphasizes the basics of faith so that we can be confident in our faith. In our dark world, God is light. In our cold world, God brings the warmth of love. In our dying world, God brings life. When we lack confidence, these truths bring us certainty.

MAIN IDEAS
THEME EXPLANATION IMPORTANCE
Sin Even Christians sin. Sin requires God’s forgiveness, and Christ’s death provides it for us. Determining to live according to God’s standards in the Bible shows that our life is being transformed. We cannot deny our sin nature, maintain that we are “above” sinning, or minimize the consequences of sin in our relationship with God. We must resist the attraction of sin, yet we must confess when we do sin.
Love Christ commands us to love others as he loved us. This love is evidence that we are truly saved. God is the Creator of love; he cares that his children love each other. Love means putting others first and being unselfish. Love is action—showing others we care—not just saying it. To show love we must give sacrificially of our time and money to meet the needs of others.
Family of God We become God’s children by believing in Christ. God’s life in us enables us to love our fellow family members. How we treat others shows who our Father is. Live as a faithful, loving family member.
Truth and Error Teaching that the physical body does not matter, false teachers encouraged believers to throw off moral restraints. They also taught that Christ wasn’t really a man and that we must be saved by having some special mystical knowledge. The result was that people became indifferent to sin. God is truth and light, so the more we get to know him, the better we can keep focused on the truth. Don’t be led astray by any teaching that denies Christ’s deity or humanity. Check the message; test the claims.
Assurance God is in control of heaven and earth. Because his word is true, we can have assurance of eternal life and victory over sin. By faith we can be certain of our eternal destiny with him. Assurance of our relationship with God is a promise, but it is also a way of life. We build our confidence by trusting in God’s Word and in Christ’s provision for our sin.

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Read Along Daily Bible Reading: You Version

Source: Life Application Study Bible, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1988), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 2143-2144.

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