Sermon Series: 1, 2, & 3 John
Insights and Introduction: 1, 2 & 3 John
Last week was the final message in our New Testament Orientation Series, and we learned about: The Church, Salvation, and Eschatology: God's Unfolding Plan.”
This week, we begin a new systematic verse-by-verse study of the letters 1, 2, & 3 John, followed by Jude. If it goes as planned, it should take us up to Thanksgiving. Today, we will cover some insights and an introduction to the letters from John. While we won’t focus on any verses, we will anchor today’s teaching on 1 John 1:3-4 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.[b]
Opening Prayer
The Old Storyteller's Ancient Text
Imagine, if you will, a community nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountains, where generations had always depended on the wisdom passed down through cherished narratives. Their most precious possession was the Ancient Text, a truly sacred book of wisdom. It wasn't just old parchment; it held the very essence of their mountain identity, their family history, their enduring promises, and their profound joy. This Text had been intimately penned and bestowed by the Founding Elder himself, a wise and benevolent patriarch who had received its truths directly from the very Source of Ancient Wisdom.
Now, only a few, very old members of this community, the Original Scribes and Storytellers, had actually lived with the Founding Elder. They had seen him write the Text with his own hand, heard his direct explanations of its profound truths, and literally handled its pages, studying its intricate details. Their lives were interwoven with the Text's living story.
As the Original Scribes and Storytellers grew older, nearing the twilight of their days, they noticed a troubling trend in the valley. Younger folks, who had never personally met the Founding Elder, were starting to forget the true nature of the Ancient Text. Instead of seeking out the Original Scribes for genuine understanding, they were listening to "Whispers from the Fading Pages."
These whispers weren't outright lies, not at first. Some claimed, "Oh, the Text is purely for personal interpretation; you don't need to actually read its words or live by its wisdom, just feel its presence." Others spread rumors that "the Text's wisdom is too old-fashioned for these new times." Still others introduced cheap, flimsy pamphlets, filled with easy platitudes, that looked shiny and new but utterly lacked the profound truth and life-changing power of the Ancient Text. These whispers created confusion, apathy, and subtle divisions within the extended mountain family.
The most beloved of the Original Scribes, an old man much like John, with clarity born of long perspective, began to send out urgent messages. His hand might have trembled with age, but his words were firm and clear. He said, "We are writing to you about what we ourselves have actually 'seen' with our own eyes, and 'heard' with our own ears, and physically 'handled' regarding this Ancient Text, so that you may have true, authentic kinship with us – the direct connection to the family's legacy. And our kinship, we assure you, is directly with the Founding Elder himself, and with his Beloved Son, the 'Living Word' of the Text, who now embodies its very essence. We are sending you these accounts, dear family members, so that your joy in this Ancient Text may be entirely clear and complete." (Relating to 1 John 1:3-4)
INSIGHTS ON 1, 2 & 3 JOHN
Here, nearing the end of his life, with clarity of perspective and singularity of purpose, the Lord’s “beloved disciple” sought to revive the faith, love, and hope of his younger readers. He hoped to encourage them to renew an authentic, contagious walk with Christ. And his message of right living in a wrong world is as relevant today as it was then.
In the twilight of his long life, the apostle John gathered his thoughts, surveyed the landscape of the world around him, and then sat down with parchment, quill, and ink to sum up his final words to the churches.
So much had changed since he had walked with Jesus as one of the original Twelve. Those brief but impactful three-plus years John spent with Jesus were followed by six long and painful decades. Erosion had set into the life of the church. In many places, the newness of fresh faith had begun to wane now that the church was in the hands of second- and third-generation Christians. A subtle, lethargic boredom had replaced the excitement that had been modeled by those early followers of Jesus. The initial thrill had subsided, the bright flame of devotion reduced to a flicker.
In a setting like that, the subtle seeds of heresy are easily sown and rapidly grown. Cults thrive in complacent churches, where apathy and indifference replace dynamic enthusiasm. Over time, core values such as truth, love, and hospitality can become compromised, misdirected, and abused. Tragically, these scenarios were playing out in the church of John’s day—and that’s precisely what led him to write these letters.
1 JOHN
When he wrote the letter known today as 1 John, it’s likely that the aged apostle had more years behind him than he had months ahead of him. He was probably somewhere between 88 and 93 years of age. Let’s just call him a 90-year-old man. Isn’t it remarkable that a man at that age was so in touch with his times? I would argue that because of his age, he saw more clearly than ever. And that’s what troubled him enough to write this letter.
Here, nearing the end of his life, with clarity of perspective and singularity of purpose, the Lord’s “beloved disciple” sought to revive the faith, love, and hope of his younger readers. He hoped to encourage them to renew an authentic, contagious walk with Christ. And his message of right living in a wrong world is as relevant today as it was then.
THE AUTHOR, PLACE, AND DATE OF 1 JOHN
Although the author of this five-chapter message never names himself, several clues point us to the writer’s identity. First, the author clearly places himself as part of a group of apostolic eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of Jesus, noting that “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard” (1 Jn. 1:3). This narrows our pool of potential candidates and points us to one of the original disciples of Jesus. But which one?
We are helped by the fact that the language, style, and themes of this letter are similar to those found in the fourth Gospel. Although the author of the fourth Gospel is also unnamed, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to narrow the possibilities to one. The author of the fourth Gospel refers to himself indirectly as “The disciple Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). This is undoubtedly a reference to the Apostle John for several reasons. First, he had to be one of the twelve disciples who had personally witnessed the events about which he wrote. In John 21:24, the author said, “This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here” Second, because the description “The disciple Jesus loved” implies a close, personal relationship with Jesus, it’s most likely that the author was one of the three disciples in Jesus’ “inner circle”—Peter, James, or John (Matt. 17:1; Mark 5:37; 14:33). Third, the author couldn’t be Peter because he distinguishes himself from Peter (John 20:2), and he couldn’t be James because James was martyred too early to have written the Gospel (Acts 12:2). This leaves only one reasonable conclusion for the authorship of the fourth Gospel: John, the son of Zebedee and brother of James (Mark 3:13–17).
Because we have great confidence regarding the authorship of the Gospel of John, we can rely on that knowledge to determine the author of 1 John, which we can then use to determine the authorship of 2 and 3 John.
Because of the close relationship between John’s Gospel and the first of these three epistles (1 John), we can identify John as the author of this letter as well. And because of the relationship between 2 and 3 John and their common relationship with 1 John, all the puzzles about authorship fall into place.
AUTHORSHIP...
