Resources for 1 John

1. Test of Genuine Fellowship With God

   1. Proper View of Jesus (1:1-4)

   2. The Affirmation of the Reality of Sin (1:5-2:2)

   3. Obedience to God’s Commands (2:3-6)

   4. Love of the Brethren (2:7-26)

      1. Antichrists

         1. They depart from the faithful

         2. They deny the Father and the Son

         3. They try to deceive the faithful

      2. Response to deceivers (2:27)

   5. Love & Obedience (2:28-3:3)

2. Testing the Validity of One Claiming to Be a Christian (3:4-5:21)

   1. Christian’s Incompatibility with Sin (3:4-10)

   2. Love (3:11-24)

   3. Testing the Spirits (4:1-6)

   4. Why Christians Love (4:7-21)

   5. Christians Are Overcomers (5:1-5)

3. The Deity of Christ (5:6-12)

   1. External (5:6-9)

   2. Internal (5:10-12)

4. Certainties for Believers (5:13-21)

John was written in the Ephesus (Modern Day Turkey.) It was written approximately AD 85-95 (50-60 years after the Gospel.) John wrote this epistle so that “you may know and believe in the Son of God and have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13, John 20:30) After John the apostle wrote his Gospel account, he wrote this epistle.

During the 50-60 years in between there was a time of great political and societal upheaval. Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews and Christians were dispersed throughout the Mediterranean world and beyond. The apostles had mostly passed on and the 2nd/3rd generation leaders were taking over the churches planted and were now contending for the faith. There was a lot of theological confusion and moral uncertainty. The church at Ephesus was founded around Paul’s 2nd missionary journey by Priscila and Aquila and was strengthened by Paul on his 3rd missionary journey in Acts 19. Paul pastored the church there almost 3 years.

As you saw in your homework on the background information, there was prophecy given to Paul in Acts 20:28. As of writing 1 John, this prophecy had become reality:

​

1. False prophets

2. Deceivers

3. Antichrists

​

This is classified as a general epistle but has a more intimate tone. By the time he wrote this letter, John was advanced in age. The issues reflected in this letter likely reflect the beginning issues of the system now referred to as Gnosticism. Remember that in this time the apostolic eyewitness to the earthly ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ was highly authoritative among the churches.

There are two basic heretical beliefs John deals with in his letter. The first is what is now referred to as Docetism. This is the belief that the body of Jesus wasn’t actually real but only seemed physical. This is why we see John affirm the physical body in his letter. The second is that Christ’s Spirit descended on Jesus at His baptism but left Him before His crucifixion, pushed by someone named Cerinthian. This is why John makes the statement that Jesus was the same at the beginning and the end of His ministry in 1 John 5:6. The overall point of the letter is to get believers back to the basic doctrines of the faith who had been saved when he wrote his original Gospel account.

Week 1: 1 John 1:1-4

Week 2: 1 John 1:5-2:2

Week 3: 1 John 2:3-17

Week 4: 1 John 2:18-27

Week 5: 1 John 2:28-3:10

Week 6: 1 John 3:11-24

Week 7: 1 John 4:1-6

Week 8: 1 John 4:7-21

Week 9: 1 John 5:1-12

Week 10: 1 John 5:13-21

Bookmark for you to check off as we go!!

​

To download it, click here.

​(Please let me know if you have issues accessing this!)

​

​For Verse Mapping Instructions to dig into a specific verse, click here.

​

For Video Instructions on Verse Mapping, go here: 

​