The Book Of 1 John

F. F. Bruce. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Grand Rapids: William B. Eardmans Publishing Company, sixth edition, 1981

All of the Gospels describe the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but each author illustrates the stories differently. Scholars believe Mark is the first Gospel written and is symbolized by a lion to denote Christ as powerful and fast-paced. The Book of John, understood to be the last gospel composed, is perceived as an eagle because the story differs greatly and is often more developed than the other Gospels. Comparing John 2 to the Gospel of Mark will depict unique themes and characteristics of Jesus.

The book posits that it is possible that the book of 1 John be a response to the First Century heresy of Gnosticism, which is defined by our text as “[taking] a dualistic view of the cosmos, typically insisting that only the spirit was pure and good and that the physical world, the creation of an inferior god, was inherently corrupt. Imprisoned in physical bodies, humans could escape the world of decaying matter only through precious knowledge” (Harris, 2012: 422). As a branch of Gnosticism, members of the Johannine church took the notion of Docetism as truth, which “held that Jesus did not suffer physically and dies, but simply returned to heaven, his spiritual home” (Harris, 2012: 423). When John uses the words “in the flesh” in chapter four,

An Historical Survey of the Old Testament, second edition, by Eugene H. Merrill, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In comparison to many of the initially accepted books of the Biblical canon, John’s book of Revelation was written decades later, around 96 CE, and was forced to address the failure of the kingdom’s arrival. Many earlier Biblical books argued that God’s kingdom was imminent and would arrive swiftly, but the passing of time may have led to a gradual decrease in this sense of urgency and, by extension of this, religious faith in Jesus and his teachings. In response to this, John’s contemporaries faced him with a unique challenge to renew their eschatological beliefs and answer the mystery behind the delayed coming of the kingdom of God. Within the book of Revelation, John encourages his readers to strengthen their belief in the urgency behind

If you are at all familiar with the story that precedes the one in chapter ten of the Gospel of John you may remember early in chapter nine when a blind man was confronted by Jesus Christ. Most often in the Gospel stories it was Jesus who was normally confronted. Either with requests, questions or accusations. The requests ranged from ‘pleas to be healed’ or ‘please come to dinner’. The questions were numerous and at times tumultuous. The accusations increased as time drew nearer to His eventual death on accusations worst assault, the cross.

The author of 1 John was concerned about the conditions within the group, which related to false teachings of some Christians. Specifically, the physical humanity of Jesus, his Incarnation “in the flesh”, and the necessity of showing love for fellow believers (Harris, 2014, p.437). The book of 1 John may have been a response to protoGnostics, secessionists who were predecessors of the Gnosticism that challenged other forms of Christianity from the second through the fifth centuries CE (Harris, 2014, p.437). Specifically, Gnosticism concentrated on a two-fold view of the cosmos, which represented the belief that only the spirit was pure and good and that the physical world, the creation of a subordinate god, was permanently dishonest.

John’s gospel portrays Jesus as a divine being coming to earth to reveal the truth necessary for salvation. It is in John’s gospel that Jesus makes some of his most familiar and yet extraordinary declarations about himself, where he says that he is ‘the bread of life,” “the light of the world”, “the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.” and “the way, the truth, and the life.” This is the Gospel that identifies Jesus as the Word of God “through whom all things were made.” It is here that he makes the astonishing claim that “before Abraham was, I am,” where he confesses that “I and the Father are one,” and where he tells Nicodemus that “you must be born again.” And it is in this Gospel that Jesus performs many of his most memorable acts: turning the water into wine, raising his friend Lazarus from the dead, and washing his disciples’ feet. Jesus talks a lot about his own identify in the gospel of John. John’s gospel also talks of Jesus as God’s equal. 1.

Harris, S. L. (2014). The New Testament: A Student's Introduction (8th ed.). Dubuque : McGraw-Hill

In these first four verses of the Gospel of John we see that the Word was God and brought forth life through himself “and this life was the light of the human race.” (JN 1:4). Let’s skip forward a few verses in the first chapter and we see that there was a major event that took place on the earth. “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (JN 1:14). This most worthy event was the birth of the God Man, the Son of God, the Word made flesh and who is the Word, none other than the God the Light. In this way we see that God is the Word, the Word is the creator of life and the life from the Word is the Light of the human race. This light then become flesh and takes up dwelling with us,

John is the fourth book in The Gospel of the New Testament. John is the author of the book, he was the disciple Jesus loved. Its themes are Jesus Christ Deity, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ the bread of life and God the Comforter. The book of John shows that God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, ( also known as the Comforter) was working together as one to reconcile man back to himself. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God wrap Himself in flesh and became Jesus Christ, Jesus claimed to be the bread of life, John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he

Today our class focused on chapter 6 of the gospel of John. Jesus continues to work signs in front of people. This time it is the multiplication of the loaves. I want to highlight two aspects that called my attention: people looking for Jesus and how they don’t get the message.

Themes: II John is widely covered by the themes of truth and love which always goes together. John also insists that true believers march not only in the truth but in crystal clear love for one another which is another special aspect of this book against the teachings of false teachers (Carson & Moo, 1992, p. 670). Another major theme apart from truth and love is the warning against the false teachers which became a big issue in the context of the writing of the II John for which the writer encouraged the readers to walk in truth.

Gundry, Robert H. Commentary on Matthew. Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2011.

John, the apostle, wrote the Gospel of John as an apologetic to proclaim the deity of Christ, so that everyone may believe and have eternal life (John 20:31) (Voorhees). While written in Ephesus to Diaspora Jews and Proselytes, he desired to reach a larger audience. One can divide John into two books. This passage falls under the “Book of Signs: The Signs of the Messiah.” These signs are meant to state that Christ, the Son of God, is Jesus (Kostenberger 9-10). John 6:22-58 harmonizes well with the book through the theme of belief and the source of Jesus as eternal life. Jesus uses the Bread of Life Discourse to show that while sustenance on earth is vital, the eternal life he will grant through his death is superior.