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Refer to Chart 1, page 20, and observe when John wrote his epistles How many years had elapsed between the writings of Peter and John? Why you think God inspired John’s books to be written so long after the other New Testament books? What emphases might you expect to see in letters written at this time? Why? C ADDRESSEES The readers of John were probably a congregation or group of congregations of Asia Minor closely associated with the apostle Read 2:7, 18, 20, 21, 24, 27; 3:11 for suggestions that the readers had been believers for a long time Various teachers and preachers had ministered to the people living in the vicinity of Ephesus long before John wrote his books (Among those who ministered were Paul, Acts 18:19; 19:1-20; Aquila and Priscilla, Acts 18:18-19, 24-26; Trophimus, Acts 21:29; the family of Onesiphorus, Tim 1:16-18; 4:19; and Timothy, Tim 1:3.) That most of John’s readers were converts from heathenism is only intimated by the absence of Old Testament quotations and by the warning regarding idols in the last sentence of the epistle (5:21) Whoever the readers were, John knew them intimately Hence the very personal, warm atmosphere of this letter to his “children.” D OCCASION AND PURPOSE John wrote this letter to Christians who were falling prey to the deceptive devices of Satan so common in our own day Christians were ghting each other, and John was frank to declare that “the one who hates his brother is in the darkness … and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (2:11) Christians were beginning to love the evil things of the world, and John wanted to warn them of the tragic consequences And then there were the false teachers — John calls them antichrists — who were trying to seduce the believers by false doctrine to draw them away from Christ John warned his readers about such false teachers and encouraged them to stand true to the message of the gospel and to abide in Christ Also there were those who were doubting their own salvation So John wrote to instill dence, that such doubters might know that they had eternal life (5:13) In his gospel his purpose was to arouse a saving faith (John 20:31); in John his purpose was to establish certainty regarding that faith The false teaching that John was especially trying to combat in his epistle was a form of Gnosticism in its infant stage The basic tenet of the Gnostics was that matter was evil and spirit was good One of the heresies that grew from this came to be known as Docetism, which held that Jesus did not have a real body (for then God would be identi ed with evil matter, or esh), but that he seemed (Greek dokeo) to people to have a body John makes it very clear in this epistle that Jesus, the Son of God, appeared to man in real, human esh Read 1:1 and 4:2-3 and observe how ... because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (2:11) Christians were beginning to love the evil things of the world, and John wanted to warn them of the tragic consequences And then there were the false... quotations and by the warning regarding idols in the last sentence of the epistle (5:21) Whoever the readers were, John knew them intimately Hence the very personal, warm atmosphere of this letter... Acts 21:29; the family of Onesiphorus, Tim 1:16-18; 4:19; and Timothy, Tim 1:3.) That most of John’s readers were converts from heathenism is only intimated by the absence of Old Testament quotations
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