EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
1 John 1:1-10
How can I be sure?
1 John
Ian Mackervoy
About this letter
1. The Writer
The letter does not tell us who wrote it. The tradition is that John is the author. John was an *apostle. He was one of the 12 men that Jesus first called to follow him.John was the writer of the fourth *Gospel, which we know as the *Gospel of John. The thought and style of this letter are similar to that of the *Gospel. It is clear that the same person wrote them both. Some of the passages that show this are:
| 1 John | The *Gospel of John |
2. The time and place
John was an old man. He was writing 50 or 60 years after the death of Christ. Perhaps John was the youngest *apostle. And perhaps he was the last *apostle who was still alive. He had made his home in the city called Ephesus.3. The people who received John’s letter
John was in Ephesus when he wrote this letter. He sent it to the churches in that region. He wrote to the Christians in those churches. He knew them well and he loved them. He thought of them as his own family. So he spoke to them as if he was speaking to his own children.4. The reasons why John wrote this letter
Some people in these churches believed wrong things. The people who had taught them these wrong things had been members of the church. However, they had moved away from the *faith and they had left the church (1 John 2:19). So John intended to correct these wrong ideas in his letter.One wrong idea was that Christ was not really a man. He seemed to be a man but was not a real man. John taught quite clearly that the Son of God came as a real man. He lived his life here on earth as a man. The Christ actually died as a man. The man, Christ Jesus, rose again from the dead.
Some people taught that Jesus was merely a man. They taught that he was not really God. They did not believe that God could die. They said that the *Christ came upon Jesus. Then the *Christ left him again before he died. John answered this. He showed that Jesus is one with God. He is the *Christ, who gave his life for us. No mere man could take away our *sins as the *Lord Jesus Christ has done.
These people taught other wrong things. This is what they argued:
• The body is bad, but the spirit is good. True life is in the spirit. What we do in the body does not affect the spirit. So it does not matter how we live in the body.
These people thought that their evil actions did not matter. They said that they loved God. However, they lived for themselves. John shows that such ideas are false. If we love God, our lives must be good. We must not continue to *sin. We must live as Jesus lived. We must live right and good lives because God is good.
5. The purpose of the letter
John wrote this letter to encourage the Christians. He wanted them to know the truth. Then they would recognise false ideas. The letter shows that Christians are children of God. They know God as Father. If God is their Father, then they are all *brothers and sisters. John shows them the kind of life that the children of God should live. They all share the life that the *Lord Jesus gives to them. This is *eternal life, which has no end. John wants all Christians to know that they have this life. He wants them to be sure about this.John wrote about the truth. This is how we know the truth. We know it because we have met Jesus. We know Jesus, so we know the truth.
This is what the letter says to the Christians.
1. They can be sure about Christ (1 John 5:20).
• They know what is true about God and Christ. 1 John 2:21; 1 John 5:7; 1 John 5:16; 1 John 5:20• They know that the Son (Jesus Christ) has come. 1 John 5:20
• They know that Jesus came to take away their *sin. 1 John 3:16
2. They can be sure about *eternal life with Jesus (1 John 3:3; 1 John 5:13).
• They know Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:3; 1 John 2:13• They know that they are his. 1 John 2:5; 1 John 3:10; 1 John 3:18-19
• They know that they are children of God. 1 John 5:19
• They know that they have passed from death to life. They have a new life. 1 John 3:14
• They know that they live. This is because Jesus lives in them. 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:13
3. They should show that they are Christians by their good lives.
• They must love God. They must do what God says. They should love each other. 1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:6; 1 John 3:10; 1 John 5:26. The shape of the letter
| 1. | The Word of life | |
| 2. | God is *light and we should walk in the *light | |
| 3. | Christ speaks for us and we should obey God | |
| 4. | A new command from Christ | |
| 5. | John warns about false *Christs | |
| 6. | The children of God do the right things | |
| 7. | Love each other and believe in Christ | |
| 8. | Test the *spirits to see if they are true | |
| 9. | God is love. He loves us and we should love him | |
| 10. | *Faith overcomes the *world | |
| 11. | God tells us the truth about his Son | |
| 12. | We know God by Christ |
Chapter 1
The Word of life (1 John 1:1-4)
v1 We declare this to you about the Word of life. The Word existed before the world began. This is what we have heard. We have seen it with our eyes. We watched it. We touched it with our hands. This is about the Word of life. v2 The person who gives life came. He showed this life to us. We saw it and we are witnesses to it. We declare to you that this is *eternal life. It was with the *Father. It has now appeared to us. v3 This is what we saw. This is what we heard. We declare it to you also. We want you to share in this life together with us. It really has united us with the *Father and with his son Jesus Christ. v4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Verse 1
John wrote this letter about Jesus, who is the Word of life
The ‘Word of life’ is the *Lord Jesus. And the ‘Word of life’ also means the message of the *gospel. John wrote about the *Lord Jesus. And he wrote about the life that Jesus gives. This life is for those who believe. The Word produces life. This is about the good news of Jesus Christ who is the life.The Word, that is the *Lord Jesus, always existed. He was alive before time and the world began. Christ and the message of life came from God. This was God’s purpose from before *creation. The *Lord Jesus came into the world to achieve this purpose.
John and those who were with him knew the *Lord Jesus. They had heard what he said. They had listened to what he taught. They were with him. They actually saw him. They watched him. They saw all that he did. They lived with him for 3 years. They knew that Jesus was a real human person.
Some people denied that God really came as a human person. But he did come. He is Jesus Christ. John says that they have had a real experience of him. Jesus Christ was God with them here on earth.
Verse 2
Jesus came from God to show us real life
The *Lord Jesus came from God. He became a real man. He showed us what real life is. Real life is life in the spirit. He has that life and he came to give it to us. This is *eternal life. God gives it to those who believe in his Son.John was a witness to this life. The life was with the *Father. Jesus showed that life to us. John and those who believed in the *Lord Jesus saw this real life. They had received it. They proved that the message is true.
What they saw was *eternal life. God gives this life. John knew that he had this life now. And this life will never end. John wants to share this life with the readers of his letter. This life is in the *Lord Jesus. Those who know Jesus have this life.
The *Lord Jesus, who is life, was with God the Father. But he came to us and he showed us this life. These witnesses have received this life from God. *Eternal life comes from God the Father.
Verse 3
When we believe God’s message, we join God’s family
Those who first believed spoke. They described what they had seen. They repeated what they had heard. The Word of life (that is, Jesus) appeared to them. And we need to believe in him. They heard what he said. We too need to hear what he says. And we need to believe it. The message of life in the *Lord Jesus was not only for them. John declares it to those who read his letter. All people can now see and hear God’s truth in Jesus. To know Jesus is to receive the life that God gives by him.The message of the *gospel is that people may believe in Jesus. Those who believe will receive *eternal life. That life comes from God. They will share the same life that John and his friends had. They will know that they have a new life with God. They also can become good friends by having the same life. They will join with John and his friends in the family of God.
This life unites Christians with God who is the Father. It unites them with Jesus the Son of the *Father. Jesus is one with the *Father. Therefore, he also is God as the Father is God. There is one God but three persons. The third person is the Spirit of God.