TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

1 John 1

Before you read 1 John: who, when, why

BOOK 62 OF 66 · NEW TESTAMENT · LETTER

God Is Love

AUTHOR: John the apostle, the disciple Jesus loved, though the letter never names him. Some think John the Elder or a circle of John's followers wrote it.
WRITTEN FROM: Ephesus, where early writers say John spent his last years.
DATE WRITTEN: About AD 85 to 95.
WRITTEN TO: Churches John cared for, probably around Ephesus in what is now Turkey. He calls them little children.
WHY HE WROTE: Teachers had left the church saying Jesus did not really come in the flesh. John writes so believers can know they have eternal life, 5:13.
KEY VERSE: 1 John 4:8. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The Oldest Copy of 1 John

Papyrus 9, copied in the 200s and found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. The two sides of this small scrap hold parts of 1 John 4:11 to 12 and 4:14 to 17, the chapter that says God is love. Kept at Harvard University's Houghton Library. Public domain.

The Setting

John was the last of the twelve apostles still alive, an old man living in Ephesus, early writers say. A group of teachers had walked out of the churches, 2:19. They claimed special knowledge, acted like sin did not matter, and denied that Jesus the Christ had really come in a human body, 4:2 to 3. The people left behind were shaken. Were they really saved? John writes like a grandfather to his little children: here is how you can know.

What Was Going Wrong

The Walkout. False teachers left the church and pulled others with them, 2:19 and 2:26.
All Talk. People said they knew God but did not obey Him, 2:4.
Denying Jesus. They denied Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh, 2:22 and 4:3.
No Sin. Some claimed they had no sin at all, 1:8 and 1:10.
Hate. Claiming to love God while hating a brother, 2:9 and 4:20.
The World. The pull of the flesh, the eyes and pride, 2:15 to 16.

Where to Find Jesus

1 John 1:1 to 2. The Word of life whom John heard, saw and touched.
1 John 2:1 to 2. Our advocate with the Father and the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 3:8. The Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 5:20. The true God and eternal life.

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

No Name. John never names himself in this letter. Early Christians knew who wrote it by his voice and by tradition.
Sounds Like His Gospel. Light, life, love, truth, abide, little children: the same words fill the Gospel of John.
The Shortest Definition. Only this letter says it in these exact words, 4:8 and 4:16.
Antichrist. John is the only Bible writer who uses the word antichrist.
The Missing Words. 5:7 to 8 holds the most famous added words in the KJV. See The Big Question pages.

What Happened Next?

Early writers say John lived in Ephesus until the time of the emperor Trajan, who began to rule in AD 98, and tradition says he was the only one of the twelve to die of old age. His disciple Polycarp quoted this letter; see What Polycarp Wrote. Centuries later a huge church was built over his traditional grave; see The Basilica of St John.

Chapter 1 in 30 seconds

John starts like a witness in court: we heard Him, saw Him and touched Him. God is light, so walk in the light. And do not pretend you never sin. Confess it, and He forgives you and cleans you up. Simple, but not easy.

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In this chapterField Notes · ArchaeologyThe Basilica of St John · after verse 10

The Word of Life// Luke 24:36–49; John 20:19–23

¹That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life. ²And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.

1JN 1:1[NOTE]SEEN AND TOUCHED. John stresses that Jesus had a real body you could touch. Some false teachers said He only seemed human. See What Irenaeus Wrote. WHO WROTE IT? The letter names no author; the church has always said John the apostle.

³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴We write these things so that our joy may be complete.

Walking in the Light// John 8:12–29

⁵And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1JN 1:5[NOTABLE]No shadow, no dark side. That is why walking in the light matters, 1:7.
1JN 1:7[FULFILLS]It is the blood that makes atonement ← LEV 17:11
1JN 1:7[FULFILLS]In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness ← ZECH 13:1

⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

1JN 1:9[NOTABLE]The promise every believer leans on when they fail.
1JN 1:9[NOTE]CONFESSION. Most Protestants read this as confessing straight to God. Catholics and Orthodox also see it in confession to a priest, John 20:23 and James 5:16. All agree God forgives the one who confesses.

Field Notes · Archaeology

The Basilica of St John

Ephesus

1 John 1:1 to 4 · John 21:20 to 24 · Revelation 1:9 to 11

Ruins of the Basilica of St John on Ayasuluk Hill, Selcuk, Turkey, with the later castle behind. Photo Bernard Gagnon, CC BY SA 3.0.

WHAT IT IS: The ruins of one of the biggest churches of the ancient world, on a hill just outside old Ephesus. It was built in the shape of a cross over the place where Christians said the apostle John was buried.
HOW OLD IT IS: The emperor Justinian built this church about AD 548 to 565. It replaced a smaller church from the 300s over the same grave. Earthquakes and raids later wrecked it. Greek archaeologists began digging in 1921, and later work rebuilt some walls and columns, so not every column standing today is where it fell.
JOHN IN EPHESUS: Irenaeus, about AD 180, says John lived in Ephesus until the time of Trajan, AD 98 to 117. Polycrates, a bishop of Ephesus about AD 190, wrote that John sleeps at Ephesus. Eusebius quotes him.
TWO TOMBS?: About AD 250 Dionysius of Alexandria said people showed two tombs of a John at Ephesus. Some think one was John the apostle and one John the Elder, the name Papias used. Others think it was just two rival spots for the same man.
THE TOMB TODAY: Under the old altar a square of modern marble with four columns marks the traditional grave. No bones or inscription naming John have been found.
WHY IT MATTERS HERE: 1 John was most likely written to the churches around Ephesus. John says, we have seen Him and touched Him, 1:1, and Christians in this city remembered the old man who said it.
WHAT IT DOES NOT PROVE: The church proves Christians honored this spot as John's grave by the 300s. It cannot prove John is buried here.

CONFIDENCE: HIGH FOR THE CHURCH · THE TOMB IS TRADITION

1 John 1

The Oldest Copy of 1 John

The Setting

What Was Going Wrong

Where to Find Jesus

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

What Happened Next?

The Word of Life// Luke 24:36–49; John 20:19–23

Walking in the Light// John 8:12–29

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