1 John Images and
NotesThe Book of
1 John
1
John 1:1-3 - That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen [it], and bear
witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the
Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and
heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with
us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his
Son Jesus Christ.
1
John 4:1-4 - Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the
spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are
gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even
now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children,
and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you,
than he that is in the world.
1
John 4:10 - Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that
he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our
sins.
1 John in The New Testament - A Brief Overview
Painting of St. John the Evangelist by Reni - 1620
Introduction to
The Book of 1 John
Brief Summary. John encourages believers that Jesus
was Jehovah God who had come in the flesh, that God is Light and
he encourages Christians to walk in the light by keeping His
commandments, and the main commandment was to love God and love
one another. Anyone who does not love is an antichrist, and
anyone who teaches that Jesus was not Jehovah come in a fleshly
body is from the spirit of error. Whoever is fellowshipping with
the world and sin is not from God. Christians should love one
another and they will be assured that they know God and have
Eternal Life.
Summary of The Book of
1 John
Purpose. The purpose of the first book of John was to
encourage Christians to "love one another" because "God is
love". The other purpose was to combat various forms of heresies
which had crept into the church. False teachers had gone
out from the church and had begun to teach another doctrine.
John refers to these false teachers as "Antichrist" and "false
prophets." John went so far as to say that there was a spirit of
error and the only way to detect the spirit of error was if the
person denied that Jesus was Jehovah come in the flesh. John
also addresses the Christian attitude, that the original
enthusiasm of the believers needed to be renewed, and that they
should not yield to the pleasures of the world. He also
continually encourages them to love Christ and one another.
Audience. John clearly wrote to all Christians
throughout the world to encourage them to love one another, and
to guard against the Gnostic heresies which denied that Jesus
was Jehovah come in the flesh.
Author. Although the book does not name the author,
most scholars agree that the apostle John was the writer of 1
John, and early Christian writers often quoted from 1 John as
having come from the apostle John.
Date. Many scholars believe that John the apostle had
stayed in Jerusalem to care for Mary as Jesus had commanded him,
and after the destruction of Jerusalem he went to Ephesus. Most
Bible teachers believe that 1 John was written after the
destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, although there is no
evidence of this.
Place. According to church tradition John spent the
last years of his life in Ephesus, as a center point to write to
the churches. He lived to a very old age having written the
gospel of John, the three epistles, and the book of Revelation.
Among his students were Polycarp, Pappias, and Ignatius.
Outline of the Book of
1 John
Fellowship with God - Chapter 1-3
Brotherly Love - Chapter 4
Victory over the World - Chapter 5
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus"
would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or
consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A).
Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means
"The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".
1 John Maps and Resources
Map of the Roman Empire (14 A.D.) - This map reveals the
Roman Empire during the time shortly after the birth of Jesus,
in 14 AD at the time of the death of Augustus. The order which
prevailed in this extensive empire, the good military roads, and
the use of Koine Greek as the general language of culture
throughout the area were among the factors which multiplied the
rapid spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's First Missionary Journey (48 A.D.) - This map
reveals the areas in Asia Minor where Paul visited in his first
missionary journey. Around 48 AD, in the springtime, Paul and
his companions Barnabas and Mark were sent on a mission from the
church in Antioch. This would be the first of Paul's Missionary
Journey's. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey (51 A.D.) - This map
reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his
second missionary journey. Paul re-visits a couple cities in
Asia, one of which was Lystra where he was stoned and left for
dead a few years earlier. He later has a vision that leads him
over to Greece and Paul and his companions travel and minister
in various cities in Greece (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea,
Athens and Corinth. Later Paul returns to Ephesus and finally to
Caesarea and Antioch. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's Third Missionary Journey (54 A.D.) - This map
reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his
third missionary journey. On Paul's third missionary journey he
returned to the cities he had first visited on his first
missionary journey. During this time he decided to remain in
Ephesus for about 3 years, and this city was the main focus of
his activities and an important Christian community (Acts 19).
(Color Map)
Map of the New Testament World - This map reveals the
"Nations" within the ancient world during the first century
A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the areas
of Israel, Asia, Greece, and Italy. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Greece This map reveals the cities
within Greece in the ancient world during the first century
A.D.,The map includes the principal cities of Greece like:
Athens, Corinth, and Thessalonica, and provinces like Macedonia
and Achaia. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Asia - This map shows the cities within
Asia Minor during the first century A.D., the time of the New
Testament. The map includes the principal cities of Asia
including Tarsus, Ephesus, and Colossae, and provinces like
Galatia and Pamphilia. (Color Map)
