Page 64 - General Epistles (James through Jude) Textbook

Study Section 12: Introductory Matters of the First Epistle According to
John.

12.1 Connect.

In the year 2010, between the month of September and October, I was among the sixteen-
member team that was visiting the USA. While on a tour, we were expected to sing and give
testimonies on how and when we became Christians. Most importantly, we needed to introduce
ourselves. In that introduction, we were supposed to tell the audiences our names, how many we
were in our biological families, how old we were, our marital status, etc.

While it was tedious for some of us because we kept repeating the similar information over and over
again, it remained important as it was a channel that would allow the establishment of connection
between us and the audience. It would draw the audience’s attention so that people could listen to
whatever we would be doing. Further, our introduction of ourselves would ignite questions in our
audience’s mind that would be discussed later after the performance. That is exactly what we find and
see in the opening verses of the first epistle according to John. Let’s get to the introductory matters of
first John.

12.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to identify and describe by giving considerable reasons the writer
of the first epistle according to John.

2. The student should be able to identify and explain by giving convincing and plausible reasons
the writer’s purpose (s) for writing first John.

3. The student should be able to identify and summarize some reasons why some do not believe that
apostle John wrote the first epistle according to John.

4. The student should be able to approximately identify the date of writing of the first letter according to
John.

12.3 Author, Provenance, Date, Recipients, Occasion, and Purpose (Introductory Matters).

Author.
It is complex to identify the writer because the letter itself does not claim that. However, the
similarities of some phrases, terms, and sentences (syntaxes [or organization of words]) found in
both 1 John and the Gospel according John strongly points to John, the apostle of Jesus Christ as
the author. For example, “we are of the devil . . . from the beginning” (1 John 3:8/John 8:44),
“we are from the world” (1 John 2:16; 4:5/John 8:23; 15:19), “we sin” (1 John 3:4/John 8:34), “and
dead” (1 John 3:14/ John 5:25). “God sent the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14/John 4:42) so that ‘we
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might live’ (1 John 4:9/John 3:16.” The above raised similarities are too strong to disprove the
acknowledgement of the authorship of the first epistle according to John to John himself.

On the other hand, evidence coming from outside the Bible, that is apostolic father’s writings, etc.
remain consistent in their designation of the authorship to apostle John. References from first John

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