Book of 1st John
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| Santa Cruz, California |
Word of Life
Part-one
About the author: He was an Apostle of Jesus Christ and one of the chosen twelve, the son of Zebedee and Salome. Jesus gives John and his brother James the nickname of, Sons of Thunder, Mark3:17. He is commonly referred to as the disciple Jesus loved and whom Jesus gave instructions to care for His Mother. John19:26. He was an Evangelist, and Teacher. I believe the author of 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, including the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelations were written by the Apostle John.
Quote: The following is an excerpt from Henry Alford's, Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary; "Whether then we approach the question of the authorship of this epistle, (and its consequent canonizing), from the side of external testimony, or of internal evidence, we are alike convinced that its claim to have been written by the Evangelist St. John, and to its place in the canon of scripture, is fully substantiated."
Theme and setting: Back to basics or the fundamentals of The Faith would be appropriate to say of John's writing. He explains in absolute terms what a true christian believes about the nature of God, 1Jn1:5, about sin, 1Jn1:8, about obedience, about love, 1Jn4:8. John the Apostle of Love was one of the first disciples called by Jesus and now in his senior years he is the last surviving apostle. He writes to you and I whom he refers to as, "My dear children." 1Jn2:1.
He was well know among the seven Churches of Asia Minor which he writes about in the Book of Revelations. He begins his letter with factual events; What was from the beginning what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands." John was an eyewitness of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and so his testimony is trustworthy, accurate and true. The first sentence of his Epistle, "What was from the beginning", is similar to the opening sentence of the Gospel of John, "In the beginning was the Word." Jn1:1
Time line: This type of book is called An Epistle; which are authoritative letters, written by apostles, and sent out to individual people or congregations. They are divided into two groups; Pauline epistles & general epistles of which is 1st John. This letter was likely written during Apostle John's senior years, late first century.
Quote: The English word "epistle" originated from a Latin word, epistola, that itself originated from a Greek word, pronounced epistole, that meant to send on. While the English word "pistol" originated from the same Latin version of the word, epistola, as "epistle," epistles were a means of delivering communication, not of delivering bullets." From: Daily Bible Study.
Note: The historical information provided in the introduction of this study is based on the Bible, and reliable internet resources. You can read more about the Book of 1st John at the following websites: www.academia.edu/discourseanalysis/1John.an introduction.
www.studylight.org/commentaries/1john overview
Quote: The English word "epistle" originated from a Latin word, epistola, that itself originated from a Greek word, pronounced epistole, that meant to send on. While the English word "pistol" originated from the same Latin version of the word, epistola, as "epistle," epistles were a means of delivering communication, not of delivering bullets." From: Daily Bible Study.
Note: The historical information provided in the introduction of this study is based on the Bible, and reliable internet resources. You can read more about the Book of 1st John at the following websites: www.academia.edu/discourseanalysis/1John.an introduction.
www.studylight.org/commentaries/1john overview
Text: 1John1:1
What was from the beginning, what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked
at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life.
what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked
at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life.
1) What was from the beginning: The incarnate, "Word of Life", Jesus Christ, who was with the Father in the beginning. John1:1. Bible scholars say this verse can refer to Messiah who was present at the beginning of creation in Genesis1:1, or the birth of Messiah, either interpretation is correct.
what we have heard, referring to himself using first person, plural pronouns; Some Theologian's teach that the plural pronouns used, ie; we, us and our, refer to those apostolic eyewitnesses of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and also inclusive eyewitness groups of people, ie; all of Jesus disciples.
What did they hear? They heard the voice of the Master Teacher. They heard His voice as He sat down and began to teach them saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit; they heard Him when He broke bread with them in the upper room at the last supper saying, "This is My body do this in remembrance of Me. 1Corinthians11:24.
what we have seen with our eyes: The Apostle John was a follower of John the Baptist and witnessed the baptism of Jesus. He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting upon Jesus. Matthew3:16. John was present at the transfiguration of Jesus, Matthew17:1-7. He followed Jesus from the time of His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane all the way to Calvary.
What did they see? They saw God tabernacle among human beings. They saw Jesus Messiah who would save His people from their sin - The Lamb of God. John1:29. They were witnesses to all of the miracles, signs and wonders that were performed by Jesus. They saw Jesus have compassion on the multitudes and healing the sick and brokenhearted. Matthew11:3-5. They watched as Jesus demonstrated humility by washing their feet. And even today every christian can say; "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him." 1Peter1:8.
what we have looked at: "Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else." Isaiah45:22. Many people
have ' looked ' at Jesus but then they walk away. John wants us to look to Jesus and be saved, so that we too will have fellowship with the Father
and with His Son Jesus Christ.
have ' looked ' at Jesus but then they walk away. John wants us to look to Jesus and be saved, so that we too will have fellowship with the Father
and with His Son Jesus Christ.
and touched with our hands: "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see
I have." Luke24:39. I am reminded again that we serve a risen Savior.
concerning the Word of Life: "And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." Luke24:2-3. Any first century christian hearing these inspired words of the Apostle John would be as blessed as you and I are today and given a joyful amen!
A Bible study by: Glenn Faurot
Definition of terms:
What - Gk; ὅ, transliteration, ho; is a relative pronoun; who, which, what, that. The word is used in, Matt1:16 "of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah." Occurs 1,411 times.
beginning -Gk; ἀρχή , transliteration, archo; (verb). to rule, to begin, used absolutely, of the beginning of all things. Used in, Matt19:4, "that He who having created them from the beginning." (Strong's Concordance).
Attributions and Resources:
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8) Blog Photo: River Nile/Courtesy of Pixabay.com/Public Domain
9) Search Engine Submission - Addme.com
Your comments are always welcome