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OUTLINE
OBSERVATION
Reading through 1 John there seems to be the common thread of practical advice to
believers. John admonishes believers to have common fellowship and walk in obedience to the
message that has been proclaimed and heard (1:1, 5). One of the major emphases John brings
forth is the simple advice as to the indicators of what the Christian community looks like.
Christian community refuses to be lead astray (3:7), seeks to act in righteousness by guarding
against sin (3:8-10) and finally by acting in love toward one another (3:11-15). This community
is held together by two common elements: Christ and obedience. The Christ laid down His life
and thus becomes the example of how believer should lay down their lives for each other (3:16-
20). Jesus’ demonstration of love offers the believer life without condemnation and instead
provides confidence to live in Him by obedience to the commands (3:21-24). The practicality of
John’s advice is evident as he instructs and warns the believers on how to recognize the enemies
of true doctrine. Believers are told to “test the spirits” (4:1-6) by identifying those who profess
The letter gives us several key words to help us understand the emphasis of this book.
One such word is “heard.” This word repeats 8 times (1:1, 3, 5; 2:7, 18, 24; 3:11; 4:3). This word
of often connected with the phrase “the message” and “from the beginning.” This seems to be
1 John 2
John’s way of encouraging the believers to not forsake the genuine message but stand against
those who oppose Christ. There are also three other words that recur throughout 1 John: light,
life and love. Light occurs 6 times (1:5, 7; 2:8-10) and seems to be symbolic of the revelation of
Christ and the essentiality of believers remaining under that light. The second word is “love,”
which recurs 35 times throughout the book but is especially stressed in Chapter 4 (vv. 8-12, 16-
21). John introduces God’s love in vv. 4-10 by establishing the general principle that God is
love. Then John explains the effects of God’s love in vv. 11-21 by giving particular examples of
how love is worked out in the life of believers. This seems to be indicative of John’s purpose in
encouraging the believers in the face of attack from those who are attempting to distort the
message of Christ. The third word, “life,” recurs 14 times in 1 John. Like other Johannine
writings this word seems to take on a more powerful usage than mere living but connotes an
Question(s): What is John’s purpose in repeating these words? What did these words mean to the
original hearer?
• Command (5x)
• Know (33x)
• Obey (4x)
• Anti-Christ (3x)
What are the purposes of these recurrences and how do they work to help build John’s purpose
and arguments?
Other relationships occur in 1 John and help to reinforce John’s purpose of advising the
1 John 3
believers in community life. One such structural relationship is found in the contrasting of
“light” and “darkness.” Believers walk and live in the “light” while non-believers/anti-Christ’s
live and walk in “darkness.” This contrasting structure seeks to draw the line between those who
are with Christ through proclamation and obedience to the “message.” On the other side are
those who oppose the message of Christ who is both divine and human. Other contrasting
relationships are seen in John’s comparison of those who sin and those who walk in
righteousness. He uses the contrasting terminology of “children of God” and “children of the
devil” (3:7-10).
INTERPRETATION
The contrasting relationship John uses between “light” and “darkness” helps to empower
Light Darkness
God is light (1:5) In God there is no darkness (1:5)
Light is “already” shining (2:8) Darkness is passing (2:8)
Living in light is an indication of loving your Hating your brother is walking in darkness
brother (2:9) and tied to loving God. (2:9) and walking darkness is to be away from
God.
This contrasting relationship seems to imply that those who oppose Christ can be
recognized by how they treat their brother. To love God and walk in light means to love your
brother and walk in light with him. Walking in darkness indicates your distance from God and
thus a correlary distance from your brother. This suggest the basis of true and healthy human
APPLICATION