1st John Chapter 1 - The Johns Bible Study

1st, 2nd, and 3rd John

1 John Chapter 1

This is an AI Recap of the class.
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Short Summary of the Class

Our class began with an overview of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, establishing their context as letters written to combat false teachings and encourage believers. We focused on the opening chapters of 1 John, discussing the foundational themes of God as light, the necessity of walking in that light, and the command to love one another. This discussion on light versus darkness naturally transitioned into a deep and personal conversation about the Christian understanding of death. We challenged the idea that death is a release, instead affirming it as an enemy overcome by Christ. The class concluded by exploring the robust, hopeful vision of the resurrection, where grief coexists with the joyful promise of a renewed creation and reunion with our loved ones.

Detailed Class Summary

Introduction and Overview of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John

The class started with a brief overview of our plan to study 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, along with some housekeeping notes about our upcoming schedule around Thanksgiving and Christmas. To get a big-picture view, we watched a Bible Project video on the letters of John. The video explained that these letters were written by "the Elder" (likely the apostle John) to a network of house churches facing a crisis from a group that had broken away and denied that Jesus was the Messiah.

• 2nd John warns a church not to support these "deceivers."

• 3rd John encourages a man named Gaius to welcome legitimate missionaries.

• 1st John is a poetic, sermon-like letter written as "damage control" to remind believers of the truth they already know.

The video highlighted 1st John's unique literary style, which uses "amplification" to cycle repeatedly around core ideas like life, truth, and love, using stark contrasts like light vs. darkness. The sermon is structured around two main declarations: "God is light" and "God is love."

Summary: We established our study topic and holiday schedule. A video provided crucial context, explaining that John's letters were written to combat false teachings and encourage believers to hold fast to the truth of Jesus, with 1st John being a poetic sermon centered on the themes that God is light and God is love.

Reading and Discussion: 1 John 1:1 - 2:11

After discussing the video, we read the first portion of the letter, focusing on the foundational concepts.

• The Word of Life and Fellowship (1 John 1:1-4): John begins by establishing the apostles' authority as eyewitnesses to Jesus, the "Word of life." Their purpose is to bring readers into koinonia (fellowship) with the Father and the Son, which is the source of full joy.

• Walking in the Light (1 John 1:5-10): John delivers the first core message: "God is light." True fellowship requires us to "walk in the light." This means living truthfully, which includes confessing our sins. We noted how the phrase from 1 John 1:8-9, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves," is a familiar part of Christian liturgy. The path forward is confession, and God is "faithful and just" to forgive and cleanse us.

• Christ Our Advocate and Keeping His Commands (1 John 2:1-11): John addresses his readers as "my little children," assuring them that when we sin, we have an "advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Jesus is the "propitiation" (atoning sacrifice) for our sins. True knowledge of God is proven by obedience, specifically to the "old" yet "new" commandment to love one another. This love is the practical test of whether we are walking in the light or stumbling in darkness.

Summary: In this section, John establishes that fellowship with God requires walking in the light. This involves honestly confessing our sins, for which Jesus is our advocate and atoning sacrifice. The primary evidence that we know God and are walking in His light is our obedience to His command to love one another.

Gnosticism, Death, and the Problem of Suffering

The discussion of light versus darkness, and John's use of the term "my dear children" in 1 John 2:1, led to a deeper theological conversation. John was addressing a serious heresy known as Gnosticism, the belief that the spiritual realm is good while the physical realm (including our bodies) is evil. This ancient heresy still influences modern thought, often surfacing in phrases like someone being "released from their body of captivity" at death.

The class challenged this idea, affirming the biblical truth from Genesis 1 that creation, including our physical bodies, was made "good." The pastor shared a pivotal realization from his early ministry: "Death's the problem. Why are we celebrating death?" We concluded that death is not a victory but the ultimate consequence of sin and brokenness. The true victory is the resurrection. While it's comforting to say someone is "free from pain," the reality is they have succumbed to it. Our hope is not in death itself, but in the fact that, as Paul writes in Romans 8:38-39, nothing—not even death—can separate us from the love of God.

Summary: We identified and deconstructed the heresy of Gnosticism, which wrongly views the physical body as evil. The class concluded that death is the ultimate problem and the result of sin, not a release. Our true hope is in the resurrection and the promise that even in death, we remain with Jesus.

The Hope of Resurrection and Our Resurrected Bodies

The conversation then explored the nature of our future resurrected bodies. The example of the resurrected Jesus, who still bore the wounds of his crucifixion, was central. His scars were not a sign of diminishment but a testament to his victory and identity. This led to a reflection on how our own scars and wounds shape who we are. Erasing them might mean erasing a part of ourselves.

Instead of a flawless existence, the resurrection promises a renewed creation where "life is on the loose," ruled by life and light. In this new reality, our scars may still be part of our story, but the pain associated with them will be gone. To illustrate this, a story from C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew was shared, where a talking animal's fall into a mud puddle in pre-fallen Narnia results in innocent, joyful laughter, not shame. This paints a picture of an existence where mishaps are simply part of a full life of learning.

Summary: We contemplated what our resurrected bodies will be like, using the image of Jesus's post-resurrection scars. Our scars are part of our identity, and in the resurrection, they will exist without pain in a world where life is unencumbered and God's light reigns supreme.

Grieving with Hope

The class concluded by reinforcing the central message: death is the problem, but light and life are the answer. Our ultimate Christian hope is in the "resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." We do not grieve like those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13); we grieve honestly, but with the profound hope of the resurrection. A Christian funeral, therefore, is not a denial of sadness but an acknowledgment of loss coupled with a powerful declaration of hope in Jesus's victory.

The church community plays a vital role in this, gathering to support the grieving and affirm their shared hope, often through the simple act of sharing a meal. This robust, resurrection-focused view of death and the afterlife provides a deep and lasting encouragement, grounding our faith in the promise of new life.

Summary: The final focus was on our ultimate hope in the resurrection. We grieve with hope, and the church community gathers to support one another, affirming that light and life triumph over darkness and death.

Final Summary

In our study on the letters of John, we established the historical context, learning they were written by the apostle John to a community of churches facing false teachings that denied the truth about Jesus Christ. 1st John, in particular, is a pastoral and poetic sermon written to reassure the faithful.

Our study focused on the first part of this sermon (1 John 1:1–2:11), where John grounds his message in the apostles' direct experience of Jesus, the "Word of life." He presents the foundational truth that "God is light," which has immediate practical implications: to walk with God, we must also walk in the light. This means living truthfully, which includes acknowledging and confessing our sin. John provides comfort by reminding us that when we fail, we have an advocate in Jesus, whose death is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. The ultimate proof of walking in the light is concrete obedience to Christ's command to love one another.

This theme of light versus darkness led to a profound discussion on the Christian understanding of death and suffering. We confronted the ancient heresy of Gnosticism, which wrongly views the physical body as evil and death as a welcome release. The class firmly rejected this, affirming the biblical view that our bodies are created good and that death is the true enemy. Our hope is not in escaping our bodies, but in the promise of the resurrection. Using the example of Jesus, who retained his crucifixion scars, we considered that our own scars might remain as part of our story, but without the associated pain. We concluded that our hope is not in death, but in the life and light that flows from Christ's victory over the grave, trusting that we and our loved ones will be reunited in a new creation.

Main Points

• The letters of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John were written to address a crisis of false teachers who denied Jesus.

• The two central themes of 1st John are "God is light" and "God is love."

• Walking in the light is necessary for fellowship with God and involves honest confession of sin and obedience to His command to love one another.

• Gnosticism, the belief that the physical body is evil, is an ancient heresy that wrongly frames death as a release.

• Death is not a victory; it is the problem and the consequence of sin that Christ came to overcome.

• Our ultimate hope is not in death, but in the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.

• The resurrected Jesus retained his scars, suggesting our resurrected selves may retain the marks of our story, but without the pain.

• Christians grieve, but we grieve with hope in the resurrection, which fundamentally changes our experience of loss.

Scriptures and Stories Mentioned

Bible Scriptures:

• 1 John (entire book)

• 2 John (entire book)

• 3 John (entire book)

• 1 John 1:1-10

• 1 John 1:8-9: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

• 1 John 2:1-11

• Gospel of John (Referenced for similar themes and language)

• John 13-17: Jesus' final speech, which provides the key ideas for 1 John.

• Genesis 1: The creation story, specifically God's command, "Let there be light."

• Genesis 3: The introduction of sin and death into the world.

• Genesis 4: The story of Cain and Abel.

• Proverbs 8 (Referenced in comparison to John's prologue)

• Romans 8:38-39 (Paraphrased): "Neither death nor life... will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

• 1 Thessalonians 4:13 (Paraphrased): "We do not grieve like others do [who are without hope]. We grieve, but we grieve with hope in the resurrection."

• Revelation (General): Mentioned in reference to the theme of light and the final victory over death.

Stories and Illustrations:

• The Story of Creation: God speaking light into darkness on the first day.

• The Story of Cain and Abel: Mentioned as an example of hatred leading to murder, contrasted with Christian love.

• The Last Supper: Mentioned as the context where Jesus gave the "old/new" command to love one another.

• The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus: The ultimate story of light overcoming darkness, with Jesus retaining his scars after his resurrection.

• The Story of Abraham: God telling Abraham to look at the stars in the night sky as a promise.

• C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew: A story where a talking animal falls in a mud puddle in pre-fallen Narnia, and the reaction is innocent laughter rather than shame.

• C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce: The image of souls journeying closer and closer to the mountains in heaven.

• The pastor's personal story: A realization after a funeral early in his ministry that death is the problem, which reshaped his entire approach to funerals and grief.