• He was the first to follow Jesus (John 1:35-37);
• He was the closest to Jesus during the Last Supper (John 13:22-25);
• He followed Jesus to his trial (John 18:15);
• He only went to Jesus’ cross and was given a direct command from Jesus to care for Jesus’ mother (John 19:26-27);
• He outran Peter to the empty tomb and was the first apostle to believe in Jesus’ resurrection (John 20:1-8);
• He was the first to recognize that it was Jesus appearing to them in his Galilean visitation (John 21:7).

John wrote his gospel somewhere around 80-85 A.D. These three letters were written in about 90-100 A.D. from the city of Ephesus making them some of the last documents of the N.T. to be written.

The church at Ephesus had been founded about 52 A.D. by Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 18:19-21). The church then flourished and became a strong spiritual community under the ministry of Apollos, Priscilla, and Aquila (Acts 18:24-26).

Outline

1. God Is Light (1:5), Chapters 1:1–2:2
2. God Is Love (4:8), Chapters 2:3–4:21
3. God Is Life (5:12), Chapter 5

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Chapter 1

1    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life – One of three places to speak of the beginning Cf. Gen 1:1; John 1:1-3.

2    The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us – Jesus is Eternal Life!

3    We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ – Fellowship = (koinōnia) partnership, participation, communication, communion, distribution, fellowship.

1. Grounded in the testimony of God’s Word.
2. Mutual, depending on the unity of believers.
3. Renewed daily through the Holy Spirit.
4. Demands adherence to truth.

4 We write this to make our joy complete – Cf. John 15:10-11; 16:24; 17:13; Gal 5:22.

5    This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all – Cf. Job 9: 32-34.

1. God is light;
2. God is love; and
3. God is life.
4. God is Spirit – Gospel of John 4

Cf. Genesis 1:3 ; John 8:12; 1 Timothy 6:16; Matt 17:2

7    But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin - Notice, John does not say: If we walk according to the light. He said if we walk “in” the light. Purifies is in the present tense – continual cleansing Cf. (Romans 3:23) (John 13:10).

9          If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness – The word confess (homologeō) literally means “the same thing said.”

Chapter 1

1      Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours – “The expression God and our Savior is in a construction in the Greek text which demands that we translate, our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, the expression thus showing that Jesus Christ is the Christian’s God.” (Wuest) “The grammar leaves little doubt that in these words Peter is calling Jesus Christ both God and Savior.” (Edwin A Blum, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, page 267).

2      Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord – The Greek word for knowledge (epignōsis) “comprehend thoroughly, know exactly.”

5      For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love –

1. Goodness (lit., “moral excellency,” or “virtue”). In Greek the word is aretēn, which Peter also used at the end of verse 3 and in 1 Peter 2:9 (“praises” in the NIV).
2. Knowledge (gnōsin; cf. 2 Peter 1:2; 3:18) not intellectual pursuits, but spiritual knowledge which comes through the Holy Spirit and is focused on the person and Word of God.
3. Self-control (enkrateian; used only two other times in the NT, in Acts 24:25; Gal. 5:23). This literally means “holding oneself in.” In other words, to have one’s passions under control.
4. Perseverance (hypomenēn) means “staying under.” It is frequently used in the New Testament to refer to endurance under adversity, without giving in or giving up (cf. Rom. 5:3-4; 15:4-5; 2 Cor. 1:6; 6:4; Col. 1:11; 1 Thes. 1:3; 2 Thes. 1:4; James 1:3).
5. Godliness (eusebian, also used in 2 Peter 1:3 and 3:11 and 10 times [in the Gr.] in the Pastoral Epistles) refers to reverence toward God. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius was named after this Greek word.
6. Brotherly kindness (Philadelphian), a brotherly love for others (1 John 4:20). (1 Peter 1:22; cf. Rom. 12:10; 1 Thes. 4:9; Heb. 13:1).
7. Love (agapēn) is desiring the highest good for others. This is the kind of love God exhibits toward sinners (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9-11).

14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me – Cf. John 21:18-19

Chapter 2

1    But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves – The term heresies (haireseis) denotes “an opinion, especially a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects” (W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, 4 vols).

4    For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment – Hell tartarōsas or Tartarus, another name for a compartment of Hades (used only here in the New Testament). Tartarus, in Greek mythology was a subterranean abyss that was even lower than Hades.

14   With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! – Literally; their eyes are full of an adulterous woman. The word “experts” is (gumnazō), from which the English word gymnasium comes, and is an athletic term meaning “exercise,” or “discipline.”

15   They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. – Cf. Numbers 21.

19   —for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him – Cf. John 8: 31-36.

20   If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning – Cf. 1John 2:19.

Chapter 3

4    They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” – This is called uniformitarianism (God does not intervene in human history, everything is natural).

10   But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare – Cf. Luke 21:25; Rev 20:11. See also (Isaiah 13:10-13; Isaiah 24:19; Isaiah 34:4;  Joel 3:15;  Micah 1:4 ).

13   But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness – Cf. Revelation 21-22.