Exegetical Paper on 1 John 5:13-21

An Exegetical Paper on 1 John 513-21 By Joseph G. Austin Presented to Dr. Steve Waechter August 10, 2014 Hermeneutics NBST 610 LUO Summary Statement 1 John 513-21 Johns exhortation in 1 John 513-21 is to fellow believers that our wills and purposes are to be one with God which is to bring Gods forgiveness and eternal life to others.. Outline Introduction Context Historical Context of 1 John Literary Context of 1 John God is Light (15 228) God is Love (31 512) God is Life (513-21) Content Exhortation on Eternal Life and Our Confidence in Prayer (vss 13-15) Knowing Our Eternal Life Comes From Believing in Jesus Christ (v.13). Knowing That God Hears Our Prayers (v.14). Knowing That When God Hears Us He Answers Our Prayer (v.15). Exhortation on Prayer Against Sin (1 John 516-17). Praying for the Believer Who Has Sinned after Repentance (v.16). Praying for the Unbeliever Who Has Not Repented (vss. 16b-17). Exhortation That The Children of God Know The Son of God, and Not The Evil One (1 John 518-20). Knowing God Protects His Children from the Evil One (v.18). Knowing We Are Under Gods Control and Not Under the Evil Ones Control (v. 19). Knowing The Son of God Brings Us Into a True, Eternal Relationship with God (v.20). Exhortation To Not Worship Idols (1 John 521). Application Pray Knowing That God Hears Your Prayers. Pray Knowing That Your Prayers Can Affect The Lives of Others. Pray Knowing That Our Protection From The Evil One Comes From God Through Jesus Christ Conclusion Bibliography Introduction The letter of 1 John is one of the most intriguing documents of the New Testaments. It is usually called an epistle though it lacks some of the common stylistic features of the New Testament epistles. For instance, there is no mention of the person who wrote it, or the person(s) to whom it was written. It does not have the customary introduction or conclusion (R.C.Briggs, 415). Yet, it has all the signs of being addressed to a specific situation in a community well-known to the writer. For that reason some would prefer to call it a sermon, or a pastoral address (Marshall, 14). In contrast, 2 and 3 John are personal letters. In both John (identified as the elder), and the addressees are mentioned (2 John 1 3 John 1), and their introduction and conclusions are typical of first-century correspondence. Though addressed to different circumstances, the documents seem to have the same general background. Context Historical Context of 1 John This letter of 1 John gives no hint of the identity of the Christian community to whom it was written or any location. What can be known is from the letter itself which shows that they were Christian, appear to have been well-known to the author (and the author well-known to them), and they were facing a threat of false teachers (1 John 218-19). It is generally held to have been written by the Apostle John and confirmed by many of the Early Church fathers such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. Johns focus was the doctrine of Christ, the Son of God (11-4 38 43,4 513,19) dealing with the heretical teachings (thought to be Gnosticism) (38 41 519), this included a number of assertions by John of the physical appearance of Christ to refute the Gnostic belief that Jesus did not come in bodily form the Truth about Christ (He was the last remaining apostle who had physical been with Jesus) and obedience (the word love is used in some form 46 times). Literary Context of 1 John The epistles, especially 1 and 2 John, reflect controversial or disruptive conditions in the community of believers. Some ex-members of the church (1 John 219) were posting a threat to the members of the community and were considered antichrists (218) by John. The expression they went out from us (219) is usually taken as referring to Johns own church or community, so that the community was experiencing as acute crisis (Marshall, 14). The statement could have also have meant that the individuals had gone out from Christianity, and were causing problems to Johns community in trying to lead the members astray (226 37 2 John 7-10). In view of this danger, John is warning his fellow Christians against them. In passages such as 218,19, where John speaks of these individuals as antichrists, he expressly says that they are liars who deny that Jesus is the Christ (222 51). They are false prophets who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (42 2 John 7). John warns his readers against those who do not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God (223, 24). John said that one of his purposes in writing was to alert them regarding those who would deceive you (226). He advises them to test every spirit to see whether they are of God (41). The real purpose of the epistle, however, goes beyond his warnings against the antichrists and false teachers. It appears that his primary intention was to reassure and strengthen his readers in the faith and doctrine they had accepted (Stott, 41). We see this clearly in 513 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. The similarity with John 2031 cannot be missed But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. One discernable outline for 1 John follows the following GOD IS LIGHT 1 John 15 228 In this section John asserts that to engage in fellowship with Him we must walk in light and not in darkness. As we walk in the light we will regularly confess our sins, allowing the blood of Christ to continually cleanse us. Two major roadblocks to hinder this walk will be falling in love with the world and falling for the alluring lies of false teachers. GOD IS LOVE 1 John 31 512 Since we are His children we must walk in love. If we do not love, we do not know God. Love is more than just words it is actions. It is unconditional in its nature. Christs love fulfilled those qualities and when that brand of love characterizes us, we will be free of self-condemnation and experience confidence before God. GOD IS LIFE 1 John 513-21 Those who fellowship with Him must possess His qualify of life. Spiritual life begins with spiritual birth which occurs through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ infuses us with Gods eternal life. Content Throughout this passage John emphasizes three important words What we know, what we ask (or pray for) and what is true. Johns choice of the Greek for know is interesting in that the more well-known word ginosko which means to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of, feel, was only used once, while John uses the word eido which means to perceive with the eyes, to notice or discern. six times. While ginosko represent the kind of intimate, experiential knowledge that comes from a sexual union, eido appears to represent a deep, confident knowledge of truth. Regarding ask as in vss 14-15 John uses aiteo, which literally means to demand (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament). Along with his use of this word in our passage, John also uses it in 322 And whatever we ask we receive from him Clearly, the confidence John assures his fellow believers is based on knowing God and knowing his will. Exhortation on Eternal Life and Our Confidence in Prayer (vss 13-15) I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him (ESV). Knowing Our Eternal Life Comes From Believing In Jesus Christ (vs. 13). Several important phrases stand out in this verse. First, lets look at the expression these thing. This is not the first time John uses this phrase in his epistle. He also uses it in 14 where he encourages his readers in the joy that is theirs to come. As Bible.org suggests the two uses serve to bracket the main contents in between (https//bible.org/seriespage/exegetical-commentary-1-john-513-21). More importantly, John is wrapping his epistle up by reminding his readers of the truth of Gods eternal life being available to those who trust and believe in the Jesus Christ. The next phrase so that you may know occurs Knowing That God Hears Our Prayers (v. 14) Exhortation on Prayer Against Sin (1 John 516-17) If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. Exhortation That The Children of God Know The Son of God, and Not The Evil One (1 John 518-20). We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Exhortation To Not Worship Idols (1 John 521). Little children, keep yourselves from idols While most today would think Johns reference to idols is a reference to the statues and images that adorned the pagan world of his day this reference would seem to indicate Johns concern about the false teachings and ideologies of those he speaks of in 218-27 the Gnosticism of his day, taught by the former members of his church, which thought of Jesus Christ as less than God. An idol is a false picture of God that would cause one to stumble and fall away from a relationship with the true God Application Pray Knowing That God Hears Your Prayers. Pray Knowing That Your Prayers Can Affect The Lives of Others. Pray Knowing That Our Protection From The Evil One Comes From God Through Jesus Christ Conclusion Bibliography Barton, John, John Muddiman. Oxford Bible Commentary. New York, Oxford UK Oxford University Press, 2001 Bateman, Herbert W, IV. (2009). 1-3 John. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 52(3), 638-640. Retrieved from http//search.proquest.com/docview/211201100accountid12085. Bible.org Briggs, R. C. Contemporary Study of the Johannine Epistles. Review and Expositor 67 (1970) 399-421 Bultmann, Rudolf Karl. The Johannine Epistles A Commenatry on the Johannine Epistles. Philadelphia PA Fortress Press, 1973. Culy, Martin M. 1,2,3 John A Handbook on the Greek Text. Waco, TX Baylor University Press, 2004. eBook Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed July 12, 2014). Edwards, Ruth B. The Johanine Epistles. Sheffield, England Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. Jackman, David. The Message of Johns Letters Living In The Love of God. Leicester, Eng., Downers Grove, Ill., USA InterVarsity Press 1988. Lieu, Judith. The Theology of the Johannine Epistles. Cambridge New York Cambridge University Press, 1991. Marshall, I. H. The Epistles of John. New International Commentary of the New Testament. General ed. F. F. Bruce. Grand Rapids W.B. Eerdmans, 1978. Mounce, William D. World Biblical Commentary Pastoral Epistles. Nashville, TN Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2000. Phillips, John. Exploring the Epistles of John An Expository Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI Kregel, 2003. Schnackenburg, Rudolf. The Johannine Epistles Introduction and Commentary. New York, NY Crossroad, 1992. Stott, John. The Letters of John An Introduction and Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI Inter-Varsity Press, 1988. ___. The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries The Epistles of John An Introduction and Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI W.B.Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964. Strecker, Georg, Harold W. Attridge. The Johannine Letters A Commentary on 1,2, and 3 John. Hermeneia A Critical And Historical Commentary on the Bible. Minneapolis, MN Fortress Press, 1996. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament PAGE 2 Joseph Austin, PAGE 7 Y, dXiJ(x(I_TS1EZBmU/xYy5g/GMGeD3Vqq8K)fw9 xrxwrTZaGy8IjbRcXI u3KGnD1NIBs
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