Author
During the first two centuries of Christianity, the “Johannine Epistles” (1, 2, and 3 John) were probably not a part of the canon of scripture. When they began to be accepted as authoritative, they were often attributed to the same author as the Gospel of John. Textual evidence indicates that, although there are similar themes in the Gospels and the Epistles, they do not share an author. Because of the association with the Gospel of John, it seems likely that the author of the Epistles came from the same community which had earlier produced the Gospel.
Date
Most scholars date the Johannine Epistles around 100AD.
1 John
We usually refer to this as a letter, but in reality, it is more an exhortation to Johannine Christians. Think of someone transcribing a really good homily and then distributing it around.
It was given or written to counter false teachings, particularly a wrong understanding of Christian existence. Gnostics believed they were already perfected and needed to make no moral effort. The author wants to contrast this with the “already but not yet” state of being in which work is still being demanded of us. We are not yet perfect – we have work to do. The book warns against the views of the dissidents – those who question the true tradition as received from the apostle John and followed by the Johannine community.
- Prologue 1:1-4
- Walking the Light 1:5-2:29
- Love as the Mark of God’s Children 3:1-24
- Commandments to Love and Believe 4:1-5:12
- Conclusion 5:13-21