1 John 1
EasyEnglish1 John 1:1
How can I be sure? An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of 1 John www.easyenglish.info Ian Mackervoy This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.
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About this letter 1. The Writer The letter does not tell us who wrote it. The tradition is that John is the author. John was an *apostle. He was one of the 12 men that Jesus first called to follow him.
John was the writer of the fourth *Gospel, which we know as the *Gospel of John. The thought and style of this letter are similar to that of the *Gospel. It is clear that the same person wrote them both. Some of the passages that show this are:
1 John
The *Gospel of John
1 John 1:1
1 John 2:5
1 John 2:6
John 1:5; John 1:9; John 11:10
1 John 3:1
1 John 3:2
1 John 3:8
1 John 4:9
- The time and place John was an old man. He was writing 50 or 60 years after the death of Christ. Perhaps John was the youngest *apostle. And perhaps he was the last *apostle who was still alive. He had made his home in the city called Ephesus.
- The people who received John’s letter John was in Ephesus when he wrote this letter. He sent it to the churches in that region. He wrote to the Christians in those churches. He knew them well and he loved them. He thought of them as his own family. So he spoke to them as if he was speaking to his own children.
- The reasons why John wrote this letter Some people in these churches believed wrong things. The people who had taught them these wrong things had been members of the church. However, they had moved away from the *faith and they had left the church (1 John 2:19). So John intended to correct these wrong ideas in his letter.
One wrong idea was that Christ was not really a man. He seemed to be a man but was not a real man. John taught quite clearly that the Son of God came as a real man. He lived his life here on earth as a man. The Christ actually died as a man. The man, Christ Jesus, rose again from the dead.
Some people taught that Jesus was merely a man. They taught that he was not really God. They did not believe that God could die. They said that the *Christ came upon Jesus. Then the *Christ left him again before he died. John answered this. He showed that Jesus is one with God. He is the *Christ, who gave his life for us. No mere man could take away our *sins as the *Lord Jesus Christ has done.
These people taught other wrong things. This is what they argued:
The body is bad, but the spirit is good. True life is in the spirit. What we do in the body does not affect the spirit. So it does not matter how we live in the body.
These people thought that their evil actions did not matter. They said that they loved God. However, they lived for themselves. John shows that such ideas are false. If we love God, our lives must be good. We must not continue to *sin. We must live as Jesus lived. We must live right and good lives because God is good. 5. The purpose of the letter John wrote this letter to encourage the Christians. He wanted them to know the truth. Then they would recognise false ideas. The letter shows that Christians are children of God. They know God as Father. If God is their Father, then they are all *brothers and sisters. John shows them the kind of life that the children of God should live. They all share the life that the *Lord Jesus gives to them. This is *eternal life, which has no end. John wants all Christians to know that they have this life. He wants them to be sure about this.
John wrote about the truth. This is how we know the truth. We know it because we have met Jesus. We know Jesus, so we know the truth.
This is what the letter says to the Christians.
- They can be sure about Christ (1 John 5:20). They know what is true about God and Christ. 1 John 2:21; 5:7; 16; 20
They know that the Son (Jesus Christ) has come. 1 John 5:20
They know that Jesus came to take away their *sin. 1 John 3:16 2. They can be sure about *eternal life with Jesus (1 John 3:3; 1 John 5:13). They know Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:3, 13
They know that they are his. 1 John 2:5; 3:10; 18-19
They know that they are children of God. 1 John 5:19
They know that they have passed from death to life. They have a new life. 1 John 3:14
They know that they live. This is because Jesus lives in them. 1 John 3:24; 4:13 3. They should show that they are Christians by their good lives. They must love God. They must do what God says. They should love each other. 1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:6; 10; 5:2 6. The shape of the letter 1.
The Word of life
2.
God is *light and we should walk in the *light
3.
Christ speaks for us and we should obey God
4.
A new command from Christ
5.
John warns about false *Christs
6.
The children of God do the right things
7.
Love each other and believe in Christ
8.
Test the *spirits to see if they are true
9.
God is love. He loves us and we should love him
10.
*Faith overcomes the *world
11.
God tells us the truth about his Son
12.
We know God by Christ
1 John 5:13-21 Chapter 1 The Word of life (1 John 1:1-4) v1 We declare this to you about the Word of life. The Word existed before the world began. This is what we have heard. We have seen it with our eyes. We watched it. We touched it with our hands. This is about the Word of life. v2 The person who gives life came. He showed this life to us. We saw it and we are witnesses to it. We declare to you that this is *eternal life. It was with the *Father. It has now appeared to us. v3 This is what we saw. This is what we heard. We declare it to you also. We want you to share in this life together with us. It really has united us with the *Father and with his son Jesus Christ. v4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Verse 1 John wrote this letter about Jesus, who is the Word of life The ‘Word of life’ is the *Lord Jesus. And the ‘Word of life’ also means the message of the *gospel. John wrote about the *Lord Jesus. And he wrote about the life that Jesus gives. This life is for those who believe. The Word produces life. This is about the good news of Jesus Christ who is the life.
The Word, that is the *Lord Jesus, always existed. He was alive before time and the world began. Christ and the message of life came from God. This was God’s purpose from before *creation. The *Lord Jesus came into the world to achieve this purpose.
John and those who were with him knew the *Lord Jesus. They had heard what he said. They had listened to what he taught. They were with him. They actually saw him. They watched him. They saw all that he did. They lived with him for 3 years. They knew that Jesus was a real human person.
Some people denied that God really came as a human person. But he did come. He is Jesus Christ. John says that they have had a real experience of him. Jesus Christ was God with them here on earth.
Verse 2 Jesus came from God to show us real life The *Lord Jesus came from God. He became a real man. He showed us what real life is. Real life is life in the spirit. He has that life and he came to give it to us. This is *eternal life. God gives it to those who believe in his Son.
John was a witness to this life. The life was with the *Father. Jesus showed that life to us. John and those who believed in the *Lord Jesus saw this real life. They had received it. They proved that the message is true.
What they saw was *eternal life. God gives this life. John knew that he had this life now. And this life will never end. John wants to share this life with the readers of his letter. This life is in the *Lord Jesus. Those who know Jesus have this life.
The *Lord Jesus, who is life, was with God the Father. But he came to us and he showed us this life. These witnesses have received this life from God. *Eternal life comes from God the Father.
Verse 3 When we believe God’s message, we join God’s family Those who first believed spoke. They described what they had seen. They repeated what they had heard. The Word of life (that is, Jesus) appeared to them. And we need to believe in him. They heard what he said. We too need to hear what he says. And we need to believe it. The message of life in the *Lord Jesus was not only for them. John declares it to those who read his letter. All people can now see and hear God’s truth in Jesus. To know Jesus is to receive the life that God gives by him.
The message of the *gospel is that people may believe in Jesus. Those who believe will receive *eternal life. That life comes from God. They will share the same life that John and his friends had. They will know that they have a new life with God. They also can become good friends by having the same life. They will join with John and his friends in the family of God.
This life unites Christians with God who is the Father. It unites them with Jesus the Son of the *Father. Jesus is one with the *Father. Therefore, he also is God as the Father is God. There is one God but three persons. The third person is the Spirit of God.
Verse 4
John wrote this letter as if he were an agent for all those other witnesses. ‘These things’ are all that is in the letter. He writes so that both he and the readers may have much joy. It would give them all much joy if they believed the message of the *gospel. The purpose of the letter is that the readers would share the same life as John and his friends. God gives this *eternal life to those who believe in his Son. God is *light and we should walk in the *light (1 John 1:5-10) v5 This is the message that we have heard from him. And we declare it to you. God is *light. There is no *darkness at all in him. v6 We may say that we share this life with God. But if we walk in *darkness, we are telling a lie. We would not be doing what is right and true. v7 Instead, we should live in the *light, as God is in the *light. Then we share in life with each other. And the blood of God’s Son, Jesus, washes all our *sins away.
v8 We may say that we have no *sin. If we say this, we lie to ourselves. There is no truth in us. v9 We must confess our *sins to God. If we do, he will be kind to us. He will forgive us all our *sins. And he is right to do so. He will make us *clean from all the wrong things that we have done. This is what he has promised to do. v10 We may say that we have not *sinned. But such words suggest that God has lied. Anybody who says this has not believed his word at all.
Verse 5 God is perfect. So people who know God must not do evil deeds. John did not invent the message. He says that he received it from the *Lord Jesus. The *Lord Jesus taught those who were with him. He showed them how to know God. He then sent them to teach this to other people. In this way, these people may know God as well. This is the message that John heard from the *Lord. He declared that God is *light.
God is *light by nature. As light shines, so God shows himself. All light comes from God. God created it. John uses the word *light to mean all that is good, *holy and right. This message shows something about God’s character. God is good. He is always right, and *holy. God, who is *light, sees all things. We can hide nothing from him. John uses the word *darkness to mean evil acts, *sin and error. There can be nothing bad in God. He is perfect and he can do nothing wrong.
Some people may turn from the *light. They love *darkness more than the *light. This is because their actions are evil (John 3:19-21). There can be no *darkness in God. Those people who do evil acts cannot share life with God. Those who believe God must live in the *light.
Verse 6 People who do evil things do not share God’s life John now shows how this message should affect our lives. In the next five verses, there are three false things that some people say (verses 6, 8 and 10). After each of these false things, John shows us what the truth is (1:7, 9; 2:1). The effect of what they say is that *sin does not affect them. So, it does not matter what we do. They say that they are united with God. But they continue to *sin.
The *Lord Jesus gives a new life to those who believe. This life is from God. This life is unity with God. But there can be no unity between *light and *darkness.
A person may say that he lives with God. But if that person does evil acts, then he lies. His actions are not right. Those actions are *darkness and not *light. That person is like someone who walks in *darkness. *Darkness and *light cannot be in unity. That person does not share the life from God.
The false teachers said that they walked in the *light. However, what they did were works of *darkness.
They did not do what was right. They did not obey the truth. John believes that the test of truth is not just belief. Truth is not only in what we say. Our belief will affect what we do. We show our belief in God by good and right acts.
Verse 7 God has provided a remedy for our *sins There is a contrast here. The person who does the wrong things lives in *darkness. But the person who does the right things lives in *light. This is how God wants us to live. He wants us to believe the *gospel. And we should live to please him. God is *holy. He always does what is right. God is in the *light because he is *light. To live in the *light is to be true to God. This is to live in the same manner as God lives.
Real Christians live in the *light. They believe in the *Lord Jesus Christ. They all share the same life. This unity among Christians shows that they belong to God. They are united with each other. They are united with God. John desires that the readers will come into that same unity.
The word ‘blood’ here means the death of Jesus. The *Old Testament says that the life is in the blood. Jesus gave his life for us. By his death, Jesus has taken away our *sins. He removes all *sin from us. But we must believe in him. Nobody can be perfect while he is here on earth. But God forgives those who believe. He makes them *clean from all *sin.
God has made the remedy for our *sin. By this, he can make us *clean from all *sins. So, we can keep our unity with him. This remedy is the blood of his Son Jesus Christ.
Some people taught that the human Jesus was not the Son of God. They taught that the human Jesus died. However, they said that God the Son did not die. John makes it plain that Jesus as God the Son did die for our *sins.
Verse 8 People who deny their *sin are lying to themselves Some people said that they did not need the *Lord to remove their *sin. They thought that they did not have any *sin. This is not true and is itself a *sin.
We may say that there is no *sin in us. That would be false. It would be to say that we are already perfect.
Those who say this have chosen to forget their *sin. They refuse to agree that all people have *sinned. It is human to *sin. They do not live by the truth that God has shown us. They deny the basic fact of their *sin. Truth as a principle of life is not in them. They do not share in the reality of God. Jesus showed us that God is the truth. The truth of God is not in these persons.
Verse 9 God forgives us when we confess our *sins In contrast to them are those people who say that they have *sinned. *Sin is something that affects all our lives. But *sin does not have to spoil our unity with God. We should say that we have *sinned. We should confess our *sins to God. When we do so, God will forgive us.
God has promised to forgive us and he will keep his promise. He cannot just forget our *sin as if it was not there. He is good and *holy. *Sin cannot remain with him. He had to remove it from his people.
God achieved this by putting all our *sin on the *Lord Jesus. The *Lord Jesus took the punishment for our *sin. He died for this purpose. Now God can forgive those who confess their *sins.
God forgives our *sins and he makes us *clean as well.
We must confess all the *sins that we know about. Then God will forgive us. He makes us completely *clean. He takes from us all the wrong things that we do not yet know about. Those things that we do not know will not damage our unity with God.
Verse 10 People who deny their *sin do not believe God’s word Some people say that they have not done anything wrong. They say that they have not *sinned. But God says that all have *sinned. This is the reason that Jesus had to come. He came to die for the *sins of all people. If we had not sinned, Jesus would not have died. What God has said would not be true.
Those who say that they have not *sinned cut themselves off from God. They have not believed the word of God. They do not know the *Lord Jesus. They have not believed the truth of the *gospel. They cannot have the new life that the *Lord Jesus gives. He gives this life to those who trust in him.
© 1997-2005, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).
April 2005
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var w0 = new Array;w0[0]=’<b%3Eapostle</b%3E ~ someone whom God sends; especially one of the 12 men that Jesus chose to be his helpers.’;w0[1]=’<b%3Egospel</b%3E ~ the good news about Jesus; or, one of the first 4 books in the New Testament.