Author and Date
The author is John son of Zebedee (see
the apostle and the author of the Gospel of John and Revelation. He was a fisherman, one of Jesus' inner circle
(together with James and Peter), and "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (; .
He may have been a first cousin of Jesus (his mother may have been Salome, possibly a sister of Mary;
;
;
;
This view assumes that "his mother's sister" in
refers to Salome;
some further assume that "Mary the wife of Clopas" there stands in apposition to "his mother's sister," which would mean that this Mary
and Salome were one and the same person).
Unlike most NT letters, 1 John does not tell us who its author is. The earliest
identification of him comes from the church fathers: Irenaeus (c. a.d. 140-203),
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215), Tertullian (c. 155-222) and Origen (c. 185-253) all designated the writer
as the apostle John. As far as we know, no one else was suggested by the early church.
This traditional identification is confirmed by evidence in the letter itself:
The style of the Gospel of John is markedly similar to that of this letter. Both are written in simple Greek and use contrasting figures,
such as light and darkness, life and death, truth and lies, love and hate.
Similar phrases and expressions, such as those found in the following passages, are striking:
1 John
Gospel of John
The mention of eyewitness testimony () harmonizes with the fact that John
was a follower of Christ from the earliest days of his ministry.
The authoritative manner that pervades the letter, seen in its commands
(;
;
), its firm assertions
(;
;
) and its pointed identification of error
(;
) is what would be expected from an apostle.
The suggestions of advanced age (addressing his readers as "children," ;
) agree with early church tradition concerning John's age when he wrote the
books known to be his.
The description of the heretics as antichrists (), liars
()
and children of the devil ()
is consistent with Jesus' characterization of John as a son of thunder ().
The indications of a close relationship with the Lord (;
)
fit the descriptions of "the disciple whom Jesus loved" and the one who reclined "next to him"
().
Date
(1) evidence from early Christian writers (Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria),
(2) the early form of Gnosticism reflected in the denunciations of the letter and
(3) indications of the advanced age of John suggest the end of the first century. Since the author of 1 John seems to build on
concepts and themes found in the fourth Gospel (), it is reasonable
to date the letter somewhere between a.d. 85 and 95, after the writing of the Gospel, which may have been written c. 85 .
Purpose
Occasion and Purpose
John's readers were confronted with an early form of Gnostic teaching of the Cerinthian variety (see Gnosticism above).
This heresy was also libertine, throwing off all moral restraints.
Consequently, John wrote this letter with two basic purposes in mind:
(1) to expose false teachers ( ) and
(2) to give believers assurance of salvation ().
In keeping with his intention to combat Gnostic teachers, John specifically struck at their total lack of morality
();
and by giving eyewitness testimony to the incarnation, he sought to confirm his readers' belief in the incarnate Christ
().
Success in this would give the writer joy ().