Traditionally, the authorship of 1, 2, and 3 john has been ascribed to the apostle, john son of zebedee, who also was understood to be the author of the gospel of john and revelation. To others, the evidence suggests that 1 john was written after the fourth gospel as. The first book of john, chapter 3 1 behold what manner of charity the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of god. It is important to begin with a discussion of authorship, in light of the christological controversy which permeates the three johannine letters. Tony evans challenges christians who have grown comfortable and complacent in their faith. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first of the johannine epistles of the new testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. John the baptist wasnt the author of the gospel of john. Nonetheless, john is clearly the author of all four documents. First john is the fourth of the general epistles or catholic letters, the writings of apostles to the church at large. To warn against the false teaching that christ had not actually come in the flesh and to encourage a lifestyle appropriate for followers of the incarnate christ. He is also believed to be the only disciple who died of old age the others were allegedly martyred. John bible book with full chapters king james version. According to both jewish and christian dogma, the books of genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy the first five books of the bible and the entirety of the torah were all written by moses in about 1,300 b.
General introduction overview suppose you are heavily involved in some cause or movement. It is possible that john used an amanuensis to write the gospel and the first letter and wrote 2 and 3 john with his own hands. John is also traditionally credited with writing 1, 2, and 3rd john as well as the book of revelation. Many contemporary biblical scholars believe that the writer of the letters was not the author of the gospel. The book of 1 john is not an essay or dissertation, but a teaching of gods word in letterform. The purpose of this gospel, as stated by john himself, is to show that jesus of nazareth was christ, the son of god, and that believers in him might have eternal life. John is traditionally regarded as the author of five books of the bible. And, while some think it was written before jerusalem was destroyed ad 70, ad 8590 is a more accepted time for the writing of the gospel of john. The book of 1 st john is a general epistle apostolic letter. Introduction to 1 john the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The book of 3 john does not directly name its author.
Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of john in the bible king james version. In one of his letters he wrote, we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard 1 john 1. The book of 1stjohn is a general epistle apostolic letter. The major themes of 1, 2, and 3 john is first to assure christians of their salvation and secondly to refute the false teachers that are attempting to lead. Why in revelation 2 written to the churches jesus speaking commends them on some things, reminds them where they fall short then gives them an out. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. Therefore the origin of the gospel must in some way be connected to this personthe gospel of john may be a record of his eyewitness account of jesus life. Joseph dillow, in his book the reign of the servant kings, offers what i consider to be a far more plausible explanation of the audience of 1 john. There is evidence that peter and jude may have been coworkers. In light of the strong ancient evidence, one can claim with confidence that john wrote the letters attributed to him in ephesus. Chinese mandarin audio bible book of 1st john youtube. Augustinea famous fourth century church fathercontributed no fewer than 124 tractates in his gospel of john commentary, while st. Tradition tells us that john was the longest living disciple and that his gospel was probably written last.
This letter brings special teaching on jesus as the light, life, and love. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. The holy bible book 62 1 john kjv dramatized audio. It is attributed to john the evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the gospel of john and the other two johannine epistles. Written nearly 30 years after matthew, mark and luke, the purpose of john is dramatically evangelistic. In a world that hates jesus, we are called to love him and his. The exact date of the writing was uncertain, as well. The first five books wikimedia commons moses, as painted by rembrandt.
He was a leader in the early church, and he probably wrote his documents after most of the other new testament books were already written. In this article, we examine the evidence for the gospel of john. Since the letter identifies no specific church, locati. It is believed that origen, an alexandrian christian scholar and theologian, wrote his gospel of john commentary while in alexandria at some point after 218 a.
John 1 english standard version anglicised esvuk the word became flesh. Letters of john, three new testament writings, all composed sometime around ad 100 and traditionally attributed to john the evangelist, son of zebedee and disciple of jesus. The key personalities are the apostles peter and paul. Such identifications were not made in any of the other three biblical gospels either.
John s language and tone emphasizes the focus of his book. It is the first and largest in a series of 3 epistles that bear the apostle johns name. Gospel of john commentary is easy to findsome of the most famous theologians in history have closely examined the text and underscored its importance from as early as the beginning of the third century. The author then wrote, this is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things fourth gospel 21. The book of first john my dear children, i write this to you so you will not sin. The book went through two to three stages, or editions, before reaching its current form, at the latest, around ad 80100. Its purpose was to warn about the increasing threat of false teachings and to reassure christians of their faith.
As we have in previous articles, this article will look at the proposed author, the internal and external evidences for authorship, the dating, and the. In the book of john, christ speaks of god as the father over 100 times. Discovery of certain papyrus fragments dated around ad 5 require the gospel of john to have been written, copied, and circulated before then. For the past few weeks, we have investigated the authors of the gospels and the book of acts. In addition to this one, john wrote two other new testament letters, a gospel, and possibly the prophetic book of revelation. This is the same john who also wrote the letter known as 1 john. John 1, new american standard bible nasb the bible app. I am less interested for the purpose of this question in whether either was written by john son of zebedee. The letter was probably written from ephesus, but is uncertain. The book of first john is an epistle authored by the same john that wrote the gospel of john.
The books also address deceivers who spread false teachings and fear rather. The fruit of fellowship with christ 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. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen god 3 john 11. In none of these three epistles does the writer mention himself by name. At the center of the doctrinal controversy are people who do. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first of the johannine epistles of the new testament, and the fourth of. 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 touchedthis we proclaim concerning the word of life. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the fatherjesus christ, the. The content, style, and vocabulary seem to warrant the conclusion that these three epistles were addressed to the same readers as the gospel of john. Check out our bible answers page for more information on a variety of topics. John gives us the reasons he wrote these books of the bible but scatters them throughout 1, 2 and 3 john. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the father in our defensejesus christ, the righteous one.
Comfortable christianity often means a weak christianity. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. The gospel of john author question, who wrote the gospel of john. It makes a significant difference if the author particularly of 1 john was in fact an eyewitness to the earthly ministry of jesus christ as he appears to claim in 1 john 1. There have been occasional doubts raised by those who thought it possible that this was written by another disciple of the lord named john, but all the evidence points to the author being. May 15, 2012 john was a companion of simon peter, and was a fisherman by trade before jesus called him. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. Johns next two letters, however, are written to specific audiences. Recognizing that this is not a settled question, i would be happy with an argument from either side or better yet a summary of the available evidence for both. John was a companion of simon peter, and was a fisherman by trade before jesus called him.
In christian tradition, johns gospel has always been referred to as the fourth gospel, meaning it was composed after the other three. The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible. Clearly the most widespread alternative to authorship of 1 john by john the apostle is authorship by a second person whose name is john, usually designated john the elder or presbyter, from the greek word. The last two letters were personal notes written to specific individuals with whom john was acquainted. How could john the baptist have written the gospel of john. Book of john the evangelistic gospel the book of john stands apart from the other three gospels. In the book of john, we find that jesus ministry altogether was approximately 3 1 2 years. However, some of the recipients of 1 john may be under pressure to side with the opponents, and one major reason for the letter would be to convince them not to do so. There are fourteen reasons that are given and we will cover each one in this series. The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter. The author of this book is not a single individual, but is at least three different writerseditors, who did their layered work over a period of 25 to 30 years. Were 1 john and johns gospel written by the same person. However, two significant factors point to the identification of john as the author. Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society.
Not surprisingly, the gospel of john never provides the name of its author. Book of first john overview insight for living ministries. This summary of the book of 1 john provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 john. This is the holy book of 1 john, known as the first epistle general of john. Studies from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd john bible study guide. My dear children, i write this to you so that you will not sin. It is written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. It was written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. Therefore the world knoweth not us, because it knew not him. First, the book itself identifies the author as the disciple whom jesus loved. Euangelion kata ioannen is the fourth of the canonical gospels.
The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that the apostle john is the author. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the johannine works. The new testament books of john, 1 john, 2 john, 3 john and revelation are sometimes called the johannine literature and are traditionally assigned to john the son of zebedee, one of the twelve disciples of jesus. He was a fisherman, one of jesus inner circle together with james and peter, and the disciple whom jesus loved jn. The earliest identification of him comes from the church fathers. That group of witnesses includes polycarp, an early secondcentury bishop who as a young man knew john personally. Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the book during the apostles time serving the church in ephesus. He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature. Book of john overview insight for living ministries. The gospel of john is the latest written of the four biographies of jesus that have been preserved in the new testament.
This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. All of his books were written later in life and after all the other books in the bible were recorded. Ad 156, and from papias, a contemporary of polycarp, whose writings survive only as quotations in the later writings of irenaeus and eusebius. He wrote the gospel according to john, first, second and third john, and he was the penman of the book of the revelation of jesus christ. Written by a christian named john, the contents of the book indicate quite clearly that the author was not the john who was one of the twelve disciples of jesus, for it contains no direct personal references of the type that. The author of the gospel of john is john the beloved disciple, the apostle and the one who was imprisoned on the island of patmos. The vocabulary and style in 2 peter are very different from 1 peter but are very similar to jude. Unlike most nt letters, 1 john does not tell us who its author is. Therefore, the evidence of the similarities of the context points that the author of the books of 2 and 3 john is john the beloved disciple who also wrote the gospel of john. The book of john is a gospel that contains narrative history, sermons, parables, and a few prophetic oracles. Who wrote the gospel of john and was it the same person. Were 1 john and john s gospel written by the same person. The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter authoritative, believing it was written by john the apostle.
The context reveals he is the one called that disciple in verse 23 and the disciple whom jesus loved in verse 20. He was one of jesus 12 disciples, and therefore was an eyewitness to the events he recorded. The author of the first letter is not identified, but the writer of the second and third calls himself presbyter elder. Written by john the elder to house church believers, 1 john, 2 john, 3 john. John 1 esvuk the word became flesh in the bible gateway. Thomass gospel of john commentary of the th century is still highly regarded today by. Dillow believes that the text clearly indicates that the apostle john is writing to people who he considers to. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation. Bible study introduction to the book of 1 john learn religions. In the book of john, that we do not see in the other gospels is the conversation of jesus with nicodemus, the conversation with the woman of.
The key personalities of this book are jesus christ, his twelve disciples, mary magdalene, john the baptist, lazarus, his sisters mary and martha. This epistle was probably written just a few years before the book of revelation. It would perhaps be best to first establish the case that the same author is responsible for all the books associated with john. The book of 1 john is a letter although it contains no opening address or greeting typically found in a letter, which identifies the writer and the recipients to whom it was written. Overview of the book of 1 john reformed answers to bible.