This morning we're going to be reading from the opening verses of the little epistle of 1 John. If you would, join in with the reading as we read the opening three verses. Ready? That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you. You may be seated. May God bless the reading of his Word. This morning we wish to give an introduction to the little epistle of 1 John. How many of you have read 1 John? How many of you have struggled with 1 John? Most of us have. It is not an easy book. when you get into the issues that are contained therein. But we hope that we can grant some light upon that today. Now, when one casually reads the book of 1 John for the first time, one is impressed with its simplicity. However, upon further reading, one comes to appreciate its depth and receives a greater benefit from it. It is a letter written from a pastor to his flock addressing a first century situation in the early church or group of churches. But the message of 1 John has significant application for the church and the world today when it is understood in its first century context. But any attempt to read and interpret 1 John apart from its contextual setting will cause one to miss the truth of the message and also lead to the introduction of false teachings and interpretations and even heretical doctrines. But the message will enable believers to experience growth in their faith, increasing joy and assurance of salvation, while at the same time the same message gives a true and severe warning to unbelievers. Who wrote 1 John? The traditional understanding is that the author of 1 John is the Apostle John, the author of the gospel, which is known by his name. How many gospels are there? Four—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There is both internal and external evidence to support the view that John is the author of this epistle. By external evidence we mean information found in sources outside of the book, and by internal evidence we mean information found within the text or the book itself. The external support or evidence to support John's authorship is found in numerous references in the writings of the early Church Fathers. as well as several Christian books of the 2nd and the 3rd centuries. But the internal evidence within this little epistle also supports John's authorship. You might be asking at this point, why are we belaboring this point? Because the author does not identify himself as to who he is. And so we are left to have to try to determine that. But the internal evidence also supports John's authorship. It does so in two primary ways. First, the internal evidence points toward John as the author in that the author claims to be an eyewitness of the life of Jesus. We just read that in the opening verses. He claims that he lived with Jesus, touched him, saw him, communicated with him. And he does this in these opening verses, which we have just read, and indicates how closely and personally he was with Christ. And throughout the entire book, he writes as one having authority, bearing that of an apostle. And the tone of authority is seen in the expression that he uses over and over again, my dear or little children. meaning that he is older or that he is in a place of authority like that of a father over his children. It is also seen in the commands which are to regulate the lives of his readers. His eyewitness testimony and his authority lead to the conclusion that the author of 1 John was clearly an apostle. But the second way in which the internal evidence within the book points to John as the author of the book is seen in the similarity in the use of words, expressions and ideas with those found in the Gospel of John. The author of each book, the Epistle and the Gospel, uses the same set of contrasting phrases such as truth and falsehood or lies, light and darkness, love and hate, life and death. Those expressions are found throughout the writings of both books. The expression, only begotten Son, occurs in John 3.16, which we are all familiar with. God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son. And that same expression is found in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 9. Many such similarities exist in the two books which point to a common authorship. A brief description of John can be given in this manner. His father was Zebedee. His mother was Salome. His brother was James, who wrote the Epistle of James. His nickname was Son of Thunder, as the two sons of Zebedee were given that title. His closest ministry partners were James, his brother, and Simon Peter, and thus we have who? James and John and Peter. the three leaders of the apostles. The biblical writings which he contributed to the canon of Scripture are the Gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John, and the book of Revelation. So while John does not identify himself by name in the opening of the book, the combination of these elements point to John the son of Zebedee. who preferred merely to be known as, quote, the disciple whom Jesus loved. End quote. John 21, 20. That's all that he would refer to himself as, as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Not meaning that Jesus didn't love the other disciples, but that John never could get over the love which Jesus displayed toward him. So he wouldn't even mention his name. he would just refer to himself as a disciple whom Jesus loved. Now, the date and the origin of John's little epistle, the precise date is not available to us. It is generally believed to have been written shortly after the gospel of John. So try to remember that. We have the gospel of John written first and then the epistle following that. And the Gospel of John is believed to have been written in about 85 A.D. 1 John is quoted in the Church Fathers, namely, Papias of Heropolis, whose writings we place at around 95 to 110 A.D. He is also quoted by Polycarp, another of the early Church Fathers. And he gave knowledge of 1 John in his letter to the Philippians written in the early 2nd century. Both Papias and Polycarp of Smyrna were residents of western Asia Minor, not far from the cultural center of Ephesus. And this may be the reason that they knew of John's letter, because late in his life John was a spiritual leader in that part of the Mediterranean world. It is most likely that John is addressing problems which have arisen in the churches of that area over which he, as an apostle, had some jurisdiction. And those churches in that region, if you would look them up on a topographical map included the congregations to whom he addressed part of the book of Revelation, namely Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyra, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea in Revelation chapter 2 and 3. And what do we know about those churches? They nearly all had problems with various false teachers and practices going on. So it is very probable that the little epistle of 1 John is addressed that is going to be sent out to all of these churches that are in that area addressing a problem that John must address at once. Now, what is the problem? The letter seems to be combating a form of false teaching. which later became known as Gnosticism. This movement had its origins in the first century, and this helps place John's letter in that same time period. Also, John refers to his readers as belonging to a younger generation than he, making him advanced up in years. The best date for the letter would then be around 90 to 95 A.D. Now, the background and the purpose of his letter is very important to understand and help interpret it. Since John, in his letter, is so consumed with the false teachings from whence he was attempting to protect his flock, it is most urgent and important that we try to gain an understanding of what that false teaching consisted. If we don't understand what he's addressing, then we will pull out statements and try to apply them to today's Christianity, and they may not fit. And this is what has been done with this little epistle primarily among Christian teachers for the last hundred years or so. is just turn it into what is known as a deeper Christian life type of understanding. A crisis had arisen in this community of believers comprising these several churches due to the rise of false teachers who were promoting a view of Christianity which was different from that held by John and the other apostles. The point had been reached whereby these false teachers could no longer abide in apostolic doctrine, and they had separated themselves from the Church. And in doing so, they had set up a rival Church, claiming to represent an improved and advanced form of Christianity. Turn over with me in the epistle to 1 John 2, verse 19. John describes these individuals not as individuals who originated outside in the Grecian or Jewish communities, but were formerly professing Christians that had professed faith in Christ, former church members who had separated themselves from the church. And in 1 John 2.19 we read, They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But while they had left the church, They were still in contact with its members and were causing confusion and doubts among them regarding the true nature of Christian belief and practice. And they were raising questions in the minds of the church members whether or not they were truly Christian. John considered it. to be necessary to write a careful statement of apostolic Christianity, that which we call biblical Christianity, and practice so that his flock might be able to see where the apostates were distorting the message, while at the same time reassure his readers that they belong to the true people of God. that it was the ones who had left the Church that were the false Christians, and that the ones who were abiding in apostolic teachings that they had originally heard and embraced comprised the true Christian community. And thus, his main purpose in writing the letter of 1 John is stated in chapter 5 and verse 13. Turn back there. Chapter 5 and verse 13, these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God. So who is it written to? Believers or unbelievers? Believers. Those who believe the truth about the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." That is, to true believers, he is reassuring them that what they have believed is the correct thing to believe. In light of the fact that many of their brethren who used to worship with them had gone out, broken off, and started a rival form of Christianity, claiming that this was the newest version and it comprised true Christianity. It is interesting to note that while 1 John deals with assurance of salvation, that John's first book, the Gospel, is for the purpose of evangelism and converting the unbeliever. Go back to the Gospel, John 20, verses 30 and 31. John 20, verses 30 and 31. Here is the purpose why he wrote the gospel. Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. The gospel designed for evangelism. The epistle designed for defense of the faith and assurance of the readers of it that if they have embraced the truth that's in the gospel, they are the true group of Christians. And that those which have broken off and have left the church have proven that they were never true Christians. Or, as we read in 1 John 2, if they had been true, they would not have left. They would have continued in apostolic belief and practice. Now, while we cannot be absolutely sure what the false teachers positively believed, we can be assured what features they denied of the apostolic faith. And John is going to mention them all the way through this little epistle. Let me list seven of them for you. We won't elaborate upon them, but here is what these people who broke off and said, we have been given revelations from God directly, we are the true Christians and you are the false ones, here is what they denied in apostolic Christianity. They claim to have fellowship with God and be sinless. Chapter 1, verses 6 and 8 and 10. Number 2, they claim that they knew God. Chapter 2 and verse 4. I'll let you just glance at those verses so that you can sort of see the significance of them. They believed that God was light and lived in that light, chapter 2 and verse 9. Number four, they held unorthodox views about Jesus. In chapter 2 and verse 22 and chapter 5 and verse 1, they did not believe that Jesus was the Christ or the Son of God. Chapter 4, verses 2 and 3, and 2 John chapter 7, they denied that Jesus had come in the flesh. Chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, they denied that the death of Jesus had any atoning significance. If they claimed they had no Thus they would not stand in need of atonement and in need of cleansing of his blood. So they denied the atonement of Christ. And chapter 2 and verse 4, they refused to submit to any validity of Christ's commandments. They were lawless. They were unloving toward apostolic believers, chapter 2, verses 9 through 11. Number six, they were unholy and worldly in their lifestyles, chapter 2, verses 15 through 17. And lastly, and number seven, They claim to possess a deeper knowledge of God than ordinary Christians. And this knowledge which they claim to possess was based on special prophetic revelations. which they claim to receive directly from God. Chapter 4 and verse 1. May I interject here a caution to all of us. Whenever you meet with anyone, be it an aunt, an uncle, a friend that's a professing Christian, And they start telling you that God has spoken directly to them. That ought to send up signals. And it's your duty and mine to take what they say and make them prove that from the Bible, apostolic Christianity. Not continual, direct revelations from God. So when you hear somebody say, God told me this. And God spoke to me and told me to do this. Look out, that ought to raise a red flag. The only thing we are authorized in as Christians to adhere to is apostolic Christianity, and that apostolic Christianity is recorded for us in the writings of Scripture. It is communicated from Jesus Christ and his apostles through an oral tradition until those apostles were given inspiration by the Holy Spirit to write down the record that God has given to us of his Son. And this is the record now. The apostles have died and passed from the scene, and what we have that has stayed with us has formed the canon of Scripture, and it is that which we go by. And it is always a characteristic of a false prophet or a false teacher to claim that they have been spoken to directly from God, and there is a proud spirit about that, because that implies that they have had something revealed to them that you haven't had revealed to you. And thus these teachers, as we will see through the study of the book, have a proud, arrogant demeanor about them. We are in the haves, you belong to the have-nots. Now it's quite evident then from examining these denials and claims that the teachers were making. that these lifestyles were a departure from apostolic Christianity. But these false teachers nevertheless wanted to be known as Christians. They wanted the name, but they were strangers to the power. They were what Paul talks about. They had a form of what? Godliness. They wanted the name, but they were strangers to the power of it. Because whoever has truly experienced the power of the Christian gospel has a transformed life of morality. They claim they had no sin, but you could go out and live however you wanted to live, and we'll find out how they could believe that in just a moment. These individuals wanted to restate and redefine the gospel. to fit into the prevailing climate of opinion which was popular in that day. And folks, that hasn't changed. In every culture there is the pressure to redefine the gospel to make it popular for the people who live in the culture in order to get numbers to come into the Christian community. That opinion comprised the beginning of a system which later in the second century, in its systematic form, became known as Gnosticism. Now, Gnosticism was one of the most dangerous and destructive heresies confronting the Church in the first two centuries, and it almost destroyed it. But Jesus gave the assurance that he would what? Build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. But there were multitudes which came into that external profession of the church and then left the church. And it almost brought it down to nothing. And it was due to this influence of this teaching known as Gnosticism. What was it? It was a combination. of Oriental mysticism and Greek philosophy. What do I mean by mysticism? Mysticism, in summation, makes the claim that it can communicate directly with God through visions and revelations. And Gnosticism was a mixture of that and Grecian philosophy. And it blended in just enough of the Christian message to make it an effective counterfeit Christianity. Although the many Gnostic groups had variations in their system, Gnosticism had two basic beliefs, and I hope that this can be imparted to us so that you can remember this and watch for it when it springs up and you encounter it in your own life and that of your associates. First of all, Gnosticism taught that all matter and physical material is inherently evil and that everything that is spirit is good. Do you get that distinction? Everything physical, all of which is spiritual and unseen good. Therefore, to the Gnostic thinker, it was unthinkable that there could be any direct relation between the one supreme God who was spirit and essentially good, and the material universe which was by definition inherently evil. those two could not relate to each other. It was believed that many eons or spirits emanated or broke off and came out of God. And at some point, one of these eons became known as a Demiurge and became evil and fallen and that being created the material universe. This, in the Gnostic view, was the God of the Old Testament in Genesis 1, which we read in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The Gnostics say that is not the one supreme God. The one supreme God cannot create anything evil, and all matter is evil. Therefore, this God in Genesis 1 is a branch off of the one supreme God, and he fell into sin and created the material universe. Now, while Jesus was included in the Gnostic system of belief The biblical doctrine of his incarnation, his death on the cross, his atonement, and his resurrection from the dead, had to either be entirely rejected or redefined to fit into the Gnostic system. You see why? If a human body is evil, the one supreme God could not acquire an evil body. Hence, Jesus could not be that God. The ultimate redemption for a Gnostic believer was to be separated from his physical body to live in the sinless and good realm of his eternal spirit. This Paul had to contend with in his letter to the Corinthians, who even some of them, while embracing Christianity, were saying that there was no what? No resurrection. Remember that? Well, why would anybody professing to be a Christian deny the bodily resurrection? If the body was evil, you mean then if the body is evil, that Christianity holds out a hope that After you die and your spirit is liberated, that one day you're going to be put back in a body again? The Greeks said no. We can't adopt that. And thus the gospel became unto the Jews a what? A stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. So you see, you had the mysticism, direct revelations from God, the Grecian idea that everything that was physical was sinful and evil. And then you wedded that in with the name of Jesus. But you had to redefine who Jesus was. He could not be God in a human body because the one supreme God is inherently good and the human body is evil and is desired to be escaped from. Jesus then could not be the perfect God. but in desiring to retain Jesus in their message. The Gnostics then developed two different forms of teachings about Jesus while denying his incarnation. Now, lest you think that what we are delivering to the morning has nothing to say to today's church, listen, I want to tell you, today's churches are filled with people who do not have biblical views of Jesus. And they would be very offended if you told them that they were not Christian. And these people were very offended because John would not embrace them as true Christians. But he would call them liars and antichrists and deceivers. But whoever abides not in the doctrine of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, cannot be embraced as a Christian. Say again, multitudes of individuals today bear the name of Jesus who deny his person and his incarnation. And why did Jesus incarnate himself in a human body? What was the purpose of it? In order that he might live and die and make atonement for our sins. So if Jesus is someone less than God in the flesh, that he cannot make that perfect sacrifice for our sins. So any form of Christianity which denies the person of Christ and the atoning work of Christ cannot lawfully bear the name of apostolic Christianity. Yet multitudes today of churches consider themselves in a category that they are Christian. Now let's look at the first form. of Gnosticism. This was known as Docetic Gnosticism. How do you redefine the gospel? Well, here's how the Gnostics tried to do it. Docetic means to seem, to seem, to appear. In this view, the supreme God sent his Christ, an angel-like spirit into the world to liberate those who were desiring to escape its evil influence. And this Christ appeared in the person of Jesus, but the body of Jesus was only an illusion. It was not human. He only seemed to be human. Now, you ought to be able to relate to that as a Bible-reading Christian in that throughout the Old Testament there are what is known as theophanies, and also angels appearing in what? Human form. And then they can disappear and go back into invisible form. And so the Gnostics in the Docetic branch said that Jesus was this Christ sent from the true God, but he did not acquire a human body. He could not do that. He would be contaminated with it, so he only had an appearance of a body. And that began to have an influence on the believers. Well, is that right? Have we been taught right? And so John is going to have to correct that and reaffirm that the gospel which he had received from the Lord Jesus Christ was such that Jesus was nothing less than God in the flesh. We've held him. In the beginning was the what? The Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and all things were made by him. Without him was not anything made that was made. That supreme God of gods. And the Word was made what? Did I hear you? flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." And what you just read a few moments ago, John said, I touched Him. I walked with Him. I saw Him. I heard Him. I ate with Him. This was not a phantom. This was not a ghost. This was a real human being, and it was none less than the one Supreme God. Hold to that. Those which have left are apostates. And they have left, and in their leaving they have proved that they were never true Christians. For if they had been true Christians, they would have continued to have received this true message of who Jesus was. Now, there is a second form of Gnosticism that was known as the Corinthian form, named after its teacher, Corinthius. And this form tried to redefine the person of Christ, and it made a distinction between the divine Christ, which was spirit, and the human Jesus. They affirmed that Jesus was truly human, that there was a divine spirit. But Serenthis claimed that Jesus was a mere sinful man, since he was human. and all humans are physical and all physical is evil. But that this human body of Jesus had the spirit of the divine Christ come upon him at his baptism and left him just before his suffering and death on the cross. And in this way, then, the divine Christ was not born, nor did the divine Christ die. He came and he left and carried out his message, but he was not a human Christ, neither did this Jesus or this divine Christ die. He merely came upon Jesus for a season of time. You see how that then would allow this Christ to not be contaminated by the human body. He just came upon him. Now, both forms of Gnosticism can be seen in 1 John as John affirms the reality of the incarnation of God in the person of Christ. Turn with me to chapter 4. and verse 1 through verse 3. Here he is going to affirm the reality that God did become flesh. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Who are these false prophets? These are the ones who used to be affiliated with the church. And now they have left the church and they are called spirits. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. See what John is saying? This is true Christianity. Everyone who confesses that Jesus Christ is in the flesh has come from God." He is affirming the humanity of Jesus. Now watch verse 3, "...and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already it is in the world." ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, the false prophet." So here John affirms, then, the reality of the incarnation of God in Christ. But he also, in his letter, affirms the unity of Jesus as the Christ from the beginning of his life until the end of it. Look over in 1 John chapter 5 and verse 6, and here is that strange passage that has caused so much confusion, without which it cannot be understood if you do not understand who John is addressing here. 1 John 5 and verse 6, This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. Now, remember what Sorenthus taught? The Spirit of the Divine Christ came upon Christ at his baptism, water. And the Spirit of the Divine Christ left Christ before his death. John is saying that the true Christ experienced this entire thing throughout his life, even dying on the cross. So he is rejecting the Corinthian idea that the divine Christ left Jesus prior to his death on the cross. He came by both water and blood, and time will not allow us to elaborate upon that. Look over in chapter 4, verses 5 and 6, speaking of the false teachers. They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. Paul's teachers always have a message that appeals to the unregenerate crowd. Hereby we are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth us. The apostles. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Who is being energized by the spirit of truth? all people who are abiding in apostolic doctrine. Who is being energized by the spirit of error? People who profess Christianity but reject apostolic doctrine. Claim that they get their understanding from sources outside of the Bible. Have you ever come across somebody who says, Well, I know the Bible says that, but I just That's their problem. They're not apostolic Christians. An apostolic Christian is one who bows to the authority of the apostolic message that has been recorded and preserved for us in the pages of the Bible. And that's the only kind of Christian. There may be variances of beliefs among the Christians over varying interpretations, but all true Christians agree that the Bible is the final word of faith and practice. And people who say, Well, I'm a Christian and I know that the Bible says this, but I just can't embrace that. They have a problem, a big problem. basic belief in the Gnostic system was that salvation or redemption came through knowledge as opposed to faith in a revelation. But this knowledge which the Gnostics claimed to receive, which brought one into a fellowship with God, was not an intellectual acquirement or achievement. but it consisted of a secret knowledge gained as a gift from a direct revelation from the one supreme God who was good. We've mentioned much already about this word gnostic. The word gnostic means knowledge, to know. And this special knowledge which the gnostics claimed that they received was considered different from and superior to the revelation found in the Scripture. And this, then, belief led to two classes of Christians, the haves and the have-nots. Those who have it were considered by the Gnostics as the spiritual ones, and those without it were looked upon as the carnal or the fleshly ones. And this distorted position led to a spirit of exclusivism, arrogance and a lack of love toward the fleshly, normal Christian. In the realm of ethics and morals, the Gnostics' most significant error came as a result of their belief that matter was evil. And this led them into one of two extremes. Some groups of the Gnostics treated their bodies harshly and with great discipline. This is seen over in Colossians chapter 2, verses 21 through 23, where Paul talks about those who would emphasize touch not, taste not. What was the other one? Handle not. That was the error of the Gnostics, some having extreme ascetic requirements for their body. But the second extreme was what John was dealing with. And this group of the Gnostics treated their bodies and their moral behavior with great liberty and licentiousness. Since the body and the spirit were separate, they believed it did not matter what people did with their bodies, since the body was going to drop off out here one day anyway. They were above morality and nothing they did was considered sinful because the body was inherently evil. Just let it loose. Do whatever you want to do in the body because you can't sin in the spirit. This extreme teaching was the belief that John was confronting in 1 John when he insisted upon obedience to God's commandments. So this new teaching thus combined a new theology with a new morality. And in this situation it was impossible for those who taught and embraced the new views to continue to fellowship with those who believed the old teachings of John and the apostles. And this led them to separate themselves into a new community or church and to part with their former brethren. Chapter 2 and verse 19. So the Christians who remained in the old paths were shaken in their assurance as they saw their brethren leaving. And they were leaving to join the new school. And the ones who left, they were so sure they were right. They could talk in such lofty and confident terms of their special insights. into the true knowledge so that the humble, ordinary believers might well question whether their beliefs were true or not. Who possessed the truth? Where and how was eternal life to be found? In the old ways, as to what they had been taught, or in the new, revised form? Those who left were saying, We've got it. You haven't. Who could know what was right? It was to these perplexed Christians that 1 John was written. Does that help? John did not write the letter to condemn them or to raise doubts about their salvation or faithfulness. He wrote to restate in the clearest possible way the criteria upon which Christian truth and experience can be judged, and to help his readers see that they were the true Christians and the succeeders were the counterfeit ones. If you have ever read 1 John, as I have done for years, trying to receive assurance of your salvation, and you come away more unsure, it's because you did not understand who John was addressing. John is not raising doubts among biblical Christians. He is pointing out there is a group which do not bear the right to biblical Christianity. They're the counterfeit ones. You which have believed the truth of the gospel, you are the true Christians. Be assured of that. John is a man, Sister Dorothy, who knows what he's talking about. He'd been a companion of the incarnate Word of Life. He had seen Him. He'd heard Him. His readers had not had the privilege of this experience, which he and his fellow apostles had experienced. So John says, we're writing unto you that you may know him whom we have touched and held, a real person, where was eternal life to be found in the Son of God. Thus John states in 5.11, this is the record that God has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. But the Son of God had become incarnate, and those who denied His incarnation had not the Son, and therefore could not have eternal life which was to be found only in Him. It was as simple as that. They might claim to possess it, but their claim was vain. The false teachers had abandoned the true foundation, and John exhorts his readers with these words in John chapter 2, our final text, verses 24 and 26. Let that therefore abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. Now, what is that? That's the gospel message. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, you also shall continue in the Son and in the Father, and this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you or are attempting to lead you astray and deceive you." Hold on to the gospel. Believe it. Don't look for new revelation. Look to the old message you've heard from the beginning. Continue in that. Abide in that. And the promise is, whoever does has eternal life. Now that's assuring, because I believe the gospel that's found here in this book. And the promise is that whoever believes that has everlasting life. So John makes a strong affirmation for the permanent validity of the apostolic witness to Christ. And for us today, this witness is enshrined in the New Testament writings which make up our rule for faith and practice. Now, closing, the structure of the book. How do you outline it? You can't. It's one of the few books you can't outline. And numerous teachers have tried to. It just doesn't lend itself. The structural content of the letter does not lend itself to a clear outline form. John is writing to reassure the believers that they were the true possessors of eternal life, and he is reestablishing the basics of the Christian faith, and in doing so, he is providing several series of tests to identify the true faith from the false faith. He repeats and enlarges these texts as the letter expands. The letter might be viewed as spirals. or circles expanding outward, covering and going back over the same truths, only enlarging upon them each time they are repeated. And this can be seen as the letter unfolds. So John provides three basic categories of tests by which a person can judge whether he or she possesses eternal life. And these three tests cover the entirety of the human life. They are first the theological test, secondly the moral test, and thirdly the social test of life. And they test a person's beliefs, the theological, they test a person's behavior, their moral, and they test a person's love, their social relations with others. And the repetitions of these three tests provide the skeletal structure for the letter of 1 I hope this introduction can serve as an overview to help provide you as a reader of 1 John with an understanding of why John was writing about certain issues and how his readers would have understood his writings. He is refuting the errors found in the pre-Gnostic teachings which were infiltrating the churches, and he wanted to clarify Christian doctrine and practice as well as protect the flock. The teachings found in this letter are clearly vital for the Church and the world today. Despite all the differences between the first conditions existing in the first century and ours, there are fundamental similarities which make it possible to apply apostolic teachings to our present affairs. The Church today needs to learn the lesson that faith rests upon God's revelation of Himself in His Son. Jesus Christ. Also, the church needs to learn that faith and love cannot be separated from one another. You can't just say, we're a loving church, but we just don't go for this doctrine stuff. John's going to debunk that. And you cannot say, well, we uphold the doctrine, but it's not important whether you love or not. John's going to deal with that. Faith and love cannot be separated. and that Christians are also called to live a life of moral obedience and manifest love toward others. In doing so, they can enjoy assurance that they are in the possession of the knowledge of God, which is eternal life. John 17.3, this is life eternal, that they may know you, the one true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Hold on to that, folks. Hold on to it like a dog on a bone. Bite into that. And if you will hold on to that, that will be a protection against false doctrine and false teachers who would come along and try to say, we have something new for you that you don't really know about. Okay? Let's pray.