First Epistle of John - Purpose

Purpose

"The Fourth Gospel addresses itself to the challenges posed by Judaism and others outside Johannine circles who have rejected the community's vision of Jesus as preexistent Son, sent by the Father. The epistles" (First, Second, and Third John) "describe the fracturing of the Johannine community itself."

The author wrote the epistle so that the joy of his audience would "be full" (1.4) and that they would "not practice sin" (2.1) and that "you who believe in the name of the Son of God... may know that you have eternal life" (5.13). We can therefore distinguish in the epistle both a general purpose (to increase mutual joy) and a specific purpose (to provide readers with tests by which they might assure themselves of their salvation). It appears as though the author was concerned about heretical teachers that had been influencing churches under his care. Such teachers were considered Antichrists (2.18–19) who had once been church leaders but whose teaching became heterodox. It appears that these teachers taught a form of docetism in which Jesus came to earth as a spirit without a real body of flesh (4.2) that his death on the cross was not as a true atonement for sins (1.7). It appears that John might have also been rebuking a proto-Gnostic named Cerinthus, who also denied the true humanity of Christ.

The purpose of the author (1:1–4) is to declare the Word of Life to those to whom he writes, in order that they might be united in fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. He shows that the means of union with God are, (1) on the part of Christ, his atoning work (1:7; 2:2; 3:5; 4:10, 14; 5:11, 12) and his advocacy (2:1); and (2), on the part of man, holiness (1:6), obedience (2:3), purity (3:3), faith (3:23; 4:3; 5:5), and love (2:7, 8; 3:14; 4:7; 5:1).

Whereas the Gospel of John was written to unbelievers, this epistle was written to those who were already believers (5:13). It seems likely that its audience was largely gentile rather than Jewish, since it contains few Old Testament quotations or distinctly Jewish forms of expression. The epistle was likely carried by itinerant missionaries to different churches throughout the region and read aloud to the congregations.