RPG Adults
THE EPISTLE OF 1 JOHN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1
1 John 1:1
Luke 24:39
“Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself …”
THE EPISTLE OF 1 JOHN
John was one of the earliest disciples of Christ. He was a fellow fisherman of Peter and James before the Lord called them. “… James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him” (Luke 5:10-11). Thus was John introduced onto the Gospel scene.
He is the same who wrote the Gospel named after him. He referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20). He and his brother James once requested Jesus to grant them the privilege of sitting at His right and left hand at the kingdom of heaven. In response, the Lord told them that their request was impossible, but their commitment to Him would result in great suffering. As it turned out, James became the first martyr while John became the last Apostle to die. This short background tells us of the context of the three epistles of Apostle John.
“The external evidence for the authorship of First John shows that from the beginning it was universally received without dispute as authoritative. It was used by Polycarp (who knew John in his youth) and Papias in the second century, and later in that century Irenaeus (who knew Polycarp in his youth) specifically attributed it to the Apostle John. All Greek and Latin church fathers accepted this epistle as Johannine.” (Source: The Open Bible, introduction to 1 John.) It is thus part of the New Testament Canon and is used confidently as the inspired Word of God.
THOUGHT: The writing of this epistle came with a cost.
PRAYER: Lord, let me always have confidence in Thy written Word.