This is a series of brief chapter studies in 1 John. The studies could be used for personal study or group study. In order to keep the material reasonably concise, it is not intended that all the verses of this letter will be covered in the notes, only some selected key verses are included. References are to the New International Version of the Bible (NIV).

Short introduction:

The Apostle John, who was one of the twelve disciples, wrote this letter. We don’t have a date for the letter but it was probably written sometime between AD 85 and 90. It is thought that the letter was written to a fellowship of Christians who lived in Asia Minor, a group who had come under the influence of false teachers.

Chapter One.

Witnessing.
Witnessing is the way to form and develop fellowship. The apostles had seen the Word of Life and now witnessed to the fact. Note verses 1, 2, 3 and 5. They all contain the idea of testifying or proclaiming. Their testimony arose from their experience. The reason why the followers of Jesus testified to what they had seen and heard was so that others may also know what they knew and enter into a fellowship with them and also with the Father and the Son. Witnessing was a vital priority in the early Church.

Question.
Is the average Christian active in this sort of witnessing in our society today? (If not, what kind of witnessing do we tend to be active in?)

Fellowship.
John tells us about the Word of Life (Jesus) so that we can share fellowship with those first Christians. This knowledge introduces us to this fellowship (verse 3). The fellowship spoken of here is really a unity, which is founded on the truth about Jesus Christ. This unity is based upon Bible truth. It is important that we note the basis for Christian unity mentioned here.

Questions.
1. What usually comes to mind when we hear the word ‘fellowship’ today?
2. How do you feel about Churches actively organising interdenominational church unity, through such initiatives encouraged by groups like ‘ The World Council of Churches’ or ‘Churches Together’, as happens in some countries in the world?
3. Do you believe that we have a responsibility to maintain a unity of fellowship with all professing believers?

Joy.
Jesus is the Word of Life – literally, the LOGOS, although ‘Word’ is used in most translations. (LOGOS is a Greek word which is one of the titles of the Son of God. The word used by itself in normal Greek refers to communication and revelation.) He is the personal manifestation of God and the apostles had actually seen, heard and touched this LOGOS, or Word from God. What we learn from 1 John 1:1-3 should be the cause of our joy (verse 4). The Greek word for joy is CHARA and it could be translated as ‘cheerful delight’ but in this case it relates more to our steadfast confidence, whatever our circumstances. It would be wrong to think that Christian joy is just emotional pleasure though, because there will be times when we don’t feel much emotional pleasure – yet we can still feel a deep sense of comfort and hope because of our knowledge of Christ.

Questions.
1. Do you think that we sometimes try too hard to create a sense of joy or happiness, based on something other than our knowledge of Jesus Christ and his teaching? (Music, for example, has a great power to lift people’s spirits.)
2. Should Christians have a sense of joy in their lives at all times, or is this unrealistic?

The Conditions for Fellowship.
What we practise determines whether or not we have fellowship with Jesus. Our walk is the key to fellowship (verses 6 and 7). We may say that we are walking in God’s light and yet fail to walk in the Spirit in honesty and by faith. Our moral conduct may be sadly lacking. John is simply stating that this sort of thing indicates that we don’t have fellowship with Christ. Such a life of hopeless inconsistency is a lie and shows that the person does not live by the truth (verse 6). The secret of successful fellowship is to walk in the light (verse 7). Walking in the light is explained in verses 8-10.

Questions.
What is the secret of walking in the light as explained here?
1. And, what is the result of walking in the light?
2. What is the likely result of failing to walk in the light?

Sin
Confession of specific sins is called for (verses 8-10). We can refuse to acknowledge our own sin by saying (i) we have no sin (verse 8) or (ii) we have not sinned (verse 10). But sins confessed results in sins forgiven and hearts cleansed. Sin must be brought into the light of God and not hidden away. The only basis for forgiveness and cleansing is the blood of Christ (verse 7). God is faithful (verse 9) in the sense that he will keep his promise to forgive us. Self-righteousness, on the other hand, always tries to avoid acknowledging sin and confessing it because it is based on our supposed human merit.

Questions?
How might false spirituality show itself in our fellowships?
1. Do you think that there is more ‘false spirituality’ around these days than a generation or two ago? (If so, why?)
2. What would you say in answer to someone who says, “I have been forgiven once and for all. I don’t need to be constantly confessing my sins.”?