“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13).

Introduction

Although 1 John does not specify an author, audience, or locality, the epistle is distinct about its purpose as well as the desired affect: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13, ESV).[1] Traditionally attributed to John, Son of Zebedee, the apostle writes his readers a reminder of assurance that they are beloved by God (3:1), and it is through this astounding love that they have been made children of God (3:2); therefore John’s first century readers, as well as believers today, may draw confidence that eternal life is ours. 1 John is written to reinforce the faithful and to urge the community to reject the proselytization of the false teachers who “went out” (2:19) from them. In this post, I am going to again investigate the heart of 1 John, which is a reassurance to the faithful of God’s love.

Assurance in the Occasion of 1 John

In order to better appreciate John’s message of assurance to his readers in 1 John, one first needs at least a cursory awareness of the occassion for the epistle, because the historical context bears important implications on the way in which 1 John should be understood.[2] Although the epistle is not addressed to a particular individual, church, or locality, 1 John is traditionally thought to have been written in response to a theological schism that shook a community of believers.[3]The text indicates that some within the community adopted a false Christology, and although scholars do not know precisely what all these defectors believed, according to John Painter, John structured the epistle in such a way in which he counters various false claims.[4] Undoubtedly, the apostle wishes to prevent any further defection; however, the general consensus, among scholars, is that John’s general motivation is two-fold: to encourage those who have remained faithful to the Gospel message and to urge the community to resist the proselytization of those spreading falsehoods.[5]

Given the religious syncretism of the period denotes an atmosphere conducive to opposition from any number of sources, the conflict in 1 John is widely credited to some form of proto-Gnostic sect.[6] However, considering that John’s principal motivation is the spiritual welfare of the community, and not so much on drawing attention to the schematics’ movement, the apostle’s responses to their doctrinal challenges have more to do with the effect the schism is having on his audience than even the heresies themselves.[7] With regard to the false teachers, whom John also refers to as “antichrists” (2:18,19), John reassures his readers that the anointing they have already received endures within them (2:27), and furthermore, addressing his readers, lovingly, as “little children,” the apostle provides them with additional assurance that they are “from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (4:4).

Although what finally became of the opposition depicted in 1 John is unknown, “whether it developed into the sort of second-century Gnosticism we know through the writings of Irenaeus, or whether it simply died out,”[8] Colin Kruse posits that the canonized Gospel suggests that the heretical claims of John’s adversaries were ultimately rejected by orthodox Christendom. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (2:19). The fact that some abandoned their confession of faith, according to John, demonstrates that they never really belonged in the first place, so conversely, those who remained demonstrate their fidelity to God. 

Assurance in the Purpose of 1 John

God desires for us to be confident in our salvation. As Christians, we should not go through life questioning and worrying about whether or not we are really saved. In 1 John 5:13, John states that a purpose in writing is to assure his readers that they have eternal life, and William Combs reflects the heart of the apostle’s assurance, “‘Fellowship’ is a specifically Christian word and denotes that common participation in the grace of God, the salvation of Christ and the indwelling Spirit which is the spiritual birthright of all believers.”[9] Whereas the Gospel of John uses “fellowship” (κοινωνία) within in a soteriological sense, John Stott asserts that it should be interpreted in 1 John within a soteriological context as well; therefore, to have “fellowship ” (1:3), Stott maintains, is tantamount to having eternal life, because fellowship here signifies an active relationship with Christ.[10]

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13). Because of the schismatics’ rejection of the central tenants of the Christian faith, John takes the opportunity to reaffirm that those who “believe in the name of the Son of God” already have eternal life. 1 John also debunks the misnomer that eternal security equates to a willfully partaking in sin; that attitude is among the heretical beliefs of which John condemns. According to Hiebert Edmond, the statement “Whoever believes” points to an active personal commitment to following Christ.[11] Likewise, the use of the perfect-tense validates that John intends to reassure his audience of their salvation and fellowship in Christ. In fact, Stephen Rockwell concludes that assurance is the thesis that unifies the entire epistle.[12] Similarly, scholars like Painter, Kruse, and Combs strongly maintain that the concept of fellowship and eternal life are intertwined in 1 John.

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (3:2). John begins verse 2 by stating that his readers are “now” (νῦν), “children of God” without qualifying his present-tense claim,[13] and his promised eschatological change, which will occur “when” the Lord Jesus returns, serves to deepen the assurance of eternal life found throughout the text. As with us today, John writes his readers of a peace that he wants the faithful to enjoy in their relationship with God.[14] What is more, “abiding” (μένω) occurs 24 times throughout the epistle, and according to Rockwell, John assures his readers in such statements of certainty of both their abiding in God and he in them.[15]Nevertheless, one of the salient characteristics of 1 John, according to Payne, is that nowhere does the apostle note any ambiguities; additionally, Payne maintains that the reasoning and language of the text seems to rule out any such salvific questions.[16] Since assurance is, by definition, the absence of doubt, just as John’s first century audience, modern Christians can also be confident of our eternal hope, if we believe God to be true to His word.

John does acknowledge that even the “children of God” are not without fault, but that eternal life should produce a life that increasingly resembles the one lived by Christ. The apostle’s audience is confirmed, without exception, to be on the side of God, whereas those who left the community are confirmed, without exception, to be on the side of the devil;[17] therefore, John’s readers are left no room for hesitation or doubt. In much the same vein as Romans 8:29 where Paul writes of the children of God: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers,” John similarly reassures his readers that they are being conformed into Christ’s likeness: “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God” (3:9). John is clear that there are only two possible identities: child of God or child of the devil (3:8-10).

Conclusion

Focusing on the life of Jesus is important to understanding 1 John, according to Brandon Crowe, because salvation was accomplished by Christ in “real space and time,” and their rejection of the incarnation was among the false teachings John condemned.[18] As John writes of Jesus, during His earthly ministry, speaking of those whom the Father has given Him, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28,29). So, John does not describe the schismatics as having belonged, then not belonging on account of committing some sin, but instead, the apostle describes them as having never belonged in the first place as evidenced by their living out their rejection of the Gospel. The heart of 1 John is an assurance of God’s love and faithfulness to finish the good work that He has started within us (2:12-14, 27; 4:17 cf. Rom 8:28-30; Phil 1:6; 2:13); hence, let us not doubt, but take joy, in the fact that our salvation is never in question.

Application

Given that a real man, Adam, brought about the curse of sin into the world, a real man, Jesus, fully man and fully God, is necessary to reverse the curse (1 Cor. 15:21), according to Crowe, Jesus is the only One, who is by nature God, can bring a fallen humanity to eternal life.[19] Regarding the propitiation and God’s love, Leon Morris summarizes in his work: “It is the combination of the deep love for the sinner and the reaction against sin which brings about the situation in which the Bible refers to propitiation.”[20]  Crowe concludes his study of salvation in John’s letters by considering 1 John 5:18: “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” We must address a key question that arises from this verse: who is the one who protects from the evil one? John suggestively refers to this one as “he who was born of God.” 1 John 5:1 contains a similar phrase that refers to fellow believers in Christ. According to Crowe, “While 5:1 could inform the way we read “he who was born of God” in 5:18, a more likely interpretation of 5:18 is that it is a reference to Jesus who keeps us. Jesus is the preeminent one born of God, the one referred to in John’s Gospel as the one and only (or “only begotten”) Son (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18 see also 1 Peter and Jude).”[21]

[1] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version.

[2] Matthew N. Payne, “Post-Crisis Assurance and the ‘Tests of Life’ Reading of 1 John,” The Reformed Theological Review 80, no 2 (Aug 2021): 137; Brandon D. Crowe, The Message of the General Epistles in the History of Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2015), 123.

[3] Colin G. Kruse, “Sin and Perfection in 1 John,” Australian Biblical Review 51, (2003): 62; Crowe, The Message of the General Epistles, 123.

[4] John Painter, “The generosity of God in the world: preaching from John, 1 John and James,” St 

Mark’s Review, 219 (Feb 2012), 42.

[5] Painter, “The generosity of God,” 42.

[6] John Painter, “The ‘Opponents’ in 1 John,” New Testament Studies 32, no 1 (Jan 1986): 50.

[7] Payne, “Post-Crisis Assurance,” 138.

[8] Kruse, “Sin and Perfection,” 63.

[9] William W. Combs, “The Meaning of Fellowship in 1 John,” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 13, (2008): 7.

[10] John R.W. Stott, The Letters of John, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1988), 58.

[11] Hiebert D. Edmond,, “An Expositional Study of 1 John,” Bibliotheca Sacra, 147 no 586 (Apr-Jun 1990), 216.

[12] Stephen Rockwell, “Assurance as the Interpretive Key to Understanding the Message of 1 John,” The Reformed Theological Review69, no 1 (Apr 2010): 33.

[13] A. Chadwick Thornhill, Greek for Everyone: Introductory Greek for Bible Study and Application. 1st ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016), 79-80.

[14] Rockwell, “Assurance as the Interpretive Key,” 27.

[15] Rockwell, “Assurance as the Interpretive Key,” 28.

[16] Payne, “Post-Crisis Assurance,” 144.

[17] Payne, “Post-Crisis Assurance,” 145.

[18] Crowe, The Message of the General Epistles, 124.

[19] Crowe, The Message of the General Epistles, 129.

[20] Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1955), 183.

[21] Crowe, The Message of the General Epistles, 133.

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