We begin our study of the three letters of the Apostle John today. These are believed to have been written somewhere between 85 AD and 100 AD in Ephesus. We can narrow down the date somewhat by keeping in mind that Emperor Domitian, who would later exile John to Patmos, died in 96 AD. Therefore, if John is writing from Ephesus, he is writing prior to 96 AD. Domitian held very strictly to Roman religion and customs, but although he was opposed to any beliefs that contradicted his own, he was not known to have persecuted the Christians in a manner similar to Emperor Nero. Banishment was Domitian's preferred method of ridding the empire of any persons whose doctrine he considered immoral, divisive, or a threat to national security.
The dating of John's letters mean he is writing them after the fall of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. It also means he is writing during an era when false doctrines, such as gnosticism, were becoming prevalent. Gnosticism arose near the end of the first century AD and it was considered by the church to be the worst of heresies. In fact, this heresy is what prompted John to write his letters of warning to the church, for gnosticism made the claim that Jesus Christ did not inhabit a human body but only appeared in the form of a human so He could be seen. This contradicts the very foundation of the gospel message, which is that the Lord Jesus Christ (fully God) became flesh (fully man) and offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins.
Gnostics also believed that the soul was basically good and that nothing done in the body really mattered, which contradicts another tenet of the gospel message: the fact that we are all sinners in need of salvation. If nothing we do in the body matters, why were sacrifices of atonement ever necessary? And if atonement wasn't necessary, then when Christ suffered in our place He suffered for nothing.
Not only did the gnostics deny that the things done in the flesh really matter, but they proclaimed that only those who attain higher spiritual knowledge could achieve any type of relationship with the Creator. This also goes against the gospel message by asserting that salvation is by works and not by faith. The word "gnostic" comes from the Greek word "gnosis" which means "knowledge". If only those initiated into the deeper secrets of religion can ever hope to attain salvation, then this makes Jesus' offer to "whosoever will" a lie. If man must work toward his own salvation, and if most who work toward it never reach their goal, then what was the point of the coming of Christ? What did Christ achieve through His suffering? Many of these early gnostics claimed to believe in Jesus Christ, but their very doctrine denies this.
Keeping these things in mind, we can easily see why John opens his first letter by firmly asserting that Christ inhabited a human body that is as real as your body and mine. He can testify to this because he saw Christ in the flesh with his own eyes. During the years of Jesus' ministry, John witnessed Him becoming thirsty, hungry, and tired. John interacted with Jesus in the same way we interact with our fellow man. He knows the Lord Jesus inhabited a body of flesh and blood and bone, so he sets this matter straight right off the bat. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched---this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." (1 John 1:1) We can see the similarity between these words and the words John wrote when he penned his account of the gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1,14)
Do we have any doubts that the people we interact with on a daily basis are inhabiting a human body? Of course not, because all the proof is right in front of our eyes. John is saying the same thing: all the proof that God the Son came to earth in a human body was right in front of his eyes. A spirit doesn't get thirsty and hungry. A spirit doesn't become weary and need to take a nap. You can't put an encouraging arm around a spirit or give a spirit a hug, which are things that John and the other friends of Jesus likely did. And, above all, a spirit can't be beaten, nailed to a cross, or pierced through the side. A spirit can't bleed and die. Jesus endured all these things, and John witnessed them, and his testimony can be trusted.
We don't have to just take John's word for it. All the other disciples knew Jesus in the flesh. All the other disciples knew He died on the cross and was buried in a tomb. All the other disciples, with the exception of Judas, interacted with Him following the resurrection. The resurrection body, immortal though it was, was also comprised of flesh and blood and bone. (Luke 24:39) The Lord Jesus was able to be touched following the resurrection, proving that it was not just His spirit that rose but His body also. Jesus was even able to eat in His resurrected body. Can a spirit eat? No, but a human being can, so John sets out from the very beginning to put to rest any false doctrine that claims that Jesus did not come into the world in the flesh and that He did not rise from the dead in the flesh.
Because John knows what he knows, and because the other disciples know what they know, he puts forth his testimony and theirs. "The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us." (1 John 1:2)
John is busy fulfilling the great commission which Jesus bestowed upon believers by saying, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 14:23, Acts 1:7-8) It is the Lord's will that everyone hear the gospel and be saved, so John is working hard to get the gospel message to as many people as he can.
John wants his fellow human beings to be saved. This should be what we all want. It should be the greatest desire of our hearts that others would have what we have found in Christ. "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete." (1 John 1:3-4)
Just as the Lord Jesus wants everyone to accept Him so they can be with Him for eternity, (John 14:3, John 17:24) we ought to want everyone to accept Christ and be with Him for eternity. When we find something good in this life, don't we recommend it to others? We often tell others about a good deal that's available at a store or about a restaurant that serves good food. How much more should we want to tell others the good news of the gospel?
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