There are very strong objections to thinking the same person wrote 1 and 2 peter. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. However, most biblical scholars now contend that these were separate individuals since the text was written around 100 ad, after the death of john the apostle. According to scholars, the gospel of john was written by the beloved disciple john. Visit our library of inductive bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the bible you can use in your small group. Augustinea famous fourth century church fathercontributed no fewer than 124 tractates in his gospel of john commentary, while st. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. It is interesting to study why john wrote these epistles because this has much to do with their content and how they apply to us today as christians. It is possible that john used an amanuensis to write the gospel and the first letter and wrote 2 and. Book of john overview insight for living ministries. Irenaeus says that john, the disciple of the lord who was with jesus in the upper room, wrote the gospel of john while living in ephesus haer. Evidence for johns authorship from the early church. John did not include the nativity story in his gospel.
John was part of three men who made up the inner circle of companions of jesus mark 5. Notes 1 the book went through two to three stages, or editions, before reaching its current form, at the latest, around ad 80100. The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter. Although the first epistle of john does not bear any authors name it was never seriously doubted that the apostle john is.
These small group studies of 1 john contain outlines, crossreferences, bible study discussion questions, and applications. John 1 niv bible in the beginning was the word, and the. Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society. Most scholars therefore treat the five as a single corpus of johannine literature, albeit not from the same author. It is written anonymously, although it identifies an unnamed disciple whom jesus loved as the source of its traditions. Jan 02, 2020 however, all the evidence points to the author as john the beloved disciple who also wrote the gospel of john. John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. The content, style, and vocabulary seem to warrant the conclusion that these three epistles were addressed to the same readers as the gospel of john. Aug 20, 2015 john wrote that the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth john 1. The letters of john are quite powerful and important for teaching about the nature of god and of the believers stance during difficult times. John gives us the reasons he wrote these books of the bible but scatters them throughout 1, 2 and 3. He was a fisherman, one of jesus inner circle together with james and peter, and the disciple whom jesus loved jn. Various people have been proposed as the author of this epistle. These factors suggest that john wrote the book between ad 85 and ad 95.
Contained in the new testament are the epistles of 1, 2 and 3 john written by the apostle john. He was a leader in the early church, and he probably wrote his documents after most of the other new testament books were already written. The letters and gospel are anonymous to us, but the christians who. Most scholars believe the three johannine epistles have the same author, but there is no consensus if this.
Although the first epistle of john does not bear any authors name it was never seriously doubted that the apostle john is the author of this epistle as well as of the fourth gospel. Irenaeus ad 175195, bishop of lyon, was born in asia minor and as a child personally knew polycarp, who is said to have been appointed bishop of smyrna by eyewitnesses of the lord jesus. Invoking the in the beginning language of genesis 1. Historical evidence concerning the author of 1 john. Letters of john, three new testament writings, all composed sometime. In the book of john, we find that jesus ministry altogether was approximately 3 1 2 years. Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the book during the apostles time serving the church in ephesus. The gospel of john, the three johannine epistles, and the book of revelation, exhibit marked similarities, although more so between the gospel and the epistle especially the gospel and 1 john than between those and revelation.
Thomass gospel of john commentary of the th century is still highly regarded today by modern scholars. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the johannine works. Dodd identified the gospel of john and 1 john as works of different authors. Apr, 2011 it is traditional to believe that 1 john and 2 john were written by the author of john s gospel, so the first thing to recognise is that the epistles and john s gospel were originally anonymous. By him creation was effected, and, because he was what john 1. The book of 2 john would most likely have been written at about the same time as johns other letters, 1 and 3 john, between a. Johns next two letters, however, are written to specific audiences. John calls followers of jesus to share in gods own life and love by. In addition to the association that johns gospel holds with the letters. In the book of john, that we do not see in the other gospels is the conversation of jesus with nicodemus, the conversation with the woman of samaria, and many more. A second john known as john the elder in view of suggestions that he wrote 2 and 3 john and from papias reference to john the elder but this need not be distinct from john the apostle 2. Ad 156, and from papias, a contemporary of polycarp, whose writings survive only as quotations in the later writings of irenaeus and eusebius. The author of the first epistle is termed john the evangelist, who most scholars believe is not the same as john the apostle.
It is important to begin with a discussion of authorship, in light of the christological controversy which permeates the three johannine letters. Watch our overview video on the letters of john, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Jun 25, 2019 he had ministered to the church in ephesus. The spirit of the letter closely parallels that of the fourth gospel. The earliest identification of him comes from the church fathers.
Patristic evidence seems to confirm that john wrote the gospel. He wrote from ephesus in presentday western turkey, perhaps to churches like those mentioned in rev. Is john the baptist the same person that is in the bible in the new. We may never know for certain who wrote the gospel of john, any more. The apostle john is concerned about the church having a full assurance of their salvation but more than that, the apostle john wrote 1st john for the purpose of proving who was and. Listen to chuck swindoll s overview of first john in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. For the past few weeks, we have investigated the authors of the gospels and the book of acts. This summary of the book of 1 john provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 john. Who was the person named john behind these letters. John 1 in the beginning was the word, and the word was with. Unlike most nt letters, 1 john does not tell us who its author is. It makes a significant difference if the author particularly of 1 john was in fact an eyewitness to the earthly ministry of jesus christ as he appears to claim in 1 john 1.
He also wrote the gospel of john,three lettersjohn 1,2 3,and received the end time revelation known as the book of revelation which jesus gave him while. John the son of zebedee probably wrote his three nt letters no later than the 90s a. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. The early 2nd century writer, justin martyr, was the first to equate the author of revelation with john the apostle. The vocabulary and style in 2 peter are very different from 1 peter but are very similar to jude. John, who wrote the gospel of john, wrote it exquisitely, for he was steeped in jewish tradition and heritage.
Clearly the most widespread alternative to authorship of 1 john by john the apostle is authorship by a second person whose name is john, usually designated john the elder or presbyter, from the greek word. The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter authoritative, believing it was written by john the apostle. It is traditional to believe that 1 john and 2 john were written by the author of johns gospel, so the first thing to recognise is that the epistles and johns gospel were originally anonymous. John also wrote the fourth gospel and the book of revelation. Polycarp and papias the earliest ascription of authorship to john comes from polycarp, bishop of smyrna d. Observe the three steps marked in three consecutive.
He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature. In 3 john, the apostle greets gaius 12, commends the gaius for standing for truth 34, discusses issues with gaius 512, and discusses his future visit with gaius 14. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first of the johannine epistles of the new testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. This short work was written before john was exiled to the island of patmos, and before he wrote the book of revelation. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. Gods breath publications why john wrote 1,2,3, john part 1. Thus, at the end of the 19th century scholar ernest dewitt burton wrote that there could be no reasonable doubt that 1 john and the gospel were written by the. In addition to this one, john wrote two other new testament letters, a gospel, and possibly the prophetic book of revelation. That group of witnesses includes polycarp, an early secondcentury bishop who as a young man knew john personally. The gospel of john is closely related in style and content to the three johannine epistles, and most scholars treat the four books, along with the book of revelation, as a single. This would explain why jesus entrusts mary to john 19. The gospel of john is the fourth of the canonical gospels. It is believed that origen, an alexandrian christian scholar and theologian, wrote his gospel of john commentary while in alexandria at some point after 218 a.
In the book of john, christ speaks of god as the father over 100 times. The author of the first letter is not identified, but the writer of the second and. As we have in previous articles, this article will look at the proposed author, the internal and external evidences for authorship, the dating, and the. John 1 esv the word became flesh in the bible gateway. There is evidence that peter and jude may have been coworkers. Neither the text of the gospel nor that of the letters bears johns name. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first.
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