1 John 1 and 2

1 John 1
John is the apostle that Jesus had a special love for. His gospel is one of the most popular gospels and these three epistles show him to be kind, tender and loving. More than any other gospel author, John talks of love and light. In this chapter he bears witness of the Father and the Son. Of the resurrected Savior he says we heard him, , we saw him with our own eyes, and felt him with our hands. There is no doubt in what he says.

There is an interesting relationship between light and sin in this chapter. If we walk in the light there will be no darkness in us. We will see clearly. And one of the things we will see clearly is that we are not without sin. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." But the great promise to each one of us is, if we walk in the light, the Savior's blood cleanses us from our sin. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Not from some our sin, but all.

1 John 2
Since all of us sin, John wants us to know two or three important things. "If any man sin and repent, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." We can know he is the Savior, John says, if we keep his commandments. Plus, "whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected." This is one of the great reasons he says in verses 15-17 that we not love the lustful ways of the world. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." In verse 2, he tells us for whose sins he suffered. He didn't suffer for only a few, only for the elect, but for the whole world. If he suffered for the sins of every person, that tells me he wants to save every person. So to enact a plan of salvation for just a few doesn't make sense. If suffered for all, he loves all, and provides a way for all to eventually have the opportunity to be saved.

In this epistle, John is writing to all ages. He speaks to those who are parents, to those who are young adults, and to children. He is writing in reaction to gnostics who have left the church and are teaching apostate doctrines. Gnostics believe that anything to do with the body is sin and everything to do with the spirit is righteousness. To speak of a resurrected, glorified body goes against everything spiritual so they deny Christ because of his resurrection. I find that similar to many of the Christian teachings today to deny the resurrected body of Christ which Paul says he will never lay down again. The physical resurrection is one of the great gifts of the atonement and the promise of our bodily resurrection is throughout scripture. John teaches that they do not need to be confused about these teachings because they have an unction, or anointing, which teaches them all things. Some interpret this to be the Holy Ghost. Others teach it is the anointing given in the temple. I tend to think it is the Holy Ghost.