I am looking forward to beginning a new sermon series through 1 John. This short letter addresses an important and deeply personal question:

How can we know that we truly belong to Christ?

First John was written to believers who were facing false teaching, spiritual confusion, and the departure of people who had once claimed to be part of the church. John writes to strengthen genuine believers, expose false professions of faith, and give God’s people confidence in Christ.

The title of our series is Life in the Light. To live in the light is to live according to God’s truth, pursuing holiness, confessing sin, obeying His Word, and loving His people.

John does not present the Christian life as sinless perfection. Genuine believers still struggle with sin and need the cleansing and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. But those who have been given new life in Christ cannot remain unchanged. New life produces a new direction.

AUTHOR

The apostle John wrote as an eyewitness of Jesus Christ, His life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

John does not write merely as a theologian discussing ideas about Jesus. He writes as one who had heard Him, seen Him, watched Him, and touched Him (1 John 1:1–3). His message rests upon the historical reality of Jesus Christ.

DATE

First John was likely written from Ephesus near the end of the first century, probably around A.D. 90–95.

John was an older man by this time and likely the last surviving apostle. Throughout the letter, we hear the pastoral concern of an older shepherd urging God’s people to remain faithful to the truth they had received.

AUDIENCE/RECIPIENTS

John wrote to believers in churches throughout Asia Minor.

These churches were facing serious false teaching from people who claimed spiritual knowledge while denying essential truths about Jesus Christ. Some had separated from the churches and were attempting to deceive those who remained.

John therefore calls believers back to the foundational truths of the Christian faith.

PURPOSE

John wrote to strengthen genuine believers, expose false professions of faith, guard the church against false teaching, and give believers assurance of eternal life.

He states his purpose clearly near the end of the letter:

“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.” 1 John 5:13

John wants genuine Christians to possess biblical assurance. Throughout the letter, he shows that saving faith is not merely something we claim with our lips. New life in Christ produces observable fruit in the way we believe, walk, and love.

MAJOR THEMES

Throughout 1 John, several important themes appear again and again. The following themes are drawn in part from the ESV Study Bible introduction and theological themes for 1 John and will help guide us as we work our way through the letter.

God Is Light

“God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
1 John 1:5

God is completely holy and true. There is no darkness, evil, or falsehood in Him. Because God is light, those who belong to Him are called to walk in the light.

Walking in the light does not mean that Christians never sin. It means that the direction of our lives is increasingly shaped by God’s truth. We pursue holiness, confess our sin, obey His Word, and continue looking to Christ for cleansing and forgiveness.

Jesus Christ Is the Son of God and the Source of Life

John begins with Jesus Christ and continually returns to Him.

Jesus is the eternal Son who truly came in the flesh (1:1–3; 4:2). He is our Advocate with the Father and the propitiation for our sins (2:1–2). Eternal life is found in Him alone (5:11–12).

Christianity cannot be separated from what we believe about Jesus.

God Gives New Life

John repeatedly describes Christians as those who have been born of God (2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1).

Salvation is more than adopting new beliefs or improving our behavior. God gives spiritual life to those who were spiritually dead. Because we have been born of God, our lives begin to reflect the character of our Father.

The changed life does not earn salvation. It gives evidence that God has given us new life.

God’s People Walk in Obedience

John repeatedly connects knowing Christ with obeying Christ.

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.”
1 John 2:3

Obedience is not the basis of our salvation, but it is evidence of genuine faith. Those who know Christ increasingly desire to live under the authority of His Word.

God’s People Love One Another

Love for other believers is one of John’s clearest evidences of new life.

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.”
1 John 3:14

Biblical love is more than emotion or words. It is demonstrated through sacrifice, service, truth, and action.

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
1 John 3:18

Those who belong to Christ love the people who belong to Christ.

God’s People Abide in Christ and His Truth

John repeatedly uses the language of abiding.

Believers remain in Christ, His Word remains in them, and God Himself abides in His people (2:24, 27–28; 3:24; 4:13–16).

The Christian life is not a temporary response to Christ. Genuine faith continues in Christ and remains faithful to the truth.

God’s People Can Have Assurance

John does not want genuine believers living in constant uncertainty about their salvation.

Those who have been born of God believe the truth about Christ, walk in growing obedience, love God’s people, confess their sin, and continue in the faith.

These things do not save us. Christ saves us. But they provide evidence that His saving work is present in our lives.

THREE QUESTIONS

Throughout our study, we will repeatedly return to three simple questions:

• What do we believe? Genuine faith believes the truth about Jesus Christ.
• How do we walk? Genuine faith produces a growing desire to obey Christ and walk in the light.
• How do we love? Genuine faith is demonstrated through sincere love for God’s people.

These are not ways to earn salvation. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

But when God gives us new life, that life begins to show.

That is the message we will explore together as we study 1 John: Life in the Light.