Putnam Church Message – 07/27/2025

Last week was the final message in our New Testament Orientation Series, and we learned about: The Church, Salvation, and Eschatology: God's Unfolding Plan.”

This week, we begin a new systematic verse-by-verse study of the letters 1, 2, & 3 John, followed by Jude. If it goes as planned, it should take us up to Thanksgiving. Today, we will cover some insights and an introduction to the letters from John. While we won’t focus on any verses, we will anchor today’s teaching on 1 John 1:3-4 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.[b]

Imagine, if you will, a community nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountains, where generations had always depended on the wisdom passed down through cherished narratives. Their most precious possession was the Ancient Text, a truly sacred book of wisdom. It wasn't just old parchment; it held the very essence of their mountain identity, their family history, their enduring promises, and their profound joy. This Text had been intimately penned and bestowed by the Founding Elder himself, a wise and benevolent patriarch who had received its truths directly from the very Source of Ancient Wisdom.

Now, only a few, very old members of this community, the Original Scribes and Storytellers, had actually lived with the Founding Elder. They had seen him write the Text with his own hand, heard his direct explanations of its profound truths, and literally handled its pages, studying its intricate details. Their lives were interwoven with the Text's living story.

As the Original Scribes and Storytellers grew older, nearing the twilight of their days, they noticed a troubling trend in the valley. Younger folks, who had never personally met the Founding Elder, were starting to forget the true nature of the Ancient Text. Instead of seeking out the Original Scribes for genuine understanding, they were listening to "Whispers from the Fading Pages."

These whispers weren't outright lies, not at first. Some claimed, "Oh, the Text is purely for personal interpretation; you don't need to actually read its words or live by its wisdom, just feel its presence." Others spread rumors that "the Text's wisdom is too old-fashioned for these new times." Still others introduced cheap, flimsy pamphlets, filled with easy platitudes, that looked shiny and new but utterly lacked the profound truth and life-changing power of the Ancient Text. These whispers created confusion, apathy, and subtle divisions within the extended mountain family.

The most beloved of the Original Scribes, an old man much like John, with clarity born of long perspective, began to send out urgent messages. His hand might have trembled with age, but his words were firm and clear. He said, "We are writing to you about what we ourselves have actually 'seen' with our own eyes, and 'heard' with our own ears, and physically 'handled' regarding this Ancient Text, so that you may have true, authentic kinship with us – the direct connection to the family's legacy. And our kinship, we assure you, is directly with the Founding Elder himself, and with his Beloved Son, the 'Living Word' of the Text, who now embodies its very essence. We are sending you these accounts, dear family members, so that your joy in this Ancient Text may be entirely clear and complete." (Relating to 1 John 1:3-4)

Here, nearing the end of his life, with clarity of perspective and singularity of purpose, the Lord’s “beloved disciple” sought to revive the faith, love, and hope of his younger readers. He hoped to encourage them to renew an authentic, contagious walk with Christ. And his message of right living in a wrong world is as relevant today as it was then.

In the twilight of his long life, the apostle John gathered his thoughts, surveyed the landscape of the world around him, and then sat down with parchment, quill, and ink to sum up his final words to the churches.

So much had changed since he had walked with Jesus as one of the original Twelve. Those brief but impactful three-plus years John spent with Jesus were followed by six long and painful decades. Erosion had set into the life of the church. In many places, the newness of fresh faith had begun to wane now that the church was in the hands of second- and third-generation Christians. A subtle, lethargic boredom had replaced the excitement that had been modeled by those early followers of Jesus. The initial thrill had subsided, the bright flame of devotion reduced to a flicker.

In a setting like that, the subtle seeds of heresy are easily sown and rapidly grown. Cults thrive in complacent churches, where apathy and indifference replace dynamic enthusiasm. Over time, core values such as truth, love, and hospitality can become compromised, misdirected, and abused. Tragically, these scenarios were playing out in the church of John’s day—and that’s precisely what led him to write these letters.

When he wrote the letter known today as 1 John, it’s likely that the aged apostle had more years behind him than he had months ahead of him. He was probably somewhere between 88 and 93 years of age. Let’s just call him a 90-year-old man. Isn’t it remarkable that a man at that age was so in touch with his times? I would argue that because of his age, he saw more clearly than ever. And that’s what troubled him enough to write this letter.

Here, nearing the end of his life, with clarity of perspective and singularity of purpose, the Lord’s “beloved disciple” sought to revive the faith, love, and hope of his younger readers. He hoped to encourage them to renew an authentic, contagious walk with Christ. And his message of right living in a wrong world is as relevant today as it was then.

Although the author of this five-chapter message never names himself, several clues point us to the writer’s identity. First, the author clearly places himself as part of a group of apostolic eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of Jesus, noting that “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard” (1 Jn. 1:3). This narrows our pool of potential candidates and points us to one of the original disciples of Jesus. But which one?

We are helped by the fact that the language, style, and themes of this letter are similar to those found in the fourth Gospel. Although the author of the fourth Gospel is also unnamed, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to narrow the possibilities to one. The author of the fourth Gospel refers to himself indirectly as “The disciple Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). This is undoubtedly a reference to the Apostle John for several reasons. First, he had to be one of the twelve disciples who had personally witnessed the events about which he wrote. In John 21:24, the author said, “This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here” Second, because the description “The disciple Jesus loved” implies a close, personal relationship with Jesus, it’s most likely that the author was one of the three disciples in Jesus’ “inner circle”—Peter, James, or John (Matt. 17:1; Mark 5:37; 14:33). Third, the author couldn’t be Peter because he distinguishes himself from Peter (John 20:2), and he couldn’t be James because James was martyred too early to have written the Gospel (Acts 12:2). This leaves only one reasonable conclusion for the authorship of the fourth Gospel: John, the son of Zebedee and brother of James (Mark 3:13–17).

Because we have great confidence regarding the authorship of the Gospel of John, we can rely on that knowledge to determine the author of 1 John, which we can then use to determine the authorship of 2 and 3 John.

Because of the close relationship between John’s Gospel and the first of these three epistles (1 John), we can identify John as the author of this letter as well. And because of the relationship between 2 and 3 John and their common relationship with 1 John, all the puzzles about authorship fall into place.

Besides this evidence, among the earliest Christians, there was little doubt that the Apostle John wrote the Fourth Gospel as well as 1 John.  Already, in the early second century (around AD 110), one of John’s disciples, Polycarp of Smyrna, offered a paraphrase of 1 John 4:2-3, when he wrote, “For everyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is an antichrist.” In the next generation (two generations from John), Irenaeus of Lyons, a disciple of Polycarp, clearly linked the Gospel of John and 1 John as written by the disciple of that name.

Not only did John refrain from naming himself as the author of 1 John, but he also declined to name the recipients. He likely intended the letter to be shared among numerous churches with which he was familiar, rather than being written to an individual or a particular local church. This is why the letter has been reckoned among the “Catholic Epistles,” where “catholic” means “universal” as opposed to “local.”

It is possible that John originally intended this epistle to be sent to the churches near Ephesus, the city that had become his final home toward the end of his life. This would have included the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2–3, as well as numerous others scattered throughout the map of western Asia Minor. From there, however, the letter would have spread far and wide until all churches throughout the world were blessed by its profound message.

Just as we can’t zero in on the precise location of John’s original audience, neither can we triangulate the letter’s place of origin. We know that toward the end of John’s life, he dwelled in the city of Ephesus in western Asia Minor. But sometime in the early nineties, a persecution against the Christians arose under Emperor Domitian, who reigned from AD 81 to 96. During this persecution, John was exiled to the tiny island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, from which he wrote the book of Revelation (Rev. 1:9). After the persecution ended, John returned from exile and continued to minister among the churches of Asia Minor until his death after the crowning of Emperor Trajan around AD 98.

John could have written his first epistle before, during, or after his exile on the island of Patmos. Most likely, 1 John was written around AD 90.

In his first epistle, the apostle John presents a simple, uncomplicated worldview of right and wrong: Christ versus antichrists, light versus darkness, truth versus falsehood, righteousness versus sin, love for and loyalty to the Father versus love for and loyalty to the world system, the Spirit of God versus the spirit of the world, children of God versus children of Satan and his cohorts. In this way, John redraws lines that had begun to fade in the minds of his readers who were beginning to compromise and capitulate in the fog of relativism around them. However, John’s hard stand on truth doesn’t neglect love. Love for God and one another is a central theme of the letter (1 Jn. 4:7). His first epistle thus teaches that while it’s important to recognize the lines between truth and error, it must always be done in a spirit of love.

As he did in his Gospel, | John stated the purpose of 1 John with clarity. Right up front, he informed his audience of the reason for writing to them in our core verses for today: 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.[b] (1:3–4). Later, John added two more purposes for writing: “so that you will not sin” (2:1) and “so that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13). In short, John wrote to them so they would have fellowship with the Father and the Son and fellowship with one another in the Spirit, resulting in a joyful, clean, discerning, and confident life.

To help them reach those lofty goals, John focused on three key issues: /the zeal of the believers, /their ability to stand firm against false teachers, /and the reassurance they could have /regarding eternal life. John wrote to churches full of people who had likely struggled with discouragement—whether due to their own sinful failures or the presence of false teachers among them. The aging apostle hoped to ignite the zeal of these believers so that they might follow the Lord more closely and stand firm against those who meant to sow discord among the churches. In doing so, they would solidify their relationship with God and gain confidence in His work in their lives.

John wrote this letter to emphasize that Spirit-enabled fellowship with the Father and the Son leads to a joyful, clean, discerning, and confident life. He does this through a four-part outline:

 

Fellowship produces a joyful life (1:1–10). The key verse for this section is 1 John 1:4: We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. When we have intimate fellowship with God, through His Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have an overflowing joy. Joy comes from walking in the light rather than the darkness. Those who walk in ignorance, sin, and falsehood will reap the misery of anxiety, guilt, and confusion. In our own dark and angry world, the joyful Christian becomes a bright beacon of light. What a refreshing discovery it is for people of the world to witness a group of believers who really enjoy life! Let your joy be complete.

Fellowship produces a clean life (2:1–17). In 2:1, John says, My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. When we have a close, personal relationship with God and fellowship with His people, our battles against sin become winnable. We don’t have to surrender to temptation. This doesn’t mean that temptations vanish or that we won’t ever sin, but sin’s power is diminished. Even when we do sin, Christ steps in as our Advocate with the Father, making His victory our own (2:1–2). This, in turn, drives us to live a clean life before Him. In our “anything goes” society, the clean Christian is a contagious witness, so let your integrity shine forth.

Fellowship produces a discerning life (2:18–4:6). In 2:26, John writes, I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. A close relationship with God requires a deep understanding of His truth. Sadly, as Christians grow comfortable and complacent, their ability to discriminate between truth and error, light and darkness, right and wrong, is diminished. So, in this section, the longest of the four, John reinforces the need to beware of “antichrists” (2:18), to “test the spirits” (4:1), and to remember the “anointing” of the Spirit that teaches them the truth (2:20, 27). In a world of falsehood, John emphasizes the need for knowing and applying the truth. In our own deceptive culture, the discerning Christian is a convicting presence, so proclaim the truth and conform your life to it.

Fellowship produces a confident life (4:7-5:21). (also 2 & 3 John) In 5:13, John writes, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Assurance of our eternal, irrevocable salvation is one of the most significant promises we can embrace in the Christian life. Those who lack assurance of salvation fear death, worry about tomorrow, and often view God as an angry drill sergeant ready to pounce whenever they step out of line. Those who have assurance understand that God is the one who saved us by grace alone through faith/loyalty alone in Christ alone … and that He’s the one who will keep us through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In an age confused about the future, the Christian is a strong centerpiece of confident expectation. Let the stream of hope flow!

Only thirteen verses long, the tiny memo that is 2 John would have barely filled a single sheet of papyrus. It’s like a note we might write and drop in the mail to a close friend. As a personal letter, it cradles some secrets we as outsiders aren’t privy to. Already in the opening line, we’re faced with some big questions: Who is the elder? Who is the lady? What’s the situation? These are some questions we should try to answer before wrestling with the text itself.

The postcard-sized letter of 2 John urges believers to balance unconditional love and discerning truth. What an important message for us today! Our own twenty-first-century church faces charges of hatred when believers stand for the truth … and faces