I JOHN FINAL PROJECT Elizabeth Stottlemyre Bryan McNair Peter Kosierowski

INTRODUCTION Our group chose this book of the Bible based off key verses that we decided to dig deeper into to get a better understanding of John’s message to the church.  Background of 1 John – Why John wrote this letter  Key point of this chapter  Definition of gnostisicim- First church Gnostics  Observations  Interpretation/ Application  Common themes within the chapter  Parallel scriptures to 1 John  Context of specific 1 John verses –Taking what John writes to the extreme  Conclusion and Favorite verses

BACKGROUND OF 1 JOHN This book of the bible was written by John the apostle to the very first church around 90 A.D. Aggressive Wealthy Educated Nicknamed Son of Thunder John wrote this book in order to clearly establish how to recognize the truth. At this time there were many leaders of the church who were spreading the notion that the Bible didn’t have all the answers. These people were considered Gnostics.

KEY POINT OF 1 JOHN 1 John is written so that everyone will find the truth in the Lord and have eternal life. We need to love God and all people John wrote this book in order to warn the first church of the antichrist and to show the people the truth. John clearly states in this letter that he is writing to: Show the people their sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ

MAIN VERSES OF 1 JOHN 1 John 3:22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. These verses of John have caused great controversy and are the main topic point of our discussion. I John 5:7-8 So we have these three witnesses*-the Spirit, the water, and the blood-and all three agree. *a very few late manuscripts add in heaven- the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And we have three witnesses on earth.

WHAT IS GNOSTICISM? According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language it is The doctrines of certain early Christian sects that valued inquiry into spiritual truth above faith, thought salvation attainable only by the few whose faith enabled them to transcend matter and viewed Christ as no corporeal Gnostic meaning Possessing intellectual or spiritual knowledge There were “Christian Gnostics“ as well who emphasized spiritual knowledge and experience, rather than faith and the sacraments of the church as the key to salvation or unity with God.

GNOSTIC BELIEFS Jesus was more a liberator or revealer They believed he WAS NOT THE SON OF GOD. This is important to realize because in the second century church many teachers were Gnostics, and Gnosticism was popular at the same time. These people were taking people away from God. Serpent/Snake= symbolized the eternity and soul of the world Did not view as evil and seducer who led Adam and Eve to eat the apple which led to the downfall of humans They viewed this as Adam and Eve becoming “fully human”

GNOSTIC BELIEFS CONTINUED Ray Stedman (Commentator from Blueletterbible.org) writes These Gnostics were saying, "Look, if spirit is good and matter is evil and our bodies are matter, then the only thing that counts is the spirit. What you do with your body doesn't make any difference. So if you want to indulge the lusts of it, go ahead. It won't affect your spiritual standing with God." As a result they were turning (as Jude puts it) the grace of God into licentiousness. People were being taught, Christians were being taught, that they could practice all the immorality of their day, and God would still treat them exactly the same. THIS IS WHAT JOHN IS WRITING AGAINST...

OBSERVATIONS Main points of this book of the bible include  There is no darkness in God- walking with Him is walking in the light  God is forgiving of sins  Beware of the antichrist and his message  The spirit of an antichrist does away with Jesus and is not from God  God is love and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them  Perfect love expels all fear  Whoever has the Son has life, and whoever does not have the Son does not have life  Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life  The Holy Trinity testifies the truth

INTERPRETATION / APPLICATION Walk in the Light- For God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. To know God and His word is to show how truly you love him. Live as Jesus did. Do not love this world and what it posses... Please God and live forever Steer clear from negative things in this world. We must do more than just talk the talk; we need to walk the walk and show that we love God with our actions. Don’t give into sinful lusts and immoral practices. Live for the Lord with your body as a temple that should be treasured.

INTERPRETATION / APPLICATION The Holy One has given us His Spirit so we know the truth... Beware of the antichrist for they want to lead you astray. Antichrist: anyone who denies the Father and the Son. The Father loves us immensely and unconditionally... When people do what is right is shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. (1 John 3:7) People will tempt us to turn away from the Lord ( Just as Gnostics did in the early church...) God has given us the Holy Spirit so we can know what is right and wrong in both teachings and how we live our lives. Our choices today will affect our tomorrow. Base your decisions as if God was standing right next to you.

INTERPRETATION / APPLICATION Love one another as He commanded us to; Do not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Those who say that Jesus is the Son of God have the Holy Spirit... Those who do not acknowledge the truth about Jesus is not from God. He loved us first. God is love, all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. The Truth leads to new fellowship with Christ and love brings changed relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Who is Jesus to you? This question is very important in being a Christian and establishing what we believe. Love God with your entire heart and love everyone. In this way God can never be separated from you.

INTERPRETATION / APPLICATION John ends his letter by saying Keep yourself from idols John leaves us with this last statement so we can know the importance of Godly things to keep ourselves from worldly possessions. (This was specifically in the letter for the first church Ephesus because they were worshipping false idols.)

PARALLEL SCRIPTURES TO 1 JOHN 1 John 1:8 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there was no sin in him Isaiah 53:4 Yet it was our weakness he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God a punishment for his own sins!

SOME OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL WORDS OF THE BIBLE…

CONTEXT OF VERSES The verses of 1 John 5:7-8 state RSV NLT YLT

MORE CONTROVERSY World Views make a huge difference on opinion of how people read and view the bible as well.

PARALLEL SCRIPTURES TO 1 JOHN 2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Luke 1:35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God

DIFFERENT WORLDVIEWS…

CONCLUSION Favorite verse: 1 John 4 :16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. We will never know for sure if 1 John 5:7 was added by man or truly the word of God.