In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus Christ -Yeshua]
was in the beginning with God.
FIRST JOHN
The book of First John is the fifth of the eight
general epistles.
The apostle John left Jerusalem prior to its destruction in AD 70 and
ministered in the region of Ephesus, which are ancient ruins near
present day Selcuk, Turkey. There is no specific reference to the place
and time of its writing. The consensus of scholars concludes that John
wrote his letter in Ephesus prior to Christian persecution near the end
of Emperor Domitian’s reign in AD 96.
The apostle John addressed his letter to the Christians in Asia
Minor, which is present day Turkey. They were already rooted in the word
of God. John exhorted believers to continue to walk in the light of God.
Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the light of the world and believers are
to walk in His light. Believers are not to walk in darkness because
there is no darkness in God and His Son, Christ. The spiritual
birth through faith in Christ results in regeneration that allows
believers to walk in righteousness and love in deed and in truth.
Believers are not to love the world and the things in them because the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is of the
world and not of the Father.
John states that as believers, we are not to habitually sin as those
who walk in darkness. If we do sin, Christ is faithful and just to
forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if we confess our
sin and repent. He is our Advocate before God the Father and, therefore,
we have the Father. Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is an
antichrist and he does not have the Father. He who believes in
Christ, as the Son of God, has the witness of God in him. God gives eternal life through the
life of His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the
Son does not have life.
First John 1-2: Walking in the light; confessing sin; obedience and
love; the world; spirit of the Antichrist
First John 3-4: Living in righteousness; loving in deed and truth;
testing the spirits of God and antichrists
First John 5: Overcoming the world through faith; the assurance of
eternal life; keeping from sin