Koine Foundations

This post begins a long series that comments on the New Testament book of First John. Let’s begin this series by looking at background information on First John.

Who wrote First John?

The author of First John does not name himself anywhere in the book even though the modern title of the book includes the name John. Of course our modern title would not have been part of the document as originally written. However, it is an interesting fact that all ancient manuscript copies of First John that have a title bear the name “John”, ascribing the writing to someone known as John.

The question then becomes, who is this John?

Although the author does not identify himself, he does claim to be an ear-witness and eye-witness of the life of Jesus in the opening paragraph of the book. The author writes:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked at intently and our hands touched, concerning the Word, the source of life… (John 1:1)

The author establishes his authority to write about the significance of Jesus by claiming that he personally heard and saw what Jesus did. The “we” probably includes others who were also witnesses – the disciples or apostles who followed Jesus. The implication is that the author is a disciple of Jesus, which would identify him as John the Apostle.

In addition, because of the similarity in language, style, and theology between First John and the Gospel of John, most scholars regard these two writings as coming from the same author. Though the authorship of the Gospel is debated, the evidence seems to point to John the Apostle as the author, thus also making him the author of First John.

You can add to these points the weight of evidence from early Christian tradition, which credits the authorship of First John to John the Apostle. [See KRUSE pp. 12-14 for quotes from various ancient sources.]

When all the evidence is considered, it is highly likely that John the Apostle was the author of First John. Therefore, throughout this series, the name “John” will be used when referring to the author of First John.

When was it written?

Since the book does not contain a date, it is not possible to know exactly when it was written. However, assuming that John the Apostle was the author, it was probably written towards the end of the first century, perhaps between AD 90 and 95. John was around 80 years old at the time. This date assumes that First John was written after the Gospel of John, which is typically dated around AD 85 to 90.

A date late in the first century also fits with the content of First John. The book counters distortions of the Gospel that were just beginning to appear at that time and become full blown in the early second century. These false teachings were forms of Gnosticism, a system of beliefs that emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) and held that knowledge of God is attained through mystical insight.

Who was it written to?

First John does not have a formal opening greeting that identifies the addressees, which was typical of letters of that period. However, the long held view of scholars is that the book was addressed to communities of believers around the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey).

According to historical sources, John pastored the churches in the area of Ephesus in his later years. It is believed that he moved from Jerusalem to Ephesus some time before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.

Why was it written?

The letter was written to address a crisis that was disrupting the churches that the Apostle John pastored. It appears that some members were teaching beliefs that were contrary to the Good News revealed by Jesus Christ. These disruptors had separated, perhaps to form their own churches, but their teachings had sown doubts among the members that remained. These disruptors considered themselves spiritually superior because they felt they possessed the true knowledge of God in which Jesus Christ was no longer central.

In response, John wrote a pastoral letter (now called First John), not to attack the disruptors, but to encourage and reassure the remaining members he cared for that what they believed was the truth handed down directly from Jesus Christ. What he wrote had authority because he was an ear-witness and eye-witness of the life and teaching of Jesus.

What type of writing is it?

Though First John is usually referred to as a letter, it does not have the typical characteristics of a letter such as the identification of the author, personal greetings, and a farewell. Rather, it has the character of a pastoral message of encouragement and reassurance that was intended to be read aloud. In her commentary on First John, Karen Jobes suggests that “most likely it originally served as a sermon in the author’s church, and it was then circulated to other outlying churches in the area” [JOBES p. 37].

Trivia regarding ancient manuscripts of First John

The oldest known complete copy of First John appears in the Codex Vaticanus dated around AD 300 to 325. A codex is an ancient manuscript in the form of a book, rather than a scroll. The Codex Vaticanus is one of the oldest Greek manuscripts that contain most of the Old and New Testament. It is housed at the Vatican Library. Click here for the Wikipedia article about Codex Vaticanus.

The oldest known fragment of First John is Papyrus 9 dated to the early to middle third century. The fragment, written in Greek, contains only verses 4:11-12 and 14-17. The image below shows the recto side of this fragment. Click here or on the image to learn more.

The oldest known quotation from First John is in the Muratorian Canon dated to 170 AD. The Muratorian Canon (also called the Muratorian Fragment) is the oldest known list of New Testament books. It quotes First John 1:1. Click here to learn more about the Muratorian Canon.

Go forward to Book Structure and Outline

Your Personal Study

1. I strongly suggest that you read through the book of First John in your preferred translation, or click here to read my translation of First John.

2. As you read, see if you can determine an outline or organization of the book.

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First John Translation.

First John Translation with Outline and Notes.

Bibliography of source information used for this series of posts.

Title Slide Image Credit: First John in Codex Alexandrinus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.

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