King James Version
1 John
1 John in the King James Version (1769), public domain in the United States.
Background and History
The chapters above are the King James text. This essay is the setting of 1 John: who is said to have written it, when and where, what happens in it, and how the text has been copied.
At a Glance
| Author | John the apostle, in the tradition of the early church. The letter is anonymous. Some scholars assign it to a member of a Johannine community. |
|---|---|
| Date | AD 85–100 in one survey. |
| Place written | Not named. Ephesus, near modern Selçuk, İzmir Province, Turkey, is traditional. |
| Genre | A homily or circular letter without greeting or signature. |
| Chapters | 5 |
| Verses | 105 in the King James Version |
| Key verse | 1 John 4:81 John 4:8 · King James VersionHe that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.1 John 4:8 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
Who Wrote It
1 John has no greeting and no name. 1 John 1:1–31 John 1:1–3 · King James Version1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:1–3 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) claims that the writer heard, saw, and handled the Word of life. The vocabulary of light, life, truth, and love is close to the Gospel of John. Irenaeus places John at Ephesus. (2) Eusebius says in 3.24.17 that the first epistle of John is accepted without dispute, and in 3.39.16 that Papias used it. (3) Origen, in 6.25, says John left an epistle of very few lines and perhaps a second and third. (4) Athanasius lists three letters of John. (5) Scholars who doubt the apostle point to the community conflicts the letter addresses. Defenders point to its eyewitness claim and the shared voice with the Gospel.
Who It Is Not
The letter is not by Cerinthus or other teachers it opposes. The Gospel of John page discusses the elder John that Papias mentions.
When and Where
Bible Gateway gives AD 85–100. (6) The letter responds to a split in which some left, in 1 John 2:191 John 2:19 · King James VersionThey went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
1 John 2:19 · King James VersionOpen the Source, denying that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh.
Audience and Setting
Churches the writer calls little children, apparently in Asia. The purpose is assurance, in 1 John 5:131 John 5:13 · King James VersionThese things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
1 John 5:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source, and protection against those who deny the incarnation.
Rulers at the Time
The letter names no ruler. This page adds none.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Departure of the false teachers | 1 John 2:191 John 2:19 · King James VersionThey went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.1 John 2:19 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| The letter | AD 85–100 in one survey. (6) |
Places in This Book
The letter names no places. Ephesus is the traditional setting, not stated in the text. (2)
What Is Happening
1 John 1 testifies to the Word of life and calls readers to walk in the light. 1 John 2 urges obedience and warns against antichrists. 1 John 3 describes children of God and love. 1 John 4 tests the spirits and declares God is love. 1 John 5 grounds assurance in the testimony about the Son.
Key Themes
God is light in 1 John 1:51 John 1:5 · King James VersionThis then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5 · King James VersionOpen the Source and love in 1 John 4:81 John 4:8 · King James VersionHe that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:8 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Assurance in 1 John 5:131 John 5:13 · King James VersionThese things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
1 John 5:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source. The incarnation as a test of truth in 1 John 4:2–31 John 4:2–3 · King James Version4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1 John 4:2–3 · King James VersionOpen the Source.
Apologetics Questions
1 John 5:71 John 5:7 · King James VersionFor there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:7 · King James VersionOpen the Source in the King James includes the Johannine Comma, a statement of the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost as three that bear record in heaven. It is absent from almost all Greek manuscripts before the late medieval period and is a later addition. This page states that plainly. The doctrine of the Trinity does not depend on it, as the rest of the New Testament shows.
How the Book Points to Christ
1 John 5:201 John 5:20 · King James VersionAnd we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
1 John 5:20 · King James VersionOpen the Source says his Son Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 1:21 John 1:2 · King James Version(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
1 John 1:2 · King James VersionOpen the Source says the eternal life was with the Father and was manifested. Jesus is God. What Is the Trinity? sets the Comma question beside the rest of the evidence.
Text and Manuscripts
Codex Sinaiticus contains the letter without the Comma. (7) The verse page for 1 John 5:71 John 5:7 · King James VersionFor there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:7 · King James VersionOpen the Source states the difference.
Canon Reception
1 John was accepted without dispute. (3) (5)
Further Reading
Who Wrote the Gospel of John? covers the Johannine authorship question. What Is the Trinity?.
References
- First Epistle of John, 1:1–3; 2:22; 4:2–3. King James Version
- Against Heresies, 3.1.1Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 · Ante-Nicene Fathers, New Advent
Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 · Ante-Nicene Fathers, New AdventOpen the Source (Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.1.1, about AD 180, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, on New Advent. Irenaeus names Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as the writers of the four Gospels.) - Church History, Book 3, 3.24.17; 3.25; 3.39.16Papias, in Eusebius, Church History 3.39.15 · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, New Advent
Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord's discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely.
Papias, in Eusebius, Church History 3.39.15 · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, New AdventOpen the Source (Eusebius, Church History 3.3, 3.24–25, and 3.39, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 1, on New Advent. Chapter 25 sorts books into acknowledged, disputed, and rejected. Chapter 39 reports Papias on Mark and Matthew.) - Church History, Book 6, 6.25.10 (Eusebius, Church History 6.14 and 6.25, reporting Clement of Alexandria and Origen. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 1, on New Advent.)
- Festal Letter 39, 39.4–5 (Athanasius of Alexandria, AD 367, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 4, on New Advent. The letter lists twenty-two Old Testament books and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, and places Esther among books to be read rather than in the canon.)
- When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?, 1 John (Jacob Edson, Bible Gateway, 16 September 2024. The survey gives 1 John as AD 85–100. It is one editor’s approximation, not a manuscript date.)
- Codex Sinaiticus, About the manuscriptCodex Sinaiticus: content · Codex Sinaiticus Project
Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament.
Codex Sinaiticus: content · Codex Sinaiticus ProjectOpen the Source (The Codex Sinaiticus project’s description of the manuscript, a fourth-century Greek Bible with the earliest complete copy of the New Testament.)
The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.