May 15, 2012 john was a companion of simon peter, and was a fisherman by trade before jesus called him. Check out our bible answers page for more information on a variety of topics. John is also traditionally credited with writing 1, 2, and 3rd john as well as the book of revelation. John the baptist came to bear witness of the light in order that men would believe through him. John had a very independent gospel which was completely unlike the other three who all shared some information in. There are certain words or phrases that create a recurring theme in the gospel of john. When jesus talked about rebuilding the temple in 3 days.
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the father, jesus christ the righteous. This does have the advantage of still relying on eyewitness testimony. Well let the scripture speak for itself in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god john 1. He was a leader in the early church, and he probably wrote his documents after most of the other new testament books were already written. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen god 3 john 11. While paul wrote to specific congregations and individuals, peter, james, john, and jude wrote to broader audiences scattered across the roman empire. Book of first john overview insight for living ministries. As he probably wrote the gospel in the second hals of the first century, some think that he wrote this account to help correct some wrong teachings about jesus that had begun to creep their way into the. Therefore, the evidence of the similarities of the context points that the author of the books of 2 and 3 john is john the beloved disciple who also wrote the gospel of john. Therefore the origin of the gospel must in some way be connected to this personthe gospel of john may be a record of his eyewitness account of jesus life. John 1 esvuk the word became flesh in the bible gateway. Jesus first active sign of power was to nathaniel, who was thoroughly impressed by jesus.
Everyones favorite gospel, the gospel of john, is a. John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. In this article, we examine the evidence for the gospel of john. As an eyewitness to the love and power displayed in the miracles of jesus, john gives us an upclose and personal look at christs identity. The content, style, and vocabulary seem to warrant the conclusion that these three epistles were addressed to the same readers as the gospel of john.
It makes a significant difference if the author particularly of 1 john was in fact an eyewitness to the earthly ministry of jesus christ as he appears to claim in 1 john 1. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first. Have you ever wondered about the answer to the classic monotones hit who wrote the book of love. What everyone should know about the fourth gospel 061120 12. Most scholars believe the three johannine epistles have the same author, but there is no consensus if this. John the baptist wasnt the author of the gospel of john. The context reveals he is the one called that disciple in verse 23 and the disciple whom jesus loved in verse 20. Isaiah, jeremiah, ezekiel, hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, haggai, zechariah and malachi were all prophets god used to also record the books of the bible that bear their names. How could john the baptist have written the gospel of john. The parallelisms in 1 john are striking for their simplicity. John s next two letters, however, are written to specific audiences. Invoking the in the beginning language of genesis 1.
Jan 02, 2020 jesus went to galilee and found philip first, who then went to nathanael, his friend. In the introduction to 1 john in the niv study bible, donald w. This could have been john the apostle or, quite possibly, someone pretending to be. Many contemporary biblical scholars believe that the writer of the letters was not the author of the gospel. In addition to this one, john wrote two other new testament letters, a gospel, and possibly the prophetic book of revelation. The bestloved but least understood of the gospels, john presents a uniquely human portrait of courage and passion encompassing jesus entire. It is believed that origen, an alexandrian christian scholar and theologian, wrote his gospel of john commentary while in alexandria at some point after 218 a. The letter was probably written from ephesus, but is uncertain. Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the book during the apostles time serving the church in ephesus. Further, they teach that john, the disciple of the lord, indicated the first ogdoad, expressing themselves in these words. He wrote the gospel according to john, first, second and third john, and he was the penman of the book of the revelation of jesus christ.
Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. This letter brings special teaching on jesus as the light, life, and love. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first of the johannine epistles of the new testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. This evidence is not as strong as that for 2 john, 1 yet its brevity of the letter and the unlikelihood of it being quoted may account for some of this as with 2 john 2. It would perhaps be best to first establish the case that the same author is responsible for all the books associated with john. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved.
The author then wrote, this is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things fourth gospel 21. God says that you and i have been gifted for ministry to serve other people. In 3 john, the apostle greets gaius 1 2, commends the gaius for standing for truth 34, discusses issues with gaius 512, and discusses his future visit with gaius 14. Daniel, ezra and nehemiah wrote the books bearing their names. Overview of the book of 1 john reformed answers to bible. The darkness is associated with death, while the light is associated with life. Many others believe the author was in fact a committee of unknown authors, editors, and redactorsthe johannine community. Letters of john, three new testament writings, all composed sometime around ad 100 and traditionally attributed to john the evangelist, son of zebedee and disciple of jesus. Early writers such as irenaeus and tertullian say that john wrote this gospel, and all other evidence agrees see introduction to 1 john. We may never know for certain who wrote the gospel of john, any more. The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter authoritative, believing it was written by john the apostle. The gospel of john shares much about the approaching ministry of the holy spirit after jesus ascension. The three books share the same writing style, however, and so are likely from the same hand. The letters of john are quite powerful and important for teaching about the nature of god and of the believers stance during difficult times.
It is important to begin with a discussion of authorship, in light of the christological controversy which permeates the three johannine letters. The author of the first epistle is termed john the evangelist, who most scholars believe is not the same as john the apostle. For years, the book the true authorship of the new testament has been out and many persons have been discovering this as well. These factors suggest that john wrote the book between ad 85 and ad 95. These three books are often referred to as letters, though only 1 and 2 john truly fit that description. Book of john the glorious scripture the book of john is addressed to all the people of the world and reveals the glorious truth of jesus christ. There is one font color for the main body of the secret book of john font color 1, another for the material i believe to have been added by a christian editor who sought to present the text as a long dialogue between jesus and john son of zebedee font color 2. The new testament books of john, 1 john, 2 john, 3 john and revelation are sometimes called the johannine literature and are traditionally assigned to john the son of zebedee, one of the twelve disciples of jesus. First john is the fourth of the general epistles or catholic letters, the writings of apostles to the church at large. John the evangelist wrote the fourth and last main gospel in the holy christian bible between 90100ce. There is evidence that peter and jude may have been coworkers. But no external evidence of any kind supports this theory. The vocabulary and style in 2 peter are very different from 1 peter but are very similar to jude. John bible book with full chapters king james version.
In addition to the fourth gospel, christian tradition maintains that john also wrote three johannine letters 1, 2, and 3 john, which are also a. Sep, 2016 watch our overview video on the gospel of john, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Modern scholarship has complicated the issue even further with most new testament scholars rejecting the identity of the beloved disciple as the apostle john and conjecturing as many as. An introduction to the book of 3 john related media. To warn against the false teaching that christ had not actually come in the flesh and to encourage a lifestyle appropriate for followers of the incarnate christ. Thomass gospel of john commentary of the th century is still highly regarded today by modern scholars. John 1 english standard version anglicised esvuk the word became flesh. The author of the first letter is not identified, but the writer of the second and third calls himself presbyter elder. The book of 1 john is not a personal letter nor a letter written to one church as much as it is an impassioned office memo from headquarters corporate letter.
The first book of john, chapter 3 1 behold what manner of charity the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of god. Jan 25, 2019 philip found nathanael and told him, we have found the one moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets also wrotejesus of nazareth, the son of joseph. Tradition holds that he wrote them all, and 1 john does have a lot of correlations in content to the gospel of john light, darkness, etc. The book of 1 john is not an essay or dissertation, but a teaching of gods word in letterform. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early christian tradition uniformly affirmed that john composed this gospel. We are gods instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the nightandday difference he made for us 1 peter 2. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of john in the bible king james version. He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature. Thomass gospel of john commentary of the th century is still. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. Book of john overview insight for living ministries. But john was a common name at the time, and early in christian history some came to doubt if the elder was the same man as the author of 1 john and johns gospel. Augustinea famous fourth century church fathercontributed no fewer than 124 tractates in his gospel of john commentary, while st. John, the disciple of the lord, wishing to set forth the origin of all things, so as to explain how the father produced the whole, lays down a certain principle,that, namely, which was firstbegotten by god, which being.
Tradition tells us that john was the longest living disciple and that his gospel was probably written last. While church tradition has attributed the gospel of john, the letters of john, and the book of revelation to the same author john the apostle and son of zebedeeinternal and external evidence may require us to attribute them to other individuals who may or may not have also been named john. Who wrote the new testament from romanpisohomepagebookshelf website the authorship of the new testament books have been discovered. Letters of john, three new testament writings, all composed sometime. John 1 is the first chapter in the gospel of john in the new testament of the christian bible. Existence of a john of jerusalem who had access into the high priests house was first proposed by h. The spirit of the letter closely parallels that of the fourth gospel. All of his books were written later in life and after all the other books in the bible were recorded. For the past few weeks, we have investigated the authors of the gospels and the book of acts. The gospel of john author question, who wrote the gospel of john. John 1, new american standard bible nasb the bible app. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john.
In one of his letters he wrote, we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard 1 john 1. Traditionally, the authorship of 1, 2, and 3 john has been ascribed to the apostle, john son of zebedee, who also was understood to be the author of the gospel of john and revelation. Introduction to the gospel of john study resources. John 1 niv bible in the beginning was the word, and the.
There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the johannine works. John chapter 1 kjv king james version homosexuality is a modern day name for an ancient sin called sodomy. In john, jesus becomes human as the incarnation of the creator god of. The earliest identification of him comes from the church fathers. When you consider the wide agreement among biblical scholars about who wrote every other book of the new testament, its a little mysterious that we dont know who wrote hebrews. The book of 1 john is a letter although it contains no opening address or greeting typically found in a letter, which identifies the writer and the recipients to whom it was written. The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Dodd identified the gospel of john and 1 john as works of different authors.
In the book of john, we find that jesus ministry altogether was approximately 3 1 2 years. He was one of jesus 12 disciples, and therefore was an eyewitness to the events he recorded. In the book of john, that we do not see in the other gospels is the conversation of jesus with nicodemus, the conversation with the woman of samaria, and many more. My little children, i am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Most scholars today believe that the same author wrote 1 john, 2 john, and 3 john, but not everyone believes that author was john the apostle. Historical evidence concerning the author of 1 john. Who was the person named john behind these letters. There are very strong objections to thinking the same person wrote 1 and 2 peter. Was the book of john written first or the book of revelation. In the book of john, christ speaks of god as the father over 100 times. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of first john in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork.
John did not include the nativity story in his gospel. This summary of the book of 1 john provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 john. That group of witnesses includes polycarp, an early secondcentury bishop who as a young man knew john personally. This john later became influential among asiatic churches. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. Unlike most nt letters, 1 john does not tell us who the author is.
The gospel of john, the three johannine epistles, and the book of revelation, exhibit marked similarities, although more so between the gospel and the epistle especially the gospel and 1 john than between those and revelation. Whoever wrote the book appeared to have wanted to remain anonymous, because the only reference he gave to himself was disciple whom jesus loved. John these are all of the chapters of the book of john. The letters and gospel are anonymous to us, but the christians who.
Philip told nathanael that he had found the one moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets also wrotejesus of nazareth, the son of joseph john 1. Unlike most nt letters, 1 john does not tell us who its author is. He shows us that jesus, though fully god, came in the flesh to distinctly and accurately reveal god, and that christ is the source of eternal life to all who. Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. Modern scholarship has complicated the issue even further with most new testament scholars rejecting the identity of the beloved disciple as the apostle john and conjecturing as many as five different author or redactors for the gospel and letters. Most scholars therefore treat the five as a single corpus of johannine literature, albeit not from the same author. The evidence for apostolic authorship of the fourth gospel is quite strong. John, who wrote the gospel of john, wrote it exquisitely, for he was steeped in jewish tradition and heritage. By sister renee pittelli these books of the bible are believed to have been written by the apostle john, who also wrote the gospel of john and revelation. The gospel of john was written to prove that jesus christ is the son of god. Therefore the world knoweth not us, because it knew not him. The exact date of the writing was uncertain, as well.
237 409 462 1161 1571 1455 174 341 775 684 596 1368 1480 853 454 993 158 913 1304 1134 366 746 1107 1066 145 1295 28 1549 545 23 502 558 1067 1224 697 1461 639 355