Faith Works Summer Devotions

Background of 1st JOHN: 1. Who: John, the “beloved disciple” of Jesus who writes with a pastor’s heart to his “little children” and “beloved” ones in the faith. 2. When: Around AD 90. Outside of Revelation 1, The New Testament is silent about John’s later years, but early Christian tradition is consistent that John left Jerusalem where he was a pillar of the church (Acts 8:14, Gal. 2:9) shortly before the destruction of the city by the Romans in AD 70. He ministered in and around Ephesus (see the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3). It was likely written after the Gospel of John. 3. Whom: Well established believers in Asia Minor with whom John had a close personal relationship. They were grounded in sound doctrine (2:7, 18-27, 3:11). 4. What: On the threshold of severe persecution breaking out throughout the Roman Empire against Christians under Domitian (AD 95), John writes to them as a mature spiritual father out of loving concern for his spiritual children. It is possibly a sermon in letter form. J