This evening we are beginning new series for our evening services in which we are going to be exploring 1 John. As this is the first in the series, we are going to begin by filling in a bit of the background to the letter, and having a think about who wrote it and why.
Firstly, who wrote it. Normally with a letter of this period you’d look at the beginning of the letter to find out. For instance, Galatians begins,
“Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia:”
However, the letter known as 1 John doesn’t have this. As we heard, it just starts. As we read on through, it doesn’t get any clearer, at no point does a name appear for the person writing.
So, we have to rely on other indications and suggestions.
As we read the first verses, there are a couple of things that might give us a clue. The first is the use of the first person pronoun, “we” in verse 1:
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”
The writer seems to be writing from personal experience of Jesus. The writer has seen, heard, touched Jesus. Having said that, there is a question about the fact that it says, “we” rather than “I”. It could be that the writer is using something like the royal “we” to refer to him or her self. Or it could be that, as in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, there was a small group that the letter was from, but with one lead author.
The other clue is in the language used. As we read these verses, there is no doubt that they carry echoes of the prologue of John’s gospel, there are definite similarities. As we read through this letter, these echoes continue. This evening we are going to be focussing on the theme of darkness and light, and this is one that is also found in John’s gospel. Having said that, there are commentators who have done significant amounts of work comparing and contrasting the way in which the writer of John’s gospel and of this letter use and choose words and terms, and some have come to the conclusion that they were probably written by different writers.
This letter was first explicitly attributed to John the gospel writer by one of the early church fathers, Irenaeus of Lyon about 100 years after it was written. Current scholarly opinion is divided about whether this letter was written by John the gospel writer, or by a later Christian, who belonged to the Johannine tradition, perhaps someone who was in a church led or planted by John.
So, in summary, we don’t know for certain who wrote this letter, but it is clear that it draws on many of the same theological themes as John’s gospel. For ease of reference, I am going to refer to the writer as John.
Just as we don’t know who wrote the letter, we don’t know where the people he was writing to were based. Again, we see the contrast to the introduction to Galatians, in which Paul clearly states that he is writing to the churches in Galatia. That is missing in this letter, so again we are left looking for clues. To find this, we are going to have to look forward a bit. At the beginning of chapter 2, John writes in verse 1:
“My dear children….”, and this form of address is repeated through out the letter, appearing a total of nine times.
then in verse 7 of chapter 2 he calls them, “dear friends”, which appears a total of six times in the letter.
Wherever they live, John is obviously fond of the people he is writing to, and wants them to know of his affection for them, and his desire that they should respond to his encouragements and warnings.
Finally, as part of our preamble, it might useful to consider why John is writing to these people he is so fond of. Going back to Galatians, it is fairly clear why Paul is writing.
Galatians 1:6: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ.”
Galatians 3:1: “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?”
Galatians 5:11-12: “if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offence of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves.”
Paul is clearly upset that people teaching that following the Jewish law, exemplified by circumcision, is necessary for Christians, are diverting the Galatian Christians from the faith of grace that Paul had taught them.
So, what can we learn from John about why he is writing?
He writes in chapter 1:4:
“We write this to make our joy complete.”
And in verse 2:1, “I write this to you so that you will not sin”
These seem to be positive reasons for John to write – there is a hint of warning but it seems to me to carry more a sense of encouraging people to keep going, than to turn around from a disastrous diversion. Having said that, there is also an indication that there are those who are trying to divert John’s readers:
2:26, “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.”
In contrast to Galatians, however, it is not really very clear about exactly who those who are trying to lead astray are, or what they are teaching. Various commentators have made suggestions about possible heresies that John might be seeking to counter, but the fact that there is quite a range suggested means that it is not entirely clear cut.
As our final piece of evidence about why John is writing, we read this in the last chapter:
5:1, “I write these things to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
In summary, then, John (or one of his close disciples) is writing to Christians they know well and are fond of, to encourage their confidence in what they have been taught, to build up joy, and to warn them about possible diversions.
So, having got that straight, let’s look at this opening passage of the letter, and see what pearls we can find as we dive in. As I said earlier, we are going to focus on the theme of light and darkness, following the threads of John’s statement in verse 5:
“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
Light is a theme that occurs all the way through the Bible, from the first to last chapters. So, let’s follow it through.
We begin at the beginning, in Genesis 1, v 3, the very first words that God speaks in the Bible, but also in the whole of creation are, “Let there be light.” Light is God’s first priority. It is only once light is in place that anything else can happen. Light is primary, it is foundational, it comes first. Not only that, we read in v4 that God saw that the light was good. Throughout the creation narrative we have God seeing that things that have been created are good, culminating in the creation of human beings, and God seeing that they are good. But, the first thing that is described in the Bible as good is light. Notice something else.
God separated the light from the darkness, and named them both, but God does not describe the darkness as good. It is only light that is good.
Sometimes I read or hear people saying that we need darkness to be able to see or appreciate light. I’m not sure about that. Maybe one of the reasons that God permits darkness is for this reason, but that doesn’t mean that we should seek out darkness, or think that it is good. As we shall see as we go through, the Biblical witness is that darkness is temporary, not a good part of creation, and in the end there will be no darkness.
When we get to Exodus, there are two places to stop off. The first is in Exodus chapter 10. Moses has returned to Egypt, sent by God to free the people from slavery and lead them to the Promised Land. Pharaoh is resisting this, and God sends different plagues on Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to let the people go. One of these plagues is described in Exodus 10:21-23
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”
This is a clear, practical example of the enemies of God being left in darkness, and the people of God being kept in the light, showing God’s authority over light and darkness.
When Pharaoh does eventually let the people go, they escape but Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his army after them. God’s light comes to the rescue in Exodus 14:19-20
19 Then the angel of God, who had been travelling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.”
The cloud in these verses is an indication of God’s presence with the people – later in Exodus we see it guiding the people, and showing them when to set off and when to camp – and here God’s presence brings light to the people and keeps them safe.
We now jump forward to Psalms – the songs and prayers of the people of God. Here we find the theme of God’s light used in a number of ways, of which I’ve picked out three examples.
Psalm 18, 28
You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
In this Psalm God is recognised as the source of light in our lives, the one who gives us fuel for our lamps, is the oxygen for them to the burn, and the spark for them to be lit. God is the one who can disperse all the things that darken our lives, and bring light to them.
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
Here we see again the identity between God and light that John makes. God, the Lord, is light. More than that, God is our salvation. The two ideas of God’s light and God’s salvation are linked, as they are in John. This paragraph in John begins with God is light and ends with the blood of Jesus, which purifies us from our sin. Light and salvation entwined together.
Psalm 36:9
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
This verse expresses a slightly strange idea. Just think about it for a minute. We don’t usually need a light to see a light. If there’s a light over there then we don’t need a light source over here to see it. I was talking with Liz about what this might mean, and one explanation we thought of was the moon. The moon isn’t a source of light itself, the sun is the source of light, and the moon reflects it. Even when we can’t see the sun, we still see sunlight, because it is reflected to us as moonlight. So it is with God – all light comes from God either directly or reflected to us. Another way of thinking about it would be to rephrase it a little. “Because of your light we understand light.”
In the books of the prophets, the picture of God’s light is used as part of the hope that is promised for the future, when God will restore God’s people.
This imagery is used repeatedly by Isaiah, who links it with the promised Messiah, the Chosen One of God who was to come and be the light of God in the world. So, for instance, he writes in Isaiah 9:2:
“The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.”
Isaiah also links light to the values of God’s kingdom that the Messiah is going to establish. In chapter 58:10 we read this:
“if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.”
Which seems to me to help us to understand what it means when John writes about walking in the light. God’s light is not just for us to enjoy, or to show us the way, it is also something we live in and share with others. And then this virtuous circle builds – not because we earn it, but because as light reflects back and forth, it crescendos in brightness.
When we get to Jesus, there are a couple of aspects that we’re going to explore from the Gospels.
The first is taken from Jesus teaching in what we call the “Sermon on the Mount.” In the middle of whole load of other teaching Matthew records that Jesus said this, in Chapter 5:14-17.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
This backs up the implications of what Isaiah wrote. It is not only about receiving God’s light, but about shining out as lights in the world, not for own sake but for the glory of God. Of course, there is also the teaching about not doing our works of righteousness before people, so we have to be wary of our motivations. It seems to me that we should just get on with what God puts in front of us, and do it as well as we can, and not worry about whether people can see us or not. Neither be afraid of what people think in a way that stops us being faithful, nor anxious for people to see us so that they can praise us.
The second is the way in which John the gospel writer picks out light as a controlling theme in his understanding and explanation of who Jesus is.
It is there right from the start in 1:4-5, as John describes Jesus he writes:
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The word that is translated “overcome” in that verse is very difficult to translate. It is the word, “katelaben”. In Greek it’s a great play on words because it’s a bit like the English word “grasp” or “get hold of”. It can have the sense of being comprehend something. So, for instance, a student might say to their teacher “I don’t get it” if they are struggling with a concept. Or someone might say that they just can’t get a grasp on the issue. It also has the physical meaning of catching hold of and holding down, capturing, or defeating, which is the idea these translators have gone with.
If we think about it for a moment, it seems to me that both ideas are true, and worth thinking about. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not grasped it.” The darkness can neither comprehend nor defeat light. Darkness can neither comprehend nor defeat Jesus.
In chapter 8, verse 12, we find Jesus claiming this title for himself.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus knew what he was doing when he said this. He knew all the Old Testament Scriptures that we’ve looked at tonight, and all the ones that we haven’t had time to look at. He knew that Light comes first, that God is identified with light, that the Messiah was the one who was going to be light. As he said this, he was claiming divinity, and the title of Messiah. He was claiming to be the fulfilment of those prophecies in Isaiah. The Pharisees knew that, that’s why they challenged him as soon as he said it, and cast doubt on his credentials. Because darkness doesn’t grasp light.
We started this tour in the first chapter of the Bible, and we finish in the last, in Revelation 22:3-4
“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”
In the first creation the first thing that the one is light did was create light for the creation. In the new creation, that created light will not be needed, because the true source of light will be visible to all. It will bring into sight all the things that have been hidden. Nothing will remain in the shadows. All will be judged or forgiven, there will be no more secrets. Darkness will be no more. I have no idea what that will be like, none of us do, we’ve never experienced it, but I trust that it will be glorious as we are completely free to enjoy the presence of the God who is light for all eternity.
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