The letters of 1, 2, and 3 John were written near the end of the first century to churches in Asia Minor (Modern day Turkey) facing confusion about who Jesus really is and what it means to follow Him. False teachers were spreading a heresy called Gnosticism that taught that we have a spiritual existence and a physical existence and the two are completely separate. All things physical were evil and bad and the only things that could be good were spiritual things. Because they believed all physical matter was evil, they denied that Jesus could be both fully God and fully man. They believe that Jesus was a man and Christ was a separate spirit that fell on Jesus at His baptism and the spirit of Christ departed from Him at the crucifixion and that Jesus didn’t bodily raise from the dead. They believed that His spirit just came back and appeared in their hearts. John is writing to very specifically address that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He came in the flesh, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and offers eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Throughout these letters, John returns again and again to a few simple but life changing truths. If we know Jesus, it will shape how we live. It will change what we love, how we treat others, and how we respond to the truth of the gospel. John wants believers not only to believe the right things about Jesus but also to walk in obedience, love one another, and live with confidence in the salvation God has given them. John's message is just as relevant today as it was nearly two thousand years ago. In a culture full of confusion and conflicting ideas, his letters remind us that truth is found in Jesus Christ, eternal life is found in Him alone, and those who know Him are called to live differently because of it.

Over the next ten weeks, we'll explore these themes together. My prayer is that this study will help you know Jesus more deeply, walk more faithfully in His truth, and boldly share with others what you have heard, seen, and experienced through Him.