› ›

1st Epistle of John

whywhy
edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
anyone have informaton about this book of the bible?
any information about its context? and introduction to the book? who wrote it??

[glow=red,2,300]COMMENTARYS?? (a link of comentaries to this book)[/glow]

PLEASE make sure that it is a NKJV coptic orthodox commentary
ASAP!!
THANKS

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    http://www.coepa.org/downDetails.php?pageNum_titleDetails=1&nav=downloads&cat_id=1&subcat_id=23&thrdcat_id=47&totalRows_titleDetails=14
  • HolmesHolmes
    [coptic]+ Pi`<rictoc aftonf>[/coptic]

    I think the link you set up is not working right.  You can get the book you are linking to (I assume) here.  It's the third one down.
  • kokiiekokiie
    This may help, I just skimmed through some of it.

    And this..
  • [Deleted User]
    Cephas,
    Thanks for correcting that link. The page you linked was what i intended to present. I've corrected the link.
  • whywhy
    thanks guys. does anyone have say the context and just simple info about the epistle of st john, like WHO WROTE IT< WHEN< WHY AND FOR WHO??
  • [Deleted User]
    I believe that can be found on both the commentaries.
  • Anglican
    Dear Why,

    The links should give you the information you need.

    But in short:

    It was written by St. John the Apostle at some point between 90-95 A.D. The similarities in language and style to St. John's Gospel are so striking that it would be astonishing if they were not both by the same man; the tradition of the Church is in accord with the findings of modern scholarship (just as well for modern scholarship!).

    Who was it written for? His fellow Christians, in order to guide them aright on the subjects of baptism, chrismation and the place of the Eucharist in our lives. By that time there were some gnostics saying things about the Faith which the beloved Apostle knew were untrue - so he used his authority to tell the faithful what the truth was.

    I hope that helps.

    In Christ,

    John
  • whywhy
    thanks for everyones replies so far. however hilst reading oe of the links, the information given was that the same person that wrote the gospel of john (who i am sure to be john the baptisit) wrote the epistles of st john!! explain!!

    ill prvide quote once i find it
  • whywhy

    There is no doubt that the author of 1 John also wrote the Gospel of John, this is almost universally agreed upon.

  • [Deleted User]
    The St. John they are referring to is St. John the Evangelist, i.e. St. John the Beloved, who laid his head on Christ's shoulder during the last supper. This St. John did indeed write both these books. It could not have been St. John the Baptist, because he died right before Jesus started his ministry.
  • whywhy
    oh so John the baptist DIDNT write the gospel of john  :o :o :o
  • [Deleted User]
    Nope!  ;D
  • whywhy
    wats chrismation..reply asap...i need to present this TOMOWO!!
  • Anglican
    Dear Why,

    Chrismation is the anointing with holy oil which happens when you are baptised. It is one of the sacraments, and through it we received the Holy Spirit; it confirms our membership of the Church. The Holy Bible mentions this Anointing in 1 John.2: 20,27.

    Hope this is helpful,

    In Christ,

    John
  • whywhy
    yes thanks..ok i have more questions sorry..im in a bit of a panic

    ok, please expalin the heresis that arose at the time of the writting of this epistle..where the heresis were based on the existance of 2 gods, one for good who created the spirit and the other for evil, who founded evil...

    WHO FOUNDED EVIL>>HUH?? expalin the heresy ..(sorry if its too hard of a question)
  • whywhy
    anglian do you know..sorry i need an answer ASAP :S
  • whywhy
    or was gnostiscism the heresy..i am confused.different sources give accoount to different heresys at that time!!
  • Anglican
    Dear Why,

    Excuse me if I generalise, but it may be easier to do it this way.

    St. John wrote as an eye witness to testify against false teachings which were being used by those who had left the Church.

    Some of that false teaching is what scholars have called Gnosticism. In reality there was no one 'Gnostic' heresy, but all its various forms had this in common. It came from ancient Persian and Greek ideas about good and evil and the body and the spirit; it taught that the spirit was good, the body evil. This being so, the 'earthly' Jesus was in fact a 'spirit' who came from the Father - not 'of one being with the Father'. It was this 'spirit' who occupied a very good man called 'Jesus'; on the Cross the spirit left him, and Jesus died. 1 John 5:6-8 refutes their heretical view that Christ came by 'water' and not 'blood'; they thought that morality and suffering had no place in our spiritual life; St. John says otherwise.

    Some of the false teaching came from those who had been in the Church but had misunderstood its teachings and wished to replace the teachings of the Apostles with their own views (see 1 John 2:19, 2:26 and 3:7). They saw themselves as a new elite, who had their own special access to God (see 2:4, 6, 9 and 4:20). St. John sees they are of the antiChrist (2:18, 22; 4:3).

    Their special knowledge, or  hidden 'gnosis' (Greek for 'knowledge') is what gave these sects their name. The magician, Simon Magus was one of the earliest of these gnostics and was confronted by Sts. Paul and Peter - see 2 Pet. 2:12-14, 18, and Acts 8:9, 10.


    The gnostics tended to believe that the world was actually the creation of some inferior demon God with whom the real God battled; this came from old Persian beliefs.

    St. John asserts what he had seen and been taught by our Lord - he shows us what is Orthodox - and all this gnostic stuff (which is still around today - indeed the da Vinci code is a part of it) is heresy.

    Hope this helps - and was in time.

    In Christ,

    John
  • whywhy
    yes i understand now..thankyou very much :) stress levels are reducing LOL
  • Anglican
    I'm so glad.

    St. Paul's epistle to the Colossians (which was written about 61 A.D.) addresses the gnostic heresy directly.

    The Colossian heretics thought they were wiser than the Apostles, because they drew knowledge from Jewish and Persian traditions. They thought that there was a whole host of Angelic forces which were superior to Christ, who was merely one of a number of prophets and mediators; sin, they taught, came from a lack of their own special knowledge (gnosis); salvation came from having this knowledge, which could be acquired by secret rites and ceremonies (sound familiar to anyone?).

    In Colossians 2:3, St. Paul says that in God alone 'are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge'. He tells the Colossians directly in 2:8: 'Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ.'

    St. John was, of course, an eye witness to the crucifixion and the truth of the Resurrected Lord, and by A.S. 90 may well have been the very last of the Apostolic witnesses - which is why he refers so often to his own experiences. There was no 'hidden' knowledge known only to some elite - the Word had come to save us all, and all that we need is to be found in Him - and since then, in the teachings handed on through St. John and the other Apostles. That is why we say that Apostolic succession is very important to Orthodoxy - it is one of the things which mark out the Orthodox Church. The Coptic Church was, of course, founded by St. Mark - the beholder of God.

    Best of luck with the project - do let us know how it goes.

    In Christ,

    John
Sign In or Register to comment.