SCRIPTURE
1 John various verses; New Testament
First off, you are probably wondering why I put various versus in the scripture. It is because I'm going to be skipping around and quoting different ones about how the apostle John wrote. He undoubtedly is my most favorite gospel writer. John wrote a total of five books, the first one being the gospel of John, then 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and finally the book of Revelation.
He wrote first John when he was in Ephesus, around 85-90 AD. John was the oldest surviving, original eyewitness disciple of Jesus Christ at that time of authorship. There's lots of similarities in his writing, the first four books. It is evident in his writings that he was correctly labeled the disciple of love.
1 John 1:1 "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at our hands, have touched, this we proclaim concerning the word of life. "
1 John 2: 1 "my dear children...."
1 John 2:28 "and now, dear children......."
1 John 3: 7 "dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray."
1 John 5:21 "Dear children...."
And a very personal address, John writes to the fathers and calling them, dear children: 1John 2:12-14 "I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."
LESSON
Why so many quotes? It is to show you that John wrote intimately to his readers as an eyewitness to Jesus when he was on earth and he called them, dear children over and over again. I can't think of any other book in the Bible where the author calls his readers, dear children. But we are not John's children. No! We are God's children! John was writing to believers of all ages, and all of God's humans are his children. God created us. He is our father. Also, God has the same relationship with every human equally, the implication is God relates to each person directly as a Heavenly Father.
Furthermore, and probably first off, it is through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, that we are able to receive adoption as children. It is by virtue of Jesus Christ, that any of us will become God's children. Jesus shed his blood, blood being the atonement, is how we become children of God. Atonement means restoration, renewal, reconciliation. All big words; add them to your vocabulary! 💕