First, Second and Third John

John’s epistles were written very late in the first century. Mystical interpretations had arisen concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ; Christianity was viewed as a system that must grow and develop with time—a view widely held today. It is the “last time” (1 John 2:18). The Apostle counters these thoughts by taking the reader back to the beginning to the time when Christ was manifested here in this world.
John presents things in the abstract, that is, he gives the essential character without reference to experience. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin” (1 John 3:9) is a statement of fact. Likewise, “He that committeth sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). These do not describe a person but that new life, begotten of God—eternal life, in contrast to what we are by nature. It is vital that we have a perspective outside the context of experience, especially when Christendom is so corrupted by false doctrine. In John’s epistle, it is not a question of walking according to the light, but rather of walking in the light (1 John 1:7).