We might say the reason John wrote the letter we call 1st John was to refute a kind of proto-Gnosticism. This is not wrong; it is a valid statement. But his reason to write the letter amounts to so much more than that.
In addition to John’s own stated reasons for writing his letter, we must note that he wrote to real people in the real world who were navigating through the thick fog of inarticulate rationalization posing as concrete theological thinking. His tone is refreshing; it’s simple and without intellectual adornment. That isn’t to say John is overly simplistic. Like in his gospel and in the book of Revelation, John’s literary structure is intricate. John’s theology is not necessarily difficult to understand; it may be, however, difficult to accept, at least for someone flirting with gnosticism, posing as a “spiritual” leader (who desires some of the recognition which is owed only to Christ) or to followers a so-called leader (who want a convenient way to justify unacceptable behavior).
It is easier to tell people that it’s the body that sins while the spirit remains clean. One may appear smarter to say the whole Jesus story was a metaphor to teach a more profound and hidden truth.
But what may seem easier and smarter may be akin to the employee who spends inordinate time and energy avoiding work when it might be as easy, or easier, to just work.
A consensus of scholars say John wrote this letter around 90 AD, some sixty years after the resurrection. Some scholars make a case for earlier but, for our discussion, I’ll just say that he wrote at a crucial moment in Christianity’s history. The first-hand witnesses were passing away. Second or third generation believers were being influenced by a contrary opinion, one that cast doubt on the story or twisted the story to mean something quite different.
You’ve probably heard it before: Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead. His message was in code. Someone claims to know the code and they’ll tell you, for a price. This message can be yours if you agree to keep the secret.
It happens to this day.
But John, at the beginning of this letter, stands by the story. He was there. He was an eyewitness and participant. Jesus was more than a metaphor; he had flesh and bone. John knew this because proof came in the touching. People you can touch. Metaphors dissolve like airy apparitions when you bid them come out to play.
The Feeder Project 