OzSpen
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- Oct 15, 2005
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I'm not sure I'd agree that these people who received 1 John were not in fellowship with God.1 John was written at a time that Gentiles were at least half of the Church. Clement was Bishop of Rome.
John and whomever he wrote with were in fellowship with God and those written to were not yet in fellowship with God. Getting them in fellowship with God would make John and his coterie's joy complete.
Those who were not yet in fellowship, did have the Christ as their mediator though, and only need a little bit more darkness to be complete... 2:6.
It COULD be a jewish audience, it could be an all gentile audience. But it was people who were not yet in fellowship with God but had christ to mediate for them as they made that journey, that apparently they were close to.
I'm hoping Wallace's thoughts are on bible.org I'd be interested in seeing all of that....
John refers to them in these terms:
- 'My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous' (2:1). So they were little children in the faith who were sinning and he was giving them a solution.
- 'Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment' (2:7). They were the Christian beloved.
- 'Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world' (4:1)
Oz
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