There isn’t much of an introduction to I John. It is believed to be written by the same person who wrote the Gospel of John and who wrote Revelation. So, this person is the beloved disciple, John. The author does not self identify in this book, but does so in II John and III John. This is a book of the Bible that often gets confused with the Gospel of John. In fact, if you read John 1 and I John 1 you will see some similarities as we talk about light and darkness, as we talk about the life that came into this world. There are a lot of commonalities so it is not strange to say that this was written by the same person who wrote the Gospel of John.
A primary memory verse for this chapter is vs.8 which reminds us that we all sin and anyone who says they do not sin, is a liar. That is pretty harsh but those are not my words, even though I agree with them. Saying that we all sin also should not serve as a justification for sin. The fact that we have sinned leads us to believe only that we are in need of a redeemer. I John gets to that in vs.9 where we read one of the greatest assurances of pardon that we know of: “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Another great memory phrase, just a portion of a verses, is seen in vs. 5 where we read that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. What a great reminder that God is the giver of all good and perfect gifts (James 1:17) and that God will certainly make sure that all things work for good for those who trust in the Lord. God is light, and there is no darkness in Him. God is good all the time…All the time, God is good.