Class 2 The Call to Fellowship

The purpose, goal and theme of the epistle is Fellowship. A secondary purpose (at least in the first four verses) is for John to combat Gnosticism creeping into the church -- evil that decided Jesus was not a real man and that what happened in the physical realm didn't matter. John concludes the 4-verse prologue stating that his heart's desire is for his readership to absorb and follow all that he is going to write and share, particularly about fellowship, so that he, and the apostolic circle, might have joy. His heart is very much for these people; to see them have fellowship with God as he (and the others) have had, for all the good and joy it brings.