Gnosticism in First and Second John, Research Paper Example

Gnosticism is belief in an imperfect God and that man’s salvation is attained through “gnosis,” or a secret knowledge of God. Gnosticism is thought to have its origins in Judaism and mysticism and following the advent of Jesus Christ and Christianity, Gnostic Christian sects began to develop. Gnosticism’s impact on the development of Christianity ranges from positive to negative and was addressed by the apostle John in his epistles.

Gnostic philosophies largely undermined the traditional values and teachings of the church, particularly in the church’s Christology. Gnostic thought asserted that Jesus was the emissary of the supreme God, to bring gnosis. [INSERT QUOTE].  Neo-Platonic Gnostic beliefs questioned the traditionally held belief in Christ as God in the form of man.  Arius believed the Christ was a sort of “buffer” between God and creation, rather than the manifestation of God’s son in the form of man (Arianism).  There was also the belief that Christ was not actually a real, physical human body but rather a “cloak” through which God lived on earth (Docetism).  However the belief in the body of Christ, of transubstantiation and of God’s son taking the form of man, comprise much of traditional Christology within the Christian faith.  To challenge them is to challenge the beliefs directly. Gnosticism attempted to undermine the relationship of the Father and Son.  Using Neo-Platonic metaphysics, it departed from this important relationship that is central to the Gospel.

New Testament Scripture was largely unwritten in the first century.  Because John authored some of the last parts of the Gospels, his work would logically provide the greatest insight into Christian and Gnostic thought during that time. John’s reaction to the influence of Gnosticism is revealed within his writings and in which the accepted Christian doctrine is blatantly reinforced. John links one in God to one who “confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh…”  John reacted to the perceived heresies and reinforced the nature of true Christianity- purity, faith, obedience, and holiness and a proclamation of Jesus as flesh and blood.

Being that the epistles are actually letters sent from the apostle John, it is important to examine whom the epistles are addressing.  John is directing these two epistles towards those who do not accept Jesus as the preexistent Son, sent by the Father.  In essence, he is confronting Gnosticism directly. Capturing Christological concerns as well in this statement, John proposes these clarifications to the nature of Jesus and the Christian faith.

Outside Christianity, John directs the epistles in part to those in Judaism.  Of course Jesus as God is not accepted within the belief system of the Jewish people, to which John opposes in the epistles.  Judaism is considered one of the main influences of Gnosticism.  Judaism does not believe in Christ’s divinity, but, perhaps more importantly, believed in a monistic God, one that was capable of both good and evil.  There is ample evidence in the Old Testament of the God of the Jews actively participating in the slaughter of the enemies of the Jews.  Christianity, on the other hand, believes in a good God who is in direct opposition to Satan.  This is more in line with Gnostic believe, which maintains a Divine Being but with a fallible Demiurge that acts as a god on earth.  Most notably was Philo, a Jewish apologist who mixed Scripture with Gnostic philosophies.

John also directly addresses the teachers of Heresy, referring to these false teachers as antichrists, who do not belong in Christianity. John continues in his opposition by giving clarification to the true teachers of Christianity.  Of course, John clarifies with the association of the flesh of Christ, as he has made Christological clarifications.

John was well aware of the dangers of Gnosticism to Christianity, as it grew and led to debates, as can be seen in that of Docetism and the Arian debate.  Thus John has directed a considerable amount of attention towards those who do not share such basic Christian beliefs.  This has been seen as the more essential force upon which John writes in the two epistles, not wanting to see the fracturing of the Johannine circle due to these beliefs.

John wastes no time in confronting the heresy.  In the first three verses of the epistle of 1 John, John definitively attests to the truth of fellowship with the Father and the Son in Jesus.  Expressing strong language regarding the accepted beliefs in Christianity in relationship to the Father and Son in Jesus Christ. John also addresses Christ bearing the sins of humanity.  Often using the concepts of darkness and light, John weaves truth in Christ with the sins, which Christ carried. This allows John to stress the redemption found in Jesus Christ.

The influence of Gnosticism on Christian doctrine can be inferred from John’s direct confrontation of the belief systems. John defends the Christian doctrine and the nature of Jesus as the incarnation of God’s son in the flesh and thus defending some of the basic and important tenets in the traditional Christian faith.  John goes so far as to refer to teachers of Gnosticism as “antichrists.”  John also weaves in picture of lightness and darkness to the truth to that of sin, placing Christ as the Redeemer, which serves to underline the role of Jesus in Christianity.  Furthermore, John clarifies how to discern a true teacher of the Word, utilizing ethical and spiritual concepts in Christianity, which enhances the development against false teachers and doctrines, in his battle against the heresy.  Gnosticism’s focus on a fallible Demiurge god and insistence that man’s ultimate salvation lies in his own actions and education, rather than in Christ, did exert some influence on early Christian thought.  Ultimately, the Catholic Chruch pursued and prosecuted Gnostics as Heretics. Christianity has long feared the beliefs of Gnostics, whose beliefs often predate Christianity itself.  John directly confronts this heresy in his epistles and he reaffirms the belief in Christ as the pre-existent son of God in the flesh and denounces those to teach otherwise.

Works Cited

Cross, F. L. and E. A. Livingstone. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005: 687-688.

Ehrman, Bart. Lost Christianities. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003: 116-126.

Harris, Stephen L. Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1985: 355-356.

Martin, Ralph and Peter David. Dictionary of the Later NT & Its Developments. Westmont, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1997.

Wolfson, H.A. “Notes on Patristic Philosophy.” Harvard Theological Review 57:2 (1964): 124.