Context: The author of this epistle was a man of great authority in early Church matters, and it is probable that he was also the author of the fourth Gospel. It is not known with certainty that he was John the Apostle; but if not, he was apparently either an eyewitness to much of Jesus' ministry or knew those who were. The present epistle forms part of a battle of the early Church to preserve its identity. Gnosticism was a growing religious movement of the time which sought to combine all religions and to embrace all religious systems and philosophies under a universal method. There were some able thinkers connected with it, and it offered something of a synthesis, capable of endless adaptation, and having some philosophical basis. It offered a kind of pantheism in which the various gods were represented by spiritual essences, and all manner of ceremonies were connected with it. Being more a method or system than a result, it could include both puritanical fanatics and debased libertines. There were early Christians who wished for such a tolerant arrangement; but John and his contemporaries saw a very real danger in it. If Christianity should be absorbed into such a system, its entire meaning and identity would cease to be important and would soon be destroyed. Too, there were opponents of Christianity who were promoting the Gnostic adoption of Christianity, probably for that very reason. This was a time when sects were proliferating, and most of the Gnostic-Christian groups had already withdrawn from the parent Church. John's epistle represents an effort on his part to strengthen those who remain faithful to it; he sets forth Christian principles simply and clearly for them, that they may not be tempted to abandon the Church in favor of a debased substitute.