1:1–4 As an apostolic eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry, including his death and resurrection, and as one of the 3 most intimate associates of the Lord (John, Peter, James), John affirms the physical reality of Jesus Christ’s having come “in the flesh” (cf. 4:2, 3). In this way, John accentuated the gravity of the false teaching by immediately focusing on a strongly positive affirmation of the historic reality of Jesus’ humanity and the certainty of the gospel. Although the false teachers claimed to