In an effort to rouse confidence in God’s promise of salvation, John explains some essential truths about the nature of God, Jesus, and us. In comments from 1 John 1:1-4 we learned that John spoke of his experience of the message. In verses 5-7 he discusses the content of theRead More
By the time John wrote his epistle, errors regarding what it meant to be Christian were threatening the Church. So with a pastor’s heart, he writes to encourage readers that we can have assurance of salvation based upon bringing our lives under the scrutiny of three tests: Obeying God (moral)Read More
This begins a series of studies in John’s first epistle, which is close to my heart for many reasons. Soon after I became a believer my first bible memory verses were taken from 1 John. Second, my “baby” Greek studies involved translating passages from 1 John. Third, I’ve read manyRead More
[REPOSTED from September, 2010] As I stated at the beginning of this series, John’s pastoral heart sets out to protect, correct, and connect. He seeks to protect us from false teachings about the person of Jesus; to correct anyone who claims obedience is not important; and to connect us toRead More
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifiesRead More
As I stated at the beginning of this series, John’s pastoral heart sets out to protect, correct, and connect. He seeks to protect us from false teachings about the person of Jesus; to correct anyone who claims obedience is not important; and to connect us to one another through theRead More
Having just summed up all three tests for authentic Christianity (5:1-5), John emphasizes the doctrinal test again in 5:6-10. As he moves toward the end of his letter, John stresses belief in Jesus because he wants to show the priority of belief in Jesus as God’s full and final testimonyRead More
As a synopsis or summary of the entire epistle John combines belief in Jesus, love for one another, and obedience to God in 5:1-5. The words “believe” or “faith” occur in vv. 1, 4, 5; “love” in vv. 1, 2, 3; “obey” or “commands” in vv. 2, 3. Together, allRead More
John moves from right belief about Jesus (4:1-6) to right conduct toward one another (4:7-21). For the third time he commands us to love one another (cf., 2:7-11; 3:11-18). The word “love” occurs twenty-seven times in this passage. In between admonishments to love one another, John illustrates God’s love forRead More
Throughout 1 John three tests are applied to identify authentic Christianity: Moral (obeying God, 1:6-7; 2:3-6, 28-29; 3:4-10; 5:3) Doctrinal (believing the truth about Jesus, 2:18-27; 3:23; 4:1-6, 15; 5:1, 5, 10, 13) Social, (loving others faithfully, 2:7-11; 3:11-18, 23; 4:7-12, 19-21; 5:1-2). In this passage, the doctrinal test isRead More
From our previous passage (1 Jn. 3:1-9) we learned that because of the Father’s love for us and His image in us, our new life in Christ will be evident. This passage speaks to what the evidence looks like: Sacrificial love for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. VerseRead More
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