1-3 John

Most people believe that the Epistles of John were written by the same author as the Gospel of John, given the similar writing style. It is believed that John was overseeing the house churches at Ephesus. John wrote these letters because the churches were facing a crisis when Jesus’ identity as the Son of God and Messiah was being denied. These people did not just leave the church but were hostile toward the believers who truly believed Jesus as the Messiah (ref 1 John 2:18-23; 4:1-3).

The Second and Third Epistle of John gave us a window to understand how the crisis looked like. 

In 2 John, John reminded a specific church to beware of those denying Jesus. John called them the “deceivers” and “Anti-Christ” (2 John 1:7). He said that these people were looking for acceptance and support. John reminded them not to receive them, in order not to affect the work of the church.

In 3 John, the Elder wrote to a church leader called Gaius, encouraging him to keep receiving itinerary missionaries who confessed Jesus as Christ. Do not be like the other leader, Diotrephes, who rejected the missionaries with hatred. 

Because of similar situations in 2 and 3 John, John had to write 1 John as a damage control. It is to encourage Christians who believed Jesus as Christ and ensure God has been with them. 

Rather than treating 1 John as a letter, the epistle is more like a poetic sermon. It built on the core teachings in John 13-17 and expanded the teachings of Jesus in a greater depth. 

1 John 1:1-4 and 1 John 5:18-21 are the introduction and conclusion of the letter respectively. Similar to the Gospel of John, the author used Genesis 1 and Proverbs 5 as background, to explain Jesus as God’s words incarnated. The Father and the Son has an intimate relationship. The disciples are connected because of the Son. In the letter, the message was passed from the Apostle to the next generation, so that they will be included in this relationship. In conclusion, John emphasized that he knew no other god apart from Jesus. When the disciples encountered the living Jesus, they were compelled by the self-sacrificing love of God. Knowing such love, he reminded people not to for themselves any idol. 

There are two key themes in 1 John, both marked by “This is the message we have heard…” (1:5; 3:11) The two themes are “God is light” and “God is love”.

1 John 1:5-3:10: God is Light

It reminds the reader to participate in the Father and Son relationship, they need to walk in the light. Walking in the light means obeying Jesus’ teaching. It is hard but when the disciples failed, Jesus’ atoning love is there to cleanse us and enable us to stand again. 

If God reveals His light through Jesus, darkness is passing away. Therefore, God’s children has already defeated the darkness in the world, no matter if it is sin, evil or death. He continued by asking the believers “do not love the world.” He particularly spoke against pride and sexual sin. 

Finally, the author warned the churches against those who rejected Jesus and left the church, which was referred as “Anti-Christ”. Their purpose was to cause hatred, conflict and division. Only those who know the Truth through Jesus are the children of God. They are known for loving each other and loving justice. As such, they have God’s love and life in them.

1 John 3:11 - 5:17: God is Love

The author reminds Christians to love each other. Do not be like Cain in Genesis who hated his brother and killed him. Christian’s love should be characterized by putting the well-being of others before their own. This kind of love is the result of believing in God’s great love which transform their lives. 

John reminded the reader to discern and not to be like the “deceivers” and “anti-Christ”, who believed that they were speaking behalf of God. Only those who confessed Jesus as Christ were from God. 

As the children of God, Christian life should be centered around the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the scarifying death of Jesus, the love of God is shown to be so extravagant. It is this love that motivates people to follow Jesus and to love others in the same way. It is this great love that drives out all fear and anger.