John’s New Testament Letters (1-3 John) address congregations unsettled by the recent defection of prominent members who denied the Person of Christ, thereby disrupting the community's harmony. These letters reassure the remaining believers of their salvation in Christ, affirm the truth of the original teachings they received, and the value of the mutual love they practiced. John counters the opponents’ boastful claims by exposing the inconsistency between their words and actions.
1 John is often seen as presenting ‘tests of eternal life’ for Christians to evaluate their own salvation. Commentators suggest anywhere from three to eleven self-administered tests of assurance. But this approach is often counterproductive, as ambiguous results increase anxiety rather than provide certainty. We propose that these ‘tests’ are intended to evaluate the believer’s fellowship with God, rather than their ultimate salvation.
John’s primary goal is encouragement, not testing. He offers direct statements of reassurance that are independent of subjective self-evaluation. His ‘tests’ are aimed at identifying opponents, rather than evaluating believers; they helped early Christians distinguish between true and false prophets and teachers. Ultimately, John seeks to ensure that his community continues to walk in truth and love. Rightly applied the ‘tests’ are aids; wrongly applied they are hazards.
In order
Sunday, May 26, 2024
Living in Truth & Love - Introduction
Del Martin
Message 01
SummaryThe three epistles (or letters) of John have a lot of similarity to the gospel of John. Although the name John does not appear in any of the letters or the gospel, most scholars believe that they are all written by the same writer. They also have many similarities in style and content. The background to the letters appears to be that some who were part of the church communities that were related to the writer, left due to understandings and views that were different, even contrary to the gospel of Christ. On one hand the writer warns them about those who have left. On the other hand, he shepherds them into what they should believe and how they should relate to one another in love. He also addresses sin, living in truth and the Spirit’s operation in them.
John’s first letter begins with a call to see Jesus for who he really is & to be in fellowship (partnership) with Jesus in order to experience full & complete joy. Who is this Jesus? According to John, he is the one who was with the Father in eternity & the one whom they heard, saw, examined & touched. In other words, Jesus is fully God (divine) & fully man (human). But that’s not all John says in this opening section. He invites his readers to come into an intimate fellowship with God, the kind that he & the other early eye-witnesses enjoyed. His promise was that once they responded to that invitation they would experience a fullness of joy that cannot be known without God. The invitation still remains for you & I today, will we continue to be in sweet fellowship with God & have joy to the full?
The Acts of the Apostles
and Paul’s epistles document the Apostle Paul’s mission to establish churches, but there’s no detailed record for John’s churches. However, from his writings we can construct the hidden history of John’s communities. A key insight sees synagogue-expulsions in Jesus’ lifetime (Jn. 9:22) referring also to the late 1stcentury exclusion of Christ-believers. They experienced three major traumas:
SummaryJohn writes this letter to believers to correct their misunderstanding of what the gospel is. They might have solely understood that the only sin was unbelief. Once they believed some might have felt they no longer had sin. It would appear this was the thought and teaching of those who left. John’s three “If we say…” statements address the matters of living according to the truth, the need to confess sin, and the efficacy of Jesus death, for forgiveness and cleansing from sin. A healthy Christian is one who confesses their sins when they become aware of them as they walk in the light. Walking in the light does not mean we do not sin but that we are aware of our sin and confess it. This maintains our fellowship with each other and with God. Based on the death of Christ we are also forgiven and purified from the defilement of sin.
John, in 1:3 makes it clear that we have been invited into fellowship with God. He also makes it clear that if we are in active fellowship with God we would never say we have no sin or that we have not sinned. If we believe that, we are lying & calling God a liar. If we do sin, we have the blood of Jesus as an assurance that the satisfying sacrifice has been made to God on our behalf, & that all we need to do is confess that sin so our fellowship with God is restored. John assures us even more in 1 Jn. 2:1-2, where he says that if we sin we have an advocate & the atoning sacrifice, Jesus Christ the righteous one. We can’t possibly hope to be reconciled to God by anything we can do. We simply need to cling to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Summary1 John is often viewed as presenting “tests of eternal life” for Christians to assess their own salvation. Commentators suggest between 2 and 11 such tests. However, this approach can be counterproductive, increasing doubt and anxiety rather than providing certainty. Contrary to most expositors we argue the “tests” are intended to evaluate believers’ fellowship with God, not their ultimate salvation. John’s primary goal is encouragement, not testing, so he offers direct statements of reassurance, independent of subjective self-evaluation. His “tests” are meant to identify opponents and help Christians distinguish between true and false prophets and teachers. In other words, John’s “tests” are for congregations to assess the trustworthiness of potential teachers, not for preachers to impose upon their congregations. Ultimately, John seeks to ensure his community continues to walk in truth and love. When applied correctly, the “tests” are helpful; when misapplied, they are hazardous.
SummarySome of the readers of John’s letter might have been questioning their relationship with God after reading 1 John 2:3-11. This next section gives them the assurance and affirmation that they indeed are forgiven, they know the Father, they know Jesus Christ, they have conquered the evil one and they have kept God’s word. Throughout this book, John frequently refers to the believes as children (13 times). In this section he also uses the metaphors of fathers and young people. This describes the different ages that are in the church which gives the church the family model. There are other models of the church, however John stresses this family model over a hierarchical model. We should appreciate all the different ages that are in the church.
In this section John uses the word ‘world’ SIX times! His main point is, “Do not love the world.” But what world is he talking about? In Scripture, ‘world’ can mean the earth (Ac. 17:24), people (Jn. 3:16), & the evil, anti-God system that enslaves people (1 Jn. 2:15). The latter one is what John points to when he says, “Do not love the world.” Once we have been emancipated from this system, if we are not careful, we can find it affecting our fellowship with the Father. What antidote does John prescribe for believers to guard them against the influence of this system? Love the Father! Nurture that love slowly, over time, & through the many situations of life. As we do so, our trust in the Father will grow & develop, & it will safeguard us to stay true to him as we journey on in this world.
SummaryThe Antichrist is often depicted as the ultimate evil figure in end-times narratives: a dictator who amasses power through deceit and miracles, demanding global worship in opposition to God. Many Christian books and movies blend various NT figures, such as false Christs, false prophets, Paul’s ‘man of lawlessness,’ and the Beast from Revelation, labeling them all as ‘the Antichrist.’ This approach is flawed; Scripture does not designate any of these figures as the Antichrist. Critics call this amalgam an “Antichrist stew.”
Only John’s letters use the term ‘antichrist,’ and they define it very differently. In 1 and 2 John, the Antichrist is a spirit working through John’s adversaries, denying Christ’s incarnation. There isn’t one future Antichrist but many antichrists, already active within the church, not outside in the world. John’s vision calls for a shift in focus: Christians need vigilance now to discern the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error within Christianity & their own churches, rather than scanning the horizon of world events for an emerging autocratic Antichrist.
SummaryThose who left the church were teaching that Jesus was not the Christ. They separated the human Jesus from Christ which negated the salvation that Jesus brought. Their teaching was contrary to what the apostles had taught concerning Jesus. John calls these “teachers” antichrists. However, John has confidence in two things that have been given to the believers in their fight against the deceivers. These two things are the word they heard and received at the beginning and the anointing or the Holy Spirit which they also received. This anointing teaches and confirms the word they heard at the beginning. John has confidence in these two allies against the heretical and deceptive teachings of those who left. Let’s remain in God’s word and in the anointing which will safe guard us against these other teachings.
SummaryJohn’s letter transitions from warning about ‘many antichrists’ to highlighting the glorious destiny awaiting God’s children, who will be transformed into the likeness of Christ when He appears. With John there is a clear dichotomy between the coming of the Antichrist and the appearance of Christ. In contrast, many Christians today remain preoccupied with Antichrist, end-time events and timelines, trying to predict the dates and discern signs of Christ’s return. These efforts are destined to fail. Jesus clearly stated that no one knows, nor can know, the time of His return. Instead of eagerly anticipating Christ’s return, many are fixated on the rise of an ‘Antichrist’ and the portents of Armageddon. Jesus displays no interest in who gets the date right; He cares about our relationship with Him and our service for Him. Let’s heed John’s call to ‘live deeply in Him,’ motivated by the anticipation of Jesus’ imminent return and the transformational event of seeing Him face-to-face.
Bible translations vary on how they translate the action of sinning. This is because
the Greek does not make it absolutely clear. For example, in Greek, 1 John 3:6 reads
Everyone who remains in him does not sin
. This produces a tension with 1 John 1:8-9 which reads: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us
. Many translations overcome this tension by translating “does not sin” to “does not make a practice of sinning.”
John seems to make a distinction between making a practice of sinning and not making a practice of sinning. This distinction then indicates who is a child of God or a child of the devil. John also indicates that those born of God have His seed. This “seed” is what distinguishes children of God from children of the devil and determines how they live. We are blessed to be born of God through our belief in Jesus Christ as well as having the His “seed” to cause us to live a life of righteousness.
God’s children are a product of his love, & therefore should be people who share God’s love with others. John says we should love one another. He reminds his readers & us what that love looks like: to lay down our lives for others as Jesus laid down his life for us. Sometimes we don’t love others as we should, so John reminds us that love is an action & not just nice words. But what happens when we have loved others well but feel we have not loved them enough? How do they deal with the resulting feelings of inadequacy & incapability? God assures them that he knows all things & that they should do what they can, trust him & leave the rest to him.
SummaryJohn emphasizes believers’ love for each other. This love also motivates his stinging rebukes of ‘antichrists and deceivers’ who pose a threat to his children in Christ. John warns against false prophets, cautioning that not all spirit-inspired preaching comes from God. Preachers are energized either by God’s Spirit or Antichrist’s spirit. In this context, naivety is dangerous. John offers believers two ‘tests’ to discern true from false prophets, whether a preacher is motivated by God’s Spirit of Truth or Antichrist’s ‘spirit of deception.’ Today, pseudo-prophets and deceiving spirits still infiltrate churches, seminaries, and Christian media. Heresy and deception flourish on the Internet, worsened by declining biblical literacy and superficial preaching. At CIT, we must strengthen our theological foundations, cultivate a deep hunger for Christ-centered preaching, and sharpen our discernment to distinguish God’s Spirit from the spirit of the Antichrist, true from false prophets.
SummaryThe world talks a lot about love, sings songs about love, and has many definitions about what love is. But how does the Bible view love? John’s first letter gives us a clear view of what love is. God is love and love comes from God. In John’s view, love does not originate with us but from God. God showed his love to us by sending his one and only Son to be the sacrifice for our sins and to give us life. God loved us first and based on this we are to love other believers in Christ . Our loving other Christians is the goal of God’s love. When we love one another, God lives in us and his love finds its goal. God loved us according to our need, so when we love one another, it should meet other people’s needs. Let us understand and try to appreciate the God’s love for us. While knowing and relying on God’s love we will be able to love one another as we should.
In this section of verses we read that God is love. That’s his very essence. So when he sends his Son Jesus to the earth to rescue people from their sinful lives by dying on the cross (1 Jn. 4:9-10), that is the ultimate expression of God’s love. Jesus completed God’s love by completing the work he gave him to do. In the verses for today, we’re challenged to also complete God’s love (1 Jn. 4:12, 17). But how do we do that? John says, ‘love one another.’ As we do that, God is revealed among us! So what should any Christian community look like? Simply believers loving one another with God’s love to such an extent that God himself is revealed to people who don’t know God at all. Now that is quite a remarkable mission God has called us on.
Summary• The Bible text, 1 John 5:7 has sparked controversy for 500 years. The longer reading in the King James Version (KJV) offers the Bible’s clearest proof text for the Trinity, yet its absence from early Greek & Latin manuscripts suggests it was never part of John’s original letter. Known as the ‘Johannine Comma’, this passage first appeared in Latin texts around the 7th century and Greek manuscripts not until the 14th. Erasmus initially excluded it from his Greek New Testament but later, under pressure from religious authorities, included it, which eventually influenced the Authorized KJV (1611) – the dominant English Bible for 400 years. Modern Bible translations omit the Comma, yet it remains a flashpoint for debate. Skeptical scholar Bart Ehrman points to 1 John 5:7 as evidence of scribal alterations that enforced orthodoxy, arguing that such changes and copying errors corrupt the New Testament and frustrate access to the original “God-inspired” Scriptures. Here, we examine Dr. Ehrman’s widely-publicized claims in his best-selling books, alongside respected evangelical scholars’ responses, which will reaffirm our confidence in the reliability of Scripture.
Everyone lives and acts based on what they believe. And everyone believes something. We live in an age where we are encouraged to believe in ourselves, with sayings such as “you do you”, “believe in yourself”, “do what is right for you”, etc… As believers what should be believe? Does it matter what we believe? John’s letter makes it clear it does matter what we believe. Those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and all that entails, are those who overcome the world. Besides all the things mentioned in this letter about the live of believers, he adds that those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God who came both by water and blood, have the testimony within them. John also gives them strong assurance that they now have eternal life because they believe in the name of the Son of God. Let us treasure the faith we have and live by it.
It’s not an uncommon experience for followers of Jesus to have their faith shaken. In most cases, with proper counsel & care from other believers, we make it through. John was writing to & caring for people in his churches who were experiencing a massive shake up to their faith. Some prominent people among them no longer believed that Jesus was God, or that his death was effective in atoning for sins, & they had ‘new information’ that said otherwise. The departure of this group ruptured a community that previously enjoyed sweet harmony & communion with God & one another. How does John help them navigate these waters? By assuring them of what they have through eternal life (v. 13). He concludes this letter by bolstering their faith based on these divine assurances.
Summary2nd John is a brief letter from “the elder” to “the chosen lady and her children,” offering insight into John’s distinct vision of church life. Unlike the ‘overseers’ in Acts & Paul’s letters, ‘John the elder’ is the patriarch, the elder statesman of the Johannine community, drawing on personal authority rather than holding an official hierarchical position. This contrasts sharply with Pauline churches, where Paul adopted the Jewish synagogue model of appointing elders & deacons, establishing a hierarchical structure that laid the groundwork for apostolic succession, as seen in the Pastoral Epistles. In 1-3 John, “the elder” exhorts based on his eyewitness testimony within an egalitarian community, where all believers have the Spirit’s anointing, love one another, and know the truth. This structural divergence was evident in first-century Ephesus, where both churches coexisted. Historically, the Pauline churches evolved into the centralized structures of the Roman Catholic Church, while John’s community stood as a counter-model. Modern attempts to ‘recover’ the original Pauline church have followed the same path. John’s letters offer a compelling biblical alternative for us to follow today.
In this short letter the writer encourages the recipients to continue to walk in truth and love. Truth and love must go together, without truth our love might be merely sentimental, without love our walking in truth may be harsh and uncaring. Truth and love need to go together to be properly balanced.
This letter also addresses those who have left and do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. They go beyond the teaching of Christ; adding things to the truth as well as subtracting from the truth. John warns them not to receive or greet them. This may sound harsh but, in that day, to receive and greet indicated that you no only approved of them but also that you joined with them in their “evil works.” John was doing is utmost to protect the church from leaving the truth. This should be a warning and encouragement for us to remain in the truth.
John’s third letter in the shortest book in the New Testament, & it’s often overlooked in terms of its value. 3 John practically applies what John has been writing about in his Gospel & previous letters, that is, as we love God, we should love others also. This letter commends a house church leader named Gaius for caring for travelling Christian workers who arrived at his church. John also encourages Gaius to do more of the same in sending them forward on their gospel travels. In stark contrast to Gaius, we hear about Diotrephes, who refused the same evangelists at his church. In fact, if anyone at his church received these travellers, he kicked them out! John does not call him a heretic or ‘antichrist’ as he did concerning other in 1 & 2 John. Rather he calls what Diotrephes did as evil. So what was the issue with Diotrephes? He is a domineering person who micromanages everything. We come across people like this at times, & it’s tempting to consider them as non-Christian. The truth is they are manifesting a personality flaw rather than Jesus in their living.
SummaryJohn’s final letter reveals a clash between church leaders: the Elder, representing the values of the Johannine community, and Diotrephes, the domineering leader of a satellite church. Diotrephes challenges the Elder’s authority, maligns him, withholds hospitality from his envoys, and expels those who resist his strict control. His authoritarian style starkly contrasts with the Elder’s servant leadership. This conflict is more than a local dispute; 3 John stands in the New Testament canon as a prophetic protest against one-man rule within the church. It condemns Diotrephes’ conduct, but more significantly, it warns of the rise of monarchical bishops — a warning that history, ultimately, did not heed. Around 100 AD, Diotrephes symbolized the emergence of ruling bishops, a pitfall relevant in today’s Christianity. John’s letters preserve a unique vision of an egalitarian church rooted on truth & love, resisting the allure of ambition and hierarchical dominance represented by Diotrephes. Let us heed John’s prophetic warning and embrace the Elder’s example.
Jesus’ parables seem open to multiple valid interpretations, but this is far from the truth. The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds illustrates this point. Historically, it’s been misused to justify violence against “heretics” and believers, despite Jesus’ directive: “Let both grow together until the harvest.” Today its a proof-text for tolerance in debates over LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church. Misinterpreting the parable, taking “the field” as the Church, has caused repeated tragedy, e.g., Roman Catholic & Anglican church-leaders used it to justify inaction amid abuse scandals. The parable indicates God’s kingdom is already here with the ‘kingdom people,’ even though evil still exists in the world, since the final judgment is not yet. It emphasizes patience and trust in God’s sovereignty over the world as the arena for Gospel work until the End. The Church’s role during the age of grace is not to purge depravity from the world, but to address evil within its own community, while proclaiming Jesus’ kingdom gospel, despite Satan’s sabotage. Abuse of Jesus’ parables has grave consequences; let us learn this crucial lesson from Christian history.
SummaryIn Matt 13:31-33, Jesus continues his parables about God’s Kingdom. He uses a mustard
seed’s growth & leaven’s (yeast) permeating dough to clarify the nature of the Kingdom.
All Jews expected God’s Kingdom to come, but expected it to come suddenly & powerfully.
Jesus needed to adjust that expectation. He did so first by claiming that the Kingdom
hadindeed come through him, & second, that it would grow slowly & until
it affected everything. We too need to see that God’s Kingdom has already come
through Jesus, & that while it has come, it’s coming is more hidden today.
God’s Kingdom is his ruling & reigning among his people, & where
his will is done on earth. We have the opportunity to be under his rule & reign
at work, in our homes & with our friends. As we do so, people see his Kingdom
through our words & deeds. May all of us pray:“May his kingdom come & his will be done on earth as it is in heaven in each of us.”
