Scriptura — The First Epistle of John: All 5 Chapters

Ἰωάννου Αʹ

Missions & Epistles · Walking in Light, Love & Truth

The First Epistle of John

"God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all" — The most intimate epistle in the New Testament: three tests of genuine faith, the ground of assurance, and the declaration that God himself IS love.

5

Chapters

105

Verses

3×

Tests of Faith

2×

"God Is Love"

13×

"Abide"

Open Chapter Study

The Epistle at a Glance

c. AD 90–95

Date Written

From Ephesus; John the Beloved Disciple; written to address a Docetist/proto-Gnostic schism in the Johannine community.

3 Tests

Of Genuine Faith

① Obedience (keep his commandments); ② Love (love one another); ③ Confession (Jesus Christ came in the flesh). Each test appears in all three cycles.

"God Is Love"

1 John 4:8, 16

Theos agapē estin — not merely that God loves, but that God IS love. The eternal Trinitarian relationship is itself the original agapē.

1 John 1:9

The Daily Gospel

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." The most used pastoral verse in the NT.

All 5 Chapters

Light and Darkness; Confession

The eyewitness prologue. "God is light, and in him is no darkness." Three false claims refuted. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive." The blood of Jesus continuously cleanses.

1:9 · Daily Gospelkoinōnia

Advocate; New Commandment; Abide

Jesus our Paraclete and Propitiation. Obedience test. Love: old and new commandment. "Do not love the world." Antichrists who denied Jesus. The anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches all things. Abide for confidence at his coming.

AdvocateAntichrist Warning

Children of God; Love in Deed

"See what kind of love!" Identity: children of God now. Sinlessness passages. The two families (God's vs devil's). Cain. "We have passed from death to life because we love." Love defined by the Cross. "Not in word but in deed and truth."

IdentityDeed-Love

Test the Spirits; God Is Love

Test every spirit by the incarnation confession. "Greater is he who is in you." God sent his only Son — propitiation. "God IS love" (twice). Perfect love casts out fear. "We love because he first loved us." Impossible to love God while hating the brother.

God Is LoveSpirit Testing

Faith Overcomes; Eternal Life; Prayer

Victory: our faith overcomes the world. Three witnesses: Spirit, water, blood. "This life is in his Son." Assurance: "that you may KNOW you have eternal life." Confident prayer according to his will. Three "we know" statements. "Keep yourselves from idols."

Eternal Life3 Witnesses