Reference: John, The Epistles Of
Fausets
FIRST EPISTLE. Genuineness. Polycarp, John's disciple (ad Philippians 7), quotes 1Jo 4:3. Eusebius (H. E., iii. 39) says of Papias, John's hearer, "he used testimonies from the first epistle of John." Irenaeus (Eusebius, H. E., v. 8) often quoted it; he quotes (Haeres. iii. 15, sections 5,8) from John by name 1Jo 2:18; and in 1Jo 3:16, section 7 he quotes 1Jo 4:1-3; 5:1; 2Jo 1:7-8. Clement Alex. (Strom. ii. 66, p. 664) refers to 1Jo 5:16 as in John's larger epistle; compare Strom. iii. 32,42; iv. 102. Tertullian adv. Marcion, vi. 16, refers to 1Jo 4:1; adv. Praxean xv to 1Jo 1:1; also 1Jo 1:10, and contra Gnost. 12. Cyprian (Ep. 28:24) quotes 1Jo 2:3-4 as John's; and, de Orat. Domini, 5, quotes 1Jo 2:15-17; De opere et Eleemos. quotes 1Jo 1:8; De bono Patientiae quotes 1Jo 2:6.
Muratori's Fragment on the Canon states "there are two (the Gospel and epistle) of John esteemed universal," quoting 1Jo 1:3. The Peshito Syriac has it. Origen (Eusebius vi. 25) designates the first epistle genuine, and "probably second and third epistles, though all do not recognize the latter two"; he quotes 1Jo 1:5 (tom. 13 vol. 2). Dionysius of Alexandria, Origen's scholar, cites this epistle's words as the evangelist John's. Eusebius (H. E., iii. 24) says John's first epistle and Gospel are "acknowledged without question by those of the present day, as well as by the ancients." So Jerome (Catalog. Ecclesiastes Script.). Marcion opposed it only because it was opposed to his heresies. The Gospel and the first epistle are alike in style, yet evidently not mere copies either of the other. The individual notices, it being a universal epistle, are fewer than in Paul's epistles; but what there are accord with John's position.
He implies his apostleship (1Jo 2:7,26), alludes to his Gospel (Joh 1:1, compare Joh 1:14; 20:27), and the affectionate He uniting him as an aged pastor to his spiritual "children" (1Jo 2:18-19). In 1Jo 4:1-3 he alludes to the false teachers as known to his readers; in 1Jo 5:21 he warns them against the idols of the world around. Docetism existed in germ already, though the Docete by name appear first in the second century (Col 1:15-18; 1Ti 3:16; Heb 1:1-3). Hence 1Jo 4:1-3 denounces as "not of God every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" (compare Joh 2:22-23). Presciently the Spirit through John forearms the church against the coming heresy.
TO WHOM THE EPISTLES WERE ADDRESSED. Augustine (Quaest. Evang. 2:39) says it was addressed to the Parthians, i.e. the Christians beyond the Euphrates, outside the Roman empire, "the church at Babylon elected together with" (1Pe 5:13) the churches in the Ephesian region, where Peter sent his epistles (1Pe 1:1; Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia). As Peter addressed the Asiatic flock tended first by Paul, then by John, so John, Peter's close companion, addresses the flock among whom Peter was when he wrote. Thus "the elect lady" (2Jo 1:1) answers to "the church elected together."
TIME AND PLACE. This epistle is subsequent to the Gospel, for it assumes the reader's acquaintance with the Gospel facts and Christ's speeches, and His aspect as the incarnate Word God manifest in the flesh, set forth in John's Gospel. His fatherly tone addressing his "little children" implies it was written in old age, perhaps A.D. 90. The rise of antichristian teachers he marks as a sign of "the last time" (1Jo 2:18), no other "age" or dispensation will be until Christ comes; for His coming the church is to be ever waiting; Heb 1:2, "these last days." The region of Ephesus, where Gnostic heresy sprang up, was probably the place, and the latter part of the apostolic age the time, of writing. Contents. Fellowship with the Father and the Son is the subject and object (1Jo 1:3). Two divisions occur:
(1) 1 John 1:5 - 2:28, God is light without darkness; consequently, to have fellowship with Him necessitates walking in the light. Confession and consequent forgiveness of sins, through Christ's propitiation for the world and advocacy for believers, are a necessary preliminary; a further step is positive keeping God's commandments, the sum of which is love as contrasted with hatred, the sum of disobedience. According to their several stages of spiritual growth, children, fathers, young men, as respectively forgiven, knowing the Father, and having overcome the wicked one, John exhorts them not to love the world, which is incompatible with the indwelling of the Father's love. This anointing love dwelling in us, and our continuing to abide in the Son and in the Father, is the antidote against the antichristian teachers in the world, who are of the world, not of the church, and therefore have gone out from it.
(2) 1 John 2:29 - 5:5 handles the opening thesis: "He is righteous," therefore "every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him." Sonship involves present self purification, first because we desire now to be like Him, "even as He is pure," secondly because we hope hereafter to be perfectly like Him, our sonship now hidden shall be manifested, and we shall be made like Him when He shall be manifested (answering to Paul's Colossians 3), for our then "seeing him as He is" involves transfiguration into His likeness (compare 2Co 3:18; Php 3:21). In contrast, the children of the devil hate; the children of God love. Love assures of acceptance with God for ourselves and our prayers, accompanied as they are with obedience to His commandment to "believe on Jesus Christ, and love one another"; the seal is "the Spirit given us" (1Jo 3:24). In contrast (as in the first division), denial of Christ and adherence to the world characterize the false spirits (1Jo 4:1-6). The essential feature of sonship or birth of God is unslavish love to God, because God first loved us and gave His Son to die for us (1Jo 4:18-19), and consequent love to the brethren as being God's sons like ourselves, and so victory over the world through belief in Jesus as the Son of God (1Jo 5:4-5).
(3) 1Jo 5:6-21. Finally, the truth on which our fellowship with God rests is, Christ came by water in His baptism, the blood of atonement, and the witnessing Spirit which is truth, which correspond to our baptism with water and the Spirit, and our receiving the atonement by His blood and the witness of His Spirit. In the opening he rested this truth on his apostolic witness of the eye, the ear, and the touch; so at the close on God's witness, which the believer accepts, and by rejecting which the unbeliever makes God a liar. He adds his reason for writing (1Jo 5:13), corresponding to 1Jo 1:4 at the beginning, namely, that "believers may know they have (already) eternal life," the spring of "joy" (compare Joh 20:31), and so may have "confidence" in their prayers being answered (1Jo 5:14-15; compare 1Jo 3:22 in the second part), e.g. their intercessions for a brother sinning, provided his sin be not unto death (1Jo 5:16). He sums up with stating our knowledge of Him that is true, through His gift, our being in Him by virtue of being in His Son Jesus Christ; being "born of God" we keep ourselves so that the wicked one toucheth us not, in contrast to the world lying in the wicked one; therefore still, "little children, keep yourselves from idols" literal and spiritual.
STYLE. Aphorism and repetition of his own phrases abound. The affectionate hortatory tone, and the Hebraistic form which delights in parallelism of clauses (as contrasted with Paul's logical Grecian style), and his own simplicity of spirit dwelling fondly on the one grand theme, produce this repetition of fundamental truths again and again, enlarged, applied, and condensed by turns. Contemplative rather than argumentative, he dwells on the inner rather than the outer Christian life. The thoughts do not move forward by progressive steps, as in Paul, but in circles round one central thought, viewed now under the positive now under the negative aspect. His Lord's contrasted phrases in the Gospel John adopts in his epistles, "flesh," "spirit," "light," "darkness," "life," "death," "abide in Him"; "fellowship with the Father and Son, and with one another" is a phrase not in the Gospel, but in Acts and Paul's e
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Only be strong and very courageous {to observe diligently the whole law} that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn aside from it, [to] the right or left, so that you may succeed {wherever you go}. The scroll of this law will not depart from your mouth; you will meditate on it day and night so that {you may observe diligently all that is written} in it. For then you will succeed [in] your ways and prosper. read more. Did I not command you? Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you {wherever you go}." Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
Your wives, your little children, and your livestock, they will remain in the land that Moses gave to you beyond the Jordan. {All of the best fighting men} will cross armed in front of your families; they will help you
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.
So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken. Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name [because they] saw his signs which he was doing.
Then he said to Thomas, "Place your finger here and see my hands, and place your hand and put [it] into my side. And do not be unbelieving, but believing!"
but these [things] are recorded in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that [by] believing you may have life in his name.
Gaius, my host and [the host] of the whole church, greets you. Erastus the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus the brother.
And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
who will transform our humble body [to be] conformed to his glorious body, in accordance with the power that enables him even to subject all [things] to himself.
in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, read more. because all [things] in the heavens and on the earth were created by him, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, all [things] were created through him and for him, and he himself is before all [things], and in him all [things] are held together, and he himself is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in everything,
[Although] God spoke long ago in many parts and in many ways to the fathers by the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all [things], through whom also he made the world,
in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all [things], through whom also he made the world, who is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, sustaining all [things] by the word of power. [When he] had made purification for sins through him, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen who are residing temporarily in the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen who are residing temporarily in the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and [for] sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Therefore [I, your] fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, [and] also a sharer of the glory that is going to be revealed, exhort the elders among you:
She [who is] in Babylon, chosen the same as [you], greets you, and [so does] my son Mark.
She [who is] in Babylon, chosen the same as [you], greets you, and [so does] my son Mark.
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and our hands have touched, concerning the word of life--
what we have seen and heard, we announce to you also, in order that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship [is] with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
what we have seen and heard, we announce to you also, in order that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship [is] with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these [things] we write, in order that our joy may be complete. read more. And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light and there [is] no darkness in him at all.
If we say that we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. The one who says "I have come to know him," and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in this person.
The one who says [that he] resides in him ought also to walk just as that one walked. Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the message which you have heard.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because everything [that is] in the world--the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance of material possessions--is not from the Father, but is from the world. read more. And the world is passing away, and its desire, but the one who does the will of God remains {forever}. Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, by which we know that it is the last hour.
Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, by which we know that it is the last hour.
Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But [they went out], in order that it might be shown that all of them are not of us.
These [things] I have written to you concerning the ones who are trying to deceive you.
We have come to know love by this: that {he} laid down his life on behalf of us, and we ought to lay down our lives on behalf of the brothers.
and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do [what is] pleasing {in his sight}.
And the one who keeps his commandments resides in him, and he in him. And by this we know that he resides in us: by the Spirit whom he has given to us.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to determine] if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to determine] if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to determine] if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to determine] if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to determine] if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one [who is] in you is greater than the one [who is] in the world. read more. They are from the world; {therefore} they speak from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
[There] is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear includes punishment, and the one who is afraid has not been perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves {the father} also loves the [child] fathered by him.
because everyone who is fathered by God conquers the world. Now who is the one who conquers the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? read more. This is the one who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ, not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For [there] are three that testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and the three are {in agreement}. If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that he has testified concerning his Son. (The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning his Son.) And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These [things] I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.
These [things] I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And this is the confidence that we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us [in] whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.
And if we know that he hears us [in] whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him. If anyone should see his brother sinning a sin not [leading] to death, he should ask, and he will grant life to him, to those who sin not [leading] to death. ([There] is a sin [leading] to death; I do not say that he should ask about that.
If anyone should see his brother sinning a sin not [leading] to death, he should ask, and he will grant life to him, to those who sin not [leading] to death. ([There] is a sin [leading] to death; I do not say that he should ask about that.
If anyone should see his brother sinning a sin not [leading] to death, he should ask, and he will grant life to him, to those who sin not [leading] to death. ([There] is a sin [leading] to death; I do not say that he should ask about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and [there] is a sin not [leading] to death.) read more. We know that everyone who is fathered by God does not sin, but the one fathered by God, he protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in [the power of] the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, in order that we may know the one who is true, and we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
The elder, to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth--and not I alone, but also all those who know the truth--
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in [the] flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into [your] house and do not speak a greeting to him,
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into [your] house and do not speak a greeting to him,
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into [your] house and do not speak a greeting to him, because the one who speaks a greeting to him shares in his evil deeds.
because the one who speaks a greeting to him shares in his evil deeds. [Although] I have many [things] to write to you, I do not want [to do so] by means of paper and ink, but I hope to be with you and to speak {face to face}, so that your joy may be complete.
I have no greater joy than this: that I hear my children are walking in the truth. Dear friend, you act faithfully [in] whatever you do for the brothers, {even though they are strangers}.