These are letters written by the apostle John. There is no internal proof, no direct “This is from John,” but there are many words and phrases in the letters that are used in the gospel of John; these give us a hint that the letters were written by the gospel writer. He also wrote the book of Revelation (which we will attack...next week).
Like the gospel of John, the letters of John are written in abstract language. God is first presented as light, and Jesus is referred to as the Word. Believers are to live in the light, for that is where God is. We are to abide in the light. This is not a new commandment, but the same old commandment that the faithful have had since the days of Abraham--obey, be faithful, love God and love others.
Speaking of love...the word “love” occurs 36 times in the 105 verses that make up the book of 1 John. That’s an average of once every 3 verses! I think it qualifies as a key word. God is Love. If we love God, we are to show our love for Him by showing our love for one another. God has shown us tremendous love by making us His children. Over and over John repeats that we should live out our love in deed and not just in words. This, again, is a theme we have heard before.
1 John 4 has many familiar verses about love. “Beloved, let us love one another...” (4:7). “The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (4:14). “We love, because He first loved us” (4:19). “This commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also” (4:21).
The final chapter of 1 John speaks of “a sin leading to death,” which could actually be any unconfessed sin or a pattern of sin. Can one repent of such a sin? The problem is that a sin that leads to death is a sin that one refuses to repent of, a habitual pattern of sin that the believer just won’t quit. Any time that someone recognizes sin, says, “Gee, that was really stupid, with God’s help I’m never going to do that again,” that person is forgiven. Make sense? Ok. Moving on.
John’s first letter ends with a reminder to keep away from idols. Seems that is ALWAYS a problem.
The second and third letters written by John are similar in theme. The second is written to “the chosen lady and her children,” making it unique in the New Testament in being addressed to a woman. John’s third letter is written to his friend Gaius. Both of these letters speak of the importance of loving God and showing our love toward others. John warns both the chosen lady and Gaius of false prophets--yep, them again--reminding his readers that truth is found in God.
Both 2 and 3 John end with John hoping to come to his friends, and with blessings of peace.
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