1-3 John Overview

Are next General Epistles are 1-3 John. These letters John are traditionally attributed to John the apostle. The reality is that 1 John itself is anonymous. Tt doesn’t say who it’s from. 2-3 John simply say they are from ‘the elder’. They do share very similar language with one another and with John’s gospel, which has caused many to associate them together.

Because of this, and the fact that 2-3 John are so short, these letters are often taken together as the Johannine epistles. It may be that they were written by the same author of John’s gospel, or someone from the same tradition, perhaps one of their disciples.

Some have claimed that 1 John’s structure mirrors John’s gospel. You can divide 1 John into a prologue, part 1 (1:5-3:10), part 2 (1 John 311-5:12) and then a conclusion, just like John’s gospel has a prologue, Jesus’ public ministry, Jesus’ private ministry, and a conclusion.

1 John 1:1-4 - Introduction

1 John 1:5-3:10 - The light of Jesus

1 John 3:11-5:12 - Love in Jesus

1 John 5:13-21 - Conclusion

2 John - Hosting those who reject Jesus

3 John - Not showing hospitality is rejecting Jesus

1 John doesn’t have developed arguments like Paul’s letters. Instead, they focus on key themes and cycle through them over and over again. The author roughly splits these into light vs darkness and loving one another. To be in light means holding to truth and living right. Loving God means loving his church. To do both means living in a relationship with one another and God, just as the early disciples did with Jesus.

The author then writes two follow-up letters addressing specific issues or questions that have arisen from their first letter. What should believers do when those who have rejected Jesus seek to enjoy in believers’ hospitality? And what should they do when one of their own refuses to be hospitable and live in relationship with others?

1 John 1-2

The author starts by pointing out that what they have declared to the readers are things they have seen and touched. They concern the ‘word of life’, which is likely a reference to Jesus being the word in John 1. This life that comes from the word was with God and then revealed to the early disciples.

So the author is inviting the readers to live in relationship with them and others who saw Jesus, just as they lived in relationship with Jesus. This becomes the main thrust of the letter, how to live in a way that is in relationship with other believers and with Jesus and the father.

The author then jumps into the section of the letter focused on light. They remind their readers “that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5). This picks up on the imagery found in John 1:4-8. Therefore, if God is light and believers claim to live in relationship with God, then there is no way they can live in darkness. If they do, then they must be lying.

When believers walk in the light of God, and live in relationship with one another, the blood of Jesus is then available to cleanse believers of the power of sin in their lives. If anyone claims they don’t need this because there is no power of sin in their lives, then again they must be liars, choosing darkness over light.

Instead, believers should be willing to stand in the light revealing their sin and confessing it to Jesus so that he might cleanse them of it. The author’s goal in writing this letter is to help their readers avoid sin, but they also want to encourage them that if they do sin, there’s still forgiveness and hope in Jesus for them. He atones for their sins, and that offer is available to the whole world.

The evidence that someone knows Jesus is their obedience to his commandments. The word for know ginosko, can imply an intimacy and familiarity. This isn’t just knowledge about Jesus, but an intimate knowledge of who he is. If someone tries to claim they have that knowledge but don’t live in a way that is inline with Jesus, then again, they are lying.

Instead, knowing Jesus involves obedience to his words and abiding in him, which is likely drawing on the same language as John 15.

The author then gives an example of what this sort of obedience looks like. It’s nothing new, but something they’ve heard before. Love one another. If someone claims to be in the light but doesn’t love other believers, living in relationship with them, they are lying.

The formulaic structure of this next suggestion 1 John 2:12-14 suggests that it was written to be a rhyme that the readers tell themselves and one another. One that is easy to remember and recite. All believers are encouraged from newest to oldest. Their sins are forgiven, they know Jesus and the father who are eternal, and they are strengthened by God to defeat and overcome evil.

Walking in the light involves separating oneself from loving things of the world. They are opposite to the things that God loves, and so it is impossible to love both. The desires of the world are of flesh, eyes, and pride. Their focus is on satisfying their own needs, looking greedily at what else they can get, and boasting in the things they’ve already obtained.

The world and these desires will one day perish, but those who love the things God loves will live forever.

The author then switches warn their readers about antichrists. There are lots of opinions on who the antichrist is, but there are two things to note. First, the term only appears in 1-2 John, nowhere else. Second, the author clearly describes anyone who sets themselves against Jesus as an antichrist. The antichrist is not a person, but the term used for all people who reject and oppose Jesus.

The author specifically describes them as those who used to be amongst the believers and then left. In contrast, the readers know Jesus and know the truth. The author is not trying to teach them something they aren’t aware of. They are trying to encourage the readers in what they already know.

No one can claim to have access to God but deny Jesus. In contrast, those who hold to Jesus have access to God. The believers should hold on to what they have been taught and accepted, letting it abide in them. When the teaching from others who seek to reject Jesus comes, then they need to reject it.

Their faith is maintained and sustained by abiding in Jesus.

Psalm 34

This psalm is attributed to king David into the category of thanksgiving psalm. We see the psalm dedicated to a specific occasion, though there’s some debate over what it means.

In 1 Samuel 21:10-15, we have a story of David escaping Israel on the run from Saul. Upon entering the land of Gath, some people point out that David is an important leader from Israel and could be useful to them.

Realising the danger he might be in, David pretends to be mad, and the king, Achish, wants nothing to do with him. The problem with this is that Psalm 34 specifically mentions that David did this before ‘Abimelech’, the name of his son. 

It may be that David pulled this same trick with his son, or that the Achish went by two names. Either way, 1 Samuel 21:10-15 gives us an idea of the kind of context this psalm has come from.

The psalm is structured in an acrostic, where each verse begins with a different letter of the alphabet. 

Psalm 34:1-3 - I will bless the Lord

Psalm 34:4-7- The Lord rescues those who call out to him

Psalm 34:8-10 - Seek the Lord, taste and see that he is good

Psalm 34:11-14 - Advice to pursue good and avoid evil

Psalm 34:15-18 - The Lord is toward the righteous and against the wicked

Psalm 34:19-22 - The Lord will redeem the righteous and condemn the wicked

The psalm opens with a call to praise God with the psalmist. They shall praise him continuously, at all times.

We then find out why the psalmist wants to praise God, because they sought the Lord and he answered. Blessed are those who seek God, because he will rescue and deliver them.

The psalmist then encourages others to seek God. Taste and see that he is good. Seek him with appropriate fear. They offer guidance and wisdom.

This is a logical progression, as in Hebrew thinking, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). The wisdom the psalmist offers is to avoid evil and pursue good.

The reason for this is that God is for those who are righteous, but he is against those who do evil. When the righteous cry out for help, he hears and delivers them. He cares for those who are brokenhearted.

The psalmist then ends with and encouragement. Though it may feel like your struggles, your affliction are many, God will deliver you from them all. In fact, the wicked that oppress you will one day get what they deserve, but God will redeem you.

From this psalm, we are reminded of the fact we are to seek God and pursue righteousness. When we do these things, God will redeem and rescue us.