1 John was written by the Apostle John. John also wrote the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation. This Epistle is a book of the Bible that further teaches us the importance of loving God, loving one another, and believing in Jesus Christ.
As a direct disciple and apostle of the Lord, John was able to have firsthand experience walking and being taught by the Lord. John was known to be a faithful follower of the Lord and dedicated his life to serving Him. 1 John is a reflection of this truth.
Chapter 1: Walking in God's Light
Read 1 John 1
Questions to Ask:
- What does this chapter mean?
- What is the surrounding context?
- How can I apply this to my daily life?
1 John discusses many important truths. Within this first chapter, the Apostle John talks about the incarnation of Christ and the truth that God is light. John testifies to the truth that he saw the risen Christ. He addresses the truth that He heard, saw, and touched the risen Lord (1 John 1:1-4).
John informs readers that the Lord has risen and that they can take hope in this truth. Telling others that the Lord has indeed been risen and is the Word of life gives John the greatest joy (1 John 1:3-4).
Within this chapter, we are also told that God is light. There is no darkness in God (1 John 1:5). In the same way, John encourages us to walk in the light just as He is in the light.
We cannot claim to walk with God if we are still living in the darkness and living a life of sin (1 John 1:6). However, if we walk in the light, place faith in Jesus, and follow Him, and we have fellowship with God and each other (1 John 1:7).
Lastly, John finishes this chapter by saying that we cannot claim we no longer sin (1 John 1:8). Simply because we know Jesus as our Savior and Lord doesn’t mean we stop sinning. Rather, we are still sinners, yet our sins have been forgiven, and we are more aware of our sins.
If we claim we have not sinned, we are only deceiving ourselves. However, if we confess our sins, God will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
1. What does the chapter say? This chapter tells us that we can know with certainty that Jesus was resurrected and was seen by the apostles, including John. Since we have eyewitness accounts, we can be assured that Jesus was resurrected, and this also assures us that everything.
Jesus taught can be trusted because He is truly God in the flesh. Furthermore, this chapter tells us God is light, and there is no darkness found in Him. Since He is the light, we need to avoid darkness and continue to walk in the light.
2. What is the surrounding context? The surrounding context of this chapter includes the truth that we are not sinless. All of us are born into sin and with this sin nature, we need forgiveness.
Through believing in Jesus, we can be forgiven. This doesn’t mean our sin nature is eradicated; however, it does mean we are aware of our sin. If we claim we are without sin, we are making the claim that God is a liar.
3. How can I apply this to my life? We can apply these many truths from 1 John 1 by believing in the risen Christ, walking in the light as He is in the light, and being aware of our own sin.
John was an eyewitness of not only the death of Jesus but he also was an eyewitness of the risen Lord. This is the most important lesson we can apply to our lives from this first chapter of 1 John.
Jesus died, and He was resurrected. We can trust in this wonderful truth and praise the Father that He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world.
Chapter 2: Dangers of Loving the World
Read 1 John 2
Questions to Ask:
- What does this chapter mean?
- What is the surrounding context?
- How can I apply this to my daily life?
The second chapter of 1 John covers the topics of love, not loving the world, the antichrist, and how we are God’s children. John encourages us to love others and not hate them. He tells us if anyone hates his brother or sister, then he cannot love God (1 John 2:9-11).
We are to walk in the light; however, we cannot walk in the light if we are living in the darkness of hatred. It is important for us to love others just as God loves them. If we claim to know Jesus and love Him, then we have to walk as He did — in truth and in love (1 John 2:6).
As believers, we are not to love the world. John tells us, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them” (1 John 2:15).
We are not to love the world because the world is full of sin and is controlled by the devil. It is impossible for us to love both the world and God. We have to choose whether we will follow, obey, and love Jesus or get caught up in the sins of the world.
The antichrist is spoken of in this chapter; however, he also refers to antichrists (1 John 2:18-19). In this context, antichrists refers to anyone who denies Christ and teaches falsehood. As John tells us, there are already many who have denied Christ and turned away from the faith.
This means there are many "antichrists'' who are spreading false information pertaining to Jesus. We are to be watchful of them and help pull others away from their lies. Lastly, we are reminded that we are God's children in the conclusion of the second chapter of 1 John.
1. What does the chapter say? This chapter talks about love for others, the importance of loving God instead of the world, warning against antichrists, and how we are the beloved children of God. God wants us to take all of these teachings to heart and utilize them in our own Christina walk.
Love for others doesn't mean we hate them, but rather that we love them in our words as well as in our actions. John also reminds us of the truth that we have to love God above all else. We cannot love the world more than we love God.
2. What is the surrounding context? The surrounding context includes John's warning of the many false teachers and antichrists who have entered the world. While this isn't the main theme of 1 John, John still mentions it because it is important to his readers.
More likely than not, there were already antichrists in their midst, and John wanted them to stand firm in the faith, continue to follow God, and avoid being led away by the false teaching of these antichrists.
The surrounding context also includes how John reminds us that we are children of God. Since we are children of God, we should be encouraged to love others as Christ commands us.
3. How can I apply this to my life? We can apply the teachings of 1 John 2 in our lives by loving others and avoiding hate. It is easy to grow bitter toward someone and begin to hate them; however, God doesn't want us to do this.
He wants us to love them, show compassion to them, and forgive them even if they don't show the same care, love, and respect back.
Loving others can be hard, but with help from the Holy Spirit, He can help us love others as we are meant to. No more should we carry around a heart of hate because it not only hurts us — it also hurts God.
Chapter 3: Guidance for the Children of God
Read 1 John 3
Questions to Ask:
- What does this chapter mean?
- What is the surrounding context?
- How can I apply this to my daily life?
Within the third chapter of 1 John, John covers the subjects of how we are children of God and more discussion on love and hatred. The love the Father has given to us is amazing — we are declared to be His children (1 John 3:1).
This is an amazing truth, and John wants us to take this truth to heart. Since we know Christ as our Savior, we need to be careful about false teachers leading us astray (1 John 3:7). Those who do what is right are the followers of Christ, and those who do evil are of the devil (1 John 3:8).
Jesus came to the earth to destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8b). Since the Lord came to destroy the devil’s work, we don’t need to engage in the lawless works of evil. Rather, we need to follow the Lord and obey Him because we love Him.
As believers, we will all continue to sin; however, we should not willfully want to sin and disobey God (1 John 3:9-10). We are the children of God, and we need to obey what He has told us in the Bible.
By following Jesus, there will be light, peace, and love; however, following Satan will only result in pain, darkness, and separation from God.
John also brings us back to the Old Testament in this chapter of 1 John. He refers to the event of Cain murdering Abel (1 John 3:11-24). John urges us not to be like Cain, as Cain had no love for Abel in his heart.
In the same way, we are to love each other—not hate each other. The one who loves is the one who truly knows Christ, yet the one who does not love his brother cannot say he truly loves Christ.
True love is shown to us in the event of Jesus laying down His life for us (1 John 3:16). We should also love our brothers and sisters in this way, as genuine love means putting aside our own wants and desires for the betterment of the other person.
1. What does the chapter say? This chapter contains many great truths, including how we are the children of God as well as the importance of loving others instead of hating them. Our love for others should not just be in words but also in actions and in truth (1 John 3:18).
Since this is true, we need to love others and turn to God when we have a hard time loving others. If we allow hate to grow in our hearts, we are no better than a murderer like Cain.
Instead of hating, we need to love each other just as Jesus loves us. We are the children of God, and we can display the love He has given us by extending this love to others.
2. What is the Surrounding Context? The surrounding context is that John also discusses how God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything (1 John 3:20-24). We can set our hearts and rest before the Lord because we know we belong to the truth. The main command the Father has given us is to love others and to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son (1 John 3:23-24).
Lastly, John shares with us that we know we are in the Lord if we have the Holy Spirit, who guides, convicts, and instructs us (1 John 3:24).
3. How can I apply this in my life? You can apply this to your life by loving others and being assured of the love God has for you as one of His children. It can be hard to love others at times, but we should never hate each other.
People can do terrible things to us, but God wants us to forgive them and pray for them. Hate will only eat away at our bones, and in the end, it will only hurt us.
Extend love to others and build each other up in love. Jesus died for our sins even though we didn’t deserve it. Why did He do this? Because He loves us despite our sin. In the same way, we need to love others.
Chapter 4: Testing the Spirits
Read 1 John 4
Questions to Ask:
- What does this chapter mean?
- What is the surrounding context?
- How can I apply this to my daily life?
1 John 4 discusses the topic of testing the spirits and more information on the love of God. John tells us to test the spirits to see which spirits are from God (1 John 4:1).
We can distinguish the spirits of God from the spirits of the world by seeing if the spirit recognizes Jesus as coming to the world and being the Savior of the world.
If the spirit doesn’t acknowledge that Jesus has come into the world and doesn’t recognize Him as being the Savior, then they are not from God (1 John 4:2-3). Those that are not from God are the spirits of the antichrists.
These spirits can also be known as false teachers. John encourages us by telling us that we have overcome these false teachers and false spirits because the Spirit in us is greater than the spirits in the world (1 John 4:4).
In this chapter is when we find the beloved passage of 1 John 4:7-8, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
As John tells us, we are to love one another because love comes from God. Since we are believers, we need to love God and others.
If we do not love others, we cannot say with confidence that we know God. The greatest example of love was given to us in the death of Jesus (1 John 4:9). This is true love, as God loved us before we knew Him (1 John 4:10).
God is love (1 John 4:16b). If we live in love, we live in God. We love God because He first loved us even though we were still dead in our sins (1 John 4:19). As followers of Jesus, we also need to love others and spread the knowledge of Jesus to the entire world.
God wants all people to come to know Him and know the love He has for them. We extend love to others by sharing the gospel, teaching them about Jesus, and expressing Jesus’ love for them in our actions.
Loving our brothers and sisters is a requirement because we cannot claim we love God, who we have not seen, if we don’t love those we have seen with our eyes (1 John 4:20-21).
1. What does the chapter say? This chapter of 1 John covers many great teachings; however, the biggest lesson we learn here is about God’s love for us and the love we need to extend to others.
Love is greater than anything and can cover issues. Just as Jesus shows us His great love for us by dying on the cross for us, we need to live out this same love for others in our everyday life.
We can be assured of our faithful following of Jesus by loving others as He loves them. God loved us before we knew Him and while we were still in our sins. His love isn’t based on conditions but rather on His loving nature.
2. What is the surrounding context? The surrounding context of 1 John 4 is that John briefly mentions the false teachers, also called spirits. We need to be wary of these spirits and test what they say.
If they teach anything that is not in alignment with the Bible, we need to reject them. If they teach things that go against the Bible and reject Christ, we know that they are antichrists.
While they are not the antichrist spoken of in other places in the Bible, they are antichrists, meaning they are false teachers in the world who spread falsehood.
3. How can I apply this to my life? You can apply these lessons to your life by loving others as God commands. We are given a true definition of love in God.
Despite our own sins and failings, God still loves us and desires a relationship with us. We don’t deserve God’s love, yet He loves us anyway.
As His beloved children, God wants us to follow His example and to love others. We don’t need to allow hate to infiltrate our minds. Instead, we need to love others and be willing to set aside our own needs for their own.
Chapter 5: Showing Love as Followers of Christ
Read 1 John 5
Questions to Ask:
- What does this chapter mean?
- What is the surrounding context?
- How can I apply this to my daily life?
1 John 5 is the final chapter of John and details the importance of having faith in Jesus Christ. John informs us that we can know we are the children of God by loving others (1 John 5:2). We also show we love God by obeying His commands, and His commands are not burdensome to us (1 John 5:3-4).
As followers of Jesus, we should want to obey Him and bring glory to His Name. By following Jesus’ commands of loving others and obeying Him, we are truly doing what He wants us to do. We don’t need to turn away from God’s teaching and deny Him in the process.
The matter of salvation is also discussed as John tells us, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12).
As John tells us, eternal life is found in the Son, Jesus Christ. If we don’t know Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, we will not have eternal life in Him. Instead, we will be separated from Him for all eternity.
If we don’t believe in the testimony of Jesus coming to the world to die for our sins and being resurrected, we make God out to be a liar and disgrace His Name (1 John 5:10).
All people need to come to know the Lord and accept Him. Without Jesus, there will not be an eternity of peace, joy, and love.
John ends by telling us that he has written what he has in order to assure us of the salvation we have (1 John 5:13). He also encourages us by telling us that if we ask God for anything, He hears us (1 John 5:14-15).
If we see a fellow believer commit a sin that does not lead to death, we need to instruct the individual in the right way to go (1 John 5:16). However, there is a sin that leads to death.
The sin that leads to death is if the person willfully continues on in their sin despite the many convictions of the Holy Spirit. John concludes this book of the Bible by reminding us that we are children of God and that God will keep us safe (1 John 5:19-20).
1. What does the chapter say? This final chapter of 1 John contains many important teachings. We are taught the importance of placing faith in Jesus; we are given assurance of our salvation and teachings on what to do if we see a fellow believer commit a sin.
The greatest testimony of Jesus dying for our sins has been given, and we need to place faith in Jesus. Without knowing Jesus as your Savior, there will only be pain in your future.
We don’t need to ignore the testimony the Father has given about His Son because if we ignore it, we will eventually reject it. It is important to come to know Jesus and be assured of the love He has for you.
2. What is the surrounding context? The surrounding context is John’s teachings on the importance of asking God for what we need and we can be assured God always hears us. He also talks about helping our fellow believers when they are caught in a sin.
Each of these things surrounds the overarching theme of placing faith in Jesus; however, they are equally important for us to learn. In every book of the Bible, there will be surrounding context, and we must not overlook it.
3. How can I apply this to my life? You can apply the teachings of 1 John 5 to your life by placing faith in Jesus and believing the testimony the Father has given about His Son.
You don’t want to neglect the free gift of salvation the Father has given us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We also need to love others and obey what God has commanded us.
It is impossible to claim we love God if we don’t follow what He says. You can also be assured of your salvation through this chapter as John reassures us that if we have believed in the Son of God and placed faith in Him, then we have eternal life.
For further reading:
Spiritual Wisdom for Life: An Online Bible Study on the Book of James
Putting on the Armor of God: An Online Bible Study on the Book of Ephesians
What Does 'God Is Light' Mean in 1 John 1:5?
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