(All scripture quotes below are from the NIV, unless otherwise indicated.)

Most of us have attended company meetings, where management tells us what the company is doing and how we should participate in what the company is doing. Typically, these meetings produce a mixed response from employees, partial willingness to contribute to the company's goals, mixed with cynicism, boredom, and sometimes even resentment.

Many of us have also had family meetings. When we were children, our parents may have called us together to explain why we would be moving, where we would be going on vacation, or how to get out of the house in case there was a fire. Sometimes our family meetings produce excitement, but they may also produce reluctance to cooperate, if the purpose is discipline, living within a tight budget, etc.

This chapter might be described as God's family meeting. But God does not have a dysfunctional, partially united and cooperating family, as many of us do. It may appear to us that God's family is just as dysfunctional as the human families and organizations we have been part of, but God does not see his family that way, as we shall see.

1 John 3:1 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

3:3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

These opening three verses deserve a lot of attention, because they make several points. First of all, God could easily bring us into some sort of relationship with him without calling us his children. Scripture often refers to God's people as servants or disciples, as in the following passage:

Matthew 10:24 (NASB): "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.

10:25 "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!"

Simply being called God's servant or Christ's disciple is a greater honor than we deserve. Beyond that, many of us are probably touched by having Jesus refer to us as friends, as he does in John's gospel.

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

Yet even friends, as important as they are, are not usually invited to family meetings, and they are not identified as completely with us by the outside world as our family members are, nor do they bear a physical or genetic resemblance to us.

John says at the end of verse 1 that the world does not know us because it did not know him. From the time of his birth until his crucifixion, Jesus was in constant conflict with the world. Sometimes Jesus seems to have instigated that conflict by telling people the truth or warning them about coming judgment. At other times, such as when Herod destroyed all of the male children under two years old in Bethlehem, or when he was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, the conflict had nothing to do with his intensions. That conflict is now ours, and if we have no conflict with the world, we have a conflict with God himself.

Verse 2 says that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Being like him does not mean we will eventually become God, as some religions teach. Divinity is the one thing which is absolutely unattainable for us. We can never become God's Son, but sonship is available to us, and the rest of this chapter describes what God's sons and daughters do, what the devil's children do, and how Christ has initiated the relationship we have with him.

As I said earlier, God doesn't have a dysfuctional family, because obedience is the evidence of family membership.

1 John 3:4 "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

3:6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him."

When I think of sin as lawlessness, I realize that I don't want to be outside the law. Lawbreakers are subject to arrest, detension, punishment, and in some cases, lawlessness is fatal, as it was for Bonnie and Clyde. The concept of lawlessness conjures up images of flashing lights, a siren, and being asked to pull over. Sin is lawlessness and lawlessness has consequences, and the punishment for our sins either falls on us or it is covered in the blood of Christ, who came to take away our sins.

When verse 6 says that no one who lives in him keeps on sinning, and no one who continues sinning has either seen him or known him, it seems that what John is saying can't possibly be true. We know by experience that we ourselves and other Christians sin from time to time after they accept Christ. John can't mean that it's impossible for a Christian to sin, because we know Christians do sin. If John meant it is impossible for a Christian to sin, what could he have possibly meant earlier in this letter when he said:

1 John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

We would have no need for Christ as an intercessor or an advocate before the throne of God on our behalf if we were beyond the reach of temptation.

But John must mean something in verse 6 when he says those who continue in sin have neither seen or known Christ, and this is what I believe he means. In 1973, I read the Bible for the first time, from Genesis to Revelation, and I became a Christian as I read through the New Testament for the first time. Two days after I gave my life to Christ, my brother was talking to a young woman in our home. The woman said she was thinking about becoming a prostitute; the money was easy, sex was fun, etc. I didn't say anything, because she wasn't talking to me, but I remember how I felt. I was completely absorbed by the scriptures I had been reading, including the New Testament's prohibition of prostitution shown below.

1 Corinthians 6:13 "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

6:14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

6:16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."

6:17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit."

I felt absolutely no desire to be alone with her or to become her first customer, because I was having deep and intense fellowship with the Lord, and my newfound relationship with Christ was as much more valuable to me than a quick heartless sexual act as a Rolls Royce is more valuable than a pet rock. I specifically remember being astonished because this didn't even seem like a temptation at all. It seemed extremely unattractive. That doesn't mean that I was permanently above every sort of temptation, or that I could never be tempted to have sex inappropriately under any circumstances. What it means is that fellowship with Christ completely destroyed the desire I would otherwise have had for sexual sin at that moment. If the same thing happened today and I felt tempted by it, I would know that I'm out of fellowship with God, and I probably would have sin to confess. Pornography and sexual temptations have very deep roots in American culture today. They are as irresistible to many as gravity, and many people probably don't think there is anything better in life than what they call their sexual freedom. The Bible's standard is sex inside of marriage and nowhere else. Anyone who is struggling with that needs to submerge themselves in the scriptures and in the knowledge of God, because Christ alone gives us freedom from our passions.

What John is saying in this verse is that the presence of Christ in our lives inevitably produces the absence of sin. Holiness just can't live with vulgarity, because their desires are completely opposite. As we know Christ more and more, we will sin less and less. If we sin more and more, we don't know him. When we sin, we ought to confess our sins to him, so we can be forgiven, our fellowship with him can be restored, and he can continue to create his likeness in us.

1 John 3:7 "Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

3:9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

John continues to develop the three themes of verses 4-6 in these verses:

1. The devil has sinned from the beginning, and the spirit of antichrist is leading the devil's children into more and more sin.

2. Jesus is righteous, and he came to destroy the works of the devil.

3. Those who know God do what's right, as Jesus did.

In keeping with John's earlier statement in 1 John 1:7 that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all, the works Jesus came to destroy include all of the effects of sin, death, disease, etc. There was no death or disease before Adam and Eve sinned, and death and disease will persist until sin is done away with. Since we don't see that yet, we must assume that until Christ returns, God's primary business is to prepare a spotless and unblemished bride for Christ, a church which is both justified by faith and sanctified by deliberate separation from the sins which are in the world, by acts of righteousness and by the experience of being doers of good during an evil age, in a world that did not recognize or acknowledge either Jesus or those who follow him.

There is some disagreement about what the term "God's seed" in verse 9 means, with some arguing that it is the word of God, citing the parables of Jesus, particularly the parable of the sower and the seed in Matthew 13:3-9, and some arguing that the seed of God is the Holy Spirit, God's own presence, which is mentioned at the end of this chapter. Either view is acceptable, since the word and the Spirit are never in conflict with each other.

1 John 3:11 "This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.

3:13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

3:15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

John returns here to an earlier theme found in 1 John 2:9-11, which says that Christians who love their brothers are walking in the light, and anyone who hates his brother is still walking in darkness. But this time, he follows love and hate to their logical conclusions.

Anyone who hates his brother is capable of murder and already has the motive for murder in his heart. Jesus taught consistently that someone who desires sin, but doesn't commit it, is just as guilty as the one who actually commits it. Murder is specifically cited as the work of the devil, the very product of his nature.

John 8:44 "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

By contrast, verses 16-18 here remind us that Jesus laid down his life for his friends, asks us to be willing to do the same, and states that we are not walking in love if we are not willing to share our material resources with other believers. The desire for sin, even when it is not committed, makes one guilty. But by contrast, love must be acted upon, or it is not real.

1 John 3:19 "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence

3:20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

3:21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God

3:22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

3:24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

There are some key points in these final verses. First, it is the active love we are willing to share with our brothers and sisters in the Lord, which is not only for their benefit, but for ours, since our love for believers should give us confidence in God's presence. Christianity is not a religion of works and self-improvement. Rather, good deeds follow the purified motives which our faith in Christ produces. God knows we will fall short sometimes, but he is the justifier of the faithful. The faithful obey his commandments, and God wants us to pray to him with confidence, and ultimately to stand in judgment with confidence, because we have obeyed God and loved one another.

God's love works hand in hand with faith in Christ. We know very little about Abel's love for others, but we know that by faith he offered a more acceptable sacrifice than his brother Cain. By contrast, Cain did not have Abel's faith, nor did he love his brother. Not only did Cain murder his brother, but afterwords he continued to mock his brother's profession and his faith by asking, "Am I my brother's keeper (his shepherd)?" Verse 15 says that no murderer has eternal life, but Abel's Shepperd remembers him. Abel is the first patriarch mentioned in Hebrews 11, the New Testament's faith chapter.

Hebrews 11:4 "By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead."

Finally, verse 24 says that those who obey God live in him, and God's Holy Spirit, his abiding presence, the spirit of power and love and self-control, lives in those who obey him.

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

Romans 8:12 "Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.

8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,

8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

We are part of God's family if we believe Jesus is the Christ, obey his commandments and love each other. Those outside of God's family do not share his purpose for them, nor do they have the blessed destiny of the body of Christ. This functional family meeting is adjourned.

(Unless otherwise noted, all of the scripture quoted here is from the NIV, because I think it is the best literary rendering of this chapter.)

Though neither of my sons are particularly shy, babies generally go through a phase where they are very comfortable with their parents and other adults they know, but they seem to feel naturally uncomfortable, even scared, in the presence of strangers. One day, when my older son was just learning to walk, my wife brought him to my office for lunch. He didn't want anything to do with my fellow employees who gathered around him, but when he saw me, he came to me and grabbed my leg as if to say, "I'm going to hang on to the only person here I feel safe with." With that as background, consider the following passage from the English Standard Version (ESV) of John's gospel:

John 10:1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

10:2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

10:3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

10:4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

10:5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

John expects Christians to know the Good Shepperd's voice and to flee from strangers. There are many shepperds in this life. Everyone from politicians to golf instructors offers to help us in some way. John is probably not asking us to avoid anyone who can help us improve our golf swing, but he begins this chapter by giving us some insight about who the good guys are and who the bad guys are who offer us spiritual insight. I don't think the following verses are meant primarily as a litmus test, though they are that, as they're meant to remind us of what we should already know. The message below is to follow Jesus and to flee anyone who leads us away from him.

1 John 4:1 "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

4:2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

4:3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

4:5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

4:6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood."

It is common throughout scripture, particularly in John's writing, to use contrasts to make a point. John was apparently dealing with an increasingly popular error in his generation, being taught by gnostics, that Jesus did not have a real body. John stresses the physical incarnation of Christ not only in this epistle, but in passages such as John 19:34-37. We can trust those who acknowledge Christ's incarnation and divinity, and we cannot trust those who don't.

The next contrast, however, has a subtle twist. Christians have overcome the false spirits in the world because the Spirit in us is greater than the spirit of the world. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us, but whoever does not know God does not listen to us. This is contrasted with those outside of Christ, who speak from the world's viewpoint and the world listens to them. Everything in verses 4-6 is spoken of as an ongoing reality which is still taking place, except for the part which says we have overcome, which is spoken of as a past event and a done deal. We would expect to read that we will overcome, or that we are overcoming, but God sees it as a past event, because Christ has already overcome the world. We have been baptized into his death and raised with him to walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:1 "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

6:2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

6:3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

We can also more fully understand what John means by saying that we have overcome the spirit of antichrist in the world by looking ahead to the passage below from the next chapter:

1 John 5:4 "for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

We have overcome the world because we have placed our faith in Christ who has overcome the world by his own faith and by the power of his sinless life and his willingness to give himself as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Also in the next chapter, John will end this letter by saying:

1 John 5:21 "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."

At first, that seems oddly out of context, since idols aren't mentioned anywhere else in this book. It will make more sense when we come to it, if we remember that John asks us in this chapter to test the spirits we listen to, and to only listen to those who acknowledge the essential facts about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

However, John is not content for us merely to verbally ascent to the truths about the incarnate and risen Jesus. Real proof of our discipleship can only be achieved by living in accordance with God's character. As the passage below shows, the very essence of God's nature is love, and love must be the essence of our discipleship as Christians.

1 John 4:7 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

4:11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

Love is a very messy problem for us in a world full of sin. When people speak of love, they often are not speaking of the unconditional and unchanging love which comes from God. When I was a junior in high school, I had quite a crush on one of my female classmates. She knew it, but I was pretty shy with girls, so we didn't do much together outside of school, and we never even held hands. One day, early in my senior year, we were walking out of class toward the bus we rode together on the way home, when she announced: "I have a boyfriend now, I don't need you anymore." Without any warning or justification, I found out I had outlived my usefulness. I don't see that as a tragedy today, because I now understand that she wasn't taking away from me the sort of love John speaks about throughout his gospel and his epistles. But I'll never forget how I felt when this happened. I hope my sons will listen to me when I tell them that the only love worth finding is the sort of love which can't be lost, but they'll probably have to figure it out the hard way, like I did. Ironically, the only asset I had at the time was the pain I felt. Pain seems like an odd thing to call an asset, but it can ultimately be good for us because it lets us know how far off track we've been.

Not only are we looking for love in all the wrong places, but most people spend much of their lives looking for the wrong kind of love in all the wrong places. John lets us know what kind of love we should be looking for by reminding us that God sent his only Son into the world to become an atoning sacrifice for us. The kind of love which caused Jesus to willingly give up his glory in heaven to come here and hang on a cross couldn't possibly be generated by the shallow temporary commitment my high school girlfriend had to me. I'm not saying that to criticize her, but only to point out the essential difference between divine and human love.

John isn't just content to tell us about the kind of love God has. He says we don't even know God unless we give others the same kind of love Jesus has given us. Unless we know God and Jesus is living in us, we're not even capable of that kind of love, at least not for an extended period of time. One has only to consider the divorce rate in the United States to realize how temporary and circumstancial human love generally is. Non-Christians are fond of telling us that our churches are full of hypocrites, yet Jesus has never divorced any of them.

1 John 4:12 "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

4:13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit."

It is only when his Spirit lives in us that we are capable of God's love, the life-sacrificing love which is the result of knowing God. Jesus commands us to love each other, which implies we have a choice to make, a choice to obey him or to disobey him. How can I reconcile the passages of scripture like this one, which say God has given us his Spirit, yet Jesus has commanded us to love one another, which implies that we might not do it, with verse 8, which says that whoever does not love does not know God? This seems to imply that we may have the Holy Spirit, but still refuse to love others, and not know God. How can that be?

Here's my interpretation, for what it's worth. When John speaks of knowing God, he isn't just speaking about recognizing God in the way that someone might recognize a familiar face from a high school yearbook. He is speaking about an ongoing moment by moment fellowship with God, which we might refer to as the presence of God. The practical application is that when we find ourselves falling short of the love of Christ, we ought to confess it as sin and ask God to restore his abiding presence with us. I recall a story from Corrie Tin Boom's book, "The Hiding Place", in which she is speaking at a church about forgiveness after World War II. After the service, she was approached by a former Nazi prison guard, who had been quite cruel to her while she was in a concentration camp with her sister during the war, but he had come to Christ after the war ended. Humanly speaking, even though she had just spoken about forgiveness, she had every reason to hate this man and not to forgive him. Yet Corrie was not out of fellowship with God, and she knew this would be her only opportunity to extend kindness to him, rather than returning his cruelty. Failing to do so would damage both his walk with the Lord and her own credibility and confidence in her message. So she prayed and asked God to immediately show her his love for him. When she prayed, she said she immediately felt love for him which was overwhelming, and she spoke to him as if she were being reunited with a dear friend instead of an ex-Nazi. That was Corrie's story, and I don't have a better one from my own experience. The point is that God's love did what Corrie Tin Boom's love could not have done. God knows we will fall short of his love from time to time, and he wants us to learn to depend on his presence to fill the gap between who we are and who we ought to be.

4:14 "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

4:15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

4:17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

4:19 We love because he first loved us.

4:20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

4:21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

In these final verses, John makes three points. We are not the initiators of love, God is. Love is the essence of God's nature, and God has been in the love business since the beginning of time and creation. As John said in the first chapter of this book, God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. God is not the author of death, disease, natural disasters or human sorrow. Indeed, God has a plan to put an end to all of these things.

In the meantime, he asks us to walk in the way Jesus walked, to live the self-sacrificing way Jesus lived, and to depend on his presence and his forgiveness to deepen our knowledge of him and our commitment to others. If we love God, we are to share his love with others.

Finally, verses 16-18 tell us that we should rely on God's love for us and give that love to others, in order that we may have confidence in his presence. We are probably all familiar with the story in Genesis that Adam and Eve hid from the presence of God after they sinned. Ever since then, God has been working on restoring his fellowship with mankind, and he wants to restore fellowship with us individually. Verse 18 is one of the most memorable verses in the Bible because of how obviously true it is. How many drivers slow down when they see the police? It's a good thing that they slow down, but God wants to be a father to us, not just another cop. But he can only do that if we are willing to be his children and obey his commandments, especially the commandments below:

Matthew 22:34 "Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.

22:35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

22:36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

22:37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

22:39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

22:40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.""

(All scripture references below are from the NASB, unless indicated otherwise.)

1 John 5:1 "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.

5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

5:5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

John says in this passage that anyone born of God loves God and keeps his commandments, particularly the commandment to love others who are born of God. By implication, we are commanded to love both Christ and his followers.

Notice that this passage says his commands are not burdensome. Religions which are based on human effort tend to be very burdensome. Only Christianity can be said to lift our burdens.

Verse 4 above is probably the most well-known verse in this chapter. The faith which overcomes the world may be thought of in two ways. In the context of this chapter, it means believing God's testimony that Jesus is the Christ, as well as the earth-borne testimony about Christ which we will discuss in later verses.

But it can also refer to the results of faith which are described in Hebrews 11 below:

Hebrews 11:32 "And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,

11:33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,

11:34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

11:35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;

11:36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment.

11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

11:38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground."

Obviously, the above passage confirms faith's power, but it also implies the willingness to suffer greatly for the cause of Christ. The Bible never teaches, as many of today's churches do, that overcoming faith is just about miracles and the mighty works of God. First and foremost, overcoming faith is the result of obedience, obedience which begins by believing in Jesus and continues to abide in him in all circumstances.

1 John 5:6 (NLV) "Jesus Christ came by water and blood. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. The Holy Spirit speaks about this and He is truth.

5:7 There are three Who speak of this in heaven: the Father and the Word and the Holy Spirit. These three are one.

5:8 There are three who speak of this on the earth: the Holy Spirit and the water and the blood. These three speak the same thing."

I'm quoting the New Life Version here, because it best indicates that there are witnesses of Christ's deity in heaven, and there have been witnesses of his deity on earth. If we believe the testimony of two or more human witnesses, as we are instructed to do in Numbers 35:30 2 Corinthians 13:1 and 1 Timothy 5:19, the witness and testimony of God is greater and more important, and all of these witnesses agree in unison that Jesus is the Christ.

But what exactly does John mean when he refers to three witnesses on earth, the Spirit, the water and the blood? We are probably all familiar with the story of Noah and the flood in Genesis 7 and 8, in which all of Noah's generation perished, except for Noah's family, because of their sins. In a similar way, we bury our sins when we are baptized as Christians. Though he was without sin, Jesus was similarly baptized, as shown in the passage below:

Matthew 3:13 "Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.

3:14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?"

3:15 But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him.

3:16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,

3:17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.""

Note two things here. The water of baptism is supposed to cleanse us from sin, as the waters of the flood cleansed the earth from sin in the days of Noah. Also, God testified that Jesus was his Son, both here and in the descriptions of Christ's transfiguration found in Matthew 17:1-9 and Mark 9:2-10.

There is a similar passage in John's gospel when Jesus says publicly that he is about to suffer for the sins of mankind.

John 12:27 "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

12:28 "Father, glorify Your name " Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.""

The blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin, and God declares in this passage that he will continue to glorify his name, declaring it publicly as a direct response to the prayer of Jesus.

The Spirit, the water and the blood continue to be important in the lives of Christians today--the Spirit of truth as Comforter, Counselor and the presence of Christ in our churches, the water with which we follow Jesus in baptism, and the blood of Christ which continues to cleanse our sins as we confess them.

1 John 5:9 "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.

5:10 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 given concerning His Son.

5:11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

5:12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."

God responds to faith in Christ by placing the life of Christ in us, in the form of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the down payment or the guarantee of eternal life. Earlier confirmation in this book that the Spirit has been given to believers can be found in 1 John 2:20, 1 John 2:27, 1 John 3:24 and 1 John 4:13. Unlike Paul, John never speaks about the baptism or the gifts of the Holy Spirit, so it would be impossible to tell from John's writings whether or not believers need to be subsequently baptized in the Holy Spirit. That subject needs to be discussed in regard to the book of Acts and Paul's epistles, but it's best to table that discussion for now. As is often the case, an adequate discussion about the ministry of the Holy Spirit needs to take all scripture into account, and that's beyond the scope of my efforts here.

The point here is that he who has Christ has eternal life, the eternal life which is in God's Son. Our life has never pleased God. It's the part of us which needed to be buried in baptism. It is only the life of Christ in us which pleases God.

1 John 5:13 "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

5:15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

Many translations do not explicitly say that our prayers are only answered when we pray within God's will, but that would seem obvious enough. Christians are still capable of sin, and God himself would become an agent of sin if our will took priority over his. Nevertheless, these verses should clearly encourage us to pray, and they echo what Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-11.

Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

7:8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

7:9 "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?

7:10 "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

7:11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

A thorough study of the power and the proper role of prayer among Christians is far beyond the discussion of this chapter, yet it seems well worth emphasizing that God wants and expects to hear from us, he is listening to us, and he will respond favorably, at least within his own will and wisdom, to our petitions. Speaking critically of myself as a Christian, I'm very dedicated to reading and studying the scriptures, but I don't think I pray as often or as effectively as I should. I hope the reader will not make that mistake.

1 John 5:16 "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.

5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death."

Earlier in this book, in 1 John 2:1, John tells us that Jesus is our advocate with the Father when we sin. He now adds us to the ministry of intercession, and he promises that God will give life to the brothers and sisters we pray for. But who are we not to pray for?

When I was growing up in the Catholic church, we were taught that there is venial and mortal sin, and the Bible actually seems to support that concept. However, every Catholic priest and every catechism teacher seemed to have a different interpretation of what a mortal sin was. Furthermore, the Catholic concept of mortal sin was different, in that it was supposed to cause parishioners to go to confession as quickly as possible. Mortal sins were not unforgivable, as John indicates they are here. I remember a Catholic priest telling us one Sunday that missing mass was a mortal sin. It seemed to me, therefore, that departing from the church at all was inherently to risk hellfire and damnation, because there was a possibility of car trouble next Sunday and sudden death afterwords before the priest held confession. Of course, Christians should gather together and I don't mean to be Catholic-bashing, but no Christian should have a works-related fear about something such as a Sunday morning absence.

Most evangelical Christians would guess that we should not pray for anyone who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, attributing the miraculous works of God to Satan. Anyone who wants to study blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can read about it in Matthew 12:24-33, Mark 3:22-30 or Luke 12:8-10. In Matthew and Mark's gospels, it is clear that those who committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit were Pharisees, who had never accepted Christ at all. I'm not saying it couldn't occur, but there is no clear scriptural proof that any Christian has ever blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. Of course, it may seem likely to us that some have, but I don't think that is what John is talking about here.

What I think John means here can be understood by reading the last verse of this chapter, which tells us to keep ourselves away from idols. John does not want us to pray for people who have renounced Jesus and departed from the faith. This is not about having a couple of beers or watching a raunchy movie, though we would be well advised not to do so. When I was a young Christian, I was told, "If you're concerned that you may have committed a mortal sin, you haven't, because you still care about your standing with God. Those who have actually committed mortal sins couldn't care less what God thinks about it." I'm not trying to give anyone a license to commit evil. On the other hand, no one should be frightened that they are beyond the reach of prayer.

1 John 5:18 "We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

5:19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ This is the true God and eternal life.

5:21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols."

John cannot mean in verse 18 that no Christian ever sins, because that would contradict verse 16 and the passage from 1 John 1:8 to 1 John 2:2, where he says we should confess our sins, and Jesus is our advocate with the Father. John must, therefore, be indicating that anyone who is born of God will be sanctified by God and will live less and less sinfully, as Paul indicates in his letter to the Philippians.

Philippians 1:6 "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

We have a role to play in our sanctification, but God also has a hand in it, and he is faithful. Rather than causing us to be concerned about our standing with God, verses 18-20 should remind us that we know Jesus, and he has the power and the desire to keep us from the evil one. This passage should remind us of another passage from the gospel of John.

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

10:29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

10:30 "I and the Father are one."

With regard to verse 21, it should remind us of the passage below, taken from the New English Translation:

1 Kings 19:15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and then head for the Desert of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael king over Syria.

19:16 You must anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to take your place as prophet.

19:17 Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword.

19:18 I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.”

Nothing endangers our lives or our spiritual well-being as much as idolatry. We generally think of idolatry as paganism, based on stories like this from the Old Testament, but idolatry can really be anything which effectively lessens our devotion to Christ.

I believe the primary messages of this letter are as follows:

1. God is good, completely, unimaginably and incorruptibly good. The essence of his nature is love. God cannot be the author of anything evil, no matter how much evil we see around us. On the contrary, he has a plan to bring all evil to an end.

2. We can become God's children and receive eternal life by obeying him and keeping his commandments. He commands us to believe in his Son Jesus, who he sent into the world to atone for our sins. We must rely fully on Christ for our salvation, absolution from sin, access to God the Father, and for the very life we must lead in order to be separated from the anti-Christian world around us.

3. God also commands us to love him and to love our fellow believers in the same way Christ loved us when he was on earth.

It's time to tie up First John and put a bow on it for now, but we should return to it frequently. A simple, uneducated man named John uses simple language to communicate the simple truths of what God requires from us.

There appears to be some dispute regarding both the authorship and the recipient of this letter. In both second and third John, John does not refer to himself as an apostle, but as an elder, which has caused some to conclude that the author may not be John the apostle, but another elder named John, perhaps someone who was mentored by the apostle John.

However, as we go through this letter, it should become apparent that the language, the literary style and the doctrinal points of emphasis of first, second and third John are so similar to the gospel of John that I am convinced they all have the same author, the apostle John.

He does not deny his apostleship by refering to himself as an elder. John may have preferred the term elder because he wanted to emphasize his age and pre-eminence in the Christian community. A traditional apostolic ministry sometimes included traveling to build new churches or to visit established ones, and John's ability to travel may have been restricted, perhaps because he was in exile or perhaps due to his advanced age. John may also have functioned in all five of the ministries mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers). Because of the book of Revelation, we know he also held a prophetic office. So he may have preferred the term elder to apostle, because it more accurately depicted the scope of his ministry. In any case, it's unlikely John gave as much thought to his description of himself as many Bible commentaries do, or as I've done here.

There is also some dispute about the recipient of the letter. Some read it literally, as written to a particular woman John was acquainted with, and some read it as symbolic of a particular church community. I tend to read this literally, but I'm not going to spend any time discussing this further, because the rest of the letter would be applicable in either case.

To make the discussion of this letter easier, I'm going to divide this letter into four sections:

verses 1-4
verses 5-6
verses 7-11
verses 12-13

Here is the amplified translation of verses 1-4:

2 John 1:1 "THE ELDERLY elder [of the church addresses this letter] to the elect (chosen) lady (Cyria) and her children, whom I truly love--and not only I but also all who are [progressively] learning to recognize and know and understand the Truth--

2 Because of the Truth which lives and stays on in our hearts and will be with us forever:

3 Grace (spiritual blessing), mercy, and [soul] peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ (the Messiah), the Father's Son, in all sincerity (truth) and love.

4 I was greatly delighted to find some of your children walking (living) in [the] Truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father [Himself]."

There are references to the truth in all four of these verses, which should not surprise us, because there are more references to truth in John's gospel than in the other three gospels combined. Verse 1 says the lady he is writing to is someone he truly loves, as do all who are progressively learning to recognize, know and understand the truth. This concept of truth being continually revealed to believers is similar to John 14:16-17 (NASB) which says:

John 14:16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."

Throughout his writings, John identifies Christians as being recipients of the Spirit of truth who remains in us. Therefore, the truth he speaks about is not dependent on our best guess at truth, our perceptions, or our best efforts to find truth, but on God's character, revelation and power.

Consider also John 15:26-27, John 16:7 and John 16:13-15 (NASB):

John 15:26 "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,

27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

The Spirit of truth comes directly from the Father, causing Jesus to testify about himself and causing us to testify about Jesus.

John 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."

This is an interesting passage, because it actually states that we are in a better position to serve God as Christians with Jesus interceeding for us in heaven and the Spirit residing in us than we would be if Jesus were walking among us and the Spirit had not been given. We may find it hard to believe that the Spirit residing in us is more advantageous for us than Jesus physically walking among us, but Jesus clearly indicates it is so.

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

15 "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you."

In this passage, Jesus speaks about continuously revealed prophetic truth which the Spirit hears from him and the Father.

All of John's letters seem to be highly influenced by what Jesus said during the last supper, by John's last recollections of him before his death. The truths John wants us to acknowledge about Jesus are primarily with regard to his physical incarnation (completely divine, yet completely human), his atonement and his resurrection. Consider the following passages from the NIV:

John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

1 John 1:1 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

4 We write this to make our joy complete."

John 19:33 "But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.

35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.

36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"

37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced.""

John 20:19 "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"

20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.""

In these passages, John contradicts the teaching of some that Jesus only had a spiritual existence, and he links joy to the resurrection, receiving the Spirit and bearing witness to the life-giving presence of Jesus.

The Amplified translation of the next section (verses 5 and 6) are shown below:

2 John 1:5 "And now I beg you, lady (Cyria), not as if I were issuing a new charge (injunction or command), but [simply recalling to your mind] the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

6 And what this love consists in is this: that we live and walk in accordance with and guided by His commandments (His orders, ordinances, precepts, teaching). This is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you continue to walk in love [guided by it and following it]."

The love commandment in the above verses echoes the same principles Jesus taught during the last supper, quoted here from the NKJV:

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments."

John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me."

John 15:9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love."

Beginning with this last passage, we see that the Father loves the Son, and the Son has also loved us. He urges us to remain in his love by keeping his commandments, and his primary commandment is to love one another.

Furthermore, Jesus promises that he and his father will come and make their home in us, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, manifesting themselves to us, even though the world around us neither sees him or knows him.

Finally, Jesus gives us a way to judge those around us. Whoever is motivated by love also love him and are keeping his commandments, and those who do not keep his commandments do not love him.

When I was in college, a friend of mine called me once and asked me if I had sent her flowers. Someone had sent her flowers, but had not included a card with the name of the sender. I told her I did not send them, but someone must have had a great idea to send her flowers anonymously. An anonymous person might just want to be nice, whereas someone who identifies himself may be thinking about objectives of their own, marriage, sex, or just having the social status of being seen with an attractive woman. I should acknowledge here that I have sent flowers to women, including my wife, and I have never done so anonymously. Perhaps the person who anonymously sent flowers to my friend was just shy, but perhaps he was motivated by the sort of selfless love which comes from God.

The love John speaks about is always contained in an environment of truth. Where truth does not exist, true love also does not exist. A man may say he loves a woman when he is really only motivated by his own desires for her. But true love always focuses on its recipient, and John would argue further that true love doesn't exist outside of Christ.

John 14:6 (NKJV) "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.""

Outside of the truth of Christ, there may be many forms of love, corrupted in varying degrees by our own desires, but true love only comes from and through Christ.

Most Christians are familiar with the passage below, quoted here from the New English Translation:

John 8:31 "Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples

8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

By contrast, verses 7-11 discuss those who refuse to follow Christ, and how Christians should react to them. These verses are taken from the Amplified translation:

2 John 1:7 "For many imposters (seducers, deceivers, and false leaders) have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge (confess, admit) the coming of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) in bodily form. Such a one is the imposter (the seducer, the deceiver, the false leader, the antagonist of Christ) and the antichrist.

8 Look to yourselves (take care) that you may not lose (throw away or destroy) all that we and you have labored for, but that you may [persevere until you] win and receive back a perfect reward [in full].

9 Anyone who runs on ahead [of God] and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ [who is not content with what He taught] does not have God; but he who continues to live in the doctrine (teaching) of Christ [does have God], he has both the Father and the Son.

10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine [is disloyal to what Jesus Christ taught], do not receive him [do not accept him, do not welcome or admit him] into [your] house or bid him Godspeed or give him any encouragement.

11 For he who wishes him success [who encourages him, wishing him Godspeed] is a partaker in his evil doings."

When John speaks of impostors, seducers, deceivers and false leaders in verse 7, he is referring specifically to those who teach men doctrines which are opposed to the teachings of Christ. It is true that everyone born into Adam's race has lived in opposition to Christ, but I don't believe John is indicating in verses 10 and 11 that we ought not to allow non-Christians into our homes. To the contrary, this verse is probably addressed to those who once professed allegiance to Christ and later advocated another teaching, or at least to those who are teaching something contrary to the gospel in the hope that others will follow their example. Because most early Christians met in house churches, John may have been especially concerned about the possibility that some of these gatherings might allow those who had departed from or rejected the faith to teach in their assemblies.

Some of those we know who are unsaved have deliberately turned their backs on God in resolute defiance. But many of the unsaved are like the prodigal son, the lost sheep or the lost coin described in Luke 15. Clearly John does not want us to reject these, since God himself is searching for them and longing for their salvation.

Verses 8 and 9 encourage us to persevere and remain faithful to Christ, so that we can both continue to enjoy God's presence in our lives and look forward to God's eternal reward.

One interesting translation of verse 9 is found in the New American Bible, which is a popular Catholic version of the New Testament.

2 John 1:9 "Anyone who is so "progressive" as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.

This translation differs slightly from most versions, but it is interesting because of its use of the word progressive. In contemporary American society, people who describe themselves as progressive tend to advocate homosexuality, heterosexuality outside of marriage, abortion, the legalization of drugs, a gay clergy, prohibition of various foods, and other doctrines which are in opposition to the teachings of the Bible. Those who call themselves progressives are typically among the most hardened opponents of Christ. Not being content with what Christ taught and going ahead with something new is very common today, and it has infiltrated many churches.

2 John 1:12 "I have many things to write to you, but I prefer not to do so with paper and ink; I hope to come to see you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect (chosen) sister wish to be remembered to you. Amen (so be it)."

I don't have much to say about these final two verses, which are from the Amplified translation. Some believe both second and third John are this length, because of the size of the parchment John wrote on during his lifetime. We have no such limitations today, and writing for us is much less time-consuming than it would have been for John.

In the gospel of John, chapters 13-17 give us the longest glimpse we have of what it is like to be with Christ, his view of the church age and his high priestly prayer. Those chapters are well worth returning to often, and this letter echoes much of that material.

In most versions, John's third letter contains 14 verses. In some translations, verse 14 is divided into two verses, and this epistle contains 15 verses. I'm not sure what the reason for the difference is between translations. But since the discrepancy occurs at the end of the book, it isn't as confusing as it might otherwise be.

Before discussing the purpose of the letter or its individual verses, let's give some thought to the three people John mentions in it.

First of all, the letter is addressed to a man named Gaius, who is referred to as beloved or esteemed in verse 1. We do not really know who Gaius was, but there are three possibilities.

Verse 4 in the NIV says: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." A casual reading of this verse implies physical descent, and suggests that John is hoping to train Gaius to accept the mantle of leadership which he currently has when he passes on.

However, verse 4 of the Amplified version says, "I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my [spiritual] children are are living their lives in the truth." So it's reasonable to suspect that John has become a father to Gaius, only in a spiritual sense, and that part of the purpose of this letter is to encourage Gaius to accept John as a personal and pastoral mentor.

If John refers to Gaius as one of his children, does that mean, humanly speaking, that John was responsible for his conversion to Christianity? That's probably what most commentators believe, and it is a distinct possibility.

But I have a different theory about Gaius. It is plausible, but not provable. I suspect we have read about Gaius elsewhere in the New Testament. Perhaps this is the Gaius Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 1:14 when he says, "I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius." My theory is that Gaius may have been one of Paul's early converts in Corinth. He is referred to in Romans 16:23, where it says he hosted a church, and also in Acts 19:29, which says he was dragged into the theater in Ephesus because he was one of Paul's traveling companions.

In the Amplified version of 3 John 1:1, John refers to himself as "the elderly elder", implying both his advanced age and his position in the church. Therefore, Paul has probably been martyred by the time of this letter, and Gaius is beloved and esteemed by the church, because he traveled with Paul and served him for many years. Though he may have heard about John, his acquaintance with him and his allegiance to him, in an apostolic and pastoral role, may be relatively new to Gaius. So the reference in verse 4 to Gaius as one of John's children may be meant to imply both John's love and acceptance toward him, and to appeal to Gaius to continue to accept John's authority over his life.

The second person mentioned in 3 John is Diotrephes, and we really know nothing about him except what is written in verses 9-10. My best guess is that Diotrephes is well-educated, eloquent and ambitious. All three of those traits differ from John's background, and they all may have been the source of the personal conflict between them. Perhaps Diotrephes is also much younger than John, and he is a relatively recent convert to Christianity (if he is a Christian at all), and he has been accepted as a leader in a local church because of his education, social prominence and oratorical skill. He is pictured by John as one who values the position of leadership, but he is not particularly dedicated to advancing the gospel or serving others. Since John's judgment has been preserved for us, we have to assume it is more reliable than whatever Diotrephes might have said in his own defense.

The third person mentioned is Demetrius. He is probably not the Demetrius mentioned in Acts 19 as a silversmith who made shrines for the goddess Artemis, since there is no scriptural basis for believing that that Demetrius converted to Christianity. So this Demetrius we also know nothing about, but it seems that Demetrius is one of the people Diotrephes has refused to welcome and support on his missionary journey. John is siding with Demetrius over Diotrephes, and he is asking Gaius to do so as well.

At this point, we have already covered verse 1, which speaks about John's age, his apostolic authority, and his love and esteem for Gaius, to whom the letter is addressed.

A casual reader might overlook the significance of verse 2, but I think it provides some insight into the New Testament's concept of Christ's atonement. The NASB translation of this verse says:

3 John 1:2: "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."

I suppose this could be read in either of two ways. Perhaps John does not need to pray for the soul or the spiritual salvation of Gaius, but he does need to pray for his health and prosperity. But it seems more likely that this verse expresses God's desire to extend the atonement to cover our physical health and material prosperity in the same way Christ redemption covers our sins. Even though our faith in Christ's atonement justifies us before God, it is worth remembering that Jesus taught us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation". This prayer is probably a similar appeal for health and prosperity for Gaius, and by implication, God's will for us and how we should pray for others. If God did not intend for Christ's redemptive work on the cross to also apply to our physical and material well-being, it seems very likely to me that it would not be mentioned here. In any case, it is beyond dispute that the apostles were equally concerned about the temporal circumstances of their flock as they were about their salvation.

I want to make two observations about the next verse. The Amplified translation says:

3 John 1:3 "In fact, I greatly rejoiced when [some of] the brethren from time to time arrived and spoke [so highly] of the sincerity and fidelity of your life, as indeed you do live in the Truth [the whole Gospel presents]."

John finds reason for rejoicing because of the testimony of other brethren about the sincerity and faithfulness of Gaius, which convinces him about the spiritual prosperity of Gaius, and causes him to pray for his physical and material well-being. Note that John is interested in the testimony of others about Gaius, and he says nothing here about responding to an altar call, reciting the sinner's prayer, or any one-time event which John might have witnessed himself in the past. Whatever value those things might have, John focuses on the outward manifestation of long-term faithfulness and commitment.

The NIV translation of this verse says:

3 John 1:3 "It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth."

The word truth is not capitalized here, but John's view clearly would be that we could substitute "Christ" for the expression "the truth" in this verse, which would cause it to read:

3 John 1:3 "It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to Christ and how you continue to walk in Christ."

When John speaks here and elsewhere about the truth, he does so in the context of John 14:6:

John 14:6 (NKJV): "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Verse 3 should also remind us of the passage in 1 John 1:5-7 (NKJV), which says:

1 John 1:5: "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Walking in the light or practicing the truth can thus be said to be the continual daily process of discipleship.

The next section of this chapter is verses 5-8, which expresses the primary purpose of the letter. I will quote the English Standard Version here:

3 John 1:5: "Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,

6who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.

7For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

8Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth."

This passage speaks about supporting missionaries, whose primary purpose is either to expand the growth of Christianity to places where the gospel has not been heard or to strengthen existing churches by testifying to them about God's work and faithfulness to them on their travels. In either case, John is asking Gaius (and us by implication) to do whatever we can to support those who are traveling missionaries, taking the gospel from place to place, as God leads them to. Apparently, Demetrius was one of those missionaries, and Diotrephes may well have refused to help him because he did not know Demetrius, perhaps because of some doctrinal dispute, or simply because he regarded Demetrius, and others like him, as a compeditor for the esteem of his local church.

Obviously, John does not insist on all of us becoming traveling missionaries. Nor does he rely on the reputation, credentials or any personal knowledge Gaius might have had about Demetrius and others when he asks him to support them in whatever way possible. John is asking Gaius to help them on their way, based only on their public profession of faith in Christ and their willingness to give up houses, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children and lands for Christ's sake (Mark 10:29-30).

Opening our homes to strangers today, just because they profess Christ, seems difficult to many of us, because we are concerned about our safety and the security of our possessions, and we often do not feel our homes are as presentable as we would like them to be. But for the sake of the gospel, the Bible requires us to cultivate a different attitude, as expressed in Hebrews 13:1-2. I quote the Amplified version in the passages below:

Hebrews 13:1 "LET LOVE for your fellow believers continue and be a fixed practice with you [never let it fail].

2Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood--being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it."

Though I would never seek an angelic visit, I sure think it would be helpful and I wouldn't turn one down. It would give me something exciting to call my mother about.

The other thing John requires is financial support. Recall how Jesus sent out his disciples.

Matthew 10:8 "Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give.

9Take no gold nor silver nor [even] copper money in your purses (belts);

10And do not take a provision bag or a wallet for a collection bag for your journey, nor two undergarments, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the workman deserves his support (his living, his food)."

Jesus sent his disciples from town to town, expecting them to rely on God to meet their daily needs as an act of faith, rather than planning and preparing for their journey as most of us would be inclined to do.

In another passage, Jesus says:

Luke 12:33: "Sell what you possess and give donations to the poor; provide yourselves with purses and handbags that do not grow old, an unfailing and inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Of course, Christ is not asking us to refuse to pay the electric bill, or anything we owe. But he does ask us, throughout the New Testament, to have a fundamentally different attitude toward wealth than our acquisition-based culture has. All we need to do is to be generous with what we can afford to be generous with. Before we think about supporting missionaries or Christian ministries in any way, we ought to pray that God will transform our attitude, so we desire to see men saved and churches strengthened, and we trust him to meet our daily needs. Many of us are so used to relying on ourselves for our security that we are uncomfortable about relying on God to faithfully provide for us.

Verses 9 and 10 (NIV) are as follows:

3 John 1:9 "I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.

10So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church."

John accuses Diotrephes of three things:

1. Refusing to welcome missionaries, refusing them love, hospitality and financial support.

2. Refusing to acknowledge John's apostolic authority, speaking evil of John and slandering those John has sent to the local church Diotrephes heads.

3. Expelling church members who are trying to help missionaries who have either been sent directly by John or who have his blessing because of their standing in other Christian communities.

We don't know what Diotrephes said about John, nor do we know whether John ever confronted Diotrephes in a later face to face meeting. What we can be certain about is that Diotrephes has faded into history, unlike John, and he isn't mentioned in connection with anything good in the New Testament.

Though written specifically to Gaius about Demetrius and others, verses 11 and 12 contain John's commandment to us in his very characteristic literary style. The Amplified version says:

3 John 1:11 "Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. He who does good is of God; he who does evil has not seen (discerned or experienced) God [has enjoyed no vision of Him and does not know Him at all].

12Demetrius has warm commendation from everyone--and from the Truth itself; we add our testimony also, and you know that our testimony is true."

The message and the language here are similar to other passages in John's writing. For example, consider the following verses from the NIV:

1 John 2:9 "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.

10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble."

No further comment is necessary here, except that knowing God causes us to want to do what is right and gives us the ability to do it, and any sin in our lives proves we are in need of a deeper relationship with Christ. Restoring and deepening our fellowship with him, not penance is the purpose for confessing our sins.

The concluding verses (NKJV) are as follows:

3 John 1:13 "I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink;

14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name."

The final two or three verses (depending on the translation) contain John's farewell instructions. As he indicates in 2 John, he is less comfortable writing letters than he would be with a face to face meeting. This probably accounts for the brevity of all of his epistles, but it also makes it more remarkable that he is the author of one of the four gospels, as well as the book of Revelation, because those books would have taken some time for him to write by hand. The final sentence of this letter appeals again to all of us to welcome and treat as friends anyone who sincerely and faithfully lives for Christ, as Gaius was doing.