John continues in his letter warning believers against false prophets, saying that those who do not confess Christ, and that he has come in the flesh, are not from God. Simply put, John says that those who oppose the teaching of the apostles are of the world and should not be believed. Rather, the apostles teaching should be believed, and those who believe it are from God. This may sound self-aggrandizing, but John is one of the twelve apostles appointed by Jesus, one who walked with him, learned from him broke bread with him, who witnessed his miracles, and who saw his resurrected body. John goes on to encourage the church to love one another with the kind of love that comes from the Father, by the Spirit, through the Son.

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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John writes to the church reminding them that we are beloved children of God the Father. The world won’t understand us, because it doesn’t know the Father; even so this new identity calls to be set apart as we live a life of purity and devotion to the One who has redeemed us. Our new relationship with God begets a new relationship with other believers: with God as our Father, we should love other Christians as brothers and sisters. Christ said that the church would be known for loving one another, and John echoes this teaching by admonishing the church to believe in the name of God’s Son Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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John, the apostle whom Jesus loved and the author of the fourth gospel writes today’s letter to the church with encouragement to flee from sin, to trust in Jesus, to love one another, and to assure them of the eternal life that Christ has secured for them. This letter doesn’t have a typical structure; unlike other epistles it doesn’t address a particular church or mention individual people. Here in the first two chapters, John addresses those who continue in sinful lifestyles while saying that they have fellowship with God. Of course, everyone has sinned, but those who perpetuate evil, who hate brothers in Christ, who lust and who are proud without any inclination toward repentance, do not fellowship with God.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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instagram.com/commuter_bible

twitter.com/CommuterPod

patreon.com/commuterbible

admin@commuterbible.org