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By the time John wrote his letter, 1 John, in the late first century, he would have been one of the last living eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and ministry. Through the work of Paul and the other Apostles, the Gospel of Jesus had been spread wide through the known world. But other voices were starting to muddy the clear message of Christ.    In this verse-by-verse study, we’ll read John’s encouragement to his readers to stand strong in the faith. He starts by reminding his reade

READ   1 John 1:1-2   1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.     The apostle John was an eye-witness of Jesus from His baptism by Joh

READ   1 John 1:3-4   3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.     The apostle John wanted to share with others what he had seen and heard concerning Jesus. Notice his reason for doing so: so they might have fellowship with him and the other eyewitnesses. The heart of this f

READ   1 John 1:5-6   5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.     The main message John conveyed was that “God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” John is contrasting spiritual light with spiritual darkness. Before salvation, unbelievers live in spiritual

READ   1 John 1:7-8   7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.     How does one tell he or she is living in the light? It is evidenced by having fellowship with other believers who have experienced that Jesus’ blood has cleansed from all sin. Jesus was perfect, but no on

READ   1 John 1:9-10   9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.     Union is established in the family of God by believing in Jesus as Savior. When fellowship in the family is disrupted because of sin, the believer is to confess it to the Lord. 1 John 1:9 promises that when it is co

READ   1 John 2:1-2   1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.     John appeals to believers as a father with his children. His concern is that they not sin, but he knows they are not perfect so he tells the

READ   1 John 2:3-6   3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.     God knows whether someone has trusted in Jesus as Savior. The only way peop

READ   1 John 2:7-8   7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.     The commandment to which John referred was an old one in that it was known in the Old T

READ   1 John 2:9-11   9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.     Do you know of anyone who claims to be a believer in Jesus and yet hates

READ   1 John 2:12-13   12 I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus. 13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one.     John was writing to those who were mature in the faith and to those who were young in the faith. “Maturity” is a matter of degrees and is not refer

READ   1 John 2:14   14 I have written to you who are God’s children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith     because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one.     John continues to write about those whom he is addressing. Because they know the father, they are referred to as

READ   1 John 2:15-17   15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live fore

READ   1 John 2:18-19   18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.     The apostle John warns believers about the spiritual conditions in the last days. There will

READ   1 John 2:20-21   20 But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. 21 So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies.     “The Holy One” refers to Jesus who has given the Holy Spirit to believers in Jesus. This is not promising that believers know “all” truth, but that they have the capacity to receive truth and distinguish it from error. This i

READ   1 John 2:24-25   24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.     Here the apostle John refers to the “beginning” and urges believers to be faithful to what they had been taught. The “beginning” would have to do with the teachings of Jesus passed on by the apostles. By remaining faithful they w

READ   1 John 2:26-27   26 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.     The apostle John warned believers not to be deceived by those wanting to lead them ast

READ   1 John 2:28-29   28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. 29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.     Believers are urged not to shrink back in shame but to be full of courage when Jesus returns. Notice how closely connected doing what is “right” is with being “righteous.” God is perfectly right

READ   1 John 3:1   See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.     It is special for believers to be called God’s children. It takes a believer to recognize a believer, however, because those of this world who do not know God do not recognize His children. It cannot be expected that those who do not know God would r

READ   1 John 3:2-3   2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.     This passage provides motivation for living the Christian life. Believers in Christ live with many imperfections while on earth but someday they will be like Jesus. This

READ   1 John 3:4-6   4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.     “Sin” is defined here as anything “contrary to the law of God.” The word literally means “missing the mark.” The mark is God’s holiness. Jesus came to take awa

READ   1 John 3:7-8   7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.     How does one tell if another person is right with God? No one can see motives but actions can be observed. If a person keeps on

READ   1 John 3:9-10   9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.     The one who has a personal relationship with Jesus does not have a lifestyle of sinning. This persona

READ   1 John 3:11-13   11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.     The apostle John stresses the importance of believers loving others. Hate can lead to mu