In rebuttal, the author of 1 John puts forth the argument that Jesus “had a truly human body” (4:2) and is truly God’s Son (2:22 3:23), and that God’s true children (“the children of light”) are those who also obey God and love one another (3:11-24). For example, they believed that their spiritual rebirth made it impossible for them to sin, so they had no sins to confess (1:9,10). They taught that moral rules were only for those people who could not see beyond the physical level of life. These teachers also believed that spiritual life was greater than moral life, and spiritual knowledge was more important than moral rules. Some followers were falsely claiming that Jesus only appeared to be a human being, but he was really a purely spiritual being. The foremost theological argument of these texts is that Jesus, the Son of God, was truly human and really shed his blood to take away sins (1:7). In other words, the author is simultaneously supporting fellow believers while sharply attacking his opponents and their positions. All three texts were addressed to Christians, but there is also a strong polemic at work against those with whom the author disagrees. The letters of John were written in order to encourage followers of Jesus to remain faithful to the truth. However, the concern over hospitality in 3 John is not altogether unrelated to the aforementioned themes of 1 and 2 John. The foremost concern of 2 John is that Christ’s followers be encouraged to love each other and to obey the truth. As such, they provide a summary of the contents of 1 John that focuses on the two primary points: the truth of Jesus’ incarnation and humanity, and the inseparability of faith and mutual love among believers. Some scholars view 2 and 3 John as “supporting letters” sent along with 1 John. Finally, 1 John offers a glimpse of how the early church settled disagreements between early followers of Jesus.īoth 2 and 3 John have the standard features of a letter (e.g., opening and closing greetings), although only the latter is addressed to a specific individual (viz., Gaius). Moreover, 1 John shares a number of thematic expressions, such as light and darkness, truth, witness, and knowledge. Because this “letter” refers to Jesus as the “Word of God” and emphasizes that Christians should love one another (e.g., 2:10 3:14, 18, 23 4:7-12, 16b-21), 1 John has always been linked with the Gospel of John. Another item to observe is the intimate pastoral language the author uses when referring to his audience. Considering the overall length of the text, 1 John makes a surprising number of references to writing (e.g., 1:4 2:1, 7,8, 12,13,14, 21, 26 5:13). Hence, it might well be regarded as a short treatise or homily. Although 1 John is called a letter, it does not have many of the features of a typical Greek letter (e.g., it lacks the formal greetings usually found at the opening and conclusion).
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