1:2 — The life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.
There were false teachers in the church saying that Jesus Christ had not really come in the flesh. This is known as the Gnostic heresy—a belief that everything physical is evil and that God would not take on a human body. So John recounted his testimony of his personal relationship with Jesus—who indeed “became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
1:3 — What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Everything in the Bible has been given to help and enable us to enjoy an intimate relationship with God (Rom. 15:4). The Lord’s top priority for your life is to walk in close fellowship with Him, and He makes sure we have everything we need for “life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). This includes examples of the faith to encourage us and principles that hold us firm in times of storm.
1:4 — These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
False teachers were luring believers away from the faith, so John reminded them of Jesus’ words, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11). When we obey the Lord, His joy abides in us, regardless of circumstances. This is one of the many blessings of obedience, which cannot be found anywhere else. And our joy is made complete when those we lead to Jesus submit to Him and experience this deep abiding joy as well.
1:5 — God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
God is light, which means He is absolutely glorious, completely true, and morally pure. Because we are limited and He is infinite, we can only imagine His perfect holiness to a certain degree, but we can know that there is nothing about Him that is tainted in any way. The Lord is absolutely free from all sin at all times—no matter what the situation or the condition. He has separated Himself from all evil, untruth, guile, and darkness.
1:6 — If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Whenever there is light, the darkness scatters. Likewise, when we have a relationship with the Lord, sin cannot continue in our lives (Is. 6:5–7). We are reconciled to Him by the cleansing blood of Jesus, and we continue in our fellowship with Him when we acknowledge our transgressions, turn from our sin, and follow Him in righteousness (Gal. 5).
1:9 — If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
When you pour out your heart in genuine confession and repentance, how does God respond to you? He says that you are completely forgiven and reminds you of how Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross paid the penalty for all of your transgressions. You have been declared justified—no longer guilty in His eyes. The Lord understands your struggles, and He wants you to find victory in them—not continue to feel shame because of them (Heb. 2:14–18). He is merciful and loving, which is why once you confess and repent, you are absolutely forgiven.
2:1 — I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
When we rely on the indwelling Spirit, we have everything we need to avoid sin (Gal. 5:16). Yet when we do occasionally sin, the Lord Jesus forgives us and helps us get back on track.
2:2 — He Himself is the propitiation for our sins.
Propitiation is another word for sacrifice. Before Christ, people were required to make an offering for each sin they committed to remain in right standing with the Lord. However, Jesus’ death on the Cross forgives us of all our sin perfectly when we accept Him as our Savior (Rom. 3:24–26; Heb. 2:17, 18; 9:11–28). He is our Defender, and we are perfectly covered with His righteousness.
2:6 — The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
An intimate relationship with Christ makes it possible for us to obey Him. Remember, we are to be conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 5:1, 2), and Jesus prayed, “Even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). He is actively working in us so that we will become like Him. And when we submit to the Lord by the power of His Spirit, we not only please Him and enjoy close fellowship with Him, we also build confidence in our own hearts that we truly belong to Him (2 Pet. 1:5–8).
2:14 — I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
If anything that purports to be the truth is actually in conflict with God’s Word—and therefore in defiance to the Lord—we should reject it outright. Through Christ we have freedom, but when we allow the enemy to convince us of something that is contrary to Scripture, we subject ourselves “again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).
2:22 — Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
The spirit of the Antichrist is completely opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ and is exhibited by those who demand, litigate, and legislate the removal of every mention of the gospel from society. The Antichrist himself is a powerful person who will one day come and foster rebellion throughout the earth against Almighty God. However, until he appears, there are many throughout the world who are busily setting up the conditions for his brief but destructive rule (Matt. 24:4, 5, 15–24; 2 Thess. 2:3–12; 2 John 7).
3:2 — We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
One day we will exchange our worn-out, sin-prone, weak bodies for new ones patterned after Jesus’ resurrection body—strong, ageless, free of all sin, and completely at home in the holy presence of God (1 Cor. 13:12; 15:42–57).
3:6 — No one who abides in Him sins.
Jesus said that those who abide in Christ—draw near to Him, listen to His words, and obey Him—would bear much fruit and glorify Him (John 15:1–8). The Lord will never lead you into sin (Rom. 8:1–13; James 1:13–15). When you are walking in the center of His will, He will show you what to do and teach you how to serve Him and fulfill the purpose for which He created you.
3:10 — Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God.
John is not saying that if you sin, you are no longer a child of God. Though we try our best not to violate His will, we may sin at times—and He is ready, willing, and able to forgive us. However, when your lifestyle is characterized by living in disobedience to the Lord, you show that you are not truly His (Luke 6:43, 44).
3:20 — In whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
This is the reason many people do not pray—they know that when they kneel before holy God, the sin in their life will be brought to light (Is. 6:5). The Holy Spirit will convict them of any sin they’ve been hiding. As believers we should want to obey and please the Lord, and because of that, we should be glad when our consciences are sensitive to Him. Although the Spirit may pierce our hearts with “sorrow that . . . produces a repentance” (2 Cor. 7:10), we take joy because He also “testifies . . . that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
4:1 — Beloved, 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.
Luke called the Berean Jews “noble-minded” because after Paul preached to them, they examined “the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Likewise, we are admonished to “examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21).
4:2 — Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
This is the bottom line of everything we believe—Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Many may say He was a great teacher or prophet, but unless they confess He saved “His people from their sins” and is “God with us” (Matt. 1:21, 23), they do not truly believe in Him.
4:4 — You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
The Holy Spirit is within us from the moment of salvation and enables us to say no to temptation. So anytime we resist some temptation, overcome some spiritual challenge, or triumph in a contest of faith, we do so because God’s Spirit lives in us. We move ahead in our walks with the Lord by relying on His power, not ours.
Answers to Life’s Questions
How can God use an imperfect person like me?
In John 14:12, Jesus made this amazing statement: “He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do.” Astounding isn’t it? We as believers will do works greater than He—the Savior of the world—has done. If it is a difficult thing for you to believe, you are not alone. This truth seems impossible when we consider it in light of our faults, sins, and weaknesses.
Maybe you have been sitting on the sidelines because you have yielded to sin and shame has completely discouraged you. You feel as though God cannot use you because of mistakes you’ve made or wrongs you’ve committed. Perhaps you feel so broken in spirit that you don’t believe you will ever be useful to Him again. This is absolutely not true. When we confess our sins, God forgives and restores us.
The problem isn’t your inadequacy or that you are imperfect—it is that you have allowed your feelings to overshadow the truth of God’s Word. The Lord is able to use you to show His love to others (1 John 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:3–7).
Once you have confessed and turned from your sins, you are cleansed—permanently (Ps. 103:12; Is. 43:25; Jer. 31:3). The Lord purifies you and equips you for His service. The question is not, “Do I deserve to serve Him?” Or, “Am I talented enough to represent Him?” These questions no longer matter, because the Lord takes care of those issues completely. Rather, the question is: “Will I obey God and trust Him to show His love to others through me?”
Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit lives in us. He empowers us to do everything He asks of us, making the possibilities for service limitless. So when Jesus said we would do greater things than He has done, it is because He would be working through us in a powerful manner—enabling us to be mighty witnesses for His name. He is our adequacy. And He works through us to show others His love.
The apostle John explains, “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:9–11).
We don’t serve the Lord because we are perfect—we do it because we are thankful for what He has done for us. And the work we do is greater because every time we show His everlasting love to another person, it multiplies and grows.
So do not worry about your weaknesses, imperfections, faults, or inadequacies. The Lord will work through them (1 Cor. 1:27; 2 Cor. 12:9, 10). Confess your sins, receive God’s love, and allow Him to display His wonderful grace and forgiveness through you. Share His saving love with others and embrace the great things He wants to do through you.
See the Life Principles Index for further study:
4:8 — The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
To be transformed into the image of Christ means to increasingly reflect His loving character in our behavior and attitudes. Therefore, if we are not becoming more loving, we have taken a wrong turn somewhere—either by neglecting our relationship with Him or by disobeying His commands.
4:20 — The one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
The Lord will often put people into our lives to mature our faith (Prov. 27:17). The process is not always pleasant, and if we fail to evaluate the situation from God’s point of view, disappointment and bitterness can grow in our hearts. But when we understand that everything that affects our lives can be used by the Lord for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28), we learn that every relationship is an opportunity for growth and an occasion for God to express His love toward us.
5:3 — This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
Only when we try to obey God through our own power do His commandments feel burdensome. When we rely on His Spirit to enable us to do what we can’t, we find great joy in obedience.
5:12 — He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
Have you asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart through faith, forgive you of your sins, and give you an eternal home in heaven? If you have, you have life; if you haven’t, you don’t (Mark 8:35).
5:14 — This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Our confidence in prayer is not based on our earnestness or passion, but on our relationship with God. We have unshakable assurance in every circumstance of life because of His power, wisdom, and love (Matt. 19:26). We can confront every difficulty with confidence because the Lord has promised us the victory when we call upon and obey Him (Matt. 7:7, 8; John 14:13; 1 John 3:22).
5:20 — We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true.
God helps us to grasp His Word, not merely so we can amass an impressive body of religious knowledge, but so that we can know, love, obey, and enjoy the Lord of the universe, who created us and has a wonderful purpose for our lives.