Annotations for 1 John

1:1 That which was from the beginning . . . the Word. Alludes to Jn 1:1 (see note there). we have seen with our eyes. Probably alludes to the eyewitnesses in Jn 1:14.

1:2 The life. Probably evokes Jn 1:4. eternal life. The promised life of the coming age (Da 12:2), already available to followers of the promised Messiah. In Johannine literature, the phrase is approximately synonymous with the kingdom of God.

1:5 light. See note on Jn 1:4–5. Various Jewish sources (especially the Dead Sea Scrolls) contrasted the followers of light (righteousness) with those of darkness (sin); they recognized from Scripture that God is wholly righteous (cf. Ps 92:15).

1:6 walk in the darkness. Suggests the danger of stumbling (2:10–11). Scripture warned against confusing light and darkness, right and wrong (Isa 5:20; cf. Isa 2:5).

1:7 the blood of Jesus . . . purifies us from all sin. Although water, not blood, cleanses in a physical sense, blood also purified in an OT ritual sense (see note on Heb 9:22). Sacrificial blood set apart what was sacred for God, purifying from sin by making atonement (Lev 16:30).

1:9 purify. See note on v. 7; for some of the likely sins of those who withdrew from the believers John first addressed, see note on 3:6.

1:10 If we claim we have not sinned. Some scholars think that the false prophets hold errors like those of some later Gnostics, who denied that any of their behavior was sinful no matter what they did. This is possible, but humans are capable of self-deception even without that teaching (e.g., Jer 17:9). Biblical prophets condemned false protestations of innocence as self-deception (e.g., Jer 2:35; Hos 8:2; cf. Pr 30:12); God required instead both admission of the sin and repentance (cf. Lev 5:5; 16:21; Ps 32:1–5; Pr 28:13; Jer 3:13). Jewish tradition continued to recognize these truths.

2:1 My dear children. Teachers sometimes addressed their disciples as their “children.” that you will not sin. In view of 1:8–10, the message here may sound paradoxical. Like riddles, paradox was a common, graphic way for sages to provoke deeper thought; John’s Gospel includes many riddles. we have an advocate. God sometimes pleaded his people’s cause (Jer 50:34; 51:36); Jewish tradition sometimes cited God’s mercy as an advocate for Israel. But the greatest advocate before the Father is Jesus (see v. 2).

2:2 atoning sacrifice. In Greek culture, such a sacrifice normally appeased or satisfied the wrath of a deity whose standard had been violated. Here it alludes to sacrifices offered for atonement (Nu 5:8; Eze 44:27), especially on the Day of Atonement (Lev 25:9). but also for the sins of the whole world. Whereas the OT and Jewish tradition limited the Day of Atonement to Israel, Jesus’ sacrifice was offered not only for Christians but even for those who would reject this priceless gift, leaving them without excuse.

2:3 keep his commands. Those who are faithful to God’s covenant obeyed his commands (e.g., Dt 6:17; 11:1; 13:4; 26:17–18; 30:10, 16), especially the most important command of love (1Jn 2:7–11; Lev 19:18; Dt 6:5; 11:13, 22; 30:16; Mk 12:29–31; Jn 13:34). Covenant obedience was part of knowing God (Jer 22:16; 31:33–34).

2:5 obeys his word. To do so had always been a way of showing love for God (Dt 6:5–6; 10:12; 11:1).

2:6 live as Jesus did. Teachers on moral subjects often offered examples as role models, with God as the greatest example. John may here allude to Jesus’ example cited also in Jn 13:14–15, 34–35; 15:12.

2:7–8 I am not writing you a new command but an old one . . . Yet I am writing you a new command. Ancient sages used paradox to provoke deeper consideration of their meaning. Jesus had already noted the earlier Biblical command to love (Mk 12:30–31, citing Dt 6:5; Lev 19:18); John’s audience knows that Jesus also made it new, based on a new and ultimate example (Jn 13:34). (Even this might not be technically new to John’s core audience, as opposed to others, since they had heard it “since the beginning” of the gospel reaching them, v. 7; cf. v. 24; 3:11.)

2:8 the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Some Jewish writers (especially in the Dead Sea Scrolls) viewed evil, thus darkness, as prevailing in the present age, but saw themselves as children of light who would inherit the imminent coming age.

2:9–11 Ancient speakers often used antithesis, contrasts between opposites (here hate and love) to emphasize a point.

2:11 anyone who hates a brother or sister. Judaism, following Scripture (Lev 19:17), prohibited hatred of a fellow Israelite. John may apply this principle to the secessionists who proved their hatred by withdrawing from the apostolic community (v. 19).

2:12–14 John uses two different tenses for “write” in these verses (in Greek, present and aorist), but refers to his present writing; such differences were common and simply were used for literary variation.

2:12–13 children . . . fathers . . . young men. Ancient writers sometimes addressed different kinds of moral instruction to different age groups. Elders (NIV “fathers,” v. 13) were known especially for wisdom; young men for vigor and passion; and children for being dependent.

2:15 Do not love the world. God summoned Israel to love him and be consecrated as holy to him, rather than following the pagan values of the nations around them (Lev 20:23–26; Dt 18:9). Likewise, Jesus’ followers must avoid any values in their cultures that conflict with his interests.

2:16 the lust of the flesh. See, e.g., Nu 11:4; Ps 78:29–30. flesh. See the article “Flesh and Spirit.” the lust of the eyes. This refers not simply to what is pleasant to the sight (e.g., Ge 2:9) but to sinfully grasping for what God prohibits; see, e.g., Ge 3:6 (which also includes three vices); cf. 2Sa 13:1; Pr 6:25.

2:17 The world . . . pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. Jewish tradition followed the Biblical perspective that the world’s people would perish but God’s word would remain forever (Isa 40:6–8).

2:18 the last hour. Although it could simply characterize the time as part of the final period (“a last hour”; there is no definite article in the Greek phrase here), it may be even more emphatic than “the last days” (see 2Pe 3:3 and note), which the prophets applied to the future era but which Christians understood as overlapping with the present. Jewish tradition emphasized the proliferation of evil in the end time, although Jewish thinkers who considered the length of that period held a range of views (e.g., 40 years, 400 years). the antichrist . . . many antichrists. At various times Jewish tradition highlighted various evil rulers, such as Antiochus Epiphanes, oppressive Roman emperors or even an oppressive high priest. Early Christians expected such a figure (e.g., 2Th 2:3–4), but John notes that persons opposed to Christ (or possibly seeking to supplant Christ) already flourish (cf. 2Th 2:7).

2:19 if they had belonged to us, they would have remained. Many ancient thinkers recognized that commitments that were insincere eventually became evident (cf., e.g., 2Ch 12:14). Some passages (e.g., here; Jn 6:70–71) might also articulate matters from the perspective of God’s foreknowledge, whereas others depict human experience (e.g., Gal 5:4; 1Ti 4:1–2; Heb 6:4–5). Jewish theology had no problem accommodating both approaches.

2:20 anointing from the Holy One. People were consecrated and anointed with oil for specific tasks, especially for the priesthood (e.g., Ex 29:29; 40:15) or kingship (e.g., 1Sa 10:1; 2Ki 9:6). At least sometimes this physical anointing was associated with the Spirit (1Sa 10:1, 6; 16:13; Isa 61:1), probably the point here (cf. 2Co 1:21–22).

2:22 whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Perhaps as early as AD 100, Cerinthus reportedly taught that the Christ-Spirit came on Jesus but was not identical to him. Jewish believers barred from synagogues may have also been tempted to remain in synagogues by denying that Jesus was the Messiah, the Anointed One.

2:27 anointing. See note on v. 20.

2:28 confident and unashamed . . . at his coming. Although the promised day of judgment would vindicate the righteous, it would terrify the wicked (Isa 2:10–21; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11; Am 5:18–20); on Jesus’ appearing, see note on 1Jn 3:2).

2:29 everyone who does what is right has been born of him. People in antiquity believed that children inherited much of their character from their father. They also could speak figuratively of one person who was like some person of the distant past as their descendant—though John speaks spiritually here, not figuratively.

3:1 what great love . . . that we should be called children of God! Jewish teachers spoke of God’s special love for Israel (in Scripture, see, e.g., Dt 7:6–9) and recognized that God called Israel his children (in Scripture, e.g., Dt 8:5). The expression of love here is even greater (v. 16).

3:2 we shall be like him, for we shall see him. Many Greek thinkers, especially followers of Plato, sought to envision in their minds the highest God, who was pure intellect. (Unlike the Biblical God, however, this god was abstract, without feeling.) They believed that this experience transformed the mediator to be more like the divine, or to recover their innate divinity. Some Diaspora Jewish thinkers held similar views. John expects transformation, but not deification, the language of which he, like other NT authors, avoids. Jewish mystics and apocalyptic visionaries also sought to see God, and some of the latter expected transformation through beholding God’s glory through visions or in the end time. John’s ultimate model here, however, is the Biblical transformation of Moses through beholding God’s glory in Ex 34:29–35 (see note on Jn 1:14–18).

3:4–18 Ancient thinkers often elaborated their argument using antitheses, or contrasting points. In a manner found in Jewish wisdom, some Greek wisdom and in Jewish apocalyptic thought, John contrasts the righteous, who love one another, with the wicked, who hate the righteous.

3:6 keeps on sinning. John has already said that Jesus’ followers must recognize their sin (1:8–10; cf. 2:1), though paradoxically they are also transformed so as not to sin (1:6–7; 2:3–6). A number of scholars emphasize the verb tense of “sinning” here to mean continuous sin, arguing that John refers to a lifestyle of sin, not normally living righteously but sometimes sinning and then repenting. Some think John depicts potential: one is able to live sinlessly (cf. Jn 8:31–36). Some others think that John challenges the false teachers’ claims here (1:8–10): unlike those errorists who merely claim to be sinless, true believers do not regularly live in sin.

With or without reference to the verb tense, John may simply refer to characteristic behavior. Stoics, Essenes and Jewish wisdom literature divided humanity into ideal types: righteous and unrighteous, or wise and foolish. All of these sources, however, recognize the imperfection of the righteous or wise; they might not fit the ideal type in all respects, but their allegiance is clearly decided. Because philosophers and others often spoke in terms of such ideal types, John might claim that one is sinless to the extent that one lives in Christ. Still more likely, he emphasizes that one belongs to one side or the other; one characteristically follows Christ or one does not.

The sins particularly in view here (for this letter’s first setting) might be violations of the two basic precepts John emphasizes: the right attitude toward members of the Christian community and the right view about Jesus (v. 24). Thus John may mean that the one who “keeps on sinning” and has never truly known Christ is one who commits the sin that leads to death, i.e., a sin leading out of eternal life (cf. 5:16–17). No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Those who have seen him do not live in sin; regarding transforming vision of the Lord, see note on v. 2.

3:8 of the devil. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, all sins were influenced by the spirit of error; John need not view the influence as so direct, but he does view the world as in the sphere of the devil and his values (5:19). from the beginning. Jewish tradition often understood the serpent of Ge 3 as the devil. On the common view that the devil had introduced sin into the world, and thus, all sins are ultimately the devil’s works and reflect his character, see note on Jn 8:44.

3:9–10 God’s seed . . . God’s child. Some ancient thinkers spoke of divine seed in humans, an idea early Christians could adapt for those born from the Spirit through conversion (see note on 1Pe 1:23; cf. Jas 1:18, 21). John plays on this image; children were believed to inherit their father’s nature through his seed.

3:9 they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. In OT Scripture, having God’s word in one’s heart enabled righteous living (see, e.g., Dt 30:14; Ps 119:11; Jer 31:32–33). On the claim to sinlessness, see note on v. 6a.

3:12 Cain . . . murdered his brother. John alludes to Ge 4:8; Cain was sinful, whereas God accepted his brother Abel’s sacrifice, knowing Abel’s motives (Ge 4:3–7). Jewish tradition extensively elaborated and underlined Cain’s sinfulness. belonged to the evil one. A murderer was a child of the devil (v. 10), for one of the devil’s first works had been to bring death to Adam (see note on Jn 8:44). Some later Jewish texts even claim that Cain’s father was the devil himself.

3:15 murderer. Murder was a capital offense (Ge 9:6; Ex 21:14; Lev 24:17); in Jewish tradition, such offenses deserved damnation in Gehenna. Jesus included as murder the attitude that generated the literal act (cf. Mt 5:21–22).

3:16 we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. At least some believers in some churches in John’s circle had to face martyrdom (Rev 2:10, 13). Since slaves were routinely tortured for information, some Christians might have to pay a tremendous price to avoid betraying their fellow Christians to death. Loyalty to the community of believers might also demand refusing compromises that might have preserved them from persecution. In John’s day such compromises, perhaps adopted by the secessionists (2:19, 22–23, 26), might include participation in the imperial cult or renouncing faith in Jesus as the Messiah (cf. notes on 2:22; Rev 2:9).

3:17 sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity. In some Jewish traditions, withholding goods from someone in need was equivalent to starving them (cf. Jas 2:15). Caring for the needy was part of righteousness (e.g., Dt 15:7–10; Pr 14:21, 31; Isa 32:6; 58:7, 10; Eze 18:7, 16).

3:18 let us not love with words . . . but with actions. Moral writers often condemned those who had merely words but lacked actions.

3:19 belong to the truth. The Dead Sea Scrolls sometimes called the righteous “the children of God’s truth.”

3:20 he knows everything. Following Scripture, Jewish tradition recognized that God knew all hearts (e.g., 1Ch 28:9).

3:23 to believe in the name of his Son . . . and to love one another. Those who followed the false teachers and left the community of believers (2:19) violated both of these basic commandments—holding correct belief in Jesus (2:22–24; 4:2–3) and showing love for one another (3:10–15).

3:24 We know it by the Spirit he gave us. Apart from the Essenes, most Jewish thinkers regarded the Spirit as very rare; early Christians, however, believed that God empowered them with the Spirit (Ac 2:17–18).

4:1 test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Jewish tradition usually attributed Biblical prophecy to God’s Spirit (often also in the OT, e.g., Nu 11:25). false prophets have gone out into the world. Many Jewish circles associated false prophecy with evil spirits (in the OT, cf. prophesying by wrong spirits in 1Sa 18:10; 1Ki 22:22–23; false prophets’ own spirits in Eze 13:3). The Greek translation of the OT, which was what most of John’s audience would know, uses the label “false prophets” even more often than the Hebrew does (Jer 6:13; 26:7–16; 27:9; 28:1; 29:1, 8; Zec 13:2; for the label in the NIV OT, see Isa 44:25; Jer 50:36; Hos 11:6). Some contemporaries, such as apocalyptic Jewish visionaries, pagan oracular priestesses (see note on Ac 16:16) and some within the Christian movement (Rev 2:14, 20) falsely claimed to speak God’s message.

4:2 Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. John announced the Jesus he had known in the flesh (Jn 1:14). The false prophets may deny that Christ was fully human (see Docetism in Introduction: Background). Alternatively, they might treat Jesus as a mere prophet (comparable to John the Baptist), denying that he came as the Christ (2:22), so they could remain in the synagogue.

4:4 the one who is in you is greater. That God and his hosts defending his people are greater than human enemies reflects a Biblical principle (2Ki 6:16; 2Ch 32:7–8).

4:6 the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. In a manner similar to John here, the Dead Sea Scrolls contrast God’s children and the rest of the world. They go far beyond John, however, in asserting that every individual act is determined by either the spirit of truth or the spirit of error.

4:7 Everyone who loves has been born of God. A child was held to reflect the father’s nature.

4:10 atoning sacrifice. See note on 2:2.

4:12 No one has ever seen God. Jewish people agreed that God was invisible (Ex 33:20; see note on Jn 1:14–18), although some sought to see him mystically. if we love . . . God lives in us. God’s heart is revealed in love (here; v. 9).

4:13 He has given us of his Spirit. See note on 3:24.

4:15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God. Because the Spirit was often associated with prophecy (cf., e.g., 1Sa 19:20, 23; Joel 2:28), publicly acknowledging Jesus as God’s Son may reflect prophetic inspiration here (v. 2; cf. 1Co 12:3; Rev 19:10).

4:17 we will have confidence on the day of judgment. Those who violate God’s ways have reason to fear the day of judgment (cf., e.g., 2:28; Isa 13:6, 9; Joel 2:31), but agents of Christ’s love (1Jn 4:7, 12) can face that day with confidence.

4:19 because he first loved us. God’s people were to imitate his holiness (Lev 11:45); the ultimate expression and example of God’s love is Christ (1Jn 4:9–10; cf. Jn 13:34–35).

4:20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. Some others understood the principle that how one treated people about whom God cared was how one treated God (Pr 19:17).

5:1 everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. Although plenty of exceptions existed, people were normally loyal to their families, so love for one member normally entailed love for the family.

5:3 his commands are not burdensome. That is, if they are written on one’s heart (Dt 30:11–14).

5:6 by water and blood. Some scholars argue that John opposes specific false ideas in mentioning water and blood; e.g., Cerinthus (see Introduction: Background) reportedly claimed that the Christ-Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism but departed before his death. Docetists allowed that Jesus was baptized but argued that he was immortal and could not die. Instead of blood Greek gods had ichor, which looked like water; because water as well as blood flowed from Jesus’ side (Jn 19:34), some may have thus thought him a demigod. In any case, John reinforces his testimony about Jesus’ actual, historical death (Jn 19:34).

5:7–8 there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood. Ancient documents often included witnesses’ signatures; Scripture required two or three witnesses (Dt 17:6; 19:15), and John offers three. Most clearly, the Spirit’s testimony appears in 3:24; 4:6, 13. The significance of the other two is debated. Aside from Jn 19:34, Jesus’ blood purifies (1:7), as does water (cf. Lev 14:51–52); Jesus’ blood also reveals his love (1Jn 3:16), as John’s baptism testified (Jn 1:29–34; for water, see note on Jn 2:6).

5:13 eternal life. The promised life of the coming age (Da 12:2), the beginning of which is already available to followers of the promised Messiah.

5:14–15 For the general principle here, see note on Jn 14:12–14, although John goes on to apply this broader principle to a specific situation in 1Jn 5:16–17.

5:16 a sin that leads to death. Probably committed by the false teachers; it is presumably one that violates the fundamental commands of believing in Jesus and loving fellow believers (cf. 3:23). In Scripture, atonement was available for unintentional but not defiant sins (Nu 15:27–31). Perhaps more relevant, some Jewish circles described offenses for which Scripture prescribed death as “a matter of death,” which was normally enforced in their own time by expulsion from the community rather than by literal execution. I am not saying that you should pray about that. Those who were sinned against could secure forgiveness for their opponents by prayer (Ge 20:7, 17; Job 42:8), but a sin of willful apostasy from God’s truth precluded the efficacy of such secondhand prayers for forgiveness (1Sa 2:25; Jer 7:16; 11:14; 14:11). Followers of these severely false teachers cannot be forgiven without their own confession and repentance.

5:18 the evil one cannot harm them. Satan cannot harm God’s people without God’s permission (Job 1:11–12; 2:3–6). Jewish teachers recognized that God protected his people.

5:19 the whole world is under the control of the evil one. Jewish people often recognized that Satan and hostile spiritual forces ruled the world except for God’s people.

5:21 keep yourself from idols. Although Jewish sources sometimes use the term “idols” figuratively, actual idols flourished in John’s environment (cf. Ac 19:28; Rev 9:20; 13:12, 15); false prophets (1Jn 4:1–6) might urge compromise with them (cf. Rev 2:14, 20).