Why did John write the letter?
What does sin have to do with it?
What should we do if we sin?
What are we saying if we say we have not sinned and/or have no sin?
Vss. 1-6
v. 1—Who does he address first?
What does John mean by little children? Is he addressing the small children in the congregation?
Why is he writing to the little children?
“Might not sin”—In Greek is Aorist Subjunctive—Subjunctive—In English, we use the words "were," "should," "might," or "would" when we are speaking in the subjunctive mode. In each of the sentences above, only the possibility of eating spinach, or of being sick, or of being unable to go to work, or of not being paid is being considered. The reality remains contingent upon future developments. The case is contemplated with the action being hypothesized.
What does ‘sin’ mean?
Does he think they might feel free to sin?
What happens if they ignore John and sin anyway?
What is an ‘advocate’? (NIV – one who speaks to the father in our defense) paraclytos—Helper. See John 14:16; Rom.
Who is the advocate with?
What does that mean?
Why do they need an advocate with the Father?
Who is the advocate? 1 Pet. 3:18 Jesus Christ the righteous one who died for the unrighteous.
Why do you suppose John used this title for Christ? It makes his intercession clean and pure. He, the one who did no wrong, is standing in for those who only do wrong (Isa. 53:11).
v. 2—What is Jesus?
What is a propitiation? What does ‘propitiation’ mean? (NIV – Atoning sacrifice)
PROPITIATION—1. The act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious. 2. In theology, the atonement or atoning sacrifice offered to God to assuage his wrath and render him propitious to sinners. Christ is the propitiation for the sins of men.
PROPITIOUS—Favorable; kind; applied to men. 1. Disposed to be gracious or merciful; ready to forgive sins and bestow blessings; applied to God. 2. Favorable; as a propitious season.
What is he a propitiation for?
What does it “for our sins” mean?
How does Jesus propitiate God’s wrath? Jesus is both the advocate and the sacrifice.
Does this suggest that the father and Jesus are at odds with one another? The father sent the son to be the sacrifice. It was an act of justice out of a motive of love.
Whose propitiation is Jesus?
What about limited atonement?
v. 3—How will we know that we have come to know him?
Who is the ‘him’?
What does it mean to ‘know’ him? Knowing God is a favorite slogan of those who do not really know him. Knowing God and fellowshipping with God are the same thing. And, as John notes knowing God has nothing to do with knowledge of facts and information. It has everything to do with living as he lives. Hos 4:1
What does it mean to ‘keep his commandments’?
Is this a works kind of righteousness? No, it is relational and covenantal (2 Jn. 4-6).
v. 4—How can a person tell he is talking to a liar?
How can a person know that he is a liar?
What is the “truth” that is not in him?
What does it mean to have the truth in you?
v. 5—What does it mean to keep his word?
Do see anything different in keeping his word and keeping his commandments?
What happens if someone were to keep his word?
Is there any chance that someone might keep his word?
What is perfected?
What does he mean by “the love of God”? 4:12 God’s love for us is perfected and shows itself as we obey God’s commandments.
What does ‘perfected’ mean?
τελειόω—1. to complete an activity, complete, bring to an end, finish, accomplish. 2. to overcome or supplant an imperfect state of things by one that is free fr. objection, bring to an end, bring to its goal/accomplishment. Make perfect, mature, complete.
What does it mean to have the love of God perfected in us?
Is it a once for all kind of thing?
Can anyone keep (obey) his word?
How can we know that we are in him?
What does ‘in him’ mean?
Have we seen this phrase before in John (1:5; 2:5, 6, 8, 10, 27, 28, 3:3, 5, 6, 4:13; 5:20) or anywhere else?
v. 6—Should anyone ever say “I abide in him”?
What ought their life look like if they make this claim?
How ought we to walk?
What does ‘walk’ mean?
Who is the ‘he’ referred to here?
How did Jesus walk?
Vss. 7-14
v. 7—Now who is John writing to?
Is there really a shift or is it rhetorical?
What is John not writing to them?
How long have we known this commandment?
What does he mean by ‘from the beginning’? John 13:34?
What is the old commandment?
What word did they hear from the beginning? (2 Jn. 1:5; Lev. 19:18, 34; Deut. 6:5)
v. 8—What besides an old commandment is this command?
What characterizes this command?
What is truth?
Where is it true?
Where else?
Why is it true?
How do we know it is true?
What is darkness?
What is happening to the darkness? Is passing away—Present passive/middle
What does ‘passing away” mean?
What is taking it’s place?
What is the true light?
Have we seen this phrase before in John? (John 1:9)
What does this mean is happening?
How can the true light be already shining, but the darkness is only passing away?
v. 9—What might someone say?
What is the litmus test as to whether someone is really in the light?
If a person doesn’t love his brother, what does that say about his place in the light?
v. 10—What does loving one’s brother say about his relationship with the light?
What does it mean to abide in the light?
Is there a difference between walking in the light and abiding in the light?
What else happens when someone loves his brother?
What does “cause for stumbling” mean?
v. 11—What does it mean to hate your brother?
Is there some ground between loving your brother as yourself and hating your brother?
Where is the one who hates his brother?
What is he doing there?
What does it mean to be in the darkness?
What does it mean to walk in darkness?
Where is he going?
Why can’t he tell where he is going?
Is he literally blind?
v. 12-14—What are verses 12-14?
Who is he writing to in these verses?
Who does he write to first?
Why is he writing to them?
What does he mean by “for his name’s sake”?
Whose name?
Who does he write to second?
Why is he writing to them?
Who does he write to third?
Why does he write to them?
What does “overcome the evil” one mean?
Now who does he write to? Children again
Why does he write to them?
What does it mean that they “know the father”?
Why is the next section to fathers the same as the first time around?
Who is next?
Why does he write to them? They are Strong, Word of God abides in them, they have overcome the evil one.
Vss. 15-17
v. 15—What are we not to love?
What is the world? Jn 12:31; 14:30; 15:18-16:4—First, Israel and the old Jewish system, with it’s rules and religious trappings, then expands to Rome
What does love mean? Agape
What are the “things” in the world?
Why should we not love them?
What does it mean that the love of the father is not in him?
v. 16—Where do the things of the world not come from?
Where do they come from?
What are the things of the world?
What kinds of things does the flesh desire?
What kinds of things do the eyes desire?
What kinds of things do we take pride in in life? Pretension, arrogance
See the various translations of this verse.
v. 17—What is the problem with borrowing from the world?
What is happening to the world?
What does it mean that it is passing away? Same word as up in v. 8.
What is it taking with it as it passes away?
Who abides forever?
What does one have to do to live forever? Live=Abides=Greek remains
Isn’t this sort of pietistic?
Vss. 18-25
v. 18—Who is John talking to now?
What time is it?
What does he mean by the last hour?
What have the readers heard?
What is an antichrist?
Where have they come to?
How many antichrists are there, were there?
How can the readers know that it is the last hour?
Does this verse apply to us? Was it written to us, for us in our historical context?
v. 19—Where did these guys go our from?
Where did they go to?
Were they from us?
What does “from us” mean?
How do we know they weren’t “from us”?
Why did they go out “from us”?
Who was letting “us” know?
Was it God letting us know, or did the antichrists want to do us a favor?
v. 20—Why have those who stayed stayed?
What does “anointed” mean?
Who anointed them?
Who is the “Holy One”? Mk. 1:24; Jn. 6:69; Acts 2:33; Rev. 3:7; Psa 71:22
How did he anoint them?
What is the result of having been anointed?
How much knowledge? Greek—know all things
Knowledge of what? Huh?
v. 21—Why did John not write to them?
Why did John write to them?
What is not of the truth?
What does this have to do with the antichrists?
v. 22—Who is the liar?
How do you know he is lying?
What is a “Christ”?
Who is the antichrist?
What does denying the father and the son have to do with denying that Jesus is the Christ?
What does John mean by “denying”? Gk. Refuse to consent to…, refuse, disdain, disclaim association with, repudiate, disown.
v. 23—Does anyone who has the son have the father?
What if someone confesses the son?
Why do you suppose John is bringing this up? To answer my last question in the previous verse.
v. 24—What should we do if we confess the son and thus have the father?
What did you hear from the beginning? 3:12
What we to do with what we heard from the beginning?
Can we apply this verse to ourselves? Why?
What does “abide” mean?
What will be the result if you let these things abide in you?
What will be the result of abiding in the son and in the father?
v. 25—What does abiding in the son and in the father do for us?
Is it something we eventually get when we die?
Or something we experience even now?
What is the connection between abiding and receiving the promise?
Promise? John 10:10, 28
Vss. 26-27
v. 26—Who is John writing about? Gk. “wrote”
How are they trying to deceive the readers? Mk. 13:22, 23
v. 27—What is the protection the readers have?
Who did the anointing come from?
Who is the “him” referring to here?
Because we have the anointing, does that mean we don’t need to learn anything any more?
Is it that we don’t need to learn anything or that we don’t need anyone to teach us?
What about ministers and pastors and elders and husbands and parents?
What characteristics does the teaching of the Spirit have?
What did he teach you?
What will the results of abiding in Him be?
How can we know that we are abiding in him? 1:5-7; 2:5, 6; 3:6; 4:13, 15-16
Goes with the next chapter
Vss. 28-29
v. 28—Who is he writing to?
What does he mean by little children?
What are the little children to do?
Why should we abide in him?
Why would anyone not have confidence when Jesus comes?
Why would anyone shrink from him?
What is shame? a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt. Some say that shame is focused on our own thoughts about who we are, or what we are. Guilt, on the other hand, focuses on the action that we accomplished that caused us to think of ourselves with shame. Both might be real as in Adam’s guilt/shame at having eaten the forbidden fruit. Or they might be separated. A person might be ashamed of himself for nothing, but Adam’s sin. Or a person might be guilty of a particular action, but not feel shame for it. Guilt can be a more objective pronouncement because it is pointing toward a particular action. Shame has to do with personhood and thus may be present or not with particular actions. Embarrassment has more to do with public perceptions. A person may be ashamed and embarrassed because of something that others know about. But usually a person is not embarrassed by something no one else knows about. They might be ashamed because of their own standards or God’s standards, but they are not usually embarrassed by them.
What is “his coming”?
v. 29—Is he righteous?
What happens if you know that he is righteous?
Who is the “he” being referred to?
What happens if you know that he is righteous?
What does “born of him” mean?
Where have we seen “born” before?
How can we know if someone has been born of God?
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