It is one of three letters written by the Apostle John, son of Zebedee, after he wrote his Gospel (at the end of the first century) to confirm those who believed in the Lord Jesus who came in the flesh and saved the world, and to distance them from every deviant teaching.

Some commentators believe, based on the language of the letter and the ideas it contains… that John addressed this composition to Christians (of pagan origin) who lived in the Roman province of Asia, whose capital was Ephesus (the city where the apostle lived his last years). It seems that these Christians were open to the temptation of some forms of Hellenistic Gnosticism, so they deviated from the correct faith and thought that they had superior knowledge of God…, and they distinguished between the spirit (which they said was pure) and matter (which they thought was evil), and this distinction led them, from a practical point of view, to moral corruption, since, in their view, nothing that the body did could corrupt the spirit and distort its purity, and consequently to the denial of the human nature of Christ.

John, who knows Jesus personally, writes to testify to his readers that the Word of God has truly come in the flesh and he wants them to have fellowship with the first witnesses (John adds his testimony to that of those who heard Jesus, saw him, and touched him…) and with the Father “and his Son Jesus” who appeared to save the world and give it life (1:1-4). Then he affirms that “God is light,” and he sees that the condition for fellowship with him (and with his witnesses) is that each one abandons all evil (and blasphemy) and works “for the truth.” This, no doubt, presupposes purification and confession of sin, for whoever says he is “without sin” deceives himself and makes God a liar, but whoever confesses his sins and repents of them, God forgives him and heals him “from all unrighteousness” (5-10). The apostle writes this so that no one will sin, and if he does, “there is an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the propitiation… for the sins of the whole world” (2:1-2).

To know God means to “keep his commandments” (love). Those who love are faithful to Christ crucified, for Christ, who gave himself for us, was, by his death, the supreme revelation of love (2:1-7). Love is the light of the world, for it dispels its darkness and keeps those who have it away from “stumbling blocks” (8-11). The Apostle says this, and then invites his readers to know the Father and the Son and to live in perfect union with them, to overcome the evil one and all that passes away (the lust of the flesh, the pride of riches…) and to do “the will of God” so as to remain “forever” (12-17). The ancients learned that an antichrist would come before “the last hour.” John sees that many antichrists are present now, who deny “that Jesus is the Christ,” and this is a sign that “this is the last hour.” Therefore, he urges believers to remain steadfast in what they have heard “from the beginning” in order to obtain eternal life. The anointing is present in them and they “have no need” of any other teaching (what false Christs say), because this anointing (which made them members of the Church) “includes in its teaching all things,” and it is “truth” in which there is no falsehood (18-29).

In the third chapter, the Apostle affirms that those who do not know God do not know his children, who will become “like him when he appears.” He reminds “everyone who has this hope in him” not to sin (not to deny the faith as false Christs do). This (not to sin) is possible for the one born of God “because his (God’s) seed remains in him.” Christ has freed us from all sin, and we must live in the light of this truth and do righteousness (1-10). Then John speaks about brotherly love, revealing that its foundation is the love of God that was revealed in his Son Jesus, and therefore it goes beyond words and emotions, and presupposes the sacrifice of one’s life and worldly goods for the sake of all those in need. What makes us “know that we are in the truth” is to believe, love, and work (11-24).

John then sets the standard for all sound teaching, saying: whoever does not confess that Jesus Christ “came in the flesh” cannot bring a message from God. He affirms that the Holy Spirit is the one who enables the believer to examine the spirits and distinguish truth from falsehood (4:1-6). Then he returns to speaking about fraternal love, inviting his readers to love one another in order to know God, because “God is love.” We see that John does not speak to us in abstract words about the essence of God, but rather makes us contemplate his saving intervention, for God’s love was revealed in that, by a purely free initiative, he “sent his only Son into the world… to be the propitiation for our sins.” He shows that every Christian is called to truly contribute to his life (his nature), that is, to love others freely, without expecting that people will reciprocate or deserve this love. Our love for God cannot be sincere and true love if it is not a participation in his love, and is revealed in the love and service of our brothers. Then John reveals the benefit of the connection between love and obedience. If we love God and give to Him, we do not need to fear “the day of judgment” (7-21).

In his final chapter, the Apostle gives the confession of faith a clear importance. He urges his readers to persevere so that they may attain victory (5:1-4). Whoever “believes in the Son of God” has God’s testimony. This testimony is “that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (5:11). Whoever believes in the Son will live, but whoever denies him will die (12). John then summarizes the theme of his letter (13), and calls us to acknowledge God’s faithfulness and our responsibility for everything that offends him (14-17). In this case, the prayer of the congregation can obtain for us the forgiveness of our sins, provided that we have fallen into a sin “leading to death” and persist in it. Perhaps he means the heresy that divides the Lord Jesus (4:3), which prevents heretics from uniting with the Lord and leads them to spiritual destruction. Then he shows that the whole world is “under the yoke of the evil one,” but the ability that God has given us (“insight”) to know Him is what establishes believers “in the truth,” that is, what enables them to be strangers in the world, and to know that Jesus is “the true God and eternal life,” and that through Him alone they are saved from “idols” (every strange, perverted teaching to which man clings and makes his gods).

This message calls us to turn away from all false teaching, and enlightens our path to truly understand that the life we live here with our brothers and sisters is our ascent to God, who sent his Son to die for our love and to summarize the constitution of heaven in love.

My parish bulletin
Sunday, January 3, 1999
Issue 1