Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of the evil one and violently murdered his brother. And for what reason did he violently murder him? Because his deeds were evil and the deeds of his brother were righteous. Do not marvel, brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed over from death to life because we love the brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that every murderer does not have eternal life residing in him. We have come to know love by this: that he laid down his life on behalf of us, and we ought to lay down our lives on behalf of the brothers. But whoever has the world’s material possessions and observes his brother in need and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God reside in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” (1 John 3:11-18)

Chapter three (and the very tail end of chapter two) delves into the love of God. How we need to know it, recognize it, and receive it. We need to understand what it is all about because God IS love. The natural consequence of this is that we love one another. We cannot walk in love with God if we’re not exhibiting that love to one another. God is love and we are meant to be known by that love as well.

Chapter four is John’s warning and reasoning about walking in truth. We need to examine the scriptures and learn what the truth is. Then we need to apply it and live by its principles. If we know the love of God and we know the scriptures, it will be very difficult to get us to accept false teaching. The best defense against false teaching is a knowledge of the truth as it is written in scripture.

Chapter five explains that since we have learned the truth, study the truth, and embrace the truth, we can live and walk in confidence. We are the witnesses of Jesus on Earth. John wrote the letter in order for his readers to clarify their beliefs, separate the wheat from the chaff, and realise what it means to walk with God: be loving, be obedient, and rejoice in the freedoms those bring.

“And this is love: that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.” (2 John 1:6)

John’s second letter is a short one. Written to ‘the chosen lady and her children’ – which could have been a noble woman by the name ‘Eclecta’ (which means chosen), or a body of believers. Considering the persecution in the Roman Empire at the time, John often used coded language to offer some protection to the recipients of his letters. It is a pastoral letter, commending the recipients on how they had held to the truth and rejected false teaching. It was written around the same time as – or a little later than – the first letter.

Verses 1-3 are his greetings. Verses 4-6 reiterate God’s command for us to love one another. Verses 7-11 are his commendations for how they have rejected false teachings, despite the proliferation of false teachers. He repeats the importance of avoiding them and recognising them by knowing the truth (the scriptures). Verses 2-13 are John’s concluding thoughts and his hopes to visit them soon.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jesus, John

Key Verse(s): 1 John 3:19-24; 4:1-6; 5:13-20; 2 John 1:7-11