Several years after writing his Gospel, the Apostle John begins to pen his first letter. He’s writing to a group of house churches with brand-new Christians who are trying their best to follow the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles. The problem is that this movement is only a few decades old and a lot of false teaching is floating around. For example, “Did Jesus really come in the flesh or was he just a spirit?”, “Are you sure Jesus really died for your sins?”, “Why would you love your enemies when, for hundreds of years, we’ve been trying to protect the promised land?” These house churches are confused and don’t really know what to think.

John is the last remaining Apostle and close to 90 years old (this makes calling his audience “little children” a lot more sense)! He is writing to combat the beginnings of heresy that threaten to destroy the foundational faith of these small house churches and he has a lot to teach us.

You see, this letter isn’t so much about condemning those who think and act differently but rather points to a more excellent way by thinking and acting in the way of Jesus, a man filled with love and light. John is writing so we might know the God of Love.