What John Tells Us has been a two and a half year study of John’s first epistle. Attention given to each verse averaged 850 words, and even then the content of 1st John has only been moderately scrutinized. For readers to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of this commentary, they will do well to study and examine all the cited Scripture references. Also, an additional benefit would be the familiarization of John’s gospel account. In fact, all of John’s writings should be taken as a whole, since his objective was to reveal to the world the unique God–Man Jesus Christ and provide believers with the accurate premise upon which to glorify Christ while living the Christian way of life.
There are three predominant issues that John presents in this epistle; the first two will be examined in this study, and the third will be the subject of the following post.
Our Abiding Residence
For believers to understand the true significance of their faith in Christ, this first issue is crucial for maintaining fellowship “with the Father and with His Son” (1:3). This is characterized by our abiding residence in Him (2:6, 27, 28; 3:24; 4:13). The believers’ abiding fellowship is based upon walking in the Light (1:7; 2:10) and having been cleansed from all sin (1:7, 9). Therefore, the epitome of the Christian way of life is for believers to maintain their abiding residence in Him so that Jesus Christ remains the focal point of their lives. This is a relationship based upon a personal love for God by “whoever keeps His word” (2:5); a love exhibited when “we keep His commandments” (5:3; cf. John 14:15; 15:10); and by impersonal love for fellow believers (2:10; 3:23; 4:7, 11, 12, 21; cf. John 13:34; 15:12, 17).
The Issue of Love
Because of John’s emphasis upon love, he has been regarded as the “Apostle of love.” Unfortunately, many have mistakenly proposed that John refers only to a dreamy, tender affectionate or romantic type of love. However, John primarily alludes to a self-sacrificial impersonal type of love towards unbelievers and fellow believers, which is different than our personal love for God the Father (2:15). The distinction between personal and impersonal love has been effectively clarified by Colonel R.B. Thieme, Jr.:
Unlike personal love, which emphasizes the attractiveness of the object of love, impersonal love emphasizes the capacity and integrity of the one who loves. Whereas personal love is an intense and subjective attitude toward a few, impersonal love is a relaxed and objective mental attitude toward everyone—friend or enemy, worthy or unworthy, pleasant or obnoxious. Impersonal love solves problems in personal relationships. The believer with impersonal love is able to accept all people as they are, without demands for reciprocation, without reaction or retaliation, without incurring mental attitude sins. Whether encountering love and admiration or hatred and reproach, this unconditional attitude is stable and enduring (Colossians 3:12–14; 1 Peter 3:8–9).1
And the late Bible teacher Chester McCalley (1935–2000) concisely summarized this type of love:
Love directed towards man is the mental attitude that demands that we do what is best for another in the light of eternity no matter what it costs us.2
Regarding personal love for God the Father, note that this is commanded in both the Old and New Testaments. Our Lord restated this command to the Pharisees:
And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10:27)
For believers to love God they must do so with all their heart, soul and mind—not emotionally, but with rational intelligence. Divine truth must be the content of the believer’s intellect in order to truly love and worship Him. This is what Our Lord maintained when speaking to the Samaritan woman:
“The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–24).
We worship in spirit when we present our body, the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), as a pleasing sacrifice for intelligent worship (Romans 12:1).3 Accordingly, our worship is based upon the absolute truth contained in His Word (John 17:17). Thus, John asserts that the demonstration of the believer’s love for God is perfected by obedience to His word:
But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him (1 John 2:5)
To keep His word means to keep His commandments, as Jesus stated: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15, 23; 15:10). Our Lord is not merely referring to the 10 Commandments, but instead, that which is mandated for all believers today; these must be discovered throughout Scripture. This requires believers to avail themselves to intensive daily study of the Bible. His Word transforms the believer by the renovation of their mind (Romans 12:2; cf. Ephesians 4:23f) and being “renewed to a true knowledge” of God (Colossians 3:10). Personal love for God motivates the believer in his worship and total reliance upon Him for the provision of every essential spiritual and physical need (Philippians 4:19).
[1] Thieme, R.B., Jr. (2022). Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, Houston, TX: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, p. 136.
[2] McCalley, Chester. http://wordoftruthkc.org/sites/default/files/file/Philippians%20Commentary.pdf, p. 4. [Retrieved April 19, 2025]