Epistles of john the catholic letters
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Epistles of john the catholic letters
- 1. P R E S E N T E D B Y J E A N S M I T H B A S E D O N T H E T E A C H I N G O F F R . A L L A U E R F R O M P R E S E N T A T I O N M I N I S T R I E S Epistles of John From the Catholic Letters
- 2. Reasons for this letter. False Teaching Denounced moral and doctrinal errors Stresses Faith Author asserts that “Christ’s blood sheds us from all sin” 1 John 1:7
- 4. What was John teaching in the Catholic Letters? 1. COMMUNION WITH GOD 2.FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST 3.CHARITY 4.DIVINE FILIATION
- 6. 1 John 1:1 “That which is from the beginning “ (1 John 1:1) Use of neuter noun indicates that the Mystery of Jesus Christ is not being referred in an abstract manner. “But who in fullness of time was made manifest” (vs 2) Jesus = The Eternal Word of God Perception by the senses shows John’s desire to make clear that God really did become Man.
- 7. 1 JOHN 5-10
- 8. 1 John 5-10 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we have fellowship with him while we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth, but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all from unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us”
- 9. 1 John 2:1-2 “My little children, I am writing to you so that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father; Jesus Christ, the righteous; and he is expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. “ 1 John 2:1-2
- 10. St. John Exhorts Us “St. John exhorts us to avoid sin” says St. Alphonus says, “ but because he is afraid we will lose heart when we remember our past faults, he encourages us to hope for forgiveness provided we are firmly resolved not to fall again; he tells us that we have to put our affairs in order with Christ, who died not only to forgive us but also to become our advocate with the heavenly father” Reflections on the Passion Chapter 9, 2)
- 11. Re Keeping His Commandments 1 John 2:3-4 Keeping His Word 1 John 2: 5 Walking in the same way in which He walked 1 John 2:6
- 12. 1 John 5:16-21 1 John 2:7-8
- 13. 1 John 2:9-11
- 16. It is the last hour! The last hour=Early Christians desires to see the second coming of Christ. “The Antichrist “ another sign of the “last hour” This term is only found in be found in the letters of St. John 1 John 2:18; 22; 4:3 & 2 John 7 Man of Lawlessness’, The Enemy, St. Peter talks about (2 Thess 2:1-12) “The beast” of the Apocalypse (Rev 11:7)
- 17. 1 John 2:19 “They were not of us “ Unmasking the Antichrists
- 18. 1 John 2:20-21
- 19. 1 John 2:22
- 20. 1 John 2:23
- 21. 1 John 2:24-29
- 22. 1 John 3:1-2 Living as God’s Children.
- 23. 1 John 3:3-10 A Child of God does not sin Purify Lawlessness Children of G0d vs Children of the Devil No one who sins know Him or sees him
- 24. 1 John 3:11-24 Living as God’s Children Loving One Another
- 25. 1 John 4:1-3 Faith in Christ, Not False Prophets
- 27. 1 John 4:4 Brotherly Love
- 38. 1 John 5:1-5 Everyone Who Believes in Jesus Overcomes the World
- 39. 1 John 5:6-12 Testimony borne to Christ
- 40. God the Father has borne witness to the son (v9) This witness brings an obligation with it. If one is not believe one is making God out to be a liar (v10) God has given us life in Christ (v 11-12)
- 42. 1 John 5:14-17 Prayer for Sinners
- 43. 1 John 5:18-21 The Christian’s confidence as a child of God *We Know begins each of these verses-Why? *What three things do we know? 1. He who is born of God does not sin 2. We are of God and not of this world 3. The Son of God became Man
- 44. Introduction to 2 John 1:1-3 “Greeting” G R E E T I N G E L E C T L A D Y & H E R C H I L D R E N = T H E C H U R C H I N A S I A M I N O R I M P O R T A N C E O F T R U T H – S T A T E D 4 T I M E S
- 45. Introduction to 2 John 1:4-5 “The Law of Love” S T . J O H N E X P R E S S I O N O F J O Y
- 46. Introduction to 2 John 1:7-11 “Precautions against Heretics”
- 47. Introduction to 2 John 1:12 “Conclusion and Greetings”
- 48. 3 John 1-15 GREETING PRAISE OF GASIUS DIOTREPHES MISCONDUCT CONDEMNATION OF DEMETRIUS CONCLUSION AND FAREWELL
Editor's Notes
- The Apostle John wrote his epistles to address a specific problem in the churches, one which is very relevant to our current situation in todays church. The problem? False teachers were distorting the meaning of the knowledge of God. All this points to the Gnostic Heresy of Cerinth, where it erroneously stated that Jesus was not born of a Virgin, but was the son of Joseph and Mary. An ultimate denial of the Immaculate Conception.Therefore they had peached that Jesus, was not the true son of God; and that the divine word just dwelled in him from the time he was baptized by John until the Passion of His death, which meant that Jesus’ shedding of blood had no redemptive value.
- Gnostic ideas began towards the at end of the 1st Century. There was much erroneous ideas about morality, offense of sin and having special Knowledge, thus Gnosticism became in vogue instead of the true teaching of the church and in John’s epistle he speaks adamantly about what the true church calls us to do.
- In these epistle John gave a full outline of the full doctrine of the communion or union of the Christian with God. He tell us this because the false teachers were claiming that they had a higher understanding of God. A gnostic, not in union with the traditional Christian teachings. They felt that they did not have to follow the commandments in particular that which address fraternal charity. To counter these errors John stresses that those who stay in communion with the apostles and accept their teachings can attain fullness with the Father and the Son. (cf 1:3) The first thing in being in communion is confessing true faith in Christ as the Son of God. We must know God and love him. “He who loves… knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love” 1 John 3: 24 God’s love is visible to others when we follow his commandments of brotherly love. “He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” 1 John 4:16. Love for your neighbor is a logical consequence of divine filiation. God through Christ, gives men his life, making them partakers in of his own divine nature. (cf Peter 2 Peter 1:4) From start to finish these letters keep stressing that faith in the person and redemptive work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The apostles put an emphasis on the divinity of Jesus, on his Redemptive Incarnation, and his role as the only mediator of God. John express the dogma of truth that Christ is the word (1:1) that, he is the second person of the trinity, the Son of God. (1 John 1:3); he exists externally alongside the Father cf (John 1 :1-2) he took on a true human nature. He is that imperishable life, which through him is communicated to true believers.The message, “Son of God” is mentioned repeatedly which gives credence to this doctrine. The Greek word hyios is used, only being used in the context of “The Only Son” (4:9) and “True God” (5:20) So against the “antichrists” who denied that “Jesus is Christ” (5:1) “Jesus is the Son of God: (5:5) In addition to denying Christ’s divinity, the heretics also denied Christ redemptive incarnation. John speaks to this in a profound manner through these epistles. By confessing our belief in Jesus Christ, we become united with the Father. This union is not external; it is fellowship with the Father (1:3) We thus are children of God in Christ and through Christ. We are called to live like Christ and keep his commandments. We must also particle in Christian Charity. This is the central theme of this letter. John refers to “God is Love "To understand the this wonderful proof of God’s love for us, we need to reflect on the fact that the Father sent his only Son, the Beloved, with whom he is well pleased (Mt 3L17) he sent him to the world, into sinful mankind as expiation for our sins, dying on the cross, (4:10) to communicate divine life to us, making us his children by means of his grace. Only in God is found the fullness of God. Divine love is bestowed upon us through baptism, The Christian is born of God he received as a gift from God, the infused gift of Charity which equips him to love both God and our neighbors. Thus the Love of God manifests itself in keeping the commandments, to strive to be cleanses of sin, living in a Holy Way like Christ did. Above all, God’s greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves.
- “That which from the beginning, which we heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of Life-The life that was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was the Father and was made manifest to us-that which we have seen and heard; we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing that our joy may be complete. “ 1 John 1-4This prologue, like the prologue in John 1:18 are similar in doctrine, style and even the same language. Both passages sing the proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation; The Word of God who existed from all eternity, “from the beginning”. Became man, who has been seen, heard, looked upon and touched so that all mankind might have “fellowship” communion with the Father and the Son. As St. Bede points out, that in John scriptures “from the very start of this epistle we are being taught the divinity, and, at the same time the humanity of our God and Lord Jesus Christ” taken from ( In I Epist. S Ioaniss, ad loc)“
- That which is from the beginning.. The pronoun is neuter-as if to indicate the Mystery of the Jesus Christ, not referring to something abstract but to the Divine Person of the Son, who in the fullness of time was made manifest (v2) assuming a human nature. St. John, in teaching that Jesus, whom he and the apostles had lived with, seen him and heard him speak) is the eternal Word of God. “That which we have heard, seen, touch” are all references to perception by the senses show the John’s desire to make clear that God really did become Man.
- This section describes what communion with God is, and the demands it makes on us. Communion with God means walking in the light and therefore rejecting sin and keeping the commandments. St. John is writing as a pastor of souls who has lived his life with the Lord and has deeply reflected on it. In ancient times the imagery of Light and Darkness promotes the idea of good and evil. In St. John’s Epistle the imagery has a completely different meaning, one connected with the biblical teaching on light. When God reveals himself to men, in one way or another light usually plays a part. The image is used to show God’s sublimity. The image also shows us what revelation involves. God has made himself known to us, enlighten our hearts. So we can say that God is light, Jesus Christ has made himself know to us , and Christian revelation is the is the splendor of the light.
- Note in this scripture the words, “If we” this introduces three suppositions. St. John is using this literary device of parrelism which was used by many Semitic writers. First sentence is states an idea which is repeated and filled out in later ones. First statement, “We lie” is extended to “We deceive ourselves” And then to “We make him (God) a liar. This lets us know that the writer is familiar with this style of writing, very common in the Old Testament.
- In order to make sure that no one makes a wrong appeal to divine mercy so as to justify continuing sins, St. John exhorts us all to avoid sin. The use of the term, “My little children” speaks to the tenderness and pastoral responsibility. It expresses a deep abiding love like that of Jesus at the Last Supper. (cf Jn13:33) This same Greek term is used 6 more times in this letter. At other times he uses words equivalent to “our little ones” or “dearly beloved” All of these expressions reflect St. John’s passion for the faithful. Truly we have an advocate with the Father, his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who is the only mediator. (cf 1 Tim 2:5) intercedes for us, He who died for our sins (He is the expiation) presents his infinite merits to God the Father, by virtue of which the Father pardons us. The Holy Spirit is also called the Paraclete or Advocate in so far as he comforts and guides each of us.
- Read verses 1 John 2 3-6. Here St. John alludes to that fact that in order to in communion with Christ we must keep God’s Commandment, Keep His word and walk in the same manner that Christ walked. We should be Christ-like in all that we do in order to remain in Him for there is no room for faith without works. We must also keep the word of God, accepting all was revealed by our Savior, Jesus Christ. Most importantly we must be able to identify our life with Christ’s.
- Read verse 2:7-8St. John proclaims that we must love one another as he has loved us. He draws attention to the term of Commandment. It is he says, “An old commandment in v 7 and then in v 8 calls it a new commandment. Old in the view that Christianity and charity are insperatabe while this has been know by the faithful and yet is in a new commandment that is fulfilled in Christ. With a play on words St. John draws attention to the commandment of “Brotherly love” which he goes on to describe in verses 9-11.
- Read v 9-11. Here, St. John is perseverant in His teaching of the call to a new commandment as a means to counter false teachers who were creating spiritual warfare among the faithful. The Navarre commentary tells us that the contrast between the two of these images –Hate, love, Hate, in which the positive is placed in between two opposed ideas, gives credence to the importance of brotherly love. In addition the contrast between light and darkness which began in v1:5 “God is life” ends with the same repetitive imagery.
- St. John speaks to his confidence in the faithful in verse 12-14. Read verses. Note that once again, St. John speaks to his readers as I am writing to you My Little Children with importance placed on the world because. Meaning that he is insisting on the great importance of Christ’s salvation for us as a Christian who walks in the light of Christ.. Meaning that as a Christian, unlike the heretics You can be sure that your sins will be forgiven. When he makes reference to “My little children” once again he is using a term of endearment and importance to make a point.St. John also uses the term, “Evil One” in verse 14. Here St. John specifically speaks about the devil several times in this letter. He is the enemy of the children of God (1 John 2:14 & in 1 John 5:18) a sinner from the beginning, (1 John 3:8) and has the world in his power. When St. John writes that we have overcome the evil one it makes reference to the fact that we have to go back to the origin of sin and evil in the history of mankind and of the universe.. Just as Christ went back to the same roots in the Paschal Mystery of his cross and resurrection. Many times we may be afraid to call the agent of the devil by his name. Blessed Pope John Paul II said in his letter to the young people, that man may feel in a certain sense “freed” from sin but at the same time be completely immersed in it.
- Read verses 15-17. The term world has several different meanings in scripture (cf note on John 17:14-16) Here is the pejorative? Sense of enemy of God and man. It includes everything that’s opposed to God-the kingdom of sin. The list that John gives us is extensive as it speaks to the worldly sense of the opposition of God’s fidelity of Love or the Lustful ideology of our human condition and worldly environment or arrogance of earthly things. He uses this term “lustful” to define not just disordered sensuality but to softness & laziness bent on easiest most pleasurable way, using any apparent shortcut, even at the expense of fidelity to God. In Matthew Kelly’s book, “Rediscovering Catholicism” he speaks in chapter 3 about how cynical our world has become. He speaks to 3 inherent traits that today’s society has gotten caught up in which parallels what St. John is saying. In today’s society the first thing that creates spiritual warfare, chaos and lust is the ideology that “If it feels good, do it any way, Asking, “what is in it for me?” and “What is the least I can do?” It is deeply symbolic of the “Hedonistic” society that we have become.
- Read verses 2:18
- Read v 19. St. John unmasks the Antichrists. They came into the community but they were not in the community but came to lead the faithful away from the shepherd. They were only pretending to Christians like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
- Read v 20. As I read this I came to think that the term anointed has the effect of countering the work of the evil one. According to the Navarre Commentary it refers to the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. St. John is referring to the action of the Father and of his son through the Holy Spirit on the souls of those Christians who have had these sacraments. Anointing instructs us to know every thing. Knowing everything is also about asking the Holy Spirit to help us to gain a further understanding.
- Read v. 22 “Who is the liar but one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” “Jesus is the Christ” is the most fundamental truth of our faith. When St. John uses the word Jesus Christ he is referring to both the Son of God and the Messiah.
- St. John uses the term “Has God” to impress upon us this is a reference to union with God. Throughout his epistles St. John has show us in different ways the same things. For example:“knowing him, seeing him. He may be reminding us to keep in mind the errors of the Gnostics, who said that union with God was attained through special knowledge. (Gnosis) The apostle John repeats the teaching given in his gospel; Only through Christ, through faith in him can one attain union with and have knowledge with the Father. Jesus and Father are one, Only God. So faith is inseparable from faith in the Blessed Trinity. So, too denial of the Son’s divinity is also rejection of the father. We are called to let it abide in us and within it we are granted eternal live.
- Read verse 25-29 St. John once again warns us about those who would deceive us and reminds us that the anointing that we have received in baptism and confirmation abides in us.The key word as Fr. Al would say is Abide! The central idea that St. John repeatedly expressed is Abide In Him, now opens out on to the prospect the last judgement”Jesus Christ, who will be our judge, is the same person that gave us revelation and life. This is one of the foundations of Christian Hope. The key word as Fr. Al would say is Abide! The central idea that St. John repeatedly expressed is Abide In Him, now opens out on to the prospect the last judgement”Jesus Christ, who will be our judge, is the same person that gave us revelation and life. This is one of the foundations of Christian Hope. The anointing refers to the Holy Spirit, who acts on the faithful by instructing about everything” So he becomes, “the counselor, the Holy Sprit, whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things” (Jn 14:26) This does not indicate that we are to be free on our own in interpretations, this is why we have the Magisterium, rather he points out the need to show them otherwise. He wants us to be sure that we understand that the true teacher is the Holy Spirit. (he who it is that guides the Magisterium in it’s teaching.) Read verse 28-29. These two verses summarize what has gone on before and also act as an introduction to a passage on divine filiation. This Key Phrase, “Abide In Him” now opens out on the the prospect of the last judgment. “We may have confidence” here the sacred writer changes to a plural “We” to include himself, was all have to give an account of all our actions and we shall have confidence in Christ our Judge.
- This entire chapter shows how moved St. John is when he contemplates the gift of divine filiation. The Holy Spirit, had desire John to pass on to us this unique revelations that “We are children of God” Read v 1. “We should be called children of “God: which in Hebrew expression which reads, “We are called” is also use by our Lord in Mat 5:9 description of the Beatitudes. To be called is that same as to be called by God. When when God give someone a name his not just conferring a title but is causing it to happen. The Word –it does what it says it will do.As I read ver2, “The world does not know us (because it did not know him) it reminded me our Lord’s words at the Last Supper. “the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. (Jn 16:2-3) Thus divine filiation bring with it a communion and a mysterious identification between Christ and the Christian. The indescribable gift of divine filiation, which the world does not know in V1) is not fully experienced by Christians\, because the seeds of divine life whit it contains will only reach full growth in eternal life, when we see him, ‘as he is” “face to Face”
- “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. “Purifies himself” is equated with Christian Hope, which is firmly grounded in Christ. “And everyone who committs sin is guilty of lawlessness”; sin is lawlessness; Here St. John conveys a basic idea; every sin is more than a transgression of a precept of the moral law; it is above all, an offence against God, the author of that law, a despising and a rejection of God’s will. How painful it was for Jesus Christ who suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, all alone, praying knowing that he had to follow God’s will in order to fulfill the prophesy. Image where would we be if Christ did not follow God’s will? His divinity allowed him to do this for us, can we not do the same for him? If God’s nature abides in us we cannot sin. St. John wants to stress out that no one can justify his own sin by the device of claiming to be a child of God, the righteous of the children of God reflects itself in their actions, for sin cuts off from God and means on has then submitted themselves to the slavery of the devil. The Magisterium of the church reminds us that “care must be taken not to reduce the severity of Mortal Sin. For mortal sin exist when a person knowingly and willingly, chooses something gravelly out of order. In fact, such a choices includes a contempt for the divine law and a rejection of God’s love for humanity; the person who turns away from God looses charity Reconciliation et penitential 19 St. John reminds us . In verse 6-9 this passage acts as a preface to V10 where St. John explicitly spells out the criteria for distinguishing the children of God from the children of the devil-We are called to keep the commandments of God, especially that of Brotherly Love. When St. John refers to the term Children of the Devil is using the Semitic way of speaking, meaning “The devil’s supporters” “Children of God “ refers here to the moral dimension of Christian life shows that they are on God’s side. God causes the Christin to partake of his own divine nature through the life of grace )cf 1 John 3:1-2) The criteria for distinguishing the two groups are the practice of righteousness, striving for holiness an fighting against sin and the practice of brotherly love. Everyone who sins severs his allegiance to God and takes on the Devil’s Side. Now that Christ has brought about our Redemption, every sin implies an offence to our Redeemer; it means crucifying again the Son of God. So St. John reminds us about the main pursue of the Incarnation; He appeared to take away our sin (V5) there is an echo here when the apostle heard John the Baptist say, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29)
- Read v 11 12The new commandment of brotherly love, which Jesus taught at the Last Supper is the message which Christians have learned form the beginning. Everyone can walk the walk, and talk the talk but charity and love are the only things by which the children of God can be told apart from the children of the devil. Those who do not practice . this are not born of God! An essential difference! St. Augustine said that you may have whatever you like, but if you lack charity and love everything else is of no use at all; and if you lack everything and have nothing but charity and love, you have fulfilled the law. Read verse 14 in this verse St. John trying to encourage the Christians as they were being persecuted. As Christians we will at time be met with persecution and defeat but through this difficulties provides us a chance to stand firm in our faith and not ne sad or discouraged. In St. Faustina’s Diary she writes that Jesus comes to her in tears crying for those who do not know him. He calls us to Trust in him always! Tell story. But do you trust in him? Christian life presents itself with ups and downs, passing from sin to grace, death to live but we must always continue to practice the commandment of Love even unto death. In verse 15 St. John goes to say that “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer” a bold statement that emphasis the gravity of the sin. By speaking this way, St. John makes it clear that the hatred of our neighbor is incompatible with the Christian faith.
- In 1 John 4 1:-6 John expands on two things that sum up God’s commandments. Faith in Jesus and Brotherly Love. He begins be giving us the criteria of what is needed to identify false teachers and to recognize the true spirit of God. Verse 3 says that “Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. Is emphasizing that the Incarnation really happened. The false prophets opposed to the faith expressed the belief that Jesus was not real but only apparent. In St. John’s writing he often insisted that the Christian’s faith is centered on the person of Jesus Christ, who being God, became man. By emphasizing this he is taking issue with the gnostic who were saying that Jesus was the Son of God only from his baptism onward.
- In verse 4 -6 St. John repeats his convictions that Christians will be assured of a victory over the evil one. What makes us victorious despite the challenges or predjudicious we may be put under is the fact that have the power of Christ working in us. He calls us to bolster our faith, yet remain humble
- In verse 7 St. John begins with the second aspect of the divine commandment-brotherly love. God’s divine attributes are the cause of our virtues; Because God is Holy, we have been given the capacity to become holy. Because God is love, we can love.
- Read Verse 8 God is Love. His love is real. St. Augustine explains that even if nothing more were to be said in praise of love in all the page of this epistles or in the Holy Scriptures and all we heard from the mouth of the Holy Spirit were that “God is Love” there would be nothing else we would need to look for” I Epist Ioann ad Parthos, 7, 5)
- In verse 9 God reveals that his love for men by sending his own son; the very presence of Jesus which speaks to God’s love. He put Jesus on the earth to reveal the fullness and revelation of God. St. Augustine said that it was divine love that lead the second person of the Trinity, The Word, the Son of God, the Father, to take on our flesh, our human condition,everthing including sin. What wondrous love is this!
- In speaking of God’s love St. John takes the explanation to a much higher level He points to the highest level of the expression of love, “He sent ( His son) to be expiation for our sins” It is an supreme act of love.
- Read v 11-12 Here St. John underlines the theological basis of brotherly love; the love God has shown us through the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The redemptive death of His Son, places us in his debt, one that we can never really repay. So we ought to love our neighbor as our self. By loving one another we are in communion with God. The deepest desire of the human heart cannot be satisfied in the life. St. Augustine tells us that love of neighbor is the first thing in the order of practice, You who do not yet see god, will , by loving your neighbor ,will cleanse our eyes to see God. John reminds us in verse 20 “if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, how can you love God who you do not see?”
- Having the gift of the Holy Spirit is the sure sign that we are in communion with God. Since the H.S. is the love of the Father and the Son, his presence in the should is grace that moves each of of to keep all the commandments. I know that when I am upset and need to pray and discern I call upon the Holy Spirit to guide me. Give ex:This impulse to pray shows that the third Person of the Blessed Trinity is at work within us, it is a sign of union with God. In him we abide and he abides in us.
- Here John vividly describes to us that he and the other apostles have seen with their own eyes the Son of God, made man out of love for us. These eyewitnesses of his redemptive life and death come alive in the scriptures that are written. As I read the epistles of John I could get a sense of St. John looking at Jesus and as he listened to the Lord, I reading his (St. John’s word) could sense the presence of Christ in his words.
- Confess Jesus as your Lord!
- 1 John 4 16-17 Read these verse. Knowing and believing are not theological knowledge but intimate experiences with the Lord. John is speaking to the historical truth of Cheri
- St John proclaims here the solution is to love! St. J Escriva eloquently describes John’s ideology of love that emotionally moved her; the fearful man does not know how to love. You, therefore, who do love and know how to show it, you mustn’t be afraid of anything. So on You GO! (The Forge) Commenting on vs. 19 St. Augustine exclaims “How could we have loved him if he had not first loved us? By loving him, we become his friends, he loves us when we were his enemies, in order to make him our friends. As I reflect on this verse I remember an friend who had not been to confession for several years and we had gone to confession together and as we waited prayed. She asked me, How can Jesus still love me if I have not gone to confession for so many years and I feel unworthy of his grace? I simple told her that he always loves us, he wants us to come to him so that we can grow and become refined despite our mistakes. You only have to trust in him as he is waiting for you with open arms.
- The term He is a liar is proclaimed once again. This is a very harsh statement. Being a liar is being on the devil’s side for the Devil is the father of all lies! We cannot love God if we do not love our brother. St. Clement of Alexandria once said that “Seeing your brother is seeing God” What a wonderful perception!
- Verses 1-5 are a complete summary of the entire 1 John. In the opening verses St. John points out that He who believes in Christ is a child of God, He loves God and mean, his brother, he keeps the commandments and shares in Christ’s victory over the world.
- Read v 6 The water and blood have come to represent the events in the life of Christ or symbols of the sacraments. The water is an allusion to our Lord’s baptism, where the Father and The Holy Spirit bore witness to Christ’s divinity. The blood referring to the cross, where Christ, true God and true man shed his blood to bring Redemption for man’s sins. Here St. John is addressing the Gnostics who said that Jesus became the son of God through baptism and ceased to be the son of God prior to his passion, therefore they believe that only the man Jesus, devoid of divinity died on the cross, which would be the ultimate denial of the redemptive value of Christ’s Death. Throughout the rest of 1 John 5 St. John puts together a series of short contrast wh1ch are full of meaning. He proclaims 3 important truths (next page)
- Read vers 9-12Here St. John exemplifies that there are 3 fundamental ideologies that need to be address because of the Gnostic beliefs.
- St. John’s word in this verse similar to the first epilogue of his Gospel. Where he explains why he wrote the book. “That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and in believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31 Here he stresses the efficacy of faith, which is already been anticipated as eternal life in Christ.
- Earlier St. John referred to confidence in prayer. The confidence comes from the fact that “we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” 1 John 3:22 Now he stresses that God always listens to us; if we ask, according to his will. Many times people say, “ I prayed for this or I prayed for that, but God didn’t answer my prayers. Ex; Sergio that lost his faith. It is not surprising then that the Cure’ of Ars teaches that the devil shall do everything possible to influence us to give up praying or to pray badly, because he knows better than we do, how much hell fears prayers and how impossible it is that God should refuse us what we ask of him through prayer. Imagine how many sinners would get out of sin if they only prayed. When John speaks of mortal sin it was in reference to the graveness of the sin. Pope John Paul II made a reference to John’s passage by saying, "Obviously the concept of death here is a spiritual death. It is a question of the loss of eternal life, which for John is knowledge of the Father and the Son, and community and intimacy with them. St. Thomas states that sin is the rejection of God, rejection of his grace, and therefore opposition to the very source of salvation which excludes ourselves voluntarily from the path of forgiveness.
- Each of these verses begins with “We Know” John means that knowing is that understanding that comes from living faith. Understanding that the Incarnation of the Word is the central trugh which shed light on all of us. To believe this is to live out our fith. There is a an indication of hope, based on the divine promieses, the christan has received the guarantee and needed strength not to sin. John says that “We are in him, who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ, he is confessing the divinity of Christ and the fact that he is the only mediateor between the Father and mankind. In verse 20 St. Johns speaks metaphorically letting them know that the true danger facing Christians then and now, is that of follwing the idols of the heart-that is, sin wih which case he is giving his final counsel.
- This letter is address to the elect lady and her children, a metaphor meaning a church in Asia Minor, perhaps a circular letter that went out to all. The word “truth” is stated 4 times in verse 1-4. In N.T. language , espeically in St. John’s writings truth means the revelation of God which reaches its peek in Jesus Christ. To love in the truth means; “loving in Christ”, which is equivalent to loving with the same love as that which Christ loves.
- St. John expresses his profound joy base on the fact that the Christian have learned that walking in the truth entails keeping the commandment of brotherly love, which Christians have learned from the beginning. This tradition has become so inbred traditionally that anyone who teaches otherwise is a liar and a diecever. At that time false leaders teachers were causing harm by corrupting the faith and by destroying unity and mutual love.