1 John 1-3

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. 1 John 1:1 An identical movement of life is transmitted from the Father to the Son, from the Son to his witnesses, and from his witnesses to believers. And the authenticity of this sharing is guaranteed by the real contact of the witnesses with the Son of God, the Word of Life (see Jn 1:1), the Messiah who is truly man. The Christian faith starts from a fact, an event, an experience. Thus, everything appears as a movement from God and a striving toward him, a fellowship of life. Without such an insertion in the bonds of the Church and this link with a real testimony, it would be vain speculation.
   This Prologue deals with the same themes and makes use of the same words as the Prologue to John’s Gospel (beginning, Word, life).
2. 1 John 1:1 The Word of God was the source of life (see Deut 4:1; 32:47; Mt 4:4; Phil 2:16). John gives the title “Word” to the Son of God become man with whom the Apostles lived. Thus, they became eyewitnesses of his glory. They touched him and knew he was real. They heard him with their ears as he spoke the words of life. Everything they preached and wrote about him was based on fact.
3. 1 John 1:2 That life . . . the eternal life: i.e., Christ. He is called “life” because he is the living one who has life in himself (see Jn 11:25; 14:6). He is also the source of life and sovereign over life (1 Jn 5:11). This Letter begins and concludes (1 Jn 5:11) with the theme of eternal life.
4. 1 John 1:3 Fellowship (or communion): the word expresses one of the most important themes in Johannine mysticism: the unity of the Christian community, based on the oneness of each believer with God in Christ. This unity is described in the figures of the vine and the branches (see Jn 15:1-5) and the body and the head (see 1 Cor 12:12; Col 1:18). It also finds expression in various formulations: Christians “abide in God and God in them”; “they are born of God”; “they belong to God”; “they know God.” Such a union with God is manifested in faith and fraternal love.
5. 1 John 1:5 There is no fellowship with God in the absence of faith or love. Christians do not achieve fellowship with God the Light (see Jn 8:12) by giving themselves over to Illuminism or by some magical rite; they do so by believing in the Redemption brought about by Christ’s Passion and by living in the truth (see Jn 3:31), i.e., by entering into a life experience that keeps the commandments of the Gospel in a concrete manner.
6. 1 John 1:5 Light . . . darkness: light represents all that is good, true, and holy, whereas darkness stands for all that is evil and false (see Jn 3:19-21).
7. 1 John 1:8 Christians do not live in some superior spiritual sphere far removed from our daily lives on earth. We must in all honesty acknowledge that sin is present in our lives with all its weight. If we do not do so, we oppose the whole experience attested by Scripture and render insignificant the voluntary sacrifice that Christ made of himself so that human beings might have life. Deliverance from sin is obtained not by evasion but by the act of God who forgives and justifies us in the very depths of our being.
8. 1 John 2:3 Gnostics claimed to possess a special revealed “knowledge.” But John stresses that there is a real and living knowledge of God, a true light, an authentic truth, and it is expressed in a life that is lived in accord with the commandments of God. Its great characteristic is love. New doctrines are being put forth. Christian teaching is a commandment of Jesus, which in this sense is old. Yet it is also new because it is revealed in Jesus as a fact as well as in the life of believers. In the face of everything that is without purpose or sense, faith is a ray of light, a victory over darkness, a bright dawn for the world.
9. 1 John 2:4 John reiterates the testimony of Paul and James about faith and works. James said that faith without works is dead (see note on Jas 2:14-26). Paul indicated that rewards would be based on good and bad deeds (see 2 Cor 5:10; see also note on Rom 4:3). John says that Christians who do not keep the commandments of Jesus are liars and the truth is not in them. For faith in Christ without good deeds, i.e., keeping the commandments, is not authentic.
10. 1 John 2:7 New commandment: see Jn 13:34f. The Biblical commandment to love was old (see Lev 19:18; also Mt 22:39-40). However, its newness is seen in (1) the new illustration of love on the Cross; (2) Christ’s exposition of the Old Testament law (see Mt 5), which appeared to be new to those who heard it; and (3) the everyday experience on the part of believers as they grow in mutual love.
11. 1 John 2:12 The author addresses all with affection: “Dear children,” as he says. He wants to answer every one of them—the old as well as the young. He recalls that Christians are set free from sin, that they are the vanquishers of the power of evil, personified in the Bible as the devil, “the evil one.” This victory is attained by the action of God and not by adhering to the speculations that are being spread about. Adhering therein is the “world”—a term that refers to all that is opposed to God. The fourth Gospel had already accustomed us to this language that opposes God to the world and light to darkness. The author wishes to speak thereby of all the limitations of the human, e.g., unregulated desires, the need to possess, and the satisfaction of extravagance. In the face of this seduction that troubles every existence, believers can stand fast only by a life marked profoundly by the word of God.
12. 1 John 2:16 The author here defines three great sins of worldliness: the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life. The first has to do with inordinate desire for sensuality (see Eph 2:3; 1 Pet 2:11; 2 Pet 2:10, 18). The second has to do with covetousness, which springs from the eyes and has to do with the desire for things (see Job 31:1; Ezek 23:12-17; Mt 5:27ff). The third has to do with worldly ambition, ostentation, pride and arrogance, independence of God (see Ps 10:4; Prov 16:5; Isa 13:11; Lk 1:51-52; Jas 4:6, 10; 1 Pet 3:8; 5:5).
13. 1 John 2:18 New teachers have arisen proclaiming a message different from that of the Gospel of Jesus. Is this not a sign that the end is near? The circumstances that Jesus had described in this respect (see Mk 13:22; see also 2 Thes 3:4; Rev 13:12-15) suddenly appear to be present. It is at least a time of crisis. The false teachers refuse to acknowledge either Christ or the Father, and they do away with the Gospel. The author is quick to set these teachers straight: those who do not accept the Gospel are no longer in the Church in spite of all appearances. Believers should cling to the teaching they originally received, i.e., to the great ideas of Christian initiation, for what is at issue is the Word of Jesus. They have been anointed by the Holy One, that is, they are penetrated by the word and the grace of Jesus. Let them not be concerned with new words and new teachings but be alert to await the Lord’s coming.
14. 1 John 2:18 Scripture distinguishes the Antichrist from many antichrists and from the spirit of the Antichrist (1 Jn 4:3). Here John is speaking of all who follow the Antichrist and imitate his evil spirit. He assumes that his readers know that a great enemy of his people will arise before Christ’s return. This enemy is the Antichrist, “the man of lawlessness” (see notes on 2 Thes 2:3b-12 and 2:3b-4) and “the beast” (Rev 13:1-10). But before his coming there will be many antichrists characterized by (1) denial of Christ’s Incarnation (see 1 Jn 4:2; 2 Jn 7) and Divinity (see 1 Jn 2:22); (2) denial of the Father (see 1 Jn 2:22); (3) nonpossession of the Father (see 1 Jn 2:23); (4) falsehoods (see 1 Jn 2:22), deceptions (see 2 Jn 7); (5) many in number (see 1 Jn 2:18); (6) nothing in common with believers (see 1 Jn 2:19).
15. 1 John 2:20 Anointed by the Holy One: reference to the Spirit who has been given to the Messiah (see Isa 11:2; 61:1), and then conferred by the Messiah on believers (see 1 Jn 3:24; 4:13; 2 Cor 1:21) so as to teach them about all things (see 1 Jn 2:27; Jn 16:13f; 1 Cor 2:10, 15). As a result, the words of Jesus are “spirit and life” (Jn 6:63).
16. 1 John 2:29 The author takes ideas already expressed and develops them in new ways. In ch. 1:5-7 he used the phrase “God is light”; now he expresses the new theme that “God is righteous.” God forgives human beings, bestowing upon them a condition in which they can stand before him. Here, too, it is not a question of abstract ideas but of life practices. What a bold affirmation about the Divine Sonship; what a dizzying perspective of a faith that must one day go beyond itself in the full vision of God!
17. 1 John 3:4 Breaking away from sin does not take place by delighting in sublime thoughts but by the action of God in Jesus Christ. For it is Christ alone who is without sin (see Jn 8:26). And it is not words but deeds that bear witness to this liberation. To what options or influences does our life cling? Is it in the grip of the devil or does it cling to the word of God? Certainly, sin is part of the daily life of believers (1 Jn 1:8-10), but we are speaking about the fundamental and general choice between sin and righteousness. Which do we choose?
18. 1 John 3:6 Whoever remains in him does not sin: the author is not speaking about sinless perfection (see 1 Jn 1:8—2:1). He is simply asserting that the life of believers is dominated not by sin but by doing the right thing.
19. 1 John 3:9 His seed: a reference to Christ (see 1 Jn 5:18; Gal 3:16) or to the Holy Spirit (see 1 Jn 2:20-27) or to the seed of Divine life that God introduced into us.
20. 1 John 3:11 There are two attitudes toward life—hate and love, murder and the offering of one’s life. Cain is the Biblical prototype of all the homicidal impulses that arise in the human heart (see Gen 4; Heb 11:4); these come together in what the author’s language terms “the world.” This symbolizes death. Christian behavior—which is life, love, and offering of self—draws us away from the world. Christ gives us both the power to do so and the example to follow in the concrete reality of his Passion. Believers must do likewise. They can count on God’s mercy. Verse 23, which expresses the whole intent of the Letter, brings out clearly the mind of the author in regard to the growing Gnosticism.
21. 1 John 3:18 Like James, John insists on the value of good works. Love is not a mere matter of lip service; it must be seen and known in actions. Beautiful words are meaningless if they are not accompanied by good deeds.
22. 1 John 3:22 Believers who have a good conscience desire nothing that is contrary to God’s honor and glory. They will trust in God, who will give them the good things they request (see Ps 84:12).
23. 1 John 3:23 This commandment has two parts: (1) belief in Christ (see Jn 6:29) and (2) love for one another (see Jn 13:34f). The Letter develops part one in 4:1-6 and the second part in 4:7-12.