Book introduction
The book of 1 John
1 John is written to churches shaken when some members left and denied that Jesus came in the flesh. It gives tests for knowing you belong to God: walking in the light, loving one another, and believing in Jesus. It says plainly, “God is love.”
Read 1 John 4Start at chapter 1
Who wrote 1 John?
The letter is unsigned. Tradition names the apostle John. Most scholars link it to the same circle as John’s Gospel, whether the apostle or a leader called “the elder.”
When was it written?
About AD 90–100.
Main themes
- God is light
- Walk in the light and confess sin.
- God is love
- Anyone who loves is born of God.
- Assurance
- Written so that you may know you have eternal life.
Outline of 1 John
Key verses
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous: he will forgive our sins and make us clean from every kind of unrighteousness.
See what great love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God—and that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
The one who does not love has not come to know God, for God is love.
We love because he first loved us.
Quoted from the Lumin Translation.
Where to start
Read chapter 4, then the whole letter.
Ask about this book
Questions about 1 John?
Lumin answers in a few sentences and shows each verse it cites in full.
Keep going
Keep asking in the Lumin app.Keep this conversation going on the web.
The same short answers with the verse beside each one, plus your saved questions, prayer, and the whole Bible to read in.
Make a free Lumin account and this conversation opens in Ask, ready for your next question. Your saved questions, prayer, and the whole Bible come with it.
All 66 books· Bible map· Search the Bible· Ask
Each introduction gives the traditional view and the main views scholars hold today. Where Christians disagree, it says so.
Report an error in this introduction. If we agree, we fix it and add a dated note.
This inbox is for corrections. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 in the US and Canada, call 116 123 in the UK and Ireland, or find your country’s line at findahelpline.com.