http://www.humanreligions.info/1_john.html
By Vexen Crabtree 2012
Included as holy:
Protestant Bibles
Title: 1 John
Section: New Testament
Catholic Bible
Title: 1 John
Section: New Testament
Eastern Orthodox Bibles
Title: 1 John
Section: New Testament
Rejected by:
Jewish Tanakh
The three theological letters (epistles) of John are commonly called 1 John, 2 John and 3 John. They were written by Christians living quite a while after the Gospel of John was written, by a different author, and they use arguments and terminology that developed as a result of that Gospel (which was itself written a long time after the rest of the canonical gospels), and address theological problems which arose during their own community's time1. No early Christians quote from these epistles, and, later on, most who heard of them were dubious about their authenticity. Nonetheless, rising Pauline Christians found these letters very useful in arguing their case, and when the official New Testament was established in the later half of the 4th century, they had the 3 epistles of John included in the canon.
1 John talks about what the correct beliefs of Christians are. It is written anonymously, but was given the title of "John" because it accepts the theology of the Gospel of John. Not a lot of ancient Bible manuscripts included 1 John in their copies. Dr Thomas Holland notes that of a selection of 400 ancient Greek New Testament manuscripts used by the Nestle-Aland Text (out of 6,000), only 100 contain the collection of Epistles known as the Catholic Epistles. Of these 100, only some include 1 John2. 1 John was either written quite removed from primary sources (hence its adoption of features of the Gospel of John, itself written quite late), or, considered unlikely to be authentic, or, only accepted for a long while by a minority of Christians who believed in particular things about the nature of God and Jesus.
One the more simple and non-theological teachings of 1 John is that Christians must love each other, and must hate darkness and sin.
| KJV | YLT | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; | That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we did behold, and our hands did handle, concerning the Word of the Life -- | |
| 2 | (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) | and the Life was manifested, and we have seen, and do testify, and declare to you the Life, the age-during, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us -- | |
| 3 | That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. | that which we have seen and heard declare we to you, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship `is' with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ; | |
| 4 | And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. | and these things we write to you, that your joy may be full. | |
| 5 | This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. | And this is the message that we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and darkness in Him is not at all; | |
| 6 | If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: | if we may say -- `we have fellowship with Him,' and in the darkness may walk -- we lie, and do not the truth; | |
| 7 | But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. | and if in the light we may walk, as He is in the light -- we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son doth cleanse us from every sin; | |
| 8 | If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. | if we may say -- `we have not sin,' ourselves we lead astray, and the truth is not in us; | |
| 9 | If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. | if we may confess our sins, stedfast He is and righteous that He may forgive us the sins, and may cleanse us from every unrighteousness; | |
| 10 | If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. | if we may say -- `we have not sinned,' a liar we make Him, and His word is not in us. |
| KJV | YLT | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: | My little children, these things I write to you, that ye may not sin: and if any one may sin, an advocate we have with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one, | |
| 2 | And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world. | and he -- he is a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world, | |
| 3 | And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. | and in this we know that we have known him, if his commands we may keep; | |
| 4 | He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. | he who is saying, `I have known him,' and his command is not keeping, a liar he is, and in him the truth is not; | |
| 5 | But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. | and whoever may keep his word, truly in him the love of God hath been perfected; in this we know that in him we are. | |
| 6 | He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. | He who is saying in him he doth remain, ought according as he walked also himself so to walk. | |
| 7 | Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. | Brethren, a new command I write not to you, but an old command, that ye had from the beginning -- the old command is the word that ye heard from the beginning; | |
| 8 | Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. | again, a new command I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness doth pass away, and the true light doth now shine; | |
| 9 | He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. | he who is saying, in the light he is, and his brother is hating, in the darkness he is till now; | |
| 10 | He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. | he who is loving his brother, in the light he doth remain, and a stumbling-block in him there is not; | |
| 11 | But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. | and he who is hating his brother, in the darkness he is, and in the darkness he doth walk, and he hath not known whither he doth go, because the darkness did blind his eyes. | |
| 12 | I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. | I write to you, little children, because the sins have been forgiven you through his name; | |
| 13 | I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. | I write to you, fathers, because ye have known him who `is' from the beginning; I write to you, young men, because ye have overcome the evil. I write to you, little youths, because ye have known the Father: | |
| 14 | I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. | I did write to you, fathers, because ye have known him who `is' from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God in you doth remain, and ye have overcome the evil. | |
| 15 | Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. | Love not ye the world, nor the things in the world; if any one doth love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, | |
| 16 | For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. | because all that `is' in the world -- the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the ostentation of the life -- is not of the Father, but of the world, | |
| 17 | And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. | and the world doth pass away, and the desire of it, and he who is doing the will of God, he doth remain -- to the age. | |
| 18 | Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. | Little youths, it is the last hour; and even as ye heard that the antichrist doth come, even now antichrists have become many -- whence we know that it is the last hour; | |
| 19 | They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. | out of us they went forth, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but -- that they might be manifested that they are not all of us. | |
| 20 | But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. | And ye have an anointing from the Holy One, and have known all things; | |
| 21 | I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. | I did not write to you because ye have not known the truth, but because ye have known it, and because no lie is of the truth. | |
| 22 | Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. | Who is the liar, except he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ? this one is the antichrist who is denying the Father and the Son; | |
| 23 | Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. | every one who is denying the Son, neither hath he the Father, `he who is confessing the Son hath the Father also.' | |
| 24 | Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. | Ye, then, that which ye heard from the beginning, in you let it remain; if in you may remain that which from the beginning ye did hear, ye also in the Son and in the Father shall remain, | |
| 25 | And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. | and this is the promise that He did promise us -- the life the age-during. | |
| 26 | These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. | These things I did write to you concerning those leading you astray; | |
| 27 | But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. | and you, the anointing that ye did receive from him, in you it doth remain, and ye have no need that any one may teach you, but as the same anointing doth teach you concerning all, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as was taught you, ye shall remain in him. | |
| 28 | And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. | And now, little children, remain in him, that when he may be manifested, we may have boldness, and may not be ashamed before him, in his presence; | |
| 29 | If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. | if ye know that he is righteous, know ye that every one doing the righteousness, of him hath been begotten. |
| KJV | YLT | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. | See ye what love the Father hath given to us, that children of God we may be called; because of this the world doth not know us, because it did not know Him; | For more on 1 John 3:15 see What Do Religions Say About Souls?: 2.3.1. No Souls, Only Physical Resurrection 1 John 3:19-20 appears on Is Omniscience Possible? Does God Know Everything?: 1. Is God All-Knowing in the Bible and Qur'an? 1 John 3:19-20 is discussed on Is Omniscience Possible? Does God Know Everything?: 4.1. Christianity: Times in the Bible When God Doesn't Know All, and Tests People to Find Things Out 1 John 3:19-20: Do We Need Religion to Have Good Morals?: 1.3. Is Religion Required to Be a Good Person? 1 John 3:19-20: Don't Panic: The World is Not About to End and Western Culture is Safe: 2.5. The Loss of Religion Means the Loss of All Morality 1 John 3:19-20: See What Causes Religion and Superstitions?: 2.5. Moralizing: Being Religious in Order to Be a Good Person Some comments on 1 John 3:19-20 are on Can God Lie? Is God Always Truthful in the Christian Bible?: 1. Verses from the Bible in More Detail |
| 2 | Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. | beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be, and we have known that if he may be manifested, like him we shall be, because we shall see him as he is; | |
| 3 | And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. | and every one who is having this hope on him, doth purify himself, even as he is pure. | |
| 4 | Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. | Every one who is doing the sin, the lawlessness also he doth do, and the sin is the lawlessness, | |
| 5 | And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. | and ye have known that he was manifested that our sins he may take away, and sin is not in him; | |
| 6 | Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. | every one who is remaining in him doth not sin; every one who is sinning, hath not seen him, nor known him. | |
| 7 | Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. | Little children, let no one lead you astray; he who is doing the righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous, | |
| 8 | He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. | he who is doing the sin, of the devil he is, because from the beginning the devil doth sin; for this was the Son of God manifested, that he may break up the works of the devil; | |
| 9 | Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. | every one who hath been begotten of God, sin he doth not, because his seed in him doth remain, and he is not able to sin, because of God he hath been begotten. | |
| 10 | In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. | In this manifest are the children of God, and the children of the devil; every one who is not doing righteousness, is not of God, and he who is not loving his brother, | |
| 11 | For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. | because this is the message that ye did hear from the beginning, that we may love one another, | |
| 12 | Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. | not as Cain -- of the evil one he was, and he did slay his brother, and wherefore did he slay him? because his works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. | |
| 13 | Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. | Do not wonder, my brethren, if the world doth hate you; | |
| 14 | We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. | we -- we have known that we have passed out of the death to the life, because we love the brethren; he who is not loving the brother doth remain in the death. | |
| 15 | Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. | Every one who is hating his brother -- a man-killer he is, and ye have known that no man-killer hath life age-during in him remaining, | |
| 16 | Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. | in this we have known the love, because he for us his life did lay down, and we ought for the brethren the lives to lay down; | |
| 17 | But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? | and whoever may have the goods of the world, and may view his brother having need, and may shut up his bowels from him -- how doth the love of God remain in him? | |
| 18 | My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. | My little children, may we not love in word nor in tongue, but in word and in truth! | |
| 19 | And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. | and in this we know that of the truth we are, and before Him we shall assure our hearts, | |
| 20 | For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. | because if our heart may condemn -- because greater is God than our heart, and He doth know all things. | |
| 21 | Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. | Beloved, if our heart may not condemn us, we have boldness toward God, | |
| 22 | And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. | and whatever we may ask, we receive from Him, because His commands we keep, and the things pleasing before Him we do, | |
| 23 | And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. | and this is His command, that we may believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and may love one another, even as He did give command to us, | |
| 24 | And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. | and he who is keeping His commands, in Him he doth remain, and He in him; and in this we know that He doth remain in us, from the Spirit that He gave us. |
| KJV | YLT | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. | Beloved, every spirit believe not, but prove the spirits, if of God they are, because many false prophets have gone forth to the world; | Some comments on 1 John 4:1 are on Pascal's Wager is Safer in Reverse: Picking a Religion is Dangerous Business: 1.1. The Devil as an Angel of Light, and the Satanic Verses 1 John 4:1 is mentioned on The Problem of Evil: Why Would a Good God Create Suffering?: 5. Theodicy Deferred (It is all a mystery!) - the Story of Job For more on 1 John 4:1 see The Problem of Evil: Why Would a Good God Create Suffering?: 5. Theodicy Deferred (It is all a mystery!) - the Story of Job 1 John 4:1: See God Must Be Evil (If It Exists): 4.1. Pascal's Wager is Safer in Reverse 1 John 4:1: God Must Be Evil (If It Exists): 4.1. Pascal's Wager is Safer in Reverse 1 John 4:1 is referenced on God's Methods of Communication: Universal Truth Versus Hebrew and Arabic: 7. Pascal's Wager: Is it Safer to Believe Than to Doubt? 1 John 4:1 is discussed on God's Methods of Communication: Universal Truth Versus Hebrew and Arabic: 7. Pascal's Wager: Is it Safer to Believe Than to Doubt? 1 John 4:2-3: Docetism: Early Christianity of the 1st to 7th Century: 3. The Rise of Trinitarian Christianity and the Demise of Docetism 1 John 4:2-3 is referenced on Gnosticism (1st-7th Century): The Birth of Christianity: 3.3. Docetism (1st - 7th Century) 1 John 4:20: Christian Moral Theory and Morality in Action: Biblical Morals and Social Disaster: 4.4. The Good |
| 2 | Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: | in this know ye the Spirit of God; every spirit that doth confess Jesus Christ in the flesh having come, of God it is, | |
| 3 | And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. | and every spirit that doth not confess Jesus Christ in the flesh having come, of God it is not; and this is that of the antichrist, which ye heard that it doth come, and now in the world it is already. | |
| 4 | Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. | Ye -- of God ye are, little children, and ye have overcome them; because greater is He who `is' in you, than he who is in the world. | |
| 5 | They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. | They -- of the world they are; because of this from the world they speak, and the world doth hear them; | |
| 6 | We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. | we -- of God we are; he who is knowing God doth hear us; he who is not of God, doth not hear us; from this we know the spirit of the truth, and the spirit of the error. | |
| 7 | Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. | Beloved, may we love one another, because the love is of God, and every one who is loving, of God he hath been begotten, and doth know God; | |
| 8 | He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. | he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love. | |
| 9 | In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. | In this was manifested the love of God in us, because His Son -- the only begotten -- hath God sent to the world, that we may live through him; | |
| 10 | Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. | in this is the love, not that we loved God, but that He did love us, and did send His Son a propitiation for our sins. | |
| 11 | Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. | Beloved, if thus did God love us, we also ought one another to love; | |
| 12 | No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. | God no one hath ever seen; if we may love one another, God in us doth remain, and His love is having been perfected in us; | |
| 13 | Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. | in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He hath given us. | |
| 14 | And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. | And we -- we have seen and do testify, that the Father hath sent the Son -- Saviour of the world; | |
| 15 | Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. | whoever may confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God in him doth remain, and he in God; | |
| 16 | And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. | and we -- we have known and believed the love, that God hath in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in the love, in God he doth remain, and God in him. | |
| 17 | Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. | In this made perfect hath been the love with us, that boldness we may have in the day of the judgment, because even as He is, we -- we also are in this world; | |
| 18 | There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. | fear is not in the love, but the perfect love doth cast out the fear, because the fear hath punishment, and he who is fearing hath not been made perfect in the love; | |
| 19 | We love him, because he first loved us. | we -- we love him, because He -- He first loved us; | |
| 20 | If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? | if any one may say -- `I love God,' and his brother he may hate, a liar he is; for he who is not loving his brother whom he hath seen, God -- whom he hath not seen -- how is he able to love? | |
| 21 | And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. | and this `is' the command we have from Him, that he who is loving God, may also love his brother. |
1 John was written specifically to counter ideas that the author disagreed with, and to assert that only its author's ideas were the correct ones. 1 John 5:1 (same as John 8:42) says that if you don't believe in Jesus then you can't actually love God. Not exactly a tolerant endorsement of the likes of Moses, Abraham, and other Jewish heroes of the Old Testament! 1 John 5:2-6 adds that "God's testimnoy" is greater than "man's" and that God's testimony is that Jesus is its son - only those who believe in that have God's testimony in their heart. Verse 10 says that if you don't believe in Jesus, you must believe that God is a liar. Verses 12-13 finish by saying that only those who believe in Jesus can survive death.
So 1 John 5 makes it clear that Jews (for example) do not love God because they don't accept Jesus, and, also, if you don't believe in Jesus, you can't carry out God's commandments. It is not about your behaviour, about whether you love God as much as you can, about whether you are kind to others: it is all about whether or not you believe that the creator of the universe, and untold billions of planets, happened to choose to have his only son here on Earth. If you don't believe that, then, you believe that God is a liar, and you follow man's testimony, not god's: all your other attempts to be good and godly are useless, according to 1 John 5:1-13.
This kind of blank-and-white thinking about them-and-us prepared Christianity for its 1600-year spate of heresy-hunting and intolerance of even the slightest divergences of belief. If you didn't believe exactly the right things about Jesus then you couldn't love God, couldn't do what God wanted, and in other words, were agents of Satan, who could rightly be pursued and oppressed, because anyway, they had no chance of attaining immortal life if left to their ways.
For more, see: