The Johannine Epistles
(or The Letters of John)

Introduction to the Three "Letters" of "Epistles" of John:

• The "Catholic Epistles" within the NT Canon
   
• Letter Structure of 1 John, 2 John, 3 John
   
• Detailed Outlines of the Three Letters of John
   
• Literary and Historical Overview of 1 John, ...of 2 John, ...of 3 John
   
• NAB Introduction and Full Text of 1 John, ...of 2 John, ...of 3 John (from USCCB)
   

The Three Johannine Letters, as a Group:

1. Author: All three are probably by the same author; but who is he?
   1. 1 John: no author is named or referred to throughout the text.
   2. 2 John and 3 John: the author is self-identified as “the elder.”
   3. He is traditionally identified as “John the apostle, son of Zebedee” – but is this correct?
   4. He was probably a leader of the “Johannine community” (in Ephesus?) – i.e. the community(-ies) founded by the “beloved disciple” who value the Gospel of John!
2. Relationship of the Letters to the Gospel according to John?
   1. Many similarities in vocabulary & theology; but some slight differences.
   2. Same author of the Gospel and the Letters?  If not, at least in/from the same community.
   3. Scholars debate whether the letters were written before (maybe) or after (probably) the Gospel.
   4. The Letters continue many of the same teachings as the Gospel of John, but also seem to correct some misinterpretations.
3. Dates of Composition:
   1. The three letters were probably written at about the same time; maybe a few months/years apart.
   2. Most likely in the late first century, they were written to communities near the Johannine “mother church.”
   3. But scholars debate whether 1 John was written before, after, or together with 2 & 3 John.
4. Different Genres, to distinct but related recipients, with slightly different purposes:
   1. 1 John is not a letter, but a theological treatise, for the whole community.
   2. 2 John is an open letter of exhortation, to a particular church community.
   3. 3 John is a personal letter of commendation, to a named community leader.
   4. Let’s start with 2 & 3 John – shorter, easier to understand their context and messages.

2 JOHN & 3 JOHN: Historical Context and Literary Overviews:

1. Attributed Author:
   • “The Elder” (2 John 1 & 3 John 1)
   • Is this the Apostle John? Or the "Beloved Disciple" of the Gospel? Or someone else?
2. Named Recipients:
   • 2 John 1: “to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever”
     • not to an individual woman, but to personified “church” (feminine), and the “children” (members/believers) of that community
     • similar in conclusion: “The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.” – i.e. the believers in a “sister church” in a nearby city
   • 3 John 1: “to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.”
     • evidently a local church leader, friend of “the elder”
     • 3 John also names an opponent (Diotrephes) & a friend (Demetrius)
3. Similar Conclusions: Postscript & Greetings
   • 2 John 12-13: “Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
     / The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.”
   • 3 John 13-15: “I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink; / instead I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face. / Peace to you.
     The friends (philoi) send you their greetings. Greet the friends there, each by name.”
4. Outlines:
   • Although 2 John & 3 John are extremely brief, both are clearly structured with an epistolary opening, body, and conclusion, as found in most of the other letters of the New Testament and in the ancient world in general.
   • Click here for the Structural Outlines of 2 John and 3 John
     

Conflict and Divisions within the Johannine Communities:

1. Community Ideals:
• Walking in love, remaining/abiding in truth, loving one another, living in joy, showing hospitality to the “friends,” testifying to the truth.
2. Problems are not with external “opponents,” but “schismatics” who left the community:
   • 2 John 4: “I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth.”
   • 2 John 7a: “Many deceivers have gone out into the world…”
3. Divisions in 2 John are caused by doctrinal disagreements
• 2 John 7b: “those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist!”
4. Divisions in 3 John, in contrast, sound more like a leadership struggle
   • 3 John gives us the name of a specific opponent: Diotrephes!
   • One side: the Elder & Gaius & Demetrius
   • Other side: Diotrephes (and his unnamed followers)
   • 3 John 9-10: “I have written something to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing in spreading false charges against us. And not content with those charges, he refuses to welcome the friends, and even prevents those who want to do so and expels them from the church.”
   • Why are Diotrephes and the Elder opposed to each other? No doctrinal differences are mentioned in 3 John, just inhospitality and excommunications (although these may also be due to doctrinal disputes).
5. Recommendations for dealing with opponents:
   • 2 John 10-11: “Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; / for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.”
   • Irony: Diotrephes (in 3 John 10) seems to be doing just what the elder (in 2 John 10) had recommended: not receiving those who disagree with your teachings!
6. Divisions in 1 John are similarly based on doctrinal disagreements and separation from the community of believers
   • Opponents are called "liars" (1 John 2:4, 22; 4:20), those who try to "deceive" believers (2:26; 3:7), apostates or deserters (2:19; 4:1), "false prophets" and "antichrists" (4:1, 3).
   • See below for more details on 1 John.

Outline and Contents of 1 John:

1. Overall Literary Structure:
   1. Prologue (1:1-4)
   2. Body (1:4—5:12)
   3. Epilogue (5:13-21)
2. The Body is hard to subdivide, since its theological instructions and practical admonitions are very mixed; scholars debate whether the body has two or three main parts:
   1. Two-part division (R. Brown):
      1. Walk in the Light of God (1:5—3:10)
      2. Walk as Children of the God of Love (3:11—5:12)
   2. Two-part division (D.M. Smith):
      1. The true message of Jesus (1:5—3:24)
      2. Testing the claims of those who testify (4:1—5:12)
   3. Three-part division (C. H. Dodd):
      1. What is Christianity? (1:5—2:28)
      2. Life in the Family of God (2:29—4:12)
      3. The Certainty of Faith (4:13—5:13)
   4. Other three-part divisions:
      1. First part ends at 2:11 or 2:14 or 2:17 or 2:27
      2. Second part ends at 3:10 or 3:17 or 3:24 or 4:6
      3. Third part ends at 5:12 or 5:13
3. For more detail, see the page of Outlines of the Johnannine Epistles

Literary Features of 1 John:

1. Genre:
   1. 1 John is usually called "The First Letter of John," but it does not follow the standard format or conventions of ancient letter-writing.
      • It lacks the usual letter opening (no identification of author or recipients; no formulaic greeting)
      • It lack the expected epistolary closing (no concluding greetings, blessings, or prayer)
   2. Its form/genre is actually more like a "homily" or "sermon" or "theological treatise."
2. Author:
   1. The writer starts with “we” (1:1), but later also says “I” (2:1), although he never identifies himself more specifically.
   2. Thus, he is both a representative leader of the community and an individual eyewitness of Jesus.
3. Similarities between 1 John and the Gospel according to John:
   1. The openings or Prologues are very similar; compare John 1:1-18 and 1 John 1:1-4.
   2. The conclusions are very similar; compare John 20:30-31 and 1 John 5:13.
   3. A core teaching, called "a new commandment," is that believers must “love one another” (see John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17 and 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7-12).
   4. The result of believing/abiding in Jesus is for believers to become children of God (John 1:12 and 1 John 3:1-2, 10; 5:2) and to receive eternal life (John 3:15-16; 17:2-3; etc. and 1 John 1:2; 2:25; etc.).
   5. The worldview is very dualistic, with sharp contrasts between light vs. darkness, truth vs. lies, love vs. hate, belonging to God vs. belonging to the world, children of God vs. children of the devil, etc.
   6. There are many other obvious similarities in vocabulary and concepts:
      • Nouns: beginning, love, life, eternal life, light, darkness, truth, communion/fellowship, Word, world, joy, Father & Son, Spirit of Truth, brother/sister, etc.
      • Verbs: see, hear, look, touch, believe, testify, walk/live, remain/abide, being born of God, etc.
      • Expressions: "to be of..." or "to belong to..."; to "do the truth"; Jesus as the "only son (monogenēs) of God"; "becoming flesh" (incarnation); a "new commandment"; "passing from death to life"; etc.
      • It would be a good exercise to make your own longer list of similar words and expressions.
4. Differences from the Gospel according to John:
   1. Despite the many strong similarities, there are also some subtle differences in vocabulary; for example:
   2. "Paraclete" in John's Gospel (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) always refers to the Holy Spirit, while "Paraclete" in 1 Jn 2:1 refers to Jesus.
   3. "Walk" in John's Gospel is mostly literal physical movement, and only sometimes used metaphorically for how one "lives";
      on the other hand, in all three Johannine letters "walk" usually refers metaphorically to one's conduct ("walk in darkness," "walk in the light," "walk in the truth," etc.)
   4. "Sin" in John's Gospel usually refers to unbelief or opposition to Jesus, while "sin" in 1 John refers more often to individual wrongdoings.
   5. There are also some subtle grammatical and stylistic differences in the Greek text of the Epistles, in contrast to the Fourth Gospel.

Theological Issues in 1 John:

1. Teachings about Jesus
   1. 1:1-4 – The Prologue already calls him the "Word of life," "eternal life," the Father's "Son," and "Jesus Christ"
   2. 2:1 – "We have an Advocate (Gk. Paraclete/Parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one."
   3. Emphasis throughout this letter on Jesus’ relationship with the Father, and on his relationship with believers.
2. Teachings about God
   1. God is light (1 John 1:5).
   2. God is love (1 John 4:8, 16).
3. Implications for Discipleship
   1. Since God is light, believers must "walk/live in the light" (1:7) and "remain in the light" (2:9-10).
   2. Since God is love, believers must not only "love God" (4:10, 20-21; 5:2), but also "love one another" (3:11, 23; 4:7, 11-12).
4. Opponents and Opposing Teachings
   1. Some people who are opposed to Jesus, or at least opposed to the correct teachings about Jesus, are called "antichrists":
      "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour." (1 John 2:18)
   2. They are apostates who have left the community:
      "They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number" (2:19).
   3. They are also called "liars":
      "Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist." (2:22)
   4. They are also called "false prophets":
      "Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. / This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, / and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world" (4:1-3).
   5. All this is very different from the “Antichrist” of popular imagination!
      There is not just one "antichrist," but many "antichrists" (see 1 John 2:18-22; 4:3; also 2 John 7)

Use of 1 John in the Lectionary for Mass:

1. Mostly on the Weekdays of the Christmas Season:
   • beginning on Dec. 27, the Feast of St. John;
   • ending on the Saturday (Jan. 7-12?) before the Baptism of the Lord (Jan. 8-13, varies from year to year).
2. Also on a few other days of the liturgical year:
   • All Saints, Holy Family, Sacred Heart, Baptism of the Lord (some prescribed, some optional)
   • For details, see the Catholic Lectionary website.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. Which verses or passages most surprised you, disturbed you, or inspired you as you read the First, Second, and Third Epistles of John? Why?
2. Who were some of the early Christian leaders named John? What are some of the main arguments, both pro and con, as to who actually wrote these literary works?
3. What is the literary genre of 1 John? Why is it not really in the form of a “letter”?
4. What are some of the most striking and significant similarities between the First Epistle of John and the Gospel according to John.
5. What are the main problems (both theological and social) addressed in 2 John and 3 John? What are the relationships between the individuals named in these letters?
6. Why were there evidently such deep conflicts within the communities associated with John? What does that tell us about the early Christian churches?
   

For Further Reading and Study:  

• Moloney SDB, Francis J. Letters to the Johannine Circle: 1-3 John. Biblical Studies from the Catholic Biblical Association of America. Paulist, 2020.
   
• Keating, Daniel. "First, Second, and Third John." In James, First, Second, and Third John (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture; Baker Academic, 2017), pp. 123-274.
   
• Culpepper, R. Alan, and Paul N. Anderson, eds. Communities in Dispute: Current Scholarship on the Johannine Epistles. Early Christianity and Its Literature. SBL Press, 2014.
   
• Parsenios, George L. First, Second, and Third John. Paideia: Commentaries on the New Testament. Baker Academic, 2014.
   
• Talbert, Charles H. Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and Johannine Epistles. Reading the New Testament, 4. Revised ed. Smyth & Helwys, 2013.
   
• Lewis SJ, Scott M. Gospel According to John and the Johannine Letters. New Collegeville Bible Commentary, NT, 4. Liturgical Press, 2005.
   
• Painter, John. 1, 2, and 3 John. Sacra Pagina, 18. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002.
   
• Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday, 1997.
  • Ch. 12: "First Epistle (Letter) of John" (pp. 383-94)
  • Ch. 13: "Second Letter of John" (pp. 395-400)
  • Ch. 14: "Third Letter of John" (pp. 400-405)
     
   
• Rensberger, David. 1 John, 2 John, 3 John. Nashville: Abingdon, 1997.
   
• Strecker, Georg. The Johannine Letters: A Commentary on 1, 2, and 3 John. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.
   
• Smith, D. Moody. First, Second, and Third John. Louisville, KY: John Knox, 1991.
   
• Lieu, Judith M. The Theology of the Johannine Epistles. New Testament Theology. Cambridge, 1991.
   

Return to the Johannine Literature Web Homepage