The Letters
- When
- c. AD 90–100
- Written by
- John, the elder
- Chapters
- 1
The big idea
To the elect lady and her children: walk in truth and love, and do not welcome those who deny that Christ came in the flesh.
Themes
- Christ come in the flesh
- Truth
- Love
- Hospitality with discernment
Memory verse
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments.
Key passages
- 4–6Walk in the commandment
- 7–11Deceivers
Links to other Scripture
- 1 John 4:1–3Try the spirits
- John 14:15If you love me
- John 1:14The Word made flesh
- Romans 16:17Mark those who cause dissension
Read the text
Choose a chapter to read it here in the King James Version. Verses with a dotted underline have notes from Bible scholars. Tap one to open them.
Notes from
Chapters
King James text and the commentaries of Henry, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Gill, Clarke, Calvin, and Keil and Delitzsch are in the public domain. Tyndale Open Study Notes are used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, from tyndaleopenresources.com. Texts were reformatted for this site.
Journal prompts
Keep a journal or notebook for your study. Write your answers there, in your own words.
- Where do you see Christ in this book?
- John says to walk in love and truth. Which one comes more easily to you, and which needs attention?
- He warns against welcoming those who deny Christ came in the flesh. How do you stay generous and careful at once?
- Write a short note to someone you love, in the spirit of this letter.
- In one sentence, this book is about…