New Catholic Bible/The First Letter of John

**The First Letter of John**, as translated by the Catholic Book Publishing Corp in the New Catholic Bible.

## INTRODUCTION

### To Live in Love

At the end of the first century, several currents of religious thought described as “Gnostic” were beginning to circulate; their spokesmen emphasized a special religious “knowledge” (Greek: gnosis), from which they expected salvation. Among them certain themes were constantly repeated, but in a radically dualistic perspective: light and darkness, truth and falsehood, life and death.

Against these innovators, four ideas had to be developed: knowledge of God, the person of Jesus, the reality of sin, and fraternal love.

Knowledge of God, who is light and love, brings Christians their happiness. This knowledge comes not from an inspiration from on high nor from the searching of our minds; it is given in Jesus Christ, in whom we touch, as it were, the self-manifestation of God, a point that is emphasized at the beginning of the Letter. Christian faith goes back to the direct testimony of those who were with the Lord. Jesus is the Son of God. But he had a real body, really gave his blood, suffered, and rose from the dead. If the coming of Christ in the flesh is rejected (see 1 Jn 4:2), Christianity in its entirety collapses. There is no longer any redemption or any knowledge of God. Christ saves from sin. Therefore, sin exists. We must acknowledge this and accept our being saved from it. This realism does not open the way to discouragement, but on the contrary is a prerequisite for hope.

Finally, God is love, communion. He first loves, and Jesus bears witness to this love. To believe in God means to enter into this relationship of love.

Never has it been made so clear that fraternal love is so essential to faith. Faith is not a form of abstract speculation, but a participation with God in the victory over evil, which is here called “the world.”

The way of entering into the themes, repeating them, enriching them, and advancing in a spiral fashion is characteristic of this document, as it already was of the Gospel of John. We cannot regard the work as an occasional Letter; rather it is a long-matured effort to respond to the crisis that was agitating the communities.

Let us think of it, therefore, as a circular Letter, a meditation rather than a treatise, a text for preaching and teaching.

Where did it come from?

So great is its affinity in thought and form with the fourth Gospel that it evidently came, if not directly from the author of that work, then at least from circles close to him. The document was probably written toward the end of the first century, in Asia Minor (perhaps at Ephesus), and for the Churches of that province.

###  **The Divisions of The First Epistle of John**

The First Letter of John may be divided as follows:

**Prologue: (1:1-4)**

**I: Walk in the Light (1:5—2:28)**

**II: Children of God (2:29—4:6)**

**III: Remain in Love (4:7-21)**

**IV: Believe in the Son of God (5:1-12)**

**Epilogue: (5:13-21)**

## CHAPTER 1

### An Authentic Communion of Life

**1** This is what we proclaim to you:

what existed from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our own eyes,

what we have looked at

and touched with our hands—

we are speaking of the Word of life.

**2** That life was made visible;

we have seen it and bear witness,

proclaiming to you the eternal life

that was with the Father

and was revealed to us.

**3** What we have seen and heard

we declare to you

so that you may have fellowship

with us.

For our fellowship is with the Father

and with his Son Jesus Christ.

**4** We are writing this

so that our joy may be complete.

### God Is Light

**5** This is the message

that we have heard from him

and that we declare to you:

God is light,

and there is no darkness

at all in him.

**6** If we claim that we have fellowship with him

while we continue to live in darkness,

we are lying and do not live in the truth.

**7** However, if we live in the light

as he himself is in the light,

then we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus his Son

purifies us from all sin.

### Deliverance from Sin

**8** If we claim that we are sinless,

we are only deceiving ourselves,

and the truth is not in us.

**9** However, if we confess our sins,

he who is faithful and just

will forgive our sins

and cleanse us from all wrongdoing.

**10** If we say that we have never sinned,

we make him out to be a liar,

and his word is not in us.

## CHAPTER 2

**1** My dear children,

I am writing this to you

so that you may avoid committing sin.

However, if anyone does sin,

we have an Advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

**2** He is himself the sacrifice for our sins—

and not only for our sins

but also for the sins of the whole world.

### The Commandment of Love

**3** Now we may be certain that we know him

if we obey his commandments.

**4** Whoever says, “I know him,”

but does not keep his commandments,

is a liar,

and the truth is not in him.

**5** However, the love of God is truly perfected

in the one who obeys his word.

This is how we can be certain

that we are in union with him:

**6** whoever claims to abide in him

must live just as he himself lived.

**7** Beloved,

I am not writing a new commandment

for you,

but an old commandment

that you have had from the beginning.

The old commandment is the word

that you have heard.

**8** And yet I am writing you a new commandment,

whose truth is in him and in you,

because the darkness is passing away

and the true light is already shining.

**9** Whoever says, “I am in the light,”

yet hates his brother,

is still in the darkness.

**10** Whoever loves his brother lives in the light,

and there is nothing in him

to make him stumble.

**11** Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness,

and he walks about in darkness.

He does not know where he is going

because the darkness has blinded him.

### The Concupiscences of the World

**12** I am writing to you, dear children,

because your sins have been forgiven

on account of his name.

**13** I am writing to you, fathers,

because you have known him

who has existed from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young people,

because you have conquered the evil one.

**14** I am writing to you, dear children,

because you have known the Father.

I am writing to you, fathers,

because you have known him

who has existed from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young people,

because you are strong,

and the word of God abides in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

**15** Do not love the world

or what is in the world.

If anyone does love the world,

the love of the Father is not in him.

**16** For everything that is in the world—

the concupiscence of the flesh,

the concupiscence of the eyes,

and the pride of life—

comes not from the Father

but from the world.

**17** And the world with all its enticements

is passing away,

but whoever does the will of God

abides forever.

### Behold the Antichrist

**18** Dear children,

this is the last hour.

You have heard that the Antichrist was coming,

and now many antichrists have already come.

Thus, we know

that it is the final hour.

**19** They went out from us,

but they never really belonged to us.

If they had belonged to us,

they would have remained with us.

By departing from us,

they made it clear

that none of them belonged to us.

**20** However, you have been anointed

by the Holy One,

and you all have knowledge.

**21** I write to you

not because you do not know the truth

but because you do know it,

and because no lie can come from the truth.

**22** Who is the liar

but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

The antichrist is

anyone who denies both the Father and the Son.

**23** Whoever denies the Son

does not have the Father,

but whoever acknowledges the Son

has the Father also.

**24** Let what you heard from the beginning

remain in you.

If what you heard from the beginning

remains in you,

then you will remain in the Son

and in the Father

**25** And this is the promise he made to us:

eternal life.

**26** I write these things to you

in reference to those

who seek to lead you astray.

**27** But as for you,

the anointing you received from him

remains in you,

and therefore you do not need anyone

to teach you.

This same anointing

teaches you everything

and is true and not false,

so abide in him just as he taught you.

**28** And now, dear children,

abide in him,

so that when he appears

we may have confidence

and not be put to shame by him

at his coming.

### Everyone Whose Life Is Righteous Has Been Born of God

**29** If you know that he is righteous,

you also know that everyone whose life is righteous

is born of him.

## CHAPTER 3

**1** See what love

the Father has bestowed on us,

enabling us to be called the children of God,

and that is what we are.

If the world does not recognize us,

that is because it did not know him.

**2** Beloved,

we are God’s children now.

What we shall be

has not yet been revealed.

However, we do know that when he appears

we shall be like him,

for we shall see him as he really is.

**3** Everyone who has this hope in him

keeps himself pure,

just as he is pure.

### The Rupture with Sin

**4** Everyone who sins breaks the law,

for sin is lawlessness.

**5** You know that he appeared

in order to take away sins,

and that there is no sin in him.

**6** Whoever remains in him does not sin,

and whoever sins has not seen him

nor known him.

**7** Dear children,

do not let anyone deceive you.

Everyone who does what is right is righteous,

just as he is righteous.

**8** Everyone who sins comes from the devil,

for the devil has been a sinner

from the very beginning.

The Son of God appeared for this very purpose:

to destroy the work of the devil.

**9** Whoever is born of God

does not sin,

because his seed

remains in him.

He cannot sin

because he is begotten by God.

**10** This is what distinguishes

the children of God from the children of the devil:

anyone who fails to live righteously

does not belong to God;

neither does anyone who fails to love a brother.

### The Message of Love

**11** For from the beginning

you have heard the message

that we should love one another,

**12** unlike Cain who was from the evil one

and slew his brother.

And why did he slay him?

Because his own deeds were evil

while those of his brother were righteous.

**13** Do not be surprised, my brethren,

if the world hates you.

**14** We know that we have passed

from death to life

because we love our brethren.

Whoever does not love remains in death.

**15** Anyone who hates his brother

is a murderer,

and you know that no murderer

has eternal life abiding in him.

**16** This is how we know what love is:

he laid down his life for us,

and we in turn must be prepared

to lay down our lives for our brethren.

**17** If anyone is rich in worldly possessions

and sees a brother in need

but refuses to open his heart,

how can the love of God abide in him?

**18** Dear children,

let us love not in word or speech

but in deed and truth.

**19** This is how we know

that we belong to the truth

and reassure our hearts in his presence

**20** even if our hearts experience a sense of guilt.

For God is greater than our hearts,

and he knows everything.

**21** Beloved,

if our hearts do not condemn us,

we can approach God with confidence

**22** and receive from him whatever we ask,

because we obey his commandments

and do whatever is pleasing to him.

**23** And this is his commandment:

that we should believe

in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,

and love one another just as he commanded us.

**24** All those who keep his commandments abide in him,

and he abides in them.

And the proof that he abides in us

is the Spirit that he has given us.

## CHAPTER 4

### The Spirit of the Antichrist in the World

**1** Beloved,

do not trust every spirit,

but test the spirits

to see whether they are from God.

For many false prophets

have gone out into the world.

**2** This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:

every spirit that acknowledges

that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh

is from God,

**3** and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus

is not from God.

This is the spirit of the Antichrist,

about whose coming you have been told,

and that it is already in the world.

**4** Dear children,

you are from God

and you have conquered them,

for the one who is in you is greater

than the one who is in the world.

**5** They are from the world;

therefore, what they say is from the world,

and the world listens to them.

**6** We are from God.

Anyone who knows God listens to us,

while anyone who is not from God

refuses to listen to us.

This is how we can distinguish

the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood.

### What Love Is

**7** Beloved,

let us love one another,

because love is from God.

Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

**8** Whoever does not love

does not know God,

because God is love.

**9** God’s love was revealed to us in this way:

God sent his only-begotten Son into the world

so that we might have life through him.

**10** This is what love is:

not that we have loved God,

but that he loved us

and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

**11** Beloved,

since God loved us so much,

we should love one another.

**12** No one has ever seen God,

but if we love one another,

God abides in us,

and his love is made complete in us.

**13** This is how we can be certain

that we abide in him

and that he abides in us:

he has given us a share in his Spirit.

**14** Moreover, we have seen for ourselves

and can testify

that the Father has sent the Son

as the Savior of the world.

**15** God abides in anyone who acknowledges

that Jesus is the Son of God,

and that person abides in God.

**16** We have come to know

and to believe in

the love that God has for us.

God is love,

and whoever abides in love

abides in God,

and God in him.

**17** This is how love is made perfect in us,

enabling us to have confidence

on the Day of Judgment,

because even in this world

we have become like him.

**18** In love there is no fear;

indeed, perfect love casts out fear,

because fear has to do with punishment,

and whoever fears

has not yet achieved perfection in love.

**19** Therefore, we love because he first loved us.

**20** If someone says, “I love God,”

but at the same time hates his brother,

he is a liar.

For whoever does not love the brother

whom he has seen

cannot love God whom he has not seen.

**21** This is the commandment

we have received from him:

whoever loves God

must also love his brother.

## CHAPTER 5

### Faith Conquers the World

**1** Everyone who believes

that Jesus is the Christ

is born of God,

and everyone who loves the parent

loves the one begotten of him as well.

**2** This is how we know

that we love the children of God:

by loving God and obeying his commandments.

**3** For the love of God is this:

that we keep his commandments.

And his commandments are not burdensome,

**4** for everyone born of God

conquers the world.

And the victory that conquers the world

is our faith.

**5** Who indeed conquers the world

except the one who believes

that Jesus is the Son of God?

**6** This is the one

who came by water and blood,

Jesus Christ—

not by water alone,

but by water and blood.

And to this the Spirit bears witness,

for the Spirit is truth.

**7** Thus, there are three

witnesses,

**8** the Spirit, the water, and the blood,

and these three are as one.

**9** If we accept human testimony,

the testimony of God is greater.

For it is the testimony of God,

the testimony that he has given about his Son.

**10** Whoever believes in the Son of God

has this testimony in himself,

but those who do not believe in God

have made him out to be a liar

by refusing to believe the testimony

that God has given about his Son.

**11** And this is the testimony:

God gave us eternal life,

and this life is in his Son.

**12** Whoever possesses the Son

possesses life;

whoever does not possess the Son of God

does not possess life.

### So That You May Know

**13** I write these things to you

who believe in the name of the Son of God

so that you may know

that you have eternal life.

### Prayer for Sinners

**14** And thus we can have confidence in him

that if we ask anything

that is in accordance with his will,

he hears us.

**15** And if we know that he hears us

in regard to whatever we ask him,

we may be sure

that all we ask of him will be ours.

**16** If anyone sees a brother commit a sin

that does not lead to death,

he should intercede for him,

and God will grant him life—

provided that the sin is not deadly.

There is a sin that leads to death,

and I do not say

that you should pray about it.

**17** All wrongdoing is sinful,

but not all sins are deadly.

### The Great Certitudes

**18** We know that one born of God does not continue to sin,

because he who is born of God protects him,

and the evil one has no power over him.

**19** We know

that we are from God

and that the entire world

lies under the power of the evil one.

**20** We also know

that the Son of God has come

and given us understanding

so that we can know the one who is true.

And we are in the one who is true,

since we are in his Son Jesus Christ.

He is the true God and eternal life.

**21** Dear children,

keep away from idols.

## FOOTNOTES

**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** **John 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).**
**1 John 1:1:**

The Word of God

was the source of life

**(see** **Deuteronomy 4:1;** **Deuteronomy 32:47;** **Matthew 4:4;** **And** **Philippians 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.
**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** **John 11:25;** **And** **John 14:6).**

He is also the source of life

and sovereign over life

**(1 John 5:11).**

This Letter begins

and concludes

**(1 John 5:11)**

with the theme of eternal life.
**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** **John 15:1-John 15:5)**

and the body

and the head

**(see** **1 Corinthians 12:12;** **Colossians 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.
**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** **John 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** **John 3:31),**

i.e.,

by entering into a life experience

that keeps the commandments of the Gospel

in a concrete manner.
**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** **John 3:19-John 3:21).**
**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.
**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.
**1 John 1:4:**

John reiterates

the testimony of Paul

and James about faith and works.

James said that faith without works is dead

**(see** **note** **on** **James 2:14-James 2:26).**

Paul indicated that rewards

would be based on good and bad deeds

**(see** **2 Corinthians 5:10;**
**see** **also** **note** **on** **Romans 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.
**1 John 1:7:**
**New commandment:**
**see** **John 13:34f.**

The Biblical commandment to love was old

**(see** **Leviticus 19:18;** **also** **Matthew 22:39-Matthew 22:40).**

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** **Matthew 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.
**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.
**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** **Ephesians 2:3;** **1 Peter 2:11;** **2 Peter 2:10,** **And** **2 Peter 2:18).**

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;** **Ezekiel 23:12-Ezekiel 23:17;** **And** **Matthew 5:27ff).**

The third has to do with worldly ambition,

ostentation,

pride

and

arrogance,

independence of God

'*(seePsalms 10:4;Proverbs 16:5;Isaiah 13:11;Luke 1:51-Luke 1:52;'* **James 4:6,** **James 4:10;** **1 Peter 3:8;** **And** **1 Peter 5:5).**
**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** **Mark 13:22;** **see** **also** **2 Thessalonians 3:4;** **And** **Revelation 13:12-Revelation 13:15)**

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.
**1 John 2:18:**

Scripture

distinguishes the Antichrist

from many antichrists

and

from the spirit of the Antichrist

**(1 John 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 Thessalonians 2:3b-2 Thessalonians 2:12** **And** **2 Thessalonians 2:2:3b-2 Thessalonians 2:4)**

and

“the beast”

**(Revelation 13:1-Revelation 13:10).**

But before his coming

there will be many antichrists

characterized by

**(1)**

denial of Christ’s Incarnation

**(see** **1 John 4:2;** **And** **2 John 1:7)**

and

Divinity

**(see** **1 John 2:22);**
**(2)**

denial of the Father

**(see** **1 John 2:22);**
**(3)**

non-possession of the Father

**(see** **1 John 2:23);**
**(4)**

falsehoods

**(see** **1 John 2:22),**

deceptions

**(see** **2 John 7);**
**(5)**

many in number

**(see** **1 John 2:18);**
**(6)**

nothing in common with believers

**(see** **1 John 2:19).**
**1 John 2:20:**
**Anointed by the Holy One:**

reference to the Spirit

who has been given to the Messiah

**(see** **Isaiah 11:2;** **And** **Isaiah 61:1),**

and then conferred by the Messiah

on believers

**(see** **1 John 3:24;** **1 John 4:13;** **And** **2 Corinthians 1:21)**

so as to teach them about all things

**(see** **1 John 2:27;** **John 16:13f;** **1 Corinthians 2:10,** **And** **1 Corinthians 2:15).**

As a result,

the words of Jesus are

“spirit

and

life”

**(John 6:63).**
**1 John 2:29:**

The author

takes ideas already expressed

and develops them in new ways.

In

**ch.** **1 John 1:5-1 John 1:7**

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!
**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** **John 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 John 1:8-1 John 1:10),**

but we are speaking

about the fundamental

and general choice

between sin and righteousness.

Which do we choose?
**1 John 3:6:**
**Whoever remains in him does not sin:**

the author

is not speaking

about sinless perfection

**(see** **1 John 1:8—1 John 2:1).**

He is simply asserting

that the life of believers

is dominated not by sin

but by doing the right thing.
**1 John 3:9:**
**His seed:**

a reference

to Christ

**(see** **1 John 5:18;** **And** **Galatians 3:16)**

or

to the Holy Spirit

**(see** **1 John 2:20-1 John 2:27)**

or

to the seed of Divine life

that God introduced into us.
**1 John 1:11:**

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.
**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.
**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** **Psalms 84:12).**
**1 John 3:23:**

This commandment has two parts:

**(1)**

belief in Christ

**(see** **John 6:29)**

and

**(2)**

love for one another

**(see** **John 13:34f).**

The Letter

develops part one

in

**1 John 4:1-1 John 4:6**

and the second part

in

**1 John 4:7-1 John 4:12.**
**1 John 4:1:**

We must learn to discern the thoughts

of human beings—

the “spirits.”

Among the teachers and theorists

that had appeared at this time

there were those who did not acknowledge Jesus

as the Lord and Savior

and wished to impose their views

on the Christian communities.

John says that this is perversion,

the appearance of false christs

of the end times

**(see** **1 John 2:18-1 John 2:22).**

He strengthens believers

by telling them

that they do not belong to the world,

i.e.,

this universe that delights

in its limitations

and its own insignificances.

They must believe in the Gospel of God

proclaimed by the witnesses who have been sent,

among whom he places himself by saying

“We are from God”

**(1 John** **v.** **6).**
**1 John 4:2:**
**Jesus Christ has come in the flesh:**
**see** **note** **on** **1 John 1:1.**

John excludes the Gnostics,

especially those known as Cerinthians,

who taught that the Divine Christ

came upon the human Christ

at his Baptism

and left him at the Cross—

thus claiming that

only the man Jesus died.
**1 John 4:4:**
**From God:**

another expression

for “born of God”

**(1 John 2:29;** **And** **1 John 3:9).**
**The one who is in the world:**

the devil

**(see** **John 12:31;** **And** **John 16:11).**
**1 John 4:6:**
**Spirit of truth . . . spirit of falsehood:**

this refers to the theme of the two spirits,

which is similar to the theme of the two ways

**(see** **Deuteronomy 11:26;** **And** **Matthew 7:13-Matthew 7:14).**

Confronted by two worlds,

those who live on earth

choose one or the other

by partaking of the spirit

of either one

**(see** **1 John 3:8,** **And** **1 John 3:19).**

However,

those who choose the right one

(the spirit of truth)

will attain certain victory

**(see** **1 John 2:13f;** **1 John 4:4;** **And** **1 John 5:4f).**
**1 John 4:7:**

There are splendid pages

in the Bible that speak of what love is—

for example,

Paul’s hymn on love

**(1 Corinthians 13)**

and this text.

The whole theology of love

is developed in these verses,

which give us the deepest understanding

of Christianity as a great movement

of life and experience,

and not an abstract speculation.

Love is reality:

i.e.,

in God;

it is witnessed to in an experience:

i.e.,

in Christ;

and it is expressed

in the reality

of fraternal love:

i.e.,

among believers.

God and love:

the two words go together,

just as do knowledge of God

and fraternal love.

The living discovery of God

does not take place

in plumbing the most compelling ideas

but in becoming like Christ,

in the experience of fraternal love.

Without this,

no fellowship with God is possible.

Fraternal love and faith in Christ

go together;

and this experience enables us

to verify the value of every religion

and every spirituality.

Nothing else can deliver human beings

from the fear of judgment.
**1 John 4:7:**
**Love is from God:**

hence,

those who love God

show that they are born of God.

**God is love:**

i.e.,

he is loving

in his essential nature

and in all his actions.

The Gospel of John also affirms

that God is spirit

**(see John 4:24)**

and light

**(see John 1:5)**

as well as

true

and

just,

powerful,

holy,

and

faithful.
**1 John 4:10:**

It was God

who first loved us

when we had no love for him

or even for ourselves

**(see** **Romans 5:6-Romans 5:10).**

He showed his love

by sending his Son

to atone for our sins

**(see** **1 John 2:2).**

This is the motive

for our love for one another.
**1 John 4:13:**
**A share in his Spirit:**

this is the Spirit

promised for the Messianic Age

**(see** **Acts 2:17-Acts 2:21,** **And** **Acts 2:33);**

he has been poured out

into our hearts

**(see** **Romans 5:5;** **And** **1 Thessalonians 4:8)**

and brings forth in us

the inner certainty

that the Apostles proclaimed outwardly

**(see** **1 John 5:6f;** **And** **Acts 5:32)—**

in this case about

the Divine adoption

of Christians

**(see** **Romans 8:15f;** **And** **Galatians 4:6).**
**1 John 5:1:**

In opposition

to the fantasies spread about

by the false teachers,

John insists that

there is no knowledge of God

without an acknowledgment of his Son

and acceptance of his commandments

and his Gospel.

There is no victory over the world

(the forces of evil and human limitations)

without adherence to Christ.

There is no finding God

except through the testimony

in which he makes himself present:

in Jesus Christ who offers his life for the world.

Baptism and the Spirit are nothing

if the blood is forgotten,

for Redemption,

the Paschal Mystery,

and

the Eucharist

are the heart of faith.

God’s self-revelation

includes the entire life of Jesus

from his Baptism to his Cross:

the water and the blood

**(see** **John 19:34).**

Hence, there is no knowledge of God

that does not transform itself

into faith in his Son

and in the acknowledgment of other human beings

as brothers

and sisters

because they are God’s children.
**1 John 5:6:**

John is answering the false teachers

who claimed that

Jesus was born only a man,

then at his Baptism

the Son of God descended on him,

but he left Jesus

before the latter’s death on the Cross;

therefore,

it was only the man Jesus who died.

In keeping with his teaching

throughout the Letter

that Jesus is God

as well as man

**(1 John 1:1-1 John 1:4;** **1 John 4:2;** **And** **1 John 5:5),**

John emphasizes that

Jesus was Son of God all the time.

This is a key point

because if Jesus had died only as a man,

his atonement would not have been enough

to take away the sins of human beings.
**1 John 5:7:**
**Three:**

the Scriptures required three witnesses

(see Deut 17:6; 19:15; 1 Tim 5:19).

In many manuscripts

the text has been amplified;

**the Father, the Word, and the Spirit,**
**the Spirit, the water, and the blood,**
**and these three are as one.”**

The words in italics

are not found

in any of the

early Greek manuscripts

or translations,

or in the best manuscripts

of the Vulgate.

They are almost universally

regarded as a gloss.
**1 John 5:8:**

The three witnesses

converge;

blood

and

water

join

the

Spirit

**(see** **1 John 2:20,** **1 John 27;** **John 3:5;** **And** **John 4:14)**

in testifying

**(see** **John 3:11f)**

to the mission of the Son

who gives life

**(1 John 5:** **v.** **11;** **John 3:15).**
**1 John 5:12:**

Believers can be certain

of partaking of the life of God;

this whole Letter has given them

the criteria that allow them to be sure of it.
**1 John 5:13:**

This summary of the Letter

is reminiscent

of the Epilogue of John’s Gospel

**(John 20:30f).**
**1 John 5:14:**

Believers are not perfect;

they all have their weaknesses.

However, these failures

are not to be confused

with refusal of Christ,

which is refusal

of fellowship with God.

The Bible speaks to us

about Abraham and Moses,

who could intervene

for the sins of human beings.

In the Church,

all members can intercede for their brethren.

The author does not include

in his prayer

those who pervert the faith.
**1 John 5:16:**

In general,

the words There is a sin that leads to death

refer not to just any sin

that causes the loss of sanctifying grace

(the “life of the soul”),

but to an especially serious sin,

such as apostasy,

that causes the loss not only of grace

but of faith as well.

The distinction is intended

to underscore the danger

in which those who abandon

the Christian fellowship

(“are excommunicated”)

place themselves,

and to instill

a salutary fear into them.
**1 John 5:18:**

The great certitudes

that the speculations

of the false teachers

would like to shake

are affirmed one last time,

like a cry of victory.

The community of God’s children,

adhering to Christ,

overcomes the forces of evil,

truly knows God,

and shares his life.

To seek anything else is idolatry.

The idols to be avoided

are either paganism

or the false gods of the heart

that can turn believers away

from faith and love.

## OTHER BOOKS OF THE NEW CATHOLIC BIBLE TRANSLATION

 **THE BOOKS OF THE CATHOLIC BIBLE IN THE NEW CATHOLIC BIBLE TRANSLATION**

### Old Testament

#### Pentateuch/Torah:

1. The Book of Genesis
2. The Book of Exodus
3. The Book of Leviticus
4. The Book of Numbers
5. The Book of Deuteronomy

#### Historical Books:

1. The Book of Joshua
2. The Book of Judges
3. The Book of Ruth
4. The First Book of Samuel
5. The Second Book of Samuel
6. The First Book of Kings
7. The Second Book of Kings
8. The First Book of Chronicles
9. The Second Book of Chronicles
10. The Book of Ezra
11. The Book of Nehemiah
12. The Book of Tobit
13. The Book of Judith
14. The Book of Esther
15. The First Book of Maccabees
16. The Second Book of Maccabees

#### Poetic Books:

1. The Book of Job
2. The Book of Psalms
3. The Book of Proverbs
4. The Book of Ecclesiastes
5. The Book of the Song of Songs
6. The Book of Wisdom
7. The Book of The Wisdom of Ben Sira

#### Prophetic Books:

1. The Book of Isaiah
2. The Book of Jeremiah
3. The Book of Lamentations
4. The Book of Baruch
5. The Book of Ezekiel
6. The Book of Daniel
7. The Book of Hosea
8. The Book of Joel
9. The Book of Amos
10. The Book of Obadiah
11. The Book of Jonah
12. The Book of Micah
13. The Book of Nahum
14. The Book of Habakkuk
15. The Book of Zephaniah
16. The Book of Haggai
17. The Book of Zechariah
18. The Book of Malachi

### New Testament

#### The Four Gospels

1. The Gospel according to Matthew
2. The Gospel according to Mark
3. The Gospel according to Luke
4. The Gospel according to John

#### Pauline Epistles

1. The Letter to The Romans
2. The First Letter to The Corinthians
3. The Second Letter to The Corinthians
4. The Letter to The Galatians
5. The Letter to The Ephesians
6. The Letter to The Philippians
7. The Letter to The Colossians
8. The First Letter to The Thessalonians
9. The Second Letter to The Thessalonians
10. The First Letter to Timothy
11. The Second Letter to Timothy
12. The Letter to Titus
13. The Letter to Philemon

#### The General Epistles/Catholic Epistles

1. The Letter of James
2. The First Letter of Peter
3. The Second Letter of Peter
4. **The First Letter of John**
5. The Second Letter of John
6. The Third Letter of John
7. The Letter of Jude