John 1:1-18: The Apostle John starts his gospel with a prologue that introduces 3 key themes that resonate throughout the book.
01 Gospel of John Introduction
This episode kicks off a new season on the Gospel of John. We delve into the what we know about the author, the Apostle John, and review the unique characteristics of this gospel, as compared to the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke).
Who was John?
John was one of the 12 apostles, the author of the fourth gospel, three letters, and the book of Revelation.
John’s use of the Old Testament
The Apostle John’s use of the Old Testament in his gospel and his letters.
11 1 John 5:13-21 Confidence in the Gospel
John concludes his letter saying believers can have confidence about three things: 1) that you have eternal life, 2) that your sin cannot jeopardize that life and 3) that this gospel message is true.
10 1 John 4:20-5:12 Water, Blood & Spirit
John tells us genuine believers will confess that Jesus is the Christ — the Jesus who was confirmed by three witnesses: “water”, “blood” and “the Spirit.”
09 1 John 4:7-19 Perfect Love
In 1 John 4:7-19, John explains why self-sacrificing love is a mark of a believer: this other-focused love is part of God’s holy character and God is in the process of giving us His character.
08 1 John 4:1-6 Marks of False Teachers
The Apostle John says we can identify false prophets two ways: by the content of what they say (4:2) and by the origin of what they say (4:6).
07 1John 3:13-24 Love and Hate
How can John say that love is a mark of believers and hate is a mark of non-believers when we know believers who struggle with hate and non-believers who genuinely love others?
06 1 John 2:29-3:12 Practicing Righteousness
No true believer is committed to sin as a lifestyle because God plants in believers a longing for holiness and righteousness which opposes any tendency to rebel. Believers no longer remain committed to a lifestyle of sin.
05 1John 2:18-28 Who is the liar?
1 John 2:18-28 tackles the question: how do you know what’s essential and what is non-essential?
04 1 John 2:12-17 Loving the World
John sets the world and the gospel in opposition to each other. You can’t serve them both. You have to choose and his first exhortation is don’t choose the world.