1, 2, 3 John and Jude: Established in Truth ... Marked by Love

By John F. MacArthur

In the face of false teachings about Jesus, the apostle John took a direct approach. "I heard Jesus speak," he wrote. "I saw him . . . I even touched him." Just as we would write about someone we knew and loved, John told the early believers the truth about the Savior. But he didn't let them off the hook without an examination of their lives.

Pastor John MacArthur will take you through these short but impactful letters, passage by passage, so that you can better understand their message of forgiveness, how to uphold a biblical faith, and the real dangers of spiritual warfare.

John was not alone in his concern about the influence of false teachers in the early church. Jude, a half-brother of Christ, also wrote to the believers. In his letter, he firmly urged all believers to fight for truth, and encouraged all followers of Jesus to stand firm in the faith.

—ABOUT THE SERIES—

The MacArthur Bible Study series is designed to help you study the Word of God with guidance from widely respected pastor and author John MacArthur. Each guide provides intriguing examinations of the whole of Scripture by examining its parts and incorporates:

• Extensive, but straight-forward commentary on the text.
• Detailed observations on overriding themes, timelines, history, and context.
• Word and phrase studies to help you unlock the broader meaning and apply it to your life.
• Probing, interactive questions with plenty of space to write down your response and thoughts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Jun 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9780718035372

John F. MacArthur

Widely known for his thorough, candid approach to teaching God's Word, John MacArthur is a popular author and conference speaker. He has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, since 1969. John and his wife, Patricia, have four married children and fifteen grandchildren. John's pulpit ministry has been extended around the globe through his media ministry, Grace to You, and its satellite offices in seven countries. In addition to producing daily radio programs for nearly two thousand English and Spanish radio outlets worldwide, Grace to You distributes books, software, and digital recordings by John MacArthur. John is chancellor of The Master's University and Seminary and has written hundreds of books and study guides, each one biblical and practical. Bestselling titles include The Gospel According to Jesus, Twelve Ordinary Men, Twelve Extraordinary Women, Slave, and The MacArthur Study Bible, a 1998 ECPA Gold Medallion recipient.

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1, 2, & 3 JOHN AND JUDE

MACARTHUR BIBLE STUDIES

Copyright © 2007 by John MacArthur.

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

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Produced with the assistance of the Livingstone Corporation. Project staff include Jake Barton, Mary Horner Collins, and Andy Culbertson. Project editor: Len Woods

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version®. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992 Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publishers.

Unleashing God’s Truth, One Verse at a Time is a trademark of Grace to You. All rights reserved.

Keys to the Text and Truth for Today material taken from the following sources:

1 Corinthians. MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. Copyright © 1984, 1996 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

Ephesians. MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. Copyright © 1986, 1996 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness (electronic ed.) Copyright © 1998 by John MacArthur. Published by Crossway Books: Wheaton, Illinois. Used by permission.

The Gospel According to the Apostles. Copyright © 2000 by John MacArthur. Published by Word Publishing, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

How to Meet the Enemy. Copyright © 1992, 1996 by John MacArthur. Published by Victor Books: Wheaton, Illinois. Used by permission.

James. MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. Copyright © 1998 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

The MacArthur Quick Reference Guide to the Bible. Copyright © 2001 by John MacArthur. Published by W Publishing Group, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennesee.

The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.), John MacArthur, General Editor. Copyright © 1997 by Word Publishing. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Matthew. 1–7, 8–15, 16–23, 24–28. MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. Copyright © 1989 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

1 Timothy. MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. Copyright © 1995 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

2 Timothy. MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. Copyright © 1995 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

Truth for Today. Copyright © 2001 by John MacArthur. Published by J. Countryman: Nashville, Tennessee. Used by permission.

Cover Art by Holly Sharp Design

Interior Design and Composition by Joel Bartlett, Livingstone Corporation

ISBN-13: 978-0-7180-3518-1

ISBN-13: 978-0-7180-3537-2 (eBook)

First Printing April 2016

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

EBOOK INSTRUCTIONS

In this ebook edition, please use your device’s note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response Here]. Use your device’s highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

CONTENTS

Ebook Instructions

Introduction to 1 John

1 Christ and Sin

1 John 1:1–2:2

2 Obedience and Love

1 John 2:3–17

3 Antichrists

1 John 2:18–27

4 Purity

1 John 2:28–3:24

5 True and False Doctrine

1 John 4:1–6

6 Love

1 John 4:7–21

7 The Victorious Life

1 John 5:1–5

8 The Testimony of God

1 John 5:6–12

9 Christian Certainties

1 John 5:13–21

Introduction to 2 John and 3 John

10 Hospitality, Part 1

2 John

11 Hospitality, Part 2

3 John

Introduction to Jude

12 Apostasy

Jude

INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN

The epistle’s title has always been 1 John. It is the first and largest in a series of three epistles that bear the apostle John’s name. Since the letter identifies no specific church, location, or individual to whom it was sent, its classification is as a general epistle. Although 1 John does not exhibit some of the general characteristics of an epistle common to that time (e.g., no introduction, greeting, or concluding salutation), its intimate tone and content indicate that the term epistle still applies to it.

AUTHOR AND DATE

The epistle does not identify the author, but the strong, consistent and earliest testimony of the church ascribes it to John, the disciple and apostle (see Luke 6:13–14). This anonymity strongly affirms the early church’s identification of the epistle with John the apostle, for only someone of John’s well-known and preeminent status as an apostle would be able to write with such unmistakable authority, expecting complete obedience from his readers, without clearly identifying himself (e.g., 4:6). He was well-known to the readers, so he didn’t need to mention his name.

John and James, his older brother (Acts 12:2), were known as the sons of Zebedee (Matt. 10:2–4), to whom Jesus gave the name Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17). John was one of the three most intimate associates of Jesus (along with Peter and James—see Matt. 17:1; 26:37), being an eyewitness to and participant in Jesus’ earthly ministry (1:1–4). In addition to the three epistles, John also authored the fourth Gospel, in which he identified himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved and as the one who reclined on Jesus’ breast at the Last Supper (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). He also wrote the book of Revelation (Rev. 1:1).

Precise dating is difficult because no clear historical indications of date exist in 1 John. Most likely John composed this work in the latter part of the first century. Church tradition consistently identifies John in his advanced age as living and actively writing during this time at Ephesus in Asia Minor. The tone of the epistle supports this evidence since the writer gives the strong impression that he is much older than his readers (e.g., my little children—2:1, 18, 28). The epistle and John’s gospel reflect similar vocabulary and manner of expression. Such similarity causes many to date the writing of John’s epistles as occurring soon after he composed his gospel. Since many date the gospel of John during the later part of the first century, they also prefer a similar date for the epistles. Furthermore, the heresy John combats most likely reflects the beginnings of Gnosticism, which was in its early stages during the latter third of the first century, when John was actively writing. Since no mention is made of the persecution under Domitian, which began about AD 95, it may have been written before that began. In light of such factors, a reasonable date for 1 John is ca. AD 90–95. It was likely written from Ephesus to the churches of Asia Minor over which John exercised apostolic leadership.

BACKGROUND AND SETTING

Although he was greatly advanced in age when he penned this epistle, John was still actively ministering to churches. He was the sole remaining apostolic survivor who had intimate, eyewitness association with Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension. The church Fathers (e.g., Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius) indicate that after that time, John lived at Ephesus in Asia Minor, carrying out an extensive evangelistic program, overseeing many of the churches that had arisen, and conducting an extensive writing ministry (e.g., epistles, the gospel of John, and Revelation). One church Father (Papias), who had direct contact with John, described him as a living and abiding voice. As the last remaining apostle, John’s testimony was highly authoritative among the churches. Many eagerly sought to hear the one who had firsthand experience with the Lord Jesus.

Ephesus (see Acts 19:10) lay within the intellectual center of Asia Minor. As predicted years before by the apostle Paul (Acts 20:28–31), false teachers arising from within the church’s own ranks, saturated with the prevailing climate of philosophical trends, began infecting the church with false doctrine, perverting fundamental apostolic teaching. These false teachers advocated new ideas, which eventually became known as Gnosticism (from the Greek