1 John

1 John is a warm, searching letter written to reassure believers of their faith and to expose those who had left the church denying that Jesus had truly come in the flesh. It sets out tests of genuine Christianity: right belief about Jesus, obedience to his commands, and love for one another.

Its great refrains are that 'God is light', that 'God is love', and that 'the blood of Jesus... cleanses us from all sin' (1:7). Tender and direct, it was written 'that you may know that you have eternal life' (5:13), grounding assurance in truth, love and the atoning work of Christ.