What is the testimony concerning Jesus? Was Jesus really the one sent from God? Is His testimony reliable? In this text, John presents the reality of the testimony, the reasons to believe it, and the results of believing the testimony of Jesus Christ.

John addresses a theme that is interwoven throughout this letter: faith, love, and obedience. These give evidence that a person truly is a Christian and belongs to God. Can you see these evidences in your life?

If you were to die today, do you have confidence before God that you would spend eternity with Him in His love? Do you have assurance that you are saved from your sins? John provides 3 evidences that give the believer assurance of salvation.

Love is a word that is over-used in our culture today. What does love even mean? What does love look like? John states that God is love (v. 8). God defines love because He is the source of love. In this text, we examine the love of God, and more importantly, the God of love.

Does it matter what you believe? Is it okay to believe whatever you want as long as you’re sincere about it? Is there truth, and how can you recognize what is true? The Apostle John instructed believers to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (v. 1). Christians need to use discernment as we navigate a world of unbelief and live in a culture that rejects truth.

What is a way to prove a person is truly a Christian? John describes the love that Christians ought to have for one another that is produced by God. Christians are not marked by hatred, but by love for one another.

What does it mean to be a child of God? John makes a distinction between children of God and children of the devil and explains the characteristics of each one. Children of God are prepared for the return of Christ because they live righteous lives. Children of the devil make a practice of sin and are characterized by sinfulness. Are you a child of God, and are you living a life of righteousness as evidence of that?

There are many deceivers in the world who seek to oppose truth. By adding to truth, taking away from truth, undermining it, or altogether rejecting it, truth is attacked. As God’s people, we know there is truth, and we know God is true. How do we discern truth in an age of deception? John was concerning with this same issue in his day. We can recognize false teaching from deceivers by knowing and living according to the truth.

The Apostle John gave a command for believers not to love the world. Christians cannot say they love God and at the same time have love for the world. To love the ways of the world is to make yourself an enemy of God. One of the most important questions any Christian can consider is this — what do you love?

Christians are commanded to love others, especially other believers. This is a fundamental truth believers learn upon becoming a Christian. This is an old commandment that Jesus enables us to do in a new way.