An introduction to the book of 3 john related media a. The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter authoritative, believing it was written by john the apostle. The second epistle of john, often referred to as second john and often written 2 john or ii john, is a book of the new testament attributed to john the evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the gospel of john and the other two epistles of john. The epistles own claims as the author describes himself as the elder 2 jn 1 2. Therefore the origin of the gospel must in some way be connected to this personthe gospel of john may be a record of his eyewitness account of jesus life. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness.
The relationship of the letter to other johannine writings 1 john, and the gospel of john 3. Invoking the in the beginning language of genesis 1. John the son of zebedee probably wrote his three nt letters no later than the 90s a. The major themes of 1, 2, and 3 john is first to assure christians of their salvation and secondly to refute the false teachers that are attempting to lead. John did not include the nativity story in his gospel. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. Twopage spread from johannes gutenbergs 42line bible, c. While paul wrote to specific congregations and individuals, peter, james, john, and jude wrote to broader audiences scattered across the roman empire.
Even though such sources are subject to the same historical scrutiny as other ancient documents, this is a remarkable chain of historical witnessesfrom irenaeus, to polycarp, to john himself. The book of 2 john would most likely have been written at about the same time as john s other letters, 1 and 3 john, between a. At the writing of this, his final epistle, john was nearing the end of his life, a life that had changed dramatically some six decades before, when jesus had called john and his brother james out from their fishing boat. John also wrote the fourth gospel and the book of revelation. Every spirit that acknowledges that jesus christ has come in the flesh is from god. Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society.
The books of 2 and 3 john are believed to be written by the same author and most scholars believe the author is john the evangelist. By sister renee pittelli these books of the bible are believed to have been written by the apostle john, who also wrote the gospel of john and revelation. The old testament also calls genesis through deuteronomy the book of the law joshua 8. Faith creates confidence and understanding 1 john 5. Second john and third john are the two shortest books in the bible.
Confess the son and listen to the apostles 1 john 2. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of first john in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. The word became flesh in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. The letters and gospel are anonymous to us, but the christians who. John did not identify himself by name in this letter, but he did adopt the term elder for himself 2 john 1. The book of 2 nd john is a general epistle apostolic letter. John calls followers of jesus to share in gods own life and love by. This evidence is not as strong as that for 2 john, 1 yet its brevity of the letter and the unlikelihood of it being quoted may account for some of this as with 2 john 2. Johns is the only one of the four not considered among the synoptic gospels i. First john is the fourth of the general epistles or catholic letters, the writings of apostles to the church at large. However, second john has the fewest verses in the bible with only 1 chapter made up of only verses. Book of first john overview insight for living ministries. The new testament books were themselves written in the second half of that century.
Johns next two letters, however, are written to specific audiences. Although the first epistle of john does not bear any authors name it was never seriously doubted that the apostle john is the author of this epistle as well as of the fourth gospel. Whereas the gospel of john was written to unbelievers john 20. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. John 14 niv the word became flesh in the bible gateway. All books of the new testament refer to events that happened in the first century, such as the life of jesus, the spread of the gospel, and issues that arose in the infant churches. Nonetheless, john is clearly the author of all four documents. Since one can align the documents attributed to john while also noting that the apostle ministered in ephesus while living to 98 ad, the gospel and. Most of the books of the new testament were written by apostles, but not all. There is evidence that peter and jude may have been coworkers.
John 1 niv the word became flesh in the bible gateway. The spirit of the letter closely parallels that of the fourth gospel. Book of john overview insight for living ministries. Obvious similarities to 1 john and the gospel of john suggest that the same person wrote all three books. John 14 new international version niv the word became flesh. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first. Book of third john overview insight for living ministries. Since the writer of second and third john only identified himself as the elder, in the early church there were some who questioned whether the writer was the. Many contemporary biblical scholars believe that the writer of the letters was not the author of the gospel. John 1 4 new international version niv the word became flesh. John 1 the word became flesh 1 in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. The content, style, and vocabulary seem to warrant the conclusion that these three epistles were addressed to the same readers as the gospel of john.
However, he had deceased when the book of revelation was written in ad 96 or 98, at which time john was the last living apostle. However, all the evidence points to the author as john the beloved disciple who also wrote the gospel of john. In the third letter, john wrote to commend, encourage, and instruct his good friend gaius. Aug 20, 2015 john wrote that the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth john 1. John was part of three men who made up the inner circle of companions of jesus mark 5. John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. Gods breath publications why john wrote 1,2,3, john part 1. Second and third john are from the pen of the elder, who is not identified. The gospel of john, the three johannine epistles, and the book of revelation, exhibit marked similarities, although more so between the gospel and the epistle especially the gospel and 1 john than between those and revelation. He proclaimed the good news about jesus to the recipients of this letter, saying so that you too may have fellowship with us. Linguistically there is evidence that 2 and 3 john are similar to the other johannine works by the apostle john. John, who wrote the gospel of john, wrote it exquisitely, for he was steeped in jewish tradition and heritage.
The epistles content, language and conceptual style are very similar to the gospel of john, 2 john, and 3 john. God is light, and love is the supreme commandment 1 john 1. Traditionally, the authorship of 1, 2, and 3 john has been ascribed to the apostle, john son of zebedee, who also was understood to be the author of the gospel of john and revelation. Watch our overview video on the letters of john, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. These factors suggest that john wrote the book between ad 85 and ad 95. In ii john, the apostle, wrote to warn believers about false teachers. Since the author of 1 john seems to build on concepts and themes found in the fourth gospel see 1jn 2.
The book of 2 john would most likely have been written at about the same time as johns other letters, 1 and 3 john, between a. It was written to encourage all christians not to lose focus of jesus christ and to warn against persistent heresy. Letters of john, three new testament writings, all composed sometime. The gospel of john is such a great book to study, as a new believer, because it. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The third epistle of john is a private letter composed to a man named gaius. Consequently, john wrote this letter with two basic purposes in mind.
Thus, at the end of the 19th century scholar ernest dewitt burton wrote that there could be no reasonable doubt that 1 john and the gospel were written by the same author. As he did in his gospel, john stated with clarity the purpose of his first letter. All three johannine epistles were recognized by the 39th festal letter of athanasius, the synod of hippo and the council of carthage 397. John is also traditionally credited with writing 1, 2, and 3rd john as well as the book of revelation. The three johannine epistles, 1 john, 2 john and 3 john, are traditionally attributed to the apostle john, although scholars say this attribution is unlikely to be correct. Feb 06, 2019 john is traditionally regarded as the author of five books of the bible.
It is written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. May 02, 2020 however, all the evidence points to the author as john the beloved disciple who also wrote the gospel of john. He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature. Dec 11, 2016 watch our overview video on the letters of john, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The third epistle of john, often referred to as third john and written 3 john or iii john, is the thirdtolast book of the new testament and the christian bible as a whole, and attributed to john the evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the gospel of john and the other two epistles of john. John chapter 2 kjv king james version 1 and the third day there was a marriage in cana of galilee. This summary of the book of 1 john provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 john. According to scholars, the gospel of john was written by the beloved disciple john. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. The second epistle of john, often referred to as second john and often written 2 john or ii john, is a book.
John was a companion of simon peter, and was a fisherman by trade before jesus called him. There are very strong objections to thinking the same person wrote 1 and 2 peter. It might be argued, however, that the evangelist wrote 1 jn at a time when the author embraced a different eschatology a simpler solution seems to be that the author of 1 john was a student of the fourth gospel and lived in a community which cherished that gospel as its primary tradition. Most scholars therefore treat the five as a single corpus of johannine literature, albeit not from the same author. Jun 25, 2019 god is light, and love is the supreme commandment 1 john 1.
The vocabulary and style in 2 peter are very different from 1 peter but are very similar to jude. The fact that jude follows johns epistles and immediately precedes the book of revelation supports these thoughts. The apostle john identified himself in 3 john only as the elder 3 john 1. The claim that apostle john was the author is made by irenaeus, who tied it to the epistles of john and the book of revelation. Irenaeus says that john, the disciple of the lord who was with jesus in the upper room, wrote the gospel of john while living in ephesus haer. John is traditionally regarded as the author of five books of the bible. He is also believed to be the only disciple who died of old age the others were allegedly martyred. Traditionally, the authorship of 1, 2, and 3 john has been ascribed to the apostle, john son of zebedee, who also was understood to be the author of the gospel. New testament papyrus 46, one of the oldest new testament papyri, showing 2 cor 11. There are fourteen reasons that are given and we will cover each one in this series. Many phrases are in both 2 and 3 john are either identical or reminiscent of those in 1 john. He wrote from ephesus in presentday western turkey, perhaps to churches like those mentioned in rev. John gives us the reasons he wrote these books of the bible but scatters them throughout 1, 2 and 3 john. In keeping with his intention to combat gnostic teachers, john specifically struck at their total lack of morality 3.