返回Preface
Preface
Preface
Evangelical theology concerning Christ; also here concerning confession and guarding oneself from sins, and that the knowledge of God is confirmed by the keeping of the commandments. – Concerning love, without which there is no piety; also here concerning the grace proper to each age, and concerning the forsaking of love for the world. – Concerning false brethren who deny God; that Christian piety necessarily confesses the Father, for the glorification of the Father is conditioned upon the acknowledgment of the Son as God; also here concerning the divine and spiritual gift in sanctification, in the hope of the knowledge of God, and that everyone who abides in Christ does not sin, for whoever sins is of the devil. – Concerning love for one's neighbor and the inclination toward mutual aid; also here concerning the good conscience granted by faith in Jesus Christ, and concerning the discernment of spirits through the confession of the incarnation of the Lord. – Concerning the necessity of brotherly love for the worship of God. – Concerning the Divinity of the Son in the glory of the Father, and concerning victory over the devil through faith in Jesus Christ unto eternal life. – Concerning the assistance to a sinning brother through prayer for him, and that one must not sin; also here concerning the withdrawal from the service of demons.
The same John who wrote the Gospel also wrote this epistle, with the purpose of strengthening those who had already believed in the Lord. And as in the Gospel, so also in the present epistle he first of all theologizes about the Word, shows that It is always in God, and teaches that the Father is light, so that from this too we might know that the Word is, as it were, His radiance. Continuing to theologize, he explains that the mystery of our salvation is not something new, but that it existed from the beginning and always was, and has only now been revealed in the Lord, Who is eternal life and the true God. He also sets forth the reason for His coming and manifestation, saying that He appeared to destroy the works of the devil, to free us from death, and to teach us the knowledge of the Father and of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle writes to people of every age—children, youths, elders—because God has been known, the power of the devil has been overcome, and death has been abolished. Throughout the entire epistle he teaches about love, commands that we love one another, and bases the duty of mutual love on the fact that Christ also loved us. He explains the difference between fear and love, between the children of God and the children of the devil, between mortal sin and non-mortal sin, and between spirits. He explains separately which spirit is from God and which is the spirit of error; when we are recognized as children of God and when as children of the devil; for which sin we should pray for those who sin and for which we should not pray. He says that whoever does not love his neighbor is unworthy of the name and cannot be called Christ's. He shows that the Son is one with the Father and that he who denies the Son does not have the Father either. In this same epistle he reasons that it is characteristic of the antichrist to say that Jesus Christ is not the true Son, in order to show that He lies in calling Himself the Son while not truly being so. Throughout the entire epistle he urges those who believe in the Lord not to despair because the world hates them, but rather to rejoice, because the hatred of the world shows that the believers have departed from the world itself and already belong to the heavenly citizenship. At the end of the epistle he again reminds that the Son of God is eternal Life and the true God, and that we must serve Him and keep ourselves from idols.
Evangelical theology concerning Christ; also here concerning confession and guarding oneself from sins, and that the knowledge of God is confirmed by the keeping of the commandments. – Concerning love, without which there is no piety; also here concerning the grace proper to each age, and concerning the forsaking of love for the world. – Concerning false brethren who deny God; that Christian piety necessarily confesses the Father, for the glorification of the Father is conditioned upon the acknowledgment of the Son as God; also here concerning the divine and spiritual gift in sanctification, in the hope of the knowledge of God, and that everyone who abides in Christ does not sin, for whoever sins is of the devil. – Concerning love for one's neighbor and the inclination toward mutual aid; also here concerning the good conscience granted by faith in Jesus Christ, and concerning the discernment of spirits through the confession of the incarnation of the Lord. – Concerning the necessity of brotherly love for the worship of God. – Concerning the Divinity of the Son in the glory of the Father, and concerning victory over the devil through faith in Jesus Christ unto eternal life. – Concerning the assistance to a sinning brother through prayer for him, and that one must not sin; also here concerning the withdrawal from the service of demons.
The same John who wrote the Gospel also wrote this epistle, with the purpose of strengthening those who had already believed in the Lord. And as in the Gospel, so also in the present epistle he first of all theologizes about the Word, shows that It is always in God, and teaches that the Father is light, so that from this too we might know that the Word is, as it were, His radiance. Continuing to theologize, he explains that the mystery of our salvation is not something new, but that it existed from the beginning and always was, and has only now been revealed in the Lord, Who is eternal life and the true God. He also sets forth the reason for His coming and manifestation, saying that He appeared to destroy the works of the devil, to free us from death, and to teach us the knowledge of the Father and of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle writes to people of every age—children, youths, elders—because God has been known, the power of the devil has been overcome, and death has been abolished. Throughout the entire epistle he teaches about love, commands that we love one another, and bases the duty of mutual love on the fact that Christ also loved us. He explains the difference between fear and love, between the children of God and the children of the devil, between mortal sin and non-mortal sin, and between spirits. He explains separately which spirit is from God and which is the spirit of error; when we are recognized as children of God and when as children of the devil; for which sin we should pray for those who sin and for which we should not pray. He says that whoever does not love his neighbor is unworthy of the name and cannot be called Christ's. He shows that the Son is one with the Father and that he who denies the Son does not have the Father either. In this same epistle he reasons that it is characteristic of the antichrist to say that Jesus Christ is not the true Son, in order to show that He lies in calling Himself the Son while not truly being so. Throughout the entire epistle he urges those who believe in the Lord not to despair because the world hates them, but rather to rejoice, because the hatred of the world shows that the believers have departed from the world itself and already belong to the heavenly citizenship. At the end of the epistle he again reminds that the Son of God is eternal Life and the true God, and that we must serve Him and keep ourselves from idols.