Nate Rodriguez

Dr. Jackson
2-4-14
Exegetical 1 John 4: 13-18
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his
Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior
of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them
and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made
complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world
we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because
fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1. The authorship of 1 John is not self- identified in the book, so it is not one
hundred percent known, but many believe that it was John the apostle, the
disciple of Christ whom Jesus loved, and the author of the fourth Gospel.
Many areas suggest that it is John the apostle such as similarities of content
and style between 1 John and the Gospel. Also, early writings of Irenaeus,
Polycarp, and Polycrates suggest that John moved to Ephesus and planted
several churches which are the audience of 1, 2, and 3 John (Hays 951-952).
2. There is little information to accurately date 1 John, but those who agree
with a common authorship will generally date the epistle in the mid- 90s.
Since the author identified the audience as dear children and Dear
friends, it suggests that the audience was well known by the author
(Dockery 772)

1. The letter as a whole has no named recipients mentioned throughout the

text, but many believe the author wrote to Christians in the region of
Ephesus. In this region, the churches were more than likely being threatened
by a false teaching such as a teaching of several religions (Hays 952), and the
church did not recognize the importance of Gods love.
2. The audience relationship with God and with each other was more so of
arrogance and a lack of love simply due to the fact that the audience was
trying to gain this special knowledge that was described to them by false
teachings (Hays 952). It is also believed that this audience may have

separated themselves from their community due to the content of 1 John

(Freedman 905).
3. The audience lives in a region near Ephesus which was probably surrounded
by false teachings and witnesses.

1. The specific situations that were being addressed by John were that of love.
John says that since God has made us, love is a by-product of his creation.
John says that we shouldnt love out of anxiety or fear of losing the person
that is being loved but because of Gods loving generosity towards us. He
also says that by loving one another through the inspiration of God, God
becomes a tangible reality. John also points out the results of a Christian love
by saying Gods love is perfected among us. Within this, we can receive
assurance because Perfect love drives out fear, and we are like God if we
love one another with a Christian type of love (Burge 188-190).
2. I am not sure if there are very many social, political, or economic issues in my
passage. I historically and culturally I could look into the diversity in
Ephesus during the mid- 90s, and this could possibly give me an idea of the
social life, and from there I could conclude whether or not there were social
issues.

Works Cited
Burge, Gary M. Letters of John. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1996
Dockery, David S., ed. Holman Bible Handbook. Nashville: Holman, 1992.
Freedman, David Noel, ed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. Garden City,
NY: Doubleday, 1992.
Hays, J. Daniel, and J. Scott Duvall. The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.