1, 2, 3 John | An Introduction To The Book Of John | TCBS

"And I do want this to be a resource that helps people read and understand what scripture is." — Pastor Chris

The Tree Church Bible Study is back after a summer break, and hosts Pastor Stacy and Pastor Chris are ready to start something new. Last season, the Pastors spent time walking through the book of Ruth, learning about Naomi, Ruth, and the faithful character of God. This season the focus shifts to the New Testament, where Pastor Stacy and Pastor Chris will spend time in the letters of 1, 2, and 3 John.

Before diving into the text itself, the hosts open the season with two introductory episodes. This first episode lays the groundwork by looking at where these letters came from, who wrote them, and why understanding that background matters so much for reading scripture well.

Pastor Chris shares that his goal for the Bible Study is not just to hand listeners information. He wants the podcast to be a tool that teaches people how to study scripture for themselves. Building on tools introduced during the Ruth series, the team continues offering a reading plan, show notes, and an online community where listeners can ask questions and discuss what they are learning together.

This season, listeners will also hear more conversation about context. Pastor Chris explains that understanding context is one of the most important skills for reading the Bible well, because it helps readers understand why the biblical authors wrote what they wrote.

Pastor Chris introduces a simple framework he learned while studying hermeneutics, the practice of interpreting scripture. He breaks it down into three parts.

The first is the world behind the text. This is the historical setting, including the culture, politics, and events shaping the world when a book was written.

The second is the world in front of the text. This is the perspective a modern reader brings to scripture, including assumptions and ideas picked up from culture or from other teachers. Pastor Chris reminds listeners that everyone brings something to the text, and it helps to be aware of that.

The third is the world of the text itself, meaning the literary style, structure, and language an author used. Pastor Chris compares this to looking through a window, where the world behind the text is what lies beyond the glass, the world of the text is the windowpane itself, and the world in front of the text is the person standing there looking through it.

Pastor Stacy adds that learning to recognize these three angles has changed the way she reads scripture, helping her understand why certain authors wrote the way they did.

With the framework in place, the conversation turns to authorship. Pastor Chris explains that most scholars connect these letters to John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, who is believed to have eventually settled in Ephesus. These three letters, along with the Gospel of John, are often grouped together as Johannine literature.

None of these books directly name their author. First John has no name attached at all, while Second and Third John refer only to "the elder." The Gospel of John refers to its author as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Even without a name stated outright, early church history points strongly to a close connection with John the Apostle and the community of believers who followed his teaching, including figures like Polycarp.

Pastor Chris also notes that ancient writing rarely happened the way people imagine today, with one person sitting down and writing a finished work alone. Many hands were often involved in shaping a final text, even while the core ideas and authority still belonged to one central figure.

Listeners may wonder why Revelation, another book connected to John, is not studied alongside these letters. Pastor Chris explains that while Revelation shares some themes with the Gospel and epistles of John, it is written in a completely different style and genre.
Its Greek is noticeably different, and it belongs to a distinct type of literature known as apocalyptic writing. Because of these differences, scholars are not certain whether Revelation was written by the same John, though it remains possible.

Pastors Stacy and Chris walk through how the New Testament is organized. Readers first encounter the Gospels and Acts, followed by Paul's letters arranged by length. After that comes a section sometimes called the general epistles, grouped by author and length as well. This is where 1, 2, and 3 John appear, tucked between other short letters like Hebrews, James, and Peter's letters. Revelation is placed at the very end because of its unique apocalyptic style, even though it shares themes with John's other writings.

Pastor Chris shares that scholars generally date these letters somewhere between 80 and 95 AD, with the Gospel of John likely written first, followed by First John, then Second and Third John. These writings are connected to Ephesus, a wealthy and influential city in the region known as Asia Minor. The community receiving these letters is often called the Johannine community, a network of house churches in that same region.

As the episode moves toward its purpose, Pastor Chris explains that John's community was experiencing division. Some people were drifting away from correct belief about who Jesus is, and this was affecting how they lived. Like other New Testament writers, John wanted his readers to believe rightly about Jesus, live in a way that reflected that belief, and remain faithful even during difficult seasons.

Part of the tension in this community came from a mixed audience of Jewish and Gentile believers. Some corrections in John's writing addressed conflict with the Jewish community, particularly the experience of believers being pushed out of synagogues. Pastor Chris is careful to note that while this conflict is real in the text, John's gospel has sadly been misused throughout history to promote anti semitism, which is a distortion of its original meaning and intent.

On the Gentile side, an early belief system that would later be called Gnosticism was creating problems. This way of thinking taught that the physical world was bad and only the spiritual world mattered. Pastor Chris explains that this belief directly conflicts with the gospel, since it denies that Jesus came in a real physical body. To John, this was a serious departure from the truth about who Jesus is.

As the episode wraps up, Pastor Chris and Pastor Stacy preview some of the major themes listeners can expect throughout 1, 2, and 3 John. These include the imagery of light and darkness, a strong focus on the true identity of Jesus as both fully human and fully divine, an emphasis on love and unity within the church, and the ongoing role of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers.

Pastor Chris shares that his hope is for listeners to see how right belief leads to right behavior. He wants the study to be more than information, but something that leads to real transformation in the lives of those following along.

Pastor Stacy closes by encouraging listeners to make use of the resources available in the show notes and the online community, reminding everyone that no question is off limits. The episode ends with Pastor Chris praying over the season ahead, asking for guidance, conviction, and comfort as listeners prepare to study these letters together.

This episode sets the stage for a deeper look at 1, 2, and 3 John in the weeks to come, giving listeners the context they need before stepping into the text itself.

This Bible study is part of The Tree Church Bible Study podcast (TCBS), created to help the Tree grow deeper in understanding the Scriptures. New episodes are released regularly on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.