Introduction to 1, 2 & 3 John

The 1, 2 and 3 John, we will reflect upon, are collectively known as the Johannine Epistles. We will discover that 2 and 3 John have specific addressees, whereas 1 John was addressed to no one in particular. John, the author of these letters was the son of Zebedee and brother of James. He is often referred to as John, the beloved or the disciple whom Christ loved. Together with his brother James, he was one of the original twelve apostles who walked and ministered with Jesus. He had also written one Gospel and many think he had also written the Book of Revelation.

These letters were probably written to churches in Asia Minor. John was at that time ministering in the city of Ephesus. The exact date and place of writing cannot be ascertained with finality. Suffice to say that most people accept them to be written from between AD 80 and 95.

The group of churches in Asia Minor that John was writing to was in crisis. False and unorthodox teachings had invaded the fellowship. Verse 19 of chapter two suggests that those false teachers were once from the fellowship. Having been influenced by unorthodox doctrines, they left the church. Although no longer a part of the church, they did not stop propagating their wrong teachings among the believers. Their teachings had brought disruption to the church and had caused much confusion to the believers. In these letters, the Apostle John wrote to counteract the propagation of false beliefs as well as deal with certain issues relating to hosting itinerant teachers. John had a two-fold objective. While he dealt with the heretics and their teachings, he also assured them so that they would continue in the truth.

What do we do with these letters? In our days there is also a proliferation of all kinds of teaching. It seems that every other week we hear of teaching seminars being conducted. Running parallel to these seminars are also all sorts of untrained people rising to make claims that they are God’s authentic prophets, teachers and pastors. It behooves us, as people who love Jesus dearly, not to be hook-winked and led astray from our true beliefs. Learning form these letters could provide hints on how to deal with them; how to stand firm in our faith; and how to live for the honor of God.     

James 5:13-20 – Living a life of prayer

The practice of prayer is vital to effective Christian living. The life of our Lord, the lives of the apostles, the lives of the early church fathers, the lives of the great men of God of yesteryears and those of our times, could easily attest to the importance of prayer. A praying believer himself also knows the truth of this spiritual experience and reality. Church historians reported that the knees of James were full of calluses like a camel’s knees, because of his constant kneeling in prayer. Hence, it would come as no surprise that he should spend the closing moments of his letter encouraging the believers to pray.  Broadly, these last eight verses could be categorized into four aspects of prayers.

In verse 13, James first called attention to two kinds of prayer for two kinds of circumstances. Regardless of what kind of prayers one is offering, they should be addressed to God appropriately. When one is hurting, it is all right to petition God. And when one is happy, he should not forget to praise God. In verses 14-15, James turned to deal with faith in prayer, especially for those who are sick. He first established that it is the responsibility of the believer who is sick, to request for prayer from the elders of the church. It is the responsibility of the elder to pray for the sick. Although not very widely practiced in our days, here James advocated for oil to be used to anoint the sick person.

In a sublime way, James also offered two factors to effective prayers. He said it should be offered in the name of the Lord and in faith. In other words, the praying elder must pray to the Lord and he must pray believingly. Why? Because verse 15 tells us that it is the Lord Himself Who would heal the sick. It is explicitly clear that the one who heals is not the elder. Hence, a responsible elder would direct the sick to look to God and not to himself. Notice James used the phrase, “raise him up”, in verse 15. It could be that the condition he was referring to was a long-standing, persistent illness. It could also be caused by a willful sin. Hence, James ended this verse by saying, if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.”

In the next three verses, James offered a few more factors that would ensure prayer effectiveness. Perhaps he saw the unity of the believers as a critical element in answered prayers. Hence, he reminded them to confess their sins one to another and pray for one another. Remember that James was conscious that they were facing hardship, where relationship could be frayed due to misunderstanding. He wanted the fellowship to respond rightly toward each other. He was aware that prayers offered by disgruntled and disunited people would render the prayers ineffective. Hence, the necessity to confess one to another so that healing could first take place in their relationship. From the earlier verses of chapter 5, we also saw hints that they were judging each other. Confession and forgiveness were needed to bring reconciliation. Instead of being judgmental and critical, James’ purpose was to bring about reconciliation.

In verse 16, James also showed the need for a person to be in right relationship with God for prayer to be effective. The word “righteous” is not about a person who has no wrong or flaws but who is in a right standing with God.  James turned to illustrate this with the life of Elijah. This prophet of God was far from being flawless. He was a person subjected to like passion as any believer. The one thing that stood out in his life was the fact that he was in a right standing with God. Hence, when he prayed, God heard his prayers and answered them specifically. Notice that James also said that he prayed earnestly, it denotes the fact that Elijah offered his prayers with deep conviction. He believed that God would hear, and God heard and answered them specifically.

James urged his readers to trust God and hold on to the truth. They were told to pray through their difficult times. And as they kept at it, they should also keep helping others to do the same. The phrase, “strays from the truth”, in verse 20, implies that the truth James was talking about is not just a concept, it is a lifestyle. This lifestyle is one that is patterned after the Word of Truth.  It is clear that James saw faith in Christ as a journey based on the truth of God. And as in all journeys, one could stray away especially during difficult and oppressive times. Hence, he urged that effort should be made to bring the errant believers back to the fold. He was concerned because the path of the errant ones would lead to the death of their souls. James hoped this danger would motivate their concern to seek ways to rescue those who had strayed, back to the way of truth. Restoring the errant brethren would cause their sins to be covered and removed. They, then, could once again move toward maturity. What do we do with a passage like this? The answer is as clear as daylight – let’s be engaged in prayer! 

James 5:7-12 – Be patient in life

In the opening verses of his Epistle, James showed that patience was a necessary ingredient for one to benefit from trials. It would help the believers to endure trials and reach maturity so that they would lack nothing in life. He had also established patience as a virtue that every genuine believer ought to seek after. Conscious that the pursuit of patience would be made harder in the face of difficult times, he sought to challenge them to go for it nonetheless. From the lives of three groups of people, he showed the believers how to cultivate patience. Now in six verses, he showed them how to develop patience through the examples of three people: the farmer, the prophets and Job.

For us believers, the Second Coming of Christ is the finishing line. In order to reach the finishing line, we need patience. Therefore, in verse 7, James began by issuing a command for the believers to be patient. The question is: How can one be patient in difficult times? James gave the first key in verse 7. It is by focusing on the Second Coming of the Lord. He wanted them to bear in mind that their finishing point is the second return of the Lord. That was the target he wanted them to focus on. He directed their attention to the patience of the farmer. James showed himself to be accustomed to the climatic condition of Palestine. The early rains usually would fall to soften up the grounds for planting and the later rains would be required to make the harvest fruitful. Just like a farmer would plough his field, plant his seed and then wait patiently for the rain to ensure the harvest; believers who have trusted the Lord must also now wait patiently for His Return.

While waiting for the Lord’s Return, James next exhorted them to strengthen their hearts. He was calling on them to harness their inner resolve and courage and not be afraid to go through the tough oppressive situations. Why? For the Second Coming of the Lord is near. Not only were the believers called to strengthen their inner courage, they were also told to stop complaining and murmuring against one another. James seemed to understand the human nature. He knew that the people closest to us are often those that would get the brunt of our negative treatment when we cannot get at our oppressors. To stop them from tearing each other up, he reminded them of the Soon Coming Judge and His judgment. This, he reckoned, would stop them from getting at each other.  

In verse 10, he turned to call on his readers to look at the lives of the prophets. Many of them suffered in their service for the Lord, but they all endured hardship with great patience. James wanted the believers to recognize that they too would experience suffering. However, like the prophets of old who patiently endured, they too had to endure for the Lord.

In verses 11-12, James turned to the life of Job and used it to challenge those believers to be patient. We will recall that Job suffered a great deal. He lost all that he owned and everyone he valued. Yet he kept the end before his eyes. Hence, we find him trusting the Lord despite his trying times.

God does not expect pretense, as if we enjoy hardship. He knows the kind of substance we are made up of. He even understands our doubts. What He requires of us in tough time is to recognize that He is sovereign. He expects us to recognize that He is in the process of working out all things for our good, even when we don’t understand His ways. God has a plan much larger than our ability to comprehend. He wants us to stay faithful in trusting Him as a good God.

To round up this segment, we hear a call to be people of integrity. There is no necessity to swear by heaven or earth when we are true to our words. In the light of the Coming Judgment, we believers should just say what we mean and mean what we say, and nothing further is required.   

James 5:1-6 –Be just

Here, in the opening six verses of chapter 5, James’ target was probably the ungodly rich who were exploiting the poor. James called on them to view wealth and work with proper perspective. He explained that unused and ill-gotten wealth would be evidences that God would use to indict and condemn them, for their unjust practices. He implored them not to exploit the poor workers and hoard the pay due to them. Furthermore, they should not use the wages due to their workers to indulge in themselves. James openly rebuked the wealthy landowners and warned them sternly of the dangers they would face in the impending judgment. Here, he highlighted four crimes they had committed.

Firstly, they had hoarded their resources and neglected the poor who worked the land. Here, we see the wealth described in three aspects: the rotting riches, moth-eaten garments, and rusted gold and silver. In hoarding the riches, they deprived others of their daily necessities.

Secondly, they exploited the poor. Verse 4 describes how the poor were exploited. Those rich landowners took advantage of their workers, cheating them of wages, delaying compensation, and failing to pay them a reasonable income. In those days, laborers would be paid at the end of each day. They virtually had no savings to fall back on. Their daily wages was hardly sufficient to provide the family for the day’s necessity. The poor and their family would be hungry for that day if the landowners refused to pay them their due. James wanted those exploiters to know that the Lord was fully aware of their offense against the poor workers.

Thirdly, they lived an indulgent lifestyle. James painted a picture of how the rich lavish in indulgence in verse 5. They lived luxuriously, pursing wanton pleasure to gratify their carnal desires. While the rich lived luxuriously at the expanse of the peasants, the latter could barely survive with the meager wages. However, they did not know that they were like calves being fattened for the slaughter on the Judgment Day.

Fourthly, they betrayed the honest peasants. In verse 6, James harshly told them that they “have condemned and put to death the righteous man, he does not resist you.” Some have suggested that this could be referring to Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. James could be comparing the underhanded ways the rich were treating the peasants to that of Judas’ betrayal of the Lord. However, here we see the peasants being abused and their rights were cheated away by the landowners. In that sense, they had betrayed the very people who enabled them to obtain wealth.

With the blessing of wealth, God expects responsible stewardship to be exercised. James highlighted here that as with all blessings in life, God will call us into accounting for the wealth, however gotten. James drew a very bleak picture for the rich who abused their wealth. He foretold of the miseries they should anticipate for their merciless acts.  In talking about rotting, moth-eaten and rusting, James wanted them to know that ultimately they would lose everything. Plainly put, all those things were earthly and temporal, and had no everlasting security. In fact, they could ultimately become the enemy of their souls and haunt them at the Judgment Seat of God. James reminded them that finally they still would have to face the Lord of the Sabbath, the Almighty One. Then, they would stand to lose everything.

In our days the poor are still exploited. The church is not only God’s moral compass in the world, it is also His voice for the oppressed. We must not seek to exploit others, especially the poor, but where possible, let us speak out on their behalf! 

James 4:11-17 – Attitude that pleases

One fallacy of man is that he tends to be critical. People, even Christians, tend to develop a critical spirit, particularly when what others do or see appears to be different from theirs. To act disparagingly towards others puts one in the role of God and this ought not to be so.

James began, in verse 11, by instructing believers not to speak against fellow believers. The two words “do not …” clearly show that this is a command, not a request. Being in the imperative mood tells us that this is a strong admonition for believers to adhere to. James forbade one from passing judgment against a fellow believer. Why? He said that this is God’s role and He alone has the right to judge and not man. To speak against or to judge a brother would make one higher than the law. Believers are called to follow the instruction of the law, not to be the judge of it. James re-emphasized that there is only one person qualified to judge. He is none other than God Himself. He is qualified because He gave the law. Furthermore, unlike us, He is the only One who could save and destroy.

When we come to verses 14-17, we see James telling believers not to assume the role of God in relation to their personal decision. In verse 13, he told believers what would result when one does that: it would lead one to be presumptuous. To act presumptuously would imply that like God, one knows everything ahead. Yet the harsh facts of reality tell us that nobody knows the opportunity ahead. Instead of being presumptuous, one should put his trust in God and learn to lean on Him for guidance. He also tells us here that being presumptuous also make a person susceptible to deception. Further reasons were given why one should not act on presumption. No one has knowledge about his future, nor the length of his life. The right thing to do, James proposed, was to factor the will of God in one’s planning. In verses 16-17, James said that to be presumptuous would lead one to transgress against God. All boasting is evil. The right thing to do is to do what is right. James concluded here that to ignore doing the right thing would tantamount to sin.

As Christians, we must realize and acknowledge that God is sovereign. We must understand that every day we exist is a gift from God. It behooves us therefore that we must live each day in the light of God’s sovereignty! We must lean on Him to make our decision and not presume on His grace. 

James 4:1-10 – Turning away from the world

James turned to call believers not to be influenced by the appeal of this world. When a believer is taken in by worldliness, he sets himself up as God’s enemy. In this passage he wrote to address this issue. He first pointed to how worldliness begins in a person’s life. In verses 1-3, he directs our attention to the human appetite as the cause of worldly desires in one’s life. An unrequited worldly desire in a person has the capacity to develop into an uncontrolled passion. When that person cannot control his worldly passion, he develops a spirit of discontent. He becomes quarrelsome and would disagree with others. Even when he prays, he will find his prayers unanswered by God because he has prayed with the wrong motives.  

In verses 4-6, James then went on to show what sort of consequences would be engendered when a person indulges in his worldly passion. Essentially, worldliness is as good as spiritual adultery. Hence, James used the word “adulteresses”. The standards of God and that of the world cannot exist hand in hand. The nature of God and the nature of the world are diametrically opposite. To embrace the standards of the world would result in one being hostile towards God’s prescribed standards. This would put a person at enmity with God. So verse 5 revealed to believers that by persisting in worldly passion, they would render the Scriptures or the Word of God of no effect. They would nullify the pure intention of Scriptures.  Furthermore, the implication we get here is that in pursuing one’s worldly passion, a believer would grieve the Spirit. The Holy Spirit in a believer would point him to Jesus for his deepest pleasure and satisfaction, and not the world. But by going against the divine compass, the Holy Spirit would be quenched. However, God is full of grace, when a believer humbles himself, God would deal graciously with him. However, He would oppose the proud.

Having shown them the source and consequences of worldliness, James then turned to show the remedy in verses 7-10. Basically there are two steps. Firstly, one should come to God in humble submission. This would mean acknowledging God’s Sovereignty in one’s life. It suggests a deliberate drawing near to God to experience God’s reciprocate act of drawing near to the approaching believer. In coming, the believer must come with an attitude of contrition. He must deal with his wrong actions and attitude. Verse 9 tells us that such a person would display a spirit of penitence and become totally remorseful. Besides calling for the sinners to come in an attitude of humility into God’s presence, verse 10 also assures the sinners that God would exalt such a person who shows genuine humility.  

Here’s a list of questions from the Bible Friends to help us measure our worldliness quotient:

1.      A soul lost in Hell … or a scratch on your new car?

2.      You missing the worship service … or missing a day’s work?

3.      A sermon 10 minutes too long … or lunch half hour late?

4.      A church not growing … or your garden not growing?

5.      Your Bible unopened … or your newspaper unread?

6.      Missing a good Bible study … or your favorite TV program?

7.      The millions who do not know Christ … or your inability to keep up with the neighbors?

8.      Your tithes decreasing … or your income decreasing?

9.      Your children late for Sunday school and Church … or late for public school?

Which really disturbs us most?

James 3:13-18 – Go for godly wisdom

In these six verses, James gave us characteristics of two kinds of wisdom: godly wisdom and earthly wisdom. In verse 13, he showed two things that would be displayed in a person with godly wisdom. It would be seen through his behavior in life and the demonstration of his gentle attitude.

In verses 14-16, James exposed the characteristics of earthly wisdom.  The bitter jealousy and selfish ambition demonstrate the fact that earthly wisdom is divisive. Furthermore, it shows itself in dishonesty and deception by being arrogant and lying against the truth. Verse 15 identifies the source of such wisdom: it is not from above but earthly, and natural and even demonic. In other words, it originates from the carnal fallen nature of man that finds its root in the devil. James heightened his description of earthly wisdom in verse 16 by saying that such wisdom only brings about every disorderliness and destruction.   

From verses 17-18, James described the heavenly wisdom that can only be found as one connects to God. Such wisdom demonstrates itself in purity, peace, gentleness, reasonableness, mercy, positive fruits, perseverance, truthfulness and prudence. Notice that all these traits have to do with one’s relationship with others. People with such wisdom show deep consideration for others. It is demonstrated in interpersonal relationship where peace would always be the objective as well as the means. Its fruits would be an abundant harvest of righteousness. 

The Bible shows us that true wisdom has to do with relationship. It’s about relationship with God, family members, neighbors and self. Therefore true wisdom begins with God and the more we connect with Him, the better equipped we are to handle relationships. As we live, let’s remember that the Cross of Calvary is God’s idea to mend our relationship. The Cross has two beams; a vertical beam and a horizontal beam. The vertical bar represents our relationship with God and the horizontal bar, our relationship with fellowmen. As we look to the Christ of the old rugged Cross, let’s receive the wisdom to demonstrate faith in God and love towards men! In so doing, live to honor God in our relationship with our fellowmen!