Epistles of John Quiz: Love, Light, and the Antichrist

1. What does 1 John 1:1-3 say about the 'word of life' and why John writes about it?

1. 'That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life... We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ'
2. John says the word of life is Scripture — he is writing to explain the OT prophecies that have been fulfilled in Christ's coming and ministry
3. John says the word of life is the inner voice of the Spirit — mystical experience, not historical fact, is the foundation of true fellowship
4. John says the word of life is the love command — those who love one another have eternal life, and this is the word that John is proclaiming

2. What does 1 John 1:5-7 say about God and about walking in the light?

1. 'This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin'
2. John says God is both light and darkness — the tension between these two aspects of God is what makes Christian life so complex and why believers must consult the community before any major decision
3. John says God is light and that all people automatically walk in the light because God is present everywhere — darkness is a metaphor for ignorance, not moral failure
4. John says walking in the light means having no sin — those who are genuinely saved have been perfected and no longer sin in any way

3. What does 1 John 1:8-10 say about confessing sin?

1. 'If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us'
2. John says only the sin of denying Christ requires confession — ordinary sins are covered by Christ's blood without any need for acknowledgment or repentance
3. John says public confession before the congregation is required for all sins — private confession to God is insufficient because the community must be restored by public acknowledgment
4. John says that once a believer is converted, further confession of sin is unnecessary — the finished work of Christ covers all future sin without requiring ongoing acknowledgment

4. What does 1 John 2:1-2 say about what happens when a believer sins?

1. 'My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world'
2. John says believers should not be concerned when they sin — the grace of God is so complete that moral failure has no consequence for those who are genuinely in Christ
3. John says when a believer sins, they must make a sacrifice — not a literal animal sacrifice, but a commensurate act of self-denial that demonstrates their seriousness
4. John says when a believer sins, they temporarily lose their salvation — they must repent immediately to regain the standing they had before the sin occurred

5. What does 1 John 2:15-17 say about loving the world?

1. 'Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever'
2. John says believers should love the world as God loves it — since God so loved the world (John 3:16), Christians must affirm and celebrate cultural expressions of beauty and truth wherever they are found
3. John says love for the world is only sinful when it leads to visible immoral behaviour — internal desires and attitudes are beyond the scope of this command
4. John's instruction to not love the world means that Christians should not evangelise — loving the world in any way, even missionally, is spiritually compromising

6. What does 1 John 2:18-22 teach about the antichrist?

1. 'Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us... Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist — denying the Father and the Son'
2. John says the antichrist is a single end-times figure who will appear once during the great tribulation — the letter's teaching about antichrists concerns only this future individual
3. John says the antichrist spirit is the same as the spirit of apostasy in 2 Thessalonians — these two passages describe the same individual who will come at the end of the age
4. The antichrists in 1 John are outside the church — they are pagan philosophers who deny Christian truth from outside the community

7. What does 1 John 3:1-2 say about the identity of believers as children of God?

1. 'See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is'
2. John says God's children are indistinguishable from the world — their love for God is internal and invisible, so the world cannot tell who truly belongs to God
3. John says only perfect believers qualify as children of God — the title applies only to those who have reached a high level of spiritual maturity and moral consistency
4. John says the title 'children of God' is aspirational — believers are in the process of becoming God's children and the adoption will be formalised at the last judgment

8. What does 1 John 4:1-3 say about testing the spirits?

1. 'Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist'
2. John says all spiritual experiences are equally valid — since the Spirit is sovereign, believers should accept every prophetic word without critical evaluation
3. John says believers should only test their own inner spirits — the 'spirits' to be tested are one's own thoughts and emotions, not external prophets or teachings
4. John says the test for authentic prophecy is whether it comes true — only failed predictions indicate a false spirit; theological content is not itself a reliable test

9. What does 1 John 4:7-12 say about the relationship between love and knowing God?

1. 'Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love... Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us'
2. John says love is only possible after knowing God — theological knowledge must come first, and love flows as its natural outcome
3. John says love of God and love of neighbour are separate commandments — one can love God without loving other people, which is why he addresses them in distinct sections
4. John says only perfect love constitutes genuine knowing of God — partial or imperfect love indicates that one does not truly know God at all

10. What does 1 John 4:18-19 say about perfect love and fear?

1. '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. We love because he first loved us'
2. John says fear and love are equally important — the combination of fear and love is the ideal spiritual posture, and pure love without fear leads to antinomianism
3. John says fear is a sign of spiritual health — those who fear God are more likely to remain faithful, and the loss of fear indicates spiritual complacency
4. John says the loving believer is above all moral accountability — since perfect love has no fear, those who are mature in love cannot be judged for their actions

11. What does 1 John 5:11-13 say about the purpose of the letter and the assurance of eternal life?

1. 'And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life'
2. John says eternal life belongs to the whole world — since Christ is the Saviour of the world, the testimony of 1 John is that all people already possess eternal life whether they know it or not
3. John says the letter's purpose is evangelism — he writes to non-believers so they will know what they are missing and be compelled to believe in Christ
4. John says the letter's purpose is to warn believers about the judgment — he writes to remind them that eternal life is conditional and can be lost through persistent sin

12. Who is the 'elder' who writes 2 John and 3 John, and to whom is 2 John addressed?

1. The 'elder' is a title for John the Baptist — the letter was written by Baptist's disciples in his name after his death, addressed to Gentile converts who had not met him
2. The elder is Barnabas — tradition in Asia Minor wrongly attributed the letters to John, but modern scholars believe Barnabas wrote them during his Cyprus ministry
3. The elder is John the apostle writing to 'the chosen lady and her children' — most scholars take this as a metaphor for a local church and its members, though some read it as an actual woman
4. The elder is Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead — Lazarus became a leader in the early church and wrote these letters near the end of his life

13. What does 2 John 7-11 warn about regarding false teachers and hospitality?

1. 'Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist... If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work'
2. 2 John only warns about doctrinal error in the abstract — it does not give specific guidance about how to relate to those who hold false teaching
3. 2 John says Christians should show hospitality to all people indiscriminately — refusing hospitality to anyone, even false teachers, violates the love command
4. 2 John says false teachers should be confronted publicly but welcomed privately — the love command requires personal hospitality even when public rebuke is appropriate

14. What does 3 John say about Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius?

1. 3 John condemns all three men: Gaius for naivety, Diotrephes for pride, and Demetrius for trying to exploit the conflict for personal advancement
2. 3 John is about a financial dispute: Gaius had money, Diotrephes wanted it, and Demetrius was the arbitrator sent to resolve the conflict
3. 3 John praises Gaius for welcoming and supporting travelling missionaries; criticises Diotrephes, who 'loves to be first,' refuses to welcome the missionaries, and expels those who do; and commends Demetrius as a man of good reputation
4. 3 John's three characters are metaphors: Gaius represents faithful Israel, Diotrephes represents unfaithful Israel, and Demetrius represents the Gentile converts who must choose between the two

15. What does 1 John 3:16-18 say about how we know what love is and how we should love?

1. 'This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth'
2. John says love is purely spiritual — words and prayer are the highest forms of love, and physical provision is a secondary, earthly expression that should not be confused with true agape
3. John says the knowledge of love comes from the law — Moses gave Israel the love command and Christ simply clarified what the OT already taught
4. John says we know love from the experience of being loved by other people — human love is the model for our love of God and of one another

16. What does 1 John 5:1-5 say about faith, love, and overcoming the world?

1. 'Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith'
2. John says keeping the commands requires great effort and moral willpower — overcoming the world is a battle of the human will against temptation
3. John says overcoming the world requires extraordinary spiritual gifts — only those with miraculous powers can resist the pull of the world system
4. John says the world has already been defeated in a judicial sense only — in practical terms, believers are helpless before worldly temptation and must wait for the final age for full victory

17. What does 1 John 3:9-10 say about the one who is 'born of God' and sin?

1. 'No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister'
2. John contradicts his earlier teaching about confession in chapter 1 — the two passages are irreconcilable unless one assumes John is describing two different communities
3. John says the new birth only covers original sin — the believer is freed from the guilt of Adam's sin but still struggles with personal sin in exactly the same way as before conversion
4. John says those born of God achieve moral perfection — the new birth eliminates all sinful desires and those who sin prove they have not yet been genuinely regenerated

18. What does the love command in 2 John 5-6 say?

1. 'And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love'
2. The love command in 2 John 5-6 is a new commandment — John says it has never been given before and is unique to the new covenant era
3. The love command in 2 John is different from 1 John's love command — in 2 John, love refers to doctrinal agreement, whereas in 1 John it refers to practical care for the needy
4. The love command in 2 John specifically applies to loving false teachers — the whole point of the letter is that love must extend even to those who teach heresy

19. What does 1 John 2:27 say about the anointing (chrism) that believers have?

1. 'As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him'
2. John says the anointing eliminates the need for Scripture — believers who are filled with the Spirit have an inner knowing that supersedes the written word
3. John says the anointing must be sought through fasting and prayer — it is given only to mature believers who have prepared themselves through extended spiritual discipline
4. John says the anointing was given only to the original apostles — it passed away with John's generation and the church now relies on Scripture rather than any inner anointing

20. What does 3 John 11 say, and how does it summarise the letter's contrast between Gaius and Diotrephes?

1. 'Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God'
2. 3 John 11 is addressed to Diotrephes — John is appealing directly to him to repent and change his behaviour before the elder visits
3. 3 John 11 says believers should learn from both good and bad examples — even Diotrephes had something to teach the church about the dangers of pride
4. 3 John 11 says Gaius should submit to Diotrephes — even though Diotrephes was wrong, respecting church authority was more important than individual conviction