The writer identified himself as “the presbyter” or “the elder.” This designation applied to a man advanced in age or to one who served in the community of believers as one who taught, admonished, and watched out for the well-being of fellow believers. When the apostle John is considered to have been the writer, he would have been both an elder in age and an elder among disciples of Jesus Christ. (Verse 1)

It does not appear that the Greek word eklekté here is a woman’s name (Electa), as some have suggested. The expression more likely functions as an adjective that means “elect” or “chosen.” In the concluding verse, her “sister” is also designated as eklektés, the “elect,” and it is most unlikely for two “sisters” to have been called by the same name. For individuals to be described as “elect” or “chosen” would indicate that God had invited or chosen them to be his people. They are persons who responded in faith to the message about Jesus Christ, resulting in their being forgiven of their sins and reconciled to God as his beloved children. (Verse 1)

The word kyría is the feminine form of the noun kýrios (“lord”) and so could designate a woman of high social standing or a lady. It is also possible that the expression here is a proper name (Kyria). If the letter was addressed to a woman and her children, she may well have been a woman of means in whose home believers met for fellowship. (For examples of such women, see Acts 12:12-17; Acts 16:14, 15, 40.) The mention of the “sister” (in verse 13) would seem to favor the conclusion that the letter was sent to a woman and her children. According to the widely accepted view, however, a congregation is here called kyría, and her sister is a congregation where the writer of the letter then was. This meaning is not inherent in the terms kyría and “sister” (adelphé) and so involves a measure of interpretation. Therefore, in the comments that follow, the words kyría and adelphé are taken at face value as applying to a woman and her sister, but kyría has been left in the transliterated form so as not to restrict its significance. (Verse 1)

“In truth,” sincerely, or in the true sense, John loved kyría and her children. But he was not alone in having this genuine love for dear fellow believers. It was a love that all who “knew the truth” shared. This “truth” relates to having come to know Jesus Christ as the Son of God and what he accomplished by surrendering his life for the human family. The “truth” includes what Jesus Christ did and taught, for he is the living truth who provided the full revelation of his Father. It is the “truth” that centers on Christ that provides the basis for the love that believers have for one another. All of them are part of the family of his Father’s beloved children. (Verse 1)

Numerous manuscripts do not include diá (“because” or “through”) as the first word, but its inclusion has superior manuscript support. Because the “truth” that centers on Christ remains in believers (with manuscripts reading either “us” or “you”), truly being a part of their inner selves as an activating power in their lives, they love one another as members of his Father’s dear family. The possession of this “truth” is not of a temporary nature. “It,” as the elder continued, “will be with us [‘you,’ according to some manuscripts] forever [literally, ‘into the age’].” The “truth” is not intellectual knowledge. Those who are in possession of it enjoy a relationship with the Son of God and, through him, with his Father, and that relationship does not end for those who are divinely approved persons. (Verse 2)

“Favor” is the unmerited kindness of which believers are recipients in the form of help and guidance. “Mercy” is the compassionate concern and care that is granted to them and includes forgiveness of sin. “Peace” is the inner sense of well-being from knowing that divine love and care will never be lacking, providing strength in times of distress and hardship. Gracious favor, mercy, and peace “will be with” believers (“us” or, according to a number of other manuscripts, “you”), coming “from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father.” God and his Son will not fail in supplying everything that believers need to remain in their love. The concluding phrase “in truth and love” could mean that God and Christ would, in truth (or in sincerity or actuality) and in expression of their love, grant favor, mercy, and peace to believers. Another possibility is that, by reason of their conduct that harmonizes with the truth relating to Christ and with their love for God, Christ, and fellow humans, believers would enjoy favor, mercy, and peace. (Verse 3; see the Notes section.)

A number of translations convey explicit interpretive meanings for verse 3. “In our life of truth and love, we shall have grace, faithful love and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father.” (NJB) “I wish you, in all love and sincerity, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son.” (J. B. Phillips) “I pray that God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son will be kind and merciful to us! May they give us peace and truth and love.” (CEV) “God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son will give you grace, mercy and peace. Those blessings will be with us because we love the truth.” (NIRV) “The grace, the mercy and the peace from God, the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of God, of the Father, will be with us — just as the truth and the love are with us.” (Die Gnade, die Barmherzigkeit und der Frieden von Gott, dem Vater, und von Jesus Christus, dem Sohn ´Gottes`, des Vaters, werden mit uns sein — genauso, wie die Wahrheit und die Liebe mit uns sind. [German, Neue Genfer Übersetzung]) “Grace, compassion and peace will be with us from God, the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, so that we also will remain united with one another in the truth and in love.” (Gnade, Erbarmen und Frieden werden mit uns sein von Gott, dem Vater, und von Jesus Christus, dem Sohn des Vaters, sodass wir auch untereinander in der Wahrheit und in der Liebe verbunden bleiben. [German, Gute Nachricht Bibel]) “The grace, the kindness and the peace that come to us from God, the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, will be with us so that we may live in the truth and in love.” (La grâce, la bonté et la paix qui nous viennent de Dieu, le Père, et de Jésus-Christ, le Fils du Père, seront avec nous pour que nous en vivions dans la vérité et dans l’amour. [French, Bible du Semeur])

The elder experienced much joy when he found certain ones “of [literally, ‘from’ or ‘out of’] the children” of kyría “walking in the truth, just as we have received commandment from the Father.” This could mean that some (not all) of the children of kyría were believers. If, though, kyría designates a congregation, some of her children could be understood to have been certain members of the congregation whom the elder had met in other locations. To “walk in the truth” means to conduct oneself in harmony with the truth that centers in Christ, which requires following his example and teaching. Jesus Christ provided the pattern in showing unparalleled love, surrendering his life for the human family. Accordingly, a walk in the truth involves a life that reflects genuine love for others. The commandment that believers have received from the Father is for them to have faith in his Son and to love one another. (Verse 4; 1 John 3:23)

It was not a “new commandment” that the elder wrote and which he requested kyría to heed. The commandment was one that believers had from the very beginning of their life as disciples of God’s Son, and that commandment was that they “love one another.” While with his disciples on the night before his death, Jesus said to them, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you [should] also love one another.” (John 13:34) Since Jesus Christ had given the new commandment, the elder did not introduce something new to kyría. Moreover, when giving his disciples the new commandment, Jesus Christ did so in keeping with his Father’s will. (Compare John 7:16, 17.) Therefore, the commandment was also his Father’s commandment. (Verse 5)

“And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.” In the Greek text, the second person verbs are plural, evidently including kyría and her children. They would demonstrate their love by their obedience to God’s commandments, conducting themselves in harmony with the commandment that they had heard from the very beginning when they became believers. The concluding words about walking “in it” could refer either to conducting themselves in keeping with the commandment to love one another or to “walk” in love, living a life that reflected love in action. (Verse 6)

At the time this letter was written, “many deceivers” had gone out “into the world,” traveling to cities throughout the Greco-Roman world to spread their false teachings and to induce others to follow them. These deceivers denied that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh. (Regarding the kind of false teaching that may have been circulated, see the introduction to 1 John.) Denying that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh also meant denying that he had surrendered his life for the human family, providing the basis for the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with his Father. Accordingly, this denial attacked the very foundation of faith in Christ. Therefore, the elder identified promoters of such false teaching as “the deceiver and the antichrist.” His use of the singular “deceiver” and “antichrist” may be understood as a collective reference to those who denied that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh. The designation “antichrist” indicates that they were against Christ, for they misrepresented him and what he accomplished by living as a man on earth and surrendering his life. (Verse 7)

The deceivers appear to have been very skilled in presenting their pernicious views, prompting the elder to write, “Watch yourselves, that you do not destroy what we worked for [‘you worked for,’ according to the reading of other manuscripts], but [that] you may receive a full reward.” The first person plural Greek verb meaning “we worked” is generally thought to be the original reading. This verb may be either an editorial plural or include all who had been diligent in teaching the truth about Jesus Christ, assisting believers to remain solidly grounded in their faith in him and the value of his having died for them. In the case of those who might become victims of the deceivers, all the hard work of the elder (and others) in advancing the cause of Christ would be destroyed or ruined. The elder was concerned that kyría and her children would not lose out on account of being victimized by deceivers but would become the recipients of the “full reward,” that is, of all the privileges and blessings to be enjoyed by God’s children and loyal disciples of his Son. (Verse 8)

Every person who “goes before,” that is, goes beyond the teaching that Jesus Christ provided by his words and deeds, “not remaining in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.” To “have God” means to have an approved relationship with him as one belonging to him as his child. It is only through Christ, and by faithful adherence to his example and teaching, that individuals can be reconciled to his Father. So it is only by remaining in the teaching of Christ, not going beyond it into ruinous error, that one “has the Father and the Son.” Believers have God as their Father and the Son as their Lord and Savior. The Father will acknowledge them as his beloved children, and the Son will acknowledge them as belonging to him as his dear disciples. (Verse 9)

Deceivers were traveling from place to place, seeking accommodations and spreading their pernicious error. If any deceiver, a person who did not bring the teaching of Christ, should come to their area, kyría and her children were not to receive or invite him into their home or to greet him in a welcoming manner. According to the Greek text, they were not to say chaírein to him. The Greek expression is a form of the verb chaíro, meaning to rejoice or to be full of joy. As a customary greeting chaírein would be a wish for the happiness or success of the one to whom it was directed. It would have been most inappropriate for a believer to wish that a teacher of destructive error might have success in his endeavor, and believers would certainly not have wanted to put themselves in a position where they would be bombarded with corrupt teaching in their own home. (Verse 10)

For believers to say chaírein to a proponent of pernicious error, wishing him well, would mean becoming a partner with him in his evil works. This is because the nature of the greeting would imply support of his activity, activity that was opposed to the Son of God and his teaching. (Verse 11)

There was much more the elder could have written, but he did not want to say more by means of “paper and ink [the genitive form of mélas].” He hoped to come to see kyría and her children personally and speak to them “mouth to mouth.” Whereas receiving written communication from devoted friends can bring a measure of happiness, one’s being able to speak with them face to face results in even greater joy. So the elder could rightly speak of the complete joy he would come to have when being able to communicate with kyría and her children face to face. (Verse 12; see the Notes section.)

He concluded by extending the greetings of the “children of [the] sister” of kyría. This sister is identified as “the elect,” or one chosen by God to be among his approved people. Those who do not consider these children to be actual children regard the reference to be to believers associated with the local congregation at a place where the elder was then staying. (Verse 13; see the Notes section.)

Notes:

In verse 3, numerous manuscripts include “Lord” before Jesus Christ.

In verse 12, depending on the manuscript reading (either the first person plural “we” or the second person plural “you”), the complete joy could be either that of the writer or the recipients of the letter.

The Greek word mélas literally means “black” but here designates the ink that had soot or black carbon as the main ingredient, which was combined with a substance (probably a plant gum) that could hold the black pigment.

“Amen” (“so be it”) is found in numerous manuscripts at the end of this letter. A number of other manuscripts add, “The favor [be] with you. Amen.”