1 John

1 John does not read like a letter — there is no greeting and no addressee — and feels more like a written sermon. The author returns to the same themes in spirals: light and darkness, truth and lie, love and hatred. The concern is twofold: countering a teaching that denied Jesus' real humanity and offering concrete criteria for authentic faith. The criteria are practical: obeying, loving one another, confessing your own failures. Here is the most-read verse about forgiveness ("if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive") and the statement that sums up the book: "God is love". It is a short, intense read of five chapters.