Berean Study Bible Overcoming the WorldFaith rests on Jesus as the promised Messiah, God’s anointed King and Savior, foretold in the Scriptures. Isaiah anticipated the righteous King whose reign would never end, and Daniel pointed to the coming of the Anointed One. Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16), identifying Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s redemptive promises. Such belief is more than agreement with facts about Jesus; it is personal trust in Him for forgiveness, eternal life, and reconciliation with God. Jhn 20:31 But these are written so that you may believe… has been born of God, New birth is God’s gracious work by which He gives spiritual life to those who believe in His Son. Jesus taught that no one can enter God’s kingdom without being born from above through the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3–8). Faith in Christ reveals that God has already acted in the believer’s heart, bringing a person from death into life and making him a new creation. Salvation does not arise from human merit, religious heritage, or moral effort, but from God’s grace received through faith. Jhn 3:3-5 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you,… and everyone who loves the Father Those brought into God’s family rightly love the Father who gave them life. Love for God includes reverence, gratitude, trust, and obedience. The Father’s love was displayed in sending His Son to bear sin and secure eternal life for His people. Devotion to God therefore cannot remain merely inward; it shapes the believer’s desires, conduct, and allegiance. 1Jn 4:20-21 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother,… also loves those born of Him. Love for God necessarily extends to His children. Believers share one Father, one Savior, and one spiritual birth, forming a family marked by mutual care and faithful obedience. Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another as He loved them, declaring that such love would identify them before the world (John 13:34–35). Love for fellow Christians provides visible evidence that faith in Christ and love for the Father are genuine. 1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God.… By this we know that we love the children of God: Love for God’s people is confirmed by a life directed toward God Himself. Those born of God through faith in Jesus Christ belong to one family, and genuine love for them cannot be separated from devotion to their Father. Jesus taught that His disciples would be recognized by their love for one another (John 13:35), yet John roots that love in obedience rather than mere affection or human preference. 1Jn 4:20-21 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother,… when we love God Love for God stands at the center of covenant faithfulness, fulfilling the command given to Israel in Deuteronomy 6:5 and reaffirmed by Jesus as the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:37–38). Believers love God because He first loved them in sending His Son as the atoning sacrifice for sin (1 John 4:10, 19). Such love perseveres under pressure and expresses itself in a settled allegiance to God’s will. 1Co 8:3 But the one who loves God is known by God. and keep His commandments. Obedience gives visible evidence of love for God, as Jesus declared, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). God’s commands include His moral will and the instruction of Christ, especially the command to believe in His Son and love one another (1 John 3:23). Obedience does not earn new birth or salvation; it reveals the work of God in those whom He has made His children and empowers by His Spirit. 1Jn 2:3 By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him… For this is the love of God, Love for God is made visible in the loyal devotion of those who have received His love through Jesus Christ. The command to love the Lord with the whole heart, soul, mind, and strength stands at the center of God’s covenant purposes for His people (Deuteronomy 6:4–5; Matthew 22:37). God’s love does not excuse sin; it produces a people who desire to belong wholly to Him. 2Jn 1:6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments… that we keep His commandments. Obedience is the fruit of genuine faith, not a means of earning salvation. Jesus taught that those who love Him keep His commandments (John 14:15), and John consistently joins knowing God with walking in His ways (1 John 2:3–4). Believers obey because Christ has redeemed them and because His commands reveal the good and holy path of life under His lordship. Jhn 14:21 Whoever has My commandments and keeps them…… And His commandments are not burdensome, God’s commands are not oppressive demands placed upon people to gain His favor. Christ has fulfilled the Law’s righteous requirement and gives His Spirit to those who trust Him, enabling them to serve God from a renewed heart. Unlike the crushing traditions imposed by religious leaders, Christ’s yoke is good and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28–30). The commandments of God lead His children away from sin’s bondage and into the freedom of faithful fellowship with Him. Deu 30:11 For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult… because everyone born of God overcomes the world. New birth unites the believer to Christ and creates a new allegiance that stands against the world’s rebellion, values, and temptations. Jesus taught that no one enters God’s kingdom apart from being born again by the Spirit (John 3:3–8). Believers still live amid a fallen world and face its pressures, yet they are no longer ruled by its desires because God’s life abides in them. Jhn 1:12-13 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed… And this is the victory that has overcome the world: Christ’s death and resurrection secured the decisive conquest over sin, Satan, and the world’s power. John writes of victory as an accomplished reality because believers share in the triumph of the risen Son. The churches receiving this letter needed such assurance as false teachers, pagan culture, and persecution sought to weaken their confession. 1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory… our faith. Faith overcomes because it rests in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rather than in human strength or religious achievement. Genuine faith receives Christ, obeys His commands, and perseveres under trial. Through faith, believers remain anchored in God’s promises and live as those who belong to the kingdom that will outlast the present world. 1Pe 1:9 now that you are receiving the goal of your faith… Who then overcomes the world? The world represents the rebellious order of human values, desires, and powers set against God. Those born of God share in Christ’s victory over sin, temptation, fear, and spiritual opposition. Jesus told His disciples that He had overcome the world, and believers overcome because they belong to Him and live by faith rather than by the world’s standards. Jhn 16:33 I have told you these things so that in Me… Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Faith recognizes Jesus as the eternal Son who came in the flesh, died for sinners, rose from the dead, and reigns with the Father. Such belief is not mere agreement with a fact but trusting allegiance to Christ as Savior and Lord. Peter confessed Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and John wrote his Gospel so that readers might believe this truth and have life in His name. Jhn 20:31 But these are written so that you may believe… This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ began His public ministry in the waters of the Jordan, where the Father declared Him to be His beloved Son and the Spirit descended upon Him. He completed His saving mission by shedding His blood on the cross, bearing the judgment sin deserved. Jhn 19:34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear,… Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. His baptism revealed His righteous identification with those He came to save; His death accomplished the atonement they needed. Jesus was not merely a teacher approved at His baptism, but the incarnate Son who truly suffered, died, and gave His life as the sacrifice for sin. Rom 6:3-4 Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized…… And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, The Holy Spirit testified at Christ’s baptism, inspired the apostolic witness concerning His death and resurrection, and continues to confirm the gospel in those who believe. The Spirit brings believers to rest in the historical work of Christ rather than in human speculation. Jhn 15:26 When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you… because the Spirit is the truth. As God, the Spirit gives unfailing testimony concerning the Son. His witness establishes the certainty that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, died in reality, and is the only Savior God has provided. Jhn 14:17 The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him… For there are three that testify: God has provided a complete and reliable witness concerning His Son. The Spirit, the water, and the blood agree that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, was baptized for His public ministry, and shed His blood in His atoning death. Their united testimony establishes the truth rejected by false teachers who denied either Christ’s true humanity or the saving significance of His death. God’s witness fulfills the biblical pattern that a matter is confirmed by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). The Spirit continues to bear witness in believers, confirming that eternal life is found only in the Son. Deu 19:15 A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing… the Spirit, The Holy Spirit bears inward witness to Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God and the Savior who gives eternal life. The Spirit confirms the apostolic testimony, dwelling in believers and leading them into confidence that Jesus truly came in the flesh and accomplished redemption. Jhn 15:26 When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you… the water, Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of His public ministry, when the Father declared Him His beloved Son and the Spirit descended upon Him (Matt. 3:16–17). His baptism testified that He was God’s appointed Messiah, consecrated to fulfill the Father’s saving purpose. Mat 3:16-17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.… and the blood— Jesus’ death on the cross testified that His mission did not end with His baptism or public ministry. He gave Himself as the atoning sacrifice for sin, fulfilling the sacrificial pattern of the Old Testament and securing forgiveness through His shed blood. The same Jesus identified at the Jordan died as the Lamb of God at Calvary.. Jhn 19:34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear,… and these three are in agreement. The Spirit’s witness, Jesus’ baptism, and His sacrificial death unite in declaring that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came in the flesh to save sinners. Their combined testimony establishes the certainty of the gospel and grounds the believer’s assurance in God’s own revelation. Deu 19:15 A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing…
God’s Testimony about His SonHuman witnesses were essential in Israel’s courts, where two or three witnesses established a matter (Deuteronomy 19:15). Daily life depends on accepting reliable human testimony, especially concerning events not personally seen. Deu 19:15 A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing… the testimony of God is greater. God cannot lie or err; His witness carries absolute authority (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2). The Father’s testimony surpasses every human claim because He alone fully knows the Son and has openly confirmed His identity through Scripture, Christ’s works, and His resurrection. Jhn 5:37 And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me.… For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son. The Father identified Jesus as His beloved Son at His baptism and transfiguration (Matthew 3:17; 17:5). God also bore witness through the signs Jesus performed, the fulfillment of prophecy, and His raising of Jesus from the dead. Receiving God’s testimony means trusting that Jesus is truly the Son of God and the Savior He has sent. Mat 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved… Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; Faith in Jesus Christ involves personal trust in Him as the crucified and risen Son of God, Savior, and Lord. God confirms that faith through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who bears witness that believers are God’s children (Romans 8:16). The inward witness does not replace the public revelation of Scripture or the historical reality of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; it confirms God’s truth in the heart of the one who believes. Under the New Covenant, God writes His law upon His people’s hearts and establishes a living relationship with them (Jeremiah 31:33). The Spirit’s testimony joins the witnesses John has already named: the water of Jesus’ baptism, the blood of His atoning death, and the Spirit who testifies to the truth (1 John 5:6–8). Jhn 3:33 Whoever accepts His testimony has certified… whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, Unbelief is not a morally neutral refusal of religious claims. God has openly testified concerning His Son, and rejection of that testimony treats the God of truth as though He were false. Israel’s unbelief in the wilderness likewise became rebellion against the Lord who had revealed His power and faithfulness (Numbers 14:11). To deny God’s witness concerning Christ is to reject both His character and His saving purpose. Rom 3:4 Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar.… because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son. God’s testimony includes the promises of the Old Testament, the witness of John the Baptist, the works and words of Jesus, the Father’s declaration at Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration, and the apostles’ proclamation of His resurrection. Jesus fulfilled God’s promise that through Abraham’s offspring all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:16). The gospel therefore rests on God’s unified revelation and on the historical work of His Son. Eternal life is received by believing the testimony God has given concerning Jesus Christ. Jhn 5:37-38 And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me.… And this is that testimony: God Himself has borne witness concerning His Son. The apostolic message rests not on human opinion or religious speculation but on God’s reliable declaration, confirmed through the Spirit, the water, and the blood. The Father’s testimony establishes the certainty of salvation and calls believers to receive His word as true. Jhn 3:11 Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know… God has given us eternal life, Eternal life is God’s gracious gift, received through faith rather than earned by human effort. It begins in the present for everyone who believes, bringing reconciliation with God, forgiveness of sin, and the promise of resurrection. The life God gives is fellowship with Him, a life that death cannot destroy. Jhn 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son… and this life is in His Son. Jesus Christ alone possesses and imparts eternal life because He is the incarnate Son of God. God has not offered life apart from Christ or alongside Him; He has placed salvation wholly in His Son. Whoever is united to Christ by faith has the life of God, while rejection of the Son is rejection of the life God freely gives. Jhn 1:4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. Whoever has the Son has life; Jesus Christ is the source and giver of eternal life. To have the Son is to receive Him by faith, confess Him as Lord, and abide in fellowship with Him. Eternal life begins in the present through reconciliation with God and will be fully realized in the believer’s resurrection and everlasting presence with Him. John consistently identifies Jesus as the only way to the Father and the One in whom God’s promise of life is secured. Jhn 5:24 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word… whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. No religious effort, moral achievement, or alternative mediator can supply what is found in Christ alone. God has appointed His Son as the Savior of the world, and rejection of Him leaves a person under condemnation and separated from the life God gives. The contrast presses the necessity of faith in the incarnate, crucified, and risen Son of God. Jhn 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life…
Effective PrayerJohn gathers the whole letter under his pastoral purpose. His testimony concerning the incarnate Son, the call to walk in the light, love the brethren, obey God’s commands, and reject false teaching was written to establish believers in apostolic truth. 1Jn 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you…… to you who believe John addresses those whose faith rests in Jesus Christ rather than in secret knowledge or human speculation. Genuine faith receives the Jesus proclaimed by the apostles: the Son who came in the flesh, gave Himself for sin, and grants fellowship with the Father. Jhn 1:12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed… in the name of the Son of God, Faith in Jesus’ name acknowledges His person, authority, and saving work. Jesus is not merely a teacher or prophet, but the eternal Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the only Savior. Those who receive Him become children of God (John 1:12). 1Jn 3:23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe… so that you may know John writes to give settled assurance rather than anxious uncertainty. Assurance is grounded in God’s testimony concerning His Son and is confirmed in a believer’s continuing faith, obedience, love, and dependence on Christ. 1Jn 2:3 By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him… that you have eternal life. Eternal life belongs presently to everyone who believes in the Son. It includes unending life in God’s future kingdom, yet it also begins now through knowing the Father and Jesus Christ (John 17:3). God’s gift rests on the finished work and faithful promise of His Son. Jhn 5:24 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word… And this is the confidence that we have before Him: Believers approach God with assurance because eternal life is found in His Son and access to the Father has been opened through Christ’s sacrifice. The former restriction of the Holy of Holies has given way to direct access for all who come through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19–22). Eph 3:12 In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence… If we ask anything according to His will, Prayer rests on submission to God’s revealed character, purposes, and commands. Jesus Himself modeled such prayer in Gethsemane, yielding His desire to the Father’s perfect will (Luke 22:42). Scripture shapes faithful requests by teaching believers to seek God’s glory, spiritual growth, wisdom, holiness, and the advance of His kingdom. Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is… He hears us. God receives the prayers of His children with attentive care and responds in wisdom and faithfulness. Christ intercedes for His people at the Father’s right hand (Romans 8:34), and God’s hearing assures believers that prayers offered in harmony with His will are neither ignored nor wasted. Jhn 11:41-42 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes… And if we know that He hears us Believers rest in the certainty that God receives the prayers of His children. His attentive care is grounded in His perfect knowledge, fatherly love, and covenant faithfulness. John has already connected confidence before God with obedience and a clear conscience (1 John 3:21–22), while Scripture repeatedly declares that the Lord hears the righteous who call upon Him (Psalm 34:17; 1 Peter 3:12). Jhn 11:41-42 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes… in whatever we ask, God’s hearing does not mean that He grants desires contrary to His character or purposes. The preceding verse establishes that prayer must be offered according to His will. Jesus likewise taught His disciples to ask in His name, meaning in dependence upon His person, authority, and mission (John 14:13–14). Such prayer seeks God’s glory rather than merely personal advantage. Mat 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask… we know that we already possess Faith receives God’s answer with confidence before every result is visible. The answer may come through immediate provision, sustaining grace, changed circumstances, wisdom, or a providential denial that serves a greater good. Because God cannot fail in His promises, His children may regard what accords with His will as already secured in His faithful care. Mrk 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,… what we have asked of Him. Prayer is not an attempt to compel God but the privilege of bringing needs before a loving Father. Jesus assured His followers that the Father gives good gifts to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:7–11). In seasons of persecution, uncertainty, or need, the early church depended upon this assurance, trusting that God would provide what most fully accomplished His purposes and preserved His people in faith. Jhn 16:23-24 In that day you will no longer ask Me anything.… If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, Believers are responsible to care for fellow Christians who have fallen into sin, not with indifference or condemnation, but with humble concern. John’s use of brother identifies one who belongs to the fellowship of faith. Not every sin represents a settled rejection of Christ; God’s children may stumble and require correction, confession, and restoration. Mat 18:15 If your brother sins against you, go and confront him… he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. Intercession brings the struggling believer before the God who forgives and restores. The life God gives includes renewed spiritual fellowship and may also include preservation from temporal judgment. James likewise joins confession, prayer, forgiveness, and restoration within the life of the church (James 5:15–16). Jas 5:14-16 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders… There is a sin that leads to death; John recognizes a sin of grave finality. In the setting of the letter, false teachers had departed from the church, denied the apostolic witness concerning Jesus Christ, and sought to lead others away from the truth (1 John 2:18–23; 4:1–3). Such deliberate, hardened rejection of Christ is not merely a believer’s fall into sin but an apostate refusal of the only Savior. Scripture also records occasions when persistent rebellion brought physical death under God’s discipline, as with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). Jas 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires… I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin. John does not command believers to intercede for one who has knowingly and decisively rejected Christ. The warning guards the church against treating apostasy as a minor failure that can be resolved apart from repentance and faith. God alone knows the heart, yet His people must recognize the seriousness of abandoning the truth revealed in His Son. Jer 7:16 As for you, do not pray for these people… All unrighteousness is sin, Every act, desire, and attitude contrary to God’s holy will falls under sin. God’s law reveals His righteous character, and all people have fallen short of His glory. Yet believers who confess their sins find cleansing through Jesus Christ, whose atoning sacrifice satisfies God’s justice and restores fellowship with the Father. 1Jn 3:4 Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well… yet there is sin that does not lead to death. John distinguishes ordinary sins of believers, for which prayer, confession, repentance, and forgiveness are available, from the sin leading to death mentioned previously. Persistent, settled rejection of Christ and His testimony places a person outside the life found in the Son. God’s mercy does not minimize sin, but Christ’s intercession gives His people assurance that repentant sin need not result in eternal death. Num 15:27-31 Also, if one person sins unintentionally…
The True GodSpiritual rebirth through faith in Jesus Christ gives the believer a new relationship to sin. John does not teach sinless perfection, since he has already commanded believers to confess their sins and receive forgiveness (1 John 1:8–9). He teaches that a child of God cannot remain at ease in deliberate, settled rebellion. God’s seed remains in His children, producing repentance, obedience, and growing likeness to Christ. Those united with Christ have died to sin’s dominion and are called to walk in the newness of life He gives (Romans 6:1–4). 1Jn 3:9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin,… the One who was born of God protects him, Jesus Christ, uniquely born of God, watches over those whom the Father has given Him. His preserving power rests on His finished work, His resurrection life, and His continuing intercession for His people. Jesus kept His disciples during His earthly ministry and promised that none of His sheep would be snatched from His hand or the Father’s hand (John 10:28–29; 17:12). Believers endure not through their own strength alone, but through the faithful guardianship of the Son. Jhn 17:12 While I was with them, I protected and preserved them… and the evil one cannot touch him. Satan (the adversary) continues to tempt, accuse, and oppose believers, yet he cannot seize them as his own or overturn their standing before God. Christ has broken the devil’s claim through His death and has delivered His people from the kingdom of darkness. Believers resist the evil one by submitting to God, standing in the truth of the gospel, and putting on the armor God provides (James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10–18). The enemy’s assaults are real, but Christ’s protection secures the eternal destiny of everyone born of God. Jhn 17:15 I am not asking that You take them out of the world,… We know that we are of God, Believers possess settled assurance because they have been born of God through faith in Jesus Christ. God’s children belong to Him by grace, not by human achievement, and the Holy Spirit bears witness to their adoption into His family. John repeatedly grounds assurance in the saving work of Christ, obedience to God, love for fellow believers, and faith in the Son of God. Though Christians remain in a fallen world, their true origin, allegiance, and future are found in God. 1Jn 4:6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us;… and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one. Humanity apart from Christ lies in Satan’s deception and influence, expressed through rebellion, unbelief, falsehood, and hostility toward God. Satan is not equal to God, nor does he rule independently of God’s sovereign authority, but he actively blinds those who do not believe and promotes the values of a world opposed to Christ. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and His death and resurrection secured Satan’s final defeat. Believers therefore live alertly and faithfully, resisting evil through the strength God supplies while awaiting the full removal of sin and Satan’s influence at Christ’s return. Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent… And we know that the Son of God has come Jesus entered history in true humanity without ceasing to be fully God. His birth fulfilled the promised coming of Immanuel and the ruler from Bethlehem (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2). Apostolic certainty rests on the eyewitness testimony of those who heard, saw, and touched the incarnate Son (1 John 1:1–3). 1Jn 4:2 By this you will know the Spirit of God:… and has given us understanding, The Son opens blinded minds to receive God’s revelation. Through the Holy Spirit, believers are brought beyond mere religious knowledge into faith, discernment, and obedience to the truth (John 16:13; 2 Corinthians 4:6). Luk 24:45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. so that we may know Him who is true; The true God is the Father, unlike the false gods and empty claims of the world. Eternal life consists in knowing the Father through the Son whom He sent (John 17:3). Such knowledge is personal, covenantal, and grounded in God’s self-disclosure. Jhn 17:3 Now this is eternal life, that they may know You… and we are in Him who is true— Believers possess a real union with God, not merely an external profession of faith. They abide in Him through faith in Christ and are kept in fellowship with the Father (John 15:4–5). Jhn 17:21 that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me… in His Son Jesus Christ. Access to the Father is found only in His Son. Jesus is not one spiritual guide among many, but the unique and eternal Son through whom God has made Himself known (John 14:6, 9). Jhn 14:20 On that day you will know that I am in My Father,… He is the true God and eternal life. Jesus Christ is truly God and the source of eternal life. The life He gives begins now in fellowship with God and will be consummated in resurrection and glory. John’s closing affirmation directly opposes every teaching that diminishes Christ’s deity or separates salvation from faith in Him. Tit 2:13 as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance… Little children, John addresses believers with the tenderness and authority of a spiritual father. As an aged apostle, he calls the churches to remain dependent on the truth they have received concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 1Jn 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you…… keep yourselves Believers must watchfully guard their devotion, refusing teachings and practices that draw the heart away from Christ. God preserves His people, yet He commands them to persevere in faith and obedience. Jud 1:21 keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy… from idols. Idols included the images and gods of the pagan world surrounding the early church, but they also included every false object of trust and worship. John’s closing warning especially guards the confession of 1 John 5:20: the Father revealed in His Son is “the true God and eternal life.” Any god fashioned by human desire, philosophy, or false teaching must be rejected. 1Co 10:14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. This is a draft of the Berean Study Bible. 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