1 John Chapter 1

Authorship

The language, style and teaching of the Epistle are so close to the fourth Gospel that it is difficult to doubt that they belong to the same author. Tradition, which can be traced back to the century, believes that he is the ap. John the Theologian. The earliest quotation from the First Epistle of St. John refers to 115 (St. Polycarp of Smyrna. Philippians, 7). Papias of Hierapolis, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and other writers of the 3rd century refer to it as a work of the apostle John. St. Dionysius the Great, who had a keen critical sense, definitely identifies the writer of the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John. Expressions like 1 John. 2:7 indicate that the Epistle was written many years after the events of the Gospel. Apocalyptic motifs (“the last time,” “Antichrist”) distinguish, however, the Epistle from the fourth Gospel. In this regard, it has been suggested that the epistle precedes the Gospel of John in time. The question remains open about the false teachers mentioned in the message. The most widespread is the opinion substantiated by the archbishop. Vasily (Bogdashevsky), according to whom these false teachers were early Gnostics. The apostle himself often uses words associated with the concept of gnosis - knowledge (2: 3.5; 3: 10, 14, 16, 24; 4: 2, 6, etc.). But even in the Old Testament the word daat

- knowledge - appears as a synonym for faith.

First Epistle of Peter, Chapter 1

1-2 Already in the opening verses of the epistle, in its inscription and in the apostle’s greeting to the readers, the general character and spirit of the worldview and theology of the Holy Apostle Peter is expressed, namely: the close connection of his teaching with the Old Testament. Calling himself from the very beginning an apostle of Jesus Christ, St. Peter does this, of course, with the aim of giving authority to his word in the eyes of all followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. With the name "ἀπόστολος" readers of the letter should have remembered that the persons called apostles (cf. Matthew 10:1-2

), speak and act not on their own and on their own, but by authority and in the name of Jesus Christ;
that by virtue of a special calling they are witnesses of Christ as the Redeemer and Savior of the world (cf. Acts 4:9
;
Acts 10:39
), and have the duty and authority to establish societies or churches in the name of Christ, to preach and teach about the cross of Christ and all the work of salvation throughout the entire universe, to teach edification and exhortations, reproofs and prohibitions to all people - Jews and Gentiles, after they have accepted the word of the gospel (cf.
Rom. 1:13
, etc.), and in order to achieve the high goals of their worldwide ministry, the apostles received special gifts of the Holy Spirit and extraordinary miraculous powers (
Acts 2:4
;
Acts 5:5,11
; cf.
Mark 16:17,18
).

In the thought of the Apostle Peter himself, the idea of the apostolic ministry is inseparably connected with the similar ministry of the Old Testament prophets. Blessed Theophylact perfectly notes this feature in the views of St. Peter on the work of the apostleship, saying: “with the words “according to the foreknowledge of God,” the apostle wants to show that, with the exception of time, he is in no way inferior to the prophets, who themselves were sent, and that the prophets were sent, Isaiah says about this: “to preach good news to the poor sent me" ( Isaiah 61:1

).
But if it is lower in time, then it is not lower in the foreknowledge of God. In this respect he declares himself equal to Jeremiah, who, before he was formed in the womb, was known and sanctified and appointed a prophet to the nations ( Jer 1:5
).
And just as the prophets, along with other things, foretold the coming of Christ (for for this purpose they were sent), the ministry of the apostleship explains that the work of its apostleship is to separate. For this is what the word “sanctification” means, for example in the words: “You will be a privileged people to Me, sanctified” ( Deut. 14:2
), that is, separated from other nations. So, the work of his apostleship is, through spiritual gifts, to separate nations submissive to the cross and sufferings of Jesus Christ, sprinkled not with the ashes of the youth, when it is necessary to cleanse the defilement of communication with the pagans, but with the blood from the sufferings of Jesus Christ.”

1 The apostle calls the readers of the epistle (v. 1) “chosen strangers of dispersion” (ἐκλεκτοι̃ς παρεπιδήμοις διασπορα̃ς): chosen - in the sense of being called to the Church of Christ (by analogy with the election of the Jewish people in the Old Testament), aliens of dispersion - not only in close, literal sense - meaning Jewish Christians living outside their homeland - Palestine, but also in a more extensive, spiritual or figurative sense - Christians in general who do not have an abiding city on earth ( Hebrews 11:13

;
Heb 13:14
), since human life on earth is generally called sojourning and sojourning, and man, according to the biblical view, no matter where he lives, is a wanderer and sojourner on earth;
the earth is his temporary residence, and his own fatherland is another world - spiritual, heavenly (cf. Gen 47:9
;
Lev 25:23
;
Ps 39:13
).

That is why, although the word “dispersion” has a technical meaning in the New Testament, denoting Jews living outside Palestine among the Gentiles ( James 1:1

;
John 7:35
), likewise the word “stranger” (Heb. ger, toshab) in the Old Testament meant a person who lived outside the borders of his fatherland, in a foreign land (
Exodus 12:45
;
Lev 22:10
;
Lev 25:47
), but in the Apostle Peter, in the already indicated improper, spiritual sense, Christians in general, not excluding linguistic Christians (
Lev 2:10
;
Lev 4:3,4
), are called strangers and strangers (
Lev 2:11
), and the time of their life in the world is a time of wandering (
Lev 1:17
).
Thus, the Apostle Peter, putting a higher, New Testament meaning into the Old Testament figurative expressions, with the words of greeting in question means all Christians in general living in the areas listed by the apostle - due to the fact that they, as Christians, constitute a special people, alien to the world and the pagans and having a spiritual, true fatherland in heaven. The areas of residence of Christians listed by the apostle are all located in Asia Minor. Namely: Pontus is the northeastern province of Asia Minor, which received its name due to its proximity to Pontus, the Euxine or Black Sea; Aquila, a colleague of the Apostle Paul in the work of the gospel, came from Pontus ( Acts 18:2
).
Galatia lay to the west of Pontus; it received its name from the Gauls who moved here from Western Europe; Christianity was introduced here by St. Pavel. Cappadocia was located south of Pontus; Christians of this province, like those from Pontus, were still at the first Christian Pentecost in Jerusalem ( Acts 2:9
).
The name of Asia denotes the so-called Proconsular Asia, which consisted of the province of Mysia, Lydia and Caria and embraced the entire western coast of the Asia Minor Peninsula ( Acts 2:9
).
Finally, Bithynia occupied the northwestern part of this peninsula ( Acts 16:7
).

2 After naming the readers of the epistle, the apostle immediately dwells (v. 2) with his reverent thought on the greatness of the Christian calling. Here he first of all draws the attention of readers to the fact that their election to salvation was accomplished “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” κατὰ πρόγνωσιν Θεου̃ Πατρός. The concept of “foreknowledge” of God, as already mentioned, occupies a prominent place in the theology of the Apostle Peter due to the closeness of his worldview to the Old Testament, or due to his special recognition of the organic connection of both testaments. At the same time, as the evangelist of the New Testament, the apostle in the matter of arranging the salvation of Christians indicates the participation of all three persons of the Most Holy Trinity: if he assimilates the foreknowledge of salvation to God the Father, then to the Holy Spirit: sanctification, ἐν ἁγιασμω̨̃ Πνεύματος, i.e. all the varied actions of the Holy Spirit according to the blessing of the spirit and the whole nature of the Christian, and to Christ the Savior - the very accomplishment of the work of salvation, which has the highest goal: in obedience and sprinkling of the blood (εἰς ὑπακοὴν καὶ ῥαντισμòν αἵματος) of Jesus Christ. There are two concepts here: “obedience” and “sprinkling of the blood” of Jesus Christ, and both of them in the apostle’s view are associated with the Old Testament prototype of the New Testament - the covenant of the blood of Christ ( Matthew 26:28

;
Hebrews 12:24
).
The Old Testament event that prefigured the New Testament sprinkling of all people entering the Church of Christ was the image or method of using sacrificial blood during the conclusion of God’s covenant with the Jewish people at Sinai, when the people were sprinkled with blood: Moses took the (sacrificial) blood and sprinkled the people, saying: “ this is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you” ( Exodus 24:8
; cf.
Heb 9:18-20
). Thus, just as God’s covenant with the Jewish people was concluded with blood, so the priceless blood of the incarnate Son of God, shed by Him on the cross, laid the foundation for the New Covenant of God with humanity; and just as through the sprinkling of Jews with sacrificial blood, the Jewish people entered into a covenant and became the holy people of the covenant, so, of course, to an incomparably higher degree, sprinkling with the blood of Christ is a gracious power for people to enter into a new covenant with God or into the Church of Christ. The aforementioned narrative of the book of Exodus, chapter 24, explains the meaning of another expression of the apostle: into obedience. The fact is that Moses sprinkled sacrificial blood as a sign of his entering into a covenant with God only after, after reading the “Book of the Covenant” to the people aloud to all the people, the latter made a solemn promise: “we will do everything that the Lord has said and will be obedient.” "(Articles 3 and 7), i.e., the Old Testament was concluded by sprinkling with sacrificial blood only under the condition of the people's obedience to the will of Jehovah, expressed in the book of the Testament. In a similar way, the acceptance and entry of people into the bosom of the Church of Christ occurs only under the condition of “obedience,” that is, people’s unconditional readiness to accept all Christian teaching with an irrevocable determination to fulfill it in life itself.

Having depicted the essence and basis of the salvation of people in Christ, the apostle sends the readers a prayerful wish: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you.” “Grace” - because we are saved freely, without bringing anything from ourselves; “peace” - because, having offended the Lord, we were among His enemies” (Blessed Theophylact).

3-5 After greeting the readers with an image of the source of Christian salvation, the apostle is filled with a feeling of deep heartfelt gratitude to God for the redemption of the world and the calling of Christian readers into the Church of Christ, and pours out his believing feeling in a solemn doxology or doxology, closely reminiscent of a similar doxology of another supreme apostle Paul at the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians ( Eph 1:3 et seq.

).
In his praise to God, St. Peter calls God the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as Christ Himself called God not only Father, but also His God ( John 20:17
), and in the same way the apostle.
Paul often called, usually in doxologies, God the Father and the God of Jesus Christ ( Rom 15:6
;
2 Cor 1:3
;
2 Cor 11:31
;
Eph 1:3,17
;
Col 1:3
).
It is possible that the form of doxology was borrowed from its liturgical use in apostolic times (cf. James 3:9
).

The apostle characterizes salvation in Christ in his doxology in Art. 3 from three sides: a) according to its source, it is a work of great mercy (τò πολὺ ἔλεος) of God, since the salvation of the sinful world and humanity is exclusively the work of God’s love that has mercy on man ( John 3:16

);
b) according to its essential property, it is rebirth (ἀναγεννήσας), the grace-filled rebirth of people into a new, spiritual and eternal life (cf. John 3:3
;
Titus 3:5
;
Col 3:1
;
Eph 1:19,20
;
Eph 2 :10
);
finally, c) according to the final goal, salvation in Christ leads to a living hope (εἰς ἐλπίδα Ζω̃σαν) raised by Jesus Christ from the dead: a spiritually dead person in falling away from God through faith in Christ and in union with Christ is reborn into a new life and receives firm hope for eternal blessed life, the guarantee and basis of this hope is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ( Rom. 10:9
;
1 Cor. 15:14,17
).
“What does God give? hope, but not that which was through Moses, about the settlement in the land of Canaan, and which was death, but a living hope. Where does it have life from? From the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For He, just as He Himself rose, gives also the power to rise to those who come to Him through faith in Him” (Blessed Theophylact). In Art. 4 the very object of Christian hope is outlined in detail. This item is an inheritance, an inheritance (εἰς κληρονομίαν), i.e., by similarity with the Promised Land of the Old Testament (Gen. 15:18
), the spiritual benefits of the kingdom of Christ, inherited by Christians (
Matt. 5:5
;
Gal. 4:7
), especially eternal bliss in heaven (
Heb. 9:15
) - called here by the apostle.
Peter is incorruptible (ἄφθαρτον), undefiled (ἀμίαντον), unfading (ἀμάραντον), that is, the heavenly inheritance desired by Christians is not subject to any damage or destruction ( Matthew 6:19-20
), pure, holy and perfect, eternally blooming and always equal to itself “not laid down on earth, as, for example, to the fathers, but in heaven, from which it has the property of eternity, which is superior to the earthly inheritance” (Blessed Theophylact).

This inheritance, according to the Apostle, is preserved (τετηρημένην) in heaven for Christians: the image is taken from earthly treasures, kept by parents in a safe place for their children. But not only are treasures preserved in heaven for believers, but they themselves, in fulfillment of the request of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in His High Sacred Prayer, are preserved and protected by the power of God (cf. Phil 4:7

) through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
And from the person himself, constant vigilance about his salvation is required ( Matthew 24:42
;
Matthew 25:13
), but, due to human weakness, it is the omnipotent power of God that is needed to protect a Christian from many and various enemies and dangers of his salvation.
This salvation is ready to be revealed in its entirety at the last time, ἐν καιρω̨̃ ἐσχάτω̨, that is, according to the New Testament use of this expression (cf. Mt 13:39,40
;
Mt 24:3
;
Mt 28:20
;
2 Tim 3:1
;
Jude 1:18
), with the end of the kingdom of grace and the opening of the kingdom of glory, at the second coming of Christ.
The expression “ready” gives the idea that this end time is near. “This closeness is understood here, without a doubt, in the same sense as the other apostles, i.e., that with the first appearance of Christ into the world, the last era of the economy of human salvation began, during which we must constantly be prepared for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to judgment (sn. James 5:7-9
)" (Reverend Bishop Michael).

6-9 The high joy about the blessings of the Christian heritage, filling the hearts of all true Christians, should shed grace-filled consolation into their souls during the sorrows and misfortunes that befall them. The lofty teaching on the beneficial significance of sorrows in the moral life of Christians. Peter expounds similarly to the apostle. Jacob ( James 1:2 et seq.

), but together with some features corresponding to the personal properties of the spiritual experience of the Apostle Peter.
Namely, he first of all especially separates the insignificance - both in duration and in nature - of temporary sorrows and trials with the eternal bliss prepared for the Christian in heaven, and then more than the apostle. James strives to revive in the souls of readers personal communication with the Lord Jesus Christ through faith in him and love for him, as a means or path to that bliss. “Just as a teacher in his promise declares not only joy, but also sorrow, saying: “in the world you will have sorrow” ( John 16:33
), so the apostle added “little” to the word joy.
But as sad as this is, the latter adds “now.” Or the word “now” should be related to joy, since it will be replaced by a future joy, not short-term, but long-lasting and endless. Or the word “little” should be understood in relation to sorrow, in this exact form, if now it is necessary to grieve a little from various temptations... He adds “if there is laziness,” teaching that not every faithful person, nor every sinner, is tested by sorrows, and neither one no other is left in them forever. The righteous who mourn suffer to receive crowns, and sinners to suffer punishment for their sins. Not all righteous people experience sorrow, lest you consider wickedness commendable and hate virtue. And not all sinners experience sorrow so that the truth of the resurrection would not be doubted, if everyone here still received their due” (Blessed Theophylact). In Art. 8, the apostle, as a new incentive to endure trials complacently, points to the faith and love of the readers for the Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostle expresses this praise in the form of a paraphrase of the words of Christ by the apostle. Thomas, that blessed are those who, without seeing Christ, believe in Him ( John 20:29
). Readers of the message, who have precisely such faith and love for Christ, should draw strength and support from this for their hope of final salvation. “If, he says, without seeing Him with your bodily eyes, you love Him by hearing alone, then what kind of love will you feel when you see Him appearing in glory? If His sufferings have so tied you to Him, then what kind of attachment should His appearance in unbearable splendor produce in you, when the salvation of souls is given to you as a reward? If you are about to appear before him and be rewarded with such glory, then now show the patience corresponding to it and you will fully achieve your intended goal” (Blessed Theophylact).

10-12 The greatness and glory of Christian salvation are obvious from the fact that it constitutes the great mystery of God, which long before its implementation was the subject of careful research and study of the prophets and the reverent penetration into it of the angels themselves. The prophets investigated (cf. Acts 3:24

) not only when (τίνα καιρòν), after how many centuries and years the Messiah will come, but also what (ποι̃ον καιρòν) character and spirit, what are the circumstances and relationships of that time.
The independent activity of the prophets in this study consisted in the understanding and detailed distribution of revelation data. But the only source of the latter for the prophets was the Spirit of Christ (τò πνευ̃μα Χριστου̃), sent from God the Father into the world by God the Son: “in these words the Apostle Peter reveals the mystery of the Trinity” (Blessed Theophylact). The subject of prophetic contemplation and research was the suffering (παθήματα) of Christ the Savior, with which He at one time accomplished the work of saving people, and the subsequent glory (δόξας - plural), in which all believers in Christ are participants. “With the word about the foreknowledge of the prophets, the apostle inspires his readers to accept with faith what was foretold to them by the prophets, because even prudent children do not neglect the labors of their fathers. If they (the prophets), who had nothing to use, searched and examined, and, having found it, put it in books and handed over to us, as it were, some inheritance, then we would be unfair if we began to treat their works with contempt. Therefore, when we proclaim this to you, do not despise it, and do not leave our gospel in vain. This is a lesson from the foresight of the prophets” (Blessed Theophylact). The highest degree of assessment of the work of saving people is represented by the final remark of the apostle in Art. 12 that the angels themselves desire and strive to penetrate into the mystery of the salvation of people and the whole world in Christ with all zeal and reverence (cf. Luke 2:14
;
Eph 3:10
).

13-16 Contemplation of the heavenly heights of the Christian vocation must, first of all, generate in the hearts of believers a firm and perfect hope for the grace of Christ contributing to their salvation, and then must completely regenerate their entire life according to the highest prototype of God the Father: spiritual vigor (cf. Luke 12: 35

;
Luke 21:34,36
;
Eph 6:14
), perfect obedience to the Gospel, complete abandonment of the sinful habits of pre-Christian life and, conversely, the desire to imitate the holiness of God in accordance with the Old Testament command of God (
Lev 11:44
;
Lev 19:2
). “Some crazy people say that you have to adapt to the circumstances. But as to give oneself to the will of circumstances frivolously, the Apostle commands that they, whether in knowledge or ignorance, adhere to this hitherto, but from now on conform to Him who called them, Who is truly holy, and themselves become saints” (Blessed Theophylact).

17-21 As new and strongest incentives for a holy life, the apostle now points to the filial relationship of the readers and all Christians to God (v. 17), and then to their redemption by the priceless, pure blood of Jesus Christ. Filial relationship to God (cf. Matthew 5:48

), however, require from Christians a particularly reverent fear of God (cf.
Phil 2:12
).
“Scripture distinguishes two types of fear, one is initial, the other is perfect. Initial fear, which is also the main one, is when someone turns to an honest life out of fear of responsibility for one’s deeds, and perfect fear is when someone, in order to perfect love for a friend, loved to the point of jealousy, is afraid that to remain in debt to him with nothing that is required by strong love... Out of this complete fear of living, the Apostle Peter convinces those who listen to him and says: by the ineffable mercy of the Creator God, you have been accepted into the number of His children; therefore, let this fear always be with you, since you became such out of the love of your Creator, and not because of your deeds” (Blessed Theophylact). The apostle strengthens the feeling of the fear of God in the readers by reminding them that their earthly life is a time of wandering (τη̃ς παροικίας), which fully corresponds earlier ( v. 1
) and later (
2:11
) to the name used by the readers as wanderers and strangers.
Another high motivation for holiness of life is offered by the apostle further ( vv. 18-19
), pointing to the redemption of people from sin, guilt and vain life by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as the spotless and most pure Lamb (cf.
John 1:29
;
19:36)
;
1 Cor 5:7
fn.;
Exodus 12:5
;
Isaiah 53
), intended as a sacrifice for the world and people in a pre-worldly eternity (v. 20, n.;
Heb. 9:5-7
) and only by the very deed fulfilled this purpose in the last, that is, the New Testament time.
In Art. 21 the apostle, “having spoken about the death of Christ, added to this the word about the resurrection. For he fears that the converts will not again bow down to unbelief due to the fact that the sufferings of Christ are humiliating. He also adds that the sacrament of Christ is not new, but from the beginning, before the foundation of the world, it was hidden until its proper time... Do not be embarrassed by the fact that here the Apostle Peter and (repeatedly) the Apostle Paul say that the Father raised the Lord ( Acts 13: 37
;
Acts 17:31
). This is what he says, using the usual way of teaching” (Blessed Theophylact).

22-25 From the teaching about the rebirth of Christians by the grace of the Holy Spirit (v. 23, cf. John 1:12-13

;
John 3:3,5-6
), the apostle concludes that the virtue of brotherly love is necessary for all, in its pure form being the fulfillment of the basic commandment of Christ the Savior about love, as a distinctive feature of Christians (
Matthew 22:40
;
Mark 12:31
;
Luke 10: 28
;
John 13:34,35
).
This impulse receives special strength in the thought of Art. 24-25 about the extreme contrast between the carnal, unregenerate man with his deeds and the man regenerated by the incorruptible seed of the word of God (v. 23; cf. James 1:18
), abiding forever (cf.
Isa. 40:6,8
).
The mutual love of Christians for each other should remain equally eternal ( 1 Cor 13:8
).

Content

The first epistle of John is not an epistle in the strict sense of the word. This is an inspired sermon on the essential foundations of the Christian life. Unity with Christ, love for God and for people as something inseparable - these are the main themes of this Message. The apostle is speaking to beginners of all ages.

Ep. Cassian (Bezobrazov) Fr. Any division of this message into its component parts must be considered conditional.”

The aphoristic nature of the Epistle gave rise to a number of exegetes (for example, Bultmann) to consider it a mosaic work, formed from different sources. But the correctness of this opinion is impossible to prove precisely due to the literary features of the Epistle. In it, the apostle’s speech flows in a single stream, in which there is no strictly logical sequence. Lohmeyer's attempt to isolate 7 parts in the Message is quite arbitrary.

1st Council Epistle of the Apostle John

My children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. And if anyone sins, we have Jesus Christ, the Righteous, as an Advocate with the Father.

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.

And we know that we have come to know Him by keeping His commandments.

Whoever says, “I have known Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and there is no truth in him.

And whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfect. By this we know that we are in Him.

He who says that he abides in Him must also act as He did.

Beloved, I am not writing you a new commandment, but an ancient commandment which you had from the beginning: the ancient commandment is the word which you have heard.

But at the same time I write to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

Whoever says that he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness to this day.

He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no offense in him,

But whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake.

I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known Him who was from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I wrote to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who was from the beginning. I wrote to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,

because everything in the world: the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the Father, but from the world.

And the world passes away, and so does its lust; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Children, the last hour: and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and now many antichrists have appeared; hence we know that it is the last hour.

They came out from us, but they were not ours; for if they had been ours, they would have remained with us: but they went out so that it would be revealed that they were not all ours.

You have the anointing of the Holy One and know everything.

I wrote to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that every lie is not from the truth.

Who is a liar if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, denying the Father and the Son.

Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father. He who confesses the Son also has the Father.

What you have heard from the beginning abide in you; If that which you have heard from the beginning abide in you, then you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

And this is His promise, which He Himself promised us: eternal life.

This is what I wrote to you about those who are misleading you.

But the anointing that you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; but since His anointing teaches you all things, and is true and not a lie, then continue in it, as it has taught you.

And now, children, abide in Him, so that when He is revealed, we may have boldness and not be put to shame before Him at His coming.

If you know that He is righteous, know that everyone who does righteousness is born of Him.

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JBC, v.2, p.404-13;
RFIB, v.2;
NCCS, p.1257-62.