Reflections of the Upper Room Discourse in 1 John

By John R. Yarid Jr.

[John R. Yarid Jr. is a Bible teacher in Dallas, Texas.]

Commentators have often mentioned in passing the connection between the Upper Room Discourse in John 13–17 and 1 John, but few writers have developed this apparent relationship.[1] This article seeks to develop some of the prominent themes shared between these two writings of the apostle John.[2] Examining these shared topics demonstrates that the underlying issue of concern to the author of 1 John was his readers’ fellowship with the Lord (rather than their supposed lack of eternal life).[3] Furthermore the intricate way the author wove several of the Savior’s themes in the Upper Room Discourse into 1 John strengthens the argument that the same author, the apostle John, wrote both the Gospel of John and 1 John.

This article discusses eight concepts in John 13–17 that are also mentioned in John’s first epistle. Other topics and terms in 1 John that stem from the Upper Room Discourse but that are not discussed in this article include “anointing,” “ask,” “complete,” “the evil one,” “give,” “hate,” “heart,” “the Holy Spirit,” “keep,” “knowledge,” “proclaim,” and “truth.”

The Theme of Full Joy

The apostle John recorded his first statement of purpose in these words: “These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete [πεπληρωμένη]” (1 John 1:4).[4] Though this is the only use of “joy” [χαρά] in this epistle, the word occurs nine times in the Fourth Gospel, with seven of those occurrences being in the Upper Room Discourse (John 3:29 [twice]; 15:11 [twice], 16:20–22, 24; 17:13).

John’s concept of joy was no doubt influenced by Jesus’ words on that subject. The idea of joy being complete clearly reflects the Lord’s words in the upper room. John’s words in 1 John 1:4 are strikingly similar to Jesus’ words in John 15:11: “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy [χαρὰ] may be in you, and that your joy may be made full [πληρωθῇ].” The Lord told the disciples that their grief over His departure would turn to joy, just as a woman’s pain in childbirth turns to joy when the child is born (16:20–21). He said that when He returns, they “will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (v. 22).

Jesus also spoke of joy in relation to answered prayer. He said that when God gives His disciples what they ask for when they pray in His name, then their joy is “made full [πεπληρωμένη]” (v. 24). And when Jesus prayed His great high priestly prayer, He said to the Father, “These things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full [πεπληρωμένην] in themselves” (17:13).

The Theme of the Father in Relation to Believers

The concept of God the Father is important in John’s writings. Almost forty percent of the occurrences of πατήρ in the New Testament are his.[5] The fellowship of believers with the Father and the Son (1 John 2:24) stems from Jesus’ emphasis on that topic in the Upper Room Discourse. Strecker says that “2 John 9, where fellowship with God is identified with ‘abiding in the teaching of Christ’ … means to ‘have God’ (cf. 1 John 2:23; 5:12–13), corresponding to ‘knowing God’ (1 John 2:3–17; 3:6; 4:6–8) or ‘remaining in God’ (1 John 2:6, 24, 27–28; 4:13, 15–16; 3:6, 9, 15, 17, 24).”[6]

In His discourse in the upstairs room Jesus revealed for the first time the truth of believers having fellowship with God the Father. “Up to chapter 13 the possibility of human beings becoming children of God was always described by means of general statements indicating the possibility of and requirements for becoming children of God (see John 1:12–13; 3:3–5, 16–21; 6:43–46; 8:42; 11:51–52), but in John 13:1–17:26 the statements regarding the possible relationship between God and human beings are directed at a specific group of characters, i.e., the disciples.”[7] The benefits of this relationship include space in the Father’s house (14:2), the Father sending the Holy Spirit to them (vv. 14, 26; 15:26), the Father’s love for them (14:21, 23; 16:27), the Father coming and staying with them (14:23), the Father pruning their branches so that they bear more fruit (15:2), the Father granting their requests (v. 16; 16:23), the Father protecting them from the evil one (17:15), and the Father enabling them to be one (17:21–22).[8] In the Upper Room Discourse Jesus developed the theme of knowing God the Father through faith and love, qualities that John later emphasized in his first epistle.[9] In every reference to the Son in 1 John the Father is referred to directly or indirectly.[10]

The false teachers were claiming to have a relationship with God the Father apart from a relationship with His Son, thereby denying that Jesus is the Christ, the incarnate Son of God.[11]

The Theme of Knowing God by Keeping His Commands

In 1 John 2:3 John wrote that believers know God by keeping His commands. (This is the first of twenty-three occurrences of the word γινώσκω [“know”] in 1 John.) In verse 5 he added that the one who keeps (i.e., obeys) God’s word has His love perfected in him. First John 5:3 conveys the same thought: “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” This relationship between knowing and loving God and keeping His commandments reflects Jesus’ similar instruction to His disciples in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”[12] This thought is continued a few verses later as Jesus assured the disciples that if they keep His commands, they will be loved by the Father (v. 21), and Jesus and the Father will come to them and abide with them (v. 23).[13] John also wrote that if one does not keep God’s commands, then that person does not know God, even though he may claim that he does (1 John 2:4). This alludes to John 14:24, which records Jesus’ words that the one who does not love Him does not keep His words. Some understand that the concept of not knowing God refers to a non-Christian. However, since John was addressing believers, it seems preferable to view the words “not knowing God” as having reference to a believer who is not walking in fellowship with the Lord. To “know God” refers to a believer’s deep, intimate knowledge of Him.

In John 15:10 Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Just as Jesus kept the Father’s word and knows the Father, so the disciples can know intimately the Father’s love by obeying Jesus’ words. In His prayer to the Father, Jesus reported, “They [the disciples] have kept Your word” (17:6).

Obeying God’s commands also means believers can be confident that He will answer their prayers (1 John 3:22). Obedience to the Lord’s commands also means that the believer abides in Jesus and that Jesus abides in him (v. 24). These concepts in 1 John that are related to keeping His commands—knowing God, experiencing answers to prayer, and abiding in Him—are central themes in the Upper Room Discourse.

The Theme of Mutual Abiding

In the upper room Jesus spoke of “the Father abiding” in Him (John 14:10). And He referred to the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer (v. 17). Believers are encouraged to abide in Jesus (15:4–5, 7) and in His love (vv. 9–10a). Also Jesus said His words are to abide in believers (v. 7). By abiding in Him they can experience His joy (v. 11; 17:13). Also because of this mutual relationship with Jesus they can ask the Father for anything in Jesus’ name (14:13–14; 15:16; 16:24, 26), and the Father will grant those requests. This abiding presence of Jesus in the lives of believers also results in His being glorified in them (17:10).

A progression of love relationships seems to be expressed in this discourse. This progression begins with believers loving each other (13:35), then moves to believers abiding in Jesus’ love (15:9–10), which is patterned after Jesus abiding in the Father’s love (v. 10), and concludes with the Father’s love abiding in believers (17:26). Then 1 John elaborates on the believers’ mutual relationship with the Father (1 John 2:5–6; 3:24; 4:12–13, 15–16; 5:20).

The apostle John used μένω twenty-four times in eighteen verses of the five chapters of 1 John. It is used in fourteen ways: (1) believers abiding in God (2:6; 3:24a; 4:13, 15, 16 [second use]); (2) believers abiding in the light (2:10); (3) the Word of God abiding in believers (2:4); (4) believers doing the will of God and thus abiding forever (2:17); (5) secessionists not remaining in the community of believers (2:19); (6) the teaching of the apostles and eyewitnesses abiding in believers (2:24 [first and second uses]); (7) believers abiding in the Father and the Son (2:24 [third use]); (8) the Holy Spirit abiding in believers (2:27 [first use]; 3:9); (9) believers abiding in Jesus (2:27 [second use], 28; 3:6);[14] (10) the one not abiding in love abides in death (3:14); (11) murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them (3:15); (12) God’s love not abiding in one who refuses to meet the needs of other believers (3:17); (13) the Father abiding in believers (3:24 [second use]; 4:12, 15, 16 [third use]); and (14) believers abiding in love (4:16).

Jesus’ teaching in the Upper Room Discourse on the Spirit abiding in believers—“He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:17)—is expanded in 1 John: “The anointing … abides in you” (2:27); “you know the Spirit of God” (4:2); and “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (4:4). Not until the latter half of 1 John is the Spirit mentioned by name (3:24; 4:2, 6, 13; 5:6, 8).[15]

The Theme of Love

The word “love” occurs in every New Testament book in its verbal form (ἀγαπάω), its noun form (ἀγάπη), and its adjectival form (ἀγαπητός). These words refer to either the love of God or the way of life for believers based on His love.[16]

The Father’s Love

In the upper room Jesus referred to the Father’s love for the Son (John 15:9; 17:23–24, 26), the Father’s love for those who love Jesus (14:21; 16:27), the Father’s love for those who keep Jesus’ word (14:23), and the Father’s love for those who believe Jesus came from the Father (16:27; 17:23). The love of the Father for the Son is reciprocated by the Son’s love for the Father (15:19; 17:23).

The Father’s love, as taught in John 14–17, is reflected in 1 John in several ways. First John 2:5 states, “Whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.” This alludes to John 14:15, 23, in which Jesus said that the love of God is demonstrated in obeying His commands. Thus John was calling believers to be different from the false teachers by leading obedient lives, which in turn confirms the Father’s love.

This love for the Father is not experienced when a believer loves the world or the things belonging to it, for as John wrote, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). John also wrote that the Father’s love for believers is seen in His sending His Son to take away sins (4:7–10, 14–16).[17]

The Son’s Love

Jesus often spoke of His love for His disciples (John 13:1, 23, 34; 15:9, 12), His love for all believers (14:21), and His love for the Father (v. 31). When John wrote of Jesus’ love, he focused on His laying down His life for believers, whereby His love serves as the model for mutual love between believers (1 John 3:16; 4:10). This stems from Jesus’ own emphasis on this theme in John 13:34–35 and 15:12–13.

The Believers’ Love

References to the disciples’ love in the Fourth Gospel emphasize the command to love each other, as modeled by Christ (John 13:34; 15:12–13, 17), and this love reveals to others that His followers belong to Christ (13:35). He exhorted His followers to abide in His love by keeping His commandments (14:15, 21, 23; 15:9–10). Those who love Jesus will be loved by the Father (14:21).

As already noted, God’s love for believers is perfected by their obedience. The themes of love and obedience are combined several times in John’s first epistle (1 John 2:5; 3:23; 5:2–3), clear allusions to Jesus’ words in the Upper Room Discourse.[18] When a believer loves other believers, his love shows that he is abiding “in the light” (2:10).[19] John’s repeated admonition that believers love each other (2:10; 3:11, 14, 16, 23; 4:7, 11–12, 21; 5:1–2) reflects Jesus’ command to love other believers (John 13:34; 15:12).[20]

The Opposite Of Love

Jesus spoke of those who do “not keep My words” and “do not love Me” (John 14:24). He informed His followers that “the world hates you” (15:18–19) because the world first hated Him and the Father (vv. 23–25). In His prayer to the Father He said that “the world has hated them [believers], because they are not of the world” (17:14).

Similarly the apostle wrote that “he who does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14). And he said, “Do not be surprised … if the world hates you” (v. 13). He also wrote that if a believer “hates his brother,” he is “in the darkness” (2:9, 11) and is at heart a murderer (3:15) like Cain (v. 12). And if someone claims to love God but hates his brother, he is a liar (4:20),[21] that is, he does not really love the Lord.[22] To love God and yet hate another believer is inconsistent, because truly loving the Lord results in loving others. John’s polarizing of love and hate reflects some of Jesus’ teachings in the Upper Room Discourse.[23]

The Theme of Fellowship

John used the word κοινωνία (“fellowship”) in his writings only four times in three verses (1 John 1:3 [twice], 6–7). As Brown notes, κοινωνία has been translated in a variety of ways: as “communion,” “fellowship,” “partnership,” “community.”[24] The word suggests having something in common with another person, a commonality that involves both participation and association.[25] In all four occurrences of κοινωνία in 1 John the word is followed by a μετά prepositional phrase.[26] John wrote in 1:3 that the message he proclaimed to his readers was so that they may have fellowship with the apostles (μεθ ᾿ ἡμῶν, “with us”) and “with [μετὰ] the Father, and with [μετὰ] His Son Jesus Christ.” In verse 6 John wrote about the inconsistency of those who claim fellowship with God while disobeying Him. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him [᾿Εὰν εἴπωμεν ὅτι κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετ ᾿ αὐτοῦ] and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”[27] On the other hand when Christians walk in the light, that is, respond to God’s revelation of Himself,[28] then they have fellowship (κοινωνία) with God.[29] “But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (v. 7).

Although κοινωνία is not found in the Fourth Gospel, the concept of fellowship in 1 John echoes Jesus’ words in the Upper Room Discourse on oneness and unity.[30] He prayed about the unity of believers in John 17:11, 21–23.[31] In preparing His disciples for His departure from the world and from them, He prayed, “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are” (v. 11). This idea of the believers’ oneness is closely related to the concept of their having fellowship with each other (1 John 1:3). Jesus also prayed, “That they may all be one, even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). This request addressed both aspects of fellowship: the believers’ fellowship with each other (“that they may all be one” and “that they may be in Us”) and the fellowship of the Father and the Son in the Trinity (“You, Father, are in Me and I in You”).[32] Verse 22 addresses the concept of fellowship with other believers, and verse 23 mentions both dimensions of fellowship: “You in Me” and “that they may be perfected in unity.” Thus the basis for the believers’ oneness is Jesus’ oneness with the Father.[33]

Believers loving each other demonstrates their unity (13:34–35).[34] In fact, as Schnackenburg points out, love and unity are “like the two sides of the same coin.”[35] Also as Jesus’ followers abide in Him, they enjoy fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:3) and thus with each other, another way in which their unity is revealed.[36]

The Theme of Children

Τεκνία (“little children”), the diminutive of τέκνα (“children”), is found in the New Testament only in John’s writings. The diminutive form focuses on intimacy and affection rather than age.[37] Thus when Jesus used τεκνία in the upper room and John used the same word in his first epistle, they were addressing their spiritual children.[38] Just before discussing His loving relationship to the disciples (John 13:34, “I have loved you”), Jesus called them “little children” (v. 33). And just before telling his readers to obey God’s commands (1 John 2:3, 5), John addressed them as “little children” (v. 1).[39] In addition to the seven times John used τεκνία, which showed his affection for his readers (2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21), he also used τέκνα five times (3:1–2, 10 [twice]; 5:2).[40]

The Theme of the World

John’s reference to the world (κόσμος) as the physical earth in 1 John 3:17 and 4:17 may echo Jesus’ use of the word “world” in the same sense in John 16:21, 28 (twice); 17:5, 11 (twice), 13, 15, 24. The κόσμος as the evil system that is opposed to God is found fifteen times in 1 John[41] and fourteen times in the Upper Room Discourse.[42] All the inhabitants of the earth are sometimes referred to by κόσμος, as in John 14:19, 22, 31; 16:8, 11, 20; 17:13, 18 (twice), a meaning that John reflected in 1 John 2:2 (Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world”), in 4:9 (God “sent His only begotten Son into the world”), and in 4:17 (believers are “in this world,” that is, among the earth’s inhabitants).

Jesus often used the word κόσμος to refer to the unsaved inhabitants on the earth. He said that “the world cannot receive” the Spirit of truth (John 14:17), the world hates believers (15:18), believers were chosen “out of the world” (v. 19), and “the world hates” them (v. 19). While the disciples would grieve when Jesus departed, the world would rejoice (16:20). In His prayer in John 17 Jesus said He was not praying for the world, that is, the unsaved (v. 9), but He was praying that the world would believe that the Father sent Him (vv. 21, 23). He said that the world hates believers (v. 14) and does not know the Father (v. 25). John also used κόσμος to speak of the unsaved. He wrote in 1 John 3:1 that “the world does not know us,” that “the world hates you” (v. 13), that “the world listens” to false prophets (4:5), and that “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (v. 14). Clearly John’s frequent use of κόσμος with these various meanings echoes the Lord’s use of the word with the same meanings and in similar contexts.[43]

Conclusion

Tracing the themes of the Upper Room Discourse throughout 1 John is similar to admiring the many facets of a sparkling diamond. Each time one comes back for an additional glance there is more beauty and intricacy to discover. As one considers these two portions of Scripture (the Upper Room Discourse and 1 John) it becomes apparent that Jesus’ words were primarily directed to a believing readership, and that these believers needed His instructions in order to lead a life of faith in a hostile world. As the world today grows increasingly less “believer-friendly,” it is encouraging for believers to go back for another glance at John 13–17 and 1 John to discover again the Lord’s timeless truths in those rich portions of Scripture.

Notes

1. Stephen S. Smalley, for example, described the links between 1 John and Jesus’ Farewell Discourse in six paragraphs on a page and a half (1, 2, 3, John, Word Biblical Commentary [Waco, TX: Word, 1984], xxix).
2. For a more extensive treatment of this relationship between the Upper Room Discourse and 1 John see John R. Yarid Jr., “John’s Use of the Upper Room Discourse in First John” (Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002).
3. John 13–17 focuses on Jesus preparing His disciples for life after His departure (13:1). The symbolic foot washing by Jesus (vv. 5–20) clearly illustrates that the disciples’ salvation was not the issue at this point in the Gospel, but rather their need to stay in fellowship with the Lord. Judas, however, is seen in an antithetical relationship from the rest of the disciples in this foot-washing episode, which points to his lack of salvation (vv. 10–11, 18, 21–30). First John also shows a similar antithetical relationship between the readers of the epistle and false teachers (1 John 1:6–2:2, 22). Like Judas, these false teachers had left the company of John and other believers, thereby demonstrating that they were never saved (2:19). The readers of both the Gospel of John and of 1 John faced a hostile world (John 15:18–19; 1 John 3:13). And the disciples in the Upper Room and the readers of 1 John were addressed in a spiritual father-child relationship, using the affectionate term τεκνία, “children” (John 13:33; 1 John 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21).
4. Identifying the people who were intended by the word “we” in the prologue is a problem (for a summary see Raymond B. Brown, The Epistles of John, Anchor Bible [Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1982], 158–61). Should each occurrence of the word “we” in 1 John 1:1–4 be viewed as an editorial “we” (meaning “I”) or as a noneditorial plural pronoun? Since John elsewhere in 1 John used the first-person singular (2:1, 7–8, 12–14, 21, 26; 5:13), it seems preferable to view the “we” in 1:1–4 as designating several people. These people may be John and his original readers, or preferably those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. The other “we” verses in the book refer to the author and the recipients of the epistle.
5. John used πατήρ 159 times in his writings, compared to an additional 254 times in the rest of the New Testament. This portion (almost 40 percent) parallels the use of πατήρ in the Upper Room Discourse in comparison to the rest of the Fourth Gospel. First John has 14 occurrences of πατήρ.
6. Georg Strecker, The Johannine Letters: A Commentary on 1, 2, and 3 John, Hermenia, trans. Linda M. Maloney, ed. Harold Attridge (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989; reprint, Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996), 20 n. 56.
7. D. Francois Tolmie, “The Characterization of God in the Fourth Gospel,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 69 (March 1998): 71.
8. Ibid., 72.
9. John L. Boyle, “The Last Discourse (John 13:31–16:33) and Prayer (John 17): Some Observations on Their Unity and Development,” Biblica 56 (April 1975): 219. In 1 John the apostle used “believe,” “believes,” or “believed” eight times (3:23; 4:15; 5:1, 5, 10 [three times], 13). His many references to “love” are discussed later in this article.
10. The direct references to this relationship include the use of πατήρ (1 John 1:3; 2:22, 24; 4:14) and θεός (3:8; 4:9, 15; 5:5, 10, 12–13, 20), and the indirect references to this relationship use the third-person singular pronoun αὐτοῦ (1:3, 7; 3:23; 4:9–10; 5:9, 11, 20).
11. I. Howard Marshall, The Epistles of John, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978), 107. For a survey of the various ideas associated with this concept of fellowship with God, see Rudolf Schnackenburg, The Johannine Epistles, trans. Reginald Fuller and Ilse Fuller (New York: Crossroad, 1992), 63–69. On the Christological heresy threatening the church see Daniel Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2001), 61.
12. Brown, The Epistles of John, 757, 759; and James Warren Dunkly, “Linguistic Relationships between the Fourth Gospel and the First Epistle of John” (Ph.D. diss., Vanderbilt University, 1982), 77, 118–19.
13. The word for “abode” in John 14:23 is μονή, which is used elsewhere in John only in verse 2, where it refers to the many dwelling places in the Father’s house. The exact idea or meaning behind the word is debated. The NET Bible provides a concise discussion of the historical background behind the various interpretations of μοναί (p. 1985 n. 15 on John 14:2).
14. In the phrase “abide in Him” αὐτῷ in these three verses could refer to God the Father. But more likely it refers to the Son, based on the preceding context which refers to Jesus (1 John 2:22–27). The same could be said of the use of αὐτῷ in 2:28 and 3:6.
15. In 1 John 2:20, 27 John used χρίσμα of the Holy Spirit. Some scholars, however, say χρίσμα refers here to the Word of God (e.g., C. H. Dodd, The Johannine Epistles, Moffat New Testament Commentary [London: Hodder and Stroughton, 1946], 63; Edward Malatesta, Interiority and Covenant [Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1978], 204; and Ignace de la Potterie, La Vérite dans Saint Jean, Analecta Biblica [Rome: Biblical Institute, 1977], 475–90).
16. Colin Brown, “Love,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 2:538.
17. Fernando F. Segovia, Love Relationships in the Johannine Tradition, Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series (Chico, CA: Scholars, 1982), 184.
18. Brown, The Epistles of John, 757; Dunkly, “Linguistic Relationships between the Fourth Gospel and the First Epistle of John,” 79, 105, 118–19; and Smalley, 1, 2, 3 John, 48–49, 204–5, 269.
19. Because “God is Light” (1 John 1:5), to abide “in the Light” means to abide in God.
20. Sjef Van Tilborg explains that Jesus’ foot washing and His words “as I do you do” (John 13:15) set the stage for His command that His own should love each other. This model is repeated in 13:34; 15:4, 10, 12; 17:11, 21–22 (Imaginative Love in John, Biblical Interpretation Series [New York: Brill, 1993], 158–61).
21. John used the word “liar” five times in his first epistle (1:10; 2:4, 22; 4:20; 5:10) and “lie” in 1:6.
22. Harold D. Schulz, “The Doctrine of Love according to 1 John” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1971), 53–57; and Segovia, Love Relationships in the Johannine Tradition, 184–85.
23. Brown, The Epistles of John, 445; Schnackenburg, The Johannine Epistles, 180; and Smalley, 1, 2, 3 John, 187.
24. Brown, The Epistles of John, 170.
25. J. Y. Campbell discusses this idea more fully (“Koinonia and Its Cognates in the New Testament,” Journal of Biblical Literature 51 [December 1932]: 356).
26. Ibid., 372.
27. John Painter suggests that κοινωνία was a term John’s opponents preferred to use and that in 1 John 1:3–7 the apostle was correcting their false teaching about fellowship (“The ‘Opponents’ of 1 John,” New Testament Studies 32 [January 1986]: 54-55).
28. Zane C. Hodges, “1 John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1983), 885.
29. Hodges believes that ἀλλήλων (“one another”) does not suggest fellowship with other Christians, but rather the fellowship of the two parties (God and the believer) who are named in the first part of the verse (ibid.).
30. Brown, Epistles of John, 170. John F. Randall discusses various interpretations of the meaning of unity in John 17 (“The Theme of Unity in John 17:20–23, ” Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 41 [July-October 1965]: 373). John K. Adams Jr. traces the fallacy of Protestant, Greek Orthodox, and Roman Catholic ecumenism that some say is taught in John 17 (“Christ’s Concept of Unity in John 17” [Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1968], 25–39). Don M. Aycock surveys the concept of unity in the early ecumenical councils up to the modern ecumenical movement (“John 17 and Jesus’ Prayer for Unity,” Theological Educator 38 [fall 1988]: 132-44). Mark L. Appold discusses true oneness that begins with Christology, moves to soteriology, and permeates ecclesiology (The Oneness Motif in the Fourth Gospel [Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1976], 285). The basis for the believers’ oneness is Jesus’ oneness with the Father.
31. Brown, The Epistles of John, 170; and Schnackenburg, The Johannine Epistles, 61. John used the neuter singular ἓν in John 17:11, 21, 22 (twice), 23 to develop his concept of oneness or unity, rather than the masculine singular εἰς. As Johan Ferriera points out regarding verse 21, “It is interesting to note the alteration between the masculine πάντες (i.e., all believers) and the neuter ἓν (i.e., a unity). The neuter ἓν does not simply denote all believers, for then it should have been εἰς. Instead, it denotes the community of being a distinct entity” (Johannine Ecclesiology, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series [Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1998], 127).
32. Smalley discusses the correlation of fellowship between the Father and believers in 1 John 1:3 and John 17:21 (1, 2, 3 John, 12–13).
33. Appold, The Oneness Motif in the Fourth Gospel, 285; and Ferreira, Johannine Ecclesiology, 128.
34. Barrett, The Gospel according to St. John, 508; Raymond F. Brown, The Gospel according to John, Anchor Bible, vol. 1 (New York: Doubleday, 1966), 776; and John E. Staton, “A Vision of Unity: Christian Unity in the Fourth Gospel,” Evangelical Quarterly 69 (October 1997): 293.
35. Rudolf Schnackenburg, The Gospel according to St. John, trans. David Smith and G. A. Kon (New York: Crossroad, 1982), 3:190–91. See also Ferreira, Johannine Ecclesiology, 130. D. A. Carson, however, sees a subtle difference between the love described in John 13:34–35 and the unity discussed in John 17 (The Gospel according to John [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991], 568).
36. Thomas S. Burain, “The Development of the Johannine Concept of Fellowship” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1980), 50; and Staton, “A Vision of Unity,” 296–97. Joseph C. Dillow presents an excellent exposition of fellowship in John 15 (“Abiding Is Remaining in Fellowship: Another Look at John 15:1–6, ” Bibliotheca Sacra 147 [January-March 1990]: 44-53). Klapstein and Curtis each defend the view that μένω carries the idea of fellowship in 1 John (Walter W. Klapstein, “The Use of Menō in First John” [Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1952]; and J. Patrick Curtis (“Menō in 1 John” [Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1980]).
37. M. de Jonge, C. Haas, and J. L. Swellengrebel, “A Translator’s Handbook on the Letters of John,” Bible Translator 22 (January 1971): 17, n. 1; and Smalley, 1, 2, 3 John, 34.
38. Jonge, Haas, and Swellengrebel, “A Translator’s Handbook on the Letters of John,” 17, n. 1.
39. Alan Culpepper, The Johannine School: An Evaluation of the Johannine-School Hypothesis Based on an Investigation of the Nature of Ancient Schools, Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series (Missoula, MT: Scholars, 1975), 302; and idem, 1, 2, 3 John, Knox Preaching Guide (Atlanta: John Knox, 1985), 20.
40. Many commentators see John’s use of the diminutive παιδία in 1 John 2:14, 18 as a stylistic variation of τεκνία. Examples include Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, 104; A. E. Brooke, ACritical and Exegetical Commentary on theJohannine Epistles, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1912), 43; Brown, The Epistles of John, 214; Rudolf Bultmann, Johannine Epistles, Hermenia, trans. R. Philip O’Hara (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973), 31; Donald W. Burdick, The Letters of John the Apostle (Chicago: Moody, 1985), 172; Culpepper, 1, 2, 3 John, 34–35; Dodd, The Johannine Epistles, 38; Kenneth Grayston, The Johannine Epistles, New Century Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 70; and D. Edmond Hiebert, The Epistles of John (Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1991), 94.
41. First John 2:15 (three times), 16 (twice), 17; 4:1, 3–4, 5 (first two uses); 5:4 (twice), 5, 19.
42. John 14:27, 30; 16:33 (twice); 17:6, 11, 14 (second and third uses), 16 (twice), 18 (twice). This evil system does not mean “that the world has become evil in itself, but rather is evilly oriented and dominated” (Brown, The Gospel according to John, 1:509).
43. Scholars differ on how many meanings κόσμος has. Jonge, Haas, and Swellengrebel list five categories (“Letters of John,” 14); Robert E. Bratcher suggests six meanings (“The Meaning of Κόσμος, ‘World,’ in the New Testament,” Bible Translator 31 [October 1980]: 430-34); and Smalley has two categories: “the created universe or life on earth, and human society, controlled by the power of evil and organized in opposition to God” (1, 2, 3 John, 81).