September 2026
Walking in the Light
INTO THE WORD
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Our study of 2 Peter concluded last month with the Apostle’s exhortation to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, anchored finally by Paul’s teaching on God’s sovereign mercy in Romans 9. We turn now to another epistle, written by another Apostle near the end of his earthly ministry, addressing a community shaken by similar pastoral concerns under different circumstances.
The letter that we call 1 John was written by John the son of Zebedee to churches in and around Ephesus. False teachers had troubled this community, advancing doctrines that prefigured the Gnosticism of the second century. They denied that the eternal Son of God had truly become flesh, treated holiness as optional for those with higher knowledge, and refused to love others in the church. The disturbance left many shaken in their assurance of salvation.
This month we begin our study of 1 John, working through chapters 1 and 2. John provides specific tests by which true faith may be examined—belief in the incarnation, holiness of life, and love for the brethren.
We will then set 1 John aside for two weeks to take up the question of false teaching. These studies will draw on Ligonier’s A Field Guide on False Teaching to examine the prosperity gospel, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Islam.
Abiding in the Word
- 1 John 1:5
- 1 Peter 3:15
- 1 John 4:1
- 1 John 2:12