Rose Murdock's Notes on The Epistles

1: What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life-- 2: and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- 3: what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4: These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. ***  John, who also wrote the gospel of John, wrote this epistle about 90 A.D. He was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, and the younger son of the two sons of Zebedee (John 3:17). His brother, James, along with Peter, were the three closest to Jesus while He was here on earth (Matthew 17:1, Mark 5:37). John, being the closest of the three, was called, "The disciple whom Jesus loved," (John 13:23, 20:2, 21:7). When Jesus wa...

5: This is the message we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6: If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7: 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. 8: If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. ***  John began the letter by saying that those who had seen the Lord had a message--a testimony--and they proclaimed it so everyone who believes can come into fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, like they have. The message is that God is Light and there is no darkness in Him at all. ...

1: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2: and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 3: By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4: The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5: but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. ***  In the first chapter, John explained that fellowship with God means to walk in His Light. It means to admit where we fall short or out of alignment with Him. Admitting to that is what we call confessing our sins. It is acknowledging that God's way is right and true, and anything out of ali...

7: Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8: On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. 9: The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10: The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11: But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12: I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake. 13: I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, be...

15: 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. 16: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17: The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 18: Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19: They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20: But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21: I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22: Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is ...

25: This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. 26: These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27: As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. 28: Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29: If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. ***  Eternal life is the promise to all who believe in the Son (John 3:15). It is so much more than living forever, it is life itself and all that the presence of the Father brings--life, light, liberty, truth, righteousness, and so on. It is freedom from all the death and darkness that comes from opposing God and His salvation offered thr...

1: See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2: Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3: And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. ***  We see John's love evident not only toward other believers, but toward the Lord. We also see his awareness of the love of God toward His children. As he says later in 1 John 4:19, "We love, because He first loved us." John considered the great love the Father has toward us in calling us His children. Yet, He doesn't just call us His children, we actually are His children when we are born again through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. How great a love He has toward us! John explained that this is why the world does not k...

4: Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5: You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6: No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. 7: Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8: the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9: No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10: By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. 11: For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12: not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother....

14: We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 15: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16: We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17: But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18: Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19: We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20: in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21: Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22: and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. 23: This is His commandment, ...

1: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2: By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3: and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4: You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5: They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6: We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. ***  Having just said that we know He abides in us by the Spirit He's given us, John gave a warning about the many false prophets who had gone out into the...

7: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8: The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9: By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10: In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11: Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12: No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13: By this we know that we abide in him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14: We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. ***  John encouraged his readers to love one another. He said that God is love. Love comes from Him. His love came to us through His Son Jesus Christ who was sent to the world so we who believe ...

15: Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16: We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17: By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19: We love, because He first loved us. 20: If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21: And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. ***  John had just said that he and the others had personally seen the Lord and do testify as to the truth that God the Father sent His Son Jesus to b...

1: Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4: For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 5: Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6: This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7: For there are three that testify:  8: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ***  The one who has faith in Jesus Christ--that He is the Messiah, the Son of God--and who loves the Father, also loves other Christians. Any believer in ...

9: If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. 10: The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. 11: And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12: He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13: These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14: This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15: And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. ***  We receive the testimony of men all the time--in the courts of law, in our...

16: If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. 17: All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. 18: We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19: We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20: And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21: Little children, guard yourselves from idols. *** Anyone--any believer--who sees his brother or sister in Christ sin, is to pray for him--to ask God to give life to this one. James said to confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so you ...

1: The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth. 2: for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: 3: Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4: I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father. 5: Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6: And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. ***  2 John was written by the same John who wrote the first epistle. He addressed his letter to "the chosen lady and her children." The Greek word lady (kuria or kyria) is where the Greek word church (kuriake or kyriake...

7: For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8: Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9: Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. 10: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11: for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. 12: Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full. 13: The children of your chosen sister greet you. ***  After having expressed his joy in finding her children walking in the truth, and encouraging her to continue in the commandment of l...

1: The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.  2: Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3: For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4: I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 5: Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers. 6: and they have testified to your love before the church. you will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7: For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8: Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth. ***  The third epistle of John is to Gaius, a beloved brother in the faith. John first expressed his prayer that Gaius prosper and be in health even as his soul prospered. The prosperity of his soul was evid...

 9: I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. 10: For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. 11: Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. 12: Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. 13: I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14: but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face. 15: Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. ***  After expressing his gratitude to Gaius for his love toward the minister...

1: Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2: May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. 3: Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4: For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5: Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6: And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7:...

8: Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9: But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 10: But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11: Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12: These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, double dead, uprooted; 13: wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved for...

17: But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,  18: that they were saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." 19: These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20: But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21: keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22: And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23: save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. 24: Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25: to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.  ...