1, 2, 3 John Commentary

by W. Hall Harris III

Publisher:

Galaxie Software

, 2003

Overview

The Letters of John have traditionally been labeled “general” epistles because no specific destination is mentioned. An interpretation based on the assumption that these letters were written to the early church at large means that concepts such as love for fellow believers must be treated as generic, thus reducing them almost to platitudes. Reading the letters this way, one would not realize that the original author aimed his words at a very specific—and deadly serious—situation confronted by the group of local congregations to whom he ministered and for which he felt responsibility for oversight.

The issues the author confronted shook to the roots the very concept of Christian fellowship itself. They also involved a doctrinal controversy that would ultimately raise the question of the very way in which the Spirit was expected to operate in the ongoing life of the church. The answers arrived at by the author were grounded on eyewitness testimony to the person of Christ in the face of doctrinal innovation by his opponents. These conclusions call the church in every age back to the apostolic testimony about who Jesus is.

The reassurance the author gave his readers in the face of this opposition serves well to reassure later Christians of the genuineness of their faith and Christian experience. In these senses, at least, the Letters of John are truly “general” epistles.

Contents

Top Highlights

“nor does it give any specific clue to the identification of the locale” (Page 17)

“light’ and ‘darkness’ serves to reveal one’s inner nature.” (Page 62)

“What the opponents were probably saying is that Jesus saved us by bringing the Holy Spirit.” (Page 211)

Product Details

• Title: 1, 2, 3 John Commentary
• Author: W. Hall Harris
• Publisher: Galaxie
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 292

About W. Hall Harris III

Dr. Harris serves as project director and managing editor of the NET Bible, the first Bible to be published electronically on the internet (www.netbible.org). He recently has published a commentary on the letters of John, 1, 2, 3: John: Comfort and Counsel for a Church in Crisis. Dr. Harris teaches classes in the use of computer tools and Internet resources for biblical study and exegesis and currently is involved in a project to create a syntactical database for the Greek New Testament. In addition, he has remained active in local church ministry. As an ordained minister he has served as a pastor of single adults, elder, and adult Sunday school teacher.

During his long tenure as a member of the Seminary faculty, Dr. Harris has traveled and ministered extensively in Western Europe, especially in Germany and Italy. His wife is from Germany and he has close ties to the German Bible Society (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft), including work as editor of the New English Translation of Novum Testamentum Graece New Testament.