The Letters of John. Robert D. Cornwall
the overview is accomplished by reading the letters of John through at least once, but preferably three times. Don’t feel bad about how many times you read. Choose a number that seems reasonable to you. If you start reading the third time, and it feels like a burden, move on. This is part of lectio but only part. You will learn to read in other ways in different phases of your study. Once you have read the letters of John through your chosen number of times, read one or two of the following
1 The entry on the letters of John in a Bible handbook
2 The entry on the letters of John in a Bible dictionary
3 The introductory note on the letters of John in a study Bible, if you’re using one.
4 The introductory section of a good commentary on letters of John (see Appendix B for resource details)
Here is where we introduce historical elements into your study. Don’t imagine that God cannot talk to you through this text because you are so far separated from the people who wrote it. They were people like you who had hopes, dreams, gifts, and failings. Study the background to help you connect to them. Christianity is a community that extends not only in space right now but in time.
The Central Loop
For this overview, your central loop, as I call it, is your whole study of the book. Keep in mind that no element of your study is something you do just once and then forget about it. Prayer is continuous. There are multiple ways of reading, questioning, studying, and sharing.
For this study, I have divided the letters of John into eleven units.
Introductory Matters—The Word of God and the Word of Life (1 John 1:1-4; John 1:1-18)
Walking in the Light (1 John 1:5-2:6)
A New Commandment (1 John 2:7-28)
The Children of God (1 John 2:27-3:10)
Love One another (1 John 3:11-24)
Testing the Spirits (1 John 4:1-6)
Behold the Love of God (1John 4:7-21)
Overcoming the World (1 John 5:1-12)
Prayers of Restoration (1 John 5:13-21)
Walking in Obedience (2 John)
Walking in Truth (3 John)
This is most closely related to meditatio, but the implementation of meditatio extends into the next section where you question the text in a directed way. Don’t concentrate on the boundaries between one activity and the next. They are all related!
With each unit there will be an opportunity to try to think of new questions one might ask for further study. Generating new questions helps keep us from getting stale. Not only do I not have all the answers; I don’t even have all the questions! Think of a question primarily as a way to prepare your mind to hear the text. When we listen or read, we often hear what we expect to hear. If I’m listening to the radio for weather, I may miss a major discussion of politics. You can miss what God is saying to you through a Bible writer because you are looking for something else. Questioning is an important part of meditatio, but it also relates closely to oratio—take your questions to God in prayer.
Finally, find something to share. Remember that sharing can be in the form of a question. For example, one might ask others how they understand a particular word, such as “incarnation,” “poverty,” or “atonement.” Take notes on their answers, and bring that information back to your study. Then ask yourself what your neighbors will hear when you make particular statements, such as “I must be bold for Jesus!” or “Jesus is the only way to receive atonement.” Do those statements mean something to them? Do they mean the same thing to them as they do to you?
This is part of contemplatio, as you try to be and do the text. We often think of sharing primarily as telling someone things that we have learned. But if what you learned is that God loves prisoners, for example, you might find that the best way of sharing that lesson is to become active in prison ministry. Sharing demonstrates that you don’t believe the text is your private possession. It is God’s gift to the Christian community.
Resources
The following resources are referenced regularly in the text. Additional resources are listed in the Appendix. In a small group it is a good idea to have different members of the group bring different reference works. For individual study, use a selection:
1 Study Bibles. There are a considerable number of study bibles available. Some take a more scholarly approach, while others are devotional. In selecting a study bible, it is best to begin by selecting a specific translation and then find a study bible that is based upon that text. The New International Version is very popular and there are a large number of study bibles related to it. While the NIV emerged from evangelical Protestantism, most mainline Protestant churches use the New Revised Standard Version. If your choice is the NRSV (as is true for me) then the leading options are: The New Oxford Annotated Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, The Harper-Collins Study Bible, and The Access Bible. Again, these are not the only translations or study bibles available for consultation, especially since the ones mentioned are based on the New Revised Standard Version. A note on study bibles in general—one should be careful to separate in one’s mind the text from the commentary. It is easy to confuse them since the two are placed together. It is, of course, always good to look at resources from a variety of perspectives, and thus resources beyond one’s study bible should be consulted. Look at materials you are likely to disagree with to stimulate your thinking.
2 Concordances. You may decide to consult either English language concordances, or those that include material on the original languages. If you get a concordance, find one that matches the Bible version you use. Besides print versions there are several free online sites that are helpful, including The Bible Gateway (multiple translations) and the Oremus Bible Browser (NRSV).
3 Bible Dictionaries. The information in a good bible dictionary overlaps what is found in many study Bibles and Bible handbooks, but they can be very useful for general study of topics being considered. It is important that if purchasing a bible dictionary to get an up-to-date one. See the resource list for suggestions.
4 Bible Handbooks. The information found in a Bible handbook will be similar to what is found in many study Bibles, only it will lack the biblical text.
5 Bible Commentaries. These resources offer more detailed exegetical explanations and interpretation of the actual text. They range from one-volume to multiple volumes. For the New Testament, I would recommend purchase of The People’s New Testament Commentary written by Fred Craddock and Eugene Boring. In purchasing commentaries, it is best to stay away from sets such as Matthew Henry or Jameson, Fawcett, and Brown. These were written several centuries ago and lack the kinds of historical and linguistic information you will need for deeper study. They can have some devotional value, but they can be found online.
When it comes to comparing passages, you will find your study Bible, concordance, and any Bible with reference notes to be very useful. Remember, however, that even the cross-references are just someone’s opinion of how one passage is related to another. You don’t have to agree. Look at the passages yourself, and ask not just whether they are related, but how they are related.
Remember to keep an open mind and a receptive heart while studying the Bible. Study prayerfully. Meditate on what you read. Try to place yourself in the audience of people who might have first heard this book read to them aloud in a small house church.
1 Energion Publications offers a pamphlet with an outline of this study process and a list of resources. It is titled I Want to Study the Bible, and can be found on the site https://participatorystudyseries.com or on https://energiondirect.com. It is available in ebook formats as well as print.
Session 1
Introductory
Matters—
The Word of Life
Vision: