Study Questions

Questions - 1 John 3:11-23 - Stu Salvigsen

1. John begins verse 11 by saying this is what we have heard from the beginning. What is it that we have heard from the beginning and what does that say about the expectation he has for his audience and their familiarity with scripture?

2. In verses 12-17, we see descriptions of what the opposite of love is (hate), and what Godly love actually is, which is our example. What does it look like to love one another unconditionally and sacrificially? How does that differ from our common understanding of love in today’s culture and how we use the term in our language? What about loving our enemies unconditionally and sacrificially? See Matthew 5:44

3. Think about Jesus' incarnate life and His earthly ministry, what can we learn about the sacrificial nature of His ministry both before and after His death, burial and resurrection? What do we learn about His love and its relation to dealing with sin? Why can’t true love tolerate sin? See Mark 10:17-22, James 2:8-9

4. Throughout this book, John has continually urged us to not abide in sin, lawlessness, and hate compared to abiding in righteousness and God’s love. What is the distinction between abiding in sin and the sin that John acknowledges we all still struggle with that is described in chapter 1? See Romans 7:15 Using the analogy of being saved from the bottom a well where we were entrenched in the sin of our old self, what would it look like to go back and abide in those same sins? What does it say about our relationship with God? What does it say about our view of the sacrifice made to allow us to be freed from the bondage of sin?

5. Verses 22-23 continue to correlate loving one another,  keeping His commandments, and believing in Jesus Christ. How do they relate? How are they each necessary evidence for one another? See Matthew 22:37-39,

Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14-15, 1 Corinthians 13

6. How can we apply this? What things do we struggle with that we continually go back to that we were saved from? How do we treat those around us? How can we look down on others or put down others even when we don’t realize it? 

Read through the book of 1 John before next Sunday (if you’re really ambitious read through the book of James as well).