The Epistles of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)

393 Pages·1987·17.57 MB·English

by  I. Howard Marshall

THE NEW INTERNATIONAL COMMENTARY
ON THE
NEW TESTAMENT
General Editors
NED B. STONEHOUSE
(1946-1962)
F. F. BRUCE
(1962-1990)
GORDON D. FEE
(1990)
THE EPISTLES OF
JOHN
by
1. HOWARD MARSHALL

CONTENTS
Editor's Preface vii
Author's Preface ix
Abbreviations xiii
Commentaries and Other Works xv
INVITATION 1
INTRODUCTION
1. THE SITUATION AND CHARACTER OF 2 AND 3 JOHN 9
2. THE SITUATION OF 1 JOHN 14
3. THE STRUCTURE OF 1 JOHN 22
4. THEORIES OF REARRANGEMENT AND REDACTION 27
5. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE JOHANNINE WRITINGS 31
6. THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE EPISTLES 42
7. THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EPISTLES IN THE CHURCH 48
8. THE THOUGHT OF THE EPISTLES 49
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF JOHN
ADDRESS AND GREETING (1-3) 59
LIVING IN TRUTH AND LOVE (4-6) 65
BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHING (7-11) 68
FINAL WORDS AND GREETINGS (12-13) 75
THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN
ADDRESS AND GREETING (1-4) 81
THE WRITER PRAISES GAIUS (5-8) 84
THE WRITER DENOUNCES DIOTREPHES (9-10) 88
THE WRITER PRAISES DEMETRIUS (11-12) 92
FINAL WORDS AND GREETINGS (13-15) 94
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN
PROLOGUE-THE WORD OF LIFE (1':1-4) 99
WALKING IN THE LIGHT (1:5-2:2) 108
KEEPING His COMMANDS (2:3-11) 120
THE NEW STATUS OF BELIEVERS AND THEIR RELATION TO THE
WORLD (2:12-17) 134
A WARNING AGAINST ANTICHRISTS (2:18-27) 147
THE HOPE OF GOD'S CHILDREN (2:28-3:3) 164
THE SINLESSNESS OF GOD'S CHILDREN (3:4-10) 175
BROTHERLY LOVE AS THE MARK OF THE CHRISTIAN (3:11-18) 188
ASSURANCE AND OBEDIENCE (3:19-24) 196
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD (4:1-6) 203
GOD'S LOVE AND OUR LOVE (4:7-12) 210
ASSURANCE AND CHRISTIAN LOVE (4:13-5:4) 218
THE TRUE FAITH CONFIRMED (5:5-12) 230
CHRISTIAN CERTAINTIES (5:13-21) 242
INDEXES
1. SUBJECTS 257
2. AUTHORS 260
3. BIBLICAL REFERENCES 264
4. EXTRA-AND NONBIBLICAL LITERATURE 272
EDITOR'S PREFACE
When it was decided to replace Dr. Alexander Ross's commentary on the
Epistles of James and John by two separate volumes, it was necessary to secure
two commentators. Happily, hard on Dr. James Adamson's acceptance of the
invitation to write the commentary on the Epistle of James came Dr. I. Howard
Marshall's consent to undertake the companion work on the Epistles of John.
Dr. Marshall is a graduate of the Universities of Aberdeen and
Cambridge; he also spent a period of study under Professor Joachim Jeremias
at Gottingen. For over twelve years he has been a member of the teaching staff
of the Department of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen,
where he now holds the status of Reader.
He gave evidence of his interest in Johannine literature when, as a
youthful scholar, he contributed the articles on the Gospel and Epistles of John
to the New Bible Dictionary (1962). Since then he has proved his worth as a
New Testament exegete and theologian in a succession of scholarly
publications-some of a specialist nature and some more popular. In criticism
and exegesis he has specialized thus far in Lukan studies, with his Luke:
Historian and Theologian (1970) and The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on
the Greek Text (1978). He has written popular Scripture Union commentaries
on Mark (1963) and Kings and Chronicles (1967). An important symposium
on New Testament Interpretation appeared under his editorship in 1977. In
New Testament theology his major work is a study of the doctrine of
perseverance, Kept by the Power of God (1969). He is also author of Christian
Beliefs (1963), The Work of Christ (1969), The Origins of New Testament
Christology (1976), and I Believe in the Historical Jesus (1977). These works,
together with a number of articles in learned periodicals, have placed him in
the front rank of British New Testament scholars, and the New International
Commentary on the New Testament is to be congratulated on enlisting him
among its contributors.
A fresh feature of this volume is the inclusion of an "Invitation" to the
general reader as well as an "Introduction" for the specialist. Another fresh
feature is a rearrangement of the traditional order of the three letters: 2 John
and 3 John are studied before 1 John. This means that the two shorter letters
are not relegated to the position of appendices but are treated as important
documents of early Christianity in their own right.
Since writers of replacement volumes in the New International
Commentary are left free to compose or select their own translations, Dr.
Marshall has chosen to base his exposition on the New International Version.
With these prefatory words, the editor leaves Dr. Marshall to engage his
readers' attention and appreciation by what he has to say in the following
pages.
F. F. BRUCE