Introduction

The present volume is an exposition of 1 John. Do not let the word "exposition" scare you; it simply means to expose. I want to expose the meaning of God's Word. That is what all good Bible teachers seek to do, after all. I could have written a topical book, and topical studies can be helpful. But my conviction is that going through a book of the Bible one word at a time, one phrase at a time, one verse at a time, leaving no stone unturned, is the most effective way to study and teach God's Word. It seems to me that only the seasoned theologians with a firm grasp on the entire Bible can write a topical book without taking verses out of context and covering everything that needs to be taught. Further, the best topical helps are often the product of many hours spent doing proper exposition and exegesis (a fancy word us snobs like to use for Bible study).