Today’s passage operates as a summary of sorts—the ‘Spark Notes’ version of John's letter. 

Throughout the letter, John offers three tests, so that the church would examine their lives to determine whether their faith was genuine: the doctrinal test (right belief), the moral test (obedient living), and the social test (love for God and others). Today, as we study this section of John’s letter, we will see how the tests are interconnected and are a result of genuine faith and the work of the Holy Spirit.