In this episode we deep-dive into I John 2:15-17 and the many different ways John could be using the word 'love' as it relates to loving the world, and the things in it.

Before moving on to verse 15, we spend some time again reviewing the poetic section of verses 12-14. One last time we explore the three questions we must ask when we encounter poetic material.

We return to the poetry found in 1 John 2:12-14. This time we consider the question of how the poem is connected to the rest of the text and why it has been inserted where it was.

Then the relationships between the various chiastic parallel components are compared and contrasted, and an understanding of how these connections impact the overall message is sought.

In 1 John 2:12-14, John gives a heartfelt address to three different groups within the Christian community - children, fathers and young people - conveying words of encouragement and assurance. His message reinforces the believers' confidence in their relationship with God through Christ and that the foundation of a faith in Christ provides the means to conquer challenges and grow closer to God.

In this episode the poetic nature of these verses is considered. We question why we have broken into poetry in the first place, and why the author thought a poetic structure was important. Then the poetic structure itself is very closely examined.

This is a convicting exploration of 1 John 2:7-11, about the connection between loving our brother and loving the Father, what that love looks like, and how this love affects our position within either the Light or the darkness.

John's many reasons for writing are then examined in verses 12-14, with an emphasis on WHO the letter is for, starting with who is meant by the "little children".

In this episode, we spend a good bit of time wrestling with the word choice and syntax of 2:10-11, and in doing so, we stumble across some interesting patterns and questions that shed light on the whole paragraph that we are finishing.

We begin today by returning to verse 9 and thinking through what exactly it means to hate your brother. Do we let ourselves off this charge too easily on some technicality or other? Then in verse 10 we consider the implications of John's assertion that the one loving his brother abides in the light. Tune in next time for more on stumblingblocks!

We start by going back and putting John's statements about the darkness passing away and the true light shining into the larger context of John's teaching in the epistle thus far, looking more closely at the plain meaning of John's words. Doing so leads us to a shocking conclusion! We will then go on to begin discussion of verse 9, in which we will ask who exactly our brother is and in which we will discover hope and redemption in the end of the verse.

So, hang on -- is the commandment old, or is it new? And in what sense is it true in both Jesus and in us? And what does this have to do with the light and the darkness? This verse is pretty puzzling, even for John, so let's see if we can work through it together.

After a look back at how paragraph three fits into the big picture, we plunge ahead into a discussion of I John 2:7, the first verse in paragraph four. Our discussion contains some fun explorations of the Greek, in which we look at the potential implications of John's choice for the pairing "old" and "new", have some fun with verb tenses, and think about the many relevant senses of the phrase "from the beginning."