First Epistle of John

8.1

A short letter in the Christian Bible about love and faith

proper noun

: Primera Epístola de Juan

The First Epistle of John is often cited for its emphasis on the importance of love within Christian communities.

Examples

During Bible study, we examined the themes present in the First Epistle of John.
Scholars debate the authorship of the First Epistle of John and its relation to the other Johannine letters.
The First Epistle of John emphasizes the importance of love.
In the First Epistle of John, the concept of faith is central.
In our theology class, we discussed the profound insights found in the First Epistle of John regarding love and faith.
The First Epistle of John provides a powerful message about the relationship between love and belief in God.
Many Christians find comfort in the teachings of the First Epistle of John, which encourage love among the community.

Synonyms

I John

vsFirst Epistle of John

Literature

9.6

The first of three short letters in the New Testament written by John the Apostle

is the longer formal title used for the same New Testament letter

Surface Forms

First Epistle of John main

Morphology

first + epistle + of + John

The phrase is compositionally built from its parts: 'first' (ordinal), 'epistle' (a letter), and 'of John' (authorship), so a learner who knows those words will derive 'the first letter written by John'. This book-title construction is a common, cross-linguistic pattern for naming canonical letters, making the meaning transparent to someone who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

First Epistle of John: The title First Epistle of John comes from when people used the word epistle to mean a written 'letter' and named the text for the writer John. It is called First because it was thought to be the earliest of three such letters, so today the name means 'John's first letter' and refers to the short New Testament book about 'love and faith'.