The Little Letters - Introduction

We have just come off a tricky series regarding the deconstruction of our faith. So it might behoove us to spend a little time in Scripture, studying from some books that dealt with conflict, unity, and a singular spirit hoped for in the Christian Ecclesia (community).

These little letters are called that because they are relatively small, they use straightforward language to transfer profound theological truth. While the concepts appear easy to grasp, each word written has a tall “spiral staircase” of theology.

Jerome tells us that when the aged apostle John became so weak that he could no longer preach, he used to be carried into the congregation at Ephesus and content himself with a word of exhortation. “Little children,” he would say, “love one another.” And when the congregation became tired of this message and asked why he so frequently repeated it, he responded, “Because it is the Lord’s command, and if this is all you do, it is enough.”

If you have read these epistles or letters previously, then you know their continued encouragement to remember the fundamentals of the Christian experience. These fundamentals convey the idea that “Love is Why.”

Some serious conflicts were happening in the church that John, the gospel author, was overseeing at the time. Most wisdom tells us that these letters were written from the church in Ephesus to the congregations of Asia Minor under John’s special care.

John had spent time in Jerusalem, as spoken of in the book of Acts, but he may have left when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD. It seems that he made Ephesus his new Base.

John lived to old age so that he would have had an influential authority in the early church, and they would have heeded his voice. Because of this positioning, these little letters he sent out have a significance that we cannot overemphasize.

So why did John relocate to Ephesus? The sacking of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD was on the heels of the beginning of the persecution of the Christians under the reign of Nero. As they fled Jerusalem, it only made sense for them to go to the hub of the Asia Minor trade routes. Ephesus had the distinct pleasure of being at a crossroads between so many different cultures. As well, Paul had planted a church there around 55 AD. So not only were there Christians present, the church was not insignificant.

However, Ephesus was also a city with many different strains of religions and faith involved in its commerce and cultural life. The massive temple to Artemis (Diana) was the source of vast material wealth. We have also learned from Acts (19:19) that the church fathers had turned their backs on the Ephesian penchant for sorcery and magic. So Ephesus was a dark place, yet a place where Christ and the Christian faith were also taking hold. From here, John writes his short letters to the churches to help them deal with theological issues and community direction.

If you are wondering what theological issues may be in play, there were many. Probably the first and foremost issue was the problem with the gnostic teachers that had infiltrated the churches in the region. There were also issues with the so-called “super-apostles” and the Docetists. When John wrote this epistle, a great deal was going on, and we will get to it all.

Thank you for being willing to open up these “little letters” that John wrote to his churches. I am excited to see what we can learn and how we can grow from this study!