First John and Congregational Life

What passes for love in many of our congregations might more accurately be described as "tea and sympathy" especially when compared to biblical portrayal of love within congregational life.  Take 1 John.  The writer makes a stark distinction between “the world,” “those who have left,” and “brothers and sisters.”  We might want to resist the seeming absence of grace toward the whole world and the absence of a way for people to return to the congregation they have left, the larger point to be identified here is that the congregation does matter to John—it is an entity whose integrity we must respect.  Practically speaking, we cannot offer to everyone in the world the same level of attention we offer one another.  At the same time, we need people who love us the way only a congregation can love us.  We need to handle truth responsibly (a point made repeatedly by 1 John) and yet, if we try to make sure that everyone in the world does this, we end up trying to police a diverse group of people.  Violence ensues from such approaches to truth.  So, within a congregation where there is a shared understanding of truth, people can work together to handle truth responsibly.

There are four different commands about “love” in the New Testament—(1) Love God; (2) Love your neighbor; (3) Love your enemy (Matthew 5:44); and (4) Love one another.  Do these loves get lived out in different ways?  I believe they do.  We do not feed God; we do not worship our enemies;  we not love our neighbors in hopes that our love will shame them into changing their wicked ways (that's the love we give our enmies).  I believe our love commitment to the world generally consists in caring for the vulnerable (Matthew 25:31-46) and seeking to share the good news with all (Matthew 28:16-20).

 I think the Johannine (John, 1-3 John, Revelation) emphasis is much more on the local congregation—love one another, wash one another’s feet (note how John sets this up in 1 John 4:1-7). I take the “one another” language to be a reference to a person's congregation. New Testament teaching instructs Christians to live out their Christian faith within the context of a congregation.  This does not mean that I believe you have to go to church to be saved.  Rather, I believe that New Testament teaching instructs Christians on the necessity of participation in an actual congregation.  As our history has unfolded, that has meant that right now a person chooses to become a member (or attached) to a local congregation.  There is a covenant relationship that forms.  From the Johannine perspective within the congregation, we have responsibility to:

                Work for reconciliation (1 John 2:9; 4:20)

Consistency in teaching, accountability, discernment (1 John 3:7-10; 2 John 1:8-11)

Care for one another’s real needs (1 John 3:17)

Shared ministry with the larger church (3 John 1:1-13)