1, 2, 3, John – Truth and Love

In these three small letters from the apostle John, seven chapters in total, John used the word "love" thirty-nine times and "loved" four. He used the word "True" six times, and "truth," twenty times. For John, the truth is grounded on and in Jesus Christ and that He did come in the flesh, and he made it a point to share that believers should test the spirits of those who come proclaiming "the truth." Those whose teachings do not match up with Jesus' we are not to support, but those who follow the teachings of Christ and help others to know this truth, believers are to encourage and support. We also see a connection with truth and love. John says in verse one that he loves him "in love and truth." With the chosen lady in 2 John, he says, "whom I love in truth," and his blessing says, "Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love." The truth is that God lavished His love on us through His Son Jesus, so that we can become a part of God's family (1 John 3:1). Then John continued by saying, "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is made complete in us" (1 John 4:12). There are many more verses on love, but the last one picked is 1 John 4:19, "We love because He first loved us."