John, the last living disciple of Jesus, writes to Christian communities around Ephesus to reassure them of who Jesus is and what true spirituality looks like. Jesus Christ has always existed from eternity past and entered history as a human. Jesus' purpose was to die on the cross to restore the opportunity for people to be reconciled with God through his death. When we start a personal relationship with God, we have a deep spiritual connection with others who know Jesus.

God is light and as such, having fellowship with Him requires walking in the light. As Christians, we must appreciate that God is righteous and His instructions have moral authority in our lives. Living in fellowship with God requires an appreciation for His righteousness, along with learning to humbly and honestly cooperate with Him as we encounter sin in our lives. As we respond to God's correction in our lives, we can enjoy deepened fellowship with God and others.

Walking in a lifestyle of sacrificial love is a priority within the Christian life. Loving others deepens our intimacy with God as He guides us, assures us, gives us peace, and develops a more confident prayer life for others. Love is the culmination of God's commandments, and God provided the resources to love radically through giving His Holy Spirit which enables us to love all types of people the way Jesus did.

John highlights the stages of spiritual development for Christians, including: 1) childhood; 2) young adulthood; and 3) mature adulthood. The focus of spiritual development within the childhood phase includes the assurance of God's complete forgiveness and the personal-love relationship we have with Him. As we mature, God wants to remind us of our victory against Satan and regularly exposing us to His Word and learning how to obey it. As we get to adulthood spiritually, God is able to deepen our appreciation of our personal relationship with Him and produce stability and confidence after years of depending on Him. Healthy spiritual development isn't automatic, but occurs within the confines of a healthy community of Christians.

John warns his audience about the false teachers, something Jesus had forewarned about. False teachers are detected by their immoral lifestyle and teachings, their lack of love for others, and their denial of Jesus' identity. In order to combat false teaching, we should learn God's Word so we can evaluate teachers, reach out to victims of false teachers, and warn others about them.

Before Jesus returns, we can rest assured of God's great love for us. Not only that, God has promised that we will be like him when he comes back. In light of this promise, we should prioritize spiritual progress towards righteousness. As this occurs, our confidence in God can grow and we can be sure of living our lives purposefully.

John's teaching raises the question of whether there can be Christians who commit sins. The idea that Christians can cease sinning is taught against clearly in other parts of Scripture. Instead, John is combating false teachers who intentionally sinned in a habitual lifestyle without remorse. These false teachers lived sexually immoral lives and yet taught their followers that they were above sexual immorality, further affirming their false teaching and hypocrisy. Those who are truly known by Christ are eager to share his message with others, have a sensitized conscience, are eager to hear from God's Word, and have a growing love for other Christians. This stands in contrast to the false teachers John was arguing against.

God's will for our lives is to grow in our ability to give out sacrificial love. As our capacity of receiving God's love increases, we are able to increase our ability to give His love out to others. This process begins with understanding the lengths of God's love for us, drawing continuously from His love, and learning how to reflect and meditate on how to move towards others in love. Living out of God's love is a key feature of growing Christians.

In order to grow in our love for others, we need to be trained by God. God develops our love for others through His Word. God can teach us to love others through spiritual promptings by His Spirit, through godly role models, and by placing people that are hard to love in our lives. As God grows our ability to give love to others, long-lasting sources of joy are produced as we see God use us.

Our relationship with God can be hindered when we try and earn His acceptance through our performance or obedience to His commands. Often, we try and follow His commands by our resources, leaving us alienated and forgetful of His love for us. We should cultivate focus towards His promises and ask for Jesus' help to guide us and empower us. As a result, we can have renewed awareness of God's love and an ability to rest in His grace and lean on our brothers and sisters for help in our weakness.

Understanding how to pray according to God's Will includes: 1) entrusting ourselves to God's loving authority; 2) focusing on God's priorities; and 3) listening to God's Spirit. We must learn humble obedience to listen to His Will and present ourselves to Him, eager to live out His purposes. Our prayers should align with what God cares about including developing our character, sharing His love with others, and becoming more attuned to hear Him through His Word. As we couple our prayers with other Christians' and note the Holy Spirit's leading, we can better understand where God is leading us in our lives.