The First Epistle of John is the first of the Johannine epistles of the New Testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the Johannine works. The author of the First Epistle is termed John the Evangelist, who most modern scholars believe is not the same as John the Apostle. Most scholars believe the three Johannine epistles have the same author, but there is no consensus if this was also the author of the Gospel of John.
The end part of the Second Epistle of Peter (3:16–18) and the beginning of the First Epistle of John (1:1–2:9) on the same page of Codex Alexandrinus (AD 400–440)
1 John 4:11-12, 14–17 in Papyrus 9 (P. Oxy. 402; 3rd century)
Codex Montfortianus (1520) page 434 recto with 1 John 5 Comma Johanneum.
The Johannine epistles, the Epistles of John, or the Letters of John are the First Epistle of John, the Second Epistle of John, and the Third Epistle of John, three of the catholic epistles in the New Testament. In content and style they resemble the Gospel of John. Specifically in the First Epistle of John, Jesus is identified with the divine Christ, and more than in any other New Testament text, God's love of humanity is emphasised.
13th-century manuscript of the Vulgate, showing John writing his first letter.
First Epistle
