Hilary of Arles

In his own words on 1 John

• 1 John 1:3

  Our fellowship is in the unity of our faith here on earth and in the eternal dwelling place of God in heaven.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 1:4

  The fullness of joy comes when we are in fellowship with the apostles, as well as of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 1:6

  The truth is light, so if we do not walk according to it, we are in the dark.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 1:7

  The blood of animal sacrifices was enough to cleanse people from whatever particular sin they had committed, but the blood of Christ is sufficient to cleanse those who walk in love from all sin.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 1:8

  If you say that you are not a sinner but act otherwise, you are deceiving yourself.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:2

  When John says that Christ died for the sins of the "whole world," what he means is that he died for the whole church.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:4

  Those who are perishing do not know God, and God will deny that he has even known them, as he himself said: "Depart from me, for I have never known you."

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:5

  Love sustains all those who try to put God's commandments into practice.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:6

  There are three ways that we dwell in God—by faith, by hope and by love. God dwells in us by patience and humility.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:8

  The commandment is true in him because he loved us so much that he died for us, and it will be true in us also if we love one another.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:9

  The person who hates is in darkness until he repents or until he discovers love.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:10

  Someone who loves his brothers is in no danger of stumbling.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:11

  The person who loses sight of love will not know which way to turn when it comes to doing good works.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:15

  A wise father warns his children not to love things which quickly vanish away. This wisdom is the crowning glory of the supreme Maker of all things, and it is well-suited to everyone who is righteous.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:16

  The lust of the flesh is what pertains to our physical appetites, whereas the lust of the eye and the pride of life are what pertains to the vices of the soul, such as inordinate self-love, which does not come from the Father but from the devil.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:21

  You all know the truth because you received it in the rule of faith which you professed at your baptism.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:23

  You cannot know the Father if you deny the Son, because no one comes to the Father except through him.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:25

  Christ's promise is that we shall receive a hundred times over in this life, and eternal life in the next.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 2:26

  People want to deceive us in order to teach you some heresy or other. John has written in order to warn us about this.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 3:3

  We shall see him as he is because we shall be like him. This is our hope for the future, our love in the present and our faith in both the past and the present.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 3:4

  John says that sin and iniquity are the same thing, though there were heretics who denied this. According to some of them, iniquity was a crime deliberately committed, but sin was a fact of nature and therefore not a crime.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 3:5

  There is no sin in Christ because he was not conceived in sin as we are.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 3:6

  Sinners have not seen Christ with the eye of faith, nor have they known him by putting that faith into practice in the right way.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 3:7

  Let no one deceive you by saying that there is nothing wrong with sin. The devil has sinned all along because there is no truth in him. He is the ultimate deceiver.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 4:4

  God's power to save is always much greater than the devil's power to do harm.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 4:17

  In this world we must do our best to be generous, godly, merciful and patient, imitating God as closely as we can.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 5:9

  The testimony of men refers to the testimony of people like Moses and the prophets, who were all men of God.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 5:10

  God can never turn himself into a liar, because he is the essence of truth. But an unbelieving man is a liar, because he does not believe in the truth of God.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

• 1 John 5:21

  The letter ends as it began, with an admonition to worship the one true God alone. Everything else that John says is contained in this one golden rule.

  INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN