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The apostle John's first letter is one of the most frequently quoted books of the Bible. Here we read, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" [1 John 1:7]. And who can forget the other John 3:16: "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." Perhaps the book's most famous passage is 1 John 4:8: "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

Though John is known for his simple, direct language, he does not avoid complex problems. Robert Yarbrough takes up these challenges in his new commentary on 1-3 John and in his notes for these books in the ESV Study Bible. Yarbrough, chair of the New Testament department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, spoke about these projects with Collin Hansen.

You edit the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. What is this series' unique contribution?

These commentaries blend serious scholarship with commitment to the gospel message that gave rise to the New Testament documents. Readers with theological interests will be stimulated and encouraged in the Christian faith. Readers with more narrowly academic interests will find awareness of, and interaction with, the range of evidences, questions, and theories that have occupied scholars throughout the generations. Having said that, the commentary does have a basic commitment to serve the needs of those who read and minister the Scriptures as the authoritative Word of God.

You write in the author's preface to the 1-3 John commentary, "I offer no defense for this commentary if the requirement is earthshaking novelty, unprecedented profundity, or unrivaled comprehensiveness." How do you advance our understanding of biblical books and discern what not to discuss?

Various factors can promote the aim of advancing understanding of a biblical book. Most foundational is careful and informed analysis of the New Testament book in the original language—in other words, fresh attention to primary sources. This quickly brings with it reference to books and studies by other scholars—books on backgrounds, language, history, early Christian thought, and so on. None of us knows enough to ignore what the larger community of scholarship has discovered, both recently and through the centuries. I have also found that ministry involvement sheds light on New Testament writings. I teach these writings to children and adults each week in church, to seminary students as my profession, and to students and pastors in sites in Eastern Europe and Africa on a regular basis. This generates a lot of feedback and fresh perspective on a given book.

As for what not to discuss—editorial limits often keep discussion within certain bounds. Some things are beyond one's expertise and better left to others for serious treatment. Reflection on intended audience can also factor into decisions. For example, there is a fairly technical monograph on speech-act theory in 1 John. But most readers, I felt, were unlikely to find close and sustained attention to this book worth the space and energy in a commentary, though as a work of scholarship it certainly has its place.

What are some of the most perplexing challenges posed by 1-3 John?

The first is the precise historical setting or even socio-cultural location of the author and/or addressees. I am comfortable with viewing these letters as contemporary with, and geographically proximate to, the seven churches of Asia that Revelation 1-3 addresses. But the epistles themselves don't leave many explicit clues, and since a lot of scholarship discounts patristic testimony and limits itself to internal literary evidence, it is hard to be certain of a great deal in this crucial area.

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September (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52