Behind | 1 John and the Gospel of John

The letters of John don’t introduce themselves as being written by John, as the Pauline letters do, and as Peter’s letters do. Early tradition attributed these letters to John, and most biblical scholars have accepted his authorship since that time. Beyond the claims of tradition, the style and composition of these three letters have convinced many that they share an author with the Gospel of John. One of the better known assessments in this regard comes from Dr. B. H. Streeter who stated:

What are these similarities that are so compelling? They appear throughout the book, sometimes subtly, and other times in ways that will probably be apparent to those who have read John’s Gospel. Read the passages below and highlight those aspects that recall the Gospel.

Because of the amount of correspondence between these verses and John’s Gospel, there are a number of ways you might have highlighted them, but the general idea will be the same. Each verse in 1 John is placed beside a similar verse in John’s Gospel to make the connections clear.  

Streeter quoted from: Andreas J. Köstenberger, A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters, 2009, p. 86.