1, 2, 3 John

Gilbert Soo Hoo, Pervaiz Sultan

Description

Today the Asian church ministers in a multi-religious and often multi-cultural environment and faces serious challenges. Thankfully we have a resource that offers guidance and encouragement – the ancient documents known as 1, 2 and 3 John. In this commentary Dr. Gilbert Soo Hoo provides careful textual analysis alongside contextual relevance in the hope that the reader will hear God’s voice, encouraging them to become disciples that live in fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another. The fundamental christological truths presented serve as a template to help evaluate various teachings and to discern what is true and what is false, which is critical for believers living and serving in multi-religious Asia.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 31 juillet 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781783681884
• Langue: English

Extrait

This commentary on the Epistles of John is a splendid blend of sound exegesis of the original text and appropriate contextualization of its message for Asian cultures. A hallmark of biblical interpretation involves not only determining what the text meant in its own time, but translating the biblical message so contemporary readers can discern what the text is saying in terms of application. Serious students of the Bible, teachers, and pastors will benefit greatly from this important resource.
Clive Chin, PhD
Academic Dean of the School of Theology English Faculty
Singapore Bible College
The Epistles of John have aroused more and more scholarly attention recently. Dr. Gilbert Soo Hoo adds a voice to the many interpretations, especially from an Asian perspective. As a matter of fact, the culture and philosophy in Asian regions are very different from those in the West. Our Asian experiences will certainly enrich that of the West. In so doing, the author incorporates current scholarly opinions and joins their discussion in his commentary. Gilbert’s work adds important salt to the pluralist interpretations of John’s letters.
Eric Kun-Chun Wong, PhD
Associate Director, Divinity School of Chung Chi College
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

1, 2, 3 JOHN
Gilbert Soo Hoo with Pervaiz Sultan
Asia Bible Commentary Series
General Editor
Federico G. Villanueva
Old Testament Consulting Editors
Yohanna Katanacho, Tim Meadowcroft, Joseph Shao
New Testament Consulting Editors
Steve Chang, Andrew Spurgeon, Brian Wintle

© 2016 by Gilbert Soo Hoo
Published 2016 by Langham Global Library
an imprint of Langham Creative Projects
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
Published in partnership with Asia Theological Association
ATA
QCC PO Box 1454 – 1154, Manila, Philippines
www.atasia.com
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-868-5 Print
978-1-78368-189-1 Mobi
978-1-78368-188-4 ePub
978-1-78368-190-7 PDF
Gilbert Soo Hoo has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-868-5
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth, and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB

To Weiki and Winyan, “my dear children,” as I echo the author in addressing his readers. To Ming with whom I, like the elder with his readers, prefer to spend time “face-to-face” as partners in significant ministry.
Contents

Cover


Series Preface


Acknowledgments


List of Abbreviations


Introduction


1 John


1 John 1


1 John 2


1 John 3


1 John 4


Tale of Two Realms – Standing on the Truth


1 John 5


Christian Furz – Our Religious Duty


2 John


3 John


Tale of Two Realms – Within the Church


Bibliography


About Asia Theological Association


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Series Preface
In recent years, we have witnessed one of the greatest shifts in the history of world Christianity. It used to be that the majority of Christians lived in the West. But now the face of world Christianity has changed beyond recognition. Christians are now evenly distributed around the globe. This has implications for the interpretation of the Bible. In our case, we are faced with the task of interpreting the Bible from within our respective contexts. This is in line with the growing realization that every theology is contextual. Our understanding of the Bible is influenced by our historical and social locations. Thus, even the questions that we bring into our reading of the Bible will be shaped by our present realities. There is a need therefore to interpret the Bible for our own contexts.
The Asia Bible Commentary (ABC) series addresses this need. In line with the mission of the Asia Theological Association Publications, we have gathered Asian evangelical Bible scholars in Asia to write commentaries on each book of the Bible. The mission is to “produce resources for pastors, Christian leaders, cross-cultural workers, and students in Asia that are biblical, pastoral, contextual, missional, and prophetic.” Although the Bible can be studied for different reasons, we believe that it is given primarily for the edification of the Body of Christ (2 Tim 3:16–17). The ABC series is designed to help pastors in their sermon preparation, cell group leaders or lay leaders in their Bible study groups, Christian students in their study of the Bible, and Christians in general in their efforts to apply the Bible in their respective contexts.
Each commentary begins with an introduction that provides general information about the book’s author and original context, summarizes the main message or theme of the book, and outlines its potential relevance to a particular Asian context. The introduction is followed by an exposition that combines exegesis and application. Here, we seek to speak to and empower Christians in Asia by using our own stories, parables, poems, and other cultural resources as we expound the Bible.
The Bible is actually Asian in that it comes from ancient West Asia and there are many similarities between the world of the Bible and traditional Asian cultures. But there are also many differences that we need to explore in some depth. That is why the commentaries also include articles or topics in which we bring specific issues in Asian church, social, and religious contexts into dialogue with relevant issues in the Bible. We do not seek to resolve every tension but rather to allow the text to illumine the context and vice versa, acknowledging that in the end we do not have all the answers to every mystery.
May the Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of the Bible bring light to the hearts and minds of all who use these materials, to the glory of God and to the building up of the churches!
Federico G. Villanueva
General Editor
Acknowledgments
This commentary is the fruit of countless hours spent by a number of co-laborers who thought this endeavor is a worthwhile pursuit. Dr. Federico Villanueva, the general editor of the Asia Bible Commentary Series, encouraged me with his patient and wise counsel. The editors from Asia Theological Association and Langham Partnership gave very helpful feedback to make this work better. Dr. Pervaiz Sultan offered me a glimpse of his Asian world as contextual consultant. Dr. Clive Chin, my dean, and Dr. Michael Shen, my principal, both of Singapore Bible College, provided unconditional support as I balanced my teaching responsibilities with writing.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE Old Testament
Gen, Exod, Lev, Num, Deut, Josh, Judg, Ruth, 1–2 Sam, 1–2 Kgs, 1–2 Chr, Ezra, Neh, Esth, Job, Ps/Pss, Prov, Eccl, Song, Isa, Jer, Lam, Ezek, Dan, Hos, Joel, Amos, Obad, Jonah, Mic, Nah, Hab, Zeph, Hag, Zech, Mal New Testament
Matt, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Rom, 1–2 Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, 1–2 Thess, 1–2 Tim, Titus, Phlm, Heb, Jas, 1–2 Pet, 1–2–3 John, Jude, Rev BIBLE TEXTS AND VERSIONS Divisions of the canon
NT
New Testament
OT
Old Testament Modern versions
ESV
English Standard Version
NIV
New International Version
NRSV
New Revised Standard Version Journals, Reference Works, and Series
AB
Anchor Bible
ABC
Asia Bible Commentary Bib
Biblica BSac Bibliotheca Sacra CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
EBC
Expositor’s Bible Commentary
HTS
Harvard Theological Studies JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JSNTSup Journal for the Study of New Testament Supplement Series JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament LQ Lutheran Quarterly
NCBC
New Century Bible Commentary
NIBC
New International Bible Commentary
NIDOTTE
New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis
NIVAC
The NIV Application Commentary NovT Novum Testamentum RelSRev Religious Studies Review ResQ Restoration Quarterly TNTC Tyndale New Testament Commentaries TynBul Tyndale Bulletin TMSJ The Master’s Seminary Journal VT VetusTestamentum
WBC