The Little Letters | Week 5

After the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, John had made Ephesus his new Base. Ephesus was a dark place, yet a place where Christ and the Christian faith were also taking hold. From here, John writes his short letters to the churches to help them deal with theological issues and community direction. John had lived to old age, so he would have had an influential authority in the early church, and they would have heeded his voice. Because of this positioning, these little letters have a significance that we cannot overemphasize. Although small, these letters use straightforward language to transfer profound theological truth. And while the concepts appear easy to grasp, each word written has a tall “spiral staircase” of theology. If you have read these epistles or letters previously, then you know their continued encouragement to remember the fundamentals of the Christian experience. These fundamentals convey the idea that “Love is Why.”