1 John Bible Trivia: 24 Questions and Answers for Kids

These 24 1 John Bible trivia questions cover the New Testament's great letter about love, light, and truth -- with answers and verse references included after every question. They're sorted into easy (ages 5-8), medium (ages 9-12), and hard (teens and adults) rounds, so the whole family can play together.

1 John is one of the friendliest books in the Bible to quiz on, because its most famous lines are short enough for even a five-year-old to finish: "God is ." "Perfect love drives out ." But it also hides genuinely hard questions -- like the one word for Jesus' enemy that appears nowhere in the Bible except John's letters.

What Is the Book of 1 John About?

The book of 1 John is a letter written to assure believers that they really do know God and really do have eternal life -- and to give them three tests to check: believing in Jesus, obeying God's commands, and loving one another. The author states his purpose plainly near the end: "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

Unusually for a letter, 1 John never names its author -- there's no greeting and no signature. Church tradition has attributed it to the apostle John, the fisherman who followed Jesus, and the opening supports an eyewitness: the writer says he heard, saw, and touched "the Word of life" with his own hands (1 John 1:1). It was likely written late in the first century, when false teachers were denying that Jesus had truly come in the flesh -- which is why the letter keeps circling back to what is real: real light, real love, real forgiveness.

Why Does 1 John Talk About Love So Much?

1 John talks about love so much because the author's whole argument is that love is the family resemblance of God's children -- "everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7). The letter contains the Bible's most famous three-word definition of God, stated twice: "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16). But John never lets love stay abstract. He points at the cross -- "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son" (1 John 4:10) -- and then points at us: "let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18).

For kids, this makes 1 John the most practical book in the Bible about how to treat a sibling. John even names the Bible's first bad brother as the warning label: "Do not be like Cain" (1 John 3:12). If your family has been working on loving one another, this letter is where that command gets its fullest explanation.

Easy 1 John Trivia Questions (Ages 5-8)

1. Finish this famous three-word verse: "God is ___." Love (1 John 4:8, 16)

1. John also says God is something with "no darkness at all" -- what? Light (1 John 1:5)

1. What sweet name does John call his readers again and again? "Dear children" (1 John 2:1, 2:28)

1. What will God do if we confess our sins? Forgive us and purify us -- he is faithful and just (1 John 1:9)

1. Who loved first -- God or us? God -- "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19)

1. Because of the Father's great love, what are believers called? Children of God (1 John 3:1)

1. What does perfect love drive out? Fear (1 John 4:18)

1. How many chapters does 1 John have? Five

Medium 1 John Trivia Questions (Ages 9-12)

1. What did John say he had heard, seen with his eyes, and touched with his hands? The Word of life -- Jesus (1 John 1:1)

1. When we sin, who speaks to the Father in our defense as our advocate? Jesus Christ, the Righteous One (1 John 2:1)

1. What does John tell believers NOT to love? The world or anything in the world (1 John 2:15)

1. Which Old Testament brother does John warn readers not to be like? Cain, who murdered his brother (1 John 3:12)

1. How does John say we should love -- with words, or something more? With actions and in truth, not just with words (1 John 3:18)

1. Complete the verse: "The one who is in you is greater than ___." "The one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4)

1. Can someone love God and hate a brother or sister? No -- John says whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar (1 John 4:20)

1. What is the very last sentence of 1 John? "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21)

Hard 1 John Trivia Questions (Teens and Adults)

1. Does 1 John ever name its author? No -- the letter is anonymous; church tradition attributes it to the apostle John

1. What word for Jesus' great enemy appears in the Bible ONLY in John's letters? "Antichrist" (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7)

1. Why did John say he wrote the letter? "So that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13)

1. Finish the verse: "This is love: not that we loved God, but that..." "...he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10)

1. What does John say about the weight of God's commands? "His commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3)

1. What test does John give for recognizing the Spirit of God in a teacher? Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God (1 John 4:2)

1. If we walk in the light, what does the blood of Jesus do? Purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7)

1. What "passes away," while the person who does the will of God lives forever? The world and its desires (1 John 2:17)

How to Use These Questions

Run the easy round as a fill-in-the-blank game -- 1 John's famous verses are so short that even pre-readers can shout the missing word. For older kids, turn the medium round into a Bible drill: call the reference, race to find it, read it aloud, then ask the question. These slot perfectly into a family Bible trivia night as a "love round," or combine them with our full set of New Testament trivia questions.

1 John is also one of the best books for memory work -- 1 John 4:19 ("We love because he first loved us") may be the easiest first memory verse in the Bible, and our list of Bible verses about love for kids pairs well with it. If your kids want the backstory on the man behind the letter, John was one of the first disciples Jesus called, and our video lessons at Faithful Kids walk through his story with a quiz after every episode. For the Cain question, the original story is in our guide to Cain and Abel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the book of 1 John?

The letter itself is anonymous -- it has no greeting and never names its writer -- but church tradition from the second century onward has attributed it to the apostle John, who also is traditionally credited with the Gospel of John. The author claims to be an eyewitness of Jesus, someone who heard, saw, and touched him (1 John 1:1).

How many chapters does 1 John have?

1 John has five chapters and 105 verses. It's the longest of John's three letters -- 2 John and 3 John are each a single chapter, and both are among the shortest books in the entire Bible.

What is the main message of 1 John?

The main message is assurance: believers can know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). John gives three marks of a person who truly knows God -- believing that Jesus is the Christ who came in the flesh, obeying God's commands, and loving one another -- and he repeats them in cycles through the whole letter.

What is the most famous verse in 1 John?

The most famous is 1 John 4:8 -- "God is love" -- probably the best-known three-word description of God ever written. Close behind are 1 John 1:9 ("If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us") and 1 John 4:19 ("We love because he first loved us").

What does "antichrist" mean in 1 John?

In John's letters, "antichrist" means anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh -- and John says "many antichrists" had already appeared in his own day (1 John 2:18, 22). The word appears in the Bible only in 1 John and 2 John, which surprises most adults at trivia night.

What age can kids start learning 1 John?

Kids as young as 4 or 5 can start with 1 John's short verses -- "God is love" is often a child's first memory verse. The letter's big themes of loving your family, telling the truth, and saying sorry (confession) fit early elementary ages, while the tests for false teaching suit preteens and teens.