(Chapters 1:5–2:11)
The problem that faced the Church in those early days was that antichristian teachers had infiltrated the Christian ranks and were corrupting many merely professing believers with their evil doctrines (chaps. 2:18-26; 4:1-6). These teachers professed to know God and to have life eternal—but they were impostors. John’s concern was that they would “seduce” the saints with their erroneous doctrines and lead them “astray” (chap. 2:26). The saints, therefore, needed to be able to identify these charlatans and avoid them. To help them to know who were real and who were not, John was led to present various essential elements of God’s nature (which are characteristic of the children of God) by which all false pretention to the possession of life eternal could be detected. This would provide the saints with a touchstone by which they could test, and thereby know who were false, and refuse fellowship with them, as John enjoins the elect lady to do (2 John 9-11).
Light and Darkness
(Chap. 1:5)
The first essential element of God’s nature and Being that John holds up before us is light. He says: “This then is the message which we have heard of [from] Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” “Light” signifies absolute holiness and truth, whereas “darkness” signifies evil and the absence of the knowledge of God. By stating that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all,” John makes it clear that God is absolutely holy and that it is not possible that sin could be found in Him, or in any way be associated with Him. Every true Christian knows this.
In this passage, John states that God not only “is light” (vs. 5), but that He is “in the light” (vs. 7). Since light dispels darkness and reveals things as they truly are (Eph. 5:13), by stating that God is now in the light, John indicates that God has fully revealed Himself. This, as we have seen in verses 1-2, was done by the coming of Christ into the world. There has now been a full revelation of the Father in Christ (John 1:18; 14:9). In Old Testament times, God dwelt in “thick darkness” as to the revelation of His Person (1 Kings 8:12; 2 Chron. 6:1). Certain attributes of God were revealed in those times, but He had not been fully declared. Such a revelation awaited the coming of Christ, the Revealer of God. Thus, resulting from Christ’s coming, the God who is light has set Himself in the light.
Not only is God in the light, but His children are also in the light. The coming of Christ has brought God into the light, but it is the blood of Christ shed in His death that fits us for that light (vs. 7). Before conversion, we were once “darkness” (Eph. 5:8a), but in becoming believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been brought “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9; Acts 26:18; 2 Cor. 4:6). We are now “the children of light” (Eph. 5:8b; 1 Thess. 5:5). Now, every true believer walks in the light, due to the glorious manifestation of life eternal in Christ and the work which He accomplished on the cross.
Various Pretentions to Walking in the Light Examined
Having stated that God “is light” and is “in the light,” this immediately becomes a test of a man’s profession. John addresses six common pretentions that a person may profess, indicated by the words: “If we say...” (chap. 1:6, 8, 10) and “He that saith ... ” (chap. 2:4, 6, 9). In this passage, John gives proofs and counter-proofs by which all such pretentions to knowing God and to being in the light can be checked.
The Test of Being in Fellowship With God in the Light
(Chap. 1:6-7)
John says: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all [every] sin.” Thus, if God is light and we say that we know Him and are in fellowship with Him, but we live in a way that proves we are in utter ignorance of God, it is clear that our profession is false. All such “walk in darkness” and are not real believers at all. They have no real knowledge of God’s holy nature and have nothing in common with Him, for “what fellowship hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14) Conversely, if a man truly professes to know God, he will manifest the reality of it. He will “walk in the light” and will “have fellowship” with others who are in the light, and he will understand that “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son” has cleansed his sins away. He will be characterized by these three things:
Firstly, the believer is “in the light.” Thus, he has a basic knowledge of God and of His holy nature through having divine life and believing the gospel. This sets him in the light positionally. As mentioned in the Introduction, John looks at things abstractly, He is speaking here of where the believer walks, not how he walks. He is not taking into consideration that a believer, who is in the light, may not walk at times according to the light. (We’ve all offended in this – James 3:2.) He is looking at light and darkness as a positional thing; everyone is either in the light or in darkness. Someone asked J. N. Darby, “What is ‘darkness?’ Ans. The absence of the knowledge of God, and, as to that, it is not possible for any Christian to be in darkness. As I get Christ, I get light. God is light, and if I know Him, I am not in darkness” (Notes and Jottings, p. 106). He was also asked, “What if a believer turns his back on the light?” The answer he gave was: “Then the light will shine on his back, because he is always in the light!” (Unknown and Well Known, a biography of John Nelson Darby by W. G. Turner, p. 36).
Secondly, “we have fellowship one with another.” The children of God have a common interest—Christ, the Son of God—and this leads them to walk together in happy fellowship. This characterizes them. Again, John is not considering that at times a person may get out of practical fellowship with his brethren with divergent thoughts and ideas, but of what characterizes God’s children.
Thirdly, “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all [every] sin.” Thus, the children of God know the meaning of Christ’s finished work on the cross, of which His blood speaks. Their consciences have been purged as a result of resting in faith on what He accomplished there (Heb. 9:14). Hence, they have no desire to escape the light but are happy to be searched by it (Psa. 139:23-24; John 3:21) because they know that all that the light exposes, the blood has cleansed. In fact, the more thoroughly the light shines on them, the more clearly it is seen that there is no spot of sin on them! Such is the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. The word “cleanseth” in this verse is in the perfect tense in the Greek. This does not mean that the blood needs to be continually re-applied if and when a believer fails, but that the believer abides in a constant state of being cleansed by the blood, because the blood never loses its power, having everlasting efficacy.
The Test of Having a Sin-Nature
(Chap. 1:8)
John goes on to examine another pretention; in this case it is in regard to the believer still having the sin-nature in him. He says: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” This false pretention shows that not only were there men associated with the Christian profession who were in darkness concerning the true nature of God, but they were also in darkness as to their own state. They professed to have “no sin” in them! That is, they said that they didn’t have a sin-nature—the flesh! John says that all such persons “deceive” themselves. To make such a claim only proves that they are not in the light, because if they were, the light would have revealed to them what they are. One of the most elementary points of Christian knowledge resulting from being in the light is that we know that we still have the flesh in us (Rom. 7:18). This shows the seriousness of holding error; if our wills are at work regarding the error, we will lose our discernment and be deceived by it. Hence, if we come across someone who professes to know God and to be in fellowship with Him, but he says that he doesn’t have a sin-nature, he is giving us a clear indication that he is probably not a real believer.
The Test of the Confession of Sins
(Chaps. 1:9–2:2)
John moves on to another point—the question of having sinned. He says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us” (Vss. 9-10). The confession of sins marks a true child of God. Since he is in the light, if he sins, the light will search him, and his conscience will be awakened as to what he has done. This will lead to his repentance which will draw forth a frank and humble confession of having sinned. Thus, the effect of being in the light is that we confess our sins. Every true child of God will do this. Someone asked J. N. Darby what a failing believer should do when he has been on a wayward course for years and can’t remember what sin exactly began his departure from the Lord. His reply was, “He can confess his low state generally.” If it’s genuine, it will lead to his restoration.
Confession of sins is really a believer’s exercise in regard to his restoration to communion, when he has failed. If the confession of one’s sins were required of sinners coming to Christ for salvation, then how would anyone get saved? What sinner can remember all his sins? When we take into consideration the fact that "the plowing [thoughts] of the wicked is sin" (Prov. 21:4) and that "the thought of foolishness is sin" (Prov. 24:9), it would be an impossible task. His sins might number in the thousands—maybe in the millions! A sinner seeking salvation and forgiveness of sins is to simply own or confess that he is a sinner (Luke 18:13) and to confess Jesus as his Lord (Rom. 10:9; Phil. 2:11), but it is not required of him to confess each and every single sin that he has committed. The abstract principle involved in the forgiveness of sins here may be broad enough to cover a person’s initial coming to Christ for eternal forgiveness and salvation (See Synopsis of the Books of the Bible by J. N. Darby, footnote on 1 John 1:9.), but the context shows that John is really speaking of those within the Christian company. Commenting on this, F. B. Hole said: “It is true, of course, that the only honest thing for an unbeliever, when conviction reaches him, is to confess his sins, then forgiveness, full and eternal will be his. The believer is in question here, however. It is, “If we confess ... .” (Epistles, vol. 3, p. 147)
Paternal Forgiveness
Upon confessing our sins, God is “faithful and just [righteous] to forgive us our sins” because the claims of divine justice have been satisfied on account of a ransom having been paid by Christ for our sins (Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:6). John does not exactly say that the failing believer should ask for forgiveness—because all believers abide in a state of having been eternally forgiven—but he does say that we need to own what we have done by confessing our sins to God the Father. Hence, it is not eternal forgiveness that is in view here, but rather, paternal forgiveness. John adds: “And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This has to do with being cleansed from the influence of the sin that we have committed and getting deliverance from its servitude (John 8:34). This is in view of helping us not to fail in that way again.
(Vs. 10)
However, if one who professes to be in the light says that he has “not sinned,” he has made it clear that he is not in the light. If he were truly in the light, the light would have manifested his sins, and he would know that he has sinned. Denying that we have sinned is the fruit of unbelief. It challenges “His Word” which states that all men have sinned (Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:23). We won’t contradict the Word if we truly have it abiding in us, as John says here. In the case of a believer, sin interrupts his communion with God. He will be uncomfortable all the while he is out of communion, because every true child of God craves the peace and joy and complacency that emanates from being in communion with God. To lose this is to lose his sense of spiritual well-being, and this will produce a confession of his sins, whereupon communion will be happily regained. A merely professing believer does not feel this loss because he has never known communion with God.
The Advocacy of Christ
(Chap. 2:1-2)
Having spoken of God’s gracious provision for His children who fail, lest any should think that he is teaching that it’s okay for a child of God to sin (because there is this provision), John hastens to correct this false notion. He exclaims: “My children, these things I write to you in order that ye may not sin.” This is the first time in the epistle that John addresses his audience as, “My children.” In this, we see his passion and deep concern for their preservation. In no way would he have believers look lightly on sin. It is a very serious thing indeed for a child of God to be found sinning; we should shrink from the very thought of it. If we truly saw what was required to righteously put away sin—the agonies of the atoning sufferings of Christ on the cross—we would repudiate it!
The KJV says, “My little children ... .” However, the word “little” should not be in the text in chapters 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21. “Little,” refers to those who are young in the faith, but John is addressing the whole family of God here, not just the new converts. Using “little,” in this verse, implies that the young in the faith are the only ones who are in danger of sinning. This is not true; all saints (even an apostle) can fail if they don’t keep close to the Lord.
John goes on and says: “And if any one sin, we have a Patron [Advocate] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation for our sins; but not for ours alone, but also for the whole world.” This explains how it is that failing believers come to confess their sins; it is through Christ’s work as an “Advocate with the Father.” Note: John does not say, “When any man sin ... .” This would suggest that sinning is a normal thing for a Christian, which is not true. With Christ interceding for us as our High Priest, we are kept from sinning—if we come to Him for help (Heb. 7:25; 2 Peter 2:9; Jude 24). Hence, in reality, not sinning is normal Christianity. But “if,” through self-will, a believer does sin, there is this provision of God to be restored. This is John’s point here. To say that we haven’t sinned denies our state and the need for Christ’s advocacy, but to say that it’s normal for us to sin denies Christ’s high priesthood.
Christians who fail don’t lose their salvation (as some mistakenly teach); if this were true, then John would have said, “If any man sin, he needs to receive Christ as his Saviour again.” But referring to Christ as our Advocate as he does, indicates that he is dealing with the subject of restoration, not salvation. Note also: Christ’s advocacy is “with the Father.” This shows that a believer’s sin doesn’t affect his relationship with God. God is still his Father and he is still His child, even though he has failed. Similarly, in an earthly family, the child that disobeys his father doesn’t cease to be his child. While our relationship to God cannot be affected by sin, our communion with God most certainly will be, and it will remain suspended until we confess the sin that has broken communion. The problem is that we can get into such a poor state of soul that we are not even conscious that we are out of communion with the Lord and can be like Samson who “wist not that the Lord had departed from him” (Judg. 16:20). We are not to think from this that the Lord forsakes us when we sin; He has promised never to do that (Heb. 13:5). But He does withdraw the sense of His presence with us.
“Advocate” could be translated “Patron,” which means, “one who takes up the cause of another.” In Scripture, it is applied to the Lord (1 John 2:1) and also to the Holy Spirit (translated as “Comforter” in John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). It is important to understand that Christ’s work as an Advocate begins immediately upon a believer sinning, not when he turns back to God in repentance and confesses his sins. John does not say, “If any man confesses his sins, he has an Advocate with the Father.” This would make the working of Christ’s advocacy consequent upon the failing believer’s turning to Him, and that would be putting the “cart before the horse.” If Christ’s work as an Advocate was dependent upon our turning to God and confessing our sins, then no one would ever get restored, because no failing believer can turn back of his own accord—such is the enslaving power of sin (Prov. 5:22; John 8:34). The truth is, we can’t save ourselves, and if we fail, we can’t restore ourselves. Restoration is purely a work of the Lord (Psa. 23:3). It is what Christ does as an Advocate that leads us to turn back to God and to confess our sins.
Four Things Involved in Christ’s Advocacy
We may ask, “What exactly does Christ do as an Advocate that results in the believer being restored?” There are four things involved in this work:
• Firstly, the moment we sin, He goes to the Father and prays for our restoration. The Lord prayed for Peter in this way before Peter turned back (Luke 22:31). At the same time, the Lord maintains our cause before God against the accusations of the devil regarding the sins involved in our failure (Rev. 12:10). The Lord is not there to persuade God to excuse or overlook our sins, but as “Jesus Christ the Righteous,” He points to His blood and says, “I’ve paid for those sins on the ground of having made ‘propitiation’ for them.” Hence, our restoration is based on the unchanging efficacy of Christ’s propitiatory work on the cross.
• Secondly, He directs the Spirit of God to bring the Word of God to bear upon our conscience (Luke 22:61). The Spirit will address our state and our sinful course and will occupy us with our failure until we repent and confess our sins. He may bring a verse to mind, either by hearing, reading, or remembering it, that will speak to us. Thus, God’s Word has a part in a believer’s restoration (Psa. 19:7; 119:9).
• Thirdly, He employs disciplinary action in our lives (1 Peter 3:12). The Father will work to this end too (1 Peter 1:16-17). All of His actions toward us in this governmental way are founded on His love for us (Heb. 12:5-11). His love is such that He will even use trouble (suffering, sickness, sorrow, etc.) in our lives to get our attention and to turn us around (Job 33:14-22).
• Fourthly, He will send our brethren after us (Gal. 6:1; James 5:19-20). A brother or a sister may speak to us about our course, and it may be used of the Lord to turn us around.
These things will work together collectively to bring the failing believer back to God in heart. One who falsely professes to have life eternal does not have Christ as his Advocate (nor as his Saviour), and this is why he won’t acknowledge that he has sinned—and if he does, it will be superficial.
Propitiation
“Propitiation” (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10) is a word that tends to intimidate people because it sounds like it is something deep and complicated. While propitiation is an immensely important truth, its meaning is really not difficult to understand. It simply refers to God’s side of the cross—to what God received through Christ’s atoning work. His death satisfied the claims of divine justice and vindicated God’s holy nature in regard to sin. It has enabled God to come out in grace to man with an offer to fully pardon every sinner who believes. Hence, propitiation has to do with meeting God’s holy claims against sin. But there is also our side of Christ’s work on the cross, which Bible teachers call substitution. The substitutionary side of His work in atonement has to do with meeting the sinner’s need. We needed Someone to take our place under the just judgment of God against our sins. Christ has done this, as the Apostle Peter says—“the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Thus, atonement has two parts—propitiation and substitution.
We Preach Propitiation to the World, Not Substitution
John adds: “But not for ours alone, but also for the whole world.” This shows that propitiation is very broad in its application. It has been made for the whole world, and because of it, every single person in the world can be saved if they come to Christ in faith. The KJV adds in italics, “For ‘the sins of’ the whole world.” The use of italics in the KJV indicates that all such
words are not in the Greek text but have been added by the translators to give what they thought would help in clarity. However, almost always, such additions change the meaning of the passage. This is what has happened here. The truth is propitiation has been made for the whole world, but Christ has not borne the sins of all in the world. Scripture states that He bore the judgment of the sins of “many”—which refers to believers (Isa. 53:12; Matt. 20:28; 26:28; Heb. 9:28)—but not of all men. It’s true that Christ “died for all;” this is propitiation (2 Cor. 5:15; 1 Tim. 2:6)—but He only bore the sins of the many who would believe. Thus, what Christ accomplished on the cross is “unto all,” but only “upon all” who believe (Rom. 3:22). The seriousness of this mistake, though in most cases quite unintentional, is that it presents God as being unrighteous. If Christ has borne the judgment of the sins of all in the world, then God would be unjust to allow anyone to be cast into Hell. They would be paying for their sins which have already been paid for by Christ!
Thus, we preach propitiation to the world in the gospel. We tell the lost that God’s holy claims have been met by Christ’s atoning work on the cross, and that God is not only satisfied, but that He has been glorified by it. And, if they come to Christ in faith, they can be saved. On the other hand, we teach substitution to those who believe. We tell them that Christ has borne the just judgment of their sins, and therefore, God (being the just God that He is) will never punish them for their sins. To do so would be demanding a double payment, which is something that God would never do because it would be unjust. This precious truth gives the believer peace and assurance.
As a rule, when Christ’s work on the cross is in view in the epistles, and the pronouns “we,” “us,” or “our” are used, it is the substitutionary side of His death that is in view (Isa. 53:5-6; Rom. 4:25; 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 1 John 3:5; Rev. 1:5-6, etc.) Sadly, many evangelical preachers, missionary workers, and Sunday School teachers, etc., have misunderstood this, and tell their unsaved audiences that Christ died for their sins, and that He has borne their judgment for them. This misunderstanding largely stems from assuming that those pronouns in Scripture are referring to the whole human race, which they are not; they are referring to believers—the Christian company. The epistles were written to Christians, not to the lost people of this world. We would be very glad indeed if the men of this world were to read them; many have been saved by doing so, but they were not written to them.
The Test of Obedience
(Chap. 2:3-5)
John moves along to examine another statement of profession. He says, “And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.” The test here is obedience. This is one of the greatest proofs of the reality of a person’s profession. John mentions two things in this regard:
• Keeping His “Commandments” (vs. 3).
• Keeping His “Word” (vs. 5).
The Lord’s “commandments” are the special instructions that He gave to His disciples in His earthly ministry. John refers to them several times in his writings (John 13:34; 14:15; 15:10-12; 1 John 2:3-4, 7-8; 3:22-23; 4:21; 5:2-3; 2 John 4-6). As mentioned in the Introduction, the theme in John’s ministry is life eternal in the family of God. It supposes that the happy conditions of affection that exist in the fellowship of the Father and the Son also exist with the children of God, and when the smallest wish or desire is made known to the children, it has the power of a command over their hearts. It becomes something to them that they must do for the One whom they love so dearly (chap. 4:19). Hence, these things are appropriately called “commandments.” (Compare 2 Samuel 23:15-17.)
These commandments are not to be confused with the Ten Commandments which God gave to Israel through Moses (Ex. 20). Some have misunderstood this and have imagined that the Lord was teaching that Christians are under the Law, and therefore, they must keep its injunctions. 1 Corinthians 14:37, shows that the Lord’s commandments are not the legal Commandments given at Sinai. In that chapter, Paul instructs the saints as to God’s order for Christian ministry in the assembly, and he concludes by calling those things “the commandments of the Lord.” This shows that we mustn’t think that every time we see the word “commandments” in Scripture that it is automatically referring to the Ten Commandments; the instructions Paul gave in 1 Corinthians 14 have nothing to do with the legal Commandments God gave at Sinai. As a rule, when the Mosaic Commandments are referred to in the epistles, they are called “the Law” (Rom. 3:19-20; 13:8-9; 1 Tim. 1:9; James 2:10, etc.)
His commandments are “not grievous” to those who love Him (1 John 5:3) because His “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light” (Matt. 11:29). Thus, the things He has asked us to do in Christianity are not burdensome, as was the Law of Moses (Matt. 11:28; Acts 15:10).
Keeping “His Word” is something higher than keeping His commandments. It has to do with knowing the mind and will of God when there is no specific Bible verse that addresses our matter of concern. Such things are discerned through abiding in Him—that is, by being in communion with the Lord (John 15:4, 7). In such situations, “the love of God” is “perfected” in us. The enjoyment of His love through being in communion with Him has led us to discern His mind, and in that sense the love of God has reached its divine end in us. Hence, as believers, we not only “know Him” by faith (vs. 3), but we also “know that we are in Him” through the personal experience of communion (vs. 5). Our obedience proves the reality of our relationship with Him and shows that we truly know Him.
Conversely, if someone says that he knows God but doesn’t keep his commandments (much less His Word), it is clear that the love and obedience that John is speaking about are not in him. The person has manifested his real condition; he has no real knowledge of God and shows himself to be “a liar, and the truth is not in him” (vs. 4).
The Test of Walking as Christ Walked
(Chap. 2:6-8)
John then speaks of another test: “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. Brethren [beloved], I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the Word which ye have heard from the beginning.” (“Beloved,” is a word that is not used in Scripture for the lost. God loves sinners (John 3:16) but reserves this term of endearment for the children in His family.) Having spoken of keeping His Word through abiding in Him, John anticipates that there will be some who will profess to abide in Him. He shows that all such persons can be tested as to the reality of their profession by the way they walk. True believers will walk “even as He walked”—that is, as the Lord walked when He was here on earth. Thus, the life of Christ is the Christian’s standard of living. This goes beyond simple obedience to include the manifestation of the moral features of Christ in our lives—His meekness, His lowliness, His kindness, His compassion, His sympathy, His faithfulness, etc. These graces will be manifested in real believers. They may not be as distinct in us as they were in the Lord, but nonetheless, they will be seen in every believer in some measure.
(Vs. 7)
With Christ as the example for our walk, John says that he has “no new commandment” for the saints. The “old commandment”—which is to love one another—was perfectly expressed in the Lord’s life. John had no additions or addendums to make to it because you can’t improve on perfection. This stood in stark contrast to what the false antichristian teachers were propounding. They were known for giving a new twist on things—which was not the truth at all. How refreshing it is to hear John say that we have all that we need in Christ!
Just before the Lord returned to His Father in heaven, He gave this commandment to the disciples, calling it “a new commandment” (John 13:34). This is because the kind of love that they had been familiar with under the Mosaic system was loving their neighbour “as” themselves (Luke 10:27). But now in Christianity, we have a new and different reference point; we are to love one another “as” Christ has loved us (John 15:10-12). From the perspective that John was writing—being long after the Lord walked in this world—he referred to it as “old.”
(Vs. 8)
Having stated that, John says: “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past [passing], and the true light now shineth.” This sounds like John is contradicting himself. He has just said that he had no new commandment to deliver to the saints, but now he says that he does! What does he mean? It is simply that the old commandment to love one another was now to be applied in the new circumstances of the new dispensation that had been introduced with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The new commandment does not differ from the old in substance. As it had been expressed in Christ, it now was finding its expression in the children of God. Accordingly, John says, “Which thing is true in Him and in you.” J. N. Darby remarked, “In another sense it was a new commandment, for by the power of the Spirit of Christ, being united to Him and drawing our life from Him, the Spirit of God manifested the effect of this life” (Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, Loizeaux edition, vol. 5, p. 497). Hence, the old commandment hadn’t lost its freshness; it was the circumstances in which it was to be applied that made it a new commandment.
This manifestation of love in the children of God is the firstfruits of a whole new age of moral regeneration on earth which will be established when Christ reigns in His kingdom—the Millennium (Matt. 19:28). In anticipation of that day, John says, “The darkness is passing, and the true light now shineth.” The KJV says that the darkness is “past,” but the ignorance of God in this world is not past yet; we must wait for the establishment of the Millennium for that, when the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord (Isa. 11:9). When one looks around at the conditions in this world today, he might be inclined to say that the moral and spiritual darkness is increasing, not passing. But to those who have faith, they see that the darkness is in the process of passing because “the true light” has begun to shine in Christ and the children of God, and it is the harbinger of what is to come. That light which has begun to shine now will never be extinguished.
The Test of Divine Love
(Chap. 2:9-11)
John examines one more characteristic of being in the light—a genuine love for our brethren. He says, “He that saith he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and knows not where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” In keeping with John’s style, he speaks abstractly here. He is not taking into consideration that a true Christian may allow the flesh to rise in his soul and have bitter feelings toward one of his brethren. He is supposing that this is the habit and character of a person’s life because he is in darkness and not saved at all.
If one is truly in the light, he will walk in the light and will not seek an occasion to cause his brother to stumble. He will thus prove his love for his brother and that he truly abides in the light. On the other hand, he that hates his brother “walks in the darkness” and is “blinded” by the darkness that he walks in. He will manifest this by falling for the erroneous doctrines in Christendom, and thus, by departing from the truth; he will also seek to stumble others in the same way. By this, he proves that he has no real love for his brother and that he himself is not a real child of God.
A Summary of the Characteristics of Those in the Light
• They walk in the light, in fellowship with one another, with the knowledge that the blood of Christ has cleansed away their sins (chap. 1:6-7).
• They know what they are in themselves—still having a sin-nature (chap. 1:8).
• If they fail, they confess their sins because they have an Advocate with the Father (chaps. 1:9–2:2).
• In obedience, they keep His commandments and His Word (chap. 2:3-5).
• They exhibit the moral features of Christ in their walk and ways (chap. 2:6-8).
• They love their brethren and prove it by being careful not to stumble them (chap. 2:9-11).