1JN 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
2:1 As John resumes his discourse on sin and forgiveness, we see a striking change of mood. Whereas earlier he was focusing on his opponents and their false teaching, now he speaks about these things as they affect his followers. The note of endearment–”my dear children”–in no way minimizes the seriousness of the discussion. John hastens to add, “I write this to you so that you will not sin.” There is no question at all in his mind that sin and obedience to God are irreconcilable. Sin is the enemy.
It removes the believer from the light, prevents fellowship with God, and destroys fellowship with the church. Sin as the power of darkness must be excluded from the believer’s life, and individual acts of sin must be resisted. Where failure occurs, the sin must be confessed before the body and the Lord and then abandoned. And always the intent of the believer remains the same–not to commit sin!
If any of his children should fail and commit sin, the author is anxious that they neither deceive themselves about it nor lie about their action and give up walking in the light. The answer to lapsing into sin is the forgiveness of God made available through Jesus Christ. He has been designated the believer’s advocate, the counsel “who speaks . . . in our defense.” His worthiness to perform this function rests on the fact that even as God is righteous (1:9), so he too merits the title “The Righteous One.” (Hey remember last week)2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.2 Our advocate does not maintain our innocence but confesses our guilt. Then he enters his plea before the Father on our behalf as the one who has made “the atoning sacrifice [GK G2662] for our sins” (this word also occurs in 4:10; cf. also Lk 18:13; Ro 3:25; Heb 2:17; 9:5). And his sacrifice is not only for our sins, “but also for the sins of the whole world.” This statement asserts two things: Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for all, and it is necessary for all. 1JN 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1JN 2:7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 1JN 2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. The second section (2:3-11) is concerned with knowledge of God. Again the false claims to knowledge by the opponents are stated first, this time introduced by the clause “he who says”(same word translated differently) (cf. vv. 4, 6, 9). Each of these claims is again denied and the evidence of the true knowledge of God is set forth: obeying his commands (v. 5), walking in his likeness (v. 6), and loving one’s brother (v. 10).What we see here is that John is teaching that obedience has consequences in life. We could call them results, growth process or whatever but obedience to God comes out in lifestyle. For the Hebrew or Christian mind, however, knowledge of God cannot be separated from the experience of righteousness. Consequently there is no greater claim one can make in knowing God than to obey him. “We can be sure we know him,” the author says, “if we obey his commands.” For John, therefore, the test of knowledge of God is moral conduct (cf. also Tit 1:16). There is no knowledge of God that does not also keep his commandments. In verse 10 the author now gives us a positive test of living in the light. Unlike his opponents, his concern is with deeds, not claims. “Whoever loves,” he says, is “in the light.” Conversely, the one who does not live “in the light” will not manifest God’s love. On the flip side, in verse 11 comes the consequence of being in darkness where the author picks up the concept of “darkness” from v. 9 and gives it a final elaboration and conclusion. One who “hates his brother” is not simply “in the darkness” but is condemned to spend his life in darkness. Though he has eyes, he can see nothing. And the darkness so blinds his eyes that he has no idea “where he is going.” Life is a search, but for him it is without direction. He never knows whether he is closer to or farther from his destination. The only certainty is that he is without hope of reaching it. So hate destroys any window for light from God. To live without loving one’s brother means to deny oneself the presence of God and the reality of fellowship with the community of faith.
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