6/12/20 – 1 John 2:3-11
1 John 2:3 – And hereby we
do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
we know / know – ginosko (to
know; get to know; get a knowledge of; perceive; become known) ginosko is the verb form of gnosis
(“knowledge”).
ginosko is used 25 times
in 1 John, indicating a key theme. John was making sure that his readers
understood the difference between real knowledge (such as those who kept God’s
commandments had) and claimed knowledge (such as the Nicolaitans had).
So why use the same word twice here, though? In fact, ginosko is used in a different tense each time. The
first ginosko is present tense, a simple
statement of fact. The second ginosko is
perfect tense, a completed action in the past. Thus, “we do know (ginosko – present tense) that we have known (ginosko – perfect tense) him”
Present tense = A simple statement of fact or
reality viewed as occurring in actual time.
In most cases this corresponds directly with the English present tense.
Perfect tense = This corresponds to the perfect tense in
English, and describes an action which is viewed as having been completed in
the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated.
Jesus’ last cry from the cross, TETELESTAI ("It is finished!") is a good example of the perfect tense used in this sense, namely "It [the atonement] has been accomplished, completely, once and for all time."
Thus, we know as a fact that we have known Him once and for all time (as a completed action). That is, we know that at some point in the past we have completed an action by which we have known Christ, an action that does not need to be repeated. It is clear that this refers to the calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13). Once we did that, God responded (according to His promise to save us) and wrote our names in the Lamb’s book of life. This action declared us one of God’s elect, or chosen ones.
keep – tereo (attend
to carefully; guard; observe; keep)
if we keep His commandments – The keeping of His commandments demonstrates that we know Him. Or rather, noting Vs 4 below, a lack of keeping of His commandments demonstrates that we cannot know that we have known Him.
Therefore, the evidence that we do know Christ is in keeping His commandments.
1 John 3:22 – And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Also 1 John 3:24.
John 14:21 – He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 15:10 – If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Revelation 12:17 – And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Likewise, the evidence that we love Christ is in keeping His commandments.
John 14:15 – If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Thus, knowing Christ is the equivalent of loving Him; both
will keep His commandments. But, this is a dichotomy,
for if we do not keep His commandments, then we belong to the other
(mutually exclusive) group, those who have not known Him (even if
they claim to have known Him), and those who do not love Him, ones
who will be rejected in the judgment as per Matthew 7:21-23 – 21Not every one
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say
to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy
name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity.
1 John 2:3-5 is clearly aimed at those who claimed to have known Christ once and for all time in the past, yet failed to keep His commandments. In some churches (notably Ephesus and Pergamum) the Nicolaitan Gnostic problem was serious enough to be condemned in Revelation 2:6 & 2:15. The Gnostics (from the Greek gnosis – knowledge) were those who claimed to know Christ but did not keep His commandments. This, according to John, was enough to condemn them as ones who did not know Christ. John has used ginosko (the verb form of gnosis) to demonstrate that if they do not keep His commandments, then they are actually those who do not know and have not ever known Christ!
We have known God (perfect tense) if we keep His commandments; obedience is what sorts out the sheep from the goats, or the genuine Christians from the “wannabees”.
Interestingly, with respect to keeping His commandments, Ellicott suggests a similarity to the Sophists (from sophia – wisdom) of Athens, who apparently believed the Gnostic teaching that made good and evil relative to the situation, with their consciences alone determining what was good and what was evil. “If each man’s conscience was the standard of practice, confusion would again reign in morals as it reigned in the days of the Sophists at Athens.”
Wikipedia says that “Unlike Plato’s approach, the Sophist rhetoricians did not focus on identifying the truth, but the most important thing for them was to prove their case.” Sounds like they were good lawyers; Calvin would have loved them!
1 John 2:4 – He that saith,
I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in him.
know – ginosko (to know), perfect tense. Thus “He that says, ‘I have known Him.’” See Vs 3 above.
John focuses a lot on dichotomies (mutually exclusive categories). Here he states that if you do not keep His commandments, you can not have ever known Him; you cannot be in both groups at once. Thus you are a liar and the truth is not in you.
We either have fellowship with Him, or we walk in darkness, not both!
1 John 1:6 – If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
If we claim to be sinless, we must be telling lies.
1 John 1:8 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
The Nicolaitans would have claimed to be Christians, would have claimed to have known Christ, yet they did not keep God’s commandments, so therefore they were liars and the truth was not in them. The 1st century Gnostics were often described as Christian Gnostics. Yet how could they call Christ Lord yet not keep His commandments?
Luke 6:46-49 – 46And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things
which I say? 47Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and
doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48He is like a man
which built an house, and digged
deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream
beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded
upon a rock. 49But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man
that without a foundation built an house upon the
earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell;
and the ruin of that house was great.
1 John 2:5 – But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God
perfected: hereby know (ginosko) we that we are in him.
verily – alethos (truly;
in reality; most certainly; indeed)
is …. perfected – teleioo (to
make perfect; complete; carry through completely; accomplish; bring to an end;
finish)
This verb is also perfect tense which means that the love of God has been
perfected once and for all time. Not only is “the love of God perfected” (accomplished;
brought to an end) but this action has already been completed (in the past) for
all time.
Cambridge says that it “has been made perfect and remains so”.
know – ginosko (as used also in Vss 3 & 4 above) Here it is present tense.
The love of God is perfected through not loving the world nor
through the lust for things of the world.
1 John 2:15-16 – 15Love
not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of
the world.
Once again, this is a direct hit at those who
believed that God’s grace now permitted them to commit whatever sin they chose
to do. But the love of God could not be perfected in those who lived as the
Nicolaitans did: in disobedience. It is clear that John was pointing out a real
danger to the Christians he was writing to; that is, some might try to persuade
them that Christians now had freedom to behave without any condemnation ([There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus – Romans 8:1) but such people were not
keeping His word and certainly the love of God was not perfected in
them. Thus it was through keeping His word that they
could truly know that God’s love was perfected in them. By this they would know
that they were “hid with Christ in God”
(Colossians 3:3).
John also reminds them further on that not only was
the keeping of His word necessary to demonstrate that God’s love was perfected
in them, they also needed to love one another to demonstrate God’s love in
them.
1 John 4:12 – No man hath seen God
at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is
perfected (perfect tense) in us.
John 13:34-35 – 34A new commandment I give unto you, That
ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35By
this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one
to another.
1 John 2:6 – He that saith
he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even
as he walked.
saith – lego
(say; speak; affirm; maintain; teach;
exhort; advise; command; advise) That is, he who maintains or instructs …….
abideth – meno (remain; abide; sojourn; tarry; not to depart; continue to
be present; endure; survive; wait for one)
ought – to owe money; be in debt to; the goodwill due. It has the idea
of paying an obligation, a debt which should be repaid. Thus, if you maintain
that you are living in Christ, then you are obligated (indebted) to do the
things that Christ did. For example, if you are Christ’s, then love your
neighbour as Christ commanded.
Luke 10:36-37 – 36Which
now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto
him that fell among the thieves? 37And he said, He that shewed mercy
on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
walk – as a way of living. We are indebted to Christ and therefore we should “walk, even as he walked”; that is, live our lives in imitation of His life.
John 13:15 – For I have
given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
1 Peter 2:21 – For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
If we abide in Christ, our lives will not be sinful; living sinful lives demonstrates that we do not know Christ (or rather, have not ever known Christ).
1 John 3:6 – Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
For without Christ we can do nothing other than live sinful lives.
1 John 15:4-5 – 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide
in me. 5I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (Note its opposite in Philippians 4:13)
We are Christ’s ambassadors; our lives should demonstrate Christ in us.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20)
1 John 2:7 – Brethren, 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.
new – or recently made; of a new kind.
from the beginning – John uses the same phrase “from the beginning” twice in 1 John 2:7 where he refers to a commandment which they had (and had heard) from the beginning.
The context of 1 John 2:7-8 points to “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18) and therefore “from the beginning” here would refer to the giving of the Law.
John 15:12 – This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
It’s as if John is reminding them of this before he adds his “new commandment” in Vs 8 below.
1 John 2:8 – Again, a new
commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because
the darkness is past (or
“is passing away”), and the true light now shineth. (Isaiah 9:2)
Again – or “On the other hand”
Thus, on the other hand, John writes a new commandment which is true of God and should also be true of you. That is, if you are walking in the light, then you will love your brother. The two go together. If you do not love your brother, you cannot be walking in the light. (Vss 9-11 below)
The darkness has now passed and now the true has come into the world. Christ, the Word of God, has come into the world.
John 1:4-7 – 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name [was] John. 7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all [men] through him might believe.
1 John 1:5 – This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
The context here, the darkness and the light, clearly refers to the following 3 verses (9-11) with the common theme of darkness (and hating your brother) and light (and loving your brother). Thus John is building upon the old commandment of Vs 7 above (loving their neighbour as themselves); they must love their brother (who must be assumed to refer to fellow-Christians). If you are in Christ you are in the light; the darkness has passed for you. You are now in the true light. You have left your deeds of darkness behind, or should have – note John’s admonitions to sin not (1 John 2:1), yet if you do sin, then confess your sin and be forgiven and cleansed (1 John 1:9). You should desire the light because that’s what you are in now (if you have known Christ, that is).
The other side of this is that those who continue to love darkness are not of the light and remain in the darkness; they continue with their evil deeds. John is probably referring again to those who loved their pleasures more than they loved Christ, such as the Nicolaitans.
John 3:19 – And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
But the darkness has passed and that true light who came from God now shines, dispelling that darkness. Those who remain in the darkness therefore are those who refuse to come to that true light because their deeds are evil.
is past – Note And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:17)
1 John 2:9 – He that saith
he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in
darkness even until now.
hateth – miseo (to hate; pursue with hatred; detest) It can be a
comparative term because it can also be interpreted as “to love less than”
Luke 14:26 – If
any [man] come to me, and hate (miseo) not his father, and mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple.
Jesus didn’t actually teach that we were to hate the other members of our families, but rather we were to love them less than we loved Christ. Note the parallel passage in Matthew where we are exhorted to not love others in our families more than we love Christ.
Matthew 10:37 – He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
However, here in 1 John 2:9, miseo would have to mean “hate” as an absolute term and not a comparative term.
If you say you have come to the light and that you are walking (living your life) in the light of Christ and yet hate your brother, you cannot be walking in the light. Hating your brother is an act of the darkness yet he that follows Jesus shall not walk in the darkness.
John 8:12 – Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John has already stated that if we claim to be walking with Christ, yet walk in the darkness, we are lying; we cannot have fellowship Christ and walk in the darkness.
1 John 2:6-7 – 6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in
darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7But 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
sin.
Note 2 Corinthians 6:14b-15 – what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
1 John 2:10 – He that loveth
his brother abideth in the light, and there is none
occasion of stumbling in him.
loveth – agapao (love; the pure love of God shown to man and shown by man to God and to his fellow man)
abideth – lives; remains. Effectively such a one would be walking in the light.
occasion of stumbling – skandalon (the
movable stick or trigger of a trap; trap; snare; an impediment placed in the
way causing one to stumble; the entrapping or enticing one into error or sin) We get our word
“scandal” from this term.
Literally, “He that loves his brother (with the
love of God) remains (dwells) in the light (of Christ) and he will not cause a
scandal that would cause his brother to stumble (fall into error or sin). That
is, such a person will have nothing to do with scandals or similar that would
cause his brother to fall into sin or error.
1 John 2:11 – But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness,
and knoweth not whither he goeth,
because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
But he who hates his fellow Christians cannot be in the light because those in the light would love their fellow Christians. He is in darkness and he lives his life in darkness. That is, he cannot see or know where he is going because that darkness has caused him to not see the truth (which here is that he should love his brother).
Satan blinds the eyes of the lost to prevent them from seeing the light.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 – 3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Note the pharisees who thought that they knew all things, yet were spiritually blinded by their father the devil (John 8:44). They thought that they could spiritually see the way for other blind people, like the spiritually-blind pharisees leading their followers into a ditch (Matthew 15:14). It’s like the car the police pulled up for drunk-driving in New York many years ago. They found five men in it, four of which were blind-drunk and the fifth (who was behind the wheel) was a physically blind man who was getting driving lessons from the other four. Sounds like the leadership of so many churches today!
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