1 John 2:1-29

How can I be sure?

1 John

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 2

Christ speaks for us and we should obey God (1 John 2:1-6)

v1 My *children, I write these things to you so that you will not *sin. But if you do *sin, we have a friend who speaks to the *Father. Jesus Christ speaks on our behalf. He is good and his actions are always right. v2 He died and he suffered the punishment for our *sins. He did not die only for our *sins. He died for the *sins of all people.

v3 We can be sure that we know him. We know this if we obey his commands. v4 A person may say, ‘I know God.’ However, this is a lie if he does not obey God’s commands. The truth is not in that person. v5 But the love of God is complete in those who obey his commands. By this, we know that we have life with God. v6 We may say that we remain in unity with God. If so, our lives should show it. We ought to live in the same manner as Jesus Christ did.

Verse 1

Jesus speaks to God the Father on our behalf

Some people may think that *sin is a normal part of the Christian life. They agree that we will continue to *sin. They may even think that it does not matter. God will forgive us when we *sin. But *sin does matter. Christians ought not to continue to *sin. They should not *sin. *Sin is an enemy that will move us from the *light. (In other words, it will move us away from everything that is good, *holy, and right.) *Sin will get between God and us. It spoils the joy that Christians should share.

John writes as a father. He writes to his *children whom he loves. He tells them that they should not *sin. He wrote the letter to help them not to *sin.

We should not *sin but we are human and weak. If we *sin, we have to confess it to God. We must decide that we will not do that *sin again. If possible we should put right what we have done wrong. And we must ask the *Lord to forgive us our *sin.

If anyone does *sin, God has the remedy for it. Someone is ready to help us. He comes to our rescue. This person is able to speak to God the Father. He is the agent for the person who *sinned. Jesus Christ is this person. He has never *sinned. He has always done what was right. He is the perfect man and he is God the Son. He understands us and he is God. So, he can speak with God the Father. He can ask God to forgive our *sins.

Verse 2

Jesus died for our *sin

Jesus is able to do this because he died for our *sin. He took all our *sin to himself. God has to punish *sin and he did so in Jesus. Jesus does not say to the *Father that we are innocent. If we *sin, we are guilty. But he has suffered and died on our behalf. He offered himself as the *sacrifice for our *sin. And by his death, Jesus satisfied God’s law. God accepted what Jesus Christ had done. He proved this when he raised Jesus from death to life. Therefore, Jesus Christ is able to ask God to forgive us and God will do it.

We cannot do anything to persuade God to forgive us. But God himself planned the way of escape for us. He sent his only Son Jesus for this purpose. He used up all his anger against *sin on the *Lord Jesus. So, when we believe in the *Lord Jesus, God will forgive us because of him.

John wrote to those who believed. He says that Christ did not die only for them. Jesus died for the *sins of all people. His death is sufficient for all the people who live in the world. This does not mean that God will forgive everyone. Each person must believe in the *Lord Jesus Christ. They must accept what he has done for them. Then they will receive the benefits of Christ’s death.

The false teachers taught that Jesus did not die for everyone. Jesus only died for those who accepted their message. In this verse, John explains clearly that this idea was wrong.

Verse 3

The person who knows God obeys his commands

John now changes the subject. This is how we know God. To know God is to walk in the *light. To walk in the *light means to live as God demands. We must obey the commands of God. Then we can be sure that we know him. We can have an experience of God. We can know the unity with God that John spoke about in 1:4.

We can only know God if we obey him. But we do not know God by what we do. We know him by believing in Jesus Christ. If we know God, we will want to obey his word. We may not manage to do all that God says. However, we will desire to do it.

Verse 4

The person who does not obey God’s command does not know him

The person who does not obey God’s commands does not know him. That person may say that he knows God. But it is a lie. What he says is false. He does not know God. He has not known the truth that God gives. If he had understood the truth, he would obey God.

Verse 5

The person who obeys God really loves him

The person who obeys God’s word does know him. What God has said is more than his commands. God still guides his people. They must do what he says.

The person who obeys God really loves him. That love has grown and it is complete. As that person continues to please God, his love for God will increase. God’s love for that person has achieved its purpose.

True love for God is not just to say words. Because of our love for God, we should also do what God wants. The proof of that love is when we are loyal to God and to his word. We can know that we are alive in unity with God. We know this because we want to obey him. We can be certain of this if we live like Jesus.

Verse 6

We should behave like Jesus

When Jesus lived on earth, he pleased the *Father. He did all that the *Father asked him to do. The devil did all that he could to tempt Jesus. But Jesus did not *sin at all.

We may say that we live with God. If so, we ought to live as Jesus did. We must live as God directs. We should not *sin. The life of Jesus is the pattern that we must follow. John does not say that we can achieve the same standard as Jesus. But that is how we ought to live.

A new command from Christ (1 John 2:7-17)

v7 My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the old command. You have had it from the beginning. This old command is the message that you heard. v8 But the command that I now write to you is new. The life of Christ shows it to be true. You also show it to be true. That is because the *darkness gets less. And the true *light already shines.

v9 Some people say that they are in the *light. But if they hate a *brother or sister, they are still in *darkness. v10 Whoever loves other Christians lives in the *light. There is nothing in it that would cause him to *sin. v11 But the person who hates other Christians is in the *darkness. He is like someone who walks about in the dark. He does not know where he is going. The *darkness has made him blind.

v12 I write to you, dear *children, because God forgave all your *sins. He did this because of the name of Christ.

v13 I write to you, fathers, because you know the *Lord. He is from before time began.

I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil person (the devil).

I write to you, young *children, because you have known the *Father.

v14 I write to you, fathers, because you have known him (Jesus). He is from before time began.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong. The word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil person (the devil).

v15 Do not love the *world or the things in the *world. If anyone loves the *world, he does not love the *Father. v16 That is because all these things in the *world, come from the *world. They do not come from the *Father. They are the desires of the *flesh. They are the desires of the eyes. They are the pride of life. v17 The *world and all its desires are coming to an end. But the person who obeys God will live. He will never die.

Verse 7

The command to love has always existed

Love is the subject in this section. John loves the people that he is writing to. Therefore, he calls them his dear friends.

Here he refers to the command that the *Lord Jesus gave (John 13:34). Jesus said, ‘I give you a new command. You must love each other.’ We should love even as he loves us. It is not now a new command. It was always part of the *gospel. We should love both God and other people. This is how Jesus lived.

The command to love is an old command. Jesus gave it to those who followed him. It is old because the command to love is in the *Old Testament. Jesus spoke about the 10 commands as love for God and love for other people. (See Exodus chapter 20 and Matthew 22:37-40.)

The people who received John’s letter already knew about this command. These people knew that they should love God and each other. This was part of the *gospel of Christ. The command is old to the readers. They have known it since they first believed in Jesus. They heard it from their teachers when they first became Christians. Love is an essential part of the *gospel message.

Verse 8

The command to love is also a new command

On the one hand the command is not new but old. On the other hand, it is new. The law of love was old. However, there is a difference now, which makes it new. It is new because God has shown his love for us. He sent Jesus to die for us. It is new because Jesus obeyed all the law. Love completes the law. So the command to love is new because of Jesus. He makes it possible for us to have a new life with God. Jesus loves us so much that he gave himself to die for us.

Those who do not know God cannot obey this command. But now those who know God can do it. They can love both God and other people. The command to love is new because there is a higher standard. Christians should love as Christ loved. Jesus called this the new command. John calls it the new command too.

This command to love is new. The *Lord Jesus showed us what love means. His love was so much more than the love of normal people. It was a different kind of love. He gives the same kind of love to those who know him. They too begin to know what love really means. So, the love that Jesus has is also in Christians. They are able to love God and each other with this new kind of love. They love as Christ loved.

They can see the effect of the new command. They can see it in themselves. The *darkness is getting less. The true *light shines stronger in them. By *darkness, John means *sin and error. As they love God and each other, the true *light grows in them. This true *light refers to changes that happen in the Christians. As they love the *Lord more so they grow to be more like Jesus. That process of love has begun in them.

Verse 9

A real Christian loves other Christians

Some people said that they had special knowledge of God. They had the *light and knew God. But their lives showed that they were wrong. They did not live as Jesus did. They did not love either him or other Christians, as they should. They did not really know God at all.

To John a person either loves or hates. To walk in the *light is to love each other. The love of God in them will express itself in actions. Therefore, hate is the lack of this love. A person who does not love a *brother or a sister hates them. John is here talking about the love that Christians ought to have for each other. Other Christians are the *brothers and sisters. Someone who hates a *brother or sister is still in the *darkness.

It may be that there was a problem in the church. But those who love the *Lord should love other people. They should love people whether those people believe in Christ or not.

There are some people who hate other people. These people may think that they are in the *light. But they are still in *darkness. Their hate shows that they are in *darkness, not *light. They are doing wrong and they are in error.