Lovers of God

1 John Chapter 2

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for {those of} the whole world.

In chapter one, we saw John making the argument that in order to have eternal life we must admit that we are not yet perfect but do still sin. However, John does not want to give the impression that he condones sin. Therefore he says that he is writing that we may not sin.

We too, when we write or speak to others must take care to avoid misunderstanding as best we can. Those who are against us will carefully examine what we say, write and do, looking for opportunity to trap us.

John is writing that we may not sin i.e. that we may have eternal life.

If we sin, we have an Advocate. An advocate is one who defends the accused. Christ defends us. He is on our side. We must always remember that God is on the side of the person who acknowledges his sin. Therefore we should be honest with Him and not justify ourselves before Him.

Jesus is called ‘the righteous’ here indicating that in defending us He is doing a righteous thing! The Holy Spirit called Joseph righteous when Joseph desired to put Mary away quietly because he thought that she was sexually intimate with another man. If we are righteous we will do the same thing. That is, we will not wantonly expose the sins of others but instead will ask God to grant them mercy.

Christ is also the propitiation for our sins. His death paid the price for our sins. We must never forget this but be eternal grateful to Him and live for Him.

John is careful to say that Christ paid for the sins of the whole world. Note that he does not say that Christ paid for the sins of only the elect, but of the whole world. Reformed theologians misinterpret this verse to mean ‘the elect’ so that it does not contradict their doctrine of Limited Atonement.

By saying, “if anyone sins” John clearly shows that he realizes that believers will sin. You need to remember this when interpreting the later verses of this epistle where John says that if anyone sins he is not born of God. John means to say that if anyone practices sin they are not born of God. He does not mean that if a person falls into sin he is not born of God.

The difference between practicing sin and falling into sin is that the person who falls into sin does not want to sin but falls into it because his spirit is willing (to not sin) but his flesh is weak. On the contrary, the person who practices sin is one who has decided to sin for the rest of his life and has no intention of giving it up. Keeping this distinction will make it easier for you to understand other parts of this epistle.

3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:

6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.

The next thing that John wants to continue to talk about is examining whether you really have eternal life.

John earlier defined eternal life as ‘knowledge of God’ (Jn 17:3).

Here John says that if you really have this ‘knowledge of God’ then you will keep God’s commandments. To keep God’s commandments is to abide in Him and to walk as Jesus walked. A person who really knows God becomes like God in character. God’s character is an expression of love. Everything that God does is done out of love. To walk as Jesus walked is to walk in love.

Keeping God’s word is a matter of perfecting oneself in having and displaying love towards others. This is an old commandment in one sense – ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’ of the Old Testament, and a new one in another sense i.e. in the sense that it was Jesus who showed how to love one’s neighbor as oneself.

This new commandment was true in Jesus and is becoming true on us too as we get revelation from the Holy Spirit on more and more things that we are unChristlike (this is what it means to have the darkness pass away and the true Light shining) and we work towards removing that unChristlikeness away.

Consider 2 Cor 3:18.

2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Paul says in 2 Cor 3:18 the same thing that John says in 1 Jn 2:8 – as time goes by, those who have eternal life see more and more of the nature of God and become more and more like God in character.

To summarize, if you have eternal life then you know God i.e. you understand what God is like. If you understand what God is like you will do what God says. If you do what God says you will begin displaying God’s nature / character. That is what John is saying in verses three to eight.

So the next test for eternal life is this: are you becoming more like Christ as time goes by. If not, then you can be sure that you don’t have eternal life.

In the next passage, John will develop this further and say that, in particular, you will display God’s love. That is, you will love those around you.

9 The one who says he is in the Light and {yet} hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Another key test is this: do you hate your brother? If there is even on brother in Christ whom you hate then you are walking in darkness.

This hatred can be manifest in many ways, but generally, if you cannot wish the very best for any brother then you are walking in darkness and you are not keeping God’s commandments and you are not walking like Jesus and you do not know God and you don’t abide in Him and you have no fellowship with Him and you don’t have eternal life.

When you are in the Light, you cannot but love your brother, because God will make your life uncomfortable whenever you step out of love towards your brother.

When you hate your brother all kinds of evil thoughts enter your mind and confuse you and cause you to make wrong judgments i.e. to stumble.

God is love. If you have eternal life, which is the nature of God, then you will also love. So if you find that you are hating someone then you know that you not keeping God’s commandment (which is to love) and you know that you are not in the Light (because if you were in the Light then God would make you very uncomfortable about your hatred to the point that you would no longer hate) and consequently you can be sure that if you hate your brother then you don’t have eternal life.

Once we are saved, we fall into three categories: children, young men and fathers. John’s message is for all three categories. This is what John talks about next.

12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.

13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.

14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Here, John gives a definition of the different types of believers. He identifies three types of believers.

Children in Christ:

• Know that their sins forgiven (2:12).
• Know that God is their Father (2:13).

Young men in Christ:

• Are strong (in the ability to defend the faith) because the word of God abides in them (2:14).
• Have overcome the evil one (2:13,14) in the sense that they haven’t allowed the evil one to fool them into believing wrong doctrine.

Fathers in Christ:

• Know God who has been from the beginning (2:13,14).

Children know that their sins are forgiven and that God is their Father. But just because your sins are forgiven and God is your Father it doesn’t mean that you have the eternal life that John is talking about. John is talking about actually having the character of God, not the potential to have the character of God. If you are a child of God and your sins are forgiven you only have the potential to have the character of God.

Children are easily fooled to believe anything because they do not yet know the word of God. Satan can easily influence them and distract them from the important things of life. Their spirit is willing to please God but their flesh is weak.

Young men in Christ know the Bible well and believe the Bible and are learning how to apply it to practical situations, and cannot be fooled by false teaching. They have discernment (Heb 5:14) and are strong enough to test the spirits and counter false teaching (2 Tm 2:15).

Did you know that one of Satan’s strategies is to get people to believe false doctrine? He is able to do this to people who do not understand God’s word (i.e people in whom the word of God does not abide).

Does the word of God abide in you? That is, are you so familiar with it that you know whether something someone says goes against Scripture? If not, then you are still a child.

Most Christians are still children.

When the evil one tries to convince a young Christian of some bad theology the young Christian is not afraid of the evil one and is successfully able to stand against him. When the evil one says, “It is written” the young Christian is able to say, “It is also written”. Young Christians do not fall into the doctrinal traps set by the evil one. The evil one has no influence on a young Christian theology. It is in this sense that young men in Christ have overcome the evil one.

Fathers in Christ have an understanding of the essence of the nature of God. That is, they understand the nature of God at the beginning of time when there was nothing else. In 1 Jn 1:1 John says that in the beginning God was Life and this life was the light of men (Jn 1:1-4). The fathers in Christ understand what eternal life is and live it. As a result, they are able to apply their knowledge of God in their daily live within practical situations. They have displayed eternal life in the past.

Furthermore, fathers are those who have children. That is, fathers have responsibility for others in the church and mentor them. They are leaders.

John is writing to all three categories. His point is that no matter how spiritual you are you still need to remember and practice these things. Even a father in Christ can backslide and hate his brother and stop walking in the light and lose eternal life.

In summary, just because your sins are forgiven and God is your Father it doesn’t mean that you have eternal life. Further, just because you know Scripture and your doctrine is sound it doesn’t mean that you have eternal life. Even further, just because you teach others, and have the respect of others in the church, it doesn’t mean that you have eternal life. Finally, just because you have eternal life today, it doesn’t mean that you will never fall away.

15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

17 The world is passing away, and {also} its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Living forever, or eternal life, is the ability to do the will of God.

The love of the Father i.e. the love that the Father displays towards others, can be yours only if you don’t give value to pleasing yours urges, getting what you want, and taking pride in what you’ve accomplished. Doing the latter things has no eternal value, but displaying the love of God does have eternal value.

Loving the world is the biggest stumbling block when it comes to loving your brother. That is why John mentions that we should not love the world.

The lust of the flesh are the temptations that come asking us to satisfy our bodily desires (air, water, food, sex, desire for approval, etc.) in a way that is disobedient to God. The lust of the eyes refers to wanting what we see and taking action to get it in a way that is disobedient to God. The boastful pride of life is telling others what we have accomplished, as if we did it without God’s help.

18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

Why is this the ‘last hour’ if nearly 2000 years have passed?

Time has run out for Satan. In that sense, it is the last hour (for Satan). You see, until Jesus came, Satan could technically tell God that God cannot judge him for his sin because the reason why God never sinned was because God never had a flesh, implicitly implying that if God had a flesh then He too would sin. But Jesus proved that one can have flesh and still not sin, leaving Satan with no excuse for his sin, and consequently, his impending judgment. In that way, Jesus defeated Satan.

So Satan is desperate. In desperation, he tries to deceive everyone into thinking that Jesus really didn’t come in the flesh. That is why, in the beginning of his epistle, in 1 Jn 1:2, John mentions that “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands.” John elaborates some more on the importance of believing that Jesus came in the flesh in Chapter 4.

19 They went out from us, but they were not {really} of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but {they went out,} so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

Satan’s messengers, the antichrists, spread the message that Jesus didn’t come in human flesh, as 100% man. They make Him to be some being that is an inherent contradiction: 100% man and 100% God. After all, man can be tempted but God cannot be tempted. So a being that is 100% man and 100% God is tempted and is not tempted at the same time. This violates the Law of Non-Contradiction and therefore simply cannot be true. Any being that violates the Law of Non-Contradiction cannot exist.

These antichrists are found in the churches all over the world. They are really not part of the true church, but they locate themselves among the true Christians, and try to deceive them. Most of these people are completely ignorant of the fact that they are agents of Satan.

Some people use this verse to say that people who fall away from Christ after believing were not really believers in the first place. However, John is not talking of ordinary people here; he is talking of antichrists – people who deny the true identity of Jesus.

It is possible to write an entire book on the nature of Christ, but I will just summarize things here: before Jesus became man He was 100% God, through whom the universe was created. But He emptied Himself of that which made Him God to become 100% man. While 100% man He still was God in identity (which is why He accepted worship) but not God in ability. While man, He was given the Holy Spirit without measure. After His resurrection, He became 100% God and assumed His role as the mediator between God and man. He could assume such a role because He was once 100% man, Jesus Christ, and now 100% God.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

But the true Christians know that Jesus did come in human flesh, and was tempted (through His flesh) just like every other human being.

The knowledge referred to here is the knowledge of the truth that comes from the Holy Spirit (1 Tm 2:3-4; Jn 14:16-17).

1 Tm 2:3-4 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Jn 14:16, 17 16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

An understanding of God’s word comes from the anointing of the Holy One, not from going to a bible school. The anointing from the Holy One will lead you to holiness more than to anything else.

21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

If something is the truth it cannot contain any lie in it.

One can build more truth on existing truth, but if the existing foundation is untrue then one must first tear down the existing foundation and build from scratch.

Even if someone knows something to be true, it is good to remind them of it so that they remain in that truth. When we teach our children we must often repeat ourselves.

John now explains what the antichrists are trying to hide.

22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

You cannot have the Father if you deny that Jesus is the Christ – the Son of God who became man just like us and overcame sin and paid for the sins of man.

In this chapter John is talking about how to determine whether you have eternal life. One point he makes is that since you need to access the Father to get eternal life, and since Jesus is the only way to the Father you can’t get eternal life unless you go through Jesus, the Christ (i.e. the person who atoned for your sins).

People who try to tell you that you can access the Father via other ways are anti-christs. They are liars and you should not believe them.

People who try to tell you that Jesus didn’t come in the same flesh as you and me are antichrists. They are liars and you should not believe them.

Therefore, to determine whether you have eternal life, ask yourself if you believe that Jesus is the only way to God. You must really believe that in order to have eternal life.

24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

You have to be careful to hold on to Christ coming in the flesh because it is the way (or the secret) to eternal life. This is the mystery of godliness referred to in 1 Tm 3:16-17.

25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

God has promised us that we will have eternal life. Eternal life is to know God (Jn 17:3) and have His character (2 Pet 1:2-4).

Eternal life is the most valuable thing in the universe. Therefore, it is a very big deal that God has promised to give it to us. It is the pearl of great price and worth sacrificing everything for.

It is because God has promised us this that we can hope for it. This is because God does not lie.

26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Since eternal life is so precious, Satan is going to try his best to make sure that you do not get it. Therefore, he will send his agents to deceive you about it.

To not be deceived about it you need to go to the source for truth about eternal life – the Holy Spirit who dwells within you.

God’s anointing over you, and not some other human being, will teach you the truth – not just some truth, but all truth. People who have this anointing don’t need anyone to teach them. You don’t need to go to Bible School and you don’t need to look at commentaries. You need to listen to the Holy Spirit.

People will try and deceive you, but you need to hold on to the truth that the Holy Spirit gives you. If you listen to others you are likely to be deceived. The truth about eternal life is too precious and you cannot afford to be deceived about it.

Are you truly fascinated by the truth that God has promised us the most valuable thing in the universe – eternal life?

Eternal life is very precious. Therefore, Satan is going to try to do everything to make sure that you don’t get it.

One way that Satan attempts to do that is to deceive you into thinking that it is not possible to get eternal life. It is his last ditch effort – to send his servants (the anti-christs) to teach that it is not possible to get eternal life.

Now Jesus came as a man, exactly like us, and demonstrated eternal life. Therefore we know that it is possible for man to get eternal life. But Satan will try and tell you that when Jesus was on earth He was not exactly like man, but He was 100% man and 100% God, and therefore it was possible for Him to have eternal life.

But don’t you fall for that; you hold on to the truth that the Holy Spirit has given you. God has promised us eternal life – hold on to God’s promise.

John elaborates some more on this deception in the first part of Chapter 4.

28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.

If you don’t believe now that Jesus came in your flesh and overcame sin then when Jesus returns you will find that you’ve made a big mistake.

Next, John explains what he means by ‘abiding in Him’. In a nutshell, it means practicing righteousness. When you understand that Jesus came in your flesh and overcame sin (i.e. displayed how God loves, thus showing Himself to be a child of God) then you must get excited because you now realize that it is possible to overcome sin (because Jesus did it) and so you begin practicing to do it yourself. That is, you start purifying yourself.

29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

How can you tell if you are born again? Ask yourself if you are practicing righteousness. That is, ask yourself if you make every effort to do the right thing (from God’s standpoint, as far as your understanding goes) at all times. If you do, then you can be sure that you are born again.

Do you make every effort to love your brother at all times?