The Epistle of 1 John – Part Four

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

This is the fourth part of a series on the epistle of 1 John written by John the apostle. In this series we will cover the basic concerns John had for writing this letter to Christians. Included are the fourteen reasons he wrote these epistles of 1, 2 and 3 John as well as the eleven assurances we have that establish our salvation as a Christian.

 

In 1 John 2:7-8 we have what might appear to be a confusing statement by John. He writes, “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. 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.”

 

At first he states that he is not writing a new command to them but an old one. This old command was to love your neighbor. The Old Testament is full of verses that give instruction on how to love your neighbor. These commands were contained in the law and they required people to treat others in a loving and respectful manner. But John continues by stating that while he is not writing them a new command, he really is, for the old command was fulfilled by Jesus Christ and given the substance of a new command. Jesus took this old commandment and gave new life to it. He breathed a passion and desire to love and respect people, not just in outward actions and behavior but also in thought and in one’s heart. Jesus tells us not to murder, but goes much deeper and tells us not to have hatred in our minds and hearts either. Jesus does not want us to live by the letter of the law outwardly, He wants us to live in obedience to it in our heart and minds. This type of obedience is motivated by and love for our Heavenly Father and a thankful heart for what Christ did for us on the cross. John quotes Jesus in his gospel in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

 

This is the fourth reason John wrote these epistles. He wanted to share this new revised old command with other Christians. He wanted to communicate that the old command of loving your neighbor as yourself took on new meaning when viewed in the life and work of Jesus Christ. He wanted to also assure Christians that they can know they are truly saved because they love others as themselves. Christians love as God does because Jesus is their Lord and Master and the Holy Spirit lives within them.

 

When John says in this verse, “the truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining” he is telling us that the love Jesus lived out during His ministry on the earth is a love we can manifest as well because the Holy Spirit lives in us and we are children of our Heavenly Father. The darkness of the sinful world that revolves around sinful hate and selfishness is fading away as Christ’s love is manifested by Christians when they walk in the light and obey God’s commands regarding loving others.

 

John next illustrates the opposite behavior of those who are not saved and are following the false teachers, the Gnostics. In 1 John 2:9 he states, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” His point is that you can’t claim to be a follower of Christ if you harbor hate for your brother in your heart. While we are to hate the world and the sin it contains, we are to love people who are living in the world.

 

John continues in verse 10 with his instruction on the matter, “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” John is telling us here that if we truly are in fellowship with our Heavenly Father, walking in His light and obeying the Word we will be living a life of love for those around us. When we live in this way, there will be a strength and faith that will keep us from stumbling in the relationships we have with others as well as in our Christian walk as well. I believe what John is trying to tell us is that when we are at peace with our fellow man, when we do not harbor hate for them, when we love them with the strength of the Lord we avoid the numerous pitfalls of anger, hatred, bitterness and revenge that can ravage our lives in destructive ways and often cause us to sin.

 

John circles back and revisits his thoughts on those who hate others in verse 11. He says, “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.” There is something about hating others that can be blinding to our heart, mind and soul. Hatred can consume us to such an extent that we can think of nothing else. It erodes any thought of loving others because it causes us to passionately seek revenge or forces us to relive our hatred as we stew over what has caused us irritation. Christians are to hate sin and love people. While this can be very difficult for us at times, God can give us the strength and ability to do it. Sometimes all we can do as a Believer is turn over the matter to the Lord and leave it up to Him to deal with the person we have issue with so that we can live at peace. We must release our anger and hatred, let our Heavenly Father deal with the matter and allow God to grant us the strength to love as Jesus would.

 

In 1 John 2:12 John moves on and gives us the fifth reason for his writing his epistles. He states,

 

“I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.” Sometimes we need to remember that our sins have been forgiven and what that means to us as followers of Christ. John wanted to remind those who followed Christ that they had been forgiven for all their sins, and they were forgiven because of the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was God’s only Son and though perfect and holy, He died on the cross for our sins. He paid the price, took the judgment and faced the penalty for what we have done in our sinful lives so that we might have life and have it in joyful abundance. Paul in Romans 4:7-8 discusses this when he says, “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

 

In 1 John 2:13 John gives three more reasons for writing his epistles and these reasons encompass three categories of Christians. Verse 13 states, “I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.”

 

John first addresses the fathers in the Christian churches and congregations. These are the seasoned older men who have proven over the years their faith in God as it has grown through service and sacrifice. John encourages them as he writes to them because he wants to validate that they know God, “Him who is from the beginning.” He is aware of their history of service to God and others. This is a congratulation for a job well done, an encouragement to remain faithful to God and a challenge to continue on in their good works.

 

John next mentions the young Christian men and encourages them as well. He must have heard reports of how the young men had resisted and overcome demonic influences and possibly temptations from Satan himself. Young men are full of passion and are not always cautious about what they attempt. They feel often nothing can hurt them and this can lead to rash decisions and horrible mistakes. But John is congratulating them for victories in spiritual matters and we will see later in 1 John this is because the Word of God was hidden in their hearts and had transformed their minds. We need to take this part of the verse and put it into practice. We must study the Word, obey it and apply it if we are going to have victory over sin and be able to endure the storms of life. This encouragement to the young men should be a challenge to us as well, to follow the example these young men lived.

 

Many scriptures attest to the fact of how God can work in us and through us to overcome the evil one. Romans 12:21 tells us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” 1 John 4:4 tells us that because the Holy Spirit lives within us we have power over Satan who rules the world at this time, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 5:3-5 tells us that God’s Word is not burdensome and because we are new creatures in Christ we can overcome the evil of the world because we believe in Jesus as our Lord, “And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

 

Finally in this verse John addressed the young believers and calls them “dear children.” John mentions that they know the Father like the older men do, but in a different way. They are young in their faith, still learning the basics of how to live the Christian life. They prove by their zeal and passion that they know God as their Father, but they lack the maturity of a seasoned Believer. John wants to single them out and recognize them and encourage them in their young faith. He wants to make sure he does not leave them out as a significant part of the Body of Christ, for they will mature and become the young adult Believers that overcome the Evil One and eventually the older mature Christians who will demonstrate godliness, purity and holiness from living years of obedience to God and His Word.

 

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Believers in Ephesians 1:17-20 is probably similar to prayers John had for the young Believers in Asia Minor. It states in that passage,

 

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,”

 

I’m sure this would be Paul’s prayer for us today!