Jesus Our Advocate
1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He Himself is the atoning sacrifice† for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Obedience is one clear indication that we know...
- Obedience is one clear indication that we know Christ and belong to him. If we do not obey Christ, it is obvious that we do not belong to him or love him.
- As we obey Christ and his commandments, our love for God and our knowledge of him will grow toward completeness and maturity. We will live . . . as Jesus did, in union with God and showing love for others.
3By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. 4If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: 6Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
A New Commandment
The disciples had the old commandment (to love...
The disciples had the old commandment (to love one another) from the very beginning, from Jesus himself (John 13:34–35) and from the Old Testament (Lev 19:18, 33–34).
7Beloved, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This commandment is the message you have heard. 8Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.
Another indication of truly knowing Christ is one’s...
Another indication of truly knowing Christ is one’s treatment of other Christians. John is again pointing to those who claim to be spiritually enlightened but separate themselves from other Christians with an attitude of superiority. John defines such an attitude as hatred.
9If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
John gives three classes of believers at various...
John gives three classes of believers at various stages of spiritual maturity: God’s children, the young in the faith (literally young people), and the mature in the faith (literally fathers).
12I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.
13I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is 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.
14I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who is 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.
Do Not Love the World
The world is a morally evil system that...
The world is a morally evil system that is under the influence of Satan and is opposed to God and to Christ’s Kingdom on this earth (2:16; 3:1; 4:4; 5:19; John 12:31; 15:18; Eph 6:11–12; Jas 4:4). The world appeals to people’s fleshly desires and thereby diverts them from God. Those who are from this world need God to redeem them from it.
15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. 17The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.
Beware of Antichrists
18Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
for the Holy One has given you his...
for the Holy One has given you his Spirit: The Holy Spirit gives believers the ability to understand and recognize spiritual truth (see Isa 61:1; Acts 10:38; 2 Cor 1:21–22). Those who have the Spirit know the truth about the Father and the Son and can detect what does not accord with the truth of the apostles’ teaching.
20You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.† 21I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. 23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
Remain in Christ
John instructs his readers to resist the lies...
John instructs his readers to resist the lies of such antichrists and to remain faithful to the truth that he and the other apostles have proclaimed to them. If they would do this, then they would remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father and have assurance of eternal life (John 3:15, 36; 6:40, 47, 57; 17:2–3).
24As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.
26I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
To remain in fellowship with Christ means, in...
To remain in fellowship with Christ means, in part, not being misled by any kind of false teaching. If John’s readers listen to the false teachers, they will not be in fellowship with Christ and will have reason to shrink back from him in shame when he returns, because of the judgment coming upon them.
28And now, little children, remain in Christ,† so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.
29If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.