Down an Unfamiliar Road

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NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXXVI) 05/12/21

^2:11 But whoever hates their brother or sister is in darkness. They live in darkness. They don’t know where they are going because the darkness has made them blind.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was troubled by the fact that many Christians discuss the teachings and doctrines of the Bible intellectually. They show that they satisfy all the passions of our Lord through prayer, praise and worship, Bible study, baptism, and so on, but they have no real love for one another. What this means, says Lloyd-Jones, is that you and I can only be happy about the fact that we are Christians if we find this loving, forgiving spirit within ourselves and share it. It is little more than small talk to say that God has forgiven us if we do not love and forgive ourselves.^[1] People say God’s Word enlightened them but have a grudge and dislike for a fellow believer. They are not in the Light but the darkness of worldly thinking. If God pardoned you despite your dreadful unworthiness, you must do the same to others. We are not to ridicule another believer’s salvation but rejoice with them for God’s saving grace.^[2]

William Barclay (1907-1976) says the person who hates their fellow human walks in darkness and does not know where they are going because the darkness has blinded them. That is to say, hatred makes a person blind, and this, too, is something we can all see. When a person has hatred in their heart, it obscures their powers of judgment; they cannot focus on the issues. It is common to see a person opposing a good proposal simply because they dislike, or has quarreled with, the individual who made it. Again, and again progress in church planning or an association is held up because of personal displeasure. No person is fit to give a verdict on anything while they have hatred in their heart, and no person can rightly direct their life when hatred dominates them.^[3]

D. Edmond Hiebert (1928-1995) says that the context of the Apostle John writing about Light and darkness emphasize the presence of authentic Light in contrast to the spurious “illumination” of false teachers. Any professed “gospel” that distorts or counterfeits the apostolic teaching only prolongs the operation of the darkness. Hiebert also mentions that fish in the Echo River in Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, living in perpetual darkness, have eye sockets, but their eyes are undeveloped. The continued darkness effectively blinded them. The Greek verb etyphlōsen rendered “has blinded” is in the “effective aorist” sense. That means it records the result without calling attention to the time duration involved. Persistence in hatred and sin inevitably leads to continued moral and spiritual blindness.^[4]

John Painter (1935) says that “darkness” is the darkness of hatred, and those who live with hostility reveals that the darkness has blinded their eyes. The night of hatred blocks the daylight from reaching their eyes.[5] Reference to the blinding (etyphlōsen) introduces a verb used only three times in the Final Covenant. Paul tells us that it is the god of this world who has blinded the eyes of the unbelievers.[6] The reference is an explanation of the cause of unbelief. It is also the case in the use of the verb in John 12:40. Here John is quoting from Isaiah 6:10 using his modification of the Hebrew and the Septuagint (LXX).^[7] We should note that the rare use of a Greek word in Scripture means the writer was looking for something out of the ordinary to describe his conscious thought. In this case, John expressed the symbolic meaning of “make blind” to describe the “blunting of mental discernment, the darkening of the mind,” not the eyes.

Judith Lieu (1951) notes that the Apostle John does not advise hatred, although later in verse fifteen, he comes close. Here, the Apostle talks about those operating in the sphere of dark ignorance instead of those who live in Light’s truth.[8] Some are on the inside looking out with Christianity, and some are on the outside looking in. They are like workers who come to a city, but they are not from that city. As a matter of fact, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, some separated Jewish believers, called the Essenes, came together to form a community, committing themselves “to love the sons of light and detest the sons of darkness.”^[9]

2:12a I am writing to you, God’s children, who are dear to Him because He forgave you of your sins for His name’s sake through the work of Jesus on the cross.

EXPOSITION

Now John returns to what he said earlier in chapter one that he was seeking joy for them and him. King David also expressed great satisfaction when a person receives forgiveness of their sins.^[10] It was also emphasized by Paul to the Ephesians when he reminded them that God had already decided to adopt us into His family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus the Anointed One. It is what God wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So, we praise God for the wonder of the grace He freely poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and mercy that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins for His name’s sake.^[11]

King David knew that God did not want His reputation as a forgiving LORD ruined, so that’s why he prayed: “For the honor of Your name, O Lord, forgive my many, many sins.”^[12] That’s why, in another Psalm, David calls on everyone to praise the Lord! “Give thanks to the Lord because He is good! His faithful love will last forever. Because despite the waywardness and stubbornness, he nevertheless saved them for His name’s sake, to make known His mighty power.”^[13] The prophet Jeremiah echoed this same thankfulness for God’s willingness to forgive despite Israel’s many backsliding.^[14] No wonder the Apostle Paul encouraged the Ephesians to be kind and loving to each other and forgive each other just as God forgave them in the Anointed One.^[15]

Œcumenius (700-800 AD) says that John knew that not everyone would receive the Gospel message with the same understanding or commitment. Some would respond like children in need of further instruction, and to them, he expounds the forgiveness of sins through faith in the Anointed One.^[16] It would follow then that his message to the young men is that they must be examples for the children and pride for the fathers in their commitment to the ways of the Gospel. And for the Fathers, it’s John’s word of encouragement for them to remain steadfast in the faith for those who follow them into positions of responsibility will have their examples to copy.

COMMENTARY

John Calvin says it is undeniable that Jesus completely fulfilled what God declares by Isaiah “I will defend this city to save it for My sake and My servant David’s sake.”[17] Of this, the Apostle John is the best witness when he says, “Your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.”[18] For although John does not express the name of the Anointed One in his usual manner, he designates Him by the pronoun “He” (Greek “autos”). In the same sense, our Lord also declares, “I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me.”[19] It corresponds with the passage of Paul, “For you not only received the privilege of trusting in the Anointed One but also the privilege of suffering for Him.”[20] ^[21]

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) quotes the Apostle John, where he says, “And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as He is pure.”[22] He believes it suggests “in proportion” to the degree of a person’s hope. That’s because the Lord is their Father, and their desire for greater sanctification is too essential to give up trying. To do so must be considered unthinkable.  Edwards implies that for believers to doubt their standing in grace, to call it into question for any reason whatever, to destroy it, is outright sinful.[23] In Edwards’ mind, John uses forgiveness of sin as motivation or stimulation, not to love the world.[24]

The Apostle’s reasoning would lose all its force, says Edwards, if it depended on the believer never to doubt that they were not within the bond of the Final Covenant. Being in union with the Anointed One must be a fixed conclusion in the believer’s mind. The appeal to hold on to one’s confidence contains a call to persevere in believing in one’s interest in the Lord and practice it in all seasons.[25] ^[26]

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[1] Matthew 6:12

[2] Lloyd-Jones, Martyn, Life in Christ, op. cit., p. 200

[3] Barclay, William: The Letters of John and Jude, Revised Edition, Daily Study Bible, op. cit., pp. 54-55

[4] Edmond, Hiebert, D., 1 John, Bibliotheca Sacra, op. cit., October-December, 1988, p. 424, 427

[5] Matthew 6:22-23

[6] John 12:40; 1 John 2:11; and 2 Corinthians 4:4

[7] Painter, John. Sacra Pagina: Vol. 18, op. cit., (Kindle Locations 9512-9516)

[8] Lieu, Judith, I, II, III John, op. cit., p. 81

[9] The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls Translated by Florentino Garcia Martinez, E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands, 1994, 1QS I, p. 3

[10] Psalm 32:1-2; See Romans 4:6-7

[11] Ephesians 1:5-7; See Colossians 1:14

[12] Psalm 25:11

[13] Ibid. 106:1, 8

[14] Jeremiah 14:7

[15] Ephesians 4:32

[16] Œcumenius Bray, G. (Ed.), op. cit., 1-3 John, p. 182

[17] Isaiah 37:35

[18] 1 John 2:12

[19] John 6:57

[20] Philippians 1:29

[21] Calvin, John: Institutes, op. cit., pp. 554-556

[22] 1 John 3:3

[23] Ibid. 2:12, 15

[24] 1 John 2:15

[25] Hebrews 10:35

[26] The Works of Johnathan Edwards: Vol. 1, Ch. 15, Letter from Mr. Gillespie, September 19, 1748, pp. 259-260

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NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXXV) 05/11/21

^2:11 But whoever hates their brother or sister is in darkness. They live in darkness. They don’t know where they are going because the darkness has made them blind.

Robert Cameron (1839-1904) points out what he calls an unfortunate error in that chapter one should have ended with the second verse of chapter two. So, the text here in chapter two should begin with verse three (See NIV), which reads: “We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands.” Cameron says that we come then to the confession of fellowship and knowledge and the responsibilities that grow out of it. This confession comes in three forms: confession of knowledge, confession of abiding in Him, and confession of fellowship in light. As the word “know” is used in its highest sense, to be one with, it is a confession of union with God, with His life and with His light—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit implied but not named. The walk that should grow out of this confession is Here unfolded. As duty is the reverse side of doctrine, so possession is the opposite side of proclamation.^[1]

Robert Candlish makes an interesting point here in verse eleven. He says that there is a well-known principle in ethics that may furnish us an illustration. It is that of sympathy, which shows that our moral instincts, judgments, and emotions are developed by putting ourselves in our neighbor’s place, seeing with their eyes, and feel with their hearts. It is the most wholesome adjustment obtainable for our sentiments on all questions of duty. But it is more, it is also a stimulus and incentive impulse.

If I wrap myself up in myself, says Candlish, I become a solitary being, bent chiefly or exclusively on preserving my virtue and the cultivation of my character. My sense of obligation, no matter how fundamental and alert, will get warped or grow sluggish. By staying aloof from my fellow beings – thinking only of me, interested only in self – leaves my ethics dwarfed and dimmed toward others but toward God.^[2]

William E. Jelf (1811-1875) writes about addressing the fathers, sons, and children by the Apostle John. He says that in opposition to the proposition that John’s separate message to the children, the young men, and the elders target beginners, the maturing, and the wise Christians in different stages of life. But, says Jelf, the attributes assigned to each are not exclusive to the ages or stages of spiritual growth. All of them are committed Christians and have experienced victory over sin along the way.

It seems to me, says Jelf, that the Apostle John is pointing out issues that occur during particular phases of spiritual maturation. Christian life presented itself to the Apostle’s mind under the image of the three stages of life: innocence belonging to childhood, strength to adulthood, and wisdom to old age. These blessings belong proportionally to all Christians alike according to their faith. Their possession supplies the strongest motive to Christian perfection and obedience which John has been impressing and will impress still further on them.^[3]

Ernst Dryander (1843-1922) admits that the Apostle John is not a thinker like Paul, who proves his points in sharply defined, consistent development. He does so by keeping the adversary’s position in mind, cutting the ground from under their objections, and refuting them. In one instance, Paul employs the logical sequence of thought, while in another, he appeals to the witness of his conscience.   

The Apostle John’s characteristically quiet contemplation arises out of the depths of a single thought, says Dryander. Silently and almost imperceptibly, the formation of his argument glides up step by step, often repeating itself, but gathering new riches, new significance. However, as Dryander notes, other earlier commentators see a certain dullness through all John’s writings; it is, however, not that of a mindless turning of the thought-wheel, but the tolling of a bell. It is a repercussion from above that echoes in the heart, attracting its attention.^[4]

F. B. Meyer (1847-1929) states that it is possible to avoid known and presumptuous sin. We will be tempted, for that is an inevitable experience of life in this world, but we have the help of the indwelling Spirit. Yet, if some sudden gust of temptation should overtake us, let us not despair; our Advocate stands ready to intercede for us. The evidence that we have saving knowledge of our Savior, not obtained by the memory of an ecstatic experience, but because we are conscious of doing things for His sake, which we might otherwise evade. Let us continue to do such good deeds because we will enter the Paradise of perfect love by the path of patient obedience. The outer walk is the best evidence to ourselves and others that there is a lasting union between Jesus and us. Light involves love, and love, light. You and love are in the Light. Indulge hatred or ill-will, and you begin to grope in darkness.^[5]

George G. Findlay (1849-1919) comments on the Apostle John stirring words about the advent of the pure Light coming to earth in the person of Jesus the Anointed One. Says Findlay, A new day is dawning for the world. At last, the darkness lifts, the clouds break and scatter; “the true light shines” out in the sky; the sons of light can now walk with a clear vision, toward a sure end. Earlier the Apostle employed this phrase, where he writes in the prologue to his Gospel, “There was the true Light coming into the world.” Here, his gaze is retrospective; and he describes the advent of the Word as that of a light long veiled (existing ages before John the Baptizer’s day) but now piercing through all obstruction. Now, at last! “The mystery hid from the ages and generations—hidden away in God, who created all things”[6] — comes to light. The hour of the new creation has struck; the Voice has sounded, “Behold, I make all things new!”[7]

To what splendor the great day may grow, asks Findlay? John does not suggest or speculate, he declares. “The Son of God has come; we have eternal life in Him;”[8] this conviction fills John’s mind and brings him perfect satisfaction. He has lived through a day of a new creation; he has “seen the kingdom of God come in power.”[9] The religious world of John’s childhood and that era – what guilt lies between them, is a contrast between the old and the new within his lifetime; the more marvelous, the more he reflects upon it. Enough for him that the darkness passes, and the Light mounts in the sky. He is one who mourns for the morning in the east after a long stormy night; he has seen the sun climb the horizon and is sure of the day. The old Apostle is ready to say with the Jewish priest Simeon, son of John the Baptizer,  “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.”[10] ^[11]

Alonzo R. Cocke (1858-1901) says that John distinguishes between “being in darkness” and “walking in darkness.” One is the inner cause, the other the outer effect; one is the moral state of nature, the other the spiritual life and new super-nature. The one trapped to walking in the darkness cannot see where they are going. The very goal of life remains hidden from their eyes. They are wandering stars moving along on an uncertain orbit, “to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”^[12] How fearful the reason assigned for these false braggers not knowing where they go. Sin has been the element of life so long that it has obscured their moral powers, and the course of life is but a tangled web leading down to the pit of darkness.^[13]

Paul E. Kretzmann (1883-1965) makes note that the Apostle inserts a severe warning here. John warns that the person claiming to be in the Light and yet hates those in the Light suffers from a chronic sinful condition. They do not realize they’re treating Christians with disdain. After all, it’s like shooting an arrow in the dark of night, and they don’t know where it landed because they are blind. So, how can they know when walking in the dark on an unmarked path where they are going?

The distinction which the Apostle makes is obvious, says Kretzmann. If a person professes to be a Christian, people have a right to expect corresponding conduct from them. It is a form of behavior that agrees with the will and character of the Anointed One, one which is conspicuous for its show of brotherly love. When this is not the case, then everyone knows they are blind to what they are doing. In making this warning, the Apostle John makes a powerful appeal to all Christians to strive for purity of brotherly love based on justifying and sanctifying faith!^[14]

Rev. Priestly L. Greville (1891-1976) sees the previous three verses as an effort on the Apostle John’s part of stressing the test of genuine love and loving. These heretics were individualists. They had very little sense of the obligations of brotherhood and fellowship. Theirs was a thin-lipped, loveless intellectualism that gave no room for those who accepted everything the Gospel said by faith. On the other hand, those who stuck to their orthodox Jewish beliefs must remember that the Anointed One required them to love their opponents, although they despise their false teaching.^[15] So don’t become like those you criticize and challenge their beliefs. If you do, then you become just like them.^[16]

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[1] Cameron, Robert: The First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 57

[2] Candlish, R. S., The First Epistle of John Expounded in a Series of Lectures, op. cit., pp. 119-120

[3] Jelf, W. E., Commentary on the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., p. 25

[4] Dryander, E., A Commentary on the First Epistle of St. John in the Form of Addresses, op. cit., p. 46

[5] Meyer, F. B. Through the Bible Day by Day, op. cit., loc. cit.

[6] Colossians 1:26; Ephesians 3:9

[7] Isaiah 43:18-19; 65:17; Revelation 21:5

[8] 1 John 5:11-13, 20

[9] Mark 9:11

[10] Luke 2:29-31

[11] Findlay, G. G. (1909)., Fellowship in the Life Eternal: An Exposition of the Epistles of St. John, op. cit., pp. 172-173

[12] Jude 1:13

[13] Cocke, A. R. (1895), Studies in the Epistles of John, op. cit., pp. 39-40

[14] Kretzmann, Paul E., Popular Commentary, First Epistle of John, op. cit., loc. cit.

[15] See Matthew 5:43-48; Cf. Revelation 2:2-3

[16] Greville, Priestly L., The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., pp. 51-52

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NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXXIV) 05/10/21

^2:10 Those who love their brothers and sisters live in the Light, and there is nothing in them that will make them do wrong.

As Adam Clarke (1774-1849) sees it, there is no stumbling block in the path that the Anointed One leads us on. Walking that road, a person neither gives nor receives any misdeeds: love prevents them from offending any of their fellow human beings, and love constrains them from receiving any from their neighbor. It leads them to construct everything properly. Besides, walking in the Light helps them see stumbling blocks in their way and sidestep them. Sadly, a person falls into sin because they do not see the snares on their path because of the dark, and they do not notice the traps because they either have not received or do not live in the light.^[1]

Richard Rothe (1799-1867) says that if brotherly love lives in a person, by that very fact, everything has been removed from within them that could make them stumble on their path through life. Pure, perfect brotherly love never crashes. It is such a simple thing that it is not easily entangled with other desires, no matter how many there may be. Brotherly love enhances the spiritual eye and provides sharper vision. It recognizes its duties as acts of love. It is not easily diverted by temptations, especially those meant to draw them away to become involved in meaningless relationships. Through self-denial, a true believer can avoid such collisions. It is a precious gift for every believer in embracing and using it to its fullest capacity.^[2]

William E. Jelf (1811-1875) writes that a person’s sinful uncontrolled tendencies, such as ambition, love of money, which have their external objects corresponding to them, and producing or heightening them expose them to temptation. If jealousy or envy comes responding to someone else’s good fortune and prosperity, these are not the same feelings that arise when the love for money becomes the object of greed, pleasure, or lust. These passions, says Jelf, don’t develop at the last moment but have been active in that person’s heart for a long time. All it takes is the right temptation at the right time to cause these sinful desires to take hold of a person’s heart and mind.[3]

William Graham (1810-1883) speaks with a pastor’s heart when he sums up the substance of this verse by saying, “Brotherly love is the test of discipleship.” This holy affection originates when the spirit is reborn by the power of the cross and immediately becomes a compelling power within us. Our love for our Father in heaven came awake through the dying love of the Anointed One here on earth. That caused the fountain of life and love to open by the infusion of divine grace. Then living water began flowing from inside to all those around us.[4]   

Graham continues: at the high priest’s house when Jesus saw and heard Peter denying Him; His look opened the springs of emotions, which caused Peter to weep bitterly. It wasn’t the Lord’s anger but His grace that touched Peter’s heart. Like every noble and heavenly affection, such brotherly love says Graham, dates from converting the soul to God. This love should have no limit. The Greek noun Philadelphia means the love a person has for a brother or sister and includes every Christian man or woman in the world. We make distinctions that the Lord does not recognize, which will evaporate one day like the morning mist when the righteous Lord comes to judge the world and deliver the creation from the bondage of corruption.^[5]

Alonzo R. Cocke (1858-1901) teaches that the character of God is the touchstone of all fellowship with Him. “God is love,” and one cannot know God without love in their heart: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”[6] It is so true that “love is of God,” so “let us love each other because love comes from God. Those who love are God’s children, and they know God.”[7] Love in the soul is evidence that God’s nature is there, as Light in the heart. The very essence of the Anointed One’s life was self-sacrificing love, and fellowship with Him reflects a similar love. Not everyone who claims to be in the Light possess this quality, only those “who love fellow believers is living in the Light.”[8] The Light illuminates their sphere of life.^[9]

Rudolf Schnackenburg (1914-2002) feels that John is not concentrating on the false teachers; he only uses them to point out the need for believers to remain firm and steadfast in the commandments of God involving loving one another as a sign that they love Him. And the way to do that is to stay in the Light of God’s Word. It is necessary to keep a brother or sister from stumbling. The person who loves others fulfills the Law and lives as God called them to live through the Anointed One.  

The Final Covenant, notes Schnackenburg, often refers to stumbling, falling, or tripping as representing a spiritual struggle or failure in someone’s life.^[10] Even in the First Covenant, we find an ancient perspective on this concept, noting, “Your words have supported those who were stumbling; You encouraged those with shaky knees.”^[11] It does not mean there’s nothing in life that the devil can throw at us to cause us to stumble, says Schnackenburg, but we can make sure there is nothing in us that will cause us to slip and fall (see verse eleven).^[12]

Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) finds that the Apostle John provides the antithesis to the first claim these pretenders made back in verse four: “Anyone who says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not obey His teaching is a liar. There is no [light of] truth in him.” Now, states John: “Whoever loves his brother is in the light. And there will be no reason to sin because of him.” That’s the reason why the first group in verse four is not in fellowship with God or communion with fellow believers. They do not obey His teaching to love one another as a way of proving they love God.^[13] The writer of Hebrews has an excellent description of the fellowship of believers: “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meetings, as some people do. Let’s encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”^[14]

James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) sees John’s mention of stumbling in both a positive and negative way. First, those in darkness can cause a fellow believer to stumble. That means a weak fellow believer sees how this brother or sister living in the dark seems to get by after all. They enjoy both lives, heavenly and worldly. However, it does not give any good reason not to follow their example? If they can help them see this, why not use the same perception to assist themselves in getting back on the highway of holiness? Those walking in the Light do not cause any fellow believer to stumble. That’s because they see how the Light guides them and helps them avoid anything put in their way by the devil that would make them stumble.^[15]

I like the illustration that current Bible scholar F. Wayne MacLeod uses to depict the effect of light on our spiritual lives. He asks us to imagine the Christian life as a person walking through the woods on a dark and rainy evening. They are unable to see the path clearly as they make their way to a friend’s home on the other side of the forest. As they walk, they stumble over an old tree root and fall into the mud. They pick themselves up, brush off the dirt, and continue on their way. Soon they see their friend’s porch light shining through the trees at a distance.

As they approach the light, says MacLeod, they look at their clothes. That’s when they become aware of how dirty they are. Several minutes pass, and they are even closer to the light of their friend’s house. They look at themselves again and see dirt that they did not see before. It seems that the closer they get to the light, the more filth they see. Is this not how it is in our relationship with the Lord? The closer we get to the light of His holiness, the dirtier and more sinful we appear.^[16] So, no matter how often we dust ourselves off with the brush of moral and charitable good deeds, nothing can remove all the stains like the blood of the Lamb.

Have you ever heard a person give their testimony about what it was like when they were born again? Sometimes they bring up and admit to things they did that even their families didn’t know. Often it relates to inward sinful thoughts and tendencies more than to anything they did on the outside. You can take a water hose and wash the outside of a car or house or any dirty and stained object, but it is still unclean until you cleanse the inside.[17]

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[1] Adam Clarke: First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 370

[2] Rothe, Richard: The Expository Times, op. cit., November 1890, p. 45

[3] Jelf, W. E., Commentary on the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., p. 23

[4] John 7:37-39

[5] Graham, W. (1857)., The Spirit of Love, op. cit., p. 113

[6] 1 John 4:8

[7] Ibid. 4:7

[8] 1 John 2:10

[9] Cocke, A. R. (1895)., Studies in the Epistles of John, op. cit., pp. 38–39

[10] Romans 9:32, 33; 11:9; 14:13; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 8:9; 1 Peter 2:8; Jude 1:24

[11] Job 4:4

[12] Schnackenburg, Rudolf, The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p. 108

[13] Brown, Raymond E., The Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 273

[14] Hebrews 10:24-25

[15] Boice, James Montgomery, The Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 54

[16] Mac Leod, F. Wayne. The Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., (Kindle Locations 550-556)

[17] Cf. Matthew 23:27-28

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXXIII) 05/07/21

^2:9 Someone might say, “I am in the light,” but if they hate any of their brothers or sisters in God’s family, they are still in the darkness. 

F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) writes that since the requirement to love others is the proper demand for the age of grace, the test of obedience is preeminently a test of love. The claim to be “in the light” – introduced by the phrase “they who assert” – is a claim to have fellowship with God. John insisted that such a claim is incompatible with walking in darkness; and insists that such an assertion is inconsistent with loveless behavior. No one is allowed to imagine that they can get away with a claim to love God on the ground that this is an inward attitude, invisible to others. The twin commandments of love for God and one’s neighbor are like a lamp fixture and a light bulb; one is essential to the other. Alleging to live “in the light,” enjoying fellowship with the God of Light, must be proven by testing a person’s treatment of their neighbor. It is necessary to emphasize the word “treatment” because, as John makes clear later, it is not a matter of sentimental feelings and language, familiar in specific methods of devotion, but of love “in deed and truth.”^[1]

John Stott (1921-2011) notes that in the preceding section, the Apostle John recorded three false claims of the heretics, each introduced by the phrase “if we claim.” He now expresses two right and positive assurances which the true Christian may have, presented by the formula “by this we know that.” They occur in verse three as “we know that” and five, “this is how we know.” Each of these statements is in the first-person plural, we know, and followed by an application in the third-person singular. The Greek ho legōn means “he who says.”[2] Indeed, there is a third ho legōn in verse nine, although the NIV obscures the fact by translating each occurrence differently (the man who says, verse 4; whoever claims, verse 6; and anyone who claims, verse 9). The New Living Version translates ho legōn as “says” in all three places. The repetition is emphatic.^[3] We have a similar example in American street language today. People often start an explanation by saying, “You know.” And when expressing an opinion, they usually begin with, “I know.”

Stephen Smalley (1931-2018) talks about John saying that those who hate their fellow believers live in darkness. Another way to put it is that they are living a lie. The moral character they claim to have in the Light is the reverse of the conditions under which they operate. So, their claim and conduct do not match; they are disputing one another. And the reason they avoid the Light is not only because it exposes their lie, but they are required to obey God’s commandment to live in the Light. Unfortunately, they would rather live their lie than change.^[4]

2:10a Anyone who loves a fellow Christian brother or sister has the Light living in them and does nothing to destroy the faith of those who have the Light residing in them.

EXPOSITION

Here is another principle that John wants to get across to his listeners. Did not the prophet Hosea say something to the same effect when he preached: “Let us know, let us strive to know Adonai. We know the LORD is coming, just as we expect the day to dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the early spring rains that water the fields.”^[5] And this spiritual rain will help all believers cope with difficulties that arise between others in the assembly. Paul gave out a similar warning to the Romans.^[6] And the Apostle Peter was of the same mind when he wrote that the Lord knows how to get godly people out of trouble while He lets the ungodly pickle in their sinful brine until the day of judgment. And He is especially hard on those who follow their old sinful tendencies in lusting for filth and despise authority. They are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural things without seeming to care that they are insulting angelic beings.^[7]

Whether they know it or not, they failed because they tried to make themselves right by doing good deeds. Instead of trusting God to make them right, they stumbled over the Stone, causing some of them to fall.^[8] And of course, that Stone is none other than the Anointed One – Jesus the Messiah.^[9] And for the Apostle Paul, it was his prayer for the Philippians that a stumbling stone can become a Stepping Stone so that their love would grow more and more and that they would keep on growing in knowledge and understanding of who He is and who they are. More than anything else, Paul wanted them to understand what matters in this life so that they might live pure and blameless lives until the day of the Messiah’s return.^[10]

COMMENTARY

Theophylact (1050-1108) notes that the Gentiles always accepted the law or command that appears to derive from nature to do good to our peers. It is because man is a rational and social animal who cannot exist without mutual love. Ancient tales relate that many people were prepared to sacrifice themselves on behalf of others, and the Savior says clearly, “Greater love has no one than this, that person willingly lays down their life for their friends.”[11] [12]    

Augustine of Hippo offers what he calls “Commendations of Love.” He notes that The Apostle Peter, likewise, says, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”[13] The Apostle James also says, “You do well when you obey the Holy Writings which say, “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.”[14] So also, the Apostle John says, “So now we can tell who is a child of God and who belongs to Satan. Whoever is living a life of sin and doesn’t love his brother shows that he is not in God’s family.”[15] Then he says again, “This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus, the Anointed One, and love one another.”[16] Once more: “And God gave us this command: Those who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.”[17] Then shortly afterward, he adds, “In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome.”[18] While, in his second Epistle, John writes, “I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. It is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.”[19] ^[20] These seven guidelines would make a beautiful wall plaque. But then again, the Apostle John might suggest we write them on the wall of our heart.

Thomas Aquinas is discussing whether one’s level of charity increases by addition. In other words, the more charitable deeds you do increases in meaning and value and results in you gaining a better understanding of the need. In other words, the volume of your charitable works increases by addition. Just as the increase may be in respect to numbers, it may be according to virtual quantity. Now increase in portion results from accumulation. The questioner then invokes the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who says that “increase is in addition to pre-existing magnitude.”[21] Therefore, the increase in charity, which is according to virtual volume, is by addition.

But Aquinas answers: on the contrary, Charity is a simple thing. Nothing more significant results from adding up good deeds. Therefore, what we do out of love does not increase by addition. Every person added to our list is different. That makes each act of kindness and compassion unique in itself. God can increase the capacity by increasing its magnitude, having never existed before in that manner.^[22] Put into context, Aquinas is trying to say that it doesn’t matter how many people we claim to love in the Lord, only those we love with agape-love count in God’s eyes. We can also compare our Lord’s miracle feeding of the 5,000. Whether the crowd would have been five, fifty, five hundred, or five thousand, the wonder would be the same. The only difference is the number blessed by the same miracle. So, the quality is not in quantity but in the act itself.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) states that all faithful saints are of a loving, caring, and kind temperament; the Scripture is very plain and abundant. Without it, the Apostle Paul says, “I may speak in different languages, whether human or even of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am only a noisy bell or a clanging cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy, I may understand all secrets and know everything there is to know, and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all this, if I don’t have love, I am nothing.”[23] And no one virtue or disposition of the mind is so often and expressly insisted on in the Final Covenant to identify a true Christian. For people to know the disciples of the Anointed one, says Edwards, the Holy Spirit gives various signs that are peculiarly distinguishable and by which they can accept as positive evidence. The Anointed One calls it the law of love, by way of prominence as His new commandment.[24] None of the other Apostles stressed the importance of love and loving one another more than John.[25]

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[1] Bruce, F. F., The Epistles of John, op. cit., (Kindle Locations 983-991

[2] See verses 4 and 6

[3] Stott, John. The Letters of John (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries), op. cit., p. 94

[4] Smalley, Stephen, S., Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 51, op. cit., p. 60

[5] Hosea 6:3

[6] Romans 14:13

[7] 2 Peter 2:9-10

[8] See Isaiah 8:14

[9] Romans 9:32-33

[10] Philippians 1:9-10

[11] John 15:13

[12] Theophylact of Ohrid: Bray, G. (Ed.), op. cit., 1-3 John, p. 181

[13] 1 Peter 4:8

[14] James 2:8

[15] 1 John 3:10

[16] Ibid. 3:23

[17] 1 John 4:21

[18] Ibid 5:3

[19] 2 John 1:5

[20] Augustine: A Treatise on Grace and Free Will, addressed to Valentinus and the Monks of Adrumetum, Written in 426 A.D., The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 5, Ch. 35, pp. 1104-1105

[21] Aristotle and Mathematics, Treatment of Mathematical Objects, Precision, 7.2

[22] Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica, Vol. 3, pp. 279-280

[23] 1 Corinthians 13:1-2

[24] John 13:34; See 15:12; 13:35

[25] Works of Jonathan Edwards: A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, Part 3, pp. 962-963

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXXII) 05/06/21

2:9a If anyone claims, “I have the Light of truth living in me,” but hates a fellow Christian brother or sister, that person is still full of the darkness of pretension.

EXPOSITION

John, no doubt, remembers when Jesus touched on this same theme while the disciples were with Him.^[1] And the Apostle Paul went over this subject in his letter to the Romans where he said; You know what God wants you to do and what is important because you learned it in the law. You may think you are a guide for the blind and a light for those in darkness. You might think you can show foolish people what is right and teach those who know nothing. Just because you have the law, you think you know everything and have all truth. You teach others, so why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but you are a temple robber.^[2]

John also knew that after many centuries, the Jews were all but unconscious of what the Scriptures said about Jesus when He came and the message He brought. As far back as the Psalm writers, this was already a problem.^[3] And the Apostle Peter gave his assessment of how a Christian should respond to getting more light of truth when needed. He told his readers that God’s power gives us everything we need for life and holy living. The Almighty gives it through His tremendous power. As we know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His spectacular glory and excellence. Through these, He gave us exceedingly great and precious promises. With these gifts, you can share in God’s nature, and the world will not ruin you with its corrupt desires.

Peter goes on to say, for this very reason, try your hardest to practice your faith with good intentions. That way, you will gain knowledge and allow you to develop self-control. In so doing, you will also grow more patient in your devotion to God. Such a commitment will lead to doing kind things for your brothers and sisters in the Anointed One. But remember this, to all these things, you must include love. For if you have these qualities and are still growing, they keep you from being barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. But those who don’t increase in these blessings become blind. They cannot see how they benefitted when the Lamb of God shed His blood and washed away all their past sins.^[4]

COMMENTARY

Clement of Alexandria (150-216 A.D.) believes that when John talks about the Light, we should understand it as “truth.” That’s why if a person knows the truth, they will keep God’s commandments. And, in verse five, by knowing the truth, they will love their fellow believer.^[5] No wonder Jesus said that if we experience the power of truth, have the Light, the truth, or Light, set us free from the darkness of sin.[6]

Bede the Venerable (672-735 AD) reiterates that the Lord told us to love our enemies, so if someone claims to be a Christian and hates their fellow brother or sister, they are still dead in their sins. It is good that John added the word “still” because everyone is born in the darkness of sin and remains there until enlightened through the Anointed One by the grace of baptism. But the person who comes to be baptized or eat the Lord’s Supper with hatred towards their fellow believer is still in the darkness, even if they think that God has enlightened them, nor can they get rid of the shadows of sin unless they begin to love.^[7]

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) answers whether hatred of one’s neighbor is always a sin? It would seem, says someone, it does not always have to be labeled a sin. For no sin is commanded or recommended by God. As King Solomon recorded God, saying, “My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it.”[8] On the other hand, Jesus told His listeners, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes even their own life – such a person cannot be My disciple.”[9] So it is possible for Christians to hate.

Aquinas comes back with this: On the contrary, John says here in verse nine that anyone who hates their fellowman is in darkness. Now spiritual darkness is sin. Therefore, there cannot be hatred of one’s neighbor without sin. So, here’s my answer, says Aquinas; hatred opposes Love. Hatred of something evil is balanced by loving wholesome things. When it comes to our family or neighbor, we can love those things that we share concerning God and law and order. However, we are permitted to hate those things that would keep us from God and be peaceful society members.^[10] Therefore, hating one’s father, mother, sister, or brother falls within the realm of their opposition to our following the Anointed One.

Samuel E. Pierce (1746-1829) defines hate as follows: “To hate is to wish the worse on someone; hatred is deep-rooted meanness.” Sometimes, we use hatred as an expression of loving far less passionately than might naturally be expected.[11] The word “hate” does not imply positive hatred. Instead, it is the absence of the love expected from any believer as they exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. Pierce says that we may conceive hatred as a deep-rooted bitterness expressed from one person to another, bringing them aggravation and exasperation. In this epistle, John chiefly mentions it as an evil venom that brings unpleasant results with debilitating effects.^[12]

Richard Rothe (1799-1867) declares that to be a Christian, you must be “in the Light as John sees it.” The Apostle makes it clear that a Christian is one in whom the darkness passed away, and the pure Light is already shining. Being in the Light is made evident by the loved one has for their spiritual brother and sister. Not only, says Rothe, do those in the Light recognize this family love as a commandment any true believer should ignore. Instead, by its quickening brightness, the Light awakens this love as an inner necessity. So, it is not something we do when convenient, but it is something we are always on the lookout to do whenever possible. That’s the difference between claiming to have the new Light and walking in the Light.^[13]

Patton J. Gloag (1823-1906) says that the Anointed One saves us from eternal punishment through His sufferings; He forgives us of sin by shedding His blood. But mercy not only flows from the pains of the Anointed One but also purification. There is a cleansing efficiency in His blood, as John says here in verses seven and nine; thereby, the death of the Anointed One redeems us not merely from the guilt of sin, but the pollution of sin.

Gloag continues, sin is lawlessness,^[14] separation from the holy law of God. The soul is cut off from God and is in a state of spiritual death. And, just as sin is revolting against God’s law, and love is the sum of this law, any absence of love, whether in the form of selfishness or outright hatred, constitutes the essence of sin.^[15] Sin is universal in humanity; it belongs to the flesh. Unfortunately, it also tears down the soul and pollutes the mind, and corrupts the heart.^[16]

Marvin Vincent (1834-1922) points to a sensitive issue maintained here in the Anointed One’s words, “They that are not with me are against me.”^[17] People fall into two classes, those in fellowship with God and walk in light and love, and those who are not in accord with God and walk in darkness and disrespect of Him.^[18] No bridge allows crossing back and forth between the two. Neither can one chose to live in one from time to time and then in the other when convenient. A person must die to one to be alive in the other.

Alfred Plummer (1841-1926) points out that in previous passages, the Apostle John gave us a pair of contrasts: Light versus Darkness, Truth versus Falsehood, and here, Love versus Hate. These are possible inconsistencies between profession and possession, creed, and conduct. And what it all boils down to is whether a brother or sister in the Lord is truly a Christian.^[19]

Paul W. Hoon (1910-2000) shares that a loveless person does not know how unloving they are. It forces others to deal with this miserable fault. They have no idea where such an attitude will take them or to what disaster it will lead. In one sense, says Hoon, they walk in darkness because they remain blind to their lack of love; in other words because they continue to walk in darkness. Either they refuse to see the light in their loveless condition, or they cannot see it at all. Such consistent disliking progressively destroys the capacity for liking. As a result, they often cause others to stumble. That’s because bitterness causes them to lash out; their vindictiveness often injures the innocent; always looking for revenge poisons other people’s motives. Such hypocritical Christians, says Hoon, who claim to be in the Light while they despise their spiritual brothers and sisters, shames the Church, repels the earnest seeker, and promotes pessimism.^[20]

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[1] John 9:41

[2] Romans 2:18-21

[3] Psalms 82:5

[4] 2 Peter 1:3-9

[5] Clement of Alexandria: Comments on First Epistle of John, op. cit., p.1163

[6] John 8:32

[7] Bede the Venerable: Bray, G. (Ed.), op. cit., 1-3 John, p. 181

[8] Proverbs 8:8

[9] Luke 14:26

[10] Aquinas, Thomas: Summa Theologica, Vol. 3, p. 439

[11] See Luke 14:26

[12] Pierce, S. E., An Exposition of the First Epistle of John, op. cit., Vol 1, p. 154

[13] Rothe, Richard: The Expository Times, op. cit., August 1891, p. 246

[14] 1 John 3:4

[15] Ibid. 3:15; 4:20

[16] Gloag, Patton James: Introduction to the Johannine Writings, op. cit., pp. 247, 249

[17] Luke 11:23

[18] Vincent, Marvin: Word Studies in the NT, op. cit., 332

[19] Plummer, Alfred: First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 94

[20] Hoon, Paul W., The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., Vol. XII, p. 234

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXXI) 05/05/21

^2:8 But what I write is also a new commandment. It is a true one; you can see its truth in Jesus and yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

Robert Law (1860-1919) says that the Apostle John’s commandment on loving one another comes with a “new” instinct alive with a vital force, a spark from the Divine fire that kindles every soul into being. But to the Christian, it is “new” in another and unique capacity. Not new in its insight, but new in living awareness There are times when the Law of Love shines out with the splendor of sunrise when it reveals a new significance to the human conscience and enters upon a further stage in its destined conquest of human life. And this was embodied in the Anointed One. He became the new dynamic in “Love one another” by adding, “as I have loved you.”[1]

The love of the Anointed One, says Law, was symbolized in washing the disciples’ feet[2] and ultimately realized in laying down His life for those who became His “friends by love alone.”[3] He created a new commandment, giving humanity a fresh conception, and imposed an updated obligation. And this commandment is still “new” in Him. His whole Love expressed but did not exhaust itself in one act. He laid down His life that He might retake it. The Love of Calvary is an ever-flowing fountain. But also, in “you” – in the Christian life – the commandment is always in the present tense. It may qualify as “old” because it has been heard and accepted. But it is “new” because it continually replenishes itself in the activities of life, daily imparting fresh light and impulse in every heart it invades. There it is permanently posted as a life-transforming relationship with the Anointed One who declared in His inspiring words, “as I have loved you.”[4] ^[5]

David Smith (1866-1932) notes that the true God is opposed to the false gods, idols, which were “worthless things.”) The “true Light” of the Gospel – in comparison to the “dim light” in the Jewish Law – became the opposite of “false light” of human speculation and counterfeit reasoning. So when the Apostle John talks about issuing a new commandment, it’s the revelation of new truth as taught by the Anointed One, expressed by Him and in Him. His arrival caused the darkness of not knowing God pass and the Light of being His child to shine brightly.^[6]

Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) questions in what sense is an old commandment nevertheless a new one? It is not new as a phenomenon in the history of ideas but rather as a prophetic reality. It remains grounded on the love which Jesus bestowed on His own. Not only that, but it has, therefore, become real among believers as the love they have for one another. And the proof that it is accurate and working in us is made evident when we put it into daily practice. As John said, it’s like a new light has arrived, and the old darkness has fled. But when this brotherly and sisterly love fails to go into action, that person cannot claim to be enlightened.^[7]

Rev. Priestly L. Greville (1891-1976) disagrees with the KJV’s beginning of verse eight with the word “Again.” To him, it should read, “Yet.” (The NIV begins the verse this way.) In other words, the commandment John was quoting here was from a long time ago, yet, it was new because now it is understood by examining how the Anointed One lived and put it into practice. Jesus Himself implied that these things He quoted were already part of the past.^[8] However, Jesus takes many of these and revises them into something new from His perspective.^[9] Truly we can see that the commandments in the First Covenant were written by men under the influence of the Holy Spirit, but now the Word Himself is speaking of them as part of the Final Covenant.^[10]

Amos N. Wilder (1895-1993) focuses on John’s mention that the darkness is fleeing, and the light is dawning, just like the beginning of a new day. It helps explain why the charge to love one another can be called “new.” It can also see it in the words of the Apostle Paul, who saw the same darkness of the old worldly sinful-self that brought nothing into the present life which is doomed to pass away. As he told the Corinthians, “God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.”^[11] Not only that, but when we speak wisdom to full-grown Christians. This wisdom is not from this world or from the leaders of today. They die, and their wisdom dies with them.”^[12] Therefore, says Paul to the Romans, “The night is almost finished, and the day is almost here. So, stop doing things that belong to darkness and take up the weapons used for fighting in the Light.”^[13]

The Apostles John and Paul were on the same wavelength, says Wilder, when it came to the difference between hiding in the dark and living in the Light.^[14] It sounds like God’s words might have influenced the children of Israel in the wilderness: “In the past, you lived in Egypt, but you must not do what was done in that country. And you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their customs. You must obey my rules and follow them. I am the Lord your God.”^{[15] [16]}

Rudolf Schnackenburg (1914-2000) points to a significant theme in this part of the Epistle; that is, God expects us to obey and follow His Word. One of the essential elements of that theme of obeying Him is to love His other children, our brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is the very heart of Christian morality and the exact place where the false teachers realized their inability to prove any genuine spiritual relationship with God. John said that this commandment was both old and new. “Old” in the sense that it was taught by Moses as part of Torah long ago, but “new” in that the Messiah now explains it as a necessary part of life.^[17]

Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) notes that Roman Catholic scholar Antonio Vicent Cernuda (1915-2011) states that we should not take the Greek alēthinos (“true”) as an adjective to the Greek noun phōs (“light”), but used as a substantive,^[18] the object of the verb. In other words, “the light manifested in the truth.” However, Brown joins most other commentators that there is no need for such an unusual translation. Indeed, it’s the other way around. The truth demonstrates itself through the Light – the Son of God.^[19]

Simon J. Kistemaker (1930-2017) makes the point that the Greek adjective kainos (“new”) suggests that the old has given birth to the new. The former still exists but is reflected in a new way through the new model – the same with believers. They come into existence through the new birth, but their old self is still there. However, people now see and understand them in a new light. In the same way, the First Covenant made way for the writing of the Final Covenant. It is a relevant interpretation of the old commandment to love one another seen in the new Light of Jesus the Anointed One.^[20]

Marianne Meye Thompson (1954) says that the Apostle John’s command to love one another can be called “new” for two reasons: First, it points to Jesus’ life as the example of the love God is expecting of us. Second, He manifested another example of this new love by his death. Jesus lived His whole life for others, not Himself. Nowhere in Scripture do we read about Jesus going on a vacation or establishing a religious center for the world’s masses to stream to as pilgrims to make Him not only famous but rich. If we look at it this way, when our Lord was born, God sent Him into the world with a million dollars worth of love and grace. He spent it all on others, none on Himself.

In setting an example of this love by His death, says Thompson, He did so for a lost and dying world to enjoy the same fellowship with God He had.^[21] Through His death, people worldwide of every race, color, gender, or social status.^{[22] [23]} Such actions on our part are not required, but the principles are. When we were born again through God’s love, grace, and mercy, we received a new life not just to benefit ourselves but also for others. And by our death to sin, we are freed to fellowship with all other believers as part of the body of the Anointed One, so we could share the good news with others that they can join us in the union with God and the Anointed One. Remember, when the Anointed One returns at the trumpet sound, “all,” not “some” of those who lay at rest in Him will rise simultaneously, and those still alive will “all” nor “some” be instantly changed to meet Him in the air.

---

[1] John 13:34

[2] Ibid. 13:1-17

[3] Ibid. 15:13

[4] 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

[5] Law, R. (1909). The Tests of Life: A Study of the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., pp. 233–234

[6] Smith, David: Expositor’s Greek Testament, op. cit., p. 176

[7] Bultmann, Rudolf: The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p. 29

[8] See Luke 4:12; Cf., Matthew 2:5; 4:4, 6-7, 10; 21:13; 26:24, 31; John 6:31, 45; 12:14

[9] See Matthew 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 11:22, 24; 12:6, 36; 17:12; 26:29; Mark 9:13; Luke 6:27; 10:12

[10] Greville, Priestly L., The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., pp. 50-51

[11] 1 Corinthians 1:28

[12] Ibid. 2:6

[13] Romans 13:12

[14] See verses 9-11

[15] Leviticus 18:3-4

[16] Wilder, Amos N. The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., Vol. XII, p. 233

[17] Schnackenburg, Rudolf: The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., pp. 103-104

[18] Substantive refers to the basis of reality.

[19] Brown, Raymond E., The Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 268

[20] Kistenmaker, Simon J., James and I-III John, op. cit., p. 260

[21] See John 13:1; 1 John 3:16; 4:9-10

[22] See John 10:16; 11:5-52; 12:24

[23] Thompson, Marianne Meye, 1-3 John, op. cit., p. 58

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXX) 05/04/21

^2:8 But what I write is also a new commandment. It is a true one; you can see its truth in Jesus and yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

Kenneth Wuest (1893-1961) paraphrases verses seven and eight this way: “Divinely loved ones, I am writing you an old commandment now new in quality, which you have had constantly from the beginning. The old commandment is the Word that you’ve heard before. Again, I am writing you a commandment new in quality, which fact is true in the Anointed One and you because it causes the darkness to fade away, leaving the Light, the true Light shining.”^[1]

John Owen discusses obedience to the Anointed One by looking at its nature and what causes it. He says there is a peculiar kind of respect for Him as Mediator and supreme authority over the church. He has confirmed all the moral law’s commands, giving them new characteristics in that he calls them “His commandments.” So, when He says, “It is my command that you love one another,” – the old law, then adds, “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself,” – the new law, John, then calls it a combination of old and new.^[2]

Daniel Whitby reminds us that those who participate in fulfilling the ceremonial laws and not like those who are wandering in darkness. Sometimes they are referred to as walking in the shadows since most Jewish ceremonies and Feasts were foreshadowing the real thing. So, believers, such as the Galatians, still stuck in the past, are not eternally lost;^[3] they have just lost their way.^[4]

In a compilation of older interpretations and explanations of Biblical passages in Torah called the “Yalkut Shimoni” (“gathering of Simon”), John Gill tells us that it is a compilation of older interpretations and illustrations between the eleventh and fourteenth Centuries. We find that the Jews expected “a new law” to be given them by the hands of the Messiah, and the new one He will be giving contains a new commandment on love, which is the fulfilling of the law.^[5] So, either the compilers of the Yalkut Shimoni considered the Apostle John as one of their seers, or else it was some unwritten oral tradition known by the Apostle John.^[6]

Samuel E. Pierce (1746-1829) exclaims that where the light of the knowledge of the glory of God manifests itself, it shines on the mind and into the heart, in the Person of the God-Man, Jesus the Anointed One. There is personal and most blessed communion enjoyed with the Lord. There, the commandment which the Anointed One gave will be engraved on the heart; it will be remembered and practiced; which may also be a part of the beloved John’s meaning: loving one another for the Anointed One’s sake. It is true of Him and us. His light on this command shines within us: we are under the sweet influence of the same: we most cheerfully practice it because the darkness of sin and error passed from us.^[7]

Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) preached that light in all languages is the symbol of knowledge, joy, and purity. It is the source of life. Its very nature is to send out rays into and conquer darkness. Its splendor dazzles every eye; all things rejoice in its beams. Darkness is the type of ignorance, sorrow, and sin, while various revelations that enrich knowledge, purity and self-communication are the predominant ideas here.

John felt honored to give the world three great revelations, says Maclaren, “God is Spirit,” “God is Light,” and “God is Love.” And this profound knowledge includes all of them. Since light, which to the popular mind is apart from matter, may well stand for the emblem of spirit. Since to radiate is its inseparable quality, it represents light, which is the heart of God’s declaration is love. If then, we grasp these thoughts of absolute purity and self-impartation as the very nature and property of God, John tells us that we understand the core of the Gospel.^[8]

Maclaren goes on to say that Christian progress consists not in getting away from the fundamental facts, the elements of the Gospel. Instead, it consists of penetrating more deeply into these and feeling more of their power and grasp. Just as Greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria’s[9] influence is in the definitions of axioms and postulates of mathematics from the beginning, we write all our books using the letters of the alphabet. Therefore, progress consists not in advancing beyond the fundamental elements but sinking deeper into their certainty. We must do the same with the basic truth that “God was in the Anointed One reconciling the world unto Himself.”^[10]

James Morgan (1859-1942) defines the darkness that disappears when the light starts shining. He says that for Christians, the uncertainty of Judaism is in the past; it served its purpose. But as the moon and stars disappear when the sun rises, so did Judaism’s influence on salvation when the Son of righteousness appeared on the horizon. Also, the darkness of heathenism is long gone. The call of the prophet is made for us. “Rise up and shine, for your light has come. The shining-greatness of the Lord has risen upon you.”[11]

Furthermore, the darkness of unaided and perverted human reasoning is part of the past, says Morgan. “For God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never find God through human brilliance, and then He stepped in and saved all those who believed His message, which the world calls foolish and silly.”[12] But for others, “The darkness in our lives disappears, and the new light of life in the Anointed One shines in.”[13] That’s because “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”[14] Therefore, “We Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.”[15] So for everyone to know, “The people who sat in darkness saw a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shone.”[16] Consequently, “While you have the Light, put your trust in the Light. Then you will be the sons of the Light.”[17] [18]

Albert Barnes (1872-1951) notes that verse seven begins with: “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you.” And then verse eight starts with: “Again, a new commandment I write unto you.” To the casual reader, this may seem like a contradiction. That is, what I am now instructing is not new. It is the same doctrine that you’ve always heard with a contemporary twist.

Barnes also reveals there are varying views on what John referred to by the word commandment, whether it is the injunction in the previous verse to live as the Anointed One lived, or whether it is what he refers to in the following verses, the duty of brotherly love. Perhaps neither of these is precisely the Apostle’s idea, but he may mean in this verse to put in a general disclaimer against the charge that what he urged was new.

In respect to all that John taught, says Barnes, the views of truth he held, the duties he advised, the course of life he prescribed as proper for a Christian to live, he meant to say that it was not at all new. He originated nothing; it was the same system of doctrines they received since becoming believers. He might have felt persuaded to say this because he was apprehensive that some of those he had in view and whose principles he seemed to oppose might say that this was all new. The Christians the Apostle John wrote to clearly understood the nature of their faith as laid down by the Savior. In a somewhat different sense, he admits that there was a commandment to be considered for the Savior called it “new.”^[19]

John Stock (1817-1884) advises us that “truth” is both new and old. The revised version corresponds with the original. The commandment to love God and each other was first in the heart of God. The moral law is but the reflection of God, who is holy, just, and understanding.^[20] He sees it as a resemblance to Himself, which is our reason to rejoice. The giving of the Law on Mount Sinai was not its birth. When He created our first parents, love for God was written on the fleshly tablets of their hearts, and it was their delight to love their beneficent Creator and each other as themselves. Christianity is God’s grand scheme to restore all things. And where the Anointed One is believed in and obeyed, through the power of the vital union to Him by faith, love follows, and faith works by it; affection, not constraint, choice, not compulsion, leading disciples into the paths of righteousness. “On that day of Your power, Your people will come to you willingly.”^[21] It verifies the surrender of the sons of God of their souls and bodies to the Son of God.^[22]

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[1] Wuest, Kenneth S. (1961)., The New Testament an Expanded Translation, op. cit., which I have redacted to make it more understandable in today’s English.

[2] Owen, John: Christologia, Vol. 2, Ch. 11, p. 183

[3] See 2:11

[4] Whitby, Daniel: First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 460

[5] Gill, John: Exposition of the Entire Bible (Kindle Location 340269)

[6] Cf. Jeremiah 31:33

[7] Pierce, S. E., An Exposition of the First Epistle General of John, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 147

[8] Maclaren, Alexander: Sermons on First John, op. cit., The Message and its Practical Results.

[9] Euclid was a Greek mathematician best known for his treatise on geometry: The Elements. This has influenced the development of Western mathematics for over 2,345 years.

[10] Maclaren, Alexander: Commentary (Expositions of Holy Scripture), op. cit., (Kindle Locations 167732-167736)

[11] Isaiah 60:1

[12] 1 Corinthians 1:21

[13] 1 John 1:8

[14] Psalm 119:105

[15] 2 Corinthians 3:18

[16] Matthew 4:16

[17] John 12:36

[18] Morgan, James (1865)., An Exposition of the First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 88

[19] Barnes, Albert: New Testament Notes, op. cit., 4812

[20] Romans 7:17

[21] Psalm 110:3

[22] Stock, John: An Exposition of the First Epistle Genera of St. John, op. cit., p. 91

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXIX) 05/03/21

^2:8 But what I write is also a new commandment. It is a true one; you can see its truth in Jesus and yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

The concept of light and darkness representing those in union with God and those in partnership with the devil was not new. Even the Psalmist exclaimed, “The Lord is my Light and my salvation – so why should I be afraid?”[1] And what beautiful words for John to have memorized from the last prophet to write God’s message to His children: “You who reverence My Name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings.”

The prophet Malachi poetically put the same thought by saying, “Goodness will shine on you like the rising sun with healing power in its rays. You will run free and happy, like young calves let out to pasture.”^[2] John expresses a similar thought in his Gospel.  And with such Light shining on us, we are less apt to go back into the darkness where unholy practices await anyone who returns to their former den of iniquity. So, stay in the Light because He is Light!

Just look at John’s own words: “Life began by Him. His Life was the Light for humanity. The Light shines in the darkness. The darkness has never been able to put out the Light.”[3] And for sure, John never forgot the words of our Lord when He told everyone in Jerusalem, “I am the Light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life.”[4] And when the Master told the disciples that He did not have long to stay, He reminded them, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going.”[5] And to his young protégé, Timothy, Paul’s words of encouragement about the ministry of the Messiah on earth was that “He made all of this plain to us by the appearance of the Anointed One, Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.”[6]

John turns a corner and says that he does have something new for them to realize, and that is, they must implement this new commandment in their lives before it is possible to obey the original one. And this new commandment came from the lips of the Anointed One: “I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”^[7] And this is very important; it will help those who watch you and hear you speak about your Christian faith, that you are indeed one of the Anointed One’s followers when they see how you love one another. As a matter of fact, the Anointed One repeated it later to make sure they understood its importance.^[8]

But as Paul saw it, there was more to be revealed. So, he told the Corinthians, you know of the generous loving-favor shown by our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. Although He was rich, He became poor for your good. In that way, He gave up everything so that He could richly bless you.^[9] And since we are God’s dear children, we must try to be like Him. So, live a life filled with love, following the example of the Anointed One who loved us so much, He offered Himself on our behalf like a sweet-smelling incense and sacrifice to God.^[10]

Even the Apostle Peter found this a necessary word of encouragement and pointed out that since Jesus went through everything we’re going through, and more, we must learn to think like Him. We ought to think of your sufferings as a withdrawal symptom from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get our way. Then we’ll be able to live out our days free to pursue what God wants instead of chasing our desires, trying to enjoy life like unbelievers.^[11] In other words, it’s almost like going through detoxification to get rid of the addiction to the enslaving habits of this world. Just trying to avoid such things is not enough; our sinful tendencies must be nailed to the cross with our Lord so that they become a dead thing to us.

When John speaks of the darkness of ungodliness fading away, he implies the world before they saw the Gospel’s Light in the incarnation of the Son of God who came to live among us. We find a similar refrain when King Solomon said, “Take a look outside, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers are coming through the ground. Now the season for singing is here. We can even hear the cooing of the returning turtle-dove throughout our land.”^[12] And who can forget those inspiring words of the prophet Isaiah, “Those people who live in darkness will see a great Light. They live in a place as dark as death, but a great Light will shine on them.”^[13]

The Apostle Paul may have had a similar thought when he issued an alarm to the Roman church that “the night is almost over.” They needed to know that the day was almost here when the whole world would know about Jesus the Messiah. So, stop doing the things done in darkness and take the weapons that help us fight for the Light.^[14] He gave the Corinthians a similar warning.^[15] Even the Ephesians were subject to such a period of heathen darkness before the Light came to them.^[16] And Paul encouraged the Thessalonians that they are children of the Light and the day. They are not of the dark or the night. So, stay awake! Don’t fall asleep like others have done! Watch out; keep your minds alert to what is happening.^[17]

“Anyone who goes to sleep at night because it gets dark will awaken in the morning when the light dawns.” So, says John, those who were spiritually asleep in the darkness of ignorance about God are now spiritually awake because the Light has come. But not just any light. As the Psalmist says, “The Lord is my Light and Savior. So, why should I fear anyone? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger. So, I will be afraid of no one?”^[18]

COMMENTARY

Œcumenius (700-800 AD) states that this commandment is new in that it is no longer restricted to Israel as it was under Moses’ law. Under that law, every person was responsible to love their friends and to hate their enemies. But Jesus then turned that around by saying that we should love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.[19] John was concentrating on the fact that these people are human beings like ourselves and not worrying about how they feel toward us.^[20]

In what sense is this commandment to love one another new, asks Isho‘dad of Merv (800-900 AD)? To John, the term “commandment” means the revelation of the dispensation. It cannot be called new concerning God, but from the human point of view, it was a mystery hidden in the Creator from the beginning.^[21] Clement of Alexandria says the darkness is the darkness of perversion, and the light is the light of faith, working in us according to God’s foreordained plan.^[22]

Richard Rothe (1799-1867) tells us that we cannot understand the first half of this verse without knowing the last half. The fact that the Apostle John says it is new only means that it is now reinterpreted by the Anointed One for use by those who follow Him whenever or wherever taught. All we have to do is read the story of the Good Samaritan to see what a change our Lord made in loving our neighbor as ourselves.^[23] It is not something we do out of obligation or an act forced on us by an emergency. It should always be on a believer’s mind. Furthermore, it was certainly on our Lord’s mind everywhere He went.^[24]

But then John says, it is essential to understand this “because” the darkness is passing and the Light is already shining. Rothe points to how the vagueness of this statement has led to many interpretations. If “ignorance” is taken as “not knowing,” it leaves it open to defining what uninformed people needed to hear. Or, if we take “darkness” to imply the pre-Christian age and the non-Christian condition of humanity, it is speaking of two periods in time.  But somewhat deeper, if we see “darkness” as the world without the presence of the Anointed One, then it is His Light that is shining for all to see. So, the believer’s role in loving one another in this transition from the old to the new requirements that the world must be able to see the change made when they went from being pagan to Christian. John does not leave us in the dark; verses nine and ten explain it best of all.^[25]

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[1] Psalm 27:1; cf. 36:9; 84:11

[2] Malachi 4:2

[3] John 1:4-5, 9

[4] Ibid. 8:12

[5] Ibid. 12:35

[6] 2 Timothy 1:10

[7] John 13:34-35

[8] Ibid. 15:12-15

[9] 2 Corinthians 8:9

[10] Ephesians 5:1-2

[11] 1 Peter 4:1-2

[12] Song of Solomon 2:11-12

[13] Isaiah 9:2; See 60:1-3

[14] Romans 13:12

[15] 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

[16] Ephesians 5:8

[17] 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6

[18] Psalm 27:1

[19] Matthew 5:43-45a

[20] Œcumenius: Bray, G. (Ed.), op. cit., 1-3 John, p. 180

[21] Isho’dad of Merve, Bray, G. (Ed.)., 1-3 John, op. cit., p. 180

[22] Alexander, Clement, of, Adumbrations, p. 180

[23] Luke 10:25-37

[24] Acts of the Apostles 10:38

[25] Rothe, Richard: The Expository Times, op. cit., August 1891, p. 163

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXVIII) 04/30/21

^2:7 My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. This command is the teaching you have already heard

To put this another way, John was teasing his readers much like a person who stands before an audience and says, “I’m going to tell you something you already know, you’ve heard it from the time of your conversion. It has to do with loving. Yet, I will explain it in a new way because Jesus not only preached this commandment but practiced it to the fullest. In fact, you are already doing what Jesus said you should do. Furthermore, anyone who claims they know all about it but doesn’t practice it is wandering around in the dark.” At this point, everyone in the audience is yelling, “tell  us what you are going to tell us! Don’t keep us hanging like this.” Finally, the speaker says, “Only when you obey this old commandment that Jesus revised, namely, to love your fellow brother and sister in the Lord, will you be living openly in the light of understanding.”

Theologian Augustus H. Strong (1836-1921) offers an insightful thought about how an old commandment is also a new commandment. He points out that “No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.”[1] As the Roman statesman Cicero said, “Nemo igitur vir Magnus sine aliquo adflatu Divino unquam fuit.” (“Therefore, no great man ever existed who did not enjoy some portion of divine inspiration.”)^[2] But dull minds, says Strong, cannot figure out the sayings of the Scriptures, no sinful heart can see the progress of theology from the very first prophecy. For some, the maxim, “The wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life,”[3] seems beyond their comprehension.

Teachers are needed to demonstrate how theories work or don’t work. The Holy Spirit is required to show us that the “new commandment” illustrated by the death of the Anointed One is only an “old commandment” from the beginning now transformed. The Holy Spirit enables us to enter into the meaning of the Holy One’s revelations in both Scripture and nature, interpret the one by the other, and work out original demonstrations and applications of the truth.^[4] Strong’s presentation is somewhat unclear by bringing the natural and supernatural together to make the identical point. However, so is the doctrine of the incarnation in which the Son of God became the son of man, two in one, both for the same purpose.

Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) says there are three distinct beginnings emphasized in Scripture. First, “In the beginning, God created heaven and the earth.”^[5] Secondly, there is a beginning that goes even further back when “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God.”^[6] Now, in verse seven, we have that which “was from the beginning” of a new dispensation, the onset of Christianity.^[7]

Stephen S. Smalley (1931-2018) sees John’s use of the Greek noun entolē, which is translated here as “commandment,” and implies an order, a charge, precept, and an injunction. Smalley points to the fact that “command” is used in the singular. There is the possibility that in John’s mind, the command he is about to reveal is the only command needed to fulfill the whole Law as outlined by Jesus to the one who questioned what was the greatest of all commandments.^[8] Therefore, since Jesus fulfilled the entire Law by His actions, by having Him dwell in us when we obey Him and His words, we also fulfill the Law.^[9]

Michael Eaton (1942-2017) refers to the common expectation that the Messiah would bring a new and unsurpassed final era in the story of the human race. As such, Eaton demonstrates the thinking of pre-Christian believers this way:

                              Moses’ Days                                               Jesus’ Day

Messiah is coming>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>/Messiah had not yet come……….……………………

But then Jesus came. He started preaching His message: “The kingdom is at hand,” But it soon became apparent that although the Messiah’s days had begun, the Moses’ days had not finished. There was an overlap “upon those that the culmination of the ages would come.”[10] Therefore, the position of the Christian since Jesus came is as follows:

Moses’ Day                                            Jesus’ Day

Messiah is coming>>>>>>>>>>>>>>/Messiah is here>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The new days of God’s kingdom came, says Eaton, while the world’s empire was still in full power. It was only after His death and resurrection that He defeated the world realm leader. That’s when the Anointed One declared all authority in heaven and on earth were His.[11] Therefore, those still under the rule of Satan’s dynasty found themselves on the losing end; those in the kingdom of heaven became winners for eternity.[12]

2:8a Yet, this commandment I’m writing to you about is new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and He is living in you. That’s because the darkness of godless thinking is disappearing, and truth-light is shining brightly.

EXPOSITION

When reading this first part of verse eight, we cannot help but think that the Apostle John is quoting the master’s words.[13] The Apostle Paul wrote how Jesus put His words into action by becoming poor for our good.[14] Paul even told the Ephesians to do what God would do, facing the same situations they encountered each day that called on love in action.[15] It was our Lord’s action, said the Apostle Peter, that helped us have trust and hope in God to be there when we need Him.[16] And, says Peter, “Since the Anointed One suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude He did; you must be ready to suffer, too.”[17]

We don’t know if John was a devoted reader of the works of King Solomon. Still, when sharing that he saw the coming of the Light for understanding to drive away from the darkness of misunderstanding and deception, it paints a similar picture to Solomon’s words.[18] However, since John knows of Jesus’ preference of Isaiah’s words, he could easily recall the prophet’s proclamation: “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. The light will shine on those living in the land of dark shadows.”[19]

In addition, there was Zechariah, the father of the prophecy about John the Baptizer where he said, “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”[20] And indeed Jesus did, and even confirmed Zechariah’s prophecy about Him.[21]

The Apostle Paul stood before King Agrippa and gave an account of His calling and ministry. He told the magistrate that the Anointed One told him he would be sending him out to the Gentiles, “To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.”[22] And perhaps John heard the Apostle Paul talk about his message to the Roman believers that the night is almost gone, the day is almost here.[23] Furthermore, Paul told the Corinthians that Satan hates the glorious light shining from the Gospel.[24] And when John became the pastor of the congregation in Ephesus, they may have shared with him Paul’s letter that said, “Once you lived in darkness. Now you are living in the light that comes from the Lord. Live as children who have the light of the Lord in them.”[25] He also congratulated the believers in Thessalonica on being children of the light and not of the darkness.[26]

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[1] 1 Corinthians 2:11-12

[2] Cicero, De Natura Deorum Academica, The Loeb Classical Library, Vol. XIX, William Heinemann Ltc., London, 1951, Bk. II, p. 282, ⁋167

[3] Romans 6:23

[4] Strong, Augustus H., Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, p. 93

[5] Genesis 1:1

[6] John 1:1

[7] Ironside, H. A. The Epistles of John and Jude (Ironside Expository Commentaries), op. cit., (Kindle Location 86)

[8] Matthew 22:37-39

[9] Smalley, Stephen S., Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 51, op. cit., p. 55

[10] 1 Corinthians 10:11

[11] Matthew 28:18

[12] Eaton, Michael, 1, 2, 3, John, op. cit., pp. 59-60

[13] John 13:34; 15:12

[14] 2 Corinthians 8:9

[15] Ephesians 5:1-2

[16] 1 Peter 1:21

[17] Ibid. 4:1

[18] Song of Solomon 2:11-12

[19] Isaiah 9:2; See 60:1-3; Matthew 4:16

[20] Luke 1:78-79

[21] John 12;46

[22] Acts of the Apostles 26:17b-18

[23] Romans 13:12

[24] 1 Corinthians 4:4

[25] Ephesians 5:8

[26] 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R. Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER TWO (Lesson XXVII) 04/29/21

^2:7 My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. This command is the teaching you have already heard

Didymus the Blind (313-398 AD) says that some people objected to what the Apostle John was teaching as a new thing, so he insisted it was not that way.^[1] As odd as this may sound back then, I don’t think it would be unusual today. Read the sermons preached in America’s pulpits 100 years ago and compare them to the present age. When was the last time you heard a message on the cross, on the ravages of sin, on sanctification, on holy living, on the resurrection, on the Anointed One’s ascension, on Pentecost, or heaven and hell? The same is true now as it was in John’s day. These things are not new; they’ve been part of the Gospel from the beginning.

Andreas of Cæsarea (600-700 A.D.) says that some may ask if those who have known Jesus from the beginning did not hear about His commandment to love one another? Since they were not Jews (as appears from the end of the letter and told to stay away from idol worship). People everywhere have heard it from Torah?^{[2] [3]} It is often an excuse when they catch someone breaking God’s laws and even man’s laws. “Sorry, officer, I didn’t know you couldn’t change lanes without putting on your turn signal.”

John Trapp has an interesting observation about the Apostle John’s confession that he is not writing anything new regarding loving God and each other. Trapp says that John thoughtfully erases any misgivings of this law being a novelty. We should never set a jealous eye upon that which is new and stop walking on the old-fashion highway;[4] in the footsteps of the saints traveling the ancient paths.[5] God’s children come from a long line of ancient saints.[6]  But idolaters are said to sacrifice to new gods recently appeared.[7] Truth, like wine, is better with age.[8] And of witnesses, Aristotle well saith, the older they are, the more credible because they are less corrupt. As we hear the newest philosophy, as opposed to the most ancient theology, we may justly suspect them of falsehood and delusions, who assume themselves inspired to utter new revelations, bringing to light new truths.^[9]

In one of John Wesley’s sermons on Christian Perfection, he addresses those who might object to reading this as the Apostle John talking to fellow believers in the faith. John’s answer makes it clear: “We know all things that are needful for your souls’ health” The Apostle never intended to go on and on about this. So, not allowing him to speak it in absolute terms is evident. The Apostle’s own words later in this chapter state plainly: “I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray,”[10] as well as the words he heard from the Master, “Watch out that no one deceives you.”[11] It would have been altogether needless if his readers who had that anointing from the Holy One were not susceptible to forgetting or being mistaken.^[12]

Adam Clarke notes that there seems to be a contradiction between verse six (“I am not writing a new commandment for you.”) and verse seven (“I am writing a new commandment for you.”) The Apostle John does not appear to speak about any differences in the essence of the guidelines related to more Light and faith existing in salvation under the Law or Grace. God always wanted people to walk in His Light by loving Him through one another. But the commandment to do so received greater spiritual meaning and additional light when issued by the Anointed One.^[13]

In his remarks here on verse seven, Augustus Neander notes that John’s object was not to offer anything new to the congregations. He desired to awaken in them a living sense of what had always been the focus of his instructions. He meant it to guide them in the proper application of that which they already knew. That is why he held up before them the one command of the Lord, which was the sum and substance of all other commandments. The essential nature of practical Christian living stood on this foundation of loving God by loving each other. He wanted to have it etched in their hearts anew, so it would speak louder than ever.^[14] So, preaching the Gospel over and over again is beneficial for any congregation to hear. To press it harder and harder into their hearts and minds.

Frederick Maurice notes that it is a curious phrase, “we know that we know Him.” In other words, we must be confident that we know who He is. But it is a familiar one to us in other applications. I say to a friend, “Are you sure you know that person? I am aware that you meet them often. You see them, perhaps, every day; you work with them; you talk with them. But are you sure you know that you know them? Have you got any real insight into their character? Have you any confidence that you are not thinking of them better or worse than they deserve?” These are questions that we often ask and to which we get various answers.

“Sometimes the answer is quite confident,” says Maurice. “I am certain that they are, or that they are not an honest, or a kind, or a wise person.” And yet, it may not inspire us with confidence. We may say, or we may think, “Is that person deceptive? Did they gain my trust through flattery? In due time the mask will fall off, and you will find out your mistake.” To this, you might say, “You’re not the person I thought you were. You fooled me with your pretentious acts of kindness.” You may also find that you misinterpreted their intent. They’ve proven to be a much more dependable friend than you gave them credit.

That’s why now, and then, we are convinced that a friend holds the same opinion about that person. You still are not sure how you arrived at the same belief. Maurice says he thinks it is because your friend helped you understand and appreciate that person. They helped throw light upon what we experienced in the person’s presence to see the wrong impression we formed of them. However, even their good recommendation, especially a very favorable one, still does not satisfy us. We are determined to verify it. We must get to know that person of whom our friend speaks so highly. In the end, we want to be able to say, “I know that I know that person.”^[15] It seems that Maurice took the long route to explain that we cannot say we know that we know a person until we experience it ourselves. Of all people, this is true of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Christopher Wordsworth believes that the Apostle John’s aimed his mention that he is not writing a new commandment was what he accused the Judaizers and false apostles of doing. They were treating the Gospel as being modifiable, making it thus a novelty. They attempted to limit the mercy of God to only those who were willing to live under the bondage of the Law. Furthermore, they also sought to restrict God’s love to only the Jews or Israel. But John tells his constituents that the Christian doctrine of love is for humanity, and it has been so from the beginning.^[16]

Daniel Whedon (1808-1885) remarks that the Apostle John interrupts the current line of thinking twice in this chapter to express his writing’s purpose and feeling. Other writers might have done this in their introduction, but he began with total confidence in his subject, and he makes his remarks parenthetically. This interlude in verses seven and eight meets head-on the objection that his doctrine is a novelty.^[17] We might compare it to someone describing the beauty of some wonder of the world, who would interject: “I know what I’m talking about, I’ve been there and saw it with my eyes.”

William Alexander (1824-1911) points out two different Greek terms translated by the same English word here in Epistles. The first is the adjective kainos (“new”), which means: “recently made, fresh, recent unused.” The second is the adjective neos (“new”), which implies: “young, youthful.”^[18] Alexander notes that kainos is used here in verse seven. It signifies that it is new in quality to that which it replaces or supersedes as being antiquated or inferior.^[19] However, John is not doing away with the original commandment; he is giving a revised edition. And the revisionist is none other than Jesus the Anointed One.^[20]

John James Lias (1834-1923) finds that the first question Bible commentators have asked, how is this commandment to love one another fulfilled? The natural reply has been, “brotherly love.” However, some commentators say it is likely that the Apostle chose to introduce the question of brotherly love this way. He does not mention it until verse ten. That brings up another question. Was this commandment already in his mind before he wrote it down, was he just waiting for the right moment? Or, did John purposely choose to introduce it this way?^[21]

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[1] Didymus the Blind, Bray, G. (Ed.), op. cit., 1-3 John, p. 179

[2] Matthew 13:34

[3] Andreas: Bray, G. (Ed.), op. cit., 1-3 John, p. 180

[4] Jeremiah 16:6

[5] Ibid. 18:15

[6] Isaiah 44:7; Cf. Hebrews 12:1-2

[7] Dueteronomy 32:17

[8] Luke 5:39

[9] Trapp, John: On Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 726

[10] 1 John 2:26

[11] Matthew 24:4

[12] Wesley, John, The Works of, Vol. 6, Sermon 10, p. 11

[13] Clarke, Adam: First Epistle of John, op. cit., 370

[14] See Revelation 3:3

[15] Maurice, F. D., The Epistles of St. John, op. cit., pp. 70-71

[16] Christopher Wordsworth: NT with Introduction, op. cit., p. 110

[17] Whedon, Daniel D. Commentary on NT, op. cit., p. 259

[18] See Hebrews 12:24; cf. 1 Peter 5:5

[19] Alexander, William: The Expositor’s Bible, op. cit., First Epistle of John, p. 130

[20] John 13:34

[21] Lias, J. J., The First Epistle of John with Exposition, p. 77