Bibliotheca
Sacra 145 (1988) 420-435.
Copyright © 1988 by
An
Expositional Study of 1 John
Part 3 (of 10
parts):
An Exposition of I John 2:7-17
D.
Professor Emeritus
of New Testament
Mennonite Brethren Biblical
Seminary,
Beloved, I am not writing a new
commandment to you, but an old
commandment
which you have had from the beginning; the old com-
mandment is the word which you have heard. On the
other hand, I am
writing a
new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you,
because the
darkness is passing away, and the true light is already
shining.
The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is
in the
darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the
light and
there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates
his brother
is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not
know where
he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven
you for His
name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know
Him who has been
from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men,
because you
have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, chil-
dren, because you know the Father. I have written to
you, fathers, be-
cause you
know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written
to you,
young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides
in you, and
you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world, nor
the things
in the world. If any one loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh and
the lust of
the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father,
but is from
the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts;
but the one
who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:7-17).
According to his stated purpose in
5:13, John wrote this epistle so
that his readers "may know that you have
eternal life." The epis-
tle provides a series of
tests that promote personal assurance of God's
truth and salvation and enable believers to detect
and reject the
false teachings assailing them.
420
An Exposition of 1 John
2:7-17 421
John began with offering assurance
through the test of fellow-
ship grounded in the nature and revelation of God.
This fellowship
is grounded in the nature of God as light (1:5),
is hindered by the
presence and practice of sin (1:6-10), and is
made possible by the re-
demptive work of Christ (2:1-2).
In 2:3-17 John set forth a series of
signs assuring that true fellowship with God is being
maintained. In
2:3-6
he indicated two closely related signs, the sign of obedience
(vv. 3-5a) and the sign of the conscious imitation of the example
of
Christ
(vv. 5b-6). Now in 2:7-17 John developed two further signs,
both in different ways revolving around the practice
of Christian love.
Assurance of
Fellowship from the Sign of Love
In 2:7-11 John developed the thought
that assurance that fel-
lowship with God is being
maintained can be drawn from the prac-
tice of brother-love. In
verses 7-8 he characterized this crucial com-
mand to love one's brother,
and then in verses 9-11 he applied this
sign to representative individuals.
THE
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE COMMANDMENT OF LOVE
John began with a term of direct
address, "Beloved" ( ]Agaphtoi<),
the first of six occurrences of this affectionate
address in this epistle
(2:7;
3:2; 21; 4:1, 7, 11).1 It expresses John's own deep love for his
readers, whom he accepted as in the circle of
Christian love. They
were the objects of God's love as well as his own.
In writing to them
John
was motivated by a deep, persistent love that desires the wel-
fare of the readers.
An old commandment
(v. 7). When John declared, "I am not
writing a new commandment to you, but an old
commandment," he did
not stop to indicate the contents of this command.
Having spoken
about "His commandments" in verses 3-4, the
singular now implied
that some specific command is in view. The
obligation in verse 6 to
imitate the example of Christ may be in view,
but the context sug-
gests that John had in view the commandment to love,
elaborated in
verses 9-11. Plummer observes, "Practically it
makes little matter
which answer we give, for at bottom these are one and
the same.
They
are different aspects of walking in the
light."2
1 The reading "Brethren" in the KJV
follows the Textus Receptus,
the reading in K, L,
and most minuscules. See
Zane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad, The Greek New Tes-
tament according to the Majority Text (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 1982);
Bruce
M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the
Greek New Testament (
United
Bible Societies, 1971), p. 709.
2 Alfred Plummer, The Epistles of S. John, in The
Colleges
(reprint,
422 Bibliotheca
Sacra / October—December 1988
In stressing this love-commandment
John insisted that it was
"not ... a new commandment" (ou]k
e]ntolh>n kainh>n), something new in
kind or quality. He denied any implication that he
was formulating
some further obligation not inherent in the original
apostolic
proclamation. This negation is
confirmed by the positive fact that
he was referring to "an old commandment which
you have had from
the beginning." It is "old" (palaia<) in the sense of being
of long
duration, old as contrasted to recent. It is a
commandment "which
you have had" (h{n ei@xete) as a continuing possession through the
years, in fact, "from the beginning" (a]p
] a]rxh?j). The beginning here
cannot refer back to the beginning of the human race,
nor yet to the
command's proclamation in the Old Testament Law
(Lev. 19:18), but
correctly relates to the church in its earliest
stage. Most natural is
the view that John was thinking of the initiation
of his readers into
the experience of love when they first heard and
accepted the gospel
preached to them.
John's statement, "the old
commandment is the word which you
have heard,"3 explicitly connects
this old commandment with their
past Christian experience. "The old
commandment" (h[ e]ntolh> h[ pa-
laia<, "the commandment,
the old one"), is an emphatic reference to
the commandment under discussion. It is identified
with "the word"
(o[ lo<goj), the apostolic message
as first proclaimed to them, which
embodied this commandment of love. "You have
heard" (h]kou<sate),
in the aorist rather than the perfect, points back
to the time when
they first heard the message. Their experience
confirms that this
was not something new and extraneous to their
Christian faith.
A new commandment (v. 8). The
statement, "On the other hand,
I
am writing a new commandment to you" (pa<lin e]ntolh>n
kainh>n gra<fw
u[mi?n), recognizes that, looked at in another way, this
commandment
of love is indeed new. The opening adverb (pa<lin) does not introduce
a new subject but continues the matter of this
love-command looked at
in a new and different way. It is not a recent
innovation, yet it is
qualitatively new as experienced in
Christ. This double feature as-
sures those who oppose any
innovation in connection with their faith
and satisfies those who yearn for something fresh
and invigorating.
The words "which is true in Him
and in you" (o! e]stin a]lhqe>j e]n
au]t&?
kai> e]n u[mi?n)
verify this newness. The neuter pronoun "which"
(o!) cannot relate
directly to "commandment" (e]ntolh>n), which is a
feminine noun, but points to the newness
involved. This newness "is
true," that is, it exists as a factual reality,
"in Him and in you." In
3 The recurrence of the words from the
beginning" in the KJV follows the Textus Re-
ceptus; older texts omit the
words. For the textual evidence see Nestle-Aland, Novum
Testarnentum Graece, 26th ed. (
An Exposition of 1 John
2:7-17 423
the incarnate Christ this newness manifested itself
in His life and
teaching, and supremely in His vicarious death.
And through the
indwelling Holy Spirit this newness is also true in
the experience of
God's people (Rom. 5:5; 2 Cor.
5:17).
John's use of "in you," rather
than "in us,"4 "commends
the readers for conduct that is truly char-
acterized by this new command to
love one another.”5 But Plummer
notes that his repeated use of "in" (e]n) implies that "it
is true in the
case of Christ in a different sense from that in
which it is true in the
case of Christians."6
The explanatory comment,
"because the darkness is passing
away, and the true light is already shining," relates
not to Christ
but to the readers, "because there is no sense
in which the darkness is
passing away in Christ. Such a departure of
darkness can only be
true in redeemed men."7 For John
"the darkness" (h[
skoti<a), as al-
ready indicated in 1:5, is not merely the impersonal
absence of light;
it is a figurative reference to the realm of moral
darkness which
stands in antithesis to all that is "the
light" as characteristic of God
and all that relates to Him. These two moral realms
stand in active
conflict with each other and cannot be rightly
intermingled. As
Smalley
notes, this "contrast between good (as light) and evil (as
darkness) is characteristic of John."8
The present tense verb "is
passing away" (para<getai)
denotes
the action in progress;9 the impact of
the light on the darkness is al-
ready apparent. The darkness is not yet totally gone,
nor is its pass-
ing away wholly a matter of
the future, to be accomplished at
Christ's
return. The process of removing the darkness has already
been initiated by this renewing love, but the
process will only be
fully consummated when Christ, the Redeemer,
personally returns to
earth to banish the darkness.
The verb "is passing away"
(para<getai) may be either middle
or
passive in form. If passive, the meaning is,
"is caused to pass away."
It
is generally taken as the middle voice, thus stressing the part that
the light plays in the action of the darkness
passing away. The
4
The
reading in us" (e]n h!min)
is found in a few manuscripts. For the textual evi-
dence, see ibid.
5 Simon
J. Kistemaker, "Exposition of the Epistle of
James and the Epistles of John,"
in New
Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986), p. 261.
6 Plummer, The Epistles of S. John, p. 93.
7 Donald W. Burdick, The Letters of John the Apostle (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985),
p. 143.
8 Stephen S. Smalley, 1, 2, 3 John, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 51 (
Word
Books, Publisher, 1984), p. 58.
9 The rendering "is past" (KJV) is
inaccurate.
424 Bibliotheca
Sacra / October–(December 1988
darkness is being expelled by the power of the
light.
The passing of the darkness is
explained by the fact that "the
true light is already shining" (to>
fw?j to> a]lhqinon>n h@dh fai<nei, liter-
ally, "the light, the true, already is
shining"). The construction em-
phasizes the presence of the
true or genuine light in contrast to the
spurious "light" the false teachers
offered. Any professed "gospel"
that distorts or counterfeits the true apostolic
teaching only prolongs
the operation of the darkness.
THE
APPLICATION OF THE COMMANDMENT OF LOVE
In verses 9-11 John presented three
hypothetical individuals to
test the presence of this enlightening love. He used
articular present
tense participles to delineate the claim or conduct
of each.
The one hating (v. 9). The
individual pictured in this verse dis-
plays a conflict between his claim and his conduct. Two present tense
participles under the government of one article
portray two distinct
characteristics. "The one who says
he is in the light" (o[
le<gwn e]n t&?
fwti>
ei@nai) declares that the light is the sphere of his
life and be-
ing; he claims to have
fellowship with God who is Light (1:5).
"And"
(kai>) introduces a further
feature: "and hates his brother"
(kai> to>n a]delfo>n au]tou?
misw?n, literally, "and
the brother of him
hating"). The word order stresses the flagrant
contradiction between
his claim and his conduct. "His brother,"
placed next to his claim to
be in the light, denotes a fellow Christian with
whom he should
have a close relationship. In keeping with John's
characteristic us-
age (3:14-15; 5:1), the term "brother"
denotes not merely a fellow
human being but a Christian brother. This does not
mean he is at
liberty to hate a non-Christian; the
brother-relationship is the key
to the test being applied. If he fails to show
love within the family
circle, he cannot be expected to show love in broader
relationships.
The
present participle "hating" denotes his characteristic attitude,
not merely a flash of anger or ill will. As the
opposite of Christian
love, such hatred cannot be viewed merely as a
matter of indiffer-
ence or deliberate disregard
of the brother in his need. A feeling of
ill-will or active malice toward the object of hatred
is involved. For
John
there was no neutral ground between love and hate (cf.
3:14-15).
The test reveals that this
individual "is in the darkness until
now." His conduct nullifies his claim, and he
is still in the realm of
"the darkness" (cf. 1:5-6); he has never left it
"until now." Though
"the true light is already shining" (2:8), he has never
had the
transforming experience of passing
from the darkness into the light.
Kistemaker suggests that John's "until
now" "tactfully leaves the
An Exposition of 1 John
2:7-17 425
door open so that they may repent and come to the
light."10
The one loving (v. 10). The
individual now portrayed, "the one
who loves his brother" (o[
a]gapw?n to>n a]delfo>n
au]tou?), is the opposite
of the one in verse 9. There is no neutral ground
between the two. No
reference is made to his claim to love. It is
assumed he gives testi-
mony to his faith as
appropriate, but his practice speaks for itself
without any loud profession. The present
participle denotes that his
love is no occasional, sporadic matter, but a
continual, habitual prac-
tice. This term for
"love" (a]gapa<w) denotes "not so
much a manifes-
tation of the emotions as it
is a manifestation of the will."11 It is an
intelligent and purposeful love that seeks to
promote the highest
good for the one loved, even at the expense of self.
Such a love is
only the result of the love of God having been
poured out within
believers' hearts through the indwelling Holy
Spirit (
A believer's practice of such love
reveals that he "abides in the
light" (e]n t&? fwti> me<nei), that he lives in or
is at home in the sphere
of "the light," the sphere associated
with the presence and power of
God. The word order underlines the sphere of his
abode. His prac-
tice of love reveals that he
has joined the brotherhood of "the light."
"And" (kai>) introduces a further
fact concerning him: "and there
is no cause for stumbling in him" (kai> ska<ndalon e]n au]t&? ou]k e@stin).
This
negative advantage is understood in various ways. Since the
pronoun au]t&? may
be either neuter or masculine, the statement may
be rendered, "and in it there is no cause for
stumbling" (RSV),12 that
is, the light in which he lives and moves offers
nothing that causes
stumbling. This makes good sense, understanding
that "the light,"
unlike "the darkness," has no adverse or
destructive impact on the
one living in it. Smalley insists that the neuter
"it" "fits the context,
and is supported both by the content of verse 11
and by the parallel
thought expressed in John 11:9 ('a man who walks
by day will not
stumble,
for he sees by this world's light')."13 But it is generally
accepted that the pronoun is personal, since in
these verses John's
thought is centered on the individual rather
than on the light, "and
cause of stumbling in him is there none!"14
10 Kistemaker, "Exposition of the Epistle of James and
the Epistles of John,” p. 263.
11
J Dwight Pentecost, The Joy of Fellowship (
House,
1977), p. 43.
12 Revised
Standard Version (Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Co., 1962).
13 Smalley, 1,
2, 3, John, p. 62. Smalley further remarks, 'John does not teach the
doctrine of sinless perfection, such as might be
favored by the translation in him there
is no cause for stumbling."'
14 Joseph
Bryant Rotherham, The Emphasized New Testament (
Kregel
Publications, 1959).
426 Bibliotheca
Sacra / October—December 1988
The intended force of the noun here
rendered "cause of stumbling"
(ska<ndalonv) is not wholly clear.
Since in classical Greek the term
denoted the trigger stick that released a deadly
trap, hence a dan-
gerous entrapment, Lenski insisted that "when this word is used
metaphorically it means bringing
spiritual death."15 But in view of
its use in Septuagint Greek, the term also came to
refer to a stumbling
block. This seems to be the import of the term
here—something that
causes stumbling or gives offence.
Views differ over who is made to
stumble. Does he cause others
to stumble, or is the stumbling block in his own
way? In favor of the
former is the fact that in the New Testament the term
usually de-
notes an offence to others (Matt. 16:23; 18:7; Rom.
14:13; 16:17; 1 Cor.
1:23;
Gal. 5:11; Rev. 2:14). Thus Wilder comments, "Such a one is not
the occasion of any offense to others as are the
troublemakers who
spread confusion in the church."16 And
Vine remarks, "Love is the
best safeguard against the woes pronounced by our
Lord upon those
who cause others to stumble."17
Others, however, point to the par-
allel with verse 11 as
favoring the second view. Plummer notes there
is nothing in verse 11 that "suggests the
notion that the brother-
hater leads others astray: it is his own dark
condition that is con-
templated." Plummer also
points to "the very close parallel in John
xi.
9, 10," and cites Psalm 119:165; "'Great peace have they which
love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them'; i.e.,
there is no stum-
bling-block before them."18
The second view seems preferable here,
yet Smalley remarks, "Perhaps, in typically Johannine style, both
meanings are involved in this passage."19
The one hating (v.
11). The third individual pictured is again
the very opposite of the preceding. While parallel
to verse 9, this
verse now emphasizes the blinding impact of hate.
"The one who hates his
brother" resumes the thought in verse 9,
but now reference to his spiritual pretensions is
dropped and the re-
sults of hatred in his life
are stressed. The first two statements, "is
in the darkness and walks in the darkness" (e]n
t^? skoti<% e]sti>n kai> e]n
t^?
skoti<% peripatei?), with their present tenses declare that "the
15 R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation
of the Epistles of St. Peter,
(Minneapolis:
Augsburg Publishing House, 1962), p. 415.
16 Amos N. Wilder and Paul W. Hoon, "The First, Second, and Third Epistles of
John,"
in The Interpreter's Bible, ed.
George Arthur Buttrick, 12 vols. (
Abingdon
Press, 1957), 12:234.
17 W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, 3 vols. (Westwood,
NJ:
Fleming H. Revell Co., 1940), 3:129.
18 Plummer, The Epistles of S. John, pp. 95-96.
19 Smalley, 1,
2, 3 John, p. 62.
An Exposition of 1 John
2:7-17 427
darkness" remains his sphere of existence
and daily round of activi-
ties. His character and conduct are characterized by
darkness.
Further, such a life means that he
"does not know where he is
going" (ou]k
oi#den pou? u[pa<gei), has no true
perception concerning the
direction and destiny of his life. The verb
"is going" (u[pa<gei,
"to go
or lead under") implies that he is unaware of
what he is moving to-
ward and will be controlled by. "Because the
darkness has blinded
his eyes" simply records the blinding impact
of hatred in the human
heart. "So hate destroys any windows for light
from God."20 Those
who employ the tactics of hatred inevitably end up
under the domi-
nation of darkness. John's statement is metaphorical,
but it is based
on observed physical realities. Fish in
Cave
in
their eyes are undeveloped. The darkness has
effectively blinded
them. The verb rendered "has blinded" (e]tu<flwsen) is an effective
aorist; it simply records the result without calling
attention to the
time duration involved. Persistence in hatred and
sin inevitably
leads to moral and spiritual blindness.
Assurance of
Fellowship from the Sign of Separation
Three tests (2:3-11) have been
presented whereby the readers
may be assured of having true fellowship with God.
Verses 12-14
now seem to be a disruption of that theme as John
directly addresses
his readers in two triads. In two sets of carefully
structured state-
ments he expresses his
confidence in his readers that they are gen-
uine believers who possess a
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But in
thus emphatically assuring his readers, he shows
"that what is true
of the orthodox Christian was not true of the
false claimants around
John's
church."21 John's expression of personal assurance concerning
his
readers in verses 12-14 provides the basis for
his appeal for sepa-
ration from the world as a further ground for
assurance (vv. 15-17).
THE
ASSURANCE CONCERNING THE READERS
John expressed his assurance concerning
his readers in two sets of
triads, each marked by three designations of those
addressed. Each
expression of affirmation consists of three
elements: (1) the assertion
"I
write" (or "wrote") "to you," (2) a noun of direct
address, and (3) an
affirmation introduced by "because" (o!ti). Careful structure is obvious.
The first triad (vv. 12-13b). The three designations
for those be-
20 Glenn W. Barker, "1 John," in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank
E.
Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1981), 12:317.
21 Smalley, 1,
2, 3 John, p. 67.
428 Bibliotheca
Sacra / October–(December 1988
ing addressed have evoked
much discussion. That mere physical age
distinctions are not intended seems
clear, as is evident from the fact
that John used "little children" (tekni<a) elsewhere to include
all his
readers (2:1, 28; 3:18; 5:21). The words
"little children" convey the
author's expression of endearment but also
suggest "their need of in-
struction and their state of
dependence upon God and upon teachers
such as himself."22
Views differ as to how many groups
are in view. Some suggest
three distinct groups as representing "three
stages of spiritual
growth."23 But this is questionable in
view of the inclusive usage of
"little children" as well as the unusual order,
"little children,"
"fathers," "young men." Those who hold to
three groups tend to re-
verse the order in their discussions. A second view
is that John first
addressed all his readers and then subdivided them
into "fathers"
and "young men." Houlden
suggested that these two terrns were for-
mal designations of church officials, "the
elders" and "the dea-
cons."24 More probable is the view
that the readers are now divided
"by the length of their Christian experience."25
A third view holds
that all the readers are included each time, the
designation being
true of the experience ascribed to them.26
It is difficult to decide
between the last two views. This author inclines
to the second view,
yet he recognizes the force of Plummer's remarks.
There is, however, something to be
said for the view that all S. John's
readers are
addressed in all three cases, the Christian life of all having
analogies
with youth, manhood, and age; with the innocence of child-
hood, the strength
of prime, and the experience of full maturity.27
John addressed his readers as
"little children, because your sins
are forgiven you for His name's sake" (v. 12).
The diminutive "little
children" (tekni<a), like the cognate verb
(ti<ktw,
"to be born"), sug-
gests the closeness of the birth relationship. As
those who have
been born of God, the stated reason for writing,
"because your sins are
22
the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978), p. 138.
23 Quinton J. Everest, Messages from 1 John (
1982),
p. 55.
24 J. L. Houlden, A Commentary on the Johannine
Epistles, Harper's New Testament
Commentaries
(New York: Harper & Row, 1973), pp. 70-71.
25 Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistles of St. John (reprint,
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1950), p. 57.
26 So
Marshall, The Epistles of John, p. 138; James
Montgomery Boice, The Epistles of
John (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), pp. 72-73; Zane C. Hodges, "1
John,"
in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ed. John F.
Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, 2
vols. (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, SP
Publications 1983, 1985), 2:890.
27 Plummer, The Epistles of S. John, p. 98.
An Exposition of 1 John
2:7-17 429
forgiven
you" (o!ti
a]fe<wntai j[mi?n ai[ a[marti<ai),
is true of every child
of God. The perfect tense (a]fe<wntai) denotes the past
experience of
sins forgiven, leading to the present state of being
forgiven. Without
this assurance there can be no effective Christian
life and service.
"For His name's sake" (dia> to> o@noma
au]tou?) emphasizes
the true
basis for the assurance of sins forgiven. "His
name," as White ob-
serves, "is but shorthand for the whole character
and work of Christ,
the incarnate Son."28 "God
forgives sin not because of any merit in
the sinner, but because of the infinite merit of
the Saviour."29 His
dear children are to beware of being led astray from
God's provision
by the new theories of the false teachers.
The words "I am writing to you,
fathers" (v. 13a) address those
among John's readers who are older in the faith and
are charac-
terized by spiritual maturity.
"Fathers" (pate<rej) naturally im-
plies some authority and leadership as characteristic
of those ma-
ture in their faith. Van Gorder suggests that the term implies that
they were "believers in Christ who themselves
had grown in grace
and had begotten children in the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15)."30 John felt
assured about them "because you know Him
who has been from the
beginning" (o!ti
e]gnw<kate to>n a]p ]
a]rxh?j). "Know" (e]gnw<kate, perfect
tense) suggests a past knowledge that remains and
grows, a knowl-
edge centering in a Person characterized by His
permanency, "Him
who has been from the beginning." Taken alone,
this designation
might denote God the Father as the immutable "I
am."31 But
mer notes that John
"never speaks of the First Person of the Godhead
under any designation but 'God' or 'the
Father."'32 The reference to
"the Father" in verse 13c favors the view that John here
means Jesus
Christ,
"who has been from the beginning." White
notes that the
designation "would have no particular
significance here as a title for
God,
whereas the incarnation of the Logos, who was from the begin-
ning, is the crux of the
faith John writes to defend."33 The expres-
28 R. E. O. White, Open Letter to Evangelicals: A Devotional and Homiletic Com-
mentary on the First Epistle of John (
1964),
p. 60.
29 George Williams, The Student's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Analytical,
Synoptical, and Synthetical (London: Oliphants, 1949), p. 1012.
30 Paul R. Van Corder,
In the Family, Lessons from First John
(
Bible
Class, 1978), p. 74.
31 Sc John R. W. Stott, The Epistles of John, The Tyndale New
Testament Commen-
tary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964), p. 97; F. F. Bruce, The
Epistles of John (Old Tappan, NJ:
Fleming H. Revell Co., 1970), p. 58.
32 Plummer, The Epistles of S. John, p. 99.
33 White,
Open Letter to Evangelicals, p. 59.
430 Bibliotheca
Sacra / October—December 1988
sion echoes 1:1 and 2:7; it
could refer to eternity past, the Incarnation
as the beginning of God's redemptive work in His
Son (cf. 1:1), or
possibly to the beginning of the Christian church
(2:7). The second
view seems most probable here. In writing to the
"fathers" John
drew assurance from his realization that their years
of pondering
the gospel message and their experiences with the
incarnate Christ
had stabilized them so that they would not be
mislead by the novel
Christologies of
the Gnostics.
The "young men" (neani<skoi) next addressed (v.
13b), character-
ized as younger in faith as
well as age, are commended "because you
have overcome the evil one" (o!ti nenikh<kate to>n ponhro<n). John rec-
ognized that they had overcome,
not temptation, but the Tempter,
"the evil one." This is one of the biblical terms for
the devil and de-
picts his nature as vicious,
injurious, and destructive. It describes
him as utterly bad. While admittedly the devil uses
men as his
agents in his conflict with believers, the devil,
aided by his cohorts,
is their real and persistent enemy (cf. Eph.
6:10-12). The perfect
tense "have overcore"
(nenikh<kate)
does not mean that the battle is
already over but rather, having encountered the
enemy, they now
stand as assured of victory. As Alford aptly remarks,
"Whatever
conflict remains for them afterwards, is with a
baffled and con-
quered enemy."34
Knowing that in Christ the devil is a defeated foe
(John
12:31; 14:30; 16:11), they have in faith resisted the devil and
put him to flight (1 Pet. 5:9; James 4:7). Such a
position of victory
must be maintained daily with a firm faith in Christ
and resolute
striving against the devil and his temptations.
The second triad
(vv. 13c-14). While echoing the former triad,
this triad is marked by two changes. Instead of the
present tense, "I
write" (gra<fw),
each assertion now uses the aorist tense (e@graya).35
The
reason for the change is not obvious and various suggestions have
been advanced. Candlish
conjectured that as an old man John sud-
denly realized that he might
be gone when his readers received the
letter, so he changed to the aorist to urge them to
receive this letter
as his full and final testimony to them.36
Another suggestion is that
the present tense refers to this letter, while the
aorist looks back to
34 Henry Alford, The New Testament for English Readers (
reprint, n.d.), p.
1707.
35 Following the Textus
Receptus, the KJV in v. 13c reads "1
write," but has "I have
written" in v. 14. For the textual evidence see Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum
Graece, 26th ed. Perhaps the
change was made to bring together the sequence fathers,
young men, little children in v. 13.
36 Robert S. Candlish,
The First Epistle of John (
ing House, reprint of 1869
ed.), pp. 129-30.
An Exposition of 1 John
2:7-17 431
the Gospel of John.37 Another view is
that John was interrupted af-
ter writing the first
triad, and on resuming his writing he picked up
the train of thought with the use of the aorist.38
Most plausible is
the explanation by Burdick:
The reason for repeating the triplet
was to place particular emphasis on
the
author's confidence in the genuineness of his readers' salvation ex-
perience. And in order to avoid the monotony of mere
repetition, John
used the
epistolary aorist in the second triplet instead of the present
tense.39
As a common Greek idiom, the
epistolary aorist in thought places
the writer at the time the readers receive his
letter.
Another
change is the use of "children" (paidi<a) instead of the
former "little children" (tekni<a). The diminutive
"children" is also
a term of endearment. As a term of address it
occurs elsewhere in the
New
Testament only in 1 John 2:18 and John 21:5. With this term
John
again addressed all his readers. The change was probably made
to avoid monotony, yet some difference in the
meaning of the two
terms may be present. In the words of Barker,
"If a difference in em-
phasis is intended, the use of
tekni<a emphasizes more the
relation-
ship, the dependence or weakness of the infant, while
paidi<a stres-
ses the immaturity
(subordination) of the child, the need to be under
instruction or direction."40 John
thus suggested that the readers were
his spiritual children who were under his
acknowledged leadership.
The assurance expressed in 1 John
2:12 John now rephrased, "be-
cause you know the Father" (o!ti e]gnw<kate to>n pate<ra), for as Lenski
notes, "Only those know the Father whose sins
have been remitted
for the sake of Christ's name."41
The perfect tense verb (e]gnw<kate)
indicates an abiding, intimate knowledge of
"the Father." The
world has professed to know God under various guises,42
but the
readers know God personally as members of His
family, living under
His love and care. They came to know Him
through their acceptance
of Jesus Christ as the one who has revealed the
Father (Luke 10:22).
This
knowledge of the Father is effected through the work of the
37
Alexander Ross, The Epistles of James and John, The New International Commen-
tary on the New Testament
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1954),
pp.
162-63.
38 Robert
Law, The Tests of Life (Edinburgh: T. & T.
Clark, 1909), p. 309.
39 Burdick, The Letters of John the Apostle, p. 175.
40 Barker, "1 John," p. 320
41 Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistles of St.
Peter,
42 See White, Open Letter to Evangelicals, p. 58, for a suggestive list of
designations
for God.
432 Bibliotheca
Sacra / October--December 1988
indwelling Holy Spirit (Gal. 4:6).
In again addressing the "fathers,"
John left his statement of as-
surance unchanged (1 John
2:14a). His assurance concerning their ma-
ture knowledge only needed
reemphasis. As mature believers they
could not afford to relax their spiritual growth.
His assurance concerning the "young
men" is now enlarged on in a
triple statement (v. 14b). "You are strong"
(i]sxuroi< e]ste,
literally,
"strong you are") denotes the strength and vigor
characteristic of
youth. The adjective denotes power or ability and
places "stress on
the actual power that one possesses rather than on
the mere princi-
ple of power."43
As young believers, not necessarily young in age,
they are marked by "the vitality, exuberance,
and adventurousness
of youth exhibited in their Christian
living."44 "And" (kai>) connects
their strength with the fact that "the Word of
God abides in you."
The
source of their strength is not innate but has been imparted to
them. "The Word of God" refers not to
Christ but rather to the mes-
sage of God as brought by Him and now embodied in
the inspired
Scriptures. Strength is imparted as God's Word
"abides," is at home,
in the mind and will and finds expression in daily
conduct. King
justly remarks, "All big Christians have been
Bible Christians; all
who have been greatly blessed to others have been
themselves
steeped in it."45
"And" (kai>) again connects the
following with what has pre-
ceded: "and you have overcome the evil one"
(kai>
nenikh<kate to>n
ponhro<n). The Word indwelling them was the true
source of their
abiding victory over the devil. Satan cannot
resist the power of
God's
Word, as illustrated in the temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11;
Luke
4:1-13).
THE
APPEAL FOR SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD
Abruptly John now issued his appeal
not to love the world (vv.
15-17).
This is the negative demand on Christian love. John
had in-
sisted (vv. 9-11) that the
Christian life must be characterized by
love of the brethren; now he insisted on the
complementary duty. As
an appeal to the will, John's command implies that
love can be mis-
directed. He first declared the uncompromising
duty (v. 15a) and
then indicated the reasons they must not love the
world (vv. 15b-17).
The statement of the command (v. 15a). The prohibition is
given
a double statement: "Do not love the world,
nor the things in the
43 Burdick, The Letters of John the Apostle, p. 176.
44 Guy H. King, The Fellowship: An Expositional Study of 1 John (reprint, Fort
45 Ibid., p. 45.
An Exposition of 1 John
2:7-17 433
world" (mh>
a]gapa?te to>n ko<smon,
"not be loving the world"). The form
marks a standing prohibition and may imply that the
readers were
prone to do so but must stop this evil practice. But
the prohibition
may simply prohibit a practice without implying
that it is actually
being done. It is a danger against which they must
constantly be on
guard.
"The world" (ko<smoj), now used six times in
three verses, is a fa-
vorite term with John, having
a variety of meanings. The term basi-
cally denotes order,
arrangement (the opposite of chaos), and hence
an orderly system. It could be used to denote the
earth (John 21:25),
or the world of mankind (John 3:16) in its various
organizations and
systems. But because of the fallen nature of the
human race, the term
predominantly has an ethical import,
the human race in its alien-
ation from and opposition to
God. John here had in view the world of
humanity in its rebellion against God and
dominated by the evil one
(1
John 5:19). John was calling not for monastic separation from the
world but for an inner attitude of separation from
the sinful world
and its practices. As those loyal to God, his
readers are to be on
guard against a kindly feeling toward the world's
evil, and are not
to establish intimate relations of loyalty with
it.
The added words, "nor the
things in the world" (mhde>
ta> e]n t&?
ko<sm&), particularize,
prohibiting such a love relationship to any
particular aspect or feature of this evil world.
These "things" are
not necessarily material objects, which in
themselves are nonmoral
and can quite innocently be desired and possessed,
but they may be-
come evil if they cause an attitude of alienation
from God. From
verse 16 it is clear that John had in view those
elements or attitudes
characterizing the world in its
alienation from God.
The reasons for
the command (vv. 15b-17). John pointed out that
love for God and love for the world are by their
very nature antago-
nistic to each other and
cannot coexist in the human heart (v. 15b).
Here
is another of those opposites John often used (1:5, 6; 2:4).
"If any one loves the
world" (e]a<n tij a]gap%? to>n ko<smon) presents
a hypothetical case for the readers to consider.
The individual is
anyone who persistently makes the world the object of
his love. The
inevitable result is, "the love of the Father
is not in him." The ex-
pression, "the love of the
Father" (h[ a]ga<ph
tou? patro>j), used only here
in the New Testament, is capable of three
meanings. "It may refer to
love that comes from the Father (ablative of
source), it may refer to
the Father's love for the person involved
(subjective genitive), or it
may speak of the person's love for the Father
(objective genitive)."46
As
the opposite of love for the world, the last meaning seems clearly
46 Burdick, The Letters of John the Apostle, p. 178.
434 Bibliotheca
Sacra / October—December 1988
intended. The tragic fact is that love for God
"is not in him," is not a
motivating power in his heart and life. The opening
"For" (o!ti) of
verse 16 introduces a parenthetical verification of
this fact.
"The lust of the flesh" (h[ e]piqumi<a th?j sarko>j) denotes the de-
sire or craving that has its origin in the flesh.
The craving denoted
by the term e]piqumi<a may in itself be either good or bad. It is thrice
used in the New Testament with a good meaning (Luke
22:15; Phil.
1:23;
1 Thess. 2:17), but predominantly it denotes an evil
desire,
properly rendered "lust."
"Lust" here is collective, denoting the
varied cravings of fallen human nature pursued in the
interest of self
in self-sufficient independence of God. The
cravings God has placed
in the human body in themselves are not sinful but
readily become
sinful when used for illegitimate ends.
Another aspect of "all that is
in the world" (v. 16) John identi-
fied as "the lust of
the eyes" (h[ e]piqumi<a
tw?n o]fqalmw?n), the cravings
and lusts stimulated by what is seen. The preceding
expression de-
notes those lusts that are stimulated by one's inner
nature; now the
reference is to those desires that are aroused by
what enters through
the eye-gate. The expression, "the lust of the
eyes," occurring only
here in the New Testament, may refer to the desire
to acquire the
things seen. If so, then the expression "points to
man's covetous and
acquisitive nature."47 Or as Plummer
notes, the lust may be "the de-
sire of seeing unlawful sights for the sake of the
sinful pleasure `to be
derived from the sight; idle and prurient
curiosity."48 The expres-
sion may well include both
aspects. Some things an individual ob-
serves he may crave to acquire, others he may desire
to feast his eyes
on without personally possessing. Under either
view, "In a day of
billboard advertising, movie and television
screens, and eye-catch-
ing magazine spreads, this
aspect of the world is predominant."49
A further aspect of "all that
is in the world" is "the boastful
pride of life" (h[ a]lazonei<a tou? bi<ou).
While the two preceding as-
pects are inward, relating to
what one wants, this is outward, relat-
ing to what one has or
professes to have. The term "the boastful
pride," used only here and in James 4:16 in the
New Testament, de-
notes ostentatious pride in things possessed. The
noun is closely re-
lated to the word a]lazw<n, a "braggart," one who extolled his own
virtues or possessions. The genitive "of
life" (tou?
bi<ou) is the same
word rendered "the world's goods" in 3:17;
it emphasizes the tempo-
ral and material aspects of
human existence. Here the evil is ex-
47 Hodges, "1 John," p. 891.
48 Plummer, The Epistles of S. John, p. 103.
49 Leo C. Cox, 1, 11, 111 John, in The Wesleyan Bible Commentary (
B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1966), 6:334.
An Exposition of 1 John
2:7-17 435
pressed in an ostentatious display of means or
achievements that
imply the individual's cleverness and independence
from God.
Plummer
notes that the first two elements may be the vices of a
solitary; the third requires society."50
These three aspects are indicative
of "all [pan, "everything"]
that is in the world," and as such "not
from the Father, but . . . from
the world," negatively and positively
stressing the source. How ap-
propriate for John to warn
against loving such things.
The opening "and" of verse
17 adds another reason for not loving
the world. "The world is passing away"
declares its transitory na-
ture, and this is true
likewise of "its lusts" which can be so alluring.
The
present tense "is passing away" (para<getai)
points out the
ongoing process of disintegration. By their very
nature the world's
lusts are self-destructive. "The ways of sin are
strewn with the seeds
of their own destruction."51 This
process is now operative in the
lives of those loving the world; but one day this
world system of evil
will be swept off the scene in cataclysmic judgment
at Christ's return.
"But" (de>) points to a
contrasting reality: "the one who does the
will of God abides forever." This assurance is
for "the one who does
the will of God" (o[
poiw?n to> qe<lhma tou? qeou?), who sets himself to
be
obedient to God's will rather than pursuing the
fleeting lusts of the
world. Houlden remarks,
"The 'mystical' supernatural gift of God's
love had certainly to be received (v. 15)—but the
test of that was no
mere spiritual 'feeling'; it was doing God's will,
the keeping of his
commands, in particular the command to love the
brothers (v. 2f)."52
John, like James, insisted that
saving faith must be functional in
daily life. It is this resolute obedience, imperfect
though it may be,
that brings the assurance of God's approval,
assurance that the be-
liever "abides
forever" (me<nei ei]j to>n ai]w?na),
literally, "abides into
the age," the eternal age of God's kingdom.
Born again he is already
in the spiritual kingdom, and no essential change
in his spiritual life
is ahead for him. There may well be a break in the
outer continuity
of his life between death and resurrection, but
his abiding spiritual
union with the eternal Christ will remain unchanged.
50 Plummer, The Epistles of S. John, p. 104.
51
Harvey J. S. Blaney,
I, II, III John, Beacon
Bible Commentary (
52 Houlden, A Commentary on the Johannine
Epistles, p. 75.
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