<title type="x-IS">INTRODUCTION</title>
<hi type="bold">Authorship.--</hi>Polycarp, the disciple of John [Epistle to the Philippians, 7], quotes <reference osisRef="1John.4.3">1Jo 4:3</reference>. Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 3.39] says of Papias, a hearer of John, and a friend of Polycarp, "He used testimonies from the First Epistle of John." Irenæus, according to Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 5.8], often quoted this Epistle. So in his work Against Heresies [3.15; 5, 8] he quotes from John by name, <reference osisRef="1John.2.18">1Jo 2:18</reference>, &c.; and in [3.16,7], he quotes <reference osisRef="1John.4.1-1John.3.5">1Jo 4:1-3; 5</reference>:1, and 2Jo 7, 8. Clement of Alexandria [Miscellanies, 2.66, p. 464] refers to <reference osisRef="1John.5.16">1Jo 5:16</reference>, as in John's larger Epistle. See other quotations [Miscellanies, 3.32,42; 4.102]. Tertullian [Against Marcion, 5.16] refers to <reference osisRef="1John.4.1">1Jo 4:1</reference>, &c.; [Against Praxeas, 15], to <reference osisRef="1John.1.1">1Jo 1:1</reference>. See his other quotations [Against Praxeas, 28; Against the Gnostics, 12]. Cyprian [Epistles, 28 (24)], quotes as John's, <reference osisRef="1John.2.3">1Jo 2:3</reference>, <reference osisRef="2Cor.2.4">4</reference>; and [On the Lord's Prayer, 5] quotes <reference osisRef="1John.2.15-1John.2.17">1Jo 2:15-17</reference>; and [On Works and Alms, 3], <reference osisRef="1John.1.8">1Jo 1:8</reference>; and [On the Advantage of Patience, 2] quotes <reference osisRef="1John.2.6">1Jo 2:6</reference>. Muratori's Fragment on the Canon of Scripture states, "There are two of John (the Gospel and Epistle?) esteemed Catholic," and quotes <reference osisRef="1John.1.3">1Jo 1:3</reference>. The Peschito Syriac contains it. Origen (in Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 6.25]) speaks of the First Epistle as genuine, and "probably the second and third, though all do not recognize the latter two"; on the Gospel of John, [Commentary on John, 13.2], he quotes <reference osisRef="1John.1.5">1Jo 1:5</reference>. Dionysius of Alexandria, Origen's scholar, cites the words of this Epistle as those of the Evangelist John. Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 3.24], says, John's first Epistle and Gospel are acknowledged without question by those of the present day, as well as by the ancients. So also Jerome [On Illustrious Men]. The opposition of Cosmas Indicopleustes, in the sixth century, and that of Marcion because our Epistle was inconsistent with his views, are of no weight against such irrefragable testimony.

 The internal evidence is equally strong. Neither the Gospel, nor this Epistle, can be pronounced an imitation; yet both, in style and modes of thought, are evidently of the same mind. The individual notices are not so numerous or obvious as in Paul's writings, as was to be expected in a Catholic Epistle; but such as there are accord with John's position. He implies his apostleship, and perhaps alludes to his Gospel, and the affectionate tie which bound him as an aged pastor to his spiritual "children"; and in <reference osisRef="1John.2.18">1Jo 2:18</reference>, 19; <reference osisRef="2Cor.4.1-2Cor.4.3">4:1-3</reference>, he alludes to the false teachers as known to his readers; and in <reference osisRef="1John.5.21">1Jo 5:21</reference> he warns them against the idols of the surrounding world. It is no objection against its authenticity that the doctrine of the Word, or divine second Person, existing from everlasting, and in due time made flesh, appears in it, as also in the Gospel, as opposed to the heresy of the Docetæ in the second century, who denied that our Lord is come in the flesh, and maintained He came only in outward semblance; for the same doctrine appears in <reference osisRef="Col.1.15-Col.1.18">Col 1:15-18</reference>; <reference osisRef="1Tim.3.16">1Ti 3:16</reference>; <reference osisRef="Heb.1.1-Heb.1.3">He 1:1-3</reference>; and the germs of Docetism, though not fully developed till the second century, were in existence in the first. The Spirit, presciently through John, puts the Church beforehand on its guard against the coming heresy.

<hi type="bold">To whom addressed.--</hi>Augustine [The Question of the Gospels, 2.39], says this Epistle was written to the Parthians. Bede, in a prologue to the seven Catholic Epistles, says that Athanasius attests the same. By the Parthians may be meant the Christians living beyond the Euphrates in the Parthian territory, outside the Roman empire, "the Church at Babylon elected together with (you)," the churches in the Ephesian region, the quarter to which Peter addressed his Epistles (<reference osisRef="1Pet.5.12">1Pe 5:12</reference>). As Peter addressed the flock which John subsequently tended (and in which Paul had formerly ministered), so John, Peter's close companion after the ascension, addresses the flock among whom Peter had been when he wrote. Thus "the elect lady" (2Jo 1) answers "to the Church elected together" (<reference osisRef="1Pet.5.13">1Pe 5:13</reference>). See further confirmation of this view in Introduction to Second John. It is not necessarily an objection to this view that John never is known to have personally ministered in the Parthian territory. For neither did Peter personally minister to the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, though he wrote his Epistles to them. Moreover, in John's prolonged life, we cannot dogmatically assert that he did not visit the Parthian Christians, after Peter had ceased to minister to them, on the mere ground of absence of extant testimony to that effect. This is as probable a view as Alford's, that in the passage of Augustine, "to the Parthians," is to be altered by conjectural emendation; and that the Epistle is addressed to the churches at and around Ephesus, on the ground of the fatherly tone of affectionate address in it, implying his personal ministry among his readers. But his position, as probably the only surviving apostle, accords very well with his addressing, in a Catholic Epistle, a cycle of churches which he may not have specially ministered to in person, with affectionate fatherly counsel, by virtue of his general apostolic superintendence of all the churches.

<hi type="bold">Time and place of writing.--</hi>This Epistle seems to have been written subsequently to his Gospel as it assumes the reader's acquaintance with the Gospel facts and Christ's speeches, and also with the special aspect of the incarnate Word, as God manifest in the flesh (<reference osisRef="1Tim.3.16">1Ti 3:16</reference>), set forth more fully in his Gospel. The tone of address, as a father addressing his "little children" (the continually recurring term, <reference osisRef="1John.2.1">1Jo 2:1</reference>, <reference osisRef="2Cor.12.13">12, 13</reference>, 18, 28; <reference osisRef="2Cor.3.7">3:7</reference>, <reference osisRef="2Cor.3.18">18</reference>; <reference osisRef="2Cor.4.4">4:4</reference>; <reference osisRef="2Cor.5.21">5:21</reference>), accords with the view that this Epistle was written in John's old age, perhaps about A.D. 90. In <reference osisRef="1John.2.18">1Jo 2:18</reference>, "it is the last time," probably does not refer to any particular event (as the destruction of Jerusalem, which was now many years past) but refers to the nearness of the Lord's coming as proved by the rise of Antichristian teachers, the mark of the last time. It was the Spirit's purpose to keep the Church always expecting Christ as ready to come at any moment. The whole Christian age is the last time in the sense that no other dispensation is to arise till Christ comes. Compare "these last days," <reference osisRef="Heb.1.2">He 1:2</reference>. Ephesus may be conjectured to be the place whence it was written. The controversial allusion to the germs of Gnostic heresy accord with Asia Minor being the place, and the last part of the apostolic age the time, of writing this Epistle.

<hi type="bold">Contents.--</hi>The leading subject of the whole is, fellowship with the Father and the Son (<reference osisRef="1John.1.3">1Jo 1:3</reference>). Two principal divisions may be noted: (1) <reference osisRef="1John.1.5-1John.2.28">1Jo 1:5-2:28</reference>: the theme of this portion is stated at the outset, "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all"; consequently, in order to have fellowship with Him, we must walk in light (<reference osisRef="1John.1.7">1Jo 1:7</reference>); connected with which in the confession and subsequent forgiveness of our sins through Christ's propitiation and advocacy, without which forgiveness there could be no light or fellowship with God: a farther step in thus walking in the light is, positively keeping God's commandments, the sum of which is love, as opposed to hatred, the acme of disobedience to God's word: negatively, he exhorts them according to their several stages of spiritual growth, children, fathers, young men, in consonance with their privileges as forgiven, knowing the Father, and having overcome the wicked one, not to love the world, which is incompatible with the indwelling of the love of the Father, and to be on their guard against the Antichristian teachers already in the world, who were not of the Church, but of the world, against whom the true defense is, that his believing readers who have the anointing of God, should continue to abide in the Son and in the Father. (2) The second division (1Jo 2:29-5:5) discusses the theme with which it opens, He is righteous; consequently (as in the first division), "every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him." Sonship in us involves our purifying ourselves as He is pure, even as we hope to see, and therefore to be made like our Lord when He shall appear; in this second, as in the first division, both a positive and a negative side are presented of "doing righteousness as He is righteous," involving a contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil. Hatred marks the latter; love, the former: this love gives assurance of acceptance with God for ourselves and our prayers, accompanied as they are (<reference osisRef="1John.3.23">1Jo 3:23</reference>) with obedience to His great commandment, to "believe on Jesus, and love one another"; the seal (<reference osisRef="1John.3.24">1Jo 3:24</reference>) of His dwelling in us and assuring our hearts, is the Spirit which He hath given us. In contrast to this (as in the first division), he warns against false spirits, the notes of which are, denial of Christ, and adherence to the world. Sonship, or birth of God, is then more fully described: its essential feature is unslavish, free love to God, because God first loved us, and gave His Son to die for us, and consequent love to the brethren, grounded on their being sons of God also like ourselves, and so victory over the world; this victory being gained only by the man who believes in Jesus as the Son of God. (3) The conclusion establishes this last central truth, on which rests our fellowship with God, Christ's having come by the water of baptism, the blood of atonement, and the witnessing Spirit, which is truth. As in the opening he rested this cardinal truth on the apostles' witness of the eye, the ear, and the touch, so now at the close he rests it on God's witness, which is accepted by the believer, in contrast with the unbeliever, who makes God a liar. Then follows his closing statement of his reason for writing (<reference osisRef="1John.5.13">1Jo 5:13</reference>; compare the corresponding <reference osisRef="1John.1.4">1Jo 1:4</reference>, at the beginning), namely, that believers in Christ the Son of God may know that they have (now already) eternal life (the source of "joy," <reference osisRef="1John.1.4">1Jo 1:4</reference>; compare similarly his object in writing the Gospel, <reference osisRef="John.20.31">Joh 20:31</reference>), and so have confidence as to their prayers being answered (corresponding to <reference osisRef="1John.3.22">1Jo 3:22</reference> in the second part); for instance, their intercessions for a sinning brother (unless his sin be a sin unto death). He closes with a brief summing up of the instruction of the Epistle, the high dignity, sanctity, and safety from evil of the children of God in contrast to the sinful world, and a warning against idolatry, literal and spiritual: "Keep yourselves from idols."

 Though the Epistle is not directly polemical, the occasion which suggested his writing was probably the rise of Antichristian teachers; and, because he knew the spiritual character of the several classes whom he addresses, children, youths, fathers, he feels it necessary to write to confirm them in the faith and joyful fellowship of the Father and Son, and to assure them of the reality of the things they believe, that so they may have the full privileges of believing.

<hi type="bold">Style.--</hi>His peculiarity is fondness for aphorism and repetition. His tendency to repeat his own phrase, arises partly from the affectionate, hortatory character of the Epistle; partly, also, from its Hebraistic forms abounding in parallel clauses, as distinguished from the Grecian and more logical style of Paul; also, from his childlike simplicity of spirit, which, full of his one grand theme, repeats, and dwells on it with fond delight and enthusiasm. Moreover as Alford well says, the appearance of uniformity is often produced by want of deep enough exegesis to discover the real differences in passages which seem to express the same. Contemplative, rather than argumentative, he dwells more on the general, than on the particular, on the inner, than on the outer, Christian life. Certain fundamental truths he recurs to again and again, at one time enlarging on, and applying them, at another time repeating them in their condensed simplicity. The thoughts do not march onward by successive steps, as in the logical style of Paul, but rather in circle drawn round one central thought which he reiterates, ever reverting to it, and viewing it, now under its positive, now under its negative, aspect. Many terms which in the Gospel are given as Christ's, in the Epistle appear as the favorite expressions of John, naturally adopted from the Lord. Thus the contrasted terms, "flesh" and "spirit," "light" and "darkness," "life" and "death," "abide in Him": fellowship with the Father and Son, and with one another," is a favorite phrase also, not found in the Gospel, but in Acts and Paul's Epistles. In him appears the harmonious union of opposites, adapting him for his high functions in the kingdom of God, contemplative repose of character, and at the same time ardent zeal, combined with burning, all-absorbing love: less adapted for active outward work, such as Paul's, than for spiritual service. He handles Christian verities not as abstract dogmas, but as living realities, personally enjoyed in fellowship with God in Christ, and with the brethren. Simple, and at the same time profound, his writing is in consonance with his spirit, unrhetorical and undialectic, gentle, consolatory, and loving: the reflection of the Spirit of Him on whose breast he lay at the last supper, and whose beloved disciple he was. Ewald in Alford, speaking of the "unruffled and heavenly repose" which characterizes this Epistle, says, "It appears to be the tone, not so much of a father talking with his beloved children, as of a glorified saint addressing mankind from a higher world. Never in any writing has the doctrine of heavenly love--a love working in stillness, ever unwearied, never exhausted--so thoroughly approved itself as in this Epistle."

<hi type="bold">John's place in the building up of the church.--</hi>As Peter founded and Paul propagated, so John completed the spiritual building. As the Old Testament puts prominently forward the fear of God, so John, the last writer of the New Testament, gives prominence to the love of God. Yet, as the Old Testament is not all limited to presenting the fear of God, but sets forth also His love, so John, as a representative of the New Testament, while breathing so continually the spirit of love, gives also the plainest and most awful warnings against sin, in accordance with his original character as Boanerges, "son of thunder." His mother was Salome, mother of the sons of Zebedee, probably sister to Jesus' mother (compare <reference osisRef="John.19.25">Joh 19:25</reference>, "His mother's sister," with <reference osisRef="Matt.27.56">Mt 27:56</reference>; <reference osisRef="Mark.15.40">Mr 15:40</reference>), so that he was cousin to our Lord; to his mother, under God, he may have owed his first serious impressions. Expecting as she did the Messianic kingdom in glory, as appears from her petition (<reference osisRef="Matt.20.20-Matt.20.23">Mt 20:20-23</reference>), she doubtless tried to fill his young and ardent mind with the same hope. Neander distinguishes three leading tendencies in the development of the Christian doctrine, the Pauline, the Jacobean (between which the Petrine forms an intermediate link), and the Johannean. John, in common with James, was less disposed to the intellectual and dialectic cast of thought which distinguishes Paul. He had not, like the apostle of the Gentiles, been brought to faith and peace through severe conflict; but, like James, had reached his Christian individuality through a quiet development: James, however, had passed through a moulding in Judaism previously, which, under the Spirit, caused him to present Christian truth in connection with the law, in so far as the latter in its spirit, though not letter, is permanent, and not abolished, but established under the Gospel. But John, from the first, had drawn his whole spiritual development from the personal view of Christ, the model man, and from intercourse with Him. Hence, in his writings, everything turns on one simple contrast: divine life in communion with Christ; death in separation from Him, as appears from his characteristic phrases, "life, light, truth; death, darkness, lie." "As James and Peter mark the gradual transition from spiritualized Judaism to the independent development of Christianity, and as Paul represents the independent development of Christianity in opposition to the Jewish standpoint, so the contemplative element of John reconciles the two, and forms the closing point in the training of the apostolic Church" [Neander].
 <title type="x-s">CHAPTER 1</title>
 <reference osisRef="1John.1.1-1John.1.10">1Jo 1:1-10</reference>. The Writer's Authority as an Eyewitness to the Gospel Facts, Having Seen, Heard, and Handled Him Who Was from the Beginning: His Object in Writing: His Message. If We Would Have Fellowship with Him, We Must Walk in Light, as He Is Light.

1. Instead of a formal, John adopts a virtual address (compare <reference osisRef="1John.1.4">1Jo 1:4</reference>). To wish joy to the reader was the ancient customary address. The sentence begun in <reference osisRef="1John.1.1">1Jo 1:1</reference> is broken off by the parenthetic <reference osisRef="1John.1.2">1Jo 1:2</reference>, and is resumed at <reference osisRef="1John.1.3">1Jo 1:3</reference> with the repetition of some words from <reference osisRef="1John.1.1">1Jo 1:1</reference>.

<hi type="bold">That which was--</hi>not "began to be," but was essentially (Greek, "een," not "egeneto") before He was manifested (<reference osisRef="1John.1.2">1Jo 1:2</reference>); answering to "Him that is from the beginning" (<reference osisRef="1John.2.13">1Jo 2:13</reference>); so John's Gospel, <reference osisRef="John.1.1">Joh 1:1</reference>, "In the beginning was the Word." <reference osisRef="Prov.8.23">Pr 8:23</reference>, "I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was."

<hi type="bold">we--</hi>apostles.

<hi type="bold">heard ... seen ... looked upon ... handled--</hi>a series rising in gradation. Seeing is a more convincing proof than hearing of; handling, than even seeing. "Have heard ... have seen" (perfect tenses), as a possession still abiding with us; but in Greek (not as English Version "have," but simply) "looked upon" (not perfect tense, as of a continuing thing, but aorist, past time) while Christ the incarnate Word was still with us. "Seen," namely, His glory, as revealed in the Transfiguration and in His miracles; and His passion and death in a real body of flesh and blood. "Looked upon" as a wondrous spectacle steadfastly, deeply, contemplatively; so the Greek. Appropriate to John's contemplative character.

<hi type="bold">hands ... handled--</hi>Thomas and the other disciples on distinct occasions after the resurrection. John himself had leaned on Jesus' breast at the last supper. Contrast the wisest of the heathen feeling after (the same Greek as here; groping after WITH THE HANDS") if haply they might find God (see <reference osisRef="Acts.17.27">Ac 17:27</reference>). This proves against Socinians he is here speaking of the personal incarnate Word, not of Christ's teaching from the beginning of His official life.

<hi type="bold">of--</hi>"concerning"; following "heard." "Heard" is the verb most applying to the purpose of the Epistle, namely the truth which John had heard concerning the Word of life, that is, (Christ) the Word who is the life. "Heard," namely, from Christ Himself, including all Christ's teachings about Himself. Therefore he puts "of," or "concerning," before "the word of life," which is inapplicable to any of the verbs except "heard"; also "heard" is the only one of the verbs which he resumes at <reference osisRef="1John.1.5">1Jo 1:5</reference>.

INTRODUCTION Authorship.-- Polycarp, the disciple of John [Epistle to the Philippians, 7], quotes 1Jo 4:3. Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 3.39] says of Papias, a hearer of John, and a friend of Polycarp, "He used testimonies from the First Epistle of John." Irenæus, according to Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 5.8], often quoted this Epistle. So in his work Against Heresies [3.15; 5, 8] he quotes from John by name, 1Jo 2:18, &c.; and in [3.16,7], he quotes 1Jo 4:1-3; 5:1, and 2Jo 7, 8. Clement of Alexandria [Miscellanies, 2.66, p. 464] refers to 1Jo 5:16, as in John's larger Epistle. See other quotations [Miscellanies, 3.32,42; 4.102]. Tertullian [Against Marcion, 5.16] refers to 1Jo 4:1, &c.; [Against Praxeas, 15], to 1Jo 1:1. See his other quotations [Against Praxeas, 28; Against the Gnostics, 12]. Cyprian [Epistles, 28 (24)], quotes as John's, 1Jo 2:3, 4; and [On the Lord's Prayer, 5] quotes 1Jo 2:15-17; and [On Works and Alms, 3], 1Jo 1:8; and [On the Advantage of Patience, 2] quotes 1Jo 2:6. Muratori's Fragment on the Canon of Scripture states, "There are two of John (the Gospel and Epistle?) esteemed Catholic," and quotes 1Jo 1:3. The Peschito Syriac contains it. Origen (in Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 6.25]) speaks of the First Epistle as genuine, and "probably the second and third, though all do not recognize the latter two"; on the Gospel of John, [Commentary on John, 13.2], he quotes 1Jo 1:5. Dionysius of Alexandria, Origen's scholar, cites the words of this Epistle as those of the Evangelist John. Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 3.24], says, John's first Epistle and Gospel are acknowledged without question by those of the present day, as well as by the ancients. So also Jerome [On Illustrious Men]. The opposition of Cosmas Indicopleustes, in the sixth century, and that of Marcion because our Epistle was inconsistent with his views, are of no weight against such irrefragable testimony. The internal evidence is equally strong. Neither the Gospel, nor this Epistle, can be pronounced an imitation; yet both, in style and modes of thought, are evidently of the same mind. The individual notices are not so numerous or obvious as in Paul's writings, as was to be expected in a Catholic Epistle; but such as there are accord with John's position. He implies his apostleship, and perhaps alludes to his Gospel, and the affectionate tie which bound him as an aged pastor to his spiritual "children"; and in 1Jo 2:18, 19; 4:1-3, he alludes to the false teachers as known to his readers; and in 1Jo 5:21 he warns them against the idols of the surrounding world. It is no objection against its authenticity that the doctrine of the Word, or divine second Person, existing from everlasting, and in due time made flesh, appears in it, as also in the Gospel, as opposed to the heresy of the Docetæ in the second century, who denied that our Lord is come in the flesh, and maintained He came only in outward semblance; for the same doctrine appears in Col 1:15-18; 1Ti 3:16; He 1:1-3; and the germs of Docetism, though not fully developed till the second century, were in existence in the first. The Spirit, presciently through John, puts the Church beforehand on its guard against the coming heresy. To whom addressed.-- Augustine [The Question of the Gospels, 2.39], says this Epistle was written to the Parthians. Bede, in a prologue to the seven Catholic Epistles, says that Athanasius attests the same. By the Parthians may be meant the Christians living beyond the Euphrates in the Parthian territory, outside the Roman empire, "the Church at Babylon elected together with (you)," the churches in the Ephesian region, the quarter to which Peter addressed his Epistles (1Pe 5:12). As Peter addressed the flock which John subsequently tended (and in which Paul had formerly ministered), so John, Peter's close companion after the ascension, addresses the flock among whom Peter had been when he wrote. Thus "the elect lady" (2Jo 1) answers "to the Church elected together" (1Pe 5:13). See further confirmation of this view in Introduction to Second John. It is not necessarily an objection to this view that John never is known to have personally ministered in the Parthian territory. For neither did Peter personally minister to the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, though he wrote his Epistles to them. Moreover, in John's prolonged life, we cannot dogmatically assert that he did not visit the Parthian Christians, after Peter had ceased to minister to them, on the mere ground of absence of extant testimony to that effect. This is as probable a view as Alford's, that in the passage of Augustine, "to the Parthians," is to be altered by conjectural emendation; and that the Epistle is addressed to the churches at and around Ephesus, on the ground of the fatherly tone of affectionate address in it, implying his personal ministry among his readers. But his position, as probably the only surviving apostle, accords very well with his addressing, in a Catholic Epistle, a cycle of churches which he may not have specially ministered to in person, with affectionate fatherly counsel, by virtue of his general apostolic superintendence of all the churches. Time and place of writing.-- This Epistle seems to have been written subsequently to his Gospel as it assumes the reader's acquaintance with the Gospel facts and Christ's speeches, and also with the special aspect of the incarnate Word, as God manifest in the flesh (1Ti 3:16), set forth more fully in his Gospel. The tone of address, as a father addressing his "little children" (the continually recurring term, 1Jo 2:1, 12, 13, 18, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21), accords with the view that this Epistle was written in John's old age, perhaps about A.D. 90. In 1Jo 2:18, "it is the last time," probably does not refer to any particular event (as the destruction of Jerusalem, which was now many years past) but refers to the nearness of the Lord's coming as proved by the rise of Antichristian teachers, the mark of the last time. It was the Spirit's purpose to keep the Church always expecting Christ as ready to come at any moment. The whole Christian age is the last time in the sense that no other dispensation is to arise till Christ comes. Compare "these last days," He 1:2. Ephesus may be conjectured to be the place whence it was written. The controversial allusion to the germs of Gnostic heresy accord with Asia Minor being the place, and the last part of the apostolic age the time, of writing this Epistle. Contents.-- The leading subject of the whole is, fellowship with the Father and the Son (1Jo 1:3). Two principal divisions may be noted: (1) 1Jo 1:5-2:28: the theme of this portion is stated at the outset, "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all"; consequently, in order to have fellowship with Him, we must walk in light (1Jo 1:7); connected with which in the confession and subsequent forgiveness of our sins through Christ's propitiation and advocacy, without which forgiveness there could be no light or fellowship with God: a farther step in thus walking in the light is, positively keeping God's commandments, the sum of which is love, as opposed to hatred, the acme of disobedience to God's word: negatively, he exhorts them according to their several stages of spiritual growth, children, fathers, young men, in consonance with their privileges as forgiven, knowing the Father, and having overcome the wicked one, not to love the world, which is incompatible with the indwelling of the love of the Father, and to be on their guard against the Antichristian teachers already in the world, who were not of the Church, but of the world, against whom the true defense is, that his believing readers who have the anointing of God, should continue to abide in the Son and in the Father. (2) The second division (1Jo 2:29-5:5) discusses the theme with which it opens, He is righteous; consequently (as in the first division), "every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him." Sonship in us involves our purifying ourselves as He is pure, even as we hope to see, and therefore to be made like our Lord when He shall appear; in this second, as in the first division, both a positive and a negative side are presented of "doing righteousness as He is righteous," involving a contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil. Hatred marks the latter; love, the former: this love gives assurance of acceptance with God for ourselves and our prayers, accompanied as they are (1Jo 3:23) with obedience to His great commandment, to "believe on Jesus, and love one another"; the seal (1Jo 3:24) of His dwelling in us and assuring our hearts, is the Spirit which He hath given us. In contrast to this (as in the first division), he warns against false spirits, the notes of which are, denial of Christ, and adherence to the world. Sonship, or birth of God, is then more fully described: its essential feature is unslavish, free love to God, because God first loved us, and gave His Son to die for us, and consequent love to the brethren, grounded on their being sons of God also like ourselves, and so victory over the world; this victory being gained only by the man who believes in Jesus as the Son of God. (3) The conclusion establishes this last central truth, on which rests our fellowship with God, Christ's having come by the water of baptism, the blood of atonement, and the witnessing Spirit, which is truth. As in the opening he rested this cardinal truth on the apostles' witness of the eye, the ear, and the touch, so now at the close he rests it on God's witness, which is accepted by the believer, in contrast with the unbeliever, who makes God a liar. Then follows his closing statement of his reason for writing (1Jo 5:13; compare the corresponding 1Jo 1:4, at the beginning), namely, that believers in Christ the Son of God may know that they have (now already) eternal life (the source of "joy," 1Jo 1:4; compare similarly his object in writing the Gospel, Joh 20:31), and so have confidence as to their prayers being answered (corresponding to 1Jo 3:22 in the second part); for instance, their intercessions for a sinning brother (unless his sin be a sin unto death). He closes with a brief summing up of the instruction of the Epistle, the high dignity, sanctity, and safety from evil of the children of God in contrast to the sinful world, and a warning against idolatry, literal and spiritual: "Keep yourselves from idols." Though the Epistle is not directly polemical, the occasion which suggested his writing was probably the rise of Antichristian teachers; and, because he knew the spiritual character of the several classes whom he addresses, children, youths, fathers, he feels it necessary to write to confirm them in the faith and joyful fellowship of the Father and Son, and to assure them of the reality of the things they believe, that so they may have the full privileges of believing. Style.-- His peculiarity is fondness for aphorism and repetition. His tendency to repeat his own phrase, arises partly from the affectionate, hortatory character of the Epistle; partly, also, from its Hebraistic forms abounding in parallel clauses, as distinguished from the Grecian and more logical style of Paul; also, from his childlike simplicity of spirit, which, full of his one grand theme, repeats, and dwells on it with fond delight and enthusiasm. Moreover as Alford well says, the appearance of uniformity is often produced by want of deep enough exegesis to discover the real differences in passages which seem to express the same. Contemplative, rather than argumentative, he dwells more on the general, than on the particular, on the inner, than on the outer, Christian life. Certain fundamental truths he recurs to again and again, at one time enlarging on, and applying them, at another time repeating them in their condensed simplicity. The thoughts do not march onward by successive steps, as in the logical style of Paul, but rather in circle drawn round one central thought which he reiterates, ever reverting to it, and viewing it, now under its positive, now under its negative, aspect. Many terms which in the Gospel are given as Christ's, in the Epistle appear as the favorite expressions of John, naturally adopted from the Lord. Thus the contrasted terms, "flesh" and "spirit," "light" and "darkness," "life" and "death," "abide in Him": fellowship with the Father and Son, and with one another," is a favorite phrase also, not found in the Gospel, but in Acts and Paul's Epistles. In him appears the harmonious union of opposites, adapting him for his high functions in the kingdom of God, contemplative repose of character, and at the same time ardent zeal, combined with burning, all-absorbing love: less adapted for active outward work, such as Paul's, than for spiritual service. He handles Christian verities not as abstract dogmas, but as living realities, personally enjoyed in fellowship with God in Christ, and with the brethren. Simple, and at the same time profound, his writing is in consonance with his spirit, unrhetorical and undialectic, gentle, consolatory, and loving: the reflection of the Spirit of Him on whose breast he lay at the last supper, and whose beloved disciple he was. Ewald in Alford, speaking of the "unruffled and heavenly repose" which characterizes this Epistle, says, "It appears to be the tone, not so much of a father talking with his beloved children, as of a glorified saint addressing mankind from a higher world. Never in any writing has the doctrine of heavenly love--a love working in stillness, ever unwearied, never exhausted--so thoroughly approved itself as in this Epistle." John's place in the building up of the church.-- As Peter founded and Paul propagated, so John completed the spiritual building. As the Old Testament puts prominently forward the fear of God, so John, the last writer of the New Testament, gives prominence to the love of God. Yet, as the Old Testament is not all limited to presenting the fear of God, but sets forth also His love, so John, as a representative of the New Testament, while breathing so continually the spirit of love, gives also the plainest and most awful warnings against sin, in accordance with his original character as Boanerges, "son of thunder." His mother was Salome, mother of the sons of Zebedee, probably sister to Jesus' mother (compare Joh 19:25, "His mother's sister," with Mt 27:56; Mr 15:40), so that he was cousin to our Lord; to his mother, under God, he may have owed his first serious impressions. Expecting as she did the Messianic kingdom in glory, as appears from her petition (Mt 20:20-23), she doubtless tried to fill his young and ardent mind with the same hope. Neander distinguishes three leading tendencies in the development of the Christian doctrine, the Pauline, the Jacobean (between which the Petrine forms an intermediate link), and the Johannean. John, in common with James, was less disposed to the intellectual and dialectic cast of thought which distinguishes Paul. He had not, like the apostle of the Gentiles, been brought to faith and peace through severe conflict; but, like James, had reached his Christian individuality through a quiet development: James, however, had passed through a moulding in Judaism previously, which, under the Spirit, caused him to present Christian truth in connection with the law, in so far as the latter in its spirit, though not letter, is permanent, and not abolished, but established under the Gospel. But John, from the first, had drawn his whole spiritual development from the personal view of Christ, the model man, and from intercourse with Him. Hence, in his writings, everything turns on one simple contrast: divine life in communion with Christ; death in separation from Him, as appears from his characteristic phrases, "life, light, truth; death, darkness, lie." "As James and Peter mark the gradual transition from spiritualized Judaism to the independent development of Christianity, and as Paul represents the independent development of Christianity in opposition to the Jewish standpoint, so the contemplative element of John reconciles the two, and forms the closing point in the training of the apostolic Church" [Neander]. CHAPTER 1 1Jo 1:1-10. The Writer's Authority as an Eyewitness to the Gospel Facts, Having Seen, Heard, and Handled Him Who Was from the Beginning: His Object in Writing: His Message. If We Would Have Fellowship with Him, We Must Walk in Light, as He Is Light. 1. Instead of a formal, John adopts a virtual address (compare 1Jo 1:4). To wish joy to the reader was the ancient customary address. The sentence begun in 1Jo 1:1 is broken off by the parenthetic 1Jo 1:2, and is resumed at 1Jo 1:3 with the repetition of some words from 1Jo 1:1. That which was-- not "began to be," but was essentially (Greek, "een," not "egeneto") before He was manifested (1Jo 1:2); answering to "Him that is from the beginning" (1Jo 2:13); so John's Gospel, Joh 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word." Pr 8:23, "I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was." we-- apostles. heard... seen... looked upon... handled-- a series rising in gradation. Seeing is a more convincing proof than hearing of; handling, than even seeing. "Have heard... have seen" (perfect tenses), as a possession still abiding with us; but in Greek (not as English Version "have," but simply) "looked upon" (not perfect tense, as of a continuing thing, but aorist, past time) while Christ the incarnate Word was still with us. "Seen," namely, His glory, as revealed in the Transfiguration and in His miracles; and His passion and death in a real body of flesh and blood. "Looked upon" as a wondrous spectacle steadfastly, deeply, contemplatively; so the Greek. Appropriate to John's contemplative character. hands... handled-- Thomas and the other disciples on distinct occasions after the resurrection. John himself had leaned on Jesus' breast at the last supper. Contrast the wisest of the heathen feeling after (the same Greek as here; groping after WITH THE HANDS") if haply they might find God (see Ac 17:27). This proves against Socinians he is here speaking of the personal incarnate Word, not of Christ's teaching from the beginning of His official life. of-- "concerning"; following "heard." "Heard" is the verb most applying to the purpose of the Epistle, namely the truth which John had heard concerning the Word of life, that is, (Christ) the Word who is the life. "Heard," namely, from Christ Himself, including all Christ's teachings about Himself. Therefore he puts "of," or "concerning," before "the word of life," which is inapplicable to any of the verbs except "heard"; also "heard" is the only one of the verbs which he resumes at 1Jo 1:5.


<hi type="bold">2. the life--</hi>Jesus, "the Word of life."

<hi type="bold">was manifested--</hi>who had previously been "with the Father."

<hi type="bold">show--</hi>Translate as in <reference osisRef="1John.1.3">1Jo 1:3</reference>, "declare" (compare <reference osisRef="1John.1.5">1Jo 1:5</reference>). Declare is the general term; write is the particular (<reference osisRef="1John.1.4">1Jo 1:4</reference>).

<hi type="bold">that eternal life--</hi>Greek, "the life which is eternal." As the Epistle begins, so it ends with "eternal life," which we shall ever enjoy with, and in, Him who is "the life eternal."

<hi type="bold">which--</hi>Greek, "the which." the before-mentioned (<reference osisRef="1John.1.1">1Jo 1:1</reference>) life which was with the Father "from the beginning" (compare <reference osisRef="John.1.1">Joh 1:1</reference>). This proves the distinctness of the First and Second Persons in the one Godhead.

2. the life-- Jesus, "the Word of life." was manifested-- who had previously been "with the Father." show-- Translate as in 1Jo 1:3, "declare" (compare 1Jo 1:5). Declare is the general term; write is the particular (1Jo 1:4). that eternal life-- Greek, "the life which is eternal." As the Epistle begins, so it ends with "eternal life," which we shall ever enjoy with, and in, Him who is "the life eternal." which-- Greek, "the which." the before-mentioned (1Jo 1:1) life which was with the Father "from the beginning" (compare Joh 1:1). This proves the distinctness of the First and Second Persons in the one Godhead.


<hi type="bold">3. That which we have seen and heard--</hi>resumed from <reference osisRef="1John.1.1">1Jo 1:1</reference>, wherein the sentence, being interrupted by <reference osisRef="1John.1.2">1Jo 1:2</reference>, parenthesis, was left incomplete.

<hi type="bold">declare we unto you--</hi>Oldest manuscripts add also; unto you also who have not seen or heard Him.

<hi type="bold">that ye also may have fellowship with us--</hi>that ye also who have not seen, may have the fellowship with us which we who have seen enjoy; what that fellowship consists in he proceeds to state, "Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son." Faith realizes what we have not seen as spiritually visible; not till by faith we too have seen, do we know all the excellency of the true Solomon. He Himself is ours; He in us and we in Him. We are "partakers of the divine nature." We know God only by having fellowship with Him; He may thus be known, but not comprehended. The repetition of "with" before the "Son," distinguishes the persons, while the fellowship or communion with both Father and Son, implies their unity. It is not added "and with the Holy Ghost"; for it is by the Holy Ghost or Spirit of the Father and Son in us, that we are enabled to have fellowship with the Father and Son (compare <reference osisRef="1John.3.24">1Jo 3:24</reference>). Believers enjoy the fellowship OF, but not WITH, the Holy Ghost. "Through Christ God closes up the chasm that separated Him from the human race, and imparts Himself to them in the communion of the divine life" [Neander].

3. That which we have seen and heard-- resumed from 1Jo 1:1, wherein the sentence, being interrupted by 1Jo 1:2, parenthesis, was left incomplete. declare we unto you-- Oldest manuscripts add also; unto you also who have not seen or heard Him. that ye also may have fellowship with us-- that ye also who have not seen, may have the fellowship with us which we who have seen enjoy; what that fellowship consists in he proceeds to state, "Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son." Faith realizes what we have not seen as spiritually visible; not till by faith we too have seen, do we know all the excellency of the true Solomon. He Himself is ours; He in us and we in Him. We are "partakers of the divine nature." We know God only by having fellowship with Him; He may thus be known, but not comprehended. The repetition of "with" before the "Son," distinguishes the persons, while the fellowship or communion with both Father and Son, implies their unity. It is not added "and with the Holy Ghost"; for it is by the Holy Ghost or Spirit of the Father and Son in us, that we are enabled to have fellowship with the Father and Son (compare 1Jo 3:24). Believers enjoy the fellowship OF, but not WITH, the Holy Ghost. "Through Christ God closes up the chasm that separated Him from the human race, and imparts Himself to them in the communion of the divine life" [Neander].


<hi type="bold">4. these things--</hi>and none other, namely, this whole Epistle.

<hi type="bold">write we unto you--</hi>Some oldest manuscripts omit "unto you," and emphasize "we." Thus the antithesis is between "we" (apostles and eye-witnesses) and "your." We write thus that your joy may be full. Other oldest manuscripts and versions read "OUR joy," namely, that our joy may be filled full by bringing you also into fellowship with the Father and Son. (Compare <reference osisRef="John.4.36">Joh 4:36</reference>, end; <reference osisRef="Phil.2.2">Php 2:2</reference>, "Fulfil ye my joy," <reference osisRef="Phil.2.16">Php 2:16</reference>; <reference osisRef="2Cor.4.1">4:1</reference>; 2Jo 8). It is possible that "your" may be a correction of transcribers to make this verse harmonize with <reference osisRef="John.15.11">Joh 15:11</reference>; <reference osisRef="John.16.24">16:24</reference>; however, as John often repeats favorite phrases, he may do so here, so "your" may be from himself. So 2Jo 12, "your" in oldest manuscripts. The authority of manuscripts and versions on both sides here is almost evenly balanced. Christ Himself is the source, object, and center of His people's joy (compare <reference osisRef="1John.1.3">1Jo 1:3</reference>, end); it is in fellowship with Him that we have joy, the fruit of faith.

4. these things-- and none other, namely, this whole Epistle. write we unto you-- Some oldest manuscripts omit "unto you," and emphasize "we." Thus the antithesis is between "we" (apostles and eye-witnesses) and "your." We write thus that your joy may be full. Other oldest manuscripts and versions read "OUR joy," namely, that our joy may be filled full by bringing you also into fellowship with the Father and Son. (Compare Joh 4:36, end; Php 2:2, "Fulfil ye my joy," Php 2:16; 4:1; 2Jo 8). It is possible that "your" may be a correction of transcribers to make this verse harmonize with Joh 15:11; 16:24; however, as John often repeats favorite phrases, he may do so here, so "your" may be from himself. So 2Jo 12, "your" in oldest manuscripts. The authority of manuscripts and versions on both sides here is almost evenly balanced. Christ Himself is the source, object, and center of His people's joy (compare 1Jo 1:3, end); it is in fellowship with Him that we have joy, the fruit of faith.


5. First division of the body of the Epistle (compare Introduction).

<hi type="bold">declare--</hi>Greek, "announce"; report in turn; a different Greek word from <reference osisRef="1John.1.3">1Jo 1:3</reference>. As the Son announced the message heard from the Father as His apostle, so the Son's apostles announce what they have heard from the Son. John nowhere uses the term "Gospel"; but the witness or testimony, the word, the truth, and here the message.

<hi type="bold">God is light--</hi>What light is in the natural world, that God, the source of even material light, is in the spiritual, the fountain of wisdom, purity, beauty, joy, and glory. As all material life and growth depends on light, so all spiritual life and growth depends on God. As God here, so Christ, in <reference osisRef="1John.2.8">1Jo 2:8</reference>, is called "the true light."

<hi type="bold">no darkness at all--</hi>strong negation; Greek, "No, not even one speck of darkness"; no ignorance, error, untruthfulness, sin, or death. John heard this from Christ, not only in express words, but in His acted words, namely, His is whole manifestation in the flesh as "the brightness of the Father's glory." Christ Himself was the embodiment of "the message," representing fully in all His sayings, doings, and sufferings, Him who is LIGHT.

5. First division of the body of the Epistle (compare Introduction). declare-- Greek, "announce"; report in turn; a different Greek word from 1Jo 1:3. As the Son announced the message heard from the Father as His apostle, so the Son's apostles announce what they have heard from the Son. John nowhere uses the term "Gospel"; but the witness or testimony, the word, the truth, and here the message. God is light-- What light is in the natural world, that God, the source of even material light, is in the spiritual, the fountain of wisdom, purity, beauty, joy, and glory. As all material life and growth depends on light, so all spiritual life and growth depends on God. As God here, so Christ, in 1Jo 2:8, is called "the true light." no darkness at all-- strong negation; Greek, "No, not even one speck of darkness"; no ignorance, error, untruthfulness, sin, or death. John heard this from Christ, not only in express words, but in His acted words, namely, His is whole manifestation in the flesh as "the brightness of the Father's glory." Christ Himself was the embodiment of "the message," representing fully in all His sayings, doings, and sufferings, Him who is LIGHT.


<hi type="bold">6. say--</hi>profess.

<hi type="bold">have fellowship with him--</hi>(<reference osisRef="1John.1.3">1Jo 1:3</reference>). The essence of the Christian life.

<hi type="bold">walk--</hi>in inward and outward action, whithersoever we turn ourselves [Bengel].

<hi type="bold">in darkness--</hi>Greek, "in the darkness"; opposed to "the light" (compare <reference osisRef="1John.2.8">1Jo 2:8</reference>, <reference osisRef="2Cor.2.11">11</reference>).

<hi type="bold">lie--</hi>(<reference osisRef="1John.2.4">1Jo 2:4</reference>).

<hi type="bold">do not--</hi>in practice, whatever we say.

<hi type="bold">the truth--</hi>(<reference osisRef="Eph.4.21">Ep 4:21</reference>; <reference osisRef="John.3.21">Joh 3:21</reference>).

6. say-- profess. have fellowship with him-- (1Jo 1:3). The essence of the Christian life. walk-- in inward and outward action, whithersoever we turn ourselves [Bengel]. in darkness-- Greek, "in the darkness"; opposed to "the light" (compare 1Jo 2:8, 11). lie-- (1Jo 2:4). do not-- in practice, whatever we say. the truth-- (Ep 4:21; Joh 3:21).


7. Compare <reference osisRef="Eph.5.8">Ep 5:8</reference>, <reference osisRef="Eph.5.11-Eph.5.14">11-14</reference>. "We walk"; "God is (essentially in His very nature as 'the light,' <reference osisRef="1John.1.5">1Jo 1:5</reference>) in the light." Walking in the light, the element in which God Himself is, constitutes the test of fellowship with Him. Christ, like us, walked in the light (<reference osisRef="1John.2.6">1Jo 2:6</reference>). Alford notices, Walking in the light as He is in the light, is no mere imitation of God, but an identity in the essential element of our daily walk with the essential element of God's eternal being.

<hi type="bold">we have fellowship one with another--</hi>and of course with God (to be understood from <reference osisRef="1John.1.6">1Jo 1:6</reference>). Without having fellowship with God there can be no true and Christian fellowship one with another (compare <reference osisRef="1John.1.3">1Jo 1:3</reference>).

<hi type="bold">and--</hi>as the result of "walking in the light, as He is in the light."

<hi type="bold">the blood of Jesus ... cleanseth us from all sin--</hi>daily contracted through the sinful weakness of the flesh, and the power of Satan and the world. He is speaking not of justification through His blood once for all, but of the present sanctification ("cleanseth" is present tense) which the believer, walking in the light and having fellowship with God and the saints, enjoys as His privilege. Compare <reference osisRef="John.13.10">Joh 13:10</reference>, Greek, "He that has been bathed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." Compare <reference osisRef="1John.1.9">1Jo 1:9</reference>, "cleanse us from all unrighteousness," a further step besides "forgiving us our sins." Christ's blood is the cleansing mean, whereby gradually, being already justified and in fellowship with God, we become clean from all sin which would mar our fellowship with God. Faith applies the cleansing, purifying blood. Some oldest manuscripts omit "Christ"; others retain it.

7. Compare Ep 5:8, 11-14. "We walk"; "God is (essentially in His very nature as 'the light,' 1Jo 1:5) in the light." Walking in the light, the element in which God Himself is, constitutes the test of fellowship with Him. Christ, like us, walked in the light (1Jo 2:6). Alford notices, Walking in the light as He is in the light, is no mere imitation of God, but an identity in the essential element of our daily walk with the essential element of God's eternal being. we have fellowship one with another-- and of course with God (to be understood from 1Jo 1:6). Without having fellowship with God there can be no true and Christian fellowship one with another (compare 1Jo 1:3). and-- as the result of "walking in the light, as He is in the light." the blood of Jesus... cleanseth us from all sin-- daily contracted through the sinful weakness of the flesh, and the power of Satan and the world. He is speaking not of justification through His blood once for all, but of the present sanctification ("cleanseth" is present tense) which the believer, walking in the light and having fellowship with God and the saints, enjoys as His privilege. Compare Joh 13:10, Greek, "He that has been bathed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." Compare 1Jo 1:9, "cleanse us from all unrighteousness," a further step besides "forgiving us our sins." Christ's blood is the cleansing mean, whereby gradually, being already justified and in fellowship with God, we become clean from all sin which would mar our fellowship with God. Faith applies the cleansing, purifying blood. Some oldest manuscripts omit "Christ"; others retain it.


8. The confession of sins is a necessary consequence of "walking in the light" (<reference osisRef="1John.1.7">1Jo 1:7</reference>). "If thou shalt confess thyself a sinner, the truth is in thee; for the truth is itself light. Not yet has thy life become perfectly light, as sins are still in thee, but yet thou hast already begun to be illuminated, because there is in thee confession of sins" [Augustine].

<hi type="bold">that we have no sin--</hi>"Have," not "have had," must refer not to the past sinful life while unconverted, but to the present state wherein believers have sin even still. Observe, "sin" is in the singular; "(confess our) sins" (<reference osisRef="1John.1.9">1Jo 1:9</reference>) in the plural. Sin refers to the corruption of the old man still present in us, and the stain created by the actual sins flowing from that old nature in us. To confess our need of cleansing from present sin is essential to "walking in the light"; so far is the presence of some sin incompatible with our in the main "walking in light." But the believer hates, confesses, and longs to be delivered from all sin, which is darkness. "They who defend their sins, will see in the great day whether their sins can defend them."

<hi type="bold">deceive ourselves--</hi>We cannot deceive God; we only make ourselves to err from the right path.

<hi type="bold">the truth--</hi>(<reference osisRef="1John.2.4">1Jo 2:4</reference>). True faith. "The truth respecting God's holiness and our sinfulness, which is the very first spark of light in us, has no place in us" [Alford].

8. The confession of sins is a necessary consequence of "walking in the light" (1Jo 1:7). "If thou shalt confess thyself a sinner, the truth is in thee; for the truth is itself light. Not yet has thy life become perfectly light, as sins are still in thee, but yet thou hast already begun to be illuminated, because there is in thee confession of sins" [Augustine]. that we have no sin-- "Have," not "have had," must refer not to the past sinful life while unconverted, but to the present state wherein believers have sin even still. Observe, "sin" is in the singular; "(confess our) sins" (1Jo 1:9) in the plural. Sin refers to the corruption of the old man still present in us, and the stain created by the actual sins flowing from that old nature in us. To confess our need of cleansing from present sin is essential to "walking in the light"; so far is the presence of some sin incompatible with our in the main "walking in light." But the believer hates, confesses, and longs to be delivered from all sin, which is darkness. "They who defend their sins, will see in the great day whether their sins can defend them." deceive ourselves-- We cannot deceive God; we only make ourselves to err from the right path. the truth-- (1Jo 2:4). True faith. "The truth respecting God's holiness and our sinfulness, which is the very first spark of light in us, has no place in us" [Alford].


<hi type="bold">9. confess--</hi>with the lips, speaking from a contrite heart; involving also confession to our fellow men of offenses committed against them.

<hi type="bold">he--</hi>God.

<hi type="bold">faithful--</hi>to His own promises; "true" to His word.

<hi type="bold">just--</hi>Not merely the mercy, but the justice or righteousness of God is set forth in the redemption of the penitent believer in Christ. God's promises of mercy, to which He is faithful, are in accordance with His justice.

<hi type="bold">to--</hi>Greek, "in order that." His forgiving us our sins and cleansing us, &c., is in furtherance of the ends of His eternal faithfulness and justice.

<hi type="bold">forgive--</hi>remitting the guilt.

<hi type="bold">cleanse--</hi>purify from all filthiness, so that henceforth we more and more become free from the presence of sin through the Spirit of sanctification (compare <reference osisRef="Heb.9.14">He 9:14</reference>; and above, see on <reference osisRef="1John.1.7">1Jo 1:7</reference>).

<hi type="bold">unrighteousness--</hi>offensive to Him who "is just" or righteous; called "sin," <reference osisRef="1John.1.7">1Jo 1:7</reference>, because "sin is the transgression of the law," and the law is the expression of God's righteousness, so that sin is unrighteousness.

9. confess-- with the lips, speaking from a contrite heart; involving also confession to our fellow men of offenses committed against them. he-- God. faithful-- to His own promises; "true" to His word. just-- Not merely the mercy, but the justice or righteousness of God is set forth in the redemption of the penitent believer in Christ. God's promises of mercy, to which He is faithful, are in accordance with His justice. to-- Greek, "in order that." His forgiving us our sins and cleansing us, &c., is in furtherance of the ends of His eternal faithfulness and justice. forgive-- remitting the guilt. cleanse-- purify from all filthiness, so that henceforth we more and more become free from the presence of sin through the Spirit of sanctification (compare He 9:14; and above, see on 1Jo 1:7). unrighteousness-- offensive to Him who "is just" or righteous; called "sin," 1Jo 1:7, because "sin is the transgression of the law," and the law is the expression of God's righteousness, so that sin is unrighteousness.


10. Parallel to <reference osisRef="1John.1.8">1Jo 1:8</reference>.

<hi type="bold">we have not sinned--</hi>referring to the commission of actual sins, even after regeneration and conversion; whereas in <reference osisRef="1John.1.8">1Jo 1:8</reference>, "we have no sin," refers to the present GUILT remaining (until cleansed) from the actual sins committed, and to the SIN of our corrupt old nature still adhering to us. The perfect "have ... sinned" brings down the commission of sins to the present time, not merely sins committed before, but since, conversion.

<hi type="bold">we make him a liar--</hi>a gradation; <reference osisRef="1John.1.6">1Jo 1:6</reference>, "we lie"; <reference osisRef="1John.1.8">1Jo 1:8</reference>, "we deceive ourselves"; worst of all, "we make Him a liar," by denying His word that all men are sinners (compare <reference osisRef="1John.5.10">1Jo 5:10</reference>).

<hi type="bold">his word is not in us--</hi>"His word," which is "the truth" (<reference osisRef="1John.1.8">1Jo 1:8</reference>), accuses us truly; by denying it we drive it from our hearts (compare <reference osisRef="John.5.38">Joh 5:38</reference>). Our rejection of "His word" in respect to our being sinners, implies as the consequence our rejection of His word and will revealed in the law and Gospel as a whole; for these throughout rest on the fact that we have sinned, and have sin. <chapter eID="1John.1"/>

10. Parallel to 1Jo 1:8. we have not sinned-- referring to the commission of actual sins, even after regeneration and conversion; whereas in 1Jo 1:8, "we have no sin," refers to the present GUILT remaining (until cleansed) from the actual sins committed, and to the SIN of our corrupt old nature still adhering to us. The perfect "have... sinned" brings down the commission of sins to the present time, not merely sins committed before, but since, conversion. we make him a liar-- a gradation; 1Jo 1:6, "we lie"; 1Jo 1:8, "we deceive ourselves"; worst of all, "we make Him a liar," by denying His word that all men are sinners (compare 1Jo 5:10). his word is not in us-- "His word," which is "the truth" (1Jo 1:8), accuses us truly; by denying it we drive it from our hearts (compare Joh 5:38). Our rejection of "His word" in respect to our being sinners, implies as the consequence our rejection of His word and will revealed in the law and Gospel as a whole; for these throughout rest on the fact that we have sinned, and have sin.


<title type="x-s2">CHAPTER 2</title>
 <reference osisRef="1John.2.1-1John.2.29">1Jo 2:1-29</reference>. The Advocacy of Christ Is Our Antidote to Sin While Walking in the Light; for to Know God, We Must Keep His Commandments and Love the Brethren, and Not Love the World, Nor Give Heed to Antichrists, against Whom Our Safety Is through the Inward Anointing of God to Abide in God: So at Christ's Coming We Shall Not Be Ashamed.

1. (<reference osisRef="1John.5.18">1Jo 5:18</reference>.)

<hi type="bold">My little children--</hi>The diminutive expresses the tender affection of an aged pastor and spiritual father. My own dear children, that is, sons and daughters (see on <reference osisRef="1John.2.12">1Jo 2:12</reference>).

<hi type="bold">these things--</hi>(<reference osisRef="1John.1.6-1John.1.10">1Jo 1:6-10</reference>). My purpose in writing what I have just written is not that you should abuse them as giving a license to sin but, on the contrary, "in order that ye may not sin at all" (the Greek aorist, implying the absence not only of the habit, but of single acts of sin [Alford]). In order to "walk in the light" (<reference osisRef="1John.1.5">1Jo 1:5</reference>, <reference osisRef="1Cor.1.7">7</reference>), the first step is confession of sin (<reference osisRef="1John.1.9">1Jo 1:9</reference>), the next (<reference osisRef="1John.2.1">1Jo 2:1</reference>) is that we should forsake all sin. The divine purpose has for its aim, either to prevent the commission of, or to destroy sin [Bengel].

<hi type="bold">And, &c.--</hi>connected with the former; Furthermore, "if any man sin," let him, while loathing and condemning it, not fear to go at once to God, the Judge, confessing it, for "we have an Advocate with Him." He is speaking of a BELIEVER'S occasional sins of infirmity through Satan's fraud and malice. The use of "we" immediately afterwards implies that we all are liable to this, though not necessarily constrained to sin.

<hi type="bold">we have an advocate--</hi>Advocacy is God's family blessing; other blessings He grants to good and bad alike, but justification, sanctification, continued intercession, and peace, He grants to His children alone.

<hi type="bold">advocate--</hi>Greek, "paraclete," the same term as is applied to the Holy Ghost, as the "other Comforter"; showing the unity of the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity. Christ is the Intercessor for us above; and, in His absence, here below the Holy Ghost is the other Intercessor in us. Christ's advocacy is inseparable from the Holy Spirit's comfort and working in us, as the spirit of intercessory prayer.

<hi type="bold">righteous--</hi>As our "advocate," Christ is not a mere suppliant petitioner. He pleads for us on the ground of justice, or righteousness, as well as mercy. Though He can say nothing good of us, He can say much for us. It is His righteousness, or obedience to the law, and endurance of its full penalty for us, on which He grounds His claim for our acquittal. The sense therefore is, "in that He is righteous"; in contrast to our sin ("if any man sin"). The Father, by raising Him from the dead, and setting Him at His own right, has once for all accepted Christ's claim for us. Therefore the accuser's charges against God's children are vain. "The righteousness of Christ stands on our side; for God's righteousness is, in Jesus Christ, ours" [Luther].

CHAPTER 2 1Jo 2:1-29. The Advocacy of Christ Is Our Antidote to Sin While Walking in the Light; for to Know God, We Must Keep His Commandments and Love the Brethren, and Not Love the World, Nor Give Heed to Antichrists, against Whom Our Safety Is through the Inward Anointing of God to Abide in God: So at Christ's Coming We Shall Not Be Ashamed. 1. (1Jo 5:18.) My little children-- The diminutive expresses the tender affection of an aged pastor and spiritual father. My own dear children, that is, sons and daughters (see on 1Jo 2:12). these things-- (1Jo 1:6-10). My purpose in writing what I have just written is not that you should abuse them as giving a license to sin but, on the contrary, "in order that ye may not sin at all" (the Greek aorist, implying the absence not only of the habit, but of single acts of sin [Alford]). In order to "walk in the light" (1Jo 1:5, 7), the first step is confession of sin (1Jo 1:9), the next (1Jo 2:1) is that we should forsake all sin. The divine purpose has for its aim, either to prevent the commission of, or to destroy sin [Bengel]. And, &c.-- connected with the former; Furthermore, "if any man sin," let him, while loathing and condemning it, not fear to go at once to God, the Judge, confessing it, for "we have an Advocate with Him." He is speaking of a BELIEVER'S occasional sins of infirmity through Satan's fraud and malice. The use of "we" immediately afterwards implies that we all are liable to this, though not necessarily constrained to sin. we have an advocate-- Advocacy is God's family blessing; other blessings He grants to good and bad alike, but justification, sanctification, continued intercession, and peace, He grants to His children alone. advocate-- Greek, "paraclete," the same term as is applied to the Holy Ghost, as the "other Comforter"; showing the unity of the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity. Christ is the Intercessor for us above; and, in His absence, here below the Holy Ghost is the other Intercessor in us. Christ's advocacy is inseparable from the Holy Spirit's comfort and working in us, as the spirit of intercessory prayer. righteous-- As our "advocate," Christ is not a mere suppliant petitioner. He pleads for us on the ground of justice, or righteousness, as well as mercy. Though He can say nothing good of us, He can say much for us. It is His righteousness, or obedience to the law, and endurance of its full penalty for us, on which He grounds His claim for our acquittal. The sense therefore is, "in that He is righteous"; in contrast to our sin ("if any man sin"). The Father, by raising Him from the dead, and setting Him at His own right, has once for all accepted Christ's claim for us. Therefore the accuser's charges against God's children are vain. "The righteousness of Christ stands on our side; for God's righteousness is, in Jesus Christ, ours" [Luther].


<hi type="bold">2. And he--</hi>Greek, "And Himself." He is our all-prevailing Advocate, because He is Himself "the propitiation"; abstract, as in <reference osisRef="1Cor.1.30">1Co 1:30</reference>: He is to us all that is needed for propitiation "in behalf of our sins"; the propitiatory sacrifice, provided by the Father's love, removing the estrangement, and appeasing the righteous wrath, on God's part, against the sinner. "There is no incongruity that a father should be offended with that son whom he loveth, and at that time offended with him when he loveth him" [Bishop Pearson]. The only other place in the New Testament where Greek "propitiation" occurs, is <reference osisRef="1John.4.10">1Jo 4:10</reference>; it answers in the Septuagint to Hebrew, "caphar," to effect an atonement or reconciliation with God; and in <reference osisRef="Ezek.44.29">Eze 44:29</reference>, to the sin offering. In <reference osisRef="Rom.3.25">Ro 3:25</reference>, Greek, it is "propitiatory," that is, the mercy seat, or lid of the ark whereon God, represented by the Shekinah glory above it, met His people, represented by the high priest who sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on it.

<hi type="bold">and--</hi>Greek, "yet."

<hi type="bold">ours--</hi>believers: not Jews, in contrast to Gentiles; for he is not writing to Jews (<reference osisRef="1John.5.21">1Jo 5:21</reference>).

<hi type="bold">also for the sins of the whole world--</hi>Christ's "advocacy" is limited to believers (<reference osisRef="1John.2.1">1Jo 2:1</reference>; <reference osisRef="1John.1.7">1Jo 1:7</reference>): His propitiation extends as widely as sin extends: see on <reference osisRef="2Pet.2.1">2Pe 2:1</reference>, "denying the Lord that bought them." "The whole world" cannot be restricted to the believing portion of the world (compare <reference osisRef="1John.4.14">1Jo 4:14</reference>; and "the whole world," <reference osisRef="1John.5.19">1Jo 5:19</reference>). "Thou, too, art part of the world, so that thine heart cannot deceive itself and think, The Lord died for Peter and Paul, but not for me" [Luther].

2. And he-- Greek, "And Himself." He is our all-prevailing Advocate, because He is Himself "the propitiation"; abstract, as in 1Co 1:30: He is to us all that is needed for propitiation "in behalf of our sins"; the propitiatory sacrifice, provided by the Father's love, removing the estrangement, and appeasing the righteous wrath, on God's part, against the sinner. "There is no incongruity that a father should be offended with that son whom he loveth, and at that time offended with him when he loveth him" [Bishop Pearson]. The only other place in the New Testament where Greek "propitiation" occurs, is 1Jo 4:10; it answers in the Septuagint to Hebrew, "caphar," to effect an atonement or reconciliation with God; and in Eze 44:29, to the sin offering. In Ro 3:25, Greek, it is "propitiatory," that is, the mercy seat, or lid of the ark whereon God, represented by the Shekinah glory above it, met His people, represented by the high priest who sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on it. and-- Greek, "yet." ours-- believers: not Jews, in contrast to Gentiles; for he is not writing to Jews (1Jo 5:21). also for the sins of the whole world-- Christ's "advocacy" is limited to believers (1Jo 2:1; 1Jo 1:7): His propitiation extends as widely as sin extends: see on 2Pe 2:1, "denying the Lord that bought them." "The whole world" cannot be restricted to the believing portion of the world (compare 1Jo 4:14; and "the whole world," 1Jo 5:19). "Thou, too, art part of the world, so that thine heart cannot deceive itself and think, The Lord died for Peter and Paul, but not for me" [Luther].


<hi type="bold">3. hereby--</hi>Greek, "in this." "It is herein," and herein only, that we know (present tense) that we have knowledge of (perfect tense, once-for-all obtained and continuing knowledge of) Him" (<reference osisRef="1John.2.4">1Jo 2:4</reference>, <reference osisRef="2Cor.13.14">13, 14</reference>). Tokens whereby to discern grace are frequently given in this Epistle. The Gnostics, by the Spirit's prescient forewarning, are refuted, who boasted of knowledge, but set aside obedience. "Know Him," namely, as "the righteous" (<reference osisRef="1John.2.1">1Jo 2:1</reference>, 29); our "Advocate and Intercessor."

<hi type="bold">keep--</hi>John's favorite word, instead of "do," literally, "watch," "guard," and "keep safe" as a precious thing; observing so as to keep. So Christ Himself. Not faultless conformity, but hearty acceptance of, and willing subjection to, God's whole revealed will, is meant.

<hi type="bold">commandments--</hi>injunctions of faith, love, and obedience. John never uses "the law" to express the rule of Christian obedience: he uses it as the Mosaic law.

3. hereby-- Greek, "in this." "It is herein," and herein only, that we know (present tense) that we have knowledge of (perfect tense, once-for-all obtained and continuing knowledge of) Him" (1Jo 2:4, 13, 14). Tokens whereby to discern grace are frequently given in this Epistle. The Gnostics, by the Spirit's prescient forewarning, are refuted, who boasted of knowledge, but set aside obedience. "Know Him," namely, as "the righteous" (1Jo 2:1, 29); our "Advocate and Intercessor." keep-- John's favorite word, instead of "do," literally, "watch," "guard," and "keep safe" as a precious thing; observing so as to keep. So Christ Himself. Not faultless conformity, but hearty acceptance of, and willing subjection to, God's whole revealed will, is meant. commandments-- injunctions of faith, love, and obedience. John never uses "the law" to express the rule of Christian obedience: he uses it as the Mosaic law.


<hi type="bold">4. I know--</hi>Greek, "I have knowledge of (perfect) Him." Compare with this verse <reference osisRef="1John.1.8">1Jo 1:8</reference>.

4. I know-- Greek, "I have knowledge of (perfect) Him." Compare with this verse 1Jo 1:8.


5. Not merely repeating the proposition, <reference osisRef="1John.2.3">1Jo 2:3</reference>, or asserting the merely opposite alternative to <reference osisRef="1John.2.4">1Jo 2:4</reference>, but expanding the "know Him" of <reference osisRef="1John.2.3">1Jo 2:3</reference>, into "in Him, verily (not as a matter of vain boasting) is the love of (that is towards) God perfected," and "we are in Him." Love here answers to knowledge in <reference osisRef="1John.2.3">1Jo 2:3</reference>. In proportion as we love God, in that same proportion we know Him, and vice versa, until our love and knowledge shall attain their full maturity of perfection.

<hi type="bold">his word--</hi>His word is one (see on <reference osisRef="1John.1.5">1Jo 1:5</reference>), and comprises His "commandments," which are many (<reference osisRef="1John.2.3">1Jo 2:3</reference>).

<hi type="bold">hereby--</hi>in our progressing towards this ideal of perfected love and obedience. There is a gradation: <reference osisRef="1John.2.3">1Jo 2:3</reference>, "know Him"; <reference osisRef="1John.2.5">1Jo 2:5</reference>, "we are in Him"; <reference osisRef="1John.2.6">1Jo 2:6</reference>, "abideth in Him"; respectively, knowledge, fellowship, abiding constancy. [Bengel].

5. Not merely repeating the proposition, 1Jo 2:3, or asserting the merely opposite alternative to 1Jo 2:4, but expanding the "know Him" of 1Jo 2:3, into "in Him, verily (not as a matter of vain boasting) is the love of (that is towards) God perfected," and "we are in Him." Love here answers to knowledge in 1Jo 2:3. In proportion as we love God, in that same proportion we know Him, and vice versa, until our love and knowledge shall attain their full maturity of perfection. his word-- His word is one (see on 1Jo 1:5), and comprises His "commandments," which are many (1Jo 2:3). hereby-- in our progressing towards this ideal of perfected love and obedience. There is a gradation: 1Jo 2:3, "know Him"; 1Jo 2:5, "we are in Him"; 1Jo 2:6, "abideth in Him"; respectively, knowledge, fellowship, abiding constancy. [Bengel].


<hi type="bold">6. abideth--</hi>implying a condition lasting, without intermission, and without end.

<hi type="bold">He that saith ... ought--</hi>so that his deeds may be consistent with his words.

<hi type="bold">even as he--</hi>Believers readily supply the name, their hearts being full of Him (compare <reference osisRef="John.20.15">Joh 20:15</reference>). "Even as He walked" when on earth, especially in respect to love. John delights in referring to Christ as the model man, with the words, "Even as He," &c. "It is not Christ's walking on the sea, but His ordinary walk, that we are called on to imitate" [Luther].

6. abideth-- implying a condition lasting, without intermission, and without end. He that saith... ought-- so that his deeds may be consistent with his words. even as he-- Believers readily supply the name, their hearts being full of Him (compare Joh 20:15). "Even as He walked" when on earth, especially in respect to love. John delights in referring to Christ as the model man, with the words, "Even as He," &c. "It is not Christ's walking on the sea, but His ordinary walk, that we are called on to imitate" [Luther].


<hi type="bold">7. Brethren--</hi>The oldest manuscripts and versions read instead, "Beloved," appropriate to the subject here, love.

<hi type="bold">no new commandment--</hi>namely, love, the main principle of walking as Christ walked (<reference osisRef="1John.2.6">1Jo 2:6</reference>), and that commandment, of which one exemplification is presently given, <reference osisRef="1John.2.9">1Jo 2:9</reference>, <reference osisRef="2Cor.2.10">10</reference>, the love of brethren.

<hi type="bold">ye had from the beginning--</hi>from the time that ye first heard the Gospel word preached.

7. Brethren-- The oldest manuscripts and versions read instead, "Beloved," appropriate to the subject here, love. no new commandment-- namely, love, the main principle of walking as Christ walked (1Jo 2:6), and that commandment, of which one exemplification is presently given, 1Jo 2:9, 10, the love of brethren. ye had from the beginning-- from the time that ye first heard the Gospel word preached.


<hi type="bold">8. a new commandment--</hi>It was "old," in that Christians as such had heard it from the first; but "new" (Greek, "kaine," not "nea": new and different from the old legal precept) in that it was first clearly promulgated with Christianity; though the inner spirit of the law was love even to enemies, yet it was enveloped in some bitter precepts which caused it to be temporarily almost unrecognized, till the Gospel came. Christianity first put love to brethren on the new and highest MOTIVE, instinctive love to Him who first loved us, constraining us to love all, even enemies, thereby walking in the steps of Him who loved us when enemies. So Jesus calls it "new," <reference osisRef="John.13.34">Joh 13:34</reference>, <reference osisRef="John.13.35">35</reference>, "Love one another as I have loved you" (the new motive); <reference osisRef="John.15.12">Joh 15:12</reference>.

<hi type="bold">which thing is true in him and in you--</hi>"In Christ all things are always true, and were so from the beginning; but in Christ and in us conjointly the commandment [the love of brethren] is then true when we acknowledge the truth which is in Him, and have the same flourishing in us" [Bengel]. Alford explains, "Which thing (the fact that the commandment is a new one) is true in Him and in you because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is now shining; that is, the commandment is a new one, and this is true both in the case of Christ and in the case of you; because in you the darkness is passing away, and in Him the true light is shining; therefore, on both accounts, the command is a new one: new as regards you, because you are newly come from darkness into light; new as regards Him, because He uttered it when He came into the world to lighten every man, and began that shining which even now continues." I prefer, as Bengel, to explain, The new commandment finds its truth in its practical realization in the walk of Christians in union with Christ. Compare the use of "verily," <reference osisRef="1John.2.5">1Jo 2:5</reference>. <reference osisRef="John.4.42">Joh 4:42</reference>, "indeed"; <reference osisRef="John.6.55">Joh 6:55</reference>. The repetition of "in" before "you," "in Him and in you," not "in Him and you" implies that the love commandment finds its realization separately: first it did so "in Him," and then it does so "in us," in so far as we now "also walk even as He walked"; and yet it finds its realization also conjointly, by the two being united in one sentence, even as it is by virtue of the love commandment having been first fulfilled in Him, that it is also now fulfilled in us, through His Spirit in us: compare a similar case, <reference osisRef="John.20.17">Joh 20:17</reference>, "My Father and your Father"; by virtue of His being "My Father," He is also your Father.

<hi type="bold">darkness is past--</hi>rather, as in <reference osisRef="1John.2.17">1Jo 2:17</reference>, "is passing away." It shall not be wholly "past" until "the Sun of righteousness" shall arise visibly; "the light is now shining" already, though but partially until the day bursts forth.

8. a new commandment-- It was "old," in that Christians as such had heard it from the first; but "new" (Greek, "kaine," not "nea": new and different from the old legal precept) in that it was first clearly promulgated with Christianity; though the inner spirit of the law was love even to enemies, yet it was enveloped in some bitter precepts which caused it to be temporarily almost unrecognized, till the Gospel came. Christianity first put love to brethren on the new and highest MOTIVE, instinctive love to Him who first loved us, constraining us to love all, even enemies, thereby walking in the steps of Him who loved us when enemies. So Jesus calls it "new," Joh 13:34, 35, "Love one another as I have loved you" (the new motive); Joh 15:12. which thing is true in him and in you-- "In Christ all things are always true, and were so from the beginning; but in Christ and in us conjointly the commandment [the love of brethren] is then true when we acknowledge the truth which is in Him, and have the same flourishing in us" [Bengel]. Alford explains, "Which thing (the fact that the commandment is a new one) is true in Him and in you because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is now shining; that is, the commandment is a new one, and this is true both in the case of Christ and in the case of you; because in you the darkness is passing away, and in Him the true light is shining; therefore, on both accounts, the command is a new one: new as regards you, because you are newly come from darkness into light; new as regards Him, because He uttered it when He came into the world to lighten every man, and began that shining which even now continues." I prefer, as Bengel, to explain, The new commandment finds its truth in its practical realization in the walk of Christians in union with Christ. Compare the use of "verily," 1Jo 2:5. Joh 4:42, "indeed"; Joh 6:55. The repetition of "in" before "you," "in Him and in you," not "in Him and you" implies that the love commandment finds its realization separately: first it did so "in Him," and then it does so "in us," in so far as we now "also walk even as He walked"; and yet it finds its realization also conjointly, by the two being united in one sentence, even as it is by virtue of the love commandment having been first fulfilled in Him, that it is also now fulfilled in us, through His Spirit in us: compare a similar case, Joh 20:17, "My Father and your Father"; by virtue of His being "My Father," He is also your Father. darkness is past-- rather, as in 1Jo 2:17, "is passing away." It shall not be wholly "past" until "the Sun of righteousness" shall arise visibly; "the light is now shining" already, though but partially until the day bursts forth.


9-11. There is no mean between light and darkness, love and hatred, life and death, God and the world: wherever spiritual life is, however weak, there darkness and death no longer reign, and love supplants hatred; and <reference osisRef="Luke.9.50">Lu 9:50</reference> holds good: wherever life is not, there death, darkness, the flesh, the world, and hatred, however glossed over and hidden from man's observation, prevail; and <reference osisRef="Luke.11.23">Lu 11:23</reference> holds good. "Where love is not, there hatred is; for the heart cannot remain a void" [Bengel].

<hi type="bold">in the light--</hi>as his proper element.

<hi type="bold">his brother--</hi>his neighbor, and especially those of the Christian brotherhood. The very title "brother" is a reason why love should be exercised.

<hi type="bold">even until now--</hi>notwithstanding that "the true light already has begun to shine" (<reference osisRef="1John.2.8">1Jo 2:8</reference>).

9-11. There is no mean between light and darkness, love and hatred, life and death, God and the world: wherever spiritual life is, however weak, there darkness and death no longer reign, and love supplants hatred; and Lu 9:50 holds good: wherever life is not, there death, darkness, the flesh, the world, and hatred, however glossed over and hidden from man's observation, prevail; and Lu 11:23 holds good. "Where love is not, there hatred is; for the heart cannot remain a void" [Bengel]. in the light-- as his proper element. his brother-- his neighbor, and especially those of the Christian brotherhood. The very title "brother" is a reason why love should be exercised. even until now-- notwithstanding that "the true light already has begun to shine" (1Jo 2:8).


<hi type="bold">12. little children--</hi>Greek, "little sons," or "dear sons and daughters"; not the same Greek as in <reference osisRef="1John.2.13">1Jo 2:13</reference>, "little children," "infants" (in age and standing). He calls ALL to whom he writes, "little sons" (<reference osisRef="1John.2.1">1Jo 2:1</reference>, Greek; <reference osisRef="1John.2.28">1Jo 2:28</reference>; <reference osisRef="2Cor.3.18">3:18</reference>; <reference osisRef="2Cor.4.4">4:4</reference>; <reference osisRef="2Cor.5.21">5:21</reference>); but only in <reference osisRef="1John.2.13">1Jo 2:13</reference>, 18 he uses the term "little children," or "infants." Our Lord, whose Spirit John so deeply drank into, used to His disciples (<reference osisRef="John.13.33">Joh 13:33</reference>) the term "little sons," or dear sons and daughters; but in <reference osisRef="John.21.5">Joh 21:5</reference>, "little children." It is an undesigned coincidence with the Epistle here, that in John's Gospel somewhat similarly the classification, "lambs, sheep, sheep," occurs.

<hi type="bold">are forgiven--</hi>"have been, and are forgiven you": ALL God's sons and daughters alike enjoy this privilege.

12. little children-- Greek, "little sons," or "dear sons and daughters"; not the same Greek as in 1Jo 2:13, "little children," "infants" (in age and standing). He calls ALL to whom he writes, "little sons" (1Jo 2:1, Greek; 1Jo 2:28; 3:18; 4:4; 5:21); but only in 1Jo 2:13, 18 he uses the term "little children," or "infants." Our Lord, whose Spirit John so deeply drank into, used to His disciples (Joh 13:33) the term "little sons," or dear sons and daughters; but in Joh 21:5, "little children." It is an undesigned coincidence with the Epistle here, that in John's Gospel somewhat similarly the classification, "lambs, sheep, sheep," occurs. are forgiven-- "have been, and are forgiven you": ALL God's sons and daughters alike enjoy this privilege.


13-14. All three classes are first addressed in the present. "I write"; then in the past (aorist) tense, "I wrote" (not "I have written"; moreover, in the oldest manuscripts and versions, in the end of <reference osisRef="1John.2.13">1Jo 2:13</reference>, it is past, "I wrote," not as English Version, "I write"). Two classes, "fathers" and "young men," are addressed with the same words each time (except that the address to the young men has an addition expressing the source and means of their victory); but the "little sons" and "little children" are differently addressed.

<hi type="bold">have known--</hi>and do know: so the Greek perfect means. The "I wrote" refers not to a former Epistle, but to this Epistle. It was an idiom to put the past tense, regarding the time from the reader's point of view; when he should receive the Epistle the writing would be past. When he uses "I write," he speaks from his own point of view.

<hi type="bold">him that is from the beginning--</hi>Christ: "that which was from the beginning."

<hi type="bold">overcome--</hi>The fathers, appropriately to their age, are characterized by knowledge. The young men, appropriately to theirs, by activity in conflict. The fathers, too, have conquered; but now their active service is past, and they and the children alike are characterized by knowing (the fathers know Christ, "Him that was from the beginning"; the children know the Father). The first thing that the little children realize is that God is their Father; answering in the parallel clause to "little sons ... your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake," the universal first privilege of all those really-dear sons of God. Thus this latter clause includes all, whereas the former clause refers to those more especially who are in the first stage of spiritual life, "little children." Of course, these can only know the Father as theirs through the Son (<reference osisRef="Matt.11.27">Mt 11:27</reference>). It is beautiful to see how the fathers are characterized as reverting back to the first great truths of spiritual childhood, and the sum and ripest fruit of advanced experience, the knowledge of Him that was from the beginning (twice repeated, <reference osisRef="1John.2.13">1Jo 2:13</reference>, <reference osisRef="2Cor.2.14">14</reference>). Many of them had probably known Jesus in person, as well as by faith.

13-14. All three classes are first addressed in the present. "I write"; then in the past (aorist) tense, "I wrote" (not "I have written"; moreover, in the oldest manuscripts and versions, in the end of 1Jo 2:13, it is past, "I wrote," not as English Version, "I write"). Two classes, "fathers" and "young men," are addressed with the same words each time (except that the address to the young men has an addition expressing the source and means of their victory); but the "little sons" and "little children" are differently addressed. have known-- and do know: so the Greek perfect means. The "I wrote" refers not to a former Epistle, but to this Epistle. It was an idiom to put the past tense, regarding the time from the reader's point of view; when he should receive the Epistle the writing would be past. When he uses "I write," he speaks from his own point of view. him that is from the beginning-- Christ: "that which was from the beginning." overcome-- The fathers, appropriately to their age, are characterized by knowledge. The young men, appropriately to theirs, by activity in conflict. The fathers, too, have conquered; but now their active service is past, and they and the children alike are characterized by knowing (the fathers know Christ, "Him that was from the beginning"; the children know the Father). The first thing that the little children realize is that God is their Father; answering in the parallel clause to "little sons... your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake," the universal first privilege of all those really-dear sons of God. Thus this latter clause includes all, whereas the former clause refers to those more especially who are in the first stage of spiritual life, "little children." Of course, these can only know the Father as theirs through the Son (Mt 11:27). It is beautiful to see how the fathers are characterized as reverting back to the first great truths of spiritual childhood, and the sum and ripest fruit of advanced experience, the knowledge of Him that was from the beginning (twice repeated, 1Jo 2:13, 14). Many of them had probably known Jesus in person, as well as by faith.


<hi type="bold">15. Love not the world--</hi>that lieth in the wicked one (<reference osisRef="1John.5.19">1Jo 5:19</reference>), whom ye young men have overcome. Having once for all, through faith, overcome the world (<reference osisRef="1John.4.4">1Jo 4:4</reference>; <reference osisRef="1John.5.4">5:4</reference>), carry forward the conquest by not loving it. "The world" here means "man, and man's world" [Alford], in his and its state as fallen from God. "God loved [with the love of compassion] the world," and we should feel the same kind of love for the fallen world; but we are not to love the world with congeniality and sympathy in its alienation from God; we cannot have this latter kind of love for the God-estranged world, and yet have also "the love of the Father in" us.

<hi type="bold">neither--</hi>Greek, "nor yet." A man might deny in general that he loved the world, while keenly following some one of THE THINGS IN IT: its riches, honors, or pleasures; this clause prevents him escaping from conviction.

<hi type="bold">any man--</hi>therefore the warning, though primarily addressed to the young, applies to all.

<hi type="bold">love of--</hi>that is, towards "the Father." The two, God and the (sinful) world, are so opposed, that both cannot be congenially loved at once.

15. Love not the world-- that lieth in the wicked one (1Jo 5:19), whom ye young men have overcome. Having once for all, through faith, overcome the world (1Jo 4:4; 5:4), carry forward the conquest by not loving it. "The world" here means "man, and man's world" [Alford], in his and its state as fallen from God. "God loved [with the love of compassion] the world," and we should feel the same kind of love for the fallen world; but we are not to love the world with congeniality and sympathy in its alienation from God; we cannot have this latter kind of love for the God-estranged world, and yet have also "the love of the Father in" us. neither-- Greek, "nor yet." A man might deny in general that he loved the world, while keenly following some one of THE THINGS IN IT: its riches, honors, or pleasures; this clause prevents him escaping from conviction. any man-- therefore the warning, though primarily addressed to the young, applies to all. love of-- that is, towards "the Father." The two, God and the (sinful) world, are so opposed, that both cannot be congenially loved at once.