The Commandment Of Love
THE COMMANDMENT OF LOVE
1 JOHN 2:7-17
A mark of true Christians is that they love their fellow believers.
Words divorced from events can be empty. So it is with Christ’s “new commandment” (John 13:34; 15:12,17)—the fact that John does not specify it explicitly till 3:11,23 shows the close link of 1 John with the Gospel. It is not a new commandment, because we find it already in Leviticus 19:18. The very question in Luke 10:29 shows how relatively shallow was the way in which it was understood. The moment Jesus linked it with himself, he transformed it, so that it became a new commandment. As the implications of Christ’s work became clearer in the church (2:8), the darkness which hid the implications of Leviticus 19:18 was vanishing. “He who hates his brother” (2:9): the linguistic use of the Old Testament, eg Malachi 1:2f., and Christ’s teaching, eg Matthew 5:43-48, make clear that no shadowland is being left between love and hatred. Hatred is quite simply absence of love, and love must be understood in the light of Christ’s life. Sin can be so evil that it is sometimes very hard to hate the sin and love the sinner, especially when the sinner loves their sin. So John makes his words turn on love to one’s “brother or sister” (2:9-11) in faith instead of to the outsider.
John then gives what should be the characteristics of the developing Christian. To begin with, there must be the knowledge of forgiveness (2:12) and of God’s desire that people should be saved (2:13). The strength and courage of Christians who have grown to stature are seen in their victory over the “evil one” (2:13f.) and their knowledge of God’s will. Full maturity is shown by a true understanding of “him who is from the beginning” (2:13f.), ie Jesus Christ. It would be well to compare these standards with much that is stressed today.
Wherever people are organized for business or pleasure without thought of God there we have the world (2:15). “The things in the world” are human works for human glory and pride, and not God’s creation. No thing is in itself worldly; it is the human attitude, “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life,” that makes it so. So while experience may show that certain things are dangerous or disadvantageous to Christians, the vital question to ask is why they want something, or why they wish to do it. For Christ’s teaching on the subject, see Matthew 6:19-21,24-34; Luke 16:9-13.
Thought Seek the things that are above, where Christ is.