1 John 2

2:1John uses “dear children” in a warm, fatherly way. He is not talking down to his readers but is showing affection for them. At this writing, John was a very old man. He had spent almost all his fife in ministry, and many of his readers were indeed his spiritual children.

2:1,2To people who are feeling guilty and condemned, John offers reassurance. They know they have sinned, and Satan (called “the accuser” in Revelation 12:10) is demanding the death penalty. When you feel this way, don’t give up hope—the best defense attorney in the universe is pleading your case. Jesus Christ, your advocate, your defender, is the Judge's Son. He has already suffered your penalty in your place. You can’t be tried for a case that is no longer on the docket. United with Christ, you are as safe as he is. Don’t be afraid to ask Christ to plead your case— he has already won it (see Romans 8:33, 34; Hebrews 7:24, 25).

2:2Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins (see also 4:10). He is our defense attorney. He can stand before God as our mediator because his death satisfied the wrath of God against sin and paid the death penalty for our sin. Thus, Christ both satisfies God’s requirement and removes our sin. In him we are forgiven and purified.

2:2Sometimes it is difficult to forgive those who wrong us. Imagine how hard it would be to forgive all people, no matter what they had done! This is what God has done in Jesus. No one, no matter what sin has been committed, is beyond forgiveness. All a person has to do is turn from sin, receive Christ’s forgiveness, and commit his or her tife to him.

2:3-6How can you be sure that you belong to Christ? This passage gives two ways to know: if you do what Christ says and live as Christ wants. What does Christ tell us to do? John answers in 3:23: “Believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another.” True Christian faith results in loving behavior; that is why John says that the way we act can give us assurance that we belong to Christ.

2:6To live as Jesus lived doesn’t mean choosing 12 disciples, performing great miracles, and being crucified. We cannot merely copy Christ's life; much of what Jesus did had to do with his identity as God’s Son, the fulfillment of his special role in dying for sin, and the cultural context of the first-century Roman world. To walk today as Christ did, we must obey his teachings and follow his example of complete obedience to God and loving service to people.

2:7,8The commandment to love others is both old and new. It is oid because it comes from the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:18). Itis new because Jesus interpreted it in a radically new way (John 13:34, 35). In the Christian church, love is not only expressed by showing respect; it is also expressed through self-sacrifice and servanthood (John 15:13). In fact, it can be defined as “selfless giving,” reaching beyond friends to enemies and persecutors (Matthew 5:43-48). Love should be the unifying force and the identifying mark of the Christian community. Love is the key to walking in the light, because we cannot grow spiritually while we hate others. Our growing relationship with God will result in growing relationships with others.

2:9-11Does this mean that if you dislike someone you aren't a Christian? These verses are not talking about disliking a disagreeable Christian brother or sister. There will always be people we will not like as well as others. John’s words focus on the attitude that causes us to ignore or despise others, to treat them as irritants, competitors, or enemies. Christian love is not a feeling but a choice. We can choose to be concerned with people’s well being and treat them with respect, whether or not we feel affection toward them. If we choose to love others, God will help us express our fove.

2:12-14John was writing to believers of all ages. The “children” had experienced forgiveness through Jesus. Those who were “mature in the faith” had a long-standing relationship with Christ. The “young in the faith” had battled with Satan’s temptations and had won. Each stage of life in the Christian pilgrimage builds upon the other. As children learn about Christ, they grow in their abitity to win battles with temptation. As young adults move from victory to victory, they grow in their relationship with Christ. Older adults, having known Christ for years, have developed the wisdom needed to teach young people and start the cycle ail over again. Has your Christian growth reached the maturity level appropriate for your stage in life?

2:15,16Some people think that worldliness is limited to external behavior—the people we associate with, the places we go, the activities we enjoy. Worldliness is also internal because it begins in the heart and is characterized by three attitudes: (1) craving for physical pleasure—preoccupation with gratifying physical desires; (2) craving for everything we see—coveting and accumulating things, bowing to the god of materialism: and (3) pride in our achievements and possessions—obsession with one’s status or importance. When the serpent tempted Eve (Genesis 3:6), he tempted her in these areas. Also, when the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, these were his three areas of attack (see Matthew 4:1-11). By contrast, God vaiues self-control, a spirit of generosity, and a commitment to humble service. It is possible to give the impression of avoiding worldly pleasures while still harboring worldly attitudes in one’s heart. It is also possible, like Jesus, to love sinners and spend time with them while maintaining a commitment to the values of God’s Kingdom. What values are most important to you? Do your actions reflect the world’s values or God’s values? by the Spirit, we can stand against false teachers and the Antichrist. Ask the Spirit to guide you each day (see 2:27).

2:22,23Apparently the antichrists in John's day were claiming faith in God while denying and opposing Christ. To do so, John firmly states, is impossible. Because Jesus is God’s Son and the Messiah, to deny Christ is to reject God’s way of revealing himself to the world. A person who accepts Christ as God’s Son, however, accepts God the Father at the same time. The two are one and cannot be separated. Many cultists today cail themselves Christians, but they deny that Jesus is divine. We must expose these heresies and oppose such teachings so that the weak believers among us do not succumb to their teachings.

2:24These Christians had heard the Good News, very likely from John himself. They knew that Christ was God's Son, that he died for their sins and was raised to give them new life, and that he would return and establish his Kingdom in its fullness. But their fellowship was being infiltrated by teachers who denied these basic doctrines of the Christian faith, and some of the believers were in danger of succumbing to false arguments. John encouraged them to hold on to the Christian truth they heard at the beginning of their watk with Christ. It is important to grow in our knowledge of the LORD, to deepen our understanding through careful study, and to teach these truths to others. But no matter how much we learn, we must never abandon the basic truths about Christ. Jesus will always be God’s Son, and his sacrifice for our sins is permanent. No truth will ever contradict these teachings in the Bible.

2:26,27Christ had promised to send the Holy Spirit to teach his followers and to remind them of all that Christ had taught (John 14:26). As a result, Christians have the Holy Spirit within them to keep them from going astray. In addition, they have the God-inspired Scriptures, against which they can test questionable teachings. To stay true to Christ, we must follow his Word and his Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit help you discern truth from error. For more about who the Holy Spirit is and what he does, see the notes on John 3:6, Acts 1:5, and Ephesians 1:13, 14.

2:27Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and we also live in Christ. This means that we place our total trust in him, rely on him for guidance and strength, and live as he wants us to live. person is in opposition to God, no matter what religious claims he or she makes.