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Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:7-11
In this message we shall consider 2:7-11, the last portion of the first Epistle of John concerned with the conditions of the divine fellowship.
In verse 7 John says, “Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment, which you had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you heard.” The “old commandment” referred to here is the commandment given by the Lord in John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” This commandment is the word the believers heard and had from the beginning.
In verse 7 the phrase “from the beginning” is used in the relative sense. We have pointed out that this phrase is used twice in the Gospel of John, eight times in this Epistle, and two times in 2 John. In John 8:44; 1 John 1:1; 2:13, 14 and 3:8, it is used in the absolute sense; whereas in John 15:27; 1 John 2:7, 24 (twice); 1 John 3:11 and 2 John 2:5, 6, it is used in the relative sense. John was not writing a new commandment to the believers; he was writing an old commandment, which they had from the beginning, that is, from the time the Lord Jesus was on earth and gave them the commandment to love one another. That old commandment is the word which they heard.
The commandment of the Lord is His word. This means that His commandment is not merely an injunction; the Lord’s commandment is also a word conveying the life supply. In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus said, “The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life.” Therefore, in 2:7 “the word” indicates the life supply. Whatever the Lord speaks is a word supplying us with life and spirit. What the Lord says may also be an injunction demanding that we do a certain thing. Nevertheless, as long as that injunction is something uttered by the Lord, something that proceeds out of His mouth, it is a word that supplies us with life. Therefore, whenever we take the Lord’s word and keep it, we receive the life supply.
In verse 8 John goes on to say, “Again, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines.” The commandment of brotherly love is both old and new: old, because the believers have had it from the beginning of their Christian life; new, because in their Christian walk it dawns with new light and shines with new enlightenment and fresh power again and again.
The relative pronoun “which” in verse 8 is in neuter gender. It does not refer to “commandment,” which is in feminine gender. It should refer to the fact that the old commandment of brotherly love is new in the believers’ Christian walk. This is true in the Lord, since He not only gave it to His believers, but also renews it in their daily walk all the time. This is true also in the believers, since they have not only received it once for all, but also are enlightened and refreshed by it repeatedly.
In verse 8 John tells us that the darkness is passing away and that the true light already shines. The passing away of the darkness is its vanishing in the shining of the true light. The true light is the light of the Lord’s commandment. Because this light shines, the commandment of brotherly love dawns in the darkness and makes the old commandment new and fresh throughout the entire Christian life.
Many who read verses 7 and 8 are bothered by what John says concerning an old commandment and a new commandment. In verse 7 he says that he is not writing a new commandment but an old commandment. But in verse 8 he says that he is writing a new commandment. How can an old commandment be a new commandment? Is the new commandment a commandment other than the old commandment, or is it the old commandment becoming new? If we read these verses carefully in context, we shall see that actually the old commandment and the new commandment are one. The reason for this is that the commandment is the word of the Lord, and the word of the Lord dawns as a new day dawns when the sun rises in the morning. When the sun rises, the shining of the sun swallows up the darkness. The darkness of night always vanishes with the shining of the morning sun. Here John indicates that the Lord’s commandment, as His living word, shines as the dawning sun, and this shining swallows up darkness.
After any kind of human commandment has been given, it gradually becomes old. Human commandments are not living. Because these commandments are not living, they never dawn and they never shine. But the commandment given by the Lord is His living word. Because His commandment is His living word, this word shines. When this living word dawns in the darkness, it dawns with heavenly light. The shining of heavenly light makes old things new. In particular, it makes the old commandment new, fresh, and full of light.
Perhaps you are familiar with the principle that the shining of light indicates newness. Suppose you shut off the light in a room for a period of time. When you turn on the light again, you will spontaneously have the sense of newness. The shining of light brings us this sense of newness. Every time light shines it brings in a new situation.
Because human words are dead, they cannot shine and therefore cannot give us a new beginning. But the Lord’s commandment, as His living word, always gives us a new beginning because His word shines anew and afresh again and again.
Many of us can testify that we have experienced the shining of the Lord’s word in this way. For instance, in John 13:34 the Lord Jesus commands us to love one another. We can testify that many times this commandment has become new and fresh in our Christian life. Throughout the years we have been Christians, often this old injunction has become a fresh word to us. Whenever we contact the Lord and His old commandment dawns in our darkness, light shines. With this light there is newness. This is how the old commandment can be a new commandment. The old commandment becomes new because it is a word that is living and shining. This shining makes the old commandment new and fresh.
Now we can understand why the apostle John says, “I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment....Again, I am writing a new commandment to you.” In these verses John seems to be saying, “I believe that what I am writing to you is shining upon you and swallowing the darkness. The darkness is now vanishing, passing away, in the shining of this new light.”
In verse 8 John says that the fact of the old commandment of brotherly love being new in the believers’ Christian walk is true both in the Lord and in us. This is true in the Lord because He gave the commandment and because He renews and refreshes this commandment. This is true also in us because we not only have received the old commandment, but also have a new and fresh enlightening of this commandment. Under this enlightenment, we have the consciousness that this word is new and refreshing to us. This word even makes us new. Therefore, this is true in us because the darkness is vanishing and the true light is already shining.
What is this true light? This light is the light in the word of the Lord that is shining upon us. This shining can be compared to the dawning of a new day.
In verse 9 John continues, “He who says he is in the light and is hating his brother, is in the darkness until now.” Light is the expression of God’s essence and the source of truth. The divine love is related to the divine light. The divine love is versus the satanic hatred, which is related to the satanic darkness. Hating a brother in the Lord is a sign of being in darkness (v. 11). Likewise, loving a brother is a sign of abiding in the light (v. 10).
In chapter 1 of this Epistle John speaks about light and darkness with respect to the first condition of the divine fellowship. When in chapter two he speaks regarding the second condition, he also mentions light and darkness. Hatred is a sign that we are in darkness, whereas love is a sign that we are in the light.
In verse 10 John goes on to say, “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.” Abiding in the light depends upon abiding in the Lord (v. 6), from which issues love toward the brothers. Stumbling comes from blindness, and blindness comes from darkness.
Both conditions of the divine fellowship depend on the divine light. If we are not in the divine light, we are automatically through with the fellowship of the divine life. Whenever we are without light, we are automatically in darkness. Whenever light vanishes, darkness is present. Likewise, as long as we abide in the divine light, darkness vanishes.
The absence of the divine light is a strong sign that we are not in the divine fellowship. In chapter one, concerning the first condition of the divine fellowship, whether we are in light or darkness is determined by whether or not we deal with sin. If we sin, we are in darkness. But if we deal with sin by confessing it and experiencing God’s forgiveness and cleansing, we shall be in the light. In chapter two, concerning the second condition of the divine fellowship, whether we are in darkness or light is determined by whether or not we love the brothers. If we hate, we are in darkness. But if we love, we are in the light. When we are in the light, we are then in the divine fellowship. But when we are in darkness, we have nothing to do with this fellowship.
In verse 11 John says, “But he who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” In John 12:35 and 40, darkness is the issue of blinding; here it is the cause of blinding. Darkness brings in blindness, and blindness is the cause of stumbling. How is it possible for a Christian to be stumbled? A Christian may be stumbled by the blindness that comes from darkness. Darkness is the result of an interruption in our fellowship. Whenever our fellowship in the divine life is broken, immediately we are in darkness. This darkness causes blindness. Then it is easy for us to stumble.
In 1:5—2:11 we have the conditions of the divine fellowship. The first condition is the confessing of our sins, and the second condition is loving God and the brothers. In order to confess our sins, we need to realize that we still have sin dwelling in our flesh and that it is always possible for us to sin. Whenever we sin, we need to confess our sin. Our confession is based on God’s provisions: the blood of Jesus, the faithfulness and righteousness of our faithful and righteous God, the Advocate, and Christ as our propitiation. Through these provisions we may enjoy the restoration of our fellowship. This restoration of fellowship is wholly based on propitiation. Actually, propitiation is itself the restored fellowship. With propitiation as the basis, we may converse with God, and He with us. We then have two-way traffic for a mutual enjoyment between us and God. This is the first condition for maintaining the divine fellowship.
We have emphasized the fact that the second condition is loving God and the brothers. In order to fulfill this condition, we need to know God continuously and experientially. It is not sufficient to know God once in a while, and we do not know Him once for all. We need to know Him experientially by continuously living in the divine life. Our daily life should be a life of knowing God constantly, for our life should be a life of living God. As long as we live God, we shall constantly know Him.
I can testify from experience that whenever I speak, I have the opportunity to know God. In giving a message my desire is to speak in God and with God. Sometimes, however, a certain word may be about to come out of my mouth. Then I realize that I need to swallow it, for the very God in whom and with whom I speak regulates what I say. I do not want to speak in myself but in God. I cannot tell you how much I have come to know God in the matter of my speaking. Whenever I speak, I know God. Speaking is always a golden opportunity for me to experience Him.
If we would experience and enjoy the divine love and have it become the love by which we love God and others, we need to know God experientially. This is the basic requirement for having the love of God become our love.
If we continually know God in an experiential way, we shall automatically keep the commandments of the Lord. When we know God, we keep the Lord’s commandment. To keep the Lord’s commandment means that we take His word. We have pointed out that the Lord’s word is not merely a command or injunction; it is also a supply of life to us. The Lord’s word always supplies life in our spirit. This can be proved by our experience. Whenever we receive the Lord’s word and put it into practice, immediately we have the life supply within us.
The Lord’s word is different from the Mosaic law. The Mosaic law is an injunction with demands and requirements, but without any supply. However, whatever the Lord commands us in the New Testament is a supplying word. His life supply backs up His commandment. His commandment is not merely an injunction requiring us to do something; it is also a word that always supplies whatever it demands. The Lord’s word even supplies us with the Lord Himself as life and as the Spirit. Therefore, we may experience Him and enjoy Him. If we know Him, we shall keep His word. By keeping His word we enjoy His supply.
When we keep the Lord’s word and receive His supply, the love of God will be perfected within us. This means that as we receive the supply of the Lord’s word, the love of God becomes our enjoyment, and this enjoyment issues in a love for God and the brothers.
If we would fulfill the second condition of the divine fellowship — the requirement that we love God and the brothers — we must know God. If we know Him, we shall keep His word. If we keep His word, we shall receive His supply of life. Then the love of God will be perfected in us. Our experience and enjoyment of God’s love will issue in a love for God and the brothers. This is the fulfillment of the second requirement for maintaining the divine fellowship.
The two conditions of the divine fellowship involve sin on the negative side and love on the positive side. On the negative side, we need to deal with sin; on the positive side, we need to exercise ourselves to love God and the brothers. Therefore, sin must be dealt with, and love must be perfected. If we deal with sin and exercise ourselves to love God and the brothers, we shall fulfill the conditions of keeping ourselves in the fellowship of the divine life.
