This Week's Message Text: I John 2:15-17

This Week's E100 Text: #29 (Book of Ruth)

Next Week's Small Group: At Ciotti's

Church of the Month: Church in the Yunk

The Last Time We Met…

We began to look at the second test of true Christianity from I John that follows from the proposition, God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (1:5). The first test was that of right living, and came in two parts (1:5-10; 2:1-6). The second test is that of genuine loving (2:7-17). Throughout Scripture genuine loving involves both love for God (2:15-17) and our fellow man (vv. 7-14). Last week we looked at love of the brethren. Love for God, in opposition to love for the world, will be this Sunday's subject.

John described love for the brethren in terms of "the old and the new" in vv. 7-8. The apostle "does not spell out the commandment which he speaks of as both old and new, but there is no doubt that he means the commandment to love" (Morris; cf. 4:21; John 13:34-35; 15:12). The commandment is old and something which John's readers have had since the beginning in a twofold sense. First, it is found in the Mosaic law, God's earliest written covenant communication (Lev. 19:18, 34. More to John's point, the command to love was an integral part of the gospel proclamation from its earliest days (cf. 3:11). "John was not now inventing it. It was not an innovation such as the heretics claimed to teach. It was as old as the gospel itself" (Stott).

Yet this command was new inasmuch as all of God's commands take on new vitality and urgency when viewed through the lens of Christ's person and work (cf. Matt. 5:17). Indeed, Jesus established His love as the standard for ours (John 13:34-35, 15:12). John Stott observes that Jesus exemplified the command to love (cf. v. 6, 3:16, 4:10-11), emphasized it (cf. Matt. 22:34-40), and extended it (cf. Luke 10:25-37). The exemplar of love is Jesus, and we reflect His love to the extent that we walk as He did (v. 6). In this way the truth of this command is seen in Jesus' followers (in him and you, v. 8). In both Christians' hearts, and the world as a whole, the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. The new commandment is the manifestation of a new order of existence brought about by the true light which is invading the world (vv. 15-17).

The command to love is seen in the contrast between "darkness and light" in vv. 9-11. To be in the light is, spiritually speaking, to live in understanding and fellowship. One cannot be in the light and if he hates his brother, for darkness is the spiritual realm of hatred (v. 9) and ignorance (v. 11). His spiritual state is the polar opposite of what he claims. On the other hand whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble (v. 10). Being able to see, the Christian can avoid occasions to sin and help others to do the same. The contrast is absolute because "it is characteristic of John to disregard the blurred color of a human situation, and to insist upon the stark black and white of the underlying spiritual principle," thereby "showing things clearer than they are in actual fact" (Orr). John alludes to the inherent messiness of the human situation in 1:9; 2:1, 8.

John then relates the command to love to the spiritual graces of "the young and the old" in vv. 12-14. This lyrical passage is perhaps best understood as a detailed assurance of true spirituality sandwiched between two warnings (vv. 9-11, 15-17) about the false. John is most likely addressing three distinct groups, divided by their relative spiritual maturity. "The little children are those newborn in Christ. The young men are more developed Christians, strong and victorious in spiritual warfare; while the fathers possess the depth and stability of ripe Christian experience" (Stott). Writing to "children of all ages" the apostle reminds them of salvation's blessings in terms reminiscent of Jeremiah's prophecy of the new covenant (Jer. 31:33-34). The forgiveness of sins, the knowledge of God as Father (ever deepening with obedience over many years), the indwelling Word, and (especially) consistent victory over sin and Satan, are all essential resources for loving the darkened, hostile world that John describes in vv. 15-17. John's short poem can thus be seen as his version of the whole armor of God (cf. Eph. 6:10ff.).

Fulfilling Jesus' command to love is only possible when we are "acting our age" spiritually speaking, and "growing up" into the fullness of Christian maturity. We cannot begin to love others until we realize that the blessings of fellowship with the Father and Son are not given so that we might privately enjoy them. Since we walk in the light we are able to penetrate the darkness of people's hearts with the love of Christ. Since we are blessed with peace we can enter into decidedly unpeaceful circumstances to bring harmony and wholeness. Since we are blessed with joy we can relate the source of true joy to those who languish in emptiness. We do this in imitation of Jesus (v. 6).

Does this describe your life? In what ways might selfishness, ignorance, malice, and other forms of spiritual immaturity be impeding your ministry of love for others? If you confess your sins in these areas God is faithful and just and will forgive…and purify you (1:9). You can then plan specific and tangible ways to bring your spiritual resources to bear in others' lives for their benefit and the Father's glory. This is the coming week's Life Work application.