Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 John 2

As John resumes his discourse on sin and forgiveness, we see a striking change of mood. Whereas earlier he was focusing on his opponents and their false teaching, now he speaks about these things as they affect his followers. The note of endearment—“my dear children”—in no way minimizes the seriousness of the discussion. Lest any conclude from his previous statements that sin must be considered inevitable in the life of the believer and not a matter of urgent concern since God forgives sins through Christ, John hastens to add, “I write this to you so that you will not sin.” There is no question at all in his mind that sin and obedience to God are irreconcilable. Sin is the enemy. It removes the believer from the light, prevents fellowship with God, and destroys fellowship with the children of light. The principle of sin as the power of darkness must be excluded from the believer’s life, and individual acts of sin must be resisted. Where failure occurs, the sin must be confessed before the body and the Lord and then abandoned. And always the intent of the believer remains the same— not to commit sin! If any of his children should fail and commit sin, the author is anxious that they neither deceive themselves about it nor lie about their action and give up walking in the light. The answer to lapsing into sin is the forgiveness of God made available through Jesus Christ. He has been designated the believer’s advocate, the counsel “who speaks... in our defense.” His worthiness to perform this function rests on the fact that even as God is righteous (1:9), so he too merits the title “The Righteous One.”

Our advocate does not maintain our innocence but confesses our guilt. Then he enters his plea before the Father on our behalf as the one who has made “the atoning sacrifice [GK 2662] for our sins” (this word also occurs in 4:10; cf. also Lk 18:13; Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 9:5). And his sacrifice is not only for our sins, “but also for the sins of the whole world.” This statement asserts two things: Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for all, and it is necessary for all.

There appears to be a break in subject matter with what precedes as the author now turns to the topic of knowing God. For him to know God is, however, a natural corollary to the idea of walking in the light and of having fellowship with God. It is simply another way of speaking of the reality of God. In this instance the language probably is a response to the opponents for whom knowledge (gnosis; GK 1194) was a key term. To these “Gnostic” opponents, knowledge of God came through “mystical insights” or by a “direct vision of God.” At the same time, they were uninterested in moral conduct and unconcerned about human behavior. For the Hebrew or Christian mind, however, knowledge of God cannot be separated from the experience of righteousness. Consequently there is no greater claim one can make in knowing God than to obey him. “We can be sure we know him,” the author says, “if we obey his commands.” For John, therefore, the test of knowledge of God is moral conduct (cf. also Tit 1:16). There is no knowledge of God that does not also keep his commandments.

Now the author addresses his opponents who claim that they know God but at the same time break his commandments. Since he considers knowledge of God practical and experiential, to claim to know God and at the same time to disobey his commandments is to lie and be devoid of all truth.

Next John states the positive side of knowledge. The one who “obeys his word” (a more comprehensive way of speaking of the Gospel, including both promises and commandments) finds God’s love “made complete” (GK 5457) in him. True knowledge of God does not end with speculative ideas, as for the Gnostics, but with obedience to the moral law and with the presence of God’s love in the believer. “Made complete” carries with it the idea of continuous growth and development; it describes both state and process. As obedience is practiced, so God’s love matures in us.