1 John 2
Big idea: John balances the call to holiness with grace: he writes so they will not sin, yet if anyone does, Christ is their Advocate and the atoning sacrifice. He then lays out the tests of genuine knowledge of God — keeping his commandments (vv. 3–6) and loving one's brother (vv. 7–11) — reassures the whole community across ages (vv. 12–14), warns against loving the world (vv. 15–17), and finally confronts the crisis head-on: antichrists have arisen and left, but the readers have the anointing that teaches them the truth and must let what they heard from the beginning remain in them (vv. 18–29).
The Advocate and atoning sacrifice (2:1–2) answer the confession passage of 1:8–10. The obedience and love tests introduced here recur throughout chs. 3–4. The antichrist warning (2:18–27) exposes the schism that occasions the whole letter, and 'remain in him' (2:28) becomes the hinge into ch. 3's children-of-God theme.
2:1–2 — Our Advocate and atoning sacrifice
The pastoral aim: John writes so they will not sin. But realism follows — if anyone does sin, they are not lost, because they have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is himself the atoning sacrifice for their sins, and not only theirs but the whole world's.
1 My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 2 And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
2:3–6 — We know him if we keep his word
The obedience test. We can know that we know God by whether we keep his commandments. The one who claims to know him but disobeys is a liar. But in the one who keeps his word, God's love is truly perfected — and that is how we know we are in him. The claim to remain in him carries an obligation: to walk as Jesus walked.
3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. 4 One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. 5 But God’s love has most certainly been perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know that we are in him: 6 he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
2:7–11 — The old-new commandment: love
The love test. The command to love is not new — they had it from the beginning — yet it is new, true in Christ and in them, because the darkness is passing and the true light already shines. John then applies it starkly: to claim to be in the light while hating one's brother is to be in darkness still. The one who loves his brother abides in the light with no cause for stumbling; the one who hates walks blind in the dark.
7 Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. 8 Again, I write 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. 9 He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now. 10 He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
2:12–14 — I write to you — assurances
A poetic interlude of reassurance addressed to the whole community in three groupings, twice over. Children: your sins are forgiven for his name's sake, and you know the Father. Fathers: you know him who is from the beginning. Young men: you are strong, the word abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
12 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. 13 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
2:15–17 — Do not love the world
A rival love is forbidden: do not love the world or its things, for love of the world crowds out love for the Father. All that the world offers — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world is passing away with its desires, while the one who does God's will abides forever.
15 Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. 17 The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
2:18–27 — Antichrists and the anointing
The crisis behind the letter surfaces. It is the last hour; many antichrists have arisen — proof of it. They went out from the community because they never truly belonged. But the readers have an anointing from the Holy One and know the truth. The antichrist is defined: the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, denying the Father and the Son together — for whoever denies the Son has neither, and whoever confesses the Son has both. The remedy is to let what they heard from the beginning remain in them; then they will remain in the Son and the Father and receive the promise of eternal life. The anointing they received teaches them and is no lie.
18 Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. 19 They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us. 20 You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father. 25 This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life. 26 These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
2:28–29 — Remain, and be born of him
A hinge verse. Remain in him, so that when he appears we may have boldness and not shrink back in shame at his coming. And since he is righteous, we may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him — introducing the new-birth language that dominates the next chapters.
28 Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).