1 John

Christians as Children of God. Having reaffirmed his readers’ commitment to the true Son of God, not the Antichrist (vv. 18–27), John urges them to strive for the ethical integrity and sense of urgency appropriate to their spiritual identity.

Jesus Christ is both our advocate and our atonement. The words “atoning sacrifice” can also be translated “propitiation.” Propitiation is the Greek word hilasmos, and it occurs only here and in 4:10. But a related Greek term occurs in Rm 3:25 and Heb 2:17. Some interpreters prefer the term expiation (meaning “remove”), rejecting any idea of God’s wrath against sinful persons as pagan and unbecoming of the Christian God of love. Nonetheless, it must be pointed out that: (1) propitiation (or satisfaction) is the most basic meaning of the word, and (2) it is God who propitiates himself. God’s justice demands satisfaction. God’s love provided that.

Jesus Christ in Everyday Life. The light (1:5) that God sheds on daily living comes through his Son.

My little children. John’s way of addressing his readers (cf. vv. 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21) exemplifies the love to which he summons readers. may not sin. See note on 3:9–10. Jesus is an advocate, taking up the cause of believers in the presence of God the Father. Otherwise their sin would bring judgment upon them. Paul speaks of Christ as mediator (1 Tim. 2:5), and Heb. 8:1 refers to him as high priest.

Propitiation (Gk. hilasmos) here means “a sacrifice that bears God’s wrath and turns it to favor,” and that is also the meaning of the English word “propitiation.” (See note on Rom. 3:25.) As the perfect sacrifice for sin, Jesus turns away God’s wrath (see also 1 John 4:10). For the sins of the whole world does not mean that every person will be saved, for John is clear that forgiveness of sins comes only to those who repent and believe the gospel (see 2:4, 23; 3:10; 5:12; cf. John 3:18; 5:24). But Jesus’ sacrifice is offered and made available to everyone in “the whole world,” not just to John and his current readers.

by this we know. Assurance of salvation is possible (see note on 2 Pet. 1:10). First John gives numerous means of self-diagnosis (cf. 1 John 1:7; 2:5; 3:14; 4:13; 5:2). Here the test is ethical: do professing Christians have a changed life and keep the Lord’s commandments? Obedience to God does not bring about justification (which comes by faith alone), but obedience as a pattern of life does give evidence that one has been born again. To know him involves a personal relationship that transforms practical behavior.

love of God is perfected. This love is not only a feeling but also an ethical response (keeps his word). may know. See note on v. 3.

walk in the same way. The way that led to the cross. Believers need not and cannot repeat Christ’s unique saving death, but they can mirror his faith, love, piety, obedience, and self-sacrifice, and this pattern of life will give greater assurance “that we are in him” (v. 5).

The Abiding Commandment in a Transient World. John’s focus shifts to the love commandment and the challenge of living out the Christian message in a world where “darkness” (vv. 8, 9, 11) and “the evil one” (vv. 13, 14) seem to dominate.

The Primacy of Love. It is easy to lose touch with the basics of knowing the God who is love (4:8).

The old commandment is love for God and love for others, both of which are commanded in the OT (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5). Jesus confirmed (Matt. 22:34–40) but also renewed these teachings, so they also constitute a new commandment (John 13:34). It is what the apostles were given from the beginning (cf. 1 John 3:11).

This world or age of darkness is already “passing away” (v. 17), having been dealt a deathblow by the death and resurrection of Jesus. And thus: (1) those who live in the realm of light love others (v. 10), (2) know forgiveness (v. 12), and (3) have overcome Satan (vv. 13-14).

the darkness is passing away. The age to come has not yet fully arrived (see 3:2), but it is progressively advancing in this world, for the true light is already shining. God’s people can reflect his light by embracing the new commandment to love.

hates his brother. John often writes in black-and-white terms for emphasis (e.g., light vs. darkness, truth vs. lies). darkness has blinded his eyes. In contrast to “light” (see note on 1:5–10), “darkness” and “blindness” in Scripture often represent rejecting God’s truth and persisting in sin (see John 3:19; 12:39–40; 2 Cor. 4:4). On the central role of love in the Christian life, see note on John 13:34–35.

The Confidence of God’s People. John knows his message is greater than the sinister realities against which he warns. I am writing to you … I write to you. The emphatic, repeated direct address points to John’s strong feeling and determination to bring assurance to his readers. He expresses his confidence in the role of the Father and the word of God in their lives. Some view (little) children, fathers, and young men as symbolizing the stages of spiritual maturity in a Christian’s life. Others think “little children” refers to all of John’s readers (cf. note on v. 1), while “fathers” refers to older believers and “young men” to those newer in the faith.

The Lure of This Fleeting Age. The love of the Father implants a desire to break with idolization of the world.

Do not love the world should not be read as an utter rejection of the world, for “God … loved the world” (John 3:16). Rather, John warns against devotion to a world system that is opposed to God (cf. John 12:31; James 4:4; 1 John 5:19). Love of the Father probably carries a double meaning, referring both to the love God has for his people and the love they have for him. The former generates the latter (4:7, 9–10).

In warning against all that is in the world, John does not demonize the whole created order (cf. Gen. 1:31). Rather, he gives examples (desires of the flesh, etc.) of what the believer should guard against. Human desires are part of God’s creation and therefore not inherently evil, but they become twisted when not directed by and toward God.

the world is passing away. Its appearance of permanence is deceptive. History is not an endless cycle but is speeding toward a conclusion willed by God (cf. v. 8). abides forever. Augustine in a sermon on this text wrote, “Hold fast to Christ. For you he became temporal, so that you might partake of eternity” (Homilies on the First Epistle of John 2.10).

The “last hour” is an eschatological term referring to the time that began when the Son of God entered this world. The end of this hour will commence with the coming of the antichrist (v. 22; 4:3; 2Jn 7). In the meantime, “many antichrists” are seeking to subvert the message of Christ.

Warning and Assurance. The existence of “antichrist” (v. 18) and those trying to deceive (v. 26) Christians is alarming. But John is confident that they can find the resources to abide in Christ (v. 29).

The last hour began with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (cf. Heb. 1:2); his second coming could occur at any time (cf. notes on Acts 2:17; 1 Cor. 7:29–31; 2 Tim. 3:1; see chart). Antichrist is mentioned with this name in the NT only here and in 1 John 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 7 (but cf. the “man of lawlessness,” 2 Thess. 2:1–10; see note on 2 Thess. 2:3). Broadly, an “antichrist” is anyone “who denies that Jesus is the Christ” (1 John 2:22). More specifically, John understands such a person to be a human representative of the “evil one” of whom Jesus spoke (John 17:15). many antichrists. Persons doing the devil’s bidding and not God’s will.

There are those who may seem to be Christians for a time, but their ultimate departure from the faith reveals they never knew Jesus (Mt 13:18-23).

John’s readers had recently seen people leave the church (out from us). Though they outwardly belonged to the church, their departure revealed that they were not truly of us; that is, they did not have genuine faith. If they had been of us, that is, if they had been genuine Christians, they would have continued with us. This implies that those who are truly saved will never abandon Christ, for they will be kept by his grace (cf. Jude 24). That it might become plain shows divine purpose behind the departure of this group.

John used “anointing” to refer to the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion.

Anointed by the Holy One probably means being regenerated by the Holy Spirit. In the OT, physical anointing with oil (cf. Ex. 28:41; 1 Sam. 16:13) was an outward sign of the inward transforming and empowering work of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa. 61:1; 2 Cor. 1:21).

Those who do the work of antichrists are always wrong in their Christology. They will deny the reality of the incarnation and Jesus as the God-man, and they will attack his work of atonement on the cross. The exclusive nature of salvation in Jesus could not be more clear (see Jn 14:6; Ac 4:12; 1Tm 2:5).

John clearly describes the antichrist as he who denies that Jesus is the Christ and who denies the Father and the Son (see note on v. 18).

Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also (cf. 5:13; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; note on John 3:18). The world’s religions do not constitute “many paths to the one God,” for all except the Christian faith refuse to confess that Jesus is God’s Son (cf. notes on 1 John 4:3; 4:15).

what you heard from the beginning. The original and authentic saving message of Christ’s death for sin and his conquest of death.

anointing. See note on v. 20. That this anointing abides implies that Christians have the resources to discern doctrinal error. no need that anyone should teach you. Yet by writing this letter, John is obviously teaching them. He means, rather, that they have no need for any instruction that diverges from the gospel message.

abide in him. See notes on John 8:31; 15:4. so that. Maintaining one’s personal relationship with Christ will prevent straying into doctrine or conduct of which one will be ashamed at his coming. When he appears, many will lack confidence and will shrink from him, because he will come in judgment.

To know that he is righteous is to have placed one’s faith in Christ, not in one’s own moral uprightness.