Because you know the truth

The practice of scripture meditation | 1 John part II

Meditating on scripture is a practice that is integral to the Judeo-Christian tradition, and one that I’ve been attempting to practice for the last several years.

In Psalm 1, we find that one of the defining characteristics of the “blessed” or “righteous” individual is that he meditates on “the law of the Lord” day and night. (Reflections on Psalm 1 here!)

This discipline can be difficult to put into practice, especially as our culture grows less and less contemplative. (I don’t want to tell you how many times I’ve picked up my phone while trying to write this post.) I think the best antidote for a culture obsessed with entertainment and overconsumption is slow-paced intentionality. 

That’s why we’re taking several weeks to walk through the chapters of 1 John on Warranted. I find 1 John to be an interesting letter to digest in this way because of its cyclical design. The main themes of the letter—God as light and love; Jesus’ identity as the true Messiah; the importance of knowing and living the true gospel and avoiding those who don’t—show up over and over again, creating a cumulative effect that leaves the reader with no doubt about the truth of John’s message. 

If it feels repetitive, it’s working. If something you read in 1 John reminds you of something you’ve come across elsewhere in scripture, that’s intentional. Lean into it and saturate your mind and heart in the truth of the word. 

So, let’s get into it! 

This chapter is a bit on the longer side, so (for space’s sake) I’m going to break it up into chunks. But, if you have the time, I’d recommend reading through it altogether (or even listening to it on audio) as you meditate on its meaning. 

Editorial note: I’m stopping at verse 27 of chapter 2 this week, two verses short of the end of the chapter, because verses 28 and 29 are better studied with the content in chapter 3. So, we’ll get to those next week. 

Verses 1-6: An advocate who died and rose again

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 

John restates the gospel here in terms that leave no space for doubt. Writing to fellow Christians, he exhorts them to avoid sin. But sin, while certainly a serious condition, is no longer a fatal diagnosis thanks to the intercessory work of Jesus. 

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world.” 

Again, John provides a simple litmus test to determine whether people claiming to know Christ do, indeed, know him: “walk in the same way in which he walked.” What does that mean? Let’s keep reading. 

Verses 7-11: Something old is something new

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever 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. 

Though the revelation of Jesus as Israel’s Messiah is certainly new, the message he brings is not. John makes this doubly clear. 

As I read these words, I can’t help but think of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, preserved in Matthew 5:21-22: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Calls to walk in the light, calls to love one another, calls to avoid the darkness of godlessness—these are all messages that have been consistent since the law was given to Moses, goods that God has instantiated since eternity past. Jesus’ life of perfect love was a radical example of these truths carried out to their logical extreme—and it’s the example we’re called to follow. 

Verses 12-14: Pause for a poem

I am writing to you, little children, 
   because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. 
I am writing to you, fathers, 
    because you know him who is from the beginning. 
I am writing to you, young men, 
    because you have overcome the evil one. 
I write to you, children, 
    because you know the Father. 
I write to you, fathers, 
    because you know him who is from the beginning. 
I write to you, young men, 
    because you are strong, 
    and the word of God abides in you, 
    and you have overcome the evil one. 

Here, we see the first major break in style from our writer, as John includes a poem addressed in turns to “children,” “fathers,” and “young men.” These three groups of people may be literally referring to specific groups of people of different ages, or symbolic of different stages within the Christian walk. 

This section perplexed me a bit, because the author’s move to poetry indicates that there’s something important here the readers need to pay attention to. N.T. Wright, in The New Testament in its World, identifies the poem as a call to unity. “These are not prosaic pastoral utterances,” Wright says. “They are strong and evocative reminders to members of a community traumatized by schism: they remain a family of faith.” 

Despite the many challenges the early church faces, their true identity—forgiven; known by the father; defeaters of the enemy—remains firm. 

Verses 15-27: Tempters, opposers, and pretenders 

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 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. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. 

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. 

“Antichrists” aren’t just individuals who oppose the work of Jesus’ followers—they oppose Jesus’ identification as the Messiah of Israel whole cloth. They are literal “anti Christs,” in that they campaign against Jesus, claiming that he wasn’t the Davidic Messiah promised in the scriptures of the Old Testament. 

It’s apparent that one of the main concerns John is addressing in this letter is a group of “antichrists” who split off from the church; “They went out from us,” he says, “but they were not of us.” There is encouragement here, though, for those who remain in the church—those who know the truth. Their responsibility is simply to hold on; to “abide in him.” 

Again, this brings to mind the words of Jesus in another well-loved passage of scripture, John 15:1-11: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (v. 5)

Hold tightly to the words and teachings of Jesus, the revealed, incarnate Word.

From the archives:

If you missed part I, you can catch up on the 1 John series here.