Introduction:
Please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 John. We have seen, so far, in John’s epistle, that he uses compare and contrast quite frequently. These two verses continue that trend. Familiar words, like light and darkness appear, and familiar concepts, as in these commands being true of Christ and in us (being united to Christ). Verses 7 and 8 focus on the oldness and newness of the great commandment. One of the direct cross reference verses are those that were read for us, spoken by Christ in Matthew 22. And of the words of Christ, they are cited directly from Deuteronomy 6:5.
When we think of something old, we think of something that has been around for a while, whether it be a saying, a company, or something that we own. This is the way in which we think of it. Something old in our thoughts is not the same as something new. It is used, in some cases it is so old that is no good for anything. We throw that old item away and buy a new one. John does not think of the old and new in the same way that you and I typically do. This ‘commandment’ that John spends these 2 verses on is truly both old and new. There is no oldness to the commandment, that being that there is no use of it and that it is, even, potentially, outdated. It is not old in the sense that it needs to be replaced with a new commandment. On the other hand, there is no newness to the commandment in that it is brand new and it has never been used or thought of.
I have titled this sermon The Commandment that continues on because it encapsulates both the oldness and the newness of the great commandment that was given long ago. We are going to read verses 7 and 8, and as we do I want us to think of three things, 1. The Commandment from the beginning (v.7), 2. The Commandment exemplified in Christ (v.8), and 3. The Purpose of the Commandment (v.8).
- The Commandment from the beginning (v.7)
Let us pay our attention to the phrase ‘from the beginning’ in the middle of verse 7. There is some debate as to what John means here. What time period is he referring to? Some commentators think that it refers back to the Old Testament, when God gives Moses the two tablets with the 10 commandments on them. Others refer to these commands being at the time that Christ gave them as recorded in Matthew 22. And, yet, others think that it may refer to a time shortly after being converted. I agree with Curtis Vaughan who wrote, “It is not really important to decide, for the emphasis seems not to be on a definite starting point as much as on the idea of long continuance.” Even though I agree with Vaughan, I am convinced that this commandment can be applied to the Creation narrative. Permit me to explain. What was Adam’s sin in the garden? The answer given is typically that he disobeyed God by eating the fruit/apple. I would not tell the person who gives this answer that he/she is wrong, because Adam did, indeed, disobey God. Going a little deeper into Adam’s sin, it can be said that Adam did not love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Whom did he love more when temptation came? God or Eve? We know the answer. Adam loved Eve more than he loved God. There is no doubting this. Adam’s sin goes beyond disobedience. In that moment of temptation, he did not love God. Why do I think this way? Well, since this commandment is applied here, the Scripture gives us examples of this elsewhere. Turn with me to 1 Kings 11 . We are going to read verses 1-4. Solomon had already been warned by his father, David, about following God in 1 Kings 2:3 when he said, “And you shall keep the responsibility given by Yahweh your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses”. We see in this short section, the result of not loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Notice, in verse 4 that it says that Solomon was not “wholly devoted to Yahweh his God”. Solomon is guilty of loving his wives above God. Does this sound familiar?
Let us now return to 1 John 2 and put our eyes back to verse 7. Remember when we looked at the closeness that the disciples had to Jesus in chapter 1 regarding what they had seen and what they had heard? John is referring in verse 7, here, to Jesus’ commandment that He gave in
John 13:34 ; one of the many examples we have in Scripture of times when Jesus was in close fellowship with His disciples. We see why John says that this commandment is old, but why does John say that it is new?
- The Commandment exemplified in Christ (v.8)
That question leads us to point number 2, The Commandment exemplified in Christ. John begins verse 8 by saying that the commandment is not only old, but it is new. Unlike the commandment that is given in the Old Testament, John tells us that this commandment is true in Christ. The middle of verse 8 says about the new commandment that it “is true in Him and in you.” Spurgeon summarizes this well, he says, “the gospel sets it in a new light beneath the cross, and binds us to keep it by new and powerful obligation.” This commandment is, ultimately, exemplified in Christ. He perfectly obeyed the commands that the Father had given man, that man did not and does not obey. There is a connection that John points out. This command is true of Christ because He has done it perfectly and it is applied to those who believe in gospel of Jesus Christ. We are identified in Christ because His perfect work was applied to us. This includes His entire life of perfection leading up to its completion at the cross.
Notice the bond that occurs in John 15:12-15 , “This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has on one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” Christ perfectly loved others greater than Himself. Again, we see that at the cross. There is a bond here, between Master and disciple. So close a bond that greater things from the Father are revealed. There is a deep affection and love which we have seen is a consistent theme thus far in this epistle.
Another truth that comes out of this text is the dependency upon Christ that this commandment has. Think about it, without this command being contingent on the work of Christ, could you or I do this command? Could we love one another greater than ourselves? Would this even be a thought in our minds? The answer is the same, we cannot! That is why this command is rightly, in Christ. He has done it and He holds it together. Someone might say, yeah, but I do good things a lot, I am kind to others, I say nice things about others, I am a good person. How would you define ‘good’? As Christ sees it good is equated with perfection. This is the great trouble with the world today. Man has chosen his own definition of what the word ‘good’ means. Common reasons for this thinking are…I have not killed anyone, I have not stolen anything, I have not hated another person, etc. If I love others, I am good because I do good. This is why it is so important for us to have this truth from John that this commandment is in Christ, it is completely contingent on the work of Christ and because it is, it is attributed to us. We don’t work so that we look ‘good’ in the sight of God. Christ has fulfilled that already. We work, we love others out of gratitude and thanksgiving for what Christ has done for us. His death and resurrection are what spurs us on to love and good works.
- The Purpose of the Commandment (v.8)
What is the purpose of this commandment? This is our final point this morning. To answer this question, look with me at the end of verse 8. John tells us that “the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.” As we have seen, this is the result of the work of Christ. The darkness in this verse is, also, defined the same as it was in the first chapter. It is the, all encompassing, singular word to describe depravity and the sinful wickedness of humanity. This is how we were once described. An encouraging reminder for each of us that have put our trust in Christ, is that the darkness that is talked about here had already passed away in our lives. We see that actively in our lives as we grow in our love for Christ. Yes, darkness as a whole will pass away one day when our blessed Lord returns to earth and conquers the wickedness of men. But this is also a very personal matter.
The same goes in the other direction regarding the true Light. In the Legacy Standard Bible, the word ‘Light’ has a capital L. Again, this verse is true in that it refers to the Light as Christ and that He literally “beams”. This type of shining is one that we cannot comprehend. The radiance of Christ that no one can stand in the presence of, that is the type of light that is described here. This light is true light, in the sense that it cannot be false. However, just as the darkness was once described of us, is it right to say that this type of light is described of us now? Of course, it is! We are in Christ! We are in Him and He is in us! No, we do not have this pure radiant bright light that is described of Christ literally. But we are described as light. Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 when He says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” We are commanded to have our light shine. That familiar song that kids sing is a command from God. We are to let our lights shine regardless of the situation or scenario. Again, this is not us letting our light shine and having God come along side of us to aid us, but our lights shine in reverent obedience to God. We long to serve and obey Him in every facet of our lives including our outward testimony of a new life that found only in Christ.
Further, we recognize others who are in the Light as we are in the Light. I have said it before, and I will say it again, Sunday morning worship must be the most important day of your week and my week. There are many reasons why, but for our purposes this morning it is because we fellowship with and love one another in a special way that the world does not know. We bear our light, the truth that we hold fast to in our love for one another and our love for others in the world. May it be said of this church that our lights shine, in the house of God and in our workplaces, at family gatherings, and wherever else that the Lord may have you.
To summarize, the purpose of this commandment is to show the world that Christ shines in us and we show that by a love for God and a love for one another that is foreign to the world.
Conclusion:
As we have seen, the world does not like the commandments of God. Specifically, we have seen that the world has little desire to love one another. How are we to look like as the church? Are we to mimic the world? Of course not! We are to imitate Christ; therefore, we love one another more so than ourselves.
Let me leave you with 4 means of application.
- To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is to rightly place Him above and before all things. This is fleshed out in a love for God that spreads to the love for one another.
- We love one another and treat one another better than ourselves because God has given this for our good. We saw that this command has been intended to be in practice since the beginning which has been given by God for our good, not for evil.
- We love one another out of obedience to Christ. He loved us more than we could ever love one another. He gave His life for us, a people who are undeserving. Thus, as people who desire to live like Christ, we must love one another as Christ loved us.
- We follow the commandments of God because it reaffirms that we are in the Light. Every time we follow after God, our light shines and the darkness must flee. We show the devil and the world that we follow Christ. As we are lovingly reminded, “to resist the devil, and He will flee from you.” We do this by letting our lights shine in humble obedience to the perfect commands of God.
