1 John
Chapter 2
My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the righteous one.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
True Knowledge of Good
The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments.
If you say, ‘I know him,’ but do not keep his commands, you are a liar, and the truth is not in you.
But if you keep his word, God’s love is made complete in you. This is how we know that we are in him:
whoever says, ‘I abide in him,’ must live as he lived.
Overcoming the Evil One
Beloved, I am not writing you a new commandment, but reminding you of an old one, one you had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard.
But, in a way, I give it as a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines.
If you say you are in the light but hate your brother or sister, you are still in darkness.
If you love your brothers and sisters, you stay in the light, and nothing within you will cause you to fall.
But if you hate your brother or sister, you are in darkness and walking blindly without knowing where you’re going, for darkness has blinded you.
My dear children, I write this to you: you have already received forgiveness for your sins through his name.
Fathers, I write this to you: you know him who is from the beginning. Young people, I write this to you: you have overcome the evil one.
My dear children, I write to you because you already know the Father.
Fathers, I write to you because you know him who is from the beginning. Young people, I write to you because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you who have, indeed, overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world or what is in it. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world.
For everything in the world—the craving of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and people bragging about their superiority—all this belongs to the world, not to the Father.
The world passes away with all its cravings, but those who do the will of God remain forever.
Christ and the Antichrists
Children, it is the last hour. You were told that an antichrist would come, so now several antichrists have already come, which shows that it is now the last hour.
They went out from us, but they did not truly belong to us. If they had belonged to us, they would have stayed with us. So it became clear that not everyone who claims to be ours really is.
But you have the anointing from the Holy One, and it gives all of you true wisdom.
I write to you, not because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you already know it, and lies have nothing in common with the truth.
Who is the liar? The one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This person is an antichrist who denies both the Father and the Son.
The one who denies the Son does not have the Father, and those who acknowledge the Son also have the Father.
Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning stays in you, you will also stay in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise he made us: eternal life.
I write this to you, thinking of those who try to lead you astray.
You received from him an anointing, and it remains in you, so you do not need anyone to teach you. His anointing teaches you all things. It speaks the truth and does not lie. So stay in him, and hold on to what he has taught you.
And now, children, live in him, so that when he appears in his glory, we can be confident and not ashamed before him when he comes.
If you consider that he is righteous, you know that anyone who lives justly has been born of him.
Commentaries
Light and Sin.
The image of light, to which the fourth Gospel refers Jesus (cf. Jn 8:12), is now applied to God, the source of revelation and holiness. Each of the expressions introduced by this phrase: “If we say” (6:8, 10) reflects the sentiment of the Gnostic opponents, whose teachings St. John opposes. Truth is the Word of God, proclaimed by Jesus (8:10), which penetrates the believer until it transforms his life. “Acting sincerely” points the way to a vital encounter with Jesus.
The apostle insists with healthy realism: we are sinners. Sin exists (8:10). The heartfelt awareness of our sin should not lead us to despair but to renew our faith in Christ. He is notably emphasized with three salvific roles. He is our “Advocate”—Parakletos. In the Gospel, this refers to the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14:16, 26), but here it pertains to Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us in God’s court. He is “Just,” more in the manifestation of his salvation work than in his essence, since he forgives and justifies sinners. He is the “Victim” of atonement (cf. Ex 29:36ff), pointing to Christ’s voluntary sacrifice on the cross (cf. Rev 5:9ff), which has everlasting and universal effectiveness.
True Knowledge of God.
In contrast to sin is the observance of the commandments, which is the fruit and sign of communion with God. To know God, in the biblical sense (cf. Jr 31:34), is not to have an abstract idea of him but to enter into a personal relationship and live in communion with him. For St. John, this knowledge is expressed very concretely; it is equivalent to being with him (3:5) and observing the commandments (3).
Overcoming the Evil One.
Overcoming the evil one also means overcoming the world—from the Johannine perspective—which “belongs to the evil one” (5:19) and dominates the powers acting within it. The world can be broken down into these three powers: “The evil desires of human nature” (cf. Jn 3:6; Eph 2:3; 1 Pt 2:11), the “lust of the eyes” (3:17; cf. Jas 4:16), and the “pride of riches.” For the believer, victory over both the world and the evil one is a gift from Christ, but it is also a task: “an indication” (2:13; 4:4; 5:4) and “an imperative” (15a). There is no middle ground, no alternative: either the love of the Father or the love of the world (15b; cf. Jas 4:4; Mt 6:24).
Christ and the Antichrists.
The ‘last hour’ of history, as the New Testament mentions (18; cf. 2 Thes 2:5, 2 Pt 3:1-3), has emerged with the first ‘manifestation’ of Christ (1:2; 3:5, 8) and will conclude with the second ‘manifestation’ at the parousia (28). It is marked by the ‘manifestation’ of the antichrists (18f; 4:1,3; cf. 2 Jn 7). During this hour of decisive battle, Christ remains the central figure. On Christ’s side are the ‘faithful’ (cf. Rev 17:14), who openly declare with their hearts and mouths that Jesus is the Son of God (20-23). Their symbol of identity is the chrism or anointing—namely, the word of God embraced through faith.