In the previous blog on 1 John 2:3-6, we discussed on how we have love perfected in us, and how love emits from us. In fact, John soon tells us that loving others is a new commandment.
On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who 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.
In verse 7, John introduces the commandment, calling it both an “old commandment” and a “new commandment.” It is old because it was given in the Old Testament (“love your neighbor as yourself” – Leviticus 19:18). It is new because Jesus redefined it with His life and sacrifice: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 13:34).
John is not presenting a new one-line law to follow but rather a divine mandate—a debt to love others. The law has not been replaced with another law but fulfilled through this ongoing directive to love. This mandate is rooted in the truth that love is already active and evident in those who are of God.
Love is True in Us
John says it is true in Him and in you. The word true is from the Strongs word G227, and it says pertaining to what actually occurs. SO, John is saying here that the love-mandate actually occurs in Him, and in You. (It is part of your nature, as discussed in this blog)
Don’t get into the performance mindset, but live out from your spirit. Moreover, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” The Greek word for “ought” (ὀφείλει) conveys a sense there is an obligation. From where? From within. Believers, as slaves of righteousness, have an innate push to walk in love and reflect Christ’s character. This is why John says it actually occurs in us. There is a sense of inevitability. The love Jesus demonstrated is the same love that believers reflect in their lives.
Loving One’s Brother
John then shifts to address the community of believers1. He states that anyone who claims to be in the light yet hates their brother is still walking in darkness. Understand that there is a difference between being OF darkness, and walking in darkness. A believer is not OF darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 1:13; Romans 13:12; 2 Corinthians 6:14), but when they walk in the flesh, they can walk in darkness.
While John clearly stated that love is our true nature, that it is perfected in us, and that it actually occurs in us, and that we have an innate push to love, he is saying that we can also walk in darkness, though we are not if it. That is shown by hating your brother. Walking in darkness leads to spiritual disorientation and separation from the light. We will never find fulfillment in it, and we will face numerous stumbling blocks because they walk in darkness. Their blindness, caused by darkness, prevents them from knowing where they are going.
Conclusion
Has someone hurt you? If you hate them, then you are walking in darkness. Do you love them? then you are walking in your neighbourhood, your true nature in Christ.
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