1 JOHN 2:1 F. Instead of regarding sin as non-existent or unimportant, men should avoid committing it; though if they sin, they may secure forgiveness because of the sacrifice and intercession of Christ. 1 JOHN 2:1. AN ADVOCATE: otherwise Comforter or Paraclete. The word is applied in John 14 to t... [ Continue Reading ]
OBEDIENCE THE PROOF OF FELLOWSHIP. Here John repeats in a positive way the teaching of the previous section. Conduct cannot be, as the false teachers claimed, a matter of indifference, for true knowledge of God implies moral affinity to Him, _i.e._ obedience to His commandments and an attempt to imi... [ Continue Reading ]
1 JOHN 2:12 slightly breaks the argument. It is prompted by John's desire to remove any impression which the earnestness of his previous words may have created, that he had misgivings as to the spiritual condition of his readers. He speaks approvingly of their knowledge both of Christ (him which is... [ Continue Reading ]
Christians are called to love God and their brethren, but they must not love the world, _i.e._ the circle of interests divorced from God and in opposition to His will. Its gratifications, such as sensual excesses, unlawful desires awakened by means of the eyes, self-assertive and atheistical display... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ANTICHRISTS AND THEIR TEACHING. Here John deals with the false teachers, who embody the spirit of Antichrist and betoken by their appearance the speedy end of the world and the return of Christ. These teachers had left the Church because in spirit they had never really belonged to it. Christians... [ Continue Reading ]
1 JOHN 2:29 TO 1 JOHN 5:12. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD'S CHILDREN. 1 John 2:29 to 1 John 3:3. Because God, made known to us in Christ, is righteous, those who claim to be His children must be like Him, with a goodness which the world does not understand and which at Christ's manifestation will be p... [ Continue Reading ]