Bible Study Series - The 1st General Epistle of John Chapter 2

 

1 John 2 Authorized (King James) Version

 
Diving in chapter 2, we notice John starts out by addressing his audience here, he says "My little Children" this is Johns affectionate phrase to the brethren, to all believers in Christ; so when he says this, he is talking to the justified in Christ.

 

1 John 2:1-2 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: ² and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

 
John says, my little children, I write to you that you sin not. What does that mean?
The bible teaches us that, even though we are born again, that moment, that instance, that one point in time that we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, in a twinkling of an eye we get saved; but did our body change at that moment, did anything change about our physical selves?
Paul writes to the Galatians in Chapter 5 the following:

 

Galatians 5:17 "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."

 
The flesh is at war with the spirit, at the moment of Salvation the spirit is quickened, made alive and now wars against the flesh. What your flesh would do your spirit would not do, even though we have been saved, we will still sin, and if we do sin, John says we have an advocate (supporter) with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: he is the propitiation of our sins, the word propitiation means to soothe, pacify, to appease, and not just for us only, but for the world also.

That does not mean everyone in the world is forgiven, you have to have the Son, if you don't have the Son, you don't have forgiveness of sins and ultimately; you don't have the Father.

This is a generic term, referring not to every single individual, but to mankind in general. The pardon for sin is offered to the whole world, but received only by those who believe. There is no other way to be reconciled to God.

John reminds us, for that reason we can go on trusting God and not ourselves and not therefore fall into sin.


 

1 John 2:3-5 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. ⁴ He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."

 
Ok, I'm going to stop here to take a moment to explain something, many people will read verse 3 and say, see, we have to KEEP his commandments, and they'll use it to say you have to DO his commandments to promote a works based religion.

My dear friends, Satan has gripped the world in a counterfeit religion, his devices are subtle and if you're not in the inspired Words of God through the KJV bible you will be deceived by the wolves out there. (Don't start me on the modern perversion bibles!)

The common theme we see in all religions besides true biblical Christianity is a network of systems based on works and self or personal effort. This can be seen through their ideas about God or many gods, the afterlife, reincarnation, and exaltation to becoming a god themselves; these diverse religions will always contain (albeit differing in ways) steps you must take "to progress" or "to make it" upon personal effort.

Remember that the diverse religious scene spawned from the tower of Babel (Genesis Chapter 11), where God went down to disperse and confound (confuse) the people because of their ambition to exalt themselves.

Satan loves to sow confusion and contradiction, his subtle attacks on the Word of God can be really hard to detect to the unsuspecting person, but if we KEEP and HOLD dearly to the Words of the Lord we will not be easily deceived. Satan's false belief systems all contain these common elements of personal effort and works.

Unfortunately, we find many self-professing Christians in the same boat, deceived and in ignorance because they are not continually in the Word. Many of these Christians find themselves unable to enter into spiritual rest by the grace of God and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our saviour and redeemer.

Christians are unable to rest spiritually due to the legalistic prophesying or preaching by these false teachers and is further instigated by the massive influx of modern bibles in which the way they are translated.

Now before I turn this piece into another article of its own, I want to explain what it means to KEEP vs OBEY.

So the KJV Bible renders the reading:

 

1 John 2:3-5 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we KEEP his commandments. ⁴ He that saith, I know him, and KEEPETH NOT his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoso KEEPETH his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."

 
The 1984 NIV renders the verse like this:

 

1 John 2:3-5 "We know that we have come to know him if we OBEY his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does NOT DO what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone OBEYS his word, God's love is truly made complete in him."

 
And here is the 2011 NIV, notice the subtle changes they made in this edition compared to the 1984 version:

 

1 John 2:3-5 "We know that we have come to know him if we KEEP his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, "I know him, "but does NOT DO what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone OBEYS his word, love for God
is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:

 
OK so what's the difference between KEEP and OBEY? For starters it's a BIG Difference. 

Every well trained bible student will use the bible itself to act as its own dictionary, an online concordance can help and also referrals to the underlying Hebrew or Greek text in the KJV's case we can look at the Textus Receptus online.

 
Now listen, the word translated "TO KEEP" in both Hebrew and Greek does not mean "to obey" or "to do".

The Hebrew word "Shamar" (Strong's #8104) is translated as to keep, to observe, to take heed to, to preserve, to regard, or to be a watchman.

The Greek word "Teereo" (Strong's #5083) is translated to keep, to guard, to watch, to reserve, to hold fast or to preserve.

An example would be this, if I wanted to go swimming, I would take out my wallet, my car keys and ask one someone to keep them for me; in other words I want that person to hang on to them and not lose them!

 
Take heed, Satan has his hands in the modern bible versions, think about this; we've had if not, the best and inspired version of the bible given to us in the English language in the form of the KJV bible for around 400 years (where millions of saints lost their lives for) and suddenly the Word of God is being attacked by these counterfeits?

This fact alone proves that the KJV is the inspired Word of God in English, otherwise if it were NOT inspired, there would be no reason to bring out other versions would there?

You say money? 

Who is the God of THIS world?

 
Honestly, if your bible version is truly the inspired Word of God, why isn't it being attacked? Why aren't other versions attacking your so-called inspired version? Why are they all attacking the KJV bible?

You might say this is an extreme view but, why don't you do a study for yourself, these changes aren't in your face, that would be stupid of them, these changes are subtle and in very strategic places. Think about it, if Satan were to completely reveal himself and his true motives, would you not run in the other direction immediately?

 
The NIV translates the Old Testament word "Shamar" as "to obey" 29 times and as "to do" 5 times. It also translates the New Testament word "Tereeo" as "to obey" 21 times and "to do" 3 times.

Satan's hand is at work here to promote a works oriented religion, throw in some careless preaching, and hey! All these people end up in hell…

There is too much at stake to let yourself be deceived, please be vigilant!

 
To bring this message home, I will give some examples in the Old Testament of where the word "Shamar" is used and see if you can fit "Obey" or "to do" in the statement in place of the English word "KEEP".

 
Genesis 2:15 "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to KEEP it."
Genesis 4:9 "And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's KEEPER?"
Isaiah 62:6 "I have set WATCHMEN upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,"

 
And some New Testament examples of the word "Teereo" is used, see if you can do the same as before.

 
John 2:10 "and saith unto him, every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast KEPT the good wine until now."
Acts 12:5 "Peter therefore was KEPT in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him."

 
The bible also makes a distinction between the words "to keep" and "to do", we find an example in Deuteronomy:

 

Deuteronomy 5:1 "And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them."

 
To KEEP and to OBEY are two very different concepts, when the bible tells us to KEEP the commandments of the Word of the Lord, God is telling us NOT to forsake, let go of, forget, or turn away from, God is telling us rather to guard, preserve, hold on to and cling to them.

 

1 John 2:6 "He that saith he abide in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."

 
Verse 6, what does this mean? If you remember from verse 5, it said whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

In light of other scriptures, this is telling me that if we say that we abide in him and by God's grace we hopefully will not only keep them but also should do and obey them.

I don't want to go into this in more detail, as this would be an entire 5000+ word article in itself, but I reckon I've put a handle on this subject so we can continue with the rest of the intended bible study.
BTW, John is talking to fellow believers here, moving forward!

 

1 John 2:7-11 "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. ⁸ Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. ⁹ He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. ¹⁰ He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. ¹¹ But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."

 
John is talking to all believers, the word brethren is synonymous with the word believers, which is an archaic term for brother. John says he writes no new commandment, but an old one which ye had from the beginning, and what is this commandment?

 

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

 
So the commandment to love one another, this is not referring to the Laws of Moses or the 10 Commandments; but to love one another is the fulfilment of the Law.

1 John 2:8 "Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth."

Verse 8 says near the end of the verse it says the darkness is past, and the true light now shines. What does it mean darkness is past?

The Law made us aware of our sins, it showed us that we are living in darkness, dead in sins, the law was there to make us realise that we needed a saviour, and now that saviour has come, the Light, the Life, Jesus Christ.

At the moment of salvation, our sins are forgiven, not just past sins, but ALL sin you will ever commit will be remembered no more, you are no longer in darkness you now have the light, the true light that shines, the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

1 John 2:9 "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now."

 
Those who profess that they are in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. This is just saying, those who hate others are not walking in the Light. The perfect Light provided for believers leads us into His perfect love. It does not allow hate of any kind. Hate is of the devil and is surrounded by darkness.

 

1 John 2:10 "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him."

 
Loving your brother causes you to have no desire to do him harm in any way. The lust of the flesh causes sin. The Light of God helps us see things more clearly, and causes us not to lust.

In God all things are clear, so true intimate fellowship is possible in Him and with Him when we are in the light. But we can also have intimate fellowship with one another when we are in the light.
In fact, John indicates that fellowship is only possible in the light. When there is deceit, true fellowship cannot occur.

A friendship can only go as far as there is trust and trust must be based on the truth.

It is impossible to trust when there is deceit, if trust grows in a relationship that has had some deception in it, it is certainly not on the basis of that deception, but on the basis of assurance that the deception has now ended.

 

1 John 2:11 "But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."

The person who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, we cannot see that person clearly. When we hate even ourselves we cannot see clearly.

And when we proceed to relate to another then out of hate, we proceed blindly. Here is a wonderful reason to turn our troubled relationships over to God.

We cannot possibly move forward when we are looking at a distorted picture of reality.

Hate is a product of the devil. 

The devil is in darkness.

This is what Jesus said in John 12,

 

John 12:35 "Then Jesus said unto them, yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth."

 
In the darkness, we cannot see clearly and do not see things that cause us to stumble.

 
In the following next verses (12-14) we read the reason why he is writing this letter…

 

1 John 2:12 "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake."

 
This is John stating his reason for writing the letter to them. Their sins are forgiven, so they are Christians. They are sons of God. They are not full grown, because he calls them little children. God forgave us our sins, because Jesus paid our debt.

What is interesting about this section is that John says he is writing because of things that are already true about each of these groups. He does not say here that he is writing in order to get them to do something new of change the direction of their lives.

It seems to me that he writes to remind them of what is already true about them because of what is true about who Jesus is and what He has done.

John wants to remind them again of this truth, this reality because, I would think, in the midst of their present circumstances they are being tempted to forget.

And remember the little rant I was on about "to keep" and "to obey", and that we established that to keep is to not forsake, let go of, forget, or turn away from, God is telling us rather to guard, preserve, hold on to and cling on to them.

 

1 John 2:13 "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father."

 
When we look at the three groups this is spoken to, it is the progression of spiritual growth in our belief. We come to Christ as little children.

We grow to young men as we learn more about God, and are better equipped to resist the devil and overcome him. Then lastly, we rest as old men in the knowledge of God.

 

1 John 2:14 "I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one."

 
The difference in this verse is being that the little children are omitted. Those remaining have learned to overcome the devil. They have matured by the study of the Word of God.

They are not overcome of the devil, because they are grounded in the Word of God. Again, speaking of fathers is just a further knowing of God.

Think about it, most of us were taught or heard about God and Jesus, among other things as we were young, I was exposed to God and Jesus at a young age, the seed was sown, but it was delivered by evil trees, those false prophets, I didn't even get become like a little child until 8 months ago (considering I'm in my 30's), you could say I'm a young man now in terms of spiritual growth, the group that has overcome (overcome by the way is synonymous with salvation, getting saved) working our way to become fathers, who are spiritually mature, and as I stated above, the way we achieve this is by constantly reading and studying the Word of God.

 

Love not the World

 

1 John 2:15 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

 
One of my favourite verses in the bible, I always use this on people who start to talk about their worldly possessions and the babble on about how when we do good works that God will bless us with material things, God knows what we need, and he will provide them for us.

There is, of course, one sense in which Christians should love the world, since God Himself did and does. - John 3:16

But what it is that is being talked about here is for us to not devote ourselves to the things of this world and forsake the Father, we are to love God first and not put anything before or above him.

 

Deuteronomy 6:5 "and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might"

 
Christians are in the world, but not of the world. Our home is in heaven. We need to keep our thoughts and desires set on things above. Jesus said the following in Matthew chapter 6:

 

Matthew 6:19-23 " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: ²¹ for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ²² The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. ²³ But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"

 
Loving the world, in this sense, would be trying to please the desires of our flesh. To love the world, would make us a carnal man. Christians should be spirit men. The world and the things of the world are carnal.

This does not mean that we cannot enjoy the families God has given us, or the blessings we have received from Him. It does mean that we should not be caught up in worldly living. God must be first in our lives. We should not be hanging on to the world, but should eagerly await our home in heaven with Him.

No middle ground between these two alternatives exists for someone claiming to be born again. The false teachers had no such singular love, but were devoted to the world's philosophy and wisdom, thereby revealing their love for the world and their unsaved state.

 

1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

 
Pretty self-explanatory really, while the world's philosophies and ideas and much that it offers may appear attractive and appealing; that is deception.

Its true and pervasive nature is evil, harmful, ruinous, and satanic. Its deadly theories are raised up against the knowledge of God and hold the souls of men captive. 

 

2 Corinthians 2:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: ⁴ (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) ⁵ casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

 
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are what got Eve in trouble in the garden. She looked, desired, and wanted to be as God. Lust of all kinds fall into the category of flesh and worldliness.

 

1 John 2:17 "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

 
This physical world will pass away, and the lust thereof, meaning all sin: but he that does the will of God will abide for ever, God's will is permanent and unchangeable. Those who follow God's will abide as His people forever. While God offers eternal life to His children, the present age is doomed.

 

Denying the Son

 
In the next handful of verses we are going to read about the warnings of us denying the Son.

 

1 John 2:18"
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."

 
John tells us it is the last time, why does he say that?

He said we have heard that antichrist shall come, singular, the Antichrist, this person that is coming is going to be the ultimate opponent of God, God's plans and God's people. - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and Mark 13:14


John then goes onto say that there are many antichrists, those false teachers that are seeking to pervert the Gospel of Christ.

That is how we know that it is the last time, meaning we are living in the last time.

 

1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

 
This is giving us characteristics of those false prophets, they went out from us, meaning they were among the faithful, amongst the church, but they were not of us; they arose from within the church and departed from true fellowship and lead people out with them.

Many times these false teachers and prophets, who are really opposed to Christ, pretend to be Christians. Can you imagine how much worse for you it would be if you end up in a church full of antichrists?

What about ending up in a church that doesn't believe in the Jesus or God of the bible?

Make up their own views of God according to their own lusts of the flesh?

What about a church that tells you too can become as a god, isn't that what Satan told Eve in the beginning?

What about one that says there certain things you must do behind closed doors, and certain handshakes and passwords that you cannot disclose to the public?

Has God hidden the essential message of salvation in the bible?

Ask yourselves these questions, if you're in anyone of these churches that teach this stuff you should get out of that place very quickly.

 

1 John 2:20 "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things."

 
The word "unction" means anointing, this would mean an anointing from the Holy Spirit of God; the Oil of Gladness. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and guide.

 

1 John 2:21 "I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth."

 
John is writing to the church, and not to the world. Notice the word "know" which is so apparent in John's writings, he reminds them that no compromise of the truth will do, this verse says what it says!

 

1 John 2:22 "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."

 
Another characteristic of antichrists, whosoever denies that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ is a liar! These people are antichrists, they who deny the Father and the Son.

Their blatant rejection of Him as the Messiah is also a rejection of His incarnate deity.
This includes any perverted unbiblical view of whom the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

1 John 2:23 "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also."

 
John goes onto expound on verse 22 that whosoever denies the Son, does not have the Father: but he that acknowledges the Son has the Father as well. You can't have one without the other!

And that just totally kills the Oneness Pentecostals and the Jesus only movement, they say it only Jesus, there is no trinity, there is no 3 in 1 God and stuff like that, but if you don't have the Son, you don't have the Father; a very clear distinction indeed.

 

1 John 2:24 "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father."

 
The pure gospel message that had been brought to them was to be kept at all cost. Let this gospel message live continually in you.

This is simply saying for us to reject the false message of the antichrist.

To hang on to the teachings of Christ, and bring the Father and the Son into your life.

 

1 John 2:25 "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life."

 
We see from this that eternal life is in Jesus. To have Him is to possess eternal life, which is the promise. You can read more about the promise in my article called "Eternal Security" here.

 

1 John 2:26 "These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you."

 
John makes it clear that much of his discourse has been called forth by opponents of conventional teaching. This is identifying another characteristic of false prophets and teachers.

"Them that seduce you" is speaking of those who are opposed to Christ who with flattering words is trying to draw you away from the Truth.  John is writing to us to be aware of these false teachers.

 

1 John 2:27 "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."

 
The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, this is the Holy Spirit, he stays with us, he dwells within us to teach us all things, John says the Spirit will teach us, and that we do not need any man to teach us the things of God.

The Holy Spirit teaches us all things that are true, there is no lies being taught by the Spirit.

 

1 John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."

 
For when this day comes, when the Lord appears in the clouds! It shall be a glorious day when the Lord returns!!!

 

1 John 2:29 "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him."

 
If ye know that he is righteous, who? The Lord Jesus Christ, we can know that everyone that does righteousness is born of him…such a wonderful truth!

This concludes Chapter 2.

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