THE FIRST LETTER OF SAINT JOHN
Lesson 2: Chapter 2
PART II: God is Light Continued
God of Light and Love,
When we call upon You, the "light" of Your divine presence
drives away the darkness of fear and protects us from the corrupting influences
of sin in the world. The more we study Your sacred Word, the more we
understand Your love for us. You sent Your Son into the world as the Word of
life and the Light to show us the way to eternal salvation and to be our
Advocate and defender to plead our case. John warns us that the way to be sure
we know Jesus is to keep His commandments. Please send Your Holy Spirit to
guide us in our lesson and to illuminate for us the truth of Your Word, and to
help us remain faithful to God's commandments. We pray in the name of God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
In his humanity,
Christ pleads for our sins before the Father, but in his divinity, he has
propitiated them for us with the Father. Furthermore, he has not done this
only for those who were alive at the time of his death but also for the whole
Church, which is scattered over the full compass of the world, and it will be
valid for everyone, from the very first among the elect until the last one who
will be born at the end of time.
St. Bede, On 1 John
CHAPTER 2
1 John 2:1-6 ~Knowing Christ
1 My
children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if
anyone does sin, we have an Advocate [Parakletos] with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous one. 2 He is
expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole
world. 3 The way
we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says, "I know him," but
does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But
whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the
way we may know that we are in union with him: 6 whoever
claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.
1 My
children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin.
For the first time, John uses the first person singular in
his letter. The affectionate way John addresses the readers of his letter as
"children" or "little ones," and "beloved" are expressions of his pastoral love
in which he follows Jesus' example (c.f., Jn 13:33; 21:5). John uses the word "beloved"
for his Christian faithful in 1 John 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7 and 10. He will call
his readers "children" or "little ones" in 1 John 1:1; 2:1, 12, 14, 18, 28;
3:1, 2, 7, 10 twice, 18; 4:4; 5:2 and 21. St. Paul also called the Corinthians
Christians his "beloved children" (1 Cor 4:14).
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate [Parakletos] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one.
2 He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins
only but for those of the whole world.
Expiation is the canceling of the debt due for our sins, the
penalty for which is spiritual death. Jesus assumed the punishment for our
sins, covering them with His blood on the altar of the Cross. He atoned for
our sins and delivered us, canceling the sin-debt we owed by changing God's
disposition toward us, turning away His anger by paying the price for our
transgressions and the sins of all humanity.
Question: How will Jesus act as our Advocate with God
the Father? See 2:1-2 and CCC 519, 605-6, 692, and 2634.
Answer: Christ assures the forgiveness of the
repentant Christian's sin through His intercession in the Sacrament of
Reconciliation (Penance) and at our Individual/Particular Judgment at the end
of our earthly lives.
In Jesus' last discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper, He spoke of "another Advocate," using the Greek word we transliterate as "Paraclete" (Jn 14:16), who is God the Holy Spirit. He told them, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you will know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you" (Jn 14:15-17). God sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to fill and indwell the Church and guide its members on their path to eternal salvation. However, God the Son intercedes/advocates for us at our Individual/Particular Judgment after death. He defends us against the accusations by Satan for the sins washed away by the blood of the Lamb who died for each of us and the whole world (Jn 1:29). Jesus also intercedes for us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we repent our sins and confess them to the priest who represents Christ's presence and, in His name, forgives our sins and assigns a penance as a demonstration of our repentance.
3 The
way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says, "I know him," but
does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But
whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the
way we may know that we are in union with him: 6 whoever claims to abide
in him ought to live [just] as he lived.
Question: How can we say we genuinely know we are "in
union" with Christ? See Mt 28:19-20, Acts 2:38-39, and quote the critical
verse from 1 John 2:3-5.
Answer: In addition to the Sacrament of Baptism, it
is by living in obedience to the commandments that we can honestly say we
"know" or have a relationship with Christ (verse 3). As John writes in verse
5: But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.
This is the way we may know that we are in union with him.
In the Old and New Testaments, "knowing" God is in the context of a covenant relationship. Our knowledge of the commandments and our faithfulness to the New Covenant teachings of Jesus Christ becomes an exercise of faith that directs us on the path to salvation. Our obedience of faith also gives us an intimate knowledge of Christ and perfects God's love in us as children in the family of God. The commitment we need to make is to live as Jesus lived in love of God and neighbor. Verse 5 is the first mention of the word "love" that appears 46 times in 105 verses. Verse 5 uses the Greek word agape, one of four Greek words for "love":
Storgeis an affectionate love of the kind one might have for a family or a spouse. It is a naturally occurring, unforced type of love. Some examples of storge love are in the stories of Noah, Jacob, and Jesus' New Testament disciples like the brothers James and John Zebedee and the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Eros is the source of the English word erotic. While God created eros and approved within a marriage relationship (see Song of Solomon), it can also be abused or mistaken for storge love. The Bible is clear in stating that sexual immorality (out-of-control eros) is a sin (see 1 Cor 6:18 and 1 Thess 4:3). The words eros and storge do not appear in the Greek translations of the Old or New Testaments.
Phileo/philia refers to brotherly love most often exhibited in a close friendship. Best friends will display this generous and affectionate love but non-sexual love for each other as each desires to make the other happy. The Scriptural account of the friendship between David and Jonathan is an excellent illustration of phileo love: After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself ... And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself (1 Sam 18:1-3).
love involves feelings of warmth and affection toward another person, but we do not have phileo love toward our enemies. God commands us to have agape love toward everyone, including those whose personalities clash with ours, those who hurt us or maltreat us, and even those who are hostile toward our faith (see Lk 6:28; Mt 5:44). Over time, as we practice God's example of agape love for our enemies, we may even begin to experience phileo love for some of them as we start to view them through God's eyes.
Agape speaks of the most powerful, noblest type of love: self-sacrificial love. Agape love is more than a feeling; it is an act of will. It is the love God has for His covenant people, and it is the love that prompted the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, for our sins. Jesus is agape love personified. Since Jesus called Christians are to love one another with agape love, Christians gave the word agape the distinctive meaning to love as Jesus' loved in unselfish, self-sacrificial love.
6 whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.
In verses 3-6, John insists that "knowing" and "abiding in" Christ
is more than intellectual knowledge or a claim. It is an intimate knowledge
and union that comes from living in obedience to God's commandments in a life
conformed to the image of Christ. Living in this way confirms our "knowledge"
of Him and is "the love of God perfected" in the believer. If one demonstrates
a disparity between one's moral life and the commandments, one does not "know"
Jesus, and He does not "abide" in that person.
1 John 2:7-11 ~ The Word That You Have Heard
7 Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you
but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is
the word that you have heard. 8 And yet I do write a new
commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you, for the darkness is
passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever
says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.
10 Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in
him to cause a fall. 11 Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks
in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has
blinded his eyes.
This passage recalls Jesus' teaching on the greatest
commandment and the second greatest.
Question: What did Jesus identify as the two greatest
commandments? See Mt 22:37-40.
Answer: Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love
God, and the second greatest was to love one's neighbor, meaning our brothers
and sisters in the human family.
John says it is not a new commandment but an old one "from the beginning" of the Sinai Covenant in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, commanding love of God and love of neighbor.
Jesus extended the meaning of Leviticus 19:18 to embrace not just covenant members (fellow countrymen) but all men and women in the human family, including enemies in Luke 10:29-37. He cited the love of God and neighbor (meaning everyone) as the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:36-40 (also Mk 12:31).
Notice that John returns to the contrast between light and darkness in verses 8-11. When we "walk in the light," we are walking in the footsteps of Christ, living as He lived by demonstrating love and mercy to others.
1 John 2:12-17 ~ John's Message to Christians
12 I am writing to you, children [teknion = little children], because your sins have been forgiven for his name's sake. 13 I
am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I
am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one. 14 I
write to you, children [paidia = young ones], because you know
the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the
beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are
strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have conquered the evil
one. 15 Do not love the world or the things of the world. If
anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, sensual lust,
enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life [boastfulness of life],
is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 Yet the
world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God
remains forever.
[...] = Interlinear Bible Greek-English, vol. IV, page 641,
#5040 teknion is the diminutive of
"child/children" = teknon, and paidia, "little one/oness" #3813.
John again (see 2:1) addresses his readers affectionately as teknion = little children. He will use the same term in 2:28, but he changes to paidia, young ones, in 2:14 and 18. However, he is obviously referring to the same group using two similar terms. "Little children" and "young ones" refers to all Christians but especially to the spiritually immature who must continue to grow in the knowledge of their relationship with the Most Holy Trinity.
John assures his readers that their sins have been forgiven for his name's sake. In Scripture, the "name" manifests the reality of a person. For the use of "the name" of Jesus in the works of St. John, see John 1:12; 2:23; 3:18; 14:13, 14, 26; 15:16, 21; 16:23, 24, 26; 20:31; 1 John 2:12; 3:23; 5:13).
Question: John writes to what three groups of people?
Answer: He writes to Christians who are "little
children" in the Lord, to mature Christians, who are the elders in the
community, and to the vigorous youth of the Church.
It may be that he is referring to three age groups, but it is also possible that he is addressing three levels of spiritual maturity like St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:1 and Hebrews 5:12-14.
Question: In verses 12-14, John assures his Christian
readers that Christ's blessings have come upon them in what three ways?
Answer: He assures them:
15 Do not love the
world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him.
Verse 15 is the first direct command in the letter. In 2:5,
John told us to love God and to love our brothers and sisters in 2:10.
Question: What does John command us not to love? Why?
Answer: We must not love the world or what it offers
because it is a love that will separate us from our relationship with God.
The Greek word kosmos (world) appears 23 times in John's letter. It refers to God's creation, which was "good" (repeated seven times in Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25 and 31), and specifically to the human race, the intended recipients of God's material needs for life (2:2; 4:9; 3:17). However, most often, the reference is to those in the world who are the enemies of God (3:1), those who practice the sinful impulses of life (2:16), and the world under the power of Satan (4:4). When John admonishes Christians not to love the world or the things of the world (2:15), he refers to a system of values and temptations in society contrary to God's divine plan for humanity's well-being and eternal salvation.
St. James gave the same warning, using the symbolic imagery of "adultery" for apostate Christians drawn to the world and away from their fidelity to Christ: Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says, "The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy"? but he bestows a great grace; therefore, it says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to od, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds (Jam 4:4-8, quoting Dt 4:24 and Prov 3:34 LXX).
16 For all that is in the world, sensual lust [lust
of the flesh], enticement for the eyes [lust of the eyes], and a pretentious
life [boastfulness of life] is not from the Father but is from the world.
[...] is a better translation from the Greek text.
In verses 15-16, John urges his
readers not to love the world or what it offers because everything worldly is
in opposition to the Lord. God created the world to be perfect and pure, but
sin damaged the world when the human family rebelled against Him and
surrendered to the devil (see 1 Jn 5:19). The warning not to love the world or
the things in it frequently appears in the Old and New Testaments (c.f., Gen 3:6;
Ps 119:37; Wis 5:8; Mt 4:1-13; Rom 13:13-14; 1 Cor 7:31; Jam 4:4, 16) and
continues in the teachings of the Church (CCC 377, 2514, 2534).
St. John is reminding his readers that all things worldly became contaminated by sin that promotes selfish desires and unholy pursuits.
Question: What three temptations in the world does
John identify in verse 16 that are not from the Father?
Answer:
The Greek word for "life" (bios) in the third temptation usually refers to property, material possessions, or livelihood. John's warning is to avoid arrogance and boasting of material goods. The Book of Wisdom in the Old Testament and St. James in the New give the same advice (Wis 5:8; Jam 4:16).
Love of the world will result in feeding desires of the flesh, enticing the eyes with what only appears to be good, but which leads to a disordered, pretentious, and self-centered life. Submitting to these three temptations led to Adam and Eve's sin and separation from God in the Garden of Eden. They are also the same temptations Satan tried to use against Jesus (Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13; Lk 4:1-13), who St. Paul called the "last Adam" (1 Cor 15:45).
|
The Temptations of the World Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16 |
||
| Temptations |
Adam Genesis 3:1-6 |
Jesus Luke 4:1-13 |
| The devil's invitation to rebellion | "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees...?" | The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God ... |
| Hunger = a desire of the flesh | The woman saw that the tree was good for food | command this stone to become bread" |
|
Enticement for the
eyes:
|
pleasing to the eyes, and | showed Him all the kingdoms of the world... |
|
The pride of a
pretentious (boastful) life
|
desirable for gaining wisdom | "If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down ... for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you.'" |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2011 | ||
17 Yet the world and its enticement are
passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.
Question: John concludes by contrasting what two
destinies?
Answer: He writes concerning those who belong to a
world that will cease to exist as opposed to those who live forever in the
presence of God.
In 1 Corinthians 7:31b, St. Paul wrote, For the world in its present form is passing away (also see 1 Thess 4:15-5:3). John's point is if we choose to love the world and its ways, we love something deceitful that will not last. However, if we choose to love God and do His will, we can look forward to a life with eternal blessings.
In His Resurrection and Ascension, Christ set in motion the
final phase of salvation history.
Question: What do St. Paul and St. Peter call this
last epoch in the history of humanity? See 1 Cor 10:11 and 1 Pt 1:20?
Answer: Paul refers to this final phase as "the end
of the ages," and Peter calls it "the end of times" or the "the final time"
(depending on your translation).
In his homily on May 16, 2020, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, his Vatican residence, Pope Francis spoke of Christ as the antidote to worldliness. He said the only cure for worldliness is faith in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection: "There is one thing that does not tolerate worldliness: the scandal of the Cross. It does not tolerate it. And the only medicine against the spirit of worldliness is Christ who died and rose for us, scandal and foolishness." Pope Francis urged Catholics in the last two weeks of Easter to "ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to discern what worldliness is and what the Gospel is and not to be deceived." The pope reflected on the day's Gospel reading from St. John 15:18-21, when Jesus told his disciples: "If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you." Pope Francis said, "Some people think worldliness just means partying. Worldliness may be this, but it is not fundamentally this. Worldliness is a culture." According to the pope, the world "has superficial values" and "no fidelity because it changes according to the circumstances." He warned that Christians are not immune to this spirit of the world and encouraged us by quoting from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians. Paul wrote that because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are no longer slaves to the world but children and heirs of God because Jesus has conquered the world (Gal 4:4-7; also see Jn 16:33).
1 John 2:18-23 ~ The Warning Concerning Antichrists
18 Children [paidia
= young ones], it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the
antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus, we know
this is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were
not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us.
Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. 20 But you have the anointing that comes
from the holy one, and you all have knowledge.21 I write to you not
because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is
alien to the truth. 22 Who is the liar?
Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son,
this is the antichrist. 23 No one who denies the Son has the
Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well
The word antichristos, in English "antichrist" or "antichrists," means one who stands in opposition to the Christos/Christ. It only appears five times in Scripture in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3, 2 John 7, and a second time in the plural in 1 John 2:18. Throughout history, there have been many "antichrists" who attempted to sow disharmony in the Church, separating its members from the truth, and placing in jeopardy their salvation in Christ Jesus. The Church teaches there will be one final Antichrist when Satan attempts to wrench humanity out of the embrace of Mother Church. Of all the Biblical writers, only St. John names this evil entity as "Antichrist" and his agents as "antichrists." In the Second Letter, John defines the antichrist and his agents: Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist (2 Jn 7).
St. Paul refers to him as "the lawless one" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 and the Church tells us: "Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the mystery of iniquity' in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh" (CCC 675, also see 676-77).
Question: In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12, how does St.
Paul describe the individual who will appear at the end of time to stand in
opposition to God and His divine plan for humanity?
Answer:
The one Antichrist who will appear at the end of human history and all antichrists that come before him are agents of Satan. Satan rules over the world of those immersed in sin and who deny Jesus is the Christ (Redeemer-Messiah). In his Gospel, St. John made three references to Satan using the title ruler/prince (Jn 12:31; 14:30; and 16:11). Jesus assured His disciples at the Last Supper that Satan had no power over Him (Jn 14:31). Satan did not have any power over Jesus in His humanity because Jesus is without sin. Sin in human beings is what empowers Satan, but Jesus came to do away with Satan's power over humankind. St. John warns the faithful: Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn 3:8). The bad news is that sin will significantly increase on earth to facilitate the coming of the antichrist.
19 They went out from us, but they were
not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us.
Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number.
Those who "went out from us" refers to those who left the
Church, and their desertion showed "they were not really of our number." As his
letter continues, John will explain that they were never one with the Church
because:
20 But you have the anointing that comes from the
Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you not
because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is
alien to the truth.
Question: To who does the title "the Holy One"
refer? See Job 6:10; Is 1:4; Mk 1:24; Jn 6:69; 2 Cor 1:21; Eph 1:11-14;
CCC 1274, 1295-96, 1581-82.
Answer: In the Old Testament, it was a title for
God. However, in the New Testament, it could refer to God the Son, who bears
the title, "Holy One" with the Father or the Holy Spirit, who anoints believes
with God's grace in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.
In verse 20, that you all have "knowledge" refers to a special grace of the Holy Spirit to instruct baptized believers in the truth and to alert them to false teachers and their false doctrines (also see 2:26-27). There is a relationship between confessing Jesus as the Anointed One (Greek = Christos) and Son of God and receiving His anointing (Greek = charisma; see 2:27). The same Spirit who anointed Jesus dwells in the hearts of everyone baptized in His name (Acts 2:38; 10:38; CCC 695).
The prophet Isaiah foretold the anointing of Yahweh's Messiah with His Spirit (Is 61:1) as one who brings spiritual gifts to God's people (Is 61:2). The Vatican II document, Lumen Gentium, teaches that all the faithful, the ministerial priesthood and the priesthood of believers, are anointed with a supernatural gift of insight concerning the Gospel. This gift of insight is known in Latin as sensus fidei, "center of faith. " Quoting from the Council of Vatican II, the Catechism adds: "By this appreciation of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth, the People of God, guided by the sacred teaching authority ... receives ... the faith, once for all delivered to the saints. ... The People unfailingly adheres to this faith, penetrates it more deeply with right judgment, and applies it more fully in daily life" (Lumen Gentium, 12). Covered by grace in this way, the Church, as a unity of the Body of Christ, and guided by the teaching authority of the Pope and Bishops of the Magisterium, will always give universal consent to the truth concerning Christian faith and life (CCC 92-93).
22 Who is the liar? Whoever
denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is
the antichrist.
The Antichrist and his agents will do four things:
Catechism citations # 452-480 and 2110-2113 refute all those assaults upon Christ by the Antichrist and his agents.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
Question: What does John say is the condition for
remaining in a covenant relationship with God the Father?
Answer: One must confess and believe that Jesus is
the Son of God.
1 John 2:24-29 ~ The Gift of Eternal Life for God's Anointed Children
24 Let what you heard from the beginning remain in
you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain
in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made us:
eternal life. 26 I write you these things about those who would deceive
you. 27 As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in
you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you
about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in
him. 28 And now, children [teknion],
remain in him, so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not be put
to shame by him at his coming. 29 If you consider that he is righteous,
you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him.
[...] = Greek, IBGE, vol. IV, page 642.
St. John begins this passage in verses 22-23 with the language of denial and moves to the language of confession. To deny that Jesus is the Christ is a rejection of the Messiahship of Jesus, and whoever denies the Christ denies God the Father. Such a denial, John tells us, comes from the Antichrist, the archenemy of the Christ and His Church. However, anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah also has a relationship with God the Father. You cannot have one without the other.
St. John writes, 24 Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. 25 If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.
In verse 24, "what you heard from the beginning" refers to the continued and unaltered existence of God the Son inside and outside of time. St. John testified to this in the prologues of the Gospel of John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1. Jesus is and always has been the "Word" who is the "Light" of life. To remain in the Son and in the Father (verse 25) is to continue in obedience to Jesus' message in 1 John 3:11, to love one another as Jesus commanded during His homily at the Last Supper. In John 13:34-35, Jesus told His disciples: "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." The message and commandment are grounded in the revelation of God's love. To abide/remain in the light/knowledge of the Word is to abide/remain in love.
In verse 25, St. John tells us the reward of our obedience to love in Christ Jesus is eternal life, a central theme of St. John's letter. It is a miracle of God's love that was not open to the faithful in the old covenants but only made possible in the forgiveness of sins through the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ. Those who would deceive us (verse 26) are those who deny Christ and stand in opposition to God's divine plan for the salvation of humanity.
The anointing Christians received in verse 27 is the anointing by the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Christian Baptism. In John 14:26, at the Last Supper, Jesus promised that the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, will remind us of all Jesus taught and help us to discern the truth. The promise recalls the new covenant prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah, where the prophet wrote: There will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbor or brother, saying, "Learn to know Yahweh!" No, they will all know me, from the least to the greatest (Jer 31:34).
26 I write you these things about those who would deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him.
John offers a summary of his points in verses 18-25. He is writing to warn the Christian community about those former members of the church, those who John will refer to in 2 John 7 as those who "have gone out from you," (the liars and antichrists) who want to deceive them by denying fundamental truths of the faith. Their protection from being seduced by deceptive teaching is the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. Their anointing by the Holy Spirit is an ongoing reality that is the abiding presence of God through the Holy Spirit, who reveals what is true and what is false to those immersed in the Living Word of God.
28 And now, children [teknion = little children], remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence [parrhesia] and not be put to shame by him at his coming [parousia]. 29 If you consider that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him.
Verse 28 ends with a warning for the New Covenant children of God in Christ and has three Greek words that require our attention: teknion, parrhesia, and parousia. Using the affectionate expression "little children" (teknion) again for his readers, John writes, 28 Therefore, little children remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence [parrhesia] and not be put to shame by him at his coming. John tells them (and us) to "have confidence" in the promise of Christ's return at the end of the age and their eternal salvation. Parrhesia is a prominent word in the New Testament and Christian writings. It means "straightforward simplicity, filial trust, joyous assurance, humble boldness, and the certainty of being loved" (CCC 2778 and Eph 3:12; Heb 3:6; 4:16; 10:19; 1 Jn 2:28; 3:21; 5:14).
and not be put to shame by him at his coming [parousia]
Jesus' "coming" is the Greek word parousia and refers to
Christ's return in glory to judge the living and the dead. It is an event we
must all anticipate, and we can only be ready if we continue to "abide" in
Christ as Savior and Redeemer. John tells his readers to have the assurance
that their faithfulness to Christ shelters them from condemnation for their
sins both now and when Christ returns in glory to judge the world (Acts 10:42;
Rom 8:1; CCC 1038-41).
29 If you consider that he is righteous, you also
know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him.
If we act in righteousness as children begotten by Christ,
remain faithful to His commandments, and the teachings of Mother Church, we can
have absolute assurance of our final salvation. If we persevere in faith and
works of charity for the poor and disadvantaged (love in action), in the Final
Judgment, Jesus will say to us: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for
one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me," and He will call us
to eternal life (Mt 25:31-46).
Venerable Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, the former Archbishop of Saigon, was arrested by the Communist government of Viet Nam and kept a prisoner for 13 years, 9 of those years in solitary confinement. He wrote about what it means to be a Christian: "A Christian is a disciple of the Lord who keeps his commandments, and if not...Jesus has said openly: He cannot be my disciple. A Christian seeks God's will, the happiness of others, and ... the Church's presence in today's world. A Christian loves the Cross of Christ and carries it in his or her life. A Christian is a living Credo, continuing Jesus' work here on earth, and making the song of hope resound in the midst of the world's trials. Whatever difficulties may arise, the Christian remains God's heir. For love of Christ, a Christian accepts hatred if it comes ... The Holy Spirit dwells in and enlightens a Christian. A Christian who is continually renewed makes Jesus' revolution of love alive in his or her life. With the Church, a Christian lives the Passion of Christ in union with Mary, in the midst of critics, opposition, and that suffering which is destructive. In a word, a Christian is a faithful reproduction of the life of Christ, who causes all who see him or her to say, There is Christ!'" (Venerable Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan).
Questions for reflection or group discussion:
Question: Beginning in 1 John 1:8 and continuing to
2:28, John listed four conditions to "walking in the Light" in a covenant
relationship with Jesus Christ. What are those four conditions?
Answer:
Question: What does it mean to keep the Lord's commandments and to "act in righteousness" (1 Jn 2:28)? How will you accomplish the requirements to be proclaimed one who is "begotten" by the Holy Spirit in Christ?
Catechism references for 1 John Chapter 2 (*indicates
Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
2:1-2 (CCC 1460*, 2631*);
2:1 (CCC 519, 692*, 2634*);
2:2 (CCC 605*, 606);
2:16 (CCC 377*, 2514*, 2534*);
2:18 (CCC 670, 672*, 675*);
2:20 (CCC 91*, 695*);
2:23 (CCC 454*);
2:27 (CCC 91*, 695*);
2:28 (2778*)
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2020 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.