Walking in the Darkness vs. Walking in the Light
2:3 Now the way we know that we know ˹God˺ is if we keep His commandments. 2:4 The one who says, “I know Him,” while not keeping His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in this person. 2:5 But whoever keeps ˹Christ’s˺ word, truly in this person their love of God has reached a state of maturity. This is how we know that we are in ˹God˺. 2:6 The one who says, “I abide in ˹God˺,” should himself walk in the same way as ˹Jesus˺ walked.
Translation by the author from the SBL Greek New Testament.
Verses 2:3-6 are in the unit that runs from 1:6 to 2:11. Click here to open a PDF document that explains and illustrates the structure of verses 1:6-2:11.
Click here for a full outline of First John.
Commandment vs. Commandments
Throughout the book, John uses the words “commandment” (singular) and “commandments” (plural). It is important to understand the difference between these two words as used by John. Typically, the singular “commandment” refers to the love commandment to love God and love one another (see 1 John 4:21). The plural “commandments” refers to the “detailed requirements which unfold the structure of this central command” [MARSHALL p. 67] or all of the “individual directives by which love must validate itself as it complies with them” [YARBROUGH p. 41, footnote 7, citing H.J. Holtzmann]. In other words, “commandments” (plural) refers to the Ten Commandments and other commandments of the law which provide the framework to express “the commandment” of love.
This understanding is consistent with Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 22:36-40 where He summed up the law and the prophets as love for God and love for one’s neighbor. The Apostle Paul makes the same point when he writes:
Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)
Verse 2:3
The previous paragraphs (verses 1:8-2:2) focused on fellowship with God and dealing with sin that hindered fellowship. John now changes to the more positive topic of knowing God and keeping His commandments. However, these are simply two different ways of expressing the same truths. Knowing God is a corollary of having fellowship with God.
John begins with a positive statement that the believer can be sure he or she truly knows God if he or she is practicing or obeying God’s commandments. The assurance of knowing God is possible for those who obey His commandments.
Now the way we know that we know ˹God˺…
Knowing God is not simply knowing about Him, it is knowing Him personally.
The disruptors possibly held some sort of gnostic beliefs. Fully developed “Christian” Gnosticism would flourish in the second century but its roots were already developing towards the end of the first century when John wrote this letter. The term “gnostic” comes from the Greek word γνῶσις / gnōsis which means “knowledge”. Gnostics believed that true knowledge of God came from mystical experiences or direct visions. However, this attainment of knowledge had little to do with moral conduct. It was head knowledge, not heart knowledge.
Greek Note: we know
The verb “we know” is used twice in this phrase. The first time it is Present tense (γινώσκομεν / ginōskomen) and the second time it is Perfect tense (ἐγνώκαμεν / egnōkamen). By this, John tells the readers that they have assurance in the present that they have come to know God though a past experience that continues to the present – they know that they are in a state of knowing Him.
…is if we keep His commandments.
For the genuine Christian, true knowledge of God and moral conduct are inseparably linked. The person who truly knows God lives a moral life because he or she practices God’s moral code as found in the commandments. These are ultimately expressed in love for God and love for others.
John is not implying that obeying God’s commandments is the means to knowing God. It is not the means but the evidence of knowing God – evidence of knowing Him personally and loving Him.
John is also not implying that perfect obedience to God’s commandments is necessary before we can be sure that we know Him. Sin is disobedience and every believer has a sin problem according to John (see verses 1:6 and 1:8). The measure is whether one is moving in the right direction and trying to keep God’s commandments.
Verse 2:4
The one who says, “I know Him,” while not keeping His commandments, is a liar…
John examines the claim that one can know God, while at the same time, not keep His commandments. He says that claim is a lie. True knowledge of God is linked with obedience to His commands. Profession must match practice.
Greek Note: is a liar
In the Greek, the word translated as “liar” (ψεύστης / pseustēs) is placed at the front of the phrase for emphasis: “a liar he is“.
…and the truth is not in this person.
This does not simply mean that their statement to know God is false, but that they really don’t understand the truth found in God’s word so that it affects the way they live.
Those who truly know God will sometimes fail to keep His commandments, but their lives are not characterized by disobedience.
Verse 2:5
John continues to expound on his statement in verse 2:3. Here he presents the positive side of the relation between knowing God and keeping His commandments. Keeping God’s commandments is evidence of mature love for God.
But whoever keeps ˹Christ’s˺ word,
Keeping His word is an ongoing practice.
Previously John has written of keeping God’s commandments. Here he says “keeps ˹Christ’s˺ word“. “Word” is probably synonymous with commandments, but may emphasize the entirety of the commandments, or the whole revelation of the gospel, as opposed to looking at it as a collection of specific injunctions. Some might describe this as the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law. Jesus juxtaposes keeping His commandments and keeping His word in John 14:21-24 and connects them with love for Him.
Commentators debate whether the reference here is to God or to Christ, i.e., “keeps God’s word” vs. “keeps Christ’s word”. This Greek has just the pronoun for “his” and so the phrase is literally “keeps His word”. This is a further example of Johannian Trinitarian Ambiguity as explained in a previous post. I have chosen Christ as the reference in my translation.
truly in this person their love of God has reached a state of maturity.
This is the first mention of love, which will be a major theme of the book. It will be clear that John does not treat love as an emotional response, but how we treat others through our actions.
As the believer keeps or obeys Christ’s word, that person’s love for God grows and flowers until it is a complete or perfect love. Or as S. M. Baugh comments, we have “a genuine and full expression of love instead of mere lip service”. [BAUGH p. 22, note 2:5f] As we obey, especially by loving others, our love for God matures, and God’s goal of love in our lives is achieved.
Greek Note: their love of God
My translation “their love of God” is an example of the choices a translator must make. The word “God” is in a genitive relation with the word “love“. The Greek is ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ / hē agape tou theou, where τοῦ θεοῦ is in the genitive case modifying ἡ ἀγάπη in the nominative case. The word-for-word translation is “the love of God“. Commentator debate whether this means: (a) God’s love for us, (b) our love for God, or (c) a Godly kind of love. Greek grammars name these respectively: (a) the subjective genitive, (b) the objective genitive, and (c) the genitive of quality. Most commentators suggest that verse 2:5 is an objective genitive. However, most popular translations have the ambiguous word-for-word translation “the love of God“, requiring the reader to make their own determination. The exception to this is the New International Version (NIV), which has the objective translation “love for God“. I have also rendered it as an objective genitive in my translation as “their love of God“.
Greek Note: has reached a state of maturity
The phrase “has reached a state of maturity” is my translation of the single Greek word τετελείωται / teteleiōtai in order to give a fuller sense of what it means. This is an interpretative translation rather than literal translation. Most English Bibles translate this as “is perfected“, “is made complete”, or “has been perfected“. The verb form is Perfect Passive Indicative, 3rd Person Singular.
This is how we know that we are in ˹God˺.
Commentators debate whether this phrase points backward or forward. It could point backward, emphasizing the assurance of the previous statement in verse 2:5, or it could point forward, introducing the concept of abiding in verse 2:6. It could also be a Janus phrase that cleverly points both directions.
The phrase “in ˹God˺” is synonymous with the phrase “abide in ˹God˺” in verse 2:6.
Verse 2:6
The one who says, “I abide in ˹God˺,”
“abide” is a translation of the the Greek word μένω / menō. It is an important verb in First John and occurs 24 times in various tenses and moods. The dictionary definition is “to be in a situation for a length of time”. [DANKER p. 227]
The use of menō is John’s distinctive way to describe the believer’s relationship with God through Christ. Abiding is the mutual continuous personal relationship between the believer and God that begins when a person becomes a believer.
– Mutual: God and the believer.
– Continuous: Constant and sustained.
– Personal: A close interactive familial relationship.
should himself walk in the same way as ˹Jesus˺ walked.
The characteristic of the one who abides in God is that he or she lives as Jesus lived. The holy character of God (God is light) was incarnated in Jesus Christ. The earthly life of Jesus is the visible example of moral and ethical conduct and of a proper relationship with God. As I. Howard Marshall notes in his commentary, “the test of our religious experience is whether it produces a reflection of the life of Jesus in our daily life; if it fails this elementary test, it is false”. [MARSHALL p. 128]
The ordinary word “walk” is commonly used in the New Testament with the idea of “live” in a moral/ethical sense. It implies the idea of a lifestyle. Jesus’ life provides the example for this lifestyle.
Greek Note: Jesus
The word “Jesus” in my translation is a substitution for the far demonstrative pronoun ἐκεῖνος / ekeinos in the Greek text, which means “that one”. So a more word-for-word rendering of the phrase would be: “should himself walk in the same way as that one walked“. John uses this pronoun six times as a personal reference to Christ (2:6; 3:3; 3:5; 3:7; 3:16; 4:17), and always in the context of Christ as an example for Christians.
Go back to Verses 2:1-2
Go forward to Verses 2:7-8
Your Personal Study
Read First John 2:7-8 below and answer the questions. For additional background, read also Matthew 22:34-40 and John 13:34.
2:7 Beloved, what I am writing to you is not a new commandment, but an old commandment which you have possessed from the beginning. This old commandment is the message which you have heard all along. 2:8 And yet, what I am writing to you is a new commandment. It is truly expressed in ˹Jesus Christ˺ and in you, because the darkness is fading away and the light, the Real Light, is already shining.
1. What is the commandment that John is writing about in verses 2:7-8?
2. How can the commandment be both old and new? How is it old? How is it new?
3. What does the word “beloved” tell you about John’s relationship to the readers?
4. What do you think “from the beginning” refers to in verse 2:7?
5. What does “the darkness” refer to in verse 2:8?
6. What is the “Real Light” and how does it cause the darkness to fade away?
First John Translation.
First John Translation with Outline and Notes.
Bibliography of source information used for this series of posts.
Title Slide Image Credit: First John in Codex Alexandrinus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
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