The Word and the Christian Life – 1 John 2:1-11

By David Woods

Key to understanding and applying 1 John is the purpose the apostle John wrote this letter.  When John wrote this letter a cult or at least the early forms of a cult called Gnosticism had arisen.

The beliefs and teachings of Gnosticism are very involved.  I will probably not do justice to all its concepts, but briefly, let me try to explain what Gnosticism was about.

The Gnostics accepted the Greek idea of a radical dualism between God (spirit) and the world (matter). According to their world view, the created order was evil, inferior, and opposed to the good.

God may have created the first order, but each successive order was the work of anti-gods, archons, or a demiurge (a subordinate deity).  The Gnostics believed that the earth is surrounded by a number of cosmic spheres (usually seven) that separate human beings from God.

These spheres are ruled by archons (spiritual principalities and powers) who guard their spheres by barring the souls who are seeking to ascend from the realm of darkness and captivity that is below to the realm of light that is above.

The Gnostics also taught that every human being is composed of body, soul, and spirit. Since the body and the soul are part of people's earthly existence, they are evil. Enclosed in the soul, however, is the spirit, the only divine part of this triad.
This "spirit" is asleep and ignorant; it needs to be awakened and liberated by knowledge.  According to the Gnostics, the aim of salvation is for the spirit to be awakened by knowledge so the inner person can be released from the earthly dungeon and return to the realm of light where the soul becomes reunited with God.
As the soul ascends, however, it needs to penetrate the cosmic spheres that separate it from its heavenly destiny. This, too, is accomplished by knowledge. One must understand certain formulas that are revealed only to the initiated.

Ethical behavior among the Gnostics varied considerably. Some sought to separate themselves from all evil matter in order to avoid contamination….

For other Gnostics, ethical life took the form of libertinism. For them knowledge meant freedom to participate in all sorts of activities. Many reasoned that since they had received divine knowledge and were truly informed as to their divine nature, it did not matter how they lived.[1]

In 1 John 1, the apostle attacks a number of the Gnostic teachings head-on.  He demolishes their idea that the body, the flesh, can commit sin while the spirit remains pure.  Instead, he insists that we are responsible for our actions.

If we sin, we are guilty before God and do not have fellowship with God.  We need a Saviour.  If we confess our sins, Christ is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Now, Gnosticism may seem like a far-out cult from the past (and it is).  But Gnosticism may not seem relevant to today… and by extension, that may seem to make the connection between the purpose of 1 John and us less relevant.

Actually, however, this connection remains very strong.  Probably all of us are familiar to some degree with The Da Vinci Code.  Leaderu.com says:

According to The Da Vinci Code, Jesus was really just a human being, married to Mary Magdalene, and he has a royal bloodline that continues to this day. The Church, in order to hide the true nature of Jesus, destroyed the earlier, Gnostic Gospels that had the evidence of Jesus' humanity, and declared them heretical in a play for political power.[2]

So it appears that contemporary efforts to discredit the true Gospel of Christ are going back to the teachings of Gnosticism.

But I believe an even more important reason why 1 John is important to us is that many people seem to practice what I would call a “functional Gnosticism”.

What I mean by that is this: many Americans have no desire to serve Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour, yet they call themselves Christians.

They have never confessed their sins or they are not live in accordance with God’s Word, but if you ask them, they are Christians.  They are good people.

Consider the typical funeral.  Nobody who dies today goes to Hell.  Even those who had nothing to do with Christ or the church are said to go to Heaven or a “better place”.

While most such people may not have a developed theology like Gnostics did, they practice a similar dualistic view of life.  The core of who people are is good, no matter how evil the “body” acts.

The early Church was trouble by Gnostics who proclaimed to have secret spiritual knowledge that others did not have.  Of course, Christians wanted to grow in their spiritual knowledge.  Furthermore, we must understand that while some Gnostics were libertines, others practiced a very self-disciplined life.

So the challenges for the Church are very similar today.  We are bombarded by authorities with “knowledge”, whether this be derived by science, medicine, or supposed spiritual sources.

We also often struggle with the reality that some people who have never accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour live very disciplined, good lives – seemingly better than some Christians we know.

Discussion: Consider the problems such realities cause for Christians.  How can some believers act worse than unbelievers?  How can this discourage one’s faith in God?

The apostle John attacked foundational teachings of Gnostics in chapter 1.  Now, in chapter 2, John focuses his attention on assuring the believers.

In their world … and our world … where believers often are depicted as “unenlightened” and often struggle to live in victory over sin, God wants us to know that:

Big Idea: The Christian can live confidently in a sin-saturated world.

1. If we sin, we have an Advocate – Christ, vv. 1, 2.

Discussion: What does it mean for Jesus to be our Advocate?  What did you learn about this word in your study of our lesson?

(According to the “Working with the Word” section in our lesson, the Greek word for advocate is parakleton, from which we get the word “paraclete”.  “Literally, the word means ‘helper’ and is often used of the Holy Spirit.  But in this verse the word applies to Jesus Christ the righteous.”[3])

The “Working with the Word” section in our lesson brings out some important information concerning verse one “and if any man sin”:

The word used here is hamartete, whence we get the word, hamartia – meaning ‘to miss the mark.’  In this verse the grammatical construction (aorist active subjunctive) gives the force of ‘do not sin even one time.’  It is use of a single act, not of a state of existence.  John’s thought is to help the ‘children’ of the kingdom avoid any and every missing of the mark in their lives.  The idea of a life style of sinning is not even in question.[4]

Discussion: With this explanation of what John meant about sin in this verse, what is the moral obligation(s) of the Christian?

Usage of the word “propitiation” is uncommon today.  The verse comments are helpful:

Read verse comments on verse 2.

Discussion: How does this allow us to live confidently in a sin-saturated world?

2. If we keep his commandments, we know that we have come to know Christ, vv. 3, 4.

Discussion: Why do we know that we know Christ if we keep His commandments?

Discussion: Others may say they are Christians.  While there is little value in arguing with others over whether who is or is not a Christian, why does the fact that the true Christian obeys God’s Word give us confidence?

3. If we walk like Christ, we may be sure we are in Christ, vv. 5-11.

Discussion: What does it mean for God’s love to be perfected in us?

Discussion: Why does our Christlike walk or way of life give us supreme confidence that we are in Christ?  What is the difference between the person who is “good” and the person who is “Christlike”?

Discussion: Consider the verse comments on verses 7 and 8.  What is new old commandment?

(My personal opinion is that this new old command is to walk like Christ, not “to love one another” as the verse comments and many commentators suggest.  However, since Jesus Himself sums up the Law into the two commands to love God with one’s whole self and to love others as one’s self, this may be semantics.  Consider, however, how you react internally to these two statements: 1) God’s command from the beginning of time was and is to live like Christ, 2) God’s command from the beginning of time was and is to love others.)

Our scripture teaches us that if we sin, we have an advocate – Christ.  If we keep His commandments, we know that we have come to know Christ.  If we walk like Christ, we may be sure we are in Christ.

Discussion: What are some various ways these truths help us live confidently in a world saturated by sin?

Big Idea: The Christian can live confidently in a sin-saturated world.