1 John 2

Notes

Ver. 1. My inexpressibly dear fellow-Christians, I have written this to you to prevent your giving way to any known iniquity, or being surprised into it by temptation, or living in the practice of it; and that when, through infirmity and temptation, any of you fall into sin, ye may not despair of mercy or relief, but by faith rely on the glorious and prevalent intercession of Jesus Christ, in which he pleads our cause with his Father, the Judge of all, against all the charges of law and justice, and all the accusations of Satan, that our iniquities may neither be punished on nor suffered to prevail and reign in us, even upon the ground of his own finished and infinitely perfect righteousness, performed in our room and stead, by which he made a full and complete atonement for all the sins of the world, and calling all to believe, not only Jews but Gentiles, scattered everywhere in the world. 3. And let us rest assured that, if we have any saving knowledge of Christ, or faith in or love to him, it will powerfully influence us to a sincere, cheerful, and unreserved obedience to all his laws and gospel institutions. 4. To pretend to know, love, or believe on him, or to have had communion with him, without making conscience of keeping his holy commandments, gives the lie to our profession, and to the Word of God, and manifests that neither the gospel nor the true grace of God has any place in our hearts. 5. But if we duly regard, hold fast, and carefully observe the doctrines, ordinances, and duties contained in his Word, we are undoubtedly under the eminently governing influence of a supreme love to God, and have sufficient evidence that we are vitally united to Christ, and interested in all his benefits. 6. Every one therefore who professes to be united to and interested in Christ, or to hold fellowship with him, is indispensably obliged to live a holy and righteous life in imitation of his.—7, 8. And in my earnestly pressing you to imitation of Christ, particularly in love to God and to one another, I impose no new commandment, but only remind you of a divine precept which, as to the substance of it, was delivered as early as any Old Testament revela- tion, and was enforced by our dear Saviour in the beginning of his ministry, and preached to you at your first belief and profession of the gospel. Nevertheless, I further explain and inculcate this duty of brotherly love under new obligations, motives, encouragements, and assistances, as enjoined by Christ, in a more spiritual, extensive, and cordial view, and as exemplified by him in an unparalleled manner; because the darkness of the Jewish dispensation, and of your former state of ignorance, error, and sin, is in a great measure past, and the clear light of the gospel, or of Christ in it, is now displayed in its full glory, and shines into your hearts. 9-11. Let men make what professions they will of Christian knowledge, faith, holiness, or comfort, their habitual indulgence of an uncharitable, malicious, and revengeful temper of spirit towards their neighbours, and especially fellow-Christians, infallibly marks them in a state of sin and error, destitute of all evangelical light and grace, quite ignorant of the way that leads to eternal life, and going on in errors and evil practices, without discerning or considering the fearful tendency thereof.—But they who affectionately love their brethren for Christ's sake, manifest themselves as awakened, and renewed by the grace of the gospel, and neither do they lay stumblingblocks in the way of others to hinder them from their duty, nor shall any difficulties hinder them from their own.—12-14. These admonitions, cautions, and encouragements, I write to you all, particularly to you my dear weak believers; because that your faith being true, however weak, ye have received the full and gracious forgiveness of all your sins through Jesus' blood, to the glory of his grace; and ye have been brought to a fiducial and affectionate knowledge of God, as your heavenly Father in him: and to you who have had a long standing in Christianity, and have attained a large stock of knowledge and experience; because, taking pleasure to meditate on the deep things of God, ye have with great judgment, faith, and love, understood much of him, and of his eternal effort and provisions for your salvation; and to you who, by zeal, activity, and spiritual attainments, are remarkably fitted for the Christian race and spiritual warfare; because ye have encountered, wrestled against, and obtained glorious victories over Satan and your lusts, and have the Word of God deeply rooted in you, enabling you to perform the most difficult duties—beseeching all of you to act answerably to your privileges and characters, in obedience to the whole divine law, particularly in loving God and one another. 15. And in order hereunto, never let your affections be engaged to this present evil world as your portion or rest, nor entangled with, engrossed by, or inordinately carried out after any of its allurements; for if your hearts be supremely set upon worldly enjoyments, of whatever kind, ye can have no true love of God, the Father of Christ, and of all true believers in him. 16. For however enticing the things of this world are to the irregular desires of men's hearts, whether consisting in pleasures suited to gratify lewd, intemperate, and luxurious inclinations; or in riches, estates, and possessions suited to the covetous eye which cannot be satisfied with them; or in honours, dignities, and preferments, grand houses or furniture, calculated to feed pride and ambition—their perverting and insnaring influence is not from God the Father of mercies, nor according to his design in giving them, nor affected by his love to or his grace in his people; but it proceeds from the malignant influence of the things of this world upon men's carnal hearts, and their own corrupt inclinations to them. 17. And to arm you against all temptations, and take off all your inordinate affections from earthly things, think how uncertain, unsatisfying, fleeting, fading, and perishing they are, and how quickly they, and all our inclinations towards or gratification by them, will come to an end; whereas they who, from a principle of faith, persist in a steadfast course of obedience to God's will, are possessed of substantial, satisfying, and abiding realities, and stand fixed in the everlasting favour of God, and in a state of grace, and shall for ever live in the full possession of all durable and heavenly happiness. 18. My dearly-beloved fellow-Christians, the many deceivers that have arisen in the world, in opposition to the person, doctrines, and laws of our Lord Jesus Christ, as forerunners of the Romish antichrist, plainly manifest that we are already entered on the perilous times of God's last dispensation of mercy to men. 19. Their utter revolt from the faith and fellowship of the gospel, after they had made plausible appearances of being sincere converts, and separating themselves from our church communion that they might broach and spread their errors or infamous practices, fully manifest that they were never faithful followers of Christ as we are, but mere hypocrites and false-hearted professors. 20. But ye who are true believers have, through the intercession and influence of our infinitely holy and sanctifying Saviour, been richly endowed with the Holy Ghost in his gifts and graces, by means of which ye are led into an experimental and practical knowledge of everything necessary for your preservation from seduction, or your eternal salvation. 21. I therefore write to you, not as to persons ignorant of the fundamental truths of the gospel concerning Christ, but as to those who already know, believe, and esteem them, and are well assured that no fraud, deceit, or error, such as these seducers promote, can proceed from the gospel, or be consistent with it—in order that I may further confirm and establish you in it. 22, 23. And none more certainly manifest themselves impostors and false teachers than they who, contrary to all the evidence given by the prophets and apostles, and by his Father's and his own declarations, miracles, and conduct, deny Jesus of Nazareth to be the eternal Son of God and promised Messiah come in the flesh: and, in so doing, deny the Father as connected with him in his divine character and mediatorial office.—Whereas they who cordially own, believe, and confess him to be the Father's co-equal and co-eternal Son, and the only Saviour of lost sinners sent by him, duly honour both Father and Son, and have a right knowledge of the Father, and a special interest in his favour through his Son. 24. Let therefore the true doctrine concerning Christ and his Father, in which ye were instructed from the very beginning of your Christian profession, be still embraced, held fast, and fixed in you, as an abiding principle: thus shall ye manifest yourselves saints indeed, and shall have abiding union and fellowship with Christ, and his Father through him, to your complete salvation; 25. And shall inherit that whole extent of eternal life, in grace here and glory hereafter, which is secured by Christ, promised in the Scriptures, and offered in the gospel. 26. These hints I have given you, to establish, comfort, and fortify you against those adversaries of Christ who, by subtle and insnaring artifices, labour to corrupt your principles and practices, and draw you away from the simplicity of the gospel. 27. But I need not insist upon them, because the Holy Ghost, who is incapable of and infinitely hates all deceit and falsehood, in his person, gifts, and graces, does and shall perpetually dwell in you, to enlighten, guide, govern, and lead you into the knowledge of all things necessary to salvation, and assist you to be steadfast in Christ and his truth. 28. I beseech you therefore, my dear little children, carefully to adhere to Christ and the pure doctrines of the gospel, and your holy profession thereof, that, at his glorious appearance to judge the world, our expectations of you may not be disappointed, but we may have the satisfaction to see you appear with him in glory, as persons truly converted to him, and built up in him, by our ministrations. 29. And since we trust ye have right thoughts of Christ, our righteous Mediator, who also bestows righteousness upon his people, ye cannot but know that every one who, through a living faith and love to him, habitually practises what is right, and lives in imitation of and obedience to him, is, by his regenerating Spirit, endued with abiding principles of saving grace, and is by adoption made a child of God and heir of eternal glory.

Ver. 1. We have (not 'he has') an advocate. For while it is a Christian duty to exhort a sinner to repent and pray that his sin may be forgiven, Ac. 8. 22, the object of the apostle here, as in ch. 5. 16, is to encourage believers who have not sinned after the similitude of others to intercede for them at the throne of grace, even as Christ prayed for Peter in the prospect of Satanic temptation, Lu. 22. 31, 32. C.

Ver. 2. Propitiation. Atoning sacrifice—not to dispose God to become merciful; 'for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son'—but so to 'put away sin' that 'God might be just, while the justifier of him (the sinner) that believeth in Jesus.'—And not, &c. 'And (but) not for our sins only (who are Jews), but also for (the sins of) the whole world' of the Gentiles likewise, 'who have received like precious faith with us,' 2 Pe. 1. 1, and, with us, 'walk in the light, as he is in the light'—'have fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ,' whose 'blood cleanseth (both) us (and them) from all sin,' ch. 1. 3, 7. C.

Ver. 18. Antichrist. Rather, 'the antichrist shall come.' This word may signify one who puts himself into the place of Christ, or one that stands in opposition to him; and which last will be found the meaning by comparison with 2 Th. 2. 4, where opposition to God is the essential character of 'the man of sin.' This 'antichrist' may be either some eminent individual perfecting a long-continued system of opposition to Christ, of whom his predecessors were so many inferior types; or a personification of many by whom the system was successively sustained. It is evident from ver. 19, as well as from 1 Ti. 4. 1, that the chief char- acteristics of antichrist are—(1) Apostasy from apostolical, scriptural Christianity. (2) Opposition to Christ—whether to the doctrine of his deity or humanity; whether it be opposition to his priestly office, by setting up new modes of atoning for sin, or other mediators between God and man; whether it be against his kingly office, by claiming authority to enact laws in his church superadded or contrary to the Scriptures, or to relax or dispense with any of his commandments; or whether it be against his prophetical office, by claiming authority over the reading of his Word, or to add to, alter, or take away from it. C.

Reflections.—The gospel at once delightfully dissuades from sin, and provides relief under the oppressive sense of it. And happy is it that Jesus' ever-prevalent intercession for his people is founded on his infinitely valuable and all-efficacious atonement. But it is absurd to pretend knowledge of Christ, or union or fellowship with him, without conscientiously keeping his commandments and following his holy example.—Though now under the gospel the law of brotherly love has new manifestations and enforcements, it was always the same in substance. And it is impossible for men either to be or live like Christians without practising it. In Christ's family on earth what different degrees are there of grace and experience! But the weakest saints have their sins fully forgiven them, and love their heavenly Father. And the more they grow in grace, the more established are they in the faith, and capable of resisting and conquering the devil and his instruments; while the ripest for glory have the deepest acquaintance with God and his counsels.—But, alas! the prevailing love of this world is a fatal enemy to all true practical religion. Its precarious, empty, and perishing pleasures, riches, and honours, often carry off men's hearts from everything eternal and divine. Crafty seducers and ruinous errors greatly plague the church in every age. And how many, by their apostasy from the practice and profession of the gospel, manifest that they love the world more than God, nor rest not in his Son! Infinite, then, is the mercy that the Holy Ghost, by his enlightening and attractive influences, convicts sinners and leads to Christ, so that none of them need ever fully or finally apostatize from his truths or ways, and that his blessed promise of eternal life secures their growth in holiness and honourable appearance before his tribunal.