8 Nov. Anyone who walks in the light should love his brother
"My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you but an old command you have had from the beginning. It is the teaching you have already heard. But also I am writing a new command to you, and you can see its truth in Jesus and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining."
"Anyone who says, 'I am in the light', but hates a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light and will not cause anyone to stumble in their faith."
"But whoever hates a brother or sister is in darkness, lives in darkness and does not know where to go, because the darkness has made that person blind."
"I write to you, dear children,
because your sins are forgiven through Christ.
I write to you, parents,
because you know the One who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
because you have defeated the Evil One." [Greek - 'ton poneron' meaning 'evil']
"I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, parents,
because you know the one who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
because you are strong. The teaching of God lives in you and you have defeated the Evil One." [Greek - 'ton poneron' meaning 'evil']
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. These are the ways of the world:
wanting to please our sinful selves;
wanting the sinful things we see;
and being too proud of what we have."
"None of these come from the Father, but all of them come from the world. The world and everything that people want in it are passing away, but the person who does what God wants lives for ever."
(1 John 2:7-17)
In this section of his First Letter, John restates Christ’s ‘new’ commandment – any believer who wants to live in the light should love his brother and sister (see John 13:34 & Leviticus 19:18).
But anyone who "hates a brother or sister lives in darkness... because the darkness has made that person blind." (1 John 2:11)
John then addresses the different age groups among his readers – children, parents and young people – and encourages them all to hold onto their faith in Jesus Christ, who has existed from the beginning of time. (1 John 2:12-14)
In John's day, it was quite usual for teachers to repeat their message twice, so that their students would thoroughly absorb and remember the teaching. Paul, in his letters, often used this technique, frequently repeating what he had just said in slightly different words (a technique which speakers still use today).
Here, we've deliberately set out John's advice in two similarly-spaced paragraphs, so it's easy to follow how he has repeated his teaching twice.
Some translations give the advice to young people as, "you have defeated the Evil One" (implying the devil or Satan). But the Greek actually makes no reference to a personal 'devil' or 'Satan' here. It simply says, "you have defeated the evil" or "you have defeated evil". (Unlike English, the pronoun "the" is always present in the Greek).
John finishes this section by reminding his readers that the things of ‘this world’ will pass away, but anyone who does God’s will has eternal life. (1 John 2:15-17)
The photo shows Christian relief workers putting John's message of brotherly love into practice (World Vision).
You can read more from the First Letter of John @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/19-j…/the-new-commandment/