John’s encouragement in the middle of chapter 2, as we’ve seen, is highly stylized, as if he were quoting from somewhere else. As we’ll explore in this episode, when John addresses himself to “children,” “young men,” and “fathers,” he may be echoing the words of the prophet Jeremiah.  

As we’ve seen, John wants to give some pastoral encouragement his readers, who have probably been deeply disillusioned by what we might today call a “church split.” In this episode, we do a deeper dive into the encouragement itself, and ponder the implications for our own dark nights of the soul.

As suggested in the previous episode, John would describe those who aren’t following Jesus’ commandment to love one another as stumbling in the dark. As we’ll explore in this episode, there’s some ambiguity to John’s words about stumbling in 1 John 2. Should we be more concerned about how we as Christians stumble, or how we cause others to stumble? If our motivation is love, we should be concerned about both.

Although at this point in the letter John hasn’t mentioned it yet, some people have left the community. People who have been through church splits know the pain and confusion that follows. That may explain the strangely poetic verses in the middle of chapter 2, in which he cheers on the people he characterizes (probably metaphorically) as “children,” “fathers,” and “young men.” In this and the following two episodes, we explore the possible meaning and implication of his pastoral encouragement.

Reading between the lines, it seems that some folks in John’s community considered themselves to be enlightened, but had some odd ideas about the Christian life. John would characterize them as stumbling in the dark, even if they claimed to be walking in the light. And how does John know? Because they’re not obeying Jesus’ commandment to love one another.

What’s the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament? The latter doesn’t replace the former; it continues the ancient story. Similarly, when John speaks of an “old command” and a “new command,” he’s seems to be suggesting that the teaching of Jesus and the teaching about Jesus are a fulfillment of what should already have been known—albeit in a surprising way.

Beginning with verse 7 of chapter 2, John tells his readers that he’s not writing about a new command, but an old one…and then says it actually is a new command. We’ll address the seeming contradiction in the next episode. But in this episode, the point is that the gospel is already rooted in an old command. And we’ll look at the story surrounding the parable of the Good Samaritan to show how it’s possible to know the old command, yet not do it.

If you’ve ever raised kids, you may already have discovered that “Do as I say, don’t do as I do” isn’t a terribly effective way to engender discipline. We are models for our kids, and they will sometimes do as we do no matter what we say. John insists on something similar: you don’t get to claim to have a close relationship with Jesus if you aren’t following his example.

John is sometimes known as the “Apostle of Love,” and for good reason. He is not only believed by many to be the so-called “disciple whom Jesus loved,” but also writes more about love than Matthew, Mark, or Luke. You may already be familiar with the Greek word “agape,” which is often thought of as meaning “Christian love.” In this episode, we begin to explore its meaning and significance.

You probably know a lot of people, and a lot of people know you. But how many people really know you for who you are? Similarly, what does it mean for someone to say that they “know God”? We can know about God, but the Christian life is not simply a matter of belief. We must know God in such a way that our lives and character are positively shaped by that relationship.