If you would take your Bibles and turn in them to 1 John chapter 2. We’re back in our series on 1 John on Sunday nights, picking up in verse 7 of chapter 2, page 1021 in the pew Bibles.
I wish I had thought of it, but I was talking with one of you recently about 1 John and said something about how it’s not like a letter and it’s not really a sermon but it’s – when I paused, one of you said, “Deep thoughts.” I thought, yes, that’s what this is. That’s exactly what it is. It’s deep thoughts with the apostle John and we get to follow along with him as he is marveling at Christ, we get to follow along as he marvels and wonders at the glory of our fellowship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, our fellowship with one another in the church. Along those lines, I came across a passage recently from the Dutch theologian, Herman Bavinck. And he was talking about the different personalities of the inspired writers of the Bible. This is what he had to say. He said, “John is a man of feeling, of the heart. He is the apostle of love and of life. John does not think but ponders, he does not philosophy but contemplates, he does not discourage but delights. He is passionate by nature, therefore he is called ‘Boanerges’ – ‘Son of Thunder’” – which is truly a great nickname. I think we could all agree.
And Bavinck goes on to say that, “John’s love was an intimate love of Jesus, and an intimate love of the brothers and the sisters. He cannot tolerate evil being spoken of Jesus, for he has lain at Jesus’ side, he knows His love, he knows His goodness.” And then he contrasts the writer, the calm writer of the book of Hebrews, and the vigorous writing of the apostle Paul. And he says, “But John wobbles. He revels in the stream of his thoughts. Once he has a thought, he does not easily let it go. He will say it again. John does not extrapolate, does not have a train of thought that he pursues, but allows himself to be led, to meander through his meditative contemplation. With John, the words are so sweet and soft that he does not tire of repeating them.” Deep thoughts.
These are deep thoughts indeed that we come to in 1 John, and that is exactly what we find in these verses tonight. In fact, we find that repetition, and we find almost the exact same words in verses 13 and verses 14 of chapter 2. “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.” And that is not even the first time we have read those words about how John points us back to that which was from the beginning. And so as we follow along with John tonight, as we follow his meditation from chapter 2, let’s notice two things in these verses. We’ll notice first a passing fancy, and then secondly, a love that lasts. A passing fancy and a love that lasts. Before we read, let’s pray and ask God’s blessing on the reading and study of His Word.
Father, we give You thanks for these deep thoughts which go to the depths of our souls, to the deepest longings of our hearts and point us to You. And yet we come and we confess that even as we read it is not I, not us, but Christ in us that makes it possible for us to understand and to marvel at all that is here and to come before You appropriately in worship and in praise. We need Your Spirit to guide us and to direct us into all truth. We pray, “Speak, Lord, for Your servants listen.” We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.
First John 2:7:
“Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
The grass withers and the flowers fall but the Word of our God endures forever.
First, a passing fancy. There are no lines written anywhere, ever, more devastating that what is written in Genesis 3:6. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. And she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” And so sin came into the world, and with sin came enmity and pain and death – just like that. But listen again. Listen again to what it was that made up Adam and Eve’s temptation. It was “good for food,” “a delight to the eyes,” and “desired to make one wise.” Now can you hear the echo? Can you hear the echo of those words in what we just read in 1 John chapter 2 verse 16 about the love of the world where John talks about the “desires of the flesh,” the “desires of the eyes,” and “the pride of life”? “Good for food” compares to “the desires of the flesh.” “A delight to the eyes” to “the desire of the eyes.” And “able to make one wise” is related to “the pride of life.” It’s the same thing. The flesh and the eyes and the pride of life is the same thing that the Puritans talked about and called “the world’s trinity” – wealth, beauty and honor. “The world’s trinity” is wealth, beauty and honor.
And maybe we know all of those things, we know how prominent those things can be in our lives, and maybe that’s a little too generic and we need to get even more specific than that. What are those things? Maybe it’s alcohol, sports and politics. Perhaps it’s Amazon, Netflix and Instagram. Maybe it’s the body and botox and a career. Or DraftKings, pornography and the United States. And saying all of that and getting down to the specifics is not to judge anyone or to say that every one of those things is all bad. They’re not. But it’s just to say that the love of the world creeps in and it can be strong in every single one of us. And we all need to sit up and we need to pay attention to where it might have its grip on us because from the beginning of time to the first century to the Reformation to right now until the end of the world, these are the things that disrupt and destroy and divide – the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life.
And yet what does John say about those things? What does John say about all of them? He says that the love of the world is opposed to the love of the Father. He says that the love of the world, the things of the world, they are “fading away.” They are all passing fancies. Verse 15, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” And we see that all throughout the Scriptures, don’t we? Judas loved the world, and he pretended like he cared for the poor but he didn’t. But he was a thief. And having charge of the moneybag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. And then for thirty pieces of silver, thirty pieces of silver, he betrayed the Lord Jesus. Demas loved the world. When Paul wrote Colossians and Philemon, Demas was there with him, he was one of Paul’s traveling companions, but when Paul wrote 2 Timothy as the end of his life, at the end of his ministry, there was no more Demas. Why not? Because Paul says, “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” A little bit later we are going to come to 3 John and we’ll read what John has to say about Diotrephes because Diotrephes likes to put himself first. He does not acknowledge John’s authority and he sowed discord among the brothers. Diotrephes loved the world. And a love for the world does not go along with a love for God.
How can it? How can a man serve two masters? One is self-focused and looks to use the world and use those in it for one’s own selfish gain. The other looks to God and to do all things for His glory. One is lust and impulse and anything goes, but the other is faith and love and obedience to God. They are two different ways, two different directions. “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. All that is in the world, it is not from the Father and it is fading away.” Verse 17, “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” “Fading, fading is the worldling’s pleasures, all its boasted pomp and show. Solid joys and lasting treasures none but Zion’s children know.” It’s all passing away. Passing away, and it happens so, so fast, doesn’t it?
I like the story about the college student some time ago – I’m not sure if the story is true but I hope it is – the story about a college student who emailed his professor about a research paper that he was working on. And his email said this, “Good afternoon, professor. I was wondering if it would be acceptable to use sources from the late 1900s for our final paper. I have found an interesting paper from 1994. Is there a cut-off date for publication? Thanks.” Late 1900s – 1994! And you know, I’m not even sure we can even still say that we are in the early 2000s because we are already 25 years into the 2000s. It’s like a midst, and it vanishes away. And that’s what John is saying here. He is saying that the true light is already shining and the darkness is passing away, and the followers of Jesus have been brought out of the darkness and into the light and we are to live for what abides forever not for the passing fancies of this world. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
Do you know what happened to us at our house recently? Someone rummaged through our garbage in the middle of the night and maybe stole some of our garbage, we don’t know. I don’t get it. We know that they were not looking for food. And you know what we put in our garbage can? We put garbage in our garbage can. There’s nothing good there. I don’t know why they were going through it in the middle of the night, but you know what? One day, one day all of our stuff, all of our treasures will be like a heap of trash. And the way that we’ve loved it will make no more sense than digging through someone’s garbage can in the middle of the night. The darkness is fading. The world, along with its desires, are passing away, verse 17 says.
John says, “Do not love the world or the things of the world.” And he says that in some ways in a response to what he said earlier in these verses because he points us to something so much better. He points us to a love that lasts. Several years ago, while we were in the mountains, I bought a bluegrass CD to listen to while we were in the mountains. This was probably in the early 2000s because that CD is long gone! But one of the songs from the album stuck with me. For one, it was catchy, but the other because I kind of wrestle with the theology of what it was saying. And here’s what the song said. It said, “There are many people who will say they are Christians, and they live like Christians on the Sabbath Day, but come Monday morning till the coming Sunday they will fight their neighbor all along the way.” And then the refrain, “If you don’t love your neighbor, if you gossip about him, if you never have mercy, if he gets into trouble and you don’t try to help him, then you don’t love your neighbor and you don’t love God.” And maybe my favorite line was, “If you say you love Him, while you hate your neighbor, then you don’t have religion, you just told a lie.”
It’s not right to say that our salvation depends on how well we love our neighbor, but I’m not even sure that’s what the song was saying. And in fact, don’t those lyrics sound a lot like what we have just read in 1 John chapter 2? “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness,” verse 9. Verse 11, “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” John is not saying that our assurance of salvation depends on the quality of our love for one another or that God loves us because we love one another, but what he is saying is that if the love of God is in us then we will love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Everything that John is writing about – displaying the love of God in us, and being confident about His love – that’s what he wants us to understand.
And there is this flow of thought throughout this book that we have been following from the very beginning. And it’s that for those who have believed the message about Jesus, that message from the beginning, John is writing in order to give joy to those who believe. And joy, that joy comes from fellowship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – that joy comes from fellowship with one another. Joy comes from walking in the light and not walking in the darkness. And what does that mean? Walking in the light means walking in obedience to God’s commands, and keeping God’s commands means loving one another. It’s like the love that we have for one another fuels our fellowship with one another. Our love for one another fuels our joy that we experience together. Look at verse 10. “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.”
And John is not saying anything new, is he? Back in the Torah, at the heart of the Old Testament law, is to “Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.” We are going to come to that in just a few weeks on Sunday mornings as we study through the book of Leviticus. Leviticus 19 is a whole chapter almost wholly devoted to the love of our neighbor. Leviticus 19:18 says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Verse 34 says, “You shall love the stranger,” – love your neighbor, love the stranger – “who sojourns with you.” This command, it goes way back, and yet at the same time it’s new. Jesus said to His disciples in John 13, he said, “Little children, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” And here’s what makes it new. Here’s what makes an old commandment new. Jesus says, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” It’s Jesus’ love for His disciples that makes this commandment new. And how did Jesus love His disciples? “Greater love has no man than this, than someone lay down his life for his friends.” Ephesians chapter 5 verse 2, Paul writes, “Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Jesus, you see, shows us a new and a deeper meaning of loving one another. First by humbling Himself and washing the feet of His disciples, and then by giving His life for their behalf, just as George talked about with our children tonight.
Look again at verses 7 and 8. “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you.” Love one another. Love one another. Love one another. G. Campbell Morgan, on the command of Jesus said, “If we love, seeing He has loved, it is true that our love will be on this pattern of His. That is the sequence.” Then he says this. “The point is this – ‘I am giving you,’ said Jesus, ‘a commandment that is new. Seeing I have loved you, let My love for you be your inspiration for loving one another.’ Stripped of His dignities, girded with a towel, the badge of slavery, He washed their feet and He had said, ‘What I have done to you, you ought to do to one another.’” You could add to that and say, “Even more than that, He was stripped of His dignity. And worse than a slave, as a common criminal and a blasphemer, He was girded with only a crown of thorns and He was nailed to the cross and He died for them, He died for you.” And as Campbell said, as Morgan says, “This was His one final and inclusive commandment – that they love one another.” Hugh Benning says, “Love is solid piety and real religion.” How much do we need that same commandment today, tonight, to love one another?
I have a paper that I use sometimes during premarital counseling. I used it recently with a couple. And it talks about things like miscommunication. It says if you are in a conversation and you are confused or puzzled by the other person’s response, then miscommunication has occurred, most likely, and you need to address that miscommunication. It also says don’t ask unfair questions. An unfair question is a question that you already know the answer to. “Did you put your things away?” when you know that they are still sitting there. One zinger, one sarcastic remark, will erase up to five to twenty acts of kindness, so guard your tongue. Practice the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” And there are all sorts of things like that – they are helpful tips, they are helpful lessons for cultivating a healthy marriage and practicing good communication.
But here’s the thing. You know what the title of that paper is? “Leadership and Team Effectiveness, Communication and Conflict Resolution.” Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? It’s actually something I picked up and was given years ago in ministry training. And that’s really the point. That what we need in the church, what we need among one another, what we need in ministry is the same thing that we need in marriage. And that is to love one another and to love one another as Christ has loved us. This is what we need with each other sitting in these pews tonight. This is what we need as a church staff. This is what we need in our women’s ministry. It’s what our school and our camp and our session needs. It’s to love one another. And yet too often we bully and gossip and play politics and hold grudges. But what does James say? James chapter 4, he says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you. You covet and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel.” Doesn’t that sound a lot like the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life? Doesn’t it sound a lot like a love for the world? And if we follow those desires, if we love the world, then we will not love each other very well. And we will be like those who are walking in the darkness not knowing where we are going.
Look again at verse 9. “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” If you follow Jesus, then you have been brought into that light. And there is a lot that we could say about those verses from verses 12 to 14, the ones that are addressed to children and fathers and young men. We don’t get into all of that tonight. But at the very least, I think what John is doing is he is saying, “Wake up. Open your eyes. Pay attention. Your sins are forgiven, your sins are forgiven. You know the Father. You have overcome the evil one. The Word abides in you. Now live like it. Now do it. Don’t love the world and its fading glory; love one another because the love of the Father lasts forever.”
Several years ago I picked up Sidney Robinson, a former member of our church, I picked him up at The Orchard and I took him to go visit his old friend, Billy Simmons, who was on hospice and in the hospital. And Sidney was an old man, he was frail, soft-spoken and gentle; they both were. And Sideny got close to Billy’s bedside and he leaned down, he got close to him so he could hear, and he said, “Billy” – three words – “I love you.” And he said a few more things before we prayed and left, but that was the main thing. “I love you.” One old man to another. Brothers in Christ. We don’t say that very much. We don’t say that enough, do we? And maybe sometimes we’re not as good at practicing it as we should, to be able to say, “I love you” and to do it. An old commandment, but at the same time, it’s new. Verse 10 says, “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light.”
Let’s pray.Our Father, we come before You in awe of Your love for us, in awe of Christ’s love, that He would humble Himself and become obedient to the point of death, to take our place on the cross, to pay the penalty that we deserve so that we might be in the light and have the light in us and abide with You forever. We give You thanks that even as we gather here tonight that we practice what we will do for eternity – abiding with one another in Your love. And so we ask that You wold give us the strength, give us the wisdom, give us the grace, give us the mercy that we would love one another as Christ has loved us and that all would know that we are Your disciples. We pray all of this in Jesus’ name, amen.