The new commandment

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 that 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 shinning (1 John 2:7-8)

I am writing you no new commandment…

1. John has no new commandment to write to his readers
2. All that he has as one of the apostles of Jesus is the commandment given by the Lord Jesus Himself
3. The commandment John and the readers (who have already believed in Jesus) have is the old commandment
   1. God’s commandment of love (Deu.t 6:5)
   2. Jesus’ commandment of love (John 13:34)
4. The commandment of course is the word they have heard; the word in this context refers to
   1. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
   2. The commandment of the Lord Jesus to love one another as He has loved us
5. No wonder that John takes up the phrase “from the beginning” to anchor the giving of the commandment in time (historical time)
6. It is the old way God has ordained for us, which is
   1. Precious , b. Permanent, and c. Something we must search for (Jer.6:16)

At that time, it is a new commandment…

1. The newness of the commandment is not to be understood in terms of time (chronology) but in terms of added meaning the commandment conveys
2. The old commandment is indeed the new (Gk-kainen) one because
   1. Jesus has lived it out throughout His life
   2. Jesus has validated it by His own example

Which is true in him and in you…

1. The truth that God commands us to love Him above everything else is true in Jesus
   1. Jesus loves God with all His entirety (Matt 22:37)
   2. Jesus loves God, and thus never tested God (Matt 4:7)
2. The truth that Jesus Himself commands us to love one another is also true in you (us the believers)
   1. We learn to love one another because the Spirit of Christ enables us to do so (Gal.5:22)
   2. We learn to love one another as we obey Jesus

Because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shinning

1. Light and darkness are obviously different
2. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12); Jesus is the true light that enlightens us (John 1:4)
   1. Receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we slowly but surely begin to see what is right in God’s sight (2 Cor.4:6)
   2. Once we have welcome Jesus into our life, God enables us to change the way we are meant to be (2 Cor.5:17)
3. Indeed the true light is shining in us!