What Love Is All About (1 John 2:7-11)

Today is Valentine’s Day—a day in which most of us make sure that we tell those special people in our lives of our love for them. The Apostle John began his ministry being called a “Son of Thunder” because of his hotheadedness. At the end of his ministry, Christ had so transformed him that John was known as the “Apostle of Love.”

After John’s years of exile on the Island of Patmos, he returned to Ephesus. Unlike the other disciples, John lived to be an old man and died a natural death. It is said that the old apostle insisted on being with his congregation in Ephesus for every meeting.

Jerome the historian tells us that when he was too old to walk, and too weak to preach in the pulpit, the people would carry him to the services. Unable to preach he had to content himself with but a sermon in a sentence. That one-sentence message that he constantly and continually shared with the Christians at Ephesus was: “Little children, love one another.”

It is said that on one occasion someone asked him, “But Master, why do you always say the same thing?” His reply: “Because it is the Lord’s command that we love one another."

 In our text we find John talking about this command—the Lord’s command that we love one another.   When you study the history of the early Church you find that love for one another and for others was an identifying mark of the Christians.

Centuries ago, Moravian missionaries went to Greenland to reach the isolated fishing and herding villages located there. The Moravians were unable during the first year to make any impression whatsoever. The second year was visited by an awful epidemic of smallpox in which multitudes were struck down, and the missionaries went about among them ministering to their bodies and souls in the Master’s name. After that, the way was clear. The people said, “You have nursed us in our sickness. You have cared for us in distress. You have buried our dead. Now tell us of your religion.” In much the same way, it was the love that the early Christians showed to one another and the lost that gave power to their witness and message.

As we look at 1 John 2:7-11, we see that love for one another and others is a distinguishing mark of those who are Christians.

[1 John 2:7-11]

7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.
8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.
9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
11 But the one who 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.

As we consider with me these verses, notice three things:


1. TRUE LOVE HAS A LAW.
Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you… (vv. 7-8a)

In those words, 4 times John speaks of love as a “commandment.” He is speaking of the law of love, a law that is to be obeyed and a law that is to govern our lives as Christians. In verses 3-4, he spoke of the “commandments” (plural), referring to the commands or laws of God in general. Now he speaks to us about one of those commandments—the commandment or law of love.

Notice that he describes this commandment as a law:


A) Established In the Old Testament
In verse 7, he says, “Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you.” He further describes this commandment as an “old commandment” and one they had received and heard from “the beginning.” Loving one another is a command that has existed from the beginning. One has only to go to the pages of the Old Testament to see that God commands that we love one another. The fact is, from the beginning we see that we are to demonstrate a love that is both vertical and horizontal.



Vertically speaking, we are to love God. We read in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”


Horizontally speaking, we are to love one another. An example is found in Leviticus 19:18 , “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”

When it comes to loving one another and loving others, you could say this command or law had been on the books from the beginning. It was a law established in the past. As John said in verse 7, “Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.”

But, we also see how John describes this law as being:


B) Exemplified In the New Testament
John says in verse 7, “I am not writing a new commandment to you,” but then turns around and says in verse 8, “I am writing a new commandment to you.” Someone might say that in his old age, his mind was slipping a bit. Yet, there is no contradiction in what he says.

The word “new” that John uses does not speak of that which is new in origin or existence. It is a word that speaks of that which is fresh in respect to age. John is talking about an old commandment, but giving us a fresh perspective on how we look at it and what it should mean to us as Christians.

Notice verse 8 in its entirety: “On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.” This fresh perspective on this commandment is seen in the person of the Lord Jesus (“true in Him”) and our relationship to Christ (“in you”).

Loving one another is not new, but the Lord Jesus brought the matter of loving one another to a higher level, and that level of loving is to be demonstrated in how we love one another and others. Notice with me John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

If you notice, Jesus calls the matter of loving one another a new commandment. As we have already seen, the command to love one another is not new, but old. It is new in that it is now being considered in a fresh way. What is that fresh or new way?

Notice the latter part of John 13:34. How did Jesus tell us that we were to love one another: “even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” We are to love others the way Jesus loved others. How does Jesus love others? How does He love each of us? Jesus loves us with a love that is without limits. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to die for us.

Jesus loved us sacrificially. He possesses a love for us to the extent that no sacrifice was too great. There were no limits to where He would go and what He would do for us.

Jesus loves us with a love that is without conditions. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He loved us when were sinners. He loved us even when we did not love Him. He loved us, not because we loved Him, but simply because He loved us. We did nothing to earn or merit His love, yet He loved us. He loved us unconditionally.

The love that Christ showed is an unprecedented love. It is a love without equal or measure. In Christ, loving others was elevated to a level that had never been known.

It is this kind of love that both Jesus and John are speaking about--a love that is to be practiced and promoted among Christians.


2. TRUE LOVE HAS A LESSON.
Since loving one another and others is a law, this makes loving one another and others a priority in your life. As a new commandment--a commandment elevated to a greater and higher degree in your life as a Christian--loving one another and others teaches you great things in your life as a Christian. First, notice with me:


A) True Love Requires Much from You.
This old and new commandment requires that we love one another and others as Jesus loved people. I read a story that demonstrates this kind of love put into practice.

During the days of the Revolutionary War, there was a Baptist Pastor in Ephrata, Pennsylvania by the name of Peter Miller. He was a close friend of Gen. George Washington. In the town where Miller pastored, there was a man named Michael Wittman who did everything in his power to abuse and oppose Pastor Miller. There came a day when Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to death. When Miller heard about it, he started out on foot and walked 70 miles to Philadelphia to plead for the man’s life.

He was admitted into Gen. Washington’s presence and began to beg for the man’s life. Washington said to him, “Peter, I cannot grant you the life of your friend.” Pastor Miller replied, “My friend, he is the bitterest enemy I have.” Washington, taken back said, “What? You’ve walked 70 miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. I will grant the pardon.” Because of the man he had mistreated and had done everything in his power to hurt, his life was spared. They both walked back home together -- not as enemies, but as friends.

When Jesus told us to love one another and others as He loved, He was telling us that we are to love people sacrificially and even unconditionally. We are to reach out to others in love even when they do not deserve our love. It is easy for us to love someone who loves us. But this new commandment to love means that we will love people even if they do not love us.  We are to show love even if we are not shown love. We are to love others no matter what they do or don’t do.

If someone hurts us, we love anyway. If someone mistreats us, we love anyway. If someone loves us back, fine. But if not, we love anyway. You see this love that Jesus and John talked about was more than a feeling. It was a choice. It is the kind of love that is an act of the will. We choose to love people. We choose to show them love. It is the kind of love that reaches out to others. It is the kind of love that takes the initiative. It is the kind of love that performs. It is the kind of love that acts. 

Is that not the kind of love Jesus has shown to each of us? Sure it is. That is the kind of love we are to show to one another and others. Furthermore, we see:


B) True Love Reveals Much about You.
This kind of love is not only required of us as Christians, but it also proves whether or not we are Christians. Notice verse 9: “The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.”

We know that keeping the commandments of God is a test to whether or not we have been saved. Now John tells us that loving one another is also a test as to whether or not we have been saved.

He tells us in verse 10, “The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” In short, John says, “If I love my brother, it reveals that I have been saved. But if not, it reveals I am not saved.”

Notice verse 11, “But the one who 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.” A lost person is in darkness, therefore he walks in darkness. He is spiritually blind. He does not live as a Christian because he is not a Christian. He does not behave as a Christian because he is not a Christian. On the other hand, verse 8 tells us that for a Christian, the darkness is past and the true light shines in their life. Therefore in verse 9, the Christian is in the light.

What we are and who we are is manifested in how we live. One that has been saved sees things differently. They act and behave differently because Christ lives in them. He changes how they think and live, even in the matter of how they love one another.

But a lost person, they love when it is conducive for them to love. They love if they are loved. They will not love someone who has done them wrong. Instead, they will hate and seek to get even. But with a Christian, they will be different.

If you find yourself full of hate for someone or others, you ought to examine your heart as to whether or not you are saved. John shoots straight and tells us that it is a test to whether or not we are saved.

Finally, notice with me:


3. TRUE LOVE HAS A LORD.
This kind of love is made real by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one that took the old commandment and made it new. For one thing we see:


A) Jesus is the Picture of True Love
If you want to see real love, look at Jesus. He is the greatest demonstration of love. As I have already stated, His love was without limits and without conditions. Jesus showed the world what real love is all about. He is the great example of love.

Furthermore:


B) Jesus is the Power of True Love
The kind of love that this new commandment demands is not natural for us. It is the kind of love that goes against our nature. Yet, that is the point John makes. Our nature has been changed. As verse 8 states, what was true about the Lord Jesus is now true in us. Something has happened to us. We are no longer in darkness. We are in the light.  What has happened to us is what enables us or empowers us to love as this new commandment demands.



I once had a lady in a church in Texas who told me that she hated another person and had done so for years. She told me of what had happened and the truth is she had been treated unjustly. Yet, what had happened had eaten in her heart like a cancer and left her angry and bitter. I said to the woman, “You must forgive this person.” She looked at me and said, “I can’t forgive her, I’ll never forgive her.” I said, “But God says you can.” She said, “But I can’t.”  I read to her 1 John 2:9. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, “If you can’t, then you need to face the fact that you are not a Christian; because if you can’t forgive, then you’ve never been born again.” She looked at me like she was going to kill me, then the light turned on. She said, “I guess you are right. I know I am a Christian, and I see that I have just been deceiving myself. I need to forgive.” And she did.

The story reminds me of what John has said that our love for one another proves whether or not we are saved. But it also reminds me that if we have been saved, we can forgive and love others.