1 John 2:9

9 The one who says [he] is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

1 John 2:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 John 2:9

He that saith he is in the light
Is in Christ the light, or has the true knowledge of the light of the Gospel, or is illuminated by the Spirit of God; for persons may profess to be enlightened ones, and not be so: wherefore the apostle does not say, he that is in the light, but he that says he is,

and hateth his brother;
who is so either by creation, as all men are brethren, having one Father, that has made them, and brought them up; or by regeneration, being born of God the Father, and in the same family and household of faith; and so regards such who are in a spiritual relation, whom to hate internally, or not to love, is inconsistent with being in the light, or having faith, which is always naturally and necessarily accompanied with the heat of love; for as light and heat, so faith and love go together: wherefore, let a man's profession of light be what it will, if love to his brother is wanting, he

is in darkness even until now;
he is in a state of nature and unregeneracy, which is a state of darkness and ignorance; he is under the power of darkness, and in the kingdom of Satan; who is the ruler of the darkness of this world; he ever was so from his birth; he never was called nor delivered out of it, but is still in it to this moment, and so remains. This seems to be very much levelled against the Jews, who make hatred of the brother in some cases lawful: for they say F4,

``if one man observes sin in another, and reproves him for it, and he does not receive his reproof, (wtwanvl rtwm) , "it is lawful to hate him";''

(See Gill on Matthew 5:43).


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora, pr. neg. 5.

1 John 2:9 In-Context

7 Dear friends, 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 message which you have heard.
8 Again, 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 already is shining.
9 The one who says [he] is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
10 The one who loves his brother resides 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.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.