Know and Obey to Be Happy in Jesus

I believe the Gospel of John was written before the letters of John and that the letters of John assume a knowledge of the Gospel of John. Here it is John 13:34-35 that John assumes his audience knows. In that passage Jesus said, "I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know31 that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." This being the case, John can say the command to love one another is not new; rather, it is old. It is something you have had from the beginning, the beginning of your Christian experience as a follower of Jesus. Further, you know of this command's ancient root in Leviticus 19:18, what Jesus called the second great command. There Moses wrote, "Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself, I am Yahweh." Speaking about 1 John 2:7, John Piper says,

Some cynics might argue that the apostle John leaves himself open to the charge of senility in verse 8. After all, in verse 7 he says, "I am not writing you a new command but an old command." Now in verse 8 he says, "Yet I am writing you a new command." Well, which is it? The answer is, "It is both." I think the opening phrase as translated by the ESV is helpful when it says, "At the same time." This old, old command goes all the way back to Moses, but it took on a new character with the coming of Jesus. This is his point. And the newness is threefold. First, it is new and true in Jesus. Second, it is true and new in us, those who "walk just as He walked" (v. 6). Third, it is true and new in us because "the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining" (cf. John 1:5, 9).

In Christ the command to love one another is strengthened, deepened, expanded, and given a depth of meaning and understanding never seen before His coming in the incarnation. And now that same kind of supernatural love is being seen and experienced in those who love Him and abide in Him. But there's more! Perfect love as revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has dealt a death blow 32to darkness. Darkness is on the run and it cannot outrun the light. In fact the darkness is already departing and the true light already shines! The light of the world (John 8:12) has come. The King of light and love is already reigning, and the fullness and consummation of that reign is just around the corner. How we love one another gives evidence of all of this.

Love is not new. It is as old as God (1 John 4:8) and rooted in the law. Yet it is new to us in conversion and new in its depth in Jesus. It is new in experience, emphasis, expression, and endurance. It is old as the sun and new as the dawn.

John utilizes his third "the one who says" statement, and he does so to draw the strongest possible contrast between those who are in the light and those who are in the darkness, between those who love and those who hate, between those who are the children of God and those who are the children of the Devil (3:10). Verse 9 essentially says, "If you say you are in the light experiencing the life of God, yet you continually hate your brother, only one conclusion can be drawn: You are still in darkness, the realm of spiritual death and moral corruption, evil and wickedness. You still belong to the Devil." Verse 10 provides the contrast: "If you are consistently loving your brother, you continually abide in light and give evidence that you have the life of God in you." Further, there is no cause for stumbling (Gk, scandalon) or offense for the one who abides in the realm of light. He truly is walking as Jesus walked (v. 6). The world of light and love always go together.

Verse 11 returns to those who are in darkness: If you continually hate your brother, four things are true for you: First, you are in the darkness (spiritual death). Second, you walk (live) in darkness. Third, you do not know where you are going. And fourth, you are blind. In the darkness of spiritual death there is the absence of love and the absence of God in our lives. And tragically, we don't even see it, having lived so long in the darkness. We are like blind men in a dark room who have no idea where they are or where they are going. It is a true tragedy.

Conclusion

There is an old hymn titled "Trust and Obey" with text by John H. Sammis. The first verse and refrain read,

33When we walk with the Lord

in the light of His Word,

what a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will,

He abides with us still,

and with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey,

for there's no other way

to be happy in Jesus,

but to trust and obey.

I believe the apostle John would have liked this song. I believe he would have agreed with its message. You see, to trust Him, you must first know Him—know Him as the One who has been from the beginning; know Him as the One who is the Word of life and the eternal life; know Him as the Son of the Father in whom there in no darkness at all; know Him as the cleanser and forgiver of sins; know Him as your advocate and atonement. To know Him is to trust Him, and to trust Him is to obey Him. And when you do, you will experience a happiness in Jesus that will indeed be a glory that He will shed on your way.

Reflect and Discuss