1 John 2:1-9

1 My children, these things I write to you in order that ye may not sin; and if any one sin, we have a patron with the Father, Jesus Christ [the] righteous;

2 and *he* is the propitiation for our sins; but not for ours alone, but also for the whole world.

3 And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

4 He that says, I know him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

5 but whoever keeps his word, in him verily the love of God is perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him.

6 He that says he abides in him ought, even as *he* walked, himself also [so] to walk.

7 Beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment, which ye have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye heard.

8 Again, I write a new commandment to you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light already shines.

9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in the darkness until now.

Footnotes

• [a] Teknia (a diminutive). It is a term of parental affection. It applies to Christians irrespective of growth. Used in vers. 12.28; chs. 3.7,18; 4.4; 5.21; John 13.33; Gal. 4.19
• [b] Parakletos, as 'comforter,' John 14.16,26; 15.26; 16.7. Christ manages all our affairs for us above; the Holy Spirit below. I use 'patron' in the sense rather of the Roman patron, who maintained the interests of his clients in every way. So Christ on high; the Spirit here for saints.
• [c] A subjunctive, or 'shall keep.'
• [d] Or 'ye had.'
• [e] 'The darkness.' Though a little harsh in these cases in English, 'the' ought to be retained, because it is not simply a state -- a man being in darkness; but a specific darkness, the ignorance and non-revelation of God is spoken of: only it is abstract, and so absolute. 'The darkness' is the natural condition of sinful man without God, who is light; the creature without God. Hence in John 1.5 'the light appears in darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not.' 'Is passing' (ver. 8) is abstract. 'The true light shines:' that is absolute; it shines, whether seen or not. But though some had received the light, he could not say the darkness was all gone, for it was not, but only with some who 'were once darkness, but now light in the Lord.' Thus it was not as in the gospel, when Christ was upon earth; for then the darkness apprehended not the light shining in darkness. It was putting the light out. As long as he was in the world, he was the light of the world. Now it was not so: there was a passing away of the darkness.