Certain Eternity Part 16 – Transformed by Love
1 John 2:7-11 January 5, 2025
Introduction
We just celebrated the birth of Jesus. Let’s think about Jesus’s early life for a
moment:
o Unwanted pregnancy (Matthew 1:19), refuge from persecution (Matthew
2:13-18), oppressive government (Roman rule was harsh), large family
where He was forgotten (Luke 2:41-52, Mark 6:3), was not an attractive
man (Isaiah 53:2), grew up uneducated as a day-laborer/mason/carpenter
(Mark 6:2-3), likely dealt with the early death of His earthly father Joseph
(Isaiah 53:3, and absence of Joseph from adult life), and as He set out to
do His life’s work, His family thought He was crazy (Mark 3:20-21)
o In His humanity, Jesus had many reasons to be angry, bitter, and resentful.
In His humanity, He could have easily given up on the broken world around
Him that had dealt Him a bad hand and afforded Him rejection after
rejection.
o Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been
tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
What prevented Jesus from taking this path. Love.
o God’s love for His Son – John 5:20 “For the Father loves the Son and
shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he
show him, so that you may marvel.”
o Jesus’s love of God – John 14:31 “but I do as the Father has commanded
me, so that the world may know that I love the Father….”, John 15:10 “If
you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept
my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
o Jesus’s love of us – John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that
someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Jesus was transformed by love and His desire is for us to experience
the same transformation.
Talked about Light and glory/holiness, light and life, light and truth, light and
confession….now we see light and love.
John 2:7-11 “7 Beloved, 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. 8 At the same 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 shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the
light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother
abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever
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.”
o Notice the address “beloved” again at the beginning of this text. As we
previously discussed with 1 John 2:1, John’s words are couched in gentility
and tenderness as he urges the reader to self-examine, repent, and correct
sin.
3 sections and then application
Jesus Transforms Old into New (v7-8a)
Old commandment – Matthew 22:37-40 “And he said to him, “You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38
This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall
love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the
Law and the Prophets.”” (see also Luke 10:27-28)
o Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your might.”
o Leviticus 19:17-18 “17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but
you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of
him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of
your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the
Lord.”
Notice the connection with hate in Leviticus, which John uses again
here in 1 John 2.
o Also “old” in the sense that this would have been something already taught
to John’s readers. The basic expression of humble submission and faith in
Jesus is that we love. Any who had been under John’s teaching in Ephesus
(or anywhere else) would have heard this many times.
“New” (Gk. kainos) new in quality (as opposed to new in time, Gk. neos)
New commandment – John 13:34-35 “34 A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one
another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love
for one another.””
o John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you.”
o 3 primary ways “new” in quality:
Depth = “As I have loved you” love of yourself is no longer the bar,
Christ’s love is the standard
Selfless sacrifice, even unto death
o John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that
someone lay down his life for his friends.”
William Barclay “[the command] was new in that it had been
raised to a completely new standard in the life of Jesus–and it
was as Jesus had loved men that men were now to love each
other. It could well be said that men did not really know what
love was until they saw it in him. In every sphere of life it is
possible for a thing to be old in the sense that it has for long
existed and yet to reach a completely new standard in
someone’s performance of it. A game may become a new
game to a man when he has seen some master play it. A piece
of music may become a new thing to a man when he has heard
some great orchestra play it under the baton of some master
conductor. Even a dish of food can become a new thing to a
man when he tastes it after it has been prepared by someone
with a genius for cooking. An old thing can become a new
experience in the hands of a master. In Jesus love became new
in two directions.”
Length = “neighbors” are anyone upon whom we can lovingly
exercise mercy, compassion, and godly generosity
See parable of good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37
o Luke 10:36-37 “36 Which of these three, do you think,
proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the
robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”
And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.””
Breadth = even enemies, and those who sin against us
See Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-36, where Christ taught even
to love one’s enemies – which Christ also exemplified.
o John 13:1 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when
Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this
world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the
world, he loved them to the end.”
o Luke 23:34 “And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do.”
William Barclay “In Jesus love reached out to the sinner. To
the orthodox Jewish Rabbi the sinner was a person whom God
wished to destroy. “There is joy in heaven,” they said, “when
one sinner is obliterated from the earth.” But Jesus was the
friend of outcast men and women and of sinners, and he was
sure that there was joy in heaven when one sinner came home.
In Jesus love reached out to the Gentile. As the Rabbis saw it:
“The Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of
Hell.” But in Jesus God so loved the world that he gave his Son.
Love became new in Jesus because he widened its boundaries
until there were none outside its embrace. It became new in the
lengths to which it would go. No lack of response, nothing that
men could ever do to him, could turn Jesus’ love to hate. He
could even pray for God’s mercy on those who were nailing him
to his Cross.”
Jesus Transforms Darkness into Light (v8b-9, 11)
The command to love is true and perfectly manifest in Jesus, and Jesus’s shining
light is illuminating the world right now.
o Jesus has moved darkness to light and His kingdom of light is already
reigning from on high at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
“Shining” (Gk. phainō) – to bring forth into view or make seen with resplendent
light
o phainō is the source of our English word epiphany – the proverbial “light
bulb” moment when something clicks into focus and clarity and we
understand or perceive a new insight.
o Christ is shining His light that we may see Him and His love – that we may
know and understand Him and His truth more deeply
Note present continuous tense – ongoing shining
This is not sparkling, glistening, glittering, flickering, or pulsing – all
are irregular and intermittent
Christ constantly radiates and shines His light-filled glory, life,
truth, and love
o We too are called to live in such a way as to make Christ’s love visible to
the world around us on a constant basis
Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in
heaven.”
Philippians 2:14-16 “14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing,
15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God
without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will
shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the
word of life….”
o C. H. Spurgeon, “I would not give much for your religion unless it can be
seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.”
Jesus Transforms Hatred into Love (v10-11)
Note that Jesus has previously equated anger and hatred to murder (see
Matthew 5:21-22) – this is about our attitude – both our intellect and our emotion
– towards those around us.
Hate (Gk. miseō) – to regard with disgust, anger, contempt, or apathetic
indifference
o John’s uses of miseō throughout this letter are in the present tense (i.e.
ongoing lifestyle) and the active voice (hatred is an active choice of their
will)
Note the binary nature of the transformation process.
o There is no gray area. No twilight. Either we are walking in the light, and
our life is characterized by acting in love towards others, or we are walking
in the darkness and our life is characterized by hatred.
o This is why John will return to this same “test”: 1 John 3:15, 4:20
Note the word “still” (v9). If we do not have love and are characterized by hate –
if we think we are a child of God, we are self-deceived. Unless and until the love
of Christ grabs hold of our heart and His love captures us and renews our souls
to the point that it begins to increasingly overflow to those around us – we are still
in darkness, regardless of what we say we intellectually assent to or legalistically
observe.
o This is why John zeroes in on this specific commandment above all else. It
custs
Note also that hatred is a stumbling block; to others, certainly, but even more so
to ourselves – to our own spiritual growth.
o “Stumbling” (Gk. skandalon) – literally, the part of a trap upon which the bait
was laid. An entanglement or snare such that you cannot move forward.
o Walking in love allows us to grow spiritually. Hatred and anger are a proven
and consistent impediment to spiritual growth. Those attitudes and
emotions will stall us out and keep us from progressing – they will be a
spiritual trap – and will persist until we are willing to release to the Lord the
things that cause hatred within us.
Hatred also causes blindness: we fail to see ourselves clearly because we
become so focused on the object of our anger/hate
o Hatred often causes us to rationalize/justify our own sinful behavior in the
name of some perverted form of justice/fairness. Hatred warps our ability to
discern clearly, to listen to Holy Spirit’s leading, and causes us to insist on
our own way rather be humbly submitted to the direction of the Lord.
o Just like the mole, that lives its life primarily underground, and other
animals or fish that operate in darkness, their eyesight dims until ultimately,
they are effectively blind. The more we persist in hatred, the worse our
spiritual eyesight becomes and the more likely we are to fall into the
enemy’s traps.
Transformation Application
Transformation (sanctification) is a process:
o 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
o 2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of
the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of
glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
o Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in
you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
o 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has
not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him,
because we shall see him as he is.”
Transformation shines forth as a testimony to those around us
o Are we living a life that testifies to Jesus’s light-filled love in our lives?
How different does my life look compared to people living in
darkness?
What do I need to ask the Lord to help deliver me from? Habits
to change, escape mechanisms to release, relationships to get
rid of, bondages to break? The Lord can do it. Am I willing to
have Him move, am I willing to submit to His transforming
power?
Transformation works to remove hatred in our lives
o If I question whether my life is characterized by love of hate let me consider
these questions. Again, these are not one-off situations – we all have bad
moments and bad days. But do any of the following questions evoke
ongoing characterizations of how I live:
How considerate am I of others? Do I take the well-being,
preferences, and, most importantly, spiritual condition of those around
me under consideration as I go about my life?
Are there people I have contempt for? Is there a particular sin where I
have difficulty separating the person from the sin and write them off?
Are there people I look down upon or can’t stand being with? How do
I treat people when my standard of intellect, beauty, financial
prowess, relational charisma, athletic performance, political
persuasion, and any other standards I maintain are not met?
Are there people who bother you or seem to be a nuisance? How do I
treat people who suck up my time, need extra attention and care, are
in crisis, have made another bad decision, or are not progressing in
their faith as fast as you want them to?
How do I think about those who have harmed me? We’re not even
talking about how I treat them – it may be right and appropriate to
have little to no relationship with them. Am I filled with bitterness and
resentment? Am I holding on to unforgiveness and condemnation
over them?
Do I see anyone around me as a rival or competitor? How do I treat
them? Worse, do I see other people as my enemy – or think they
regard me as their enemy? How do I treat them?
Are there people towards whom I just don’t care, to whom I am
apathetic and indifferent?
Conclusion
Jesus is our example of love. Though He had every reason to be filled with hate
for this world and the people that reviled Him and stood against Him, still He
chose to love.
The same Holy Spirit, who was in Jesus, lives in us. The same heavenly Father
who loved Jesus, loves us. We have a big brother who has experienced
everything as we do – in fact has experienced our own betrayal of Him – and still
loves us.
By God’s grace, let us press more closely to our loving Father who lavishes us
with love, to our loving brother who exemplifies love for us, and to Holy Spirit who
empowers us to love like Jesus loved.
Amen. Amen.