1 John 2:7-17

The Dilemma of Twilight

INTRODUCTION

Recap of series -

right about Jesus

Right behavior (Continued)

The beauty of a 24-hr. day is often lost upon us all who are in a hurry. Some of the greatest pictures are taken at

sunrise or sunset.

They are majestic and display the beauty of the created world.

There is something appealing about the twilight hours. That’s the best time to start a campfire, make s’mores, catch fish, sleep in the hammock.

In the physical realm,

twilight

is beautiful and calming. It brings calmness and it brings peace.

Spiritually, there is no such thing as the twilight hours. He describes our hunger for love, yet our inability to satisfy our need for love through worldly means. John exposes the myth of living in spiritual twilight.

In these 10 verses, John shows that our response to God is personal but it demands we live in community exemplified by the love of Jesus.

The first point John makes is that

The clearest evidence of obeying the commandment to love is seen through our relationships.

He says:

1 John 2:7 “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the message you have heard.”

You could say his instruction on how to love is ageless - it doesn’t go out of style. He isn’t interested in introducing a new thing, and he certainly isn’t interested in writing new rules or regulations.

He says it’s an old command you have heard from the beginning. Whether John is absolute, meaning an old command that was with God in the beginning of creation, or John is relative, probably reaching back to Jewish law, isn’t that important.

The important message is love flows from God, its eternal and true source.

Then, in verse 8, John does throw a curveball of sorts. I just told you that what I’m writing is not new, but old. Now, I’m telling you it’s new.

1 John 2:8 “Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.”

Which is it John - is it old or new? John’s point -

There should be a daily, renewed sense of love just as the sun rises each day.

The command to love is a renewal of the old, but made ultimately and supremely new in Jesus Christ.

Jesus used similar language in John’s Gospel, John 13:34 ““I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.”

Jesus brought a newness to the old command to love others - as I have loved you. The way Jesus loved others became the new standard for all others to love each other.

In the second half of verse 8, John describes this commandment as true in Him and true in you.

John says the divinely revealed truth (Jesus) is shining as the light in a dark world, and because of that, "the darkness is passing away." Jesus is the true light, in Him there is no twilight period. Do you find that true in your life?

The light of Jesus is true and without any division or indifference.

So, where’s the evidence for the change that takes places in our lives when the light of Jesus is shining? How do we measure progress?

John says it is in found in our treatment of our brothers or neighbors, which is the term Jesus uses in Luke 10:25-37 in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Verses 9-11 are clear. When the light of Jesus shines with integrity in us, there isn’t capacity for hate. In a book I’ve recently read, the author asks for the the reader to consider a definition of integrity: the state of being whole or without division. When the light of Jesus shines in and through us, it is whole, without division, and it makes us whole. It permeates every area of our life and it doesn’t allow for the categorization of others into groups.

When we love our fellow brothers, we are abiding in the light of God and his love.

When we say that we love God and hate our brother, John says the light of Jesus isn’t in us, and we are walking in darkness. When we do this, we deny our sinful state.

John’s word picture is of a person who has hate coursing through their veins, and because of it, they are blinded. This blindness, or insensitivity, hardens our hearts, and it causes the stumbling that John speaks of.

Brothers and sisters, this is really heavy stuff.

Verse 11 is not a welcoming picture for the person outside of the light of Christ. Maybe John realizes the weight of his writing, so he is makes a turn in verses 12-14 with a more encouraging tone.

In 1 John 2:12, John begins a series of encouraging statements.

These statements points to our next point:

2. The light of Jesus is shared as a blessing through our spiritual journey and development.

There are two sets of three in verses 12-14, so we are going to work through them in pairs.

The three groups identified are little children, fathers, and young men. It seems strange because they aren’t listed in chronological order. There is further question about who specifically John is talking to or about. Commentators and Bible experts arrive at different conclusions: is he being literal, are these groups of people, or is he being metaphorical - do they mean something else?

John is referring to all Christians at various points in their spiritual journey.

One commentator said it this way: “The blessings of the one age group are the blessings of the others. All Christians are like children in innocence, like fathers in maturity, and like young men in vigor.[1]

[1] Cox, Leo G. “First, Second, and Third John .” Hebrews-Revelation, vol. 6, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966, p. 332.

You will see that verse 12 pairs with verse 14a -

1 John 2:12 “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven because of Jesus’ name.”

I John 2:14 “I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father.

Our journey in Christ’s light begins with our forgiveness of sins. Every believer’s journey begins right here. In 1 John 1:8 he said denial of sin is deception, and now he says the person has recognized that they are a sinner.

Amanda preached that through God’s amazing grace we have an Advocate, one who goes before God on our behalf, and through our confession of faith in Him are we brought into God’s family as His children.

This idea of adoption sets up his words to the little children in verse 14. Children come to know their father by holding his hand, being in his presence, and having conversations with him. The young Christian is encouraged to do the same with their heavenly Father. He is personal and accessible and this truth is universal for all believers.

This is the beginning of the journey for all Christians.

Maybe it was a time in your journey where you were on fire. Those early stages of growth are exciting and it seems like everything comes back to it.

Are you in need of revisiting God in the same way you once did? Have you forgotten what it meant to be a child of God who came to know the Father through prayer, meditation on His Word, and singing His praises?

Now, I’m going to work in chronological order instead of verse order and visit the young men group.

1 John 2:13 “I am writing to you, young men, because you have had victory over the evil one.”

1 John 2:14 “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have had victory over the evil one.”

You will notice almost immediately that the text is repeated and that was for emphasis. You have had victory of the evil one. This phrase is written in the perfect tense which means the victory was won in the past, it was completed, and it is now the ground on which the young men stand.

It’s no surprise that young people, especially in this Greco-Roman culture were driven by the glorious gains of victory. Living in the light of Christ was not gained by their personal victories, rather it was gained by His death and resurrection of Christ. John is setting the Christian life and understanding of victory in direct opposition to the Greco-Roman culture.

Just as you can’t love God and hate your brother, you can’t stand in Christ’s victory and then claim it was your effort.

But, John does say that they are being strengthened, something that was happening in their present day. The more they engaged in the battle, the more they grew. Their training in God’s Word was made evident in their obedience and, because their source of strength was internal and not external, it became their source of life.

John told the young men that who you are is important, but who you are becoming is more important.

1 John 2:13 “I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One who is from the beginning.

1 John 2:14 “ I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One who is from the beginning.”

You’re not mistaken, they say the exact same thing. These mature believers had come to know the Father and John inserts this phrase “from the beginning.”

At each stage, the believer has experience with the Father. But never forget where you started your journey.

Their knowledge of the Father and the Son could be confirmed through their lives of obedience.

The experience of these spiritual fathers served as a source of fellowship for the entire community of believers.

3. John’s final point is that a life of Christian character requires some exclusions.

Christianity is often known as a religion of “don’ts”. A few...

In verses 7-14, John has addressed horizontal relationships. These are relationships between people. Now, in verses 15-17, John is addressing our vertical relationship with God.

A healthy vertical relationship with God is the source of healthy horizontal relationships.

This relationship can’t be entangled by other things, otherwise the relationships are smothered and die.

In verse 15, John uses the word “world” three times - what does it mean?

World refers to life that is separated from God through sin.

World is not referring to the creation, to nature, and it is not to be loved. Again, we see John’s clarity - there isn’t room for twilight in the love of God. God’s love is without compromise.

The world that John speaks of does not come from the Father, it was established when man acted apart from God.

What makes the world worldly is its constant rejection of the claims and character of God, settling for its own values and desires.

John lists three desires of the world:

The lust of the flesh

The lust of the eyes

The sinful pride of life

Why does it matter so much what we believe about Jesus? What impact does this have on our behavior?

Turn with me quick to Matthew 4:1-11.

Satan offers Jesus three things in three realms or categories:Physical ; Visible; Power

John categorizes sinful desires into the same categories

Physical, visible, and power.

You see, Jesus came in the flesh, but he didn’t succumb to the lust of the flesh and indulge in the physical desires of the flesh. Satan wanted Him to turn stone into bread. Nope. Jesus was tempted to go to the top of the temple, where everyone would see Him, and He would see everyone. It was a place of public gathering. The grip of the world causes humanity desire for what they see, not what the Spirit gives them eyes to see. Finally, Jesus was taken to a very high mountain and tempted with power over the kingdoms of the world. Jesus said get away from me Satan - there is no compromise in Me for worship of the Father in Heaven!

When we see Jesus for who He is, as true light and true love, and abide in that light, we are able to overcome these sinful desires.

There is one allegiance, one love, one loyalty that shapes all we are and what we must do.

This is how John concludes this section in verse 17:

1 John 2:17 “And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.”

John sets three things against each other:

The world VS. The one who does

With its lust VS. The will of God

Is passing away VS. Remains forever

Friends, John clearly tells us not to love the world, the way that leads to death. These are desires that we must exclude when we choose to abide in the light of Jesus.

In closing, I challenge you to consider your walk with Christ.

Are you walking fully in the light of Jesus, or are you comfortable in the twilight?

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life, you can call on His name today. The time of walking in darkness doesn’t have to continue. Come to this altar now and experience the newness of life that comes from knowing His presence.

Our closing song says this:

Make me a channel of your peace Where there is hatred let me bring your love Where there is injury, your pardon Lord And where there is doubt true faith in You

Channels connect waterways. If something blocks the channel, whatever is trying to get through can’t. Is there something in your life that is entangling your relationship with God? Is there something keeping you in darkness?

Is there something stopping you from being a channel of God’s love to a fellow brother or sister in Christ? If so, bring that to the altar and let Christ’s love flow freely through you today.