The darkness is passing away
And the true Light is already shining.
[1 John 2:7-11]
Do you think our church is a church of love? Do you feel the love of the Lord in our church? As we start the year 2019, under the motto “Love one another,” we set three goals: Gratitude, Forgiveness and Sacrifice. And up to now, while we worship God every Sunday, we have chosen the gospel song “Love is always patient” as the offering song, and are offering it to God every Sunday when we do offering to God. The reason I chose this song as the offering song is to dedicate and devote ourselves to love before God while giving offering to God during worship. This is how the song goes: “Love is always patient, love is always kind. Love does not envy, Love does not boast, Love is not proud. Love is not rude, Love is not self-seeking, Love is not easily angered, Love rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of faith, hope and love is love.” This song is based on 1 Corinthians 13, the “love chapter” of the Bible. That is, when we give this praise to God every Sunday, we need a dedicated heart and attitude that we will obey God's word of 1 Corinthians 13. This is important because, as Jesus said in Matthew 24:12, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” Even today, while praising this offering song during the Sunday worship service, the lyrics, “Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres,” comes to my mind over and over again. In particular, the lyrics of ‘Love hope and trust’ seem to be comforting and encouraging. Maybe the reason is because I am praying to God for giving stronger and firm faith to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ around me who are suffering, even if they are in a situation where they can no longer hope, so that they may believe against all hope like Abraham, the father of faith (Rom. 4:18).
In 1 John 2:8, the Apostle John says: “On the other hand, 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 is already shining.” As I read this verse, I became interested in the Korean Modern Bible translation: ‘The darkness has passed away and the true Light is already shining.’ And I divided into two main parts to meditate on.
The first thing that came to my mind is the question of what does it mean to say, “The darkness has passed and the true Light is already shining.”
I came to think of the meaning by dividing it into two parts. First, what is “the true light” and “darkness” that the apostle John is talking about? When we say “the true Light” here, we can think of God who is the Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all, which the Apostle John spoke of in 1 John 1:5. But when the Apostle John says that this true Light is already shining (2:8), I think that true Light that the Apostle John is talking about here refers to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Bible verse that further confirms this is John 1:9 – “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” Looking at this word, I think that “the true Light” in 1 John 2:8 refers to Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came into this world. Then, in 1 John 2:8, when the Apostle John spoke of “the true Light,” why did he say “the true Light” instead of just ‘the light’? I found the reason in 2 Corinthians 11:14 – “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” In other words, the reason the Apostle John wrote the letter of 1 John and said that God, who has no darkness at all, is “the true Light” is because of Satan who disguises himself as an angel of light. I think the Apostle John said that God was “the true Light” because there is a false light. Here, “the true Light” refers to the Son Jesus Christ, while the false light refers to Satan and the Antichrist. Look at 1 John 2:18, 22: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. … Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.” As the Apostle John thought of the recipients of the letter when he was writing the letter of 1 John, he knew that many antichrists had already arisen among them. That was why I think he said God as “the true Light” in 1 John 2:8. Another thing, when I think of “the true Light” and “the darkness” of 1 John 2:8, I remembered the 4 light and darkness that we had already meditated on based on 1 John 1:5-10: (1) The light is life/eternal life and the darkness is death/eternal death (Jn. 1:4; 1 Jn. 1:1, 2), (b) The light is the truth and the darkness is lie (1 Jn. 1:6), (c) The light is love and the darkness is hate (2:9, 11), (d) The light is righteousness and the darkness is unrighteousness or evil (1:9; 3:12). And when I meditate on today's text, I think that when the Apostle John spoke of “the true Light” and “the darkness,” I think he had “love” and “hate” in mind. The reason I think so is because in 1 John 2:9-11, the Apostle John is talking about love and hate.
Another thing to think about is, what does the Apostle John mean when the darkness is “passing away” and the true Light “already shining”? First of all, what does the verb “passing away” mean here? The same verb is found in 1 John 2:17: “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” Looking at this verse, the meaning of the word “the darkness is passing away” in 1 John 2:8 means that the world and its lusts are all passing away (the verb ‘passing away’ is present progressive). The world and its lust here refer to the things from the world that is, “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life,” which the Apostle John said in verse 16. Then, “the darkness is passing away” means I think that this world, the kingdom of Satan ruled by Satan and the Antichrist, who is the false light, also has its lusts: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life, and death/eternal death, lies, hate, unrighteousness/evil, are passing away. Then why is it all passing away? This is because Jesus Christ, who is “the true Light,” is already shining as the Apostle John said in 1 John 2:8. Isn't that obvious? Doesn't darkness go away when the light shines? Then, what does the phrase ‘the true Light is already shining’ mean? (v. 8) Look at John 1:4-5: “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Jesus Christ, who is the true Light, came into this dark world about 2,000 years ago already as “the light of men” (v/ 4) and “the light of the world” (9:5). The Apostle John said of this in 1 John 1:2, “and the life was manifested.” In other words, Jesus Christ, the true Light and eternal life, was with God the Father and was manifested. In other words, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is eternal life, came to the dark world of sinners who had to die forever because of the sin of the first Adam. The Apostle John spoke of this fact in 1 John 2:8 saying, "the true Light is already shining." Here, the verb “already shining” is in the present tense like the verb “the darkness is passing away.” In other words, just as the darkness is passing by now, Jesus, who came to this world about 2,000 years ago as the Light of man and of the world, not only shone the light of eternal life, but is also shining it now.
The second and last thing that came to my mind is the question of who are the 'those in the light' and the 'those in the darkness'.
Look at 1 John 2:9-11: “The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 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.” In this word, the Apostle John told the Jewish Christians to whom he wrote his letter that “an old commandment” they had from the beginning and had already heard is “a new commandment” (vv. 7, 8), distinguishing between those in the light and those in the darkness. The reason he did this was because he wanted the Jewish Christians who received his letter to live a life of loving each other like the children of light because the darkness was passing away and Jesus, the true Light, was already shining until now (3:23). Then why did the Apostle John want them to live a life of loving each other as the children of light? The reason was because he wanted those who believe in Jesus Christ, who is the true Light and eternal life, have fellowship with God (1:6), and those who keep the Lord's commandments (2:3, 5) love their neighbors as themselves according to the twofold commandment of Jesus so that God's love to be perfected in them (v. 5) and the joy of God to be made complete in them (1:4). Because this is how they should live, partly enjoying eternal life in heaven on earth as well (1:4), the Apostle John rewrote the new commandment (“an old commandment”) to the Jewish Christians who received his letter of 1 John. And because this was what they must do as Jesus did (v. 6), the Apostle John exhorted them to live a life of loving their brothers, as the new commandment said. But what was the problem? Look at 1 John 2:9 – “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am reminded of 1 John 2:6, which we have already meditated on: “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” The reason I remembered this word is because in 1 John 2:9, the Bible says, “Anyone who claims to be in the light ….” In other words, those who claim to live in Jesus Christ (v. 6) are those who claim to live in the light (v. 9). And whoever says he lives in the light must also do as Jesus Christ did (v. 6). What does it mean to do as Jesus Christ did? To ask otherwise, did Jesus Christ love His brother or did He hate him? You may think that this is a very obvious question. Jesus loved His brother. Then, we who say we live in Jesus, and we who say we live in the Light, what should we do? Shouldn't we also love our brothers like Jesus did? But, perhaps, among the Jewish Christians who received the Apostle John's letter of 1 John, there were those who said they lived in the Light and hated their brother (v. 9).
If we say that we live in the Lord and obey His commandments like the children of light, but if we live by hating our neighbors rather than loving them, 1 John 2:7-11 teaches us two things:
- He who says he is in the Light and hates his brother is a man who is still in the darkness” (v. 9).
Not only that, he who says he is in the Light and hates his brother is still walking in the darkness. Look at v. 11: “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; ….” If we look again at 1 John 1:5-6, which we have already meditated on, the Bible says that God is light, and God has no darkness at all. So if we say that we have a relationship with that God and walk in the darkness, then we are lying and aren’t practice the truth. If we relate this to 1 John 2:9, 11, if we say that we are in the Light and don’t love our brother but rather hate him, then we are still in the darkness and still walking in the darkness. And this is a lie and we aren’t practicing the truth. Look at 1 John 4:20 – “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”
- He who says he is in the Light and hates his brother, doesn’t know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him.
Look at 1 John 2:11b – “… he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” What if we blind our eyes? Can we really walk without sight? If we lose our sight, it is difficult to walk straight towards our destination with the right sense of direction. It's not easy without anyone's help. The Apostle John said in John 1:5, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” And he said in 1 John 2:11, “…he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” When we think of these two words in connection, he who claims to be in the Light but hates his brother, the darkness blinded his eyes, which means that he doesn’t really know Jesus who is the Light. More specifically, he who says he is in Jesus who is the Light and hates his brother doesn’t realize the “life” (eternal life) that is in Jesus (Jn. 1:4-5). That is, he who is in Jesus has eternal life because he understands the eternal life that is in Jesus, and he loves his neighbor as himself. But he who says he is in the Light and hates his brother doesn’t understand the eternal life that is in Jesus who is the Light, because darkness has blinded him (1 Jn. 2:11). However, if we say that we live in the Lord and are living in obedience to the commandments of Jesus as the children of light and loving our neighbors, then we live in the light and there is nothing in us to make us stumble. Look at 1 John 2:10 – “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” If we say that we believe in Jesus and abide (live) in Jesus, but don’t love our brothers and sisters in Christ, but rather hate them, then don’t we have something that makes us stumble? Not only the church brothers and sisters in Christ, if we don’t love our spouse and our children who are the closest neighbors with the Lord's love, then don’t we have something that makes us to stumble? If we don't even have this stumbling in us, isn't it a proof that our hearts are hardened right now? In 1 John 2:10, the Apostle John says, “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” Here, what does it mean by ‘nothing makes him stumble’? There are at least 3 Bible verses that help us to understanding its meaning: (1) (Jn. 6:61) “But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble?” (2) (Jn. 11:9) “Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.” (3) (Jn. 16:1) “"These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.” If we look at these three verses from the Gospel of John written by the same author, the Apostle John, the meaning of the word 'nothing makes him stumble' in 1 John 2:10 means, I think, 'no stumbling blocks' or 'not stumbling'. In other words, he who loves his brother abides in the Light, and doesn’t stumble in himself. What do you think? Do we have no stumbling in our hearts now? Are we living in Jesus who is the true Light? Is there no stumbling in us because we love our brothers and sisters in Christ? Or is there something that makes us stumble in us because we hate someone now even though we say we are in the Light? Don't we have a stumbling block in our hearts right now? Are we not stumbling because we don’t love but hate our brothers in Christ?
Jesus Christ, who is the true Light, was with God the Father and came to this dark world and appeared to us. As a result, the darkness is passing. This dark world and all its lusts are passing away. In other words, because the true Light, Jesus Christ, is already shining, this world, the kingdom of Satan, ruled by Satan and the antichrist, which is the false light, and its lusts - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boasting of what he has and does, and (eternal) death, lie, hate, unrighteousness and evil, are all passing away. Therefore, we who believe in Jesus Christ, the children of light, must love our neighbor as Jesus commanded. When we, who believe in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life, love our neighbors as obedience to His commandment, not only that we will be filled with God’s joy in us, but also live on this earth partially enjoying eternal life of heaven. But if we say we are in the Light and hate our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are still in the darkness. If we hate them, we are still in the darkness and are walking in the darkness, and this is lying and not practicing the truth. Also, because the darkness has blinded us, we don’t know where we are going. In other words, we don’t really know Jesus who is the Light. If we truly know Jesus, we must love. If we say we live in Jesus, then we must do as Jesus did. In other words, we must love our neighbors to the point of our death, just as Jesus loved us to the point of dying on the cross. Then there will be nothing in us that make us stumble.
Wanting to love my neighbor as Jesus loves me,
James Kim
(September 8, 2019, Praying for loving others without anything that makes me stumble)