1John 2:

My little children, I am writing these things to you

so that you may not sin.

1.	What does John suggest must be in place in order for us to 'not sin'? This word indicates the possibility in the future of a given thing (not sinning) happening. Let's make a list of the concepts mentioned so far that John believes to be essential so that we 'may not' sin.

a.	Simple list of things you need to know

i.	God has come in the flesh

ii.	We're sharing that w/ you so you can have fellowship w/ us and Him

iii.	We're doing it 'cause complete fellowship would make us completely happy (cause we want to, not cause we have to)

iv.	God is light and there's no darkness in him at all, so let's not claim to have fellowship w/ Him and still be guarded and hiding ourselves, acting like we've got no sin

v.	If we admit we've got problems and sins, we can have fellowship with Him, because He is such a light, we can't get close to Him without our sins being exposed, but no big deal

vi.	If we admit our sins and get close to Him, He will not condemn us, but will cleanse us.

b.	Flow

i.	The incarnation

ii.	Walk in the light. God is light–you can't hide from sin and be with God. Walk in the light, admit you've got sin. That's the only way arrive where you 'may not sin'.

iii.	In other words, without confession of our sins to a forgiving and cleansing God we've got no chance of not sinning, instead we're guaranteed to sin.

iv.	Why? What does non-confession prevent from happening?

v.	Jesus from dwelling in you. The solution to the sin problem is an incarnational one. Who, then, gets the credit if in the future I do not sin? Have I become better, or is Christ just doing what comes naturally to Him in me?

c.	In other words

i.	incarnation

ii.	confession

iii.	fellowship

iv.	advocacy–non condemnation while in growth

1John 2:1 b

1.	He says that his goal is that we will not sin, but what does he follow that with?

a.	And if anyone sins,

b.	we have an Advocate with the Father,

c.	Jesus Christ the righteous;

2.	Though His goal is for us to 'not sin' what possibility does John leave wide open?

a.	That we will sin.

3.	What provision do we have if any of us does sin?

a.	An Advocate with the Father.

b.	What does that tell us about God's attitude toward those who are growing in their trust of Him? He is not surprised if they fall. –So why do we act surprised and get all bent out of shape. We have the disease until God (the physician) says otherwise.

4.	What is an advocate?

a.	Literally one who comes alongside to help. Like a lawyer or like an assistant.

5.	How does it help to have an advocate if we sin?

a.	How does it help to have a lawyer if you commit a crime?

i.	He knows the ropes and can represent you before the judge.

b.	How does it help to have an assistant if you are sick with a disease?

i.	He can do what I cannot because I am sick.

6.	and why is do we need an advocate 'with the Father'? What is an advocate 'with the Father'?

a.	Does that mean someone on our side against the Father? Is your lawyer 'against the judge' when you go to court? NO. If you come confessing that You are a sinner and admitting the law is good, then you aren't even 'against' the judge. You want the judge to protect you from anyone else who might sin against you, as well. No, your lawyer is against the prosecution, but not against the judge.

b.	Does that mean that our advocate is One with the Father? And therefore in full agreement with the Father, Yet able to 'come alongside' us as well? It really does seem to mean a 'go between,' but if so, why must God have a go-between between parts of Himself? If the Father cares enough to give us an Advocate, why do we need one with Him. Why can't the Father be our advocate? The truth here is that God is not divided on this matter. This just shows Him in different roles. The Father as the protector of justice, the Son as the Advocate of sinners.

7.	Why does a person who sins need an advocate with the Father?

a.	Sin is 'against God.' Sin destroys what God loves. God does not mess with sin. He will not permit it to destroy His creation, so anyone who is into sin is in big trouble with God. God's love motivates Him, and mandates Him to not let sin go unchecked. You cannot love what is good without hating what is evil and whatever destroys the good. So just like your parents curbed your misbehavior, so God curbs it out of love. The problem is that we're sinners who can't help it. We're incurable, so a little discipline will not teach us to love Him and His ways again. In fact we're so dangerous that if we don't get destroyed, we will kill everyone in sight and ourselves. God doesn't want us dead, but we can't be trusted, so we need one next to us who is trustworthy.

1John 2:1c

1.	Who is our advocate, and how is He described?

a.	Jesus Christ, the Righteous

2.	Why is it important for our advocate to be righteous?

a.	Because He is the propitiation for our sins. He is not just one who speaks for us, but one who has so identified Himself with us that He has provided a perfectly righteous sacrifice for us, which we could not provide for ourselves.

b.	What does God's justice require of all His creatures? Perfect obedience to His law of love. What can we not offer? Perfect obedience to His law of love. So if we are to be counted as righteous by God, what do we need provided for us? A perfect life. We don't have one to offer. What did Jesus give us? A perfect life, therefore He had to be 'righteous.' SC-PG- 62 "The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,--just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,--perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized. It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God's law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God. But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned."

3.	How far reaching is Jesus' sacrifice of a righteous life? Whose sins does it address?

a.	2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world

Application

1.	How does that make you feel? What sort of assurance does that give you?

For next time: Review advocate

1.	What's the context of this whole section on an intercessor? What concept is John attaching this to?

a.	"I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin."

2.	Why does John follow the statement. "I write these things to you so that you may not sin" with this statement explaining that we have an advocate who is the propitiation for our sins if we sin?

a.	He wants us to know that our performance in this matter of 'not sinning' is not what solves our conflict with God. Jesus himself is the sacrifice that with our sins, and not just with us, but the whole world's!

3.	What should this be telling us about the goal of 'not sinning' that he's held up before us? Why does John have this goal of 'not sinning' for us? Is it so we can finally be righteous enough to earn a place in heaven?

a.	It's not possible to 'not sin' unless we have an advocate who is the propitiation for our sins.

b.	The focus is not on my performance to make me acceptable before God, but to change me into a loving person. God has already dealt with my acceptability in Christ, and in His sight, I am perfectly acceptable in Christ.

Verse 3ff structure?

How we know that we know Him–actions reveal relationship

A. 3 By this we know that we have come to know Him,

B. if we keep His commandments.

When actions and claimed relationship conflict:

B. 4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him,"

A. and does not keep His commandments,

A. is a liar,

B. and the truth is not in him;

B. 5 but whoever keeps His word,

A. in him the love of God has truly been perfected.

How we know that we are in Him–claims and actions consistent

A'. By this we know that we are in Him:

A. 6 the one who says he abides in Him

B. ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Now we come to verse three.

1Jn 2:3 Facts:

1.	3 By this we know

2.	that we have come to know Him,

3.	if we keep His commandments.

Facts:

1.	How can we know that we've come to know Him?

a.	If we keep His commandments

Interp:

1.	What, then is the relationship between knowing Him and commandment keeping?

a.	You can't have one without the other.

2.	Which one without which other?

a.	Both. You can't have commandment keeping without knowing God, and you can't know God without commandment keeping.

3.	Which leads to which?

a.	Well it seems obvious that knowing God is a prerequisite to doing anything that pleases Him, but likewise, unless we actually do those things that please Him, we don't truly know Him, so both are thoroughly intertwined.

4.	What aspects of our human makeup are involved here, and how are they interrelated?

a.	Mental/social/spiritual and physical. The physical is an indicator of the relational. The behavior reveals something about the relationship.

5.	Note what this does not say, namely that perfect behavior is needed to establish the relationship. Any true commandment keeping validates the relationship.

6.	Why does John introduce this business about knowing God all of a sudden in the midst of a section on getting us to not sin?

a.	We can't not sin except as we know God? Creative thinking, now support it! It's a great idea, show me where John is saying that.

b.	If we keep His commandments isn't that not sinning? So if we keep His commandments–not sin–then we know that we know Him. It must not be possible to keep His commandments if we don't know Him. Hooray! You've got it!

7.	How do many of us hear this?

a.	"If I ever make a mistake and don't do His commandments then I must not know Him."

8.	How valid is that conclusion?

a.	Very. If I knew Him when my alternator went out, I would say, thank You Lord, for allowing this trial. I will praise You in it though I don't like it. I would not yell at my wife and tell her to shut up in my frustration, trying to fix the problem. The problem is not with this conclusion, that I don't know God, because it is entirely possible that I don't know Him. In fact, I have long since realized that I may have known God yesterday when our cat was killed, but totally forgotten Him, or not known Him today when my printer won't work. The problem is when I make this next jump. "If I don't know Him, I must be hopelessly lost."

b.	But what about that statement that says, "And this is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent?" Doesn't that mean that being saved and knowing God are the same thing? No, it says that Eternal life is that they may know God and Jesus Christ, not that they do know God. So Eternal life is the quality of life that has the privilege of coming to know God, not the life of one who already perfectly knows God. If the only people who are going to be saved are those who know God perfectly at every moment and in every situation, we are all in a lot of trouble. When will we ever know God perfectly? Isn't it our privilege to keep growing in the knowledge of Him throughout eternity? So the statement here in John 17:3 is that the eternal life is the life that has the privilege of being in relationship with God. We are naturally God's enemies, but through Jesus life and death we have the privilege of having Him incarnate in us, and we can know God–all this is a free gift to those who believe.

9.	What is the relationship here between knowing Him and our redemption?

a.	The basis for our redemption is not whether we know Him, the basis for our redemption is His righteous propitiation.

10.	Why does he bring knowing Him into the picture? What is the benefit of knowing Him that he is trying to point out to us here, if knowing that we know Him is not the same as being assured of salvation?

What Jesus Gives	Benefit to Us
propitiation	forgiveness for our sins
knowing Him	cleansing or our sins

a.	Because knowing Him is the only way to stop the sin game.

11.	Why is that? Why can't you and I stop sinning without knowing Christ?

a.	Sin is defined in terms of God's character. There's no way to stop doing what God hates and start doing what pleases Him if you don't even know Him.

12.	Think about it. It's a simple matter of relationship. If you don't know your wife, what are the chances that you will always do what pleases her?

a.	Pretty slim

13.	But if you know her and continue getting to know her more intimately, what does that enable you to do?

a.	To understand what makes her tick and to do all I can to do what pleases her.

14.	How else is sin defined?

a.	Sin is defined in terms of relationship to God. If I am in right relationship to God I am not in sin (1Cor 15:17, Eph 2:1). If I am not in right relationship to God, even acts that appear holy outwardly are sin. (Rom 14:21)

Interpretation:

1.	Why? What else about commandment keeping that requires a knowledge of God?–particularly the intimate sort of knowledge that is implied here?

a.	You and I have the disease called sin. We do not naturally keep God's law nor can we, so the only way for the law to be fulfilled in us, is for God to come and dwell in us by His Spirit. (Rom 8:1-4)

2.	What does it mean for us to 'have come to know Him'?

a.	Apparently one thing that is part and parcel of 'coming to know him' is keeping his commandments. Keeping His commandments is the evidence that we know Him.

3.	Why? Why does our behavior reveal something about our relationship with Him? Isn't it possible for someone, for instance, to outwardly obey Him and not know Him at all?

a.	Yes, so John is obviously not talking about mere outward observance of the commandments. And since we all 'have the disease' of sin. How can any of us obey from the heart? We can't do it! So what answer has John proposed so far to our problem? Incarnation.

b.	The only way you and I can keep any of Jesus' commandments–which is broader than the 10–is if He has taken up residence in us and is obeying through us. (It is no longer I that liveth, but Christ that liveth in me.)

4.	What is different about knowing Him and having Him indwell us? Knowing Him and incarnation? How are they related? Can you know Jesus without having Him dwell in you?

a.	No.

5.	Can You have incarnation without coming to know Him?

a.	No. So the only way to truly know Jesus is to let Him live in You. And if He doesn't live in You there is no way to come to know Him. Doesn't that make sense? How do you get to know your wife? Live with her. You can't know her without that time spent. But God is different. He isn't walking around here today like He did in Jesus' day. So how can I spend time with Him? I must spend time with Him incarnate again. He must live out His will in my mind and body for me to truly know Him. I must 'walk a mile in His shoes' in other words, in order to truly know Him.

b.	This word know has a very significant meaning–do you know what it is? It points to the most intimate connection between a husband and a wife. It is talking about the deepest sort of love, not intellectual knowledge of another. By this we know that we have come to love Him deeply if we keep His commandments. Why? There's no other way we can keep them except by the deepest love relationship with Him being in place, in which we no longer are alive, only He lives in us–in which our will is totally submerged in His, and when obeying His commands we seem only to be following the impulses of our own will.

6.	Notice what the emphasis is on–relationship. Notice what the emphasis is not on–performance. This is not saying, "Unless we perfectly keep all of His commandments, we don't know God." Now, that may be true, but the emphasis is this way, "Only through an intimate, incarnational knowledge of God can we keep any of His commandments at all." Knowing comes first or there's no obedience at all. We don't obey God to prove how well we know Him, but our obedience is the best evidence to ourselves and others that we do know Him. So if any change happens at the heart level in my motives, in my relationships, and in my behavior, who is doing it? God, therefore I now know what? That I have come to know Him–even in a small way, and He lives in me.

Now John addresses those who have their priorities backwards. They want their words to speak louder than their actions. Read about them in the next verse.

Verse 4 Facts:

1.	4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him,"

2.	and does not keep His commandments,

a.	is a liar,

b.	and the truth is not in him;

1.	What sort of person does John deal with next?

a.	One who says, "I have come to know Him," but does not keep His commandments.

2.	What two conclusions does John draw about such a person?

a.	He is a liar

b.	And the truth is not in him;

Interpretation:

1.	What is the difference/relationship between being a liar and not having the truth in you?

a.	One describes your own condition in terms of a verb–you are a liar, and what do liars, do? They lie

b.	The other points out that something is missing from you–the indwelling Truth

2.	How would an absence of the indwelling truth affect ones ability to lie or tell the truth?

a.	Anyone without truth inside, cannot speak and expect truth to come out. Therefore anyone without Christ dwelling in Him is a liar. To have an absence of the indwelling truth leaves one devoid of anything true, so how can he speak anything but lies? "A good man brings out of the treasure of His heart good things, but an evil man evil things, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

3.	How does John know based on a person's claim to know him and the absence of commandment keeping that that person does not have the indwelling truth?

a.	Isn't it obvious? If the Truth lives in You, won't it have an effect on Your actions?

4.	Based on our previous understanding of what makes it possible to keep any Jesus' commandments, what is John saying?

a.	You can't keep any commandments except as You know Him, but apparently you can't know Him and not keep His commandments. The two seem inseparable.

5.	Does this mean that no one can say "I have come to know Him"? Because no one perfectly keeps his commandments?

a.	Did anyone notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say, the one who says, "I have come to know Him, once and for all, and I'm done, I've arrived, but does not keep His commandments perfectly, is a liar, etc." Why do we ignore the context? Why would John, who has left room for growth in maturity in the safety of Christ's perfect work up until now, suddenly move to absolutes which contradict all the assurances he's been giving? The question is "Who's living in You?" This leads nicely into the next verse (5).

1.	3 By this we know that we have come to know Him,

2.	if we keep His commandments.

a.	4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him,"

b.	and does not keep His commandments,

1.	is a liar,

2.	and the truth is not in him;

2'.	5 but whoever keeps His word,

1'.	in him the love of God has truly been perfected.

Facts:

1.	What is the measure of whether the love of God has been perfected in a person?

a.	Do they keep His word?

2.	Notice what it does not say, "Whoever keeps His word perfectly, all the time w/ no mistakes."

Interp:

1.	Relate this statement to the theme of incarnation.

2.	Why does it say that the love of God has been perfected in one who keeps His word? Why not 'is being perfected?'

a.	Becky's insight was that whenever a person acts on the word of Christ, Jesus' perfect life is incarnate in him again. You can't have the love of God partly perfected in you, if the only way you get the love of God in you is by getting Jesus in you.

3.	Why is 'the love of God has been perfected' placed across from 'we have come to know Him'?

a.	There must be a direct connection between knowing Him and having His love perfected in us. What is that connection? How do those two relate to each other? Can you have the love of God perfected in you without knowing Him? Can you know Him and not have His love perfected in you?

1.	Maybe coming to know God means knowing Him in every situation. I know what it means to know God when my cat dies, but when I'm on the way to the airport and the alternator quits I become an atheist.

1.	What does this do to assurance? Is my assurance based upon knowing God at every moment? Upon what does John say it is based? Why does He move into this realm in chapter 2 of telling us how we can tell if we know Him, it is how we can 'not sin.' It is not how we achieve salvation. He is the propitiation for our sins, even our knowledge of Him does not justify us. It is through knowing Him that we are freed from sinful acts. Hmm.

1.	By this we know that we are in Him:

a.	6 the one who says he abides in Him

1'.	ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Facts:

1.

2.

Interp:

1.	What does being or 'abiding' in Him have to do with knowing Him? Why are these alongside each other in the passage? How is being in Him different from having Him in You or knowing Him?

a.	Wouldn't being 'in Him' be like being 'in the light'? He is light and there is no darkness in Him, so if I am in Him, I must be 'in the light' and anyone who claims to be in Him who is light, must walk in the light just as He walks in the light.

b.	Knowing Him is being intimate with him. It's impossible to be intimate if one does not 'walk with another' or go a mile in his shoes? So in order to know him, we must be in him already? How can we have 'come to know Him' if we have not stayed with Him. Thus confession is a prerequisite to knowing Him. No one can come to know God unless they are willing to admit their sin problem–it will always get in the way unless it is openly acknowledged. Does this mean that all it takes to abide in Him is to admit to being a sinner? Only sinners are in Christ? If you want the benefits of being in Him, you must be part of the sinful race of Adam? I guess so.

c.	According to 4:15 one must confess that Jesus is the son of God to have God abiding in him and he in God. What does that mean? Is there really any significant difference between the two? Is it possible to be in the light and walk in the light and not have God in you?

d.

2.	Why is it important to know we are in Him or to know we know Him? Can't we get along without knowing whether we're in Him or whether we know Him?

a.	Because if I haven't really come to know Him, and thus cannot keep His commandments, yet I claim to, I am a liar? No, it seems like he's just trying to set up the "love your brother" comment.

3.	How did He walk? In what manner must those who claim to abide in Him walk? (Hint: What are the different possible ways of walking presented in this book?)

4.	What does this have to do with the theme (incarnation) of this book?

5.	What does this have to do with John's goal of having his readers 'not sin'? Is this another 'ought' that will frustrate us when we try it because we can't do it, or is there something deeper going on here?

a.	Maybe this is where the knowing we are in Him comes in. We need some assurance we are on the right path, because our hearts may yet condemn us for not having perfect performance.

7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you,

but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning;

the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

Facts:

1.	Whom is he writing to? Loved ones

2.	What is he not writing?

a.	A new commandment

3.	But instead he is writing . . .

a.	An old commandment

4.	How long have they had it?

a.	From the beginning

5.	How does he identify it?

a.	It is the word which they have heard

Interpretation:

1.	What is this old commandment they they've heard and had from the beginning? Let's go through the rest of the book and see what he says on it.

a.	3:23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

b.	4:21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

c.	5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

d.	2jo 1:5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

e.	Summary–the commandment has always been to love, and was never intended to be burdensome, but to be based on belief and trust in God

2.	Why does he go to the trouble to say, "This is not a new commandment–it's the old commandment which you've had from the beginning"? What does that tell us about God's intentions for His people from the beginning?

a.	He wanted them to walk in obedience as a result of relationship. That is the old commandment. I am Yahweh who brought you out of bondage. Therefore you shall not . . . ."

8 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.

Facts:

1.	On the other hand, what sort of commandment is it that he's writing to them?

a.	A new one

2.	Isn't that pretty contradictory? How does he qualify that statement? He's not just contradicting himself–he's trying to show how it's old in one sense and how it's new in another. What sort of a qualifying phrase comes next?

a.	It is true 'In Him and in you'

3.	He says it is true in two particular places, in Him and you. How is that new? Wasn't it true before? Is this a recent happening? If so, why? Was the commandment true somewhere else before?

4.	What does this tell us about commandments?

a.	They are new when they are true in people, they are old when they are words that have been heard, but are not necessarily in a life.

5.	So what conclusions could we draw about the new commandment's relationship to the old? What things remain the same, and what things are different?

a.	The words are the same–the commandment doesn't change when it becomes new, the new part is a new life in which it is being lived out, therefore any nonsense about God's law being changed or a new commandment somehow leaving out part of the old is just that, nonsense.

6.	What does it tell us about God that He is interested in His commandments becoming 'new commandments'?

a.	He's not into a religion of words. He doesn't just want us to hear His words that are from the beginning. He wants the words incarnate in us. What good does a commandment do me if it is only true outside of me? It can only destroy me, if it remains outside me. In order to free me, it must get inside, written on my heart. I know the rules of how to play scales on the guitar, you know, whole step, whole step, half step. I've heard how it works, but that guess what. Having heard how it works does not allow me to sit down and play and improvise using those scales. I can explain them to you and even teach you to use them, but unless I practice them, actually do them and internalize them, so they get off the paper and out of the theoretical realm, they do not free me to make music. All they do is condemn my raucous attempts to make music without them. Same is true of driving a car. You all knew in theory that you push the gas and turn the wheel in order to drive, but until you actually practiced it, simply knowing that that is how it works didn't do you any good. I know about music, I can look at a sheet of piano music and tell you what every note on the page is, but I haven't practiced the piano, so knowing the notes doesn't free me to play them. God's commandments are the same. Knowing the words isn't enough. "Love your enemies." I can say it and know that's what I'm supposed to do all day long, but if I never put it into practice it does me no good whatsoever. God is trying to get His words true in me through Jesus.

7.	What is the relationship between the earlier statements and these last two:

a.	Because the darkness is passing away

b.	And the true light is already shining?

1.	Well, it says, "because" it ought to be a cause-effect relationship.

8.	Which is the cause and which is the effect?

a.	The darkness passing and the true light shining are the cause, and the effect is that the commandment is new, being true in Him and in us.

9.	How does the fact that the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining lead to the commandment being new as it is true in Him and in us.

a.	Perhaps this is the relationship:
It is true in Him because the darkness is passing away
And it is true in you because the true light is already shining?

1.	How does one know it is true in Him? We can see the darkness passing away.

2.	How does one know it is true in us? The true light is already shining in us.

b.	Maybe we could ask it this way. Where is the darkness passing away? Where is the true light shining? What is the darkness? What is the true light?

1.	The darkness for John is where a person goes to hide his evil deeds. It's a place of obscurity and dimmed vision. One who is in the darkness can't see where he's going. So what would it mean for the darkness to be passing away? There's getting to be fewer and few places that you and I can go to hide our evil deeds? The muddle between right and wrong is becoming clearer? The whole way of thinking that says you can hide evil is disintegrating? How has evil been unmasked? When was evil unmasked. When did the light come on in the darkness and show us exactly what's going on in there? It was at the cross. The darkness is passing, not because things are getting better in the world, but because evil has taken such a big bite out of itself that it's starting to bleed to death. God let this parasite run its course and it is destroying itself. Darkness cannot exist without light, and if it gets so dark that there's no light left, even the darkness ceases to exist. Well it got very dark at Calvary, and all darkness's claims about being better than light have been disproved. Darkness may still be around, but it's just 'mopping up' time. Darkness is on the way out, and the true light is already shining. There is a light beaming down, dispelling the darkness.

2.	How do we know that the commandment (to love) is true in Him? The darkness is on its way out, that's how. He has lived anew the command to love your enemies even to death and it defeated the darkness. That's how we know He really did it.

3.	How do we know that the commandment to love is new in us? Because we see light shining. I guess this goes back to the same thought we had earlier that if there is any obedience, it is Him in us, it means we've seen Him and know Him. What does it mean for the true light to be shining? God is already shining? Of course. He's always shining. How does it make sense to introduce this here. It's already been said that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

4.	Maybe I'm asking the wrong question. Perhaps this answers the question, Why does he write a new commandment unto them? He writes it 'cause the darkness is passing and the true light is shining. He wouldn't bother writing the new commandment if those two things weren't the case. They couldn't keep it if those two things weren't the case. What's the use of being told to drive a car w/ no gas in it? John doesn't bother. He says, now that Christ has fueled the car, I'm writing to you telling you to drive it. Now that Christ has won the war and defeated darkness once and for all, I am writing to tell you to walk in the light. The light is shining on this earth, and it is possible for you to walk in it. God's love is available to you, and I'm writing to you to live it.

c.	Perhaps it should read 'for' the darkness is passing. In other words–As it is true in Him and us, the darkness is passing and the light is shining. What is the darkness? What is the light? In scripture, darkness is associated with not being able to see. It is whatever leaves me 'in the dark' about life. It obscures my vision. Whatever obscures vision is passing away. Ignorance is passing away because of Jesus. He declared to us the Father in human flesh, we need not be confused about where we're going anymore. What is the light? It is whatever allows me to see where I am going. Jesus says let you light shine, speaking of good deeds, done in His power. So if the true light is already shining, does that refer to Jesus living in us–which illuminates, it actually makes it possible for us to see where we are going, or for others to see where they are going, but if we are not acting on our faith, if Jesus is not shining through us, we are still in ignorance and darkness, and neither we nor anyone around us can see clearly? Hmm, more thinking to do on all of this.

10.	What would this look like? Context? What is the darkness? The place of hiding and ignorance and misunderstanding, mistrust and shame. So what would it look like if the darkness was passing away?

a.	People would be getting more honest about their problems and walking in the light. The lies that say, "Protect yourself in the darkness" would be exposed as lies.

b.	People would be loving their brothers according to the context.

1.	Why is it new?

a.	Because it is the word which they have heard, coming to life–being incarnated in Him and in them.

1.	In Him–Jesus is the one in whom all our heart obedience is found. It is the Spirit of God living out His life in us that brings about all true commandment keeping. Obedience is the product of the new birth

2.	In you–but God does put Jesus in us, so His obedience gets acted out again in our words and hands

2.	Why is 'because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining a reason for it to be true in Him and in us.

a.	Why is the darkness passing away? At what point did the tide turn?

1.	The cross–in Him? The darkness is on its way out. Is that why he says later, "Don't cling to the things of this world–they're gonna be gone soon.

b.	When did the true Light begin to shine? What does it mean for the Light to be shining? (Is it like in Matthew, so let your light shine?) If Jesus is the light, how does He shine? Does John say?

1.	One is not in the light if he hates his brother. Why?

a.	Is hating acting like there isn't a problem when there is? (Yes, according to 1 Cor 13 and Proverbs 13:24 (one who doesn't discipline hates his son) and Prov 26:24 (One who hates disguises it with His lips)

b.