I John 2 · The Lantern

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may be without sin. And if any man is a sinner, we have a friend and helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, the upright one:

This Spirit, again, He did confer upon the Church, sending throughout all the world the Comforter from heaven, from whence also the Lord tells us that the devil, like lightning, was cast down.

And lest haply he should seem to have given impunity for sins, in that he said, "He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all iniquity;" and men henceforth should say to themselves, Let us sin, let us do securely what we will, Christ purgeth us, is faithful and just, purgeth us from all iniquity: He taketh from thee an evil security, and putteth in an useful fear.

The Apostle, knowing that our nature is inconstant and sinful, that we always carry within ourselves an inclination toward evil, that the envious devil hinders our salvation with his snares, and that therefore even those who have already been reconciled with God through confession, if they live carelessly, will not escape sin, now suggests that even if we have fallen after the…

He is the offering for our sins; and not for ours only, but for all the world.

"And not only for our sins,"-that is for those of the faithful,-is the Lord the propitiator, does he say, "but also for the whole world." He, indeed, saves all; but some [He saves], converting them by punishments; others, however, who follow voluntarily [He saves] with dignity of honour; so "that every knee should bow to Him, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things…

When John says that Christ died for the sins of the "whole world," what he means is that he died for the whole church.

Not only for our own sins, etc. The Lord is not a propitiation only for those for whom John wrote while they were then living in the flesh, but also for the whole Church spread throughout the breadth of the world, from the first chosen to the last who will be born at the end of the world.

And by this we may be certain that we have knowledge of him, if we keep his laws.

"And by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." For the Gnostic also does the Works which pertain to the province of virtue. But he who performs the works is not necessarily also a Gnostic. For a man may be a doer of right works, and yet not a knower of the mysteries of science.

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." "And by this we know." When John had said above that those who believed in the Lord have fellowship with him (1 Jn.

It is customary for this blessed man to use the same words to designate different things, as for example in the verse: "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him" (John 1:10). So now too he has used the word "to know" in different senses.

The man who says, I have knowledge of him, and does not keep his laws, is false, and there is nothing true in him:

It is the manner of life which shows up those who know the commandments; for as a man's word is, so is his life. The tree is known by its fruit, not by its blossom and leaves. Knowledge, then, comes from the fruit and from behaviour, not from talk and from blossom.

For true faith is that which does not contradict in conduct what it says in words. Hence it is that Paul says of certain false believers: "They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their deeds." Hence John says: "He who says he knows God and does not keep His commandments is a liar." Since this is so, we ought to recognize the truth of our faith in the consideration of our…

And from the contrary he confirms the same thing, employing the most complete proof.

But in every man who keeps his word, the love of God is made complete. By this we may be certain that we are in him:

He who says that he is living in him, will do as he did.

When, however, he turns their minds back to continence, ("But I will you all so to be,") "I think, moreover," he says, "I too have the Spirit of God; "in order that, if he had granted any indulgence out of necessity, that, by the Holy Spirit's authority, he might recall.

In Him therefore we find our Model of patience, in Whom we have our Hope of life eternal; for "if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him," since, as the Apostle says, "he that saith he abideth in Christ ought himself also to walk as He walked." Otherwise we make a vain presence and show, if we follow not His steps, Whose name we glory in, and assuredly they would not…

Perfect love, he says, is proven by deeds. But since it happens that someone outwardly appears to observe the commandments correctly and precisely, yet his inner disposition is impure, which is why he is far from God, the apostle says that one who has drawn near to God must live as closeness to God requires.

My loved ones, I do not give you a new law, but an old law which you had from the first; this old law is the word which came to your ears.

"I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment, which ye had from the beginning,"-through the Law, that is, and the prophets; where it is said, God is one. Accordingly, also, he infers, "For the old commandment is the word which ye have heard."

"Brothers, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning." Since this letter was general and directed commonly to all, both Jews and Greeks: to the Jews indeed he directs his speech when he says, "I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old one," sp…

Since this epistle is catholic, written generally to all, to both Jews and Gentiles, then with respect to the Jews it can be said that the apostle writes to them a commandment about love that is not new, but ancient. For on the tablets of Moses it was also written: "love," after God, also "your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18).

Again, I give you a new law, which is true in him and in you; for the night is near its end and the true light is even now shining out.

"This is the commandment; for the darkness" of perversion, that is, "has passed away, and, lo, the true light has already shone," - that is, through faith, through knowledge, through the Covenant working in men, through prepared judgments.

"Again, I write 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." Thus, concerning the commandment of love for one's neighbor, which has long been established for both Jews and Greeks, John says: "Besides the old commandment that you heard about loving your neighbor, I am writing a new comman…

By "commandment" John means the revelation of the dispensation. It cannot be called new with respect to God, but from the human point of view it was a mystery hidden in the Creator from the beginning.

He who says that he is in the light, and has hate in his heart for his brother, is still in the dark.

He who has love for his brother is in the light, and there is no cause of error in him.

But he who has hate for his brother is in the dark, walking in the dark with no knowledge of where he is going, unable to see because of the dark.

I am writing to you, my children, because you have forgiveness of sins through his name.

I am writing to you, fathers, because you have knowledge of him who was from the first. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the Evil One. I have sent a letter to you, children, because you have knowledge of the Father.

By "fathers" John means those perfect people who understood everything from the very beginning and readily perceived that the Son had always existed.

The different ages here are to be understood in spiritual terms; they refer to our maturity in faith. First you must become a child and be weaned off evil. It is in this state that you must put off the weight of your old sins. Once you have done this, you can progress to the status of adolescents, when you must struggle against evil.

"Children" – those who err due to the immaturity and frivolity of childhood, which is why the apostle also tells them: you were deemed worthy of forgiveness when you came to know that "the Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works" (Ps. 145:9). "Fathers" – those who, with advancement in age, have obtained knowledge of Him who is from the beginning.

I have sent a letter to you, fathers, because you have knowledge of him who was from the first. I have sent a letter to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God is in you, and because you have overcome the Evil One.

Have no love for the world or for the things which are in the world. If any man has love for the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

"For the world," he says, "is in the wicked one." Is not the world, and all that is in the world, called God's creation and very good? Yes. But, "The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the ambition of the world," which arise from the perversion of life, "are not of the Father, but of the world," and of you.

A wise father warns his children not to love things which quickly vanish away. This wisdom is the crowning glory of the supreme Maker of all things, and it is well-suited to everyone who is righteous.

Having applied the teaching to the spiritual ages, the apostle adds an exhortation. "Do not love the world." He says this as if to children, for children always tremble with joy before what seems pleasant. Then he states the reason why no one should love the world, nor the things that are in the world.

Because everything in the world, the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world.

It was still, up to that time, accounted as being in Adam, with its own vicious nature, easily indulging concupiscence after whatever it had seen to be "attractive to the sight," and looking back at the lower things, and checking its itching with fig-leaves.

But what are those things that are in the world? They are the lust of the flesh that are fulfilled by the lust stirred up by the flesh. For the eyes, which hold the foremost place among the senses, encompass everything else as well.

Of actual sins there is one beginning, a twofold root, a threefold fuel, and a sevenfold head or capital sin. There is one beginning, namely pride; a twofold root, namely fear wrongly humbling and love wrongly inflaming; a threefold fuel, according to the three things that are in the world, namely the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of l…

And the world and its desires is coming to an end: but he who does God's pleasure is living for ever.

That we are not to obey our own will, but the will of God. In the Gospel according to John: "I came not down from heaven to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." Of this same matter, according to Matthew: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt." Also in the daily prayer: "Thy will be done, as in he…

In discussing with the Jews, Christ explained: "This is the will of the Father, that you should believe in the one whom he has sent." The one who keeps his commandments will gain eternal life.

We have already said that by "the world" the apostle means wicked people, just as the Lord said to His disciples: "you are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 15:19, 17:16). And the father of this world, that is, of worldly sensuality and disorder, is the devil.

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you were given word that the Antichrist would come, so now a number of Antichrists have come to you; and by this we are certain that it is the last hour.

The Gospel, therefore, knew no other son of man but Him who was of Mary, who also suffered; and no Christ who flew away from Jesus before the passion; but Him who was born it knew as Jesus Christ the Son of God, and that this same suffered and rose again, as John, the disciple of the Lord, verifies, saying: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,…

Why is the lamb offered up in the evening and not during the day? The reason is plain enough, for our Lord and Savior suffered his passion at the close of the ages, which is why John called it the last hour.

"The last time." It is easier to explain it thus. Since the catholic epistle is directed to every person, and the end of life is not the same for all, and one's own death is unknown to anyone, the apostle fittingly reminds each one of his death, so that each may feel that the last time of his life is approaching, and may be ceaselessly sober, and so that in this way all Christi…

They went out from us but they were not of us; if they had been of us they would still be with us: but they went out from us so that it might be made clear that they were not of us.

"They went out from us; but they were not of us"-neither the apostate angels, nor men falling away;-"but that they may be manifested that they are not of us." With sufficient clearness he distinguishes the class of the elect and that of the lost, and that which remaining in faith "has an unction from the Holy One," which comes through faith. He that abideth not in faith.

"They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out, that it might be revealed that they were not all of us." "They went out from us." However, John adds this, having laid down or started nothing for the explanation of the speech: I say, as if John had asked himself: And where do these "antichrists" (…

Having mentioned the antichrists, he adds where they came from, and says: they are from us. He adds this without at all hindering the clarity of the discourse. It is as if he asked himself: where are these antichrists from? And answered: they are from us.

And you have the Spirit from the Holy One and you all have knowledge.

They therefore who lie deny the Lord, and rob Him, not giving back to Him the deposit which they have received. For they received from Him a spirit free from falsehood. If they give him back this spirit untruthful, they pollute the commandment of the Lord, and become robbers.

"But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things." Having said this, lest it seem to him that he alone attributes knowledge of these things and thereby becomes arrogant against the faithful, as if he alone knew them, he adds: "But you have an anointing." As if to say: But why do I tell you these things as if you were ignorant?

So that after the apostle had said the foregoing, no one would think that he ascribes the knowledge of this to himself alone and therefore boasts of it before the other believers, he fittingly adds: "and you have an anointing." He speaks as if to say: but why do I discuss this with you, as though you did not know it? No, you yourselves know this.

I have not sent you this letter because you have no knowledge of what is true, but because you have knowledge, and because that which is false has nothing in common with that which is true.

Who is false but he who says that Jesus is not the Christ? He is the Antichrist who has no belief in the Father or the Son.

"A liar" and "an antichrist, who denies that Jesus is the Christ." For Jesus, Saviour and Redeemer, is also Christ the King.

And how are they proved to be antichrists? By lying. "And who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?" Let us ask the heretics: where do you find a heretic that denies that Jesus is the Christ? See now, my beloved, a great mystery. Mark what the Lord God may have inspired us withal, and what I would fain work into your minds.

Who is the liar, if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He had foretold that every lie is not from the truth, but since there are many kinds of lies that are not at all similar, now he sets forth the lie of denial of Christ as singular because this is such a heinous and abominable lie that in comparison to it, other lies either seem small or nonexistent.

He who has no belief in the Son has not the Father: he who makes clear his belief in the Son has the Father.

"He who denies the Son," by ignoring Him, "has not the Father, nor does he know Him." But he who knows the Son and the Father, knows according to knowledge, and when the Lord shall be manifested at His second advent, shall have confidence and not be confounded. Which confusion is heavy punishment.

You cannot know the Father if you deny the Son, because no one comes to the Father except through him.

Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either, etc. Here he seeks the confession of the heart, the voice, and the work, as Paul sought when he said: And no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit; which is openly to say: No one can, unless by the grace of the Holy Spirit granted, serve the Lord Christ with perfect profession and action.

But as for you, keep in your hearts the things which were made clear to you from the first. If you keep these things in your hearts you will be kept in the Father and the Son.

And this is the hope which he gave you, even eternal life.

Remember then, my brethren, that Christ hath promised us eternal life: "This," saith he, "is the promise which He hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written to you concerning them which seduce you." Let none seduce you unto death: desire the promise of eternal life. What can the world promise?

"And this is the promise that he himself made to us, eternal life." "And this is the promise." For the conjunction και, that is, "and", must be taken causally for "indeed". But what is the promise? It is that which the Lord says to the Father: "That as I am in you and you are in me, so they may be one in us." (Jn. 17:21) And again: "That they may have eternal life.

And this is the promise which He Himself promised us, eternal life. As if you were asking for a reward, and you were saying: "Behold me, I keep what I have heard from the beginning, I obey; I endure dangers, labors, temptations, for maintaining this. What will be the fruit, what the reward?

I am writing these things to you about those whose purpose is that you may be turned out of the true way.

"These things have I written unto you concerning them which seduce you; that ye may know that ye have an unction, and the unction which we have received from Him may abide in you." In the unction we have the sacramental sign of a thing unseen, the virtue itself is invisible; the invisible unction is the Holy Ghost; the invisible unction is that charity, which, in whomsoever it…

I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. And as for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you. And you do not need anyone to teach you, but as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, just as it has taught you, remain in him.

Having finished the speech conducted above, the apostle adds concerning those who deceive them with heresies that have appeared in great number. Then, in order to remove grief from them, he again repeats: "and the anointing which you received from Him." By anointing, as already said, is understood the Holy Spirit.

As for you, the Spirit which he gave you is still in you, and you have no need of any teacher; but as his Spirit gives you teaching about all things, and is true and not false, so keep your hearts in him, through the teaching which he has given you.

And now, my children, keep your hearts in him; so that at his revelation, we may have no fear or shame before him at his coming.

"Even as it hath taught you, abide ye in the same. And now, little children, abide ye in Him, that when He shall be manifested, we may have boldness in His sight, that we be not put to shame by Him at His coming." Ye see, brethren: we believe on Jesus whom we have not seen: they announced Him, that saw, that handled, that heard the word out of His own mouth; and that they might…

Having the Holy Spirit as your teacher of godly knowledge, do not go after deceiving spirits, but think in the way that he has taught you, so that at his appearing in glory we may stand with confidence before him.

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears, etc. Whoever remains in the Lord amidst the persecutions of the unbelievers, amidst the mockeries of carnal neighbors, has confidence in his coming, knowing that the patience of the poor will not perish at the end.

If you have knowledge that he is upright, it is clear to you that everyone who does righteousness is his offspring.

I John2