1 John 2:3-11 - God's Commands

³ And here is how we can be assured that we know Jesus [i.e., that we are saved]: [It is] by obeying what He commands us. ⁴ The person who says, "I have come to know Him," but does not obey what He commands, is lying [by such a profession], and the truth [about the matter] is not in his heart. ⁵ But the person who obeys what His teaching requires, truly in this person love for God has been made complete. This is [another way] to be sure that we are in [fellowship with] Him: ⁶ The person who claims he is continuing to live in [fellowship with] Jesus should also live the way He did.

⁷ My dearly loved ones, I am not writing to you about a new commandment, but about an old one. [It is the one] you had learned about from the beginning. [Note: This is the commandment to love one another (3:1: II John 5) which Jesus had taught his disciples during His earthly ministry. See Mark 12:31]. This old commandment is the word [of God] which you heard [previously]. ⁸ Yet, I am [also] writing to you about a new commandment [Note: This commandment was to love one another as Jesus loved them. See John 13:34]; its truth is [being demonstrated] by Christ [perfectly] and [also] by you people [in a lesser measure], because the darkness [of sin] is passing away, and the real light [of righteousness] is already shining [in people's lives].

⁹ The person who claims to be living in [harmony with] the light [i.e., by obeying God's truth], and [yet] hates his brother is still [living] in the darkness [of sin]. ¹⁰ [However], the person who loves his brother continues to live in [harmony with] the light [of God's truth], and such a person is not the cause of others stumbling [over his example]. ¹¹ But the person who hates his brother is in the darkness [of sin] and he lives in [harmony with] that darkness, and he does not know where he is heading, because the darkness [of sin] has blinded his eyes [to his spiritual condition].