Introduction:

1. Last week we talked about the imperative of walking in the light.

2. This evening we ponder the imperative of walking in love.

3. When love is biblically defined, we see these are two sides of one coin.

Discussion:

I. By This We Know…

A. John gives two important measuring rods for Christians:

1. If we keep His commandments, we know Him (vs. 3-5).

2. If we walk as He walked, we are in Him (vs. 6; John 13:15; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Peter 2:21ff)

B. This may seem on the surface disconnected from the walk of love, but John dovetails love and obedience (vs. 5; 5:1-3; John 14:15; 21-24).

II. The Imperative of Love: Old and New

A. Here John moves the abstract of walking as Jesus walked into the practical, concrete outworking of love in interpersonal relationships.

B. Love, an old commandment: (vs. 7)

1. The crux of the OT was love for God and man (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18).

2. Jesus dubbed these the greatest commandments (Matthew 22:34-40).

3. This is practical, not merely emotional (Deuteronomy 6:17-18; Leviticus 19:9-18).

4. This is still true in the NT (vs. 5; 3:17-18; 5:1-3; John 14:15, 21-24).

C. Love, a new commandment: (vv. 8-11)

1. No doubt this reaches back to John 13:34-35.

2. The commandment to love is obviously not new, so what gives?

3. Two keys to grasping this:

a. New: Gr. kainos: can mean new in species or character (Mounce)

b. As: Gr. kathos: just as, in the manner that (Mounce)

4. The new commandment is to love one another in the self-sacrificial way Jesus loves us (John 13; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 1 John 3:16).

D. Hating (esteeming less; Mounce; cf. Luke 14:26) our brethren is walking in darkness, so love is non-negotiable (vv. 9-11).

1. Most commandments in both Testaments pertain to treatment of one another.

2. It is in this way that love for God is fulfilled (cf. Matthew 25:31-46; 1 John 5:1-3).

3. Again, the love and knowledge of God are displayed in moral/ethical conduct, and the two can never be separated.