Daily Devotions
1 John
"He who says he is in the light..."
Text: 1 John 2:9
A NUMBER OF CLAIMS
The Apostle John wrote to challenge a number of claims made by so-called believers.
1. Claims of knowledge of God 1 John 2:4
2. Claims of abiding in the Lord 1 John 2:6
3. Claims of being in the light 1 John 2:9
“He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother,
is in darkness until now.”
1 John 2:9
THE CLAIM OF BEING IN THE LIGHT
Anyone can claim that he has the light and walking in it. John challenges this claim.
1. “He who says he is in the light”
a) Words are easily spoken.
b) Claims are as easily made.
c) Anybody can claim that he is in the light.
d) How may we verify such a claim?
2. “And hates his brother”
a) The word “brother”:-
i) Should not a brother be loved?
ii) The word “brother” may be a biological brother.
iii) It may also be a reference to a fellow-believer.
b) Can a person who says he is in the light “hate a brother?”
i) This was an observation made by John.
ii) The actions and the claims do not match at all.
3. “Is in darkness until now”
a) The harsh reality is that the claimant is in fact “in darkness”.
b) He has not received the light of the Lord Jesus at all.
c) In reality the individual has been living in darkness until the present moment.
d) Darkness and light do not co-exist.
e) John must have remembered the teachings of the Lord Jesus.
“For everyone practising evil hates the light
and does not come to the light…”
John 3:20