And now I ask you, dear lady — not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning — that we love one another.
John is writing to a woman he calls the elect lady. He turns from his joy over her children to one thing he asks of her, and he is careful to say it is nothing new. Why did the best known instruction in Christianity need repeating at all? And why does John press it as something already old?
Old and Ever New
John says he is not writing a new commandment. Its age and its freshness come from two different facts.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIt is the old and new commandment. It was old because it was manifested in Christ Himself; new because it is just as true in us as in Him. Divine love flows from love, and reproduces itself in all who know the truth, that is, who know Christ.
What "From the Beginning" Means
In John's usage the phrase points to one particular time, and to words spoken then.
The Christian's FriendIn John's usage, "from the beginning" points to the time when Christ was here on earth. So it may be an allusion to His words, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12.) And notice that, as to the spiritual life, this is the only instruction John sends to the elect lady. How much, however, is involved in it! No one could show love to God's people without the divine nature, "for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7). Wherever love shows itself in this way, it is the divine nature at work. So we may say that if believers are to love one another, they must enjoy God's love, and therefore the Spirit must not be grieved. Love for one another is love in communion with the heart of God. As Paul teaches, it is the spring of holiness in walk and conduct. (1 Thess. 3:12-13.)
John repeats the phrase a line later, and not by accident.
William KellyJohn attaches the words "heard from the beginning" with care. They remind everyone, then and now, that the instruction dates from the time when Christ appeared here.
A Request, Not a Rule Imposed
John does not issue orders. He asks. One writer draws attention to the tone of the appeal and to what it rests on.
Leslie M. GrantHe speaks in the language of grace, not of law. He begs her to be consistent with the commandment known from the beginning of Christianity in the world. That commandment is the Lord Jesus' own, so it was not new when John wrote. It is simply that "we love one another." This is true consistency with the divine life planted in every believing heart.
Love Guarded by Truth and Obedience
The letter goes on to warn this woman against welcoming certain teachers. That warning sits right beside the call to love.
J. N. DarbyHere John warns this lady against receiving certain people who did not bring the truth. He had pressed the walk of love very strongly in the first Epistle. He presses it here too. Then he takes these two guards of true love: one is the truth and the other is obedience — just what Christ was when He was in the world. He was love come into the world, the witness and testimony of love. He was the truth, and He was the obedient man.
Kelly then names what love is not.
William KellyBut what is love? It is not independence of each other. It is not agreeing to differ. Such human inventions are not just a departure from the truth; they are in fact morally evil and harmful. "This is love, that we walk according to His commandments." You cannot separate it from Christ; you cannot separate it from obedience.
Why It Is Pressed Here
Deceivers are in view a few lines later. Knowing the right doctrine, on its own, will not keep anyone safe from them.
Hamilton SmithWe can resist false teachers only when we are grounded in truth and love, and walk accordingly... To escape error and refuse deceivers, knowing the truth will not be enough. We must also practise the truth, following the commandment we have received from the Father. The first Epistle tells us what the Father's commandment is: "that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another" (1 John 3:23).
Summary
- Old — the commandment is not a new invention; Christ Himself displayed it while He was here on earth.
- New — it stays new because the same love is now true in believers as it was in Him.
- Given — John does not impose it as law; he begs, appealing to the divine life already planted in the heart.
- Guarded — truth and obedience protect real love, and Christ showed all three together.
- Practised — knowing the truth is not enough; love lived out is what keeps a household safe from deceivers.