In 1John 2:7 John addressed his readers as beloved (agapetos; G27), according to most ancient manuscripts, but the KJV uses the Greek word for brethren (adelphos; G80).[1] Beloved (G27) was used by the Father to describe his own love for Jesus at both his baptism (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22) and his transfiguration (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7 and Luke 9:35). Paul also mentions that believers in Jesus were beloved (G27) of God (Romans 1:7), and Paul often used the term to address his readers (cp. Romans 12:9; 1Corinthians 4:14; etc.). John used the same Greek word as his customary address of his brethren and readers.[2] The Greek word is often used to introduce a new thought or to conclude one, according to The Pulpit Commentary. I believe John had already begun a new thought in 1John 2:4, which continues in 1John 2:9, and he makes that known, here, in 1John 2:7-8. His argument is the same as that addressed in chapter one, but it is from a new or different perspective. There, John’s argument was offered from the perspective that God is Light (1John 1:5), but, here, in chapter 2 I believe John argues from the perspective that God is Love (cp. 1John 4:8).
Reading verse-7 “I write no new commandment unto you…” and verse-8 “a new commandment I write unto you…” at first it may seem that John contradicts himself, but this isn’t the case, and his readers would have clearly understood what he meant. It is only we who assume at first reading that the two verses appear contradictory. First of all, when John mentions that he wasn’t writing a new commandment, he wasn’t speaking of new in the sense of age. Rather, the Greek word is used in the sense of freshness. So, John wasn’t writing a fresh commandment to the beloved.
The Greek word is used in Matthew 9:17in the sense of freshness, but the word is also used with two other Greek words, which do have the connotation of being new or old in the context of age. There, Jesus told his listeners that one simply wouldn’t put the new (neos; G3501) wine into old (palaios; G3820) wineskins. Instead, one puts the new (G3501) wine into new (kainos; G2537) wineskins. The idea is that new (G3501) wine is active, and its gases would burst the old wineskins, because old wineskins are hard and wouldn’t be able to expand with the new wine. Therefore, new or fresh wineskins were needed, because they were soft and wouldn’t burst as the new wine’s fermenting gas expanded.
So, Matthew 9:17 gives us the sense of John’s mention of new (G2537) in 1John 2:7. He wasn’t speaking of a new or fresh (G2537) commandment that his beloved readers never heard before. Rather, they were very familiar with it, because it was preached to them from the beginning. Nevertheless, this same commandment was, indeed, new or fresh (G2537) in the time of Jesus’ ministry (John 13:34), and it was new or fresh (G2537) in the believers, because “the darkness is passing away, and the true light (Christ) now shines” (1John 2:8; cp. Colossians 1:27; 1John 4:4).
The KJV says: “the darkness is past (G3855).” The Greek verb is in the middle voice, which isn’t used in the English language, so the middle voice can be difficult to translate. In the middle voice the subject is acting upon itself in some manner.[3] In the case of 1John 2:8 the subject is darkness, and it acts upon itself in that it passes away in the presence of light. In other words it isn’t permanent. Darkness fades away as the light approaches.
The same use of the verb (G3855) is found in 1John 2:17, which says: “the world passes away (G3855), and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.” In his Gospel John also contrasted darkness with light. For example, in John 1:5 he wrote that the light shone in the darkness, but darkness couldn’t master or overpower it. Rather, it was overpowered by the light. Jesus claimed he was the Light of the world, meaning he has overcome the world (John 16:33), and those who followed him wouldn’t walk in darkness (John 8:12; cp. 1John 4:4). So, darkness is put for a spiritual condition, not a physical matter. Therefore, John is speaking of destroying something spiritual rather than the physical world in 1John 2:17!
Moreover, John seems to put darkness for the world in his Gospel: “light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light…” (John 3:19). Also, “I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness… (John 8:12) and “I am come a light into the world, so that no one who believes in me may remain in darkness (John 12:46). In his epistle John warns the beloved: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1John 2:15). So, in the context of John’s writings, to love the world (1John 2:15) is to love darkness (John 3:19).
____________________________________________________
[1] The Textus Receptus has “brothers” (MSS K, L, NKJV), but 1 John uses this only in 1Jn_3:13. “Beloved” is supported by the uncial Greek manuscripts (א, A, B, C, P, and the Vulgate, Peshitta, Coptic, and Armenian versions (see Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary On the Greek New Testament, p. 708), as referenced by Dr. Bob Utley in his: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series.
[2] See 1John 2:7 the verse at hand, plus 1John 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11; 3John 1:2, 5, 11).
[3] See Spiros Zodhiates Th.D.; The Complete Word Study New Testament; grammatical notations #50.
Smoodock's Blog 