Bede — Commentary on Scripture

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. Which commandments he means, he explains subsequently, that is, love.

1 John 2:4

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Whoever says he knows Him but does not keep His commandments, etc. Christ is called the truth: "I am" (He says) "the way, the truth, and the life" (John XIV). Therefore, it is futile for us to boast about knowing Him when we do not keep His commandments. Nor should we consider it a great thing to know one God, since even demons believe, and tremble. But what it truly means to know God, he shows later, saying:

1 John 2:5 · 2 passages

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

By this we know that we are in Him, etc. That is, through excessive love, even to pray for enemies, just as He did, saying, "Father, forgive them" (Luke XXIII). Also, to despise all the favorable aspects of the world with a strong mind, to willingly endure insults and reproaches, just as He said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Luke IX).

But whoever keeps His word, etc. Therefore, truly the one who keeps God's commandments and proves by his love has true knowledge of God. For to know God is to love Him. For whoever does not love Him clearly shows that he does not know how lovable He is. And he has not learned to taste and see how sweet and pleasant the Lord is, who does not strive continuously to please Him through intent devotion.

1 John 2:6

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Let us follow Christ’s footsteps with the entire effort of our minds. And so that we may deserve to come to the gate of his heavenly kingdom, let us seriously consider entering it by that course of action by which he proceeded when he was spending his life on earth.

1 John 2:7

Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

Dearest, I am not writing a new commandment to you, etc. The same love is also an old commandment, for it has been recommended from the beginning, and it is a new commandment because, with the darkness cast out, it infuses the desire for new light. Hence it is rightly added:

1 John 2:8

Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

Which is true in him and in you, etc. Behold here is the new, for darkness pertains to the old man and the light truly to the new man. Finally, the Apostle Paul says: Put off the old man and put on the new one (Eph. IV); and again: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph. V).

1 John 2:9

He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, etc. The Lord has commanded to love enemies; therefore, he who says he is a Christian and hates his brother is still in sins. And he rightly added "still," because all men undoubtedly are born in the darkness of vices, all remain in darkness until they are illuminated by the grace of baptism through Christ. But even the one who approaches the fountain of life with brotherly hatred to be reborn and to the drink of the precious blood to be redeemed, if he considers himself to be enlightened by the Lord, is still in darkness, nor in any way could he shed the shadows of sins who did not care to put on the entrails of charity. Hence it is that Simon, recently drenched by the waters of baptism, heard from him who had the keys of heaven: You have no part or lot in this matter; for I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity (Acts VIII). Because evidently neglecting the fellowship of brotherhood, he desired to buy the gift of the Spirit, by which the unity of the Church is preserved, with money and to have it…

He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, etc. The Lord has commanded to love enemies; therefore, he who says he is a Christian and hates his brother is still in sins. And he rightly added "still," because all men undoubtedly are born in the darkness of vices, all remain in darkness until they are illuminated by the grace of baptism through Christ. But even the one who approaches the fountain of life with brotherly hatred to be reborn and to the drink of the precious blood to be redeemed, if he considers himself to be enlightened by the Lord, is still in darkness, nor in any way could he shed the shadows of sins who did not care to put on the entrails of charity. Hence it is that Simon, recently drenched by the waters of baptism, heard from him who had the keys of heaven: You have no part or lot in this matter; for I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity (Acts VIII). Because evidently neglecting the fellowship of brotherhood, he desired to buy the gift of the Spirit, by which the unity of the Church is preserved, with money and to have it privately.

1 John 2:10

He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

He who loves... and there is no stumbling in him. That is, no offense; for he who loves his brother endures all things for the unity of unity. For much peace is for those who love your name (Psalm CXVIII), that is, charity, and there is no stumbling for them (Ibid.). And Paul says: Bearing with one another in love, striving to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. IV).

1 John 2:11

But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

He who hates his brother is in darkness, etc. For he, ignorant, falls into hell, blind and unaware, withdrawing from the light of Christ who warns and says: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John VIII).

1 John 2:12

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of His name. He glorifies all his hearers, whom he had preceded in Christ, with the name of children, because, having been reborn of water and the Spirit, they had received the remission of sins. And lest you doubt that all faithful can rightly be called the children of preceding fathers, hear the prophet singing of the Church, "All the glory of the king's daughter is within" (Ps. XLIV); likewise to the same, "Instead of your fathers shall be your sons" (Ibid.).

1 John 2:13 · 4 passages

I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

I write to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. He calls fathers not by age, but by greater wisdom and maturity. For venerable old age is not counted by long duration nor by the number of years. Gray hairs, however, are the understanding of a man, and the mature age is an unspotted life (Wis. IV). For it is the role of fathers to remember ancient things, to know them, and to reveal these to the younger. Hence, it is written: "Ask your fathers, and they will tell you" (Deut. XXXII). And thus he rightly calls fathers those who have learned to know Him who is from the beginning, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and to faithfully preach to their hearers.

I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. He commends this and repeats it: Remember that you are fathers. If you forget Him who is from the beginning, you lose the fatherhood.

I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. He calls little children those humble in spirit, who, the more they consent to be humbled under the mighty hand of God, the more sublimely know the mysteries of His eternity, just as the Son says to the same Father: You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to little ones (Luke X).

I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. Youth is a slippery time because of the incentives of the flesh, but fitted for battle due to the vigor of age. Hence, John writes to those youths who have, by the love of God's word, overcome the temptations of carnal delights. He writes also to those who, with greater perfection, despite persecutions inflicted because of the word of God, have bravely scorned all the plots of the wicked enemy.

1 John 2:14

I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, etc. Consider again and again that you are young men, fight so that you may conquer, conquer so that you may be crowned. Be humble, lest you fall in battle.

1 John 2:15 · 2 passages

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Do not love the world, etc. He writes this generally to all the children of the Church, both to those who are fathers through maturity of prudence and doctrine, and to those who are little children through the devotion of humility, and to those who are adolescents or young men because of the conquered trials of temptations. He commands all these alike to use this world only for necessity, but not to love it for excessive desires, as Paul also says: And make no provision for the flesh in its desires (Romans XIII).

If anyone loves the world, etc. Let no one deceive himself. One heart does not accommodate two loves so opposed to each other. Therefore also the Lord says: No one can serve two masters (Matthew VI); and again: You cannot serve God and mammon (Ibid.). For as the love of the Father is the fountain of all and the origin of virtues, so the love of the world is the root and kindling of all vices. Hence follows:

1 John 2:16 · 2 passages

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Which is not from the Father, but from the world. The conflict of vices has not been naturally instilled in us by God the Father and Creator, but it is proven to have happened to us from the love of this world, which we have preferred to the Creator. For God made men upright, and they have sought out many inventions, as Solomon testifies. Hence James also says: "Let no man, when he is tempted, say he is tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one" (James 1). But each one is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own desire.

Since all that is in the world, etc. All that is in the world, he says, refers to all who dwell in the world with their minds, who inhabit the world with love; just as they inhabit heaven who have their conversation in heaven, whose hearts are above, although they walk in the flesh on earth. Therefore, all that is in the world, that is, all lovers of the world, have nothing but the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. By these names of vices, he comprehends all kinds of vices. For the lust of the flesh is all that pertains to bodily pleasure and delights: among which the greatest are food, drink, and sexual intercourse: concerning which Solomon says: The leech has two daughters, saying, "Give, give" (Prov. 30). The lust of the eyes is all curiosity that arises in learning wicked arts, in contemplating obscene or superfluous spectacles, in acquiring temporal goods, in distinguishing and criticizing the vices of others. The pride of life is when someone boasts in honors. In these three only, human greed is tempted. By these, Adam was tempted and defeated. By…

Since all that is in the world, etc. All that is in the world, he says, refers to all who dwell in the world with their minds, who inhabit the world with love; just as they inhabit heaven who have their conversation in heaven, whose hearts are above, although they walk in the flesh on earth. Therefore, all that is in the world, that is, all lovers of the world, have nothing but the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. By these names of vices, he comprehends all kinds of vices. For the lust of the flesh is all that pertains to bodily pleasure and delights: among which the greatest are food, drink, and sexual intercourse: concerning which Solomon says: The leech has two daughters, saying, "Give, give" (Prov. 30). The lust of the eyes is all curiosity that arises in learning wicked arts, in contemplating obscene or superfluous spectacles, in acquiring temporal goods, in distinguishing and criticizing the vices of others. The pride of life is when someone boasts in honors. In these three only, human greed is tempted. By these, Adam was tempted and defeated. By the lust of the flesh, namely, food, when the enemy showed the forbidden fruit of the tree and persuaded him to eat. By the lust of the eyes, when he said: "Knowing good and evil, and your eyes will be opened" (Gen. 3). By the pride of life, when he said: "You will be like gods" (Ibid.). By these, Christ was tempted and overcame. By the lust of the flesh, that is, food, when it is suggested: "Tell these stones to become bread" (Matt. 4). By the lust of the eyes, that is, curiosity, when he is admonished from the pinnacle of the temple to throw himself down, to see if he would be caught by angels. By the pride of life, that is, vain boasting, when all the kingdoms of this earth are shown to him on a high mountain and promised if he would worship.