1 John 2:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"And by this we know Him," John says, "if we keep His commandments." Which commandments? "Whoever says that he has known Him, but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

But you still ask, "Which commandments?" "But whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God has been perfected." Let us see whether love is here called the commandment. We asked what these commandments are, and he said: "Whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God has been perfected."

Consult the Gospel, and see whether this is not His commandment: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another" (Jn 13:34). By this we know that we are in Him, if we are perfected in Him. Here he speaks of perfection in love.

Christians who live lawlessly do not know God, though they confess His holy name, pray to Him, go to church, partake of the Mysteries of Christ, and do other such things. Concerning this the apostle wrote: "By this we know that we have known Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says, 'I have known Him,' but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 Jn 2:3-4).

All such people abide in death, as those who have withdrawn from life. They live in body, but are dead in soul. They live before the world, but before God they have died.

Failure to keep God's commandments is a clear sign that a person does not have true knowledge of God, even if he says of himself that he knows God. He is a liar, and the truth is not in him. He speaks untruth when he claims to have known God. He has not made the truth, or the understanding of divine teaching, his own.

If he had made divine teaching his own, he could not fail to nourish love for God within himself. Nor could he fail to keep God's commandments. It is natural for sunlight to warm and nourish plant life. So it is natural for true knowledge of God to nourish love for God and zeal for keeping His commandments.

If you lead a sinful life, satisfy the passions, and at the same time think that you love the Lord Jesus Christ, then His intimate disciple, who reclined on His breast at the Mystical Supper, exposes you in self-deception.

He says, "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected."

One oral confession of Christ's merits, without heartfelt acceptance of the Gospel teaching and without the activity required by the law of faith, will never bring us to the light of true knowledge of God.

Whoever dares to say of himself that he has known God, yet does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Christ does not live in him, and his portion will remain with the unbelievers.

"Whoever says," and so forth: failure to keep Christ's commandments is an unquestionable sign that a person does not have true knowledge of Christ. This remains so even if he not only says, but is certain, that he has knowledge of Christ.

Such a person either errs or knowingly speaks falsehood. In every case he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. He either consciously speaks untruth, or he is mistaken, having failed to make the true understanding of Christ's teaching his own.

In the first half of the second chapter, the foundational principles of all Christianity are drawn from what precedes (1 Jn 2:1-14).

First, sinlessness is possible for Christians with Jesus Christ as Advocate. "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 Jn 2:2). That is, He is propitiation not only for the sins of us who live at the present time, but also for those who lived before His coming into the world. He is likewise propitiation for those who will live until His second coming to earth and will make His boundless merits their own.

Setting true knowledge of Jesus Christ against the supposed knowledge in which the false teachers, the Gnostics, boasted, the Apostle John, like the Apostle Peter, points to the close connection between intellectual knowledge and its practical application in deeds.

In this he follows the Savior's teaching to judge people by their fruits. He also remembers His farewell commandment: "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (Jn 14:15).

According to the apostle's manner of speech, after considering a subject from one side, he then considers it from the opposite side. Having said that Christians know Christ, the apostle then, in the spirit of his fiery zeal, calls deceivers those who boast of knowing Christianity but do not show this knowledge in deed.