Welcome to the Hope Bible School verse-by-verse Bible study of 1 John. This is Jeff M Newman. Get a new lesson every other week on Mondays at 12:00 PM Eastern.
In Lesson 33, we are going to study 1 John 2:11.
Let’s read our verse.
1 John 2:11 But whoever hates a fellow believer is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.
Let’s start by focusing on the first part of the verse: But whoever hates a fellow believer is in the darkness and walks in the darkness.
But (1161. de) means on the other hand or in contrast to the previous verse (Lesson 33 - 1 John 2:10) which is about people who love fellow believers and live in the light.
Whoever hates (3588. ho, hé, to) (3404. miseó) means a person who detests, loves less, has ill will towards, esteems less, or renounces one’s choice in favor of another.
A fellow believer (80. adelphos) is a fellow-Christian or follower of Jesus.
Is in the darkness (4653. skotia) means is in spiritual darkness, or blocked from the light of God when faith is lacking. (HELPS- Word-studies).
Walks in the darkness (4043. peripateó) (4653. skotia) means the way a person conducts their life or their day to day behavior while in spiritual darkness.
In other words, when someone detests, esteems less, or has ill will toward another follower of Jesus, they are blocked from the light of God. They are in spiritual darkness due to their lack of faith, and as a result, they are conducting their life in spiritual darkness.
In the previous verse, 1 John 2:10, we learned that if someone loves their fellow Christ follower, they are living in the light.
In this verse, we learn, that if someone hates Christ followers, they are living and walking in the darkness.
They do not have faith in Jesus’ command to love others as He loved them.
Hate is fundamentally incompatible with the Christian faith.
Jesus doesn’t want you to walk in the darkness. He wants you to follow Him and walk in the light.
In John 8:12, we read that Jesus is the light of the world; He says that when you follow Him, you will have the light of life.
John 8:12 Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The opposite of walking in the light is walking in the darkness.
In Proverbs 4:19, we read that the way of the wicked is dark.
Proverbs 4:19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
Now let’s focus on the final part of the verse: They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.
They do not know (1492. eidó) means this person is not aware, perceive, remember, or appreciate.
Where (4225. pou) means somewhere or a certain place.
Going means (5217. hupagó) to withdraw, to go away, to depart, or to die.
Darkness (4653. skotia) means spiritual darkness, or blocked from the light of God when faith is lacking. (HELPS- Word-studies).
Has blinded (5186. tuphloó) means to obscure, having a cloudy perspective, blowing smoke which causes spiritual blindness, or darkening the mind.
Their eyes (3788. ophthalmos) means figuratively the mind’s eye.
In other words, when a person hates or detests a fellow Christian, they are not aware of or perceive where they are going. They are in spiritual darkness, because they lack faith in God. This is giving them a cloudy perspective, darkening their mind’s eye, and causes spiritual blindness.
When a person rejects Jesus’ command to love people, they are following the ways of Satan, who is the father of lies, and they are under the authority of the dominion of darkness.
They have no clear vision of what God wants them to do and the direction God wants them to go.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4, we read that the god of this age, Satan, blinds the minds of unbelievers.
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
In Ephesians 4:18, we read that when someone willfully rejects God, their understanding is darkened. They are alienated from God.
Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.
In Matthew 6:22-23, we read that when you don’t have the light of Christ in your life, you will be full of darkness.
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
In conclusion, there are major consequences to hating fellow believers.
When you hate a fellow believer, you will be blocked from the light of God, living in darkness, and conducting your life in darkness.
You will be completely unaware of where you're going in life and will be wandering aimlessly in the darkness. You will be blinded by the darkness and will not see God.
The key is to look to Jesus, who is the light of the world, and follow His command to love others as He loved you. If you have hatred towards another believer, ask God to forgive you and to remove all bitterness and resentment you have towards them.
Then, do what you need to do to reconcile with them. Ask God to give you the strength to love others and the power of the Holy Spirit to obey His command to love others.
Let's read our verse one more time.
1 John 2:11 But whoever hates a fellow believer is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.
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Thank you and God bless you,
Jeff M Newman
(Photo by Felix Wegerer on Unsplash. Berean Standard Bible.)
Lesson 34 - 1 John 2:11 But whoever hates a fellow believer is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.