What is the “new commandment” that John talks about in his epistles?
Orientation
The 'new commandment' can be misunderstood as a fresh moral burden we must perform to prove our salvation.
- It is not a spiritual hurdle or a demand for our effort.
- It is a declaration of what is already true in the believer.
- It centers on believing in Jesus Christ and loving one another.
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (1 John 3:23)
— 1 John 3:23
Clarification
This commandment is not about generating love from our own resources, but recognizing the positional reality created by our union with Christ.
- It is 'true in him and in you' because the darkness is past and the true light shines.
- Loving the brethren is recognizing fellow believers as justified and accepted in Christ.
- It is the outflow of eternal life received through faith, not a prerequisite for it.
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. (1 John 2:8)
— 1 John 2:8
Structure
The new commandment reveals the inseparable link between faith in Christ and love for the brethren as the structure of eternal life.
- Faith in Jesus Christ is the means of receiving justification, regeneration, and the Spirit.
- This faith produces a new identity: transferred from darkness to light, from death to life.
- Loving one another is the concrete recognition of this new identity in ourselves and other believers.
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (1 John 5:11)
— 1 John 5:11
Weight-Bearing Prose
The ’new commandment’ in John’s epistles is a Pauline category of positional truth. It is not a law but a reality established by God in the believer through union with Christ. This union, effected by faith in the Gospel, is the cause of justification and regeneration. The effect is that the believer is no longer in darkness but in light, possessing eternal life now. The love commanded is therefore not a human affection but the recognition of fellow believers as those likewise justified by faith. This is the safeguard against the antichrists John warns of, whose seduction attacks saintly boldness by shifting focus from Christ’s finished work to human performance. Abiding in the original Gospel message—the objective record concerning God’s Son—is what the Spirit uses to produce and restore confidence before God. The chain is divine: faith in Christ establishes union; union makes the commandment ‘true in him and in you’; this truth manifests as love for the brethren, which is simply acknowledging the work of God in them.
Integration
The new commandment is a statement of fact about who you are in Christ, not a task list for who you must become. Your standing is secure because it rests on God’s testimony concerning His Son, which you have believed. The love that flows from this is not a measure of your spiritual performance but a recognition of the life of Christ in you and in your brethren. There is no pressure here, only a settled reality. Your confidence and boldness before God are not products of your effort but fruits of the message abiding in you. Christ is the life, the light, and the love. He is the commandment fulfilled. Rest in what is already true: you are accepted in the Beloved, you have peace with God, you have passed from death to life. This is your eternal portion, assured.