The Meaning of 1 John 2:9 Explained

1 John 2:9

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

YLT: he who is saying, in the light he is, and his brother is hating, in the darkness he is till now;

Darby: He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in the darkness until now.

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does 1 John 2:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse contains a concrete example of what John had been talking about. It is another claim to intimate fellowship with God that behavior shows is spurious ( 1 John 1:6; 1 John 1:8; 1 John 1:10; 1 John 2:4; 1 John 2:6). Hatred of other Christians is a sure sign that one is not walking with God in close fellowship.
"Hate is the absence of the deeds of love.... Love unexpressed is not love at all. Love has no neutral capabilities. When it is absent, hate is present." [1]
Obviously genuine Christians have hated other Christians. It is naive to claim, as some expositors have, that the one hating must be an unbeliever. Moreover John regarded the hater and the one hated as brothers. In this letter the community of Christians is in view, so John meant a "brother" Christian rather than an unsaved neighbor. [2]
"If the Bible taught that feelings of hatred were a sure sign of an unsaved condition, then virtually no one in the whole church would be saved! But the Bible does not teach this." [3]
However it is likely that John was speaking of hatred in a comparative sense, as Jesus sometimes did ( Matthew 6:24; Matthew 24:10; Luke 14:26; Luke 16:13). Hyperbolically, to fail to show love is to demonstrate hate.

Context Summary

1 John 2:1-11 - Keeping His Commandment Of Love
It is clearly possible to be kept from known and presumptuous sin. We shall be tempted, for that is an inevitable experience of life in this world; but we may be perfectly kept by the indwelling Spirit. Yet if we should be overtaken by some sudden gust of temptation, let us not despair; our Advocate ever makes intercession for us. The evidence that we have a saving knowledge of our Savior is obtained, not by the memory of a rapturous experience, but because we are conscious of doing, for His sake, things which we should otherwise evade. Let us continue to do such things, because by the path of patient obedience we shall enter into the Paradise of perfect, love. The outer walk is the best evidence to ourselves and others that there is an abiding union between us and Jesus. Light involves love; and love, light. Love and you are in light. Indulge hatred or ill-will and you begin to grope in darkness. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 John 2

1  He comforts them against the sins of infirmity
3  Rightly to know God is to keep his commandments;
9  to love our brothers;
15  and not to love the world
18  We must beware of antichrists;
20  from whose deceits the godly are safe, preserved by perseverance in faith, and holiness of life

Greek Commentary for 1 John 2:9

And hateth his brother [και τον αδελπον αυτου μισων]
Sharp contrast between the love just described and hate. The only way to walk in the light (1 John 1:7) is to have fellowship with God who is light (1 John 1:3, 1 John 1:5). So the claim to be in the light is nullified by hating a brother. [source]
Even until now [εως αρτι]
Up till this moment. In spite of the increasing light and his own boast he is in the dark. [source]
Hateth [μισῶν]
The sharp issue is maintained here as in Christ's words, “He that is not with me is against me” (Luke 11:23). Men fall into two classes, those who are in fellowship with God, and therefore walk in light and love, and those who are not in fellowship with God, and therefore walk in darkness and hatred. “A direct opposition,” says Bengel; where love is not, there is hatred. “The heart is not empty.” See John 3:20; John 7:7; John 15:18sqq.; John 17:14. The word hate is opposed both to the love of natural affection ( φιλεῖν ), and to the more discriminating sentiment - love founded on a just estimate ( ἀγαπᾶν ). For the former see John 12:25; John 15:18, John 15:19; compare Luke 14:26. For the latter, 1 John 3:14, 1 John 3:15; 1 John 4:20, Matthew 5:43; Matthew 6:24; Ephesians 5:28, Ephesians 5:29. “In the former case, hatred, which may become a moral duty, involves the subjection of an instinct. In the latter case it expresses a general determination of character” (Westcott). [source]
His brother [τὸν ἀδελφόν]
His fellow-Christian. The singular, brother, is characteristic of this Epistle. See 1 John 2:10, 1 John 2:11; 1 John 3:10, 1 John 3:15, 1 John 3:17; 1 John 4:20, 1 John 4:21; 1 John 5:16. Christians are called in the New Testament, Christians (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16), mainly by those outside of the Christian circle. Disciples, applied to all followers of Christ (John 2:11; John 6:61) and strictly to the twelve (John 13:5sqq.). In Acts 19:1, to those who had received only John's baptism. Not found in John's Epistles nor in Revelation. Brethren. The first title given to the body of believers after the Ascension (Acts 1:15, where the true reading is ἀδελφῶν brethrenfor μαθητῶν disciples). See Acts 9:30; Acts 10:23; Acts 11:29; 1 Thessalonians 4:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 John 3:14; 3 John 1:5, 3 John 1:10; John 21:23. Peter has ἡ ἀδελφότης thebrotherhood (1 Peter 2:17; 1 Peter 5:9). The believers. Under three forms: The believers ( οἱ πιστοί ; Acts 10:45; 1 Timothy 4:12); they that believe ( οἱ πιστεύοντες ; 1 Peter 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:7; Ephesians 1:19); they that believed ( οἱ πιστεύσαντες ; Acts 2:44; Acts 4:32; Hebrews 4:3). The saints ( οἱ ἅγιοι ); characteristic of Paul and Revelation. Four times in the Acts (Acts 9:13, Acts 9:32, Acts 9:41; Acts 26:10), and once in Jude (Judges 1:3). Also Hebrews 6:10; Hebrews 13:24. In Paul, 1 Corinthians 6:1; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Ephesians 1:1, Ephesians 1:15, etc. In Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3, Revelation 8:4; Revelation 11:18, etc.|Until now ( ἕως ἄρτι )|Though the light has been increasing, and though he may claim that he has been in the light from the first. The phrase occurs in John 2:10; John 5:17; John 16:24; and is used by Paul, 1 Corinthians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 8:7; 1 Corinthians 15:6.| [source]
Until now [ἕως ἄρτι]
Though the light has been increasing, and though he may claim that he has been in the light from the first. The phrase occurs in John 2:10; John 5:17; John 16:24; and is used by Paul, 1 Corinthians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 8:7; 1 Corinthians 15:6. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 John 2:9

John 12:45 Abide in darkness []
The phrase occurs only here. Compare 1 John 2:9, 1 John 2:11; also John 8:12; John 12:35. [source]
John 3:19 And this is the judgment [αυτη δε εστιν η κρισις]
A thoroughly Johannine phrase for sequence of thought (John 15:12; John 17:3; 1 John 1:5; 1 John 5:11, 1 John 5:14; 3 John 1:6). It is more precisely the process of judging The light is come Second perfect active indicative of το σκοτος — erchomai a permanent result as already explained in the Prologue concerning the Incarnation (John 1:4, John 1:5, John 1:9, John 1:11). Jesus is the Light of the world. Loved darkness Job (Job 24:13) spoke of men rebelling against the light. Here πονηρα — to skotos common word for moral and spiritual darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5), though Πονηρος — hē skotia in John 1:5. “Darkness” is common in John as a metaphor for the state of sinners (John 8:12; John 12:35, John 12:46; 1 John 1:6; 1 John 2:8, 1 John 2:9, 1 John 2:11). Jesus himself is the only moral and spiritual light of the world (John 8:12) as he dared claim to his enemies. The pathos of it all is that men fall in love with the darkness of sin and rebel against the light like denizens of the underworld, “for their works were evil In the end the god of this world blinds men‘s eyes so that they do not see the light (2 Corinthians 4:4). The fish in the Mammoth Cave have no longer eyes, but only sockets where eyes used to be. The evil one has a powerful grip on the world (1 John 5:19). [source]
Romans 10:1 Brethren []
See on 1 John 2:9. An expression of affectionate interest and indicating emotion. [source]
Galatians 5:22 Love [ἀγάπη]
Comp. love of the Spirit, Romans 15:30. In Class. φιλεῖν is the most general designation of love, denoting an inner inclination to persons or things, and standing opposed to μισεῖν or ἐχθαίρειν tohate. It occasionally acquires from the context a sensual flavor, as Hom. Od. xviii. 325; Hdt. iv. 176, thus running into the sense of ἐρᾶν which denotes sensual love. It is love to persons and things growing out of intercourse and amenities or attractive qualities. Στέργειν (not in N.T., lxx, Sirach 27:17) expresses a deep, quiet, appropriating, natural love, as distinguished from that which is called out by circumstances. Unlike φιλεῖν , it has a distinct moral significance, and is not applied to base inclinations opposed to a genuine manly nature. It is the word for love to parents, wife, children, king or country, as one's own. Aristotle (Nic. ix. 7,3) speaks of poets as loving ( στέργοντες ) their own poems as their children. See also Eurip. Med. 87. Ἁγαπᾶν is to love out of an intelligent estimate of the object of love. It answers to Lat. diligere, or Germ. schatzen to prize. It is not passionate and sensual as ἐρᾶν . It is not, like φιλεῖν , attachment to a person independently of his quality and created by close intercourse. It is less sentiment than consideration. While φιλεῖν contemplates the person, ἀγαπᾶν contemplates the attributes and character, and gives an account of its inclination. Ἁγαπᾶν is really the weaker expression for love, as that term is conventionally used. It is judicial rather than affectionate. Even in classical usage, however, the distinction between ἀγαπᾶν and φιλεῖν is often very subtle, and well-nigh impossible to express. In N.T. ἐπιθυμαῖν todesire or lust is used instead of ἐρᾶν . In lxx ἀγαπᾶν is far more common than φιλεῖν . Φιλεῖν occurs only 16 times in the sense of love, and 16 times in the sense of kiss; while ἀγαπᾶν is found nearly 300 times. It is used with a wide range, of the love of parent for child, of man for God, of God for man, of love to one's neighbor and to the stranger, of husband for wife, of love for God's house, and for mercy and truth; but also of the love of Samson for Delilah, of Hosea for his adulterous wife, of Amnon's love for Tamar, of Solomon's love for strange women, of loving a woman for her beauty. Also of loving vanity, unrighteousness, devouring words, cursing, death, silver. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
The noun ἀγάπη , oClass., was apparently created by the lxx, although it is found there only 19 times. It first comes into habitual use in Christian writings. In N.T. it is, practically, the only noun for love, although compound nouns expressing peculiar phases of love, as brotherly love, love of money, love of children, etc., are formed with φίλος , as φιλαδελφία, φιλαργυρία, φιλανθρωπία . Both verbs, φιλεῖν and ἀγαπᾶν occur, but ἀγαπᾶν more frequently. The attempt to carry out consistently the classical distinction between these two must be abandoned. Both are used of the love of parents and children, of the love of God for Christ, of Christ for men, of God for men, of men for Christ and of men for men. The love of man for God and of husband for wife, only ἀγαπᾶν . The distinction is rather between ἀγαπᾶν and ἐπιθυμεῖν than between ἀγαπᾶν and φιλεῖν . Love, in this passage, is that fruit of the Spirit which dominates all the others. See Galatians 5:13, Galatians 5:14. Comp. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 John 2:5, 1 John 2:9-11; 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:14-16; 1 John 4:7-11, 1 John 4:16-21; 1 John 5:1-3. [source]

1 John 3:14 We love the brethren [ἀγαπῶμεν του,ς ἀδελφούς]
The only occurrence of the phrase. Elsewhere, love one another, or love his brother. See on 1 John 2:9. [source]
1 John 2:8 The darkness [ἡ σκοτία]
See on John 1:5. God is light; and whatever is not in fellowship with God is therefore darkness. In all cases where the word is not used of physical darkness, it means moral insensibility to the divine light; moral blindness or obtuseness. Compare John 8:12; John 12:35, John 12:46; 1 John 2:9, 1 John 2:11. [source]
1 John 2:10 Abideth [μένει]
See on 1 John 2:6. Compare 1 John 2:9, is in. [source]
1 John 2:11 Blinded [ετυπλωσεν]
First aorist active indicative of τυπλοω — tuphloō the very verb and form used in 2 Corinthians 4:4 of the god of this age to keep men from beholding the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. The first part of the verse repeats 1 John 2:9, but adds this vivid touch of the blinding power of darkness. In the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky the fish in Echo River have eye-sockets, but no eyes. [source]
1 John 2:29 Is begotten [γεγεννηται]
Perfect passive indicative of γενναω — gennaō stands begotten, the second birth (regeneration) of John 3:3-8.Of him (εχ αυτου — ex autou). Plainly “of God” in 1 John 2:9 and so apparently here in spite of δικαιος — dikaios referring to Christ. Doing righteousness is proof of the new birth. [source]
1 John 2:29 Of him [εχ αυτου]
Plainly “of God” in 1 John 2:9 and so apparently here in spite of δικαιος — dikaios referring to Christ. Doing righteousness is proof of the new birth. [source]
1 John 3:10 Doeth not righteousness [ο μη ποιων δικαιοσυνην]
Habit (linear present participle) again of not doing righteousness, as in 1 John 3:7 of doing it. Cf. ποιει — poiei and μη ποιων — mē poiōn (doing and not doing) in Matthew 7:24, Matthew 7:26.Neither (και — kai). Literally, “and,” but with the ellipsis of ουκ εστιν εκ του τεου — ouk estin ek tou theou (is not of God). The addition here of this one item about not loving (μη αγαπων — mē agapōn) one‘s brother is like Paul‘s summary in Romans 13:9, a striking illustration of the general principle just laid down and in accord with 1 John 2:9-11. [source]
1 John 3:10 Neither [και]
Literally, “and,” but with the ellipsis of ουκ εστιν εκ του τεου — ouk estin ek tou theou (is not of God). The addition here of this one item about not loving (μη αγαπων — mē agapōn) one‘s brother is like Paul‘s summary in Romans 13:9, a striking illustration of the general principle just laid down and in accord with 1 John 2:9-11. [source]
1 John 3:14 We have passed [μεταβεβηκαμεν]
Perfect active indicative of μεταβαινω — metabainō old compound to pass over from one place to another (John 7:3), to migrate, out of death into life. We have already done it while here on earth.Because (οτι — hoti). Proof of this transition, not the ground of it.We love the brethren Just this phrase (plural) here alone, but see 1 John 2:9 for the singular.He that loveth not (ο μη αγαπων — ho mē agapōn). “The not loving man,” general picture and picture of spiritual death. [source]
1 John 3:14 We love the brethren [αγαπωμεν τους αδελπους]
Just this phrase (plural) here alone, but see 1 John 2:9 for the singular.He that loveth not (ο μη αγαπων — ho mē agapōn). “The not loving man,” general picture and picture of spiritual death. [source]
1 John 4:7 Of God [εκ του τεου]
Even human love comes from God, “a reflection of something in the Divine nature itself” (Brooke). John repeats the old commandment of 1 John 2:7. Persistence in loving (present tense αγαπωμεν — agapōmen indicative and αγαπων — agapōn participle) is proof that one “has been begotten of God” (εκ του τεου γεγεννηται — ek tou theou gegennētai as in 1 John 2:29) and is acquainted with God. Otherwise mere claim to loving God accompanied by hating one‘s brother is a lie (1 John 2:9-11). [source]
1 John 4:20 I love God [Αγαπω τον τεον]
Quoting an imaginary disputant as in 1 John 2:4.And hateth (και μισει — kai misei). Continuation of the same condition with εαν — ean and the present active subjunctive, “and keep on hating.” See 1 John 2:9; 1 John 3:15 for use of μισεω — miseō (hate) with αδελπος — adelphos (brother). A liar (πσευστης — pseustēs). Blunt and to the point as in 1 John 1:10; 1 John 2:4.That loveth not “The one who does not keep on loving” (present active negative articular participle).Hath seen (εωρακεν — heōraken). Perfect active indicative of οραω — horaō the form in John 1:18 used of seeing God.Cannot love “Is not able to go on loving,” with which compare 1 John 2:9, ου δυναται αμαρτανειν — ou dunatai hamartanein (is not able to go on sinning). The best MSS. do not have πως — pōs (how) here. [source]
1 John 4:20 And hateth [και μισει]
Continuation of the same condition with εαν — ean and the present active subjunctive, “and keep on hating.” See 1 John 2:9; 1 John 3:15 for use of μισεω — miseō (hate) with αδελπος — adelphos (brother). A liar Blunt and to the point as in 1 John 1:10; 1 John 2:4. [source]
1 John 4:20 That loveth not [ο μη αγαπων]
“The one who does not keep on loving” (present active negative articular participle).Hath seen (εωρακεν — heōraken). Perfect active indicative of οραω — horaō the form in John 1:18 used of seeing God.Cannot love “Is not able to go on loving,” with which compare 1 John 2:9, ου δυναται αμαρτανειν — ou dunatai hamartanein (is not able to go on sinning). The best MSS. do not have πως — pōs (how) here. [source]
1 John 4:20 Cannot love [ου δυναται αγαπαιν]
“Is not able to go on loving,” with which compare 1 John 2:9, ου δυναται αμαρτανειν — ou dunatai hamartanein (is not able to go on sinning). The best MSS. do not have πως — pōs (how) here. [source]
3 John 1:3 Brethren came [ἐρχομένων ἀδελφῶν]
Lit., coming. The present participle denotes coming from time to time, and not coming on a single occasion, which would require the aorist. On brethren, see on 1 John 2:9. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 John 2:9 mean?

The [one] claiming in the light to be and the brother of him hating the darkness is even until now
λέγων ἐν τῷ φωτὶ εἶναι καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ μισῶν τῇ σκοτίᾳ ἐστὶν ἕως ἄρτι

  The  [one] 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
λέγων  claiming 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
φωτὶ  light 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: φῶς  
Sense: light.
εἶναι  to  be 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἀδελφὸν  brother 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀδελφός  
Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
μισῶν  hating 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: μισέω  
Sense: to hate, pursue with hatred, detest.
σκοτίᾳ  darkness 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: σκοτία  
Sense: darkness.
ἕως  even  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἕως  
Sense: till, until.
ἄρτι  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἄρτι  
Sense: just now, this moment.