The verse in question, 1 John 2:11, states “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” This verse comes in the midst of a larger passage where the apostle John is discussing what it means to walk in the light versus walking in darkness. So what does John mean when he says that someone who hates his brother “walks in darkness”? Here are some key points:
1. Darkness Represents Sin and Separation from God
Throughout 1 John, the concepts of “light” and “darkness” are used metaphorically. Light represents righteousness, truth, and closeness to God. Darkness, on the other hand, represents sin, falsehood, and separation from God. So when John speaks of someone “walking in darkness” he means that they are living in sin and apart from God. The “darkness has blinded his eyes” – in other words, sin deceives people and keeps them from recognizing and following God’s truth.
2. Hatred is Equated with Walking in Darkness
Specifically, John equates hatred of one’s brother with walking in spiritual darkness. The word “brother” here means a fellow believer in Christ. So hating a fellow Christian is a sign that someone does not truly know God or walk in His light. As 1 John 4:20 states: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” Hatred stems from spiritual darkness and blindness to God’s truth and love.
3. Darkness Causes Someone to be Lost and Confused
John says that someone who hates “does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” When we walk in darkness, we lose our moral and spiritual compass. We become confused, stumbling through life without direction. That is the blindness that hatred causes. A hate-filled heart distorts our view of others and cripples our ability to truly follow Jesus Christ.
4. Love Should Characterize True Believers
The larger context of 1 John makes it clear that love – not hatred – should characterize Christians. “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still. He who loves his brother abides in the light” (1 John 2:9-10). John is very adamant that hatred among believers is completely unacceptable. Christians are called to walk in love as imitators of Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2).
5. Walking in Love Keeps Us Connected to God
Loving others is a sign that we ourselves abide in God, who is love (1 John 4:16). It keeps us living in the light and truth of Jesus Christ. As 1 John 2:10 states, “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” Love prevents us from stumbling into the darkness of hatred, bitterness, and sin.
6. Hatred Harms Our Relationship with God
Ultimately, John warns that hatred of fellow believers severs our connection to God. 1 John 2:9 bluntly states, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.” Hatred is incompatible with truly knowing and loving God. It cuts us off from the light and life that come from abiding in His truth and love.
7. We Must Examine Our Hearts for Any Unloving Attitudes
This passage serves as an important reminder to examine our hearts and repent of any unloving attitudes. Do we harbor any resentment or bitterness against fellow Christians? Ask God to reveal any darkness dwelling within, so it can be brought into His light. Any hatred needs to be replaced with Christ-like love and forgiveness.
8. Jesus Christ is the Model for Loving Others
The example of Jesus shows us what it means to walk in love. While hanging on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). This undeserved love is the model for how we must love our fellow believers, even when it’s difficult. Only through His help can we walk in light instead of darkness.
In summary, this verse teaches that hatred is incompatible with walking in the light of God. Harbor hatred, and we will stumble into the darkness of bitterness, confusion, and separation from God. But when we follow Jesus’ example of loving others – even our enemies – we will remain in fellowship with God, who is light and love.
9. Additional Bible Verses about Hatred as Darkness
Here are some additional Bible verses that speak of hatred in terms of darkness:
– Proverbs 10:12 – “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:2 – “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
– Ephesians 4:31 – “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
– 1 John 3:15 – “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
– 1 John 4:20 – “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
10. Walking in Love Fulfills the Greatest Commands
When we walk without hatred, but rather in lovingkindness towards others, we fulfill the greatest commandments:
– Matthew 22:36-40 – “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
– Mark 12:28-31 – “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
11. We Must Receive God’s Love to Truly Love Others
We cannot manufacture love for others out of our own limited human capacity. True, Christ-like love comes only as we receive God’s unlimited love poured into our hearts:
– Romans 5:5 – “…God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
– 1 John 4:19 – “We love because he first loved us.”
As we walk closely with God, saturated in His Word and Spirit, His love can flow through us to others – even those who are unloveable or hostile towards us. This kind of agape love is only possible through Christ’s power at work within us.
12. Walking in Love Shows We Are Children of Light
When we walk without hatred, but in lovingkindness, we show ourselves to be true children of the light:
– Ephesians 5:1, 8 – “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children…for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:5 – “For you are all children of light, children of the day.”
– 1 John 2:10 – “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light…”
As children of light, we should reflect the loving character of our heavenly Father. Our lives marked by unconditional love show that we belong to Him.
13. We Must Choose Light and Love Every Day
Though Christ has saved us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), we must continually choose to walk in the light of His love:
– Luke 9:23 – “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
– Galatians 5:16 – “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
– Ephesians 4:1 – “…walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…”
– Ephesians 5:2 – “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”
– Ephesians 5:8 – “Walk as children of light.”
– Ephesians 5:15 – “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise…”
We must continually choose love over hatred, light over darkness. As we walk closely with Jesus, He will help us live out His lovingkindness each day.
14. We Have a Responsibility to Lead Others from Darkness to Light
God does not intend for us to walk in His love alone. We have a responsibility to lead others out of darkness into His marvelous light:
– Matthew 5:14-16 – “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
– Acts 26:18 – “…to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
– Galatians 6:1 – “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:14 – “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak…”
As we walk in love, we should gently help lead others from darkness into the light of Christ.
15. Salvation Rescues Us from Darkness into Light
When we turn from sin and receive Christ as Savior and Lord, we pass from spiritual darkness into His glorious light:
– Ephesians 5:8 – “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
– Colossians 1:13 – “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”
– 1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
What an incredible truth – that the God of light has rescued us from darkness! As children of light, we should walk in love, purity and wisdom, reflecting His holy character.
16. Heaven Means Dwelling in Eternal Light with No Darkness
The promise of heaven gives us strength and motivation to keep walking in the light:
– Revelation 21:23 – “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
– Revelation 22:5 – “And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
– 1 John 1:7 – “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
What a joy to know that one day we will dwell in God’s presence, where there is no night, no darkness, no sin – only the unfiltered light of eternal glory and love!
17. We Must Shun Darkness and Embrace the Light Now
Knowing what awaits, we should actively shun spiritual darkness and embrace the light:
– Romans 13:12 – “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
– 2 Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
– Ephesians 5:11 – “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 – “But you are not in darkness…for you are all children of light…So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”
Let us actively turn from hatred, immorality, greed and spiritual darkness. Instead, through the power of Christ, let us embrace love, purity, selflessness and the light.
18. We Must Test All Teachings to See If They Are Light or Darkness
As we stay rooted in God’s Word, we can gain discernment to test all teachings and doctrines to see if they align with the light of truth:
– 1 John 4:1 – “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:21 – “But test everything; hold fast what is good.”
– Acts 17:11 – “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
– Isaiah 8:20 – “To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”
Only by steeping ourselves in the true light of God’s inspired Word can we avoid being deceived by false teachings disseminating darkness. We must remain vigilant!
19. Walking in Light Requires Repentance from Dark Deeds
If we have walked in darkness, we must repent and turn wholeheartedly to the light. We must forsake wickedness and conform our lives to God’s truth.
– Isaiah 55:7 – “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
– Ezekiel 18:27-28 – “Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.”
– Ephesians 5:11 – “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
– 1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen race … that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Let us leave no corner of our life untouched by the light of Christ, confessing fully and turning from darkness.
20. We Must Not Give Up Even If Darkness Increases
Though spiritual darkness seems to increase in these last days, we must not lose heart or give up. God remains sovereign over the darkness. We must keep shining His light until He returns:
– Isaiah 60:2 – “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.”
– Matthew 24:12 – “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”
– 2 Corinthians 4:1-2 – “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”
– 2 Corinthians 4:6 – “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
No matter how deep the darkness, God’s light will ultimately triumph. We must faithfully reflect His light until He returns to banish all darkness forever!
