This is love, that we should walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
Parallel Translations
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This is love, that we should walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
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And this is the love that we shulde walke after his commaundementes. This commaundement is (that as ye have hearde from the begynninge) ye shuld walke in it.
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And this is that loue, that we should walke after his commandements. This commandement is, that as ye haue heard from the beginning, ye should walke in it.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to 2 John 1:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 John 5:3 For this is loving God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.
- John 15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.
- 1 John 2:24 Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.
- John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
- Galatians 5:13-14 For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- 1 John 2:5 But God’s love has most certainly been perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know that we are in him:
- John 15:14 You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.
- Romans 13:8-9 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- John 14:21 One who has my commandments and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
- 2 John 1:5 Now I beg you, dear lady, not as though I wrote to you a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
- 1 John 5:15 And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 6 And this is love, that we walk after…
6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Ver. 6. As ye have heard] He studiously declines the suspicion of novelty. Τα καινα κενα. {See Trapp on "1Jn 2:7"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain From this particular command he passes to what is…
From this particular command he passes to what is more general, requiring in all things a strict and unanimous adherence to the pure and primitive doctrine of the gospel, which would be the best expression of love to God, and the true centre and bond of love to one another, as 1Jo 5:1,3.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain As if our apostle had said, "By this we…
As if our apostle had said, "By this we shall make it evidently appear that there is the true love of God in us, if we endeavour to frame our lives according to his commandments;" and this, he assures them, was the great commandment, which they heard from the beginning, when the gospel was preached unto them, namely, that they should believe in Christ, and love one another, and constantly persevere in the practice of these duties.
Learn hence, That obedience is the natural effect and necessary product of love, so is it the best evidence, the surest mark and sign of it. This is the love of God; that is, the surest evidence that we love him, if we keep his commandments.
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Learn, 2. That it is not sufficient that we profess love to God and our neighbour, but we must walk in love, and be found in the exercise, yea, in the persevering exercise, of that grace and duty: This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And this is love, that we walk after his…
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments,.... By observing them as a rule of conversation, in so doing love is shown to God; and such may expect the fresh discoveries of the love of God to, them; See Gill on Jo1 5:3;
this is the commandment, that as ye have heard from the beginning,
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ye should walk in it; that is, this is the will of God, that his people should walk in the truth of the Gospel, and abide by it, as they heard and received it at their first conversion, from the mouths of the apostles, or other faithful ministers of the word; a reason for which, is given in Jo2 1:7.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And this is the proof of true love, universal…
And this is the proof of true love, universal obedience built on the love of God. This - Love. Is the great commandment which ye have heard from the beginning - Of our preaching.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. And this is love] That is, our…
Verse 6. And this is love] That is, our love is shown and proved by our walking according to the commandments of God; for love is the principle of obedience.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Jn 1:6-7. And this is love — The principal…
2Jn 1:6-7. And this is love — The principal proof of true love, first to God, and then to his people; that we walk after his commandments — That we be obedient to his will in all things. This love is the great commandment, which ye have heard from the beginning — Of our preaching; that ye should walk in it — Should persevere in love. For many deceivers, &c. — See on 1Jn 4:1 : as if he had said, Carefully keep what you have heard from the beginning; for many seducers are come; who confess not that Jesus Christ is come — Or came, as ερχομενον (considered as the participle of the imperfect) may be rendered; for Jesus Christ was not on earth in the flesh when John wrote this; as the translation in our Bible, is come, imports. He had come in the flesh, but was gone. So that no translation of this clause, which represents Jesus Christ as then present, can be just. The apostle alludes to the rise of those heretics, who affirmed that Christ came only in appearance; and who, of course, denied his priestly, if not also his prophetic and kingly office. This — Every one who does this, who does not acknowledge that Christ came in the flesh; is a deceiver — A seducer from God; and antichrist — An enemy to Christ.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And this is love, that we walk after his…
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments - This is the proper expression or evidence of love to God. See the notes at Joh 14:15, Joh 14:21.
This is the commandment - That is, this is his great and special commandment; the one by which his disciples are to be especially characterized, and by which they are to be distinguished in the world. See the notes at Joh 13:34.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain This is the rule of a Christian and Catholic…
This is the rule of a Christian and Catholic to walk in that faith and worship which he hath received from the beginning, and which we now call according to the Scriptures, the tradition of the apostles. Thus shall the faithful avoid seducers that start up in every age, teaching new doctrines. (Bristow)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain "Love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom 13:10),…
"Love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom 13:10), and the fulfilling of the law is the sure test of love.
This is the commandment--Greek, "The commandment is this," namely, love, in which all God's other commandments are summed up.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. This… love—It is not a mere emotion palpitating…
6. This… love—It is not a mere emotion palpitating in the breast. If genuine the love will be alive. It will shape itself into an outward walk, a walk coinciding with the divine law, or commandment; namely, Christ’s “golden rule” of love.
In it—In love.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. And this is love] Or, And the love…
6. And this is love] Or, And the love is this: the love which I mean consists in this (see on 1Jn_1:5). In 2Jn_1:5 obedience prompts love; here love prompts obedience. This is no vicious logical circle, but a healthy moral connexion, as is stated above on 2Jn_1:4. Love divorced from duty will run riot, and duty divorced from love will starve. See on 1Jn_5:3. The Apostle has no sympathy with a religion of pious emotions: there must be a persevering walk according to God’s commands. In writing to a woman it might be all the more necessary to insist on the fact that love is not a mere matter of feeling.
This is the commandment] Or, as before, The commandment is this, i.e. consists in this. We had a similar transition from plural to singular, ‘commandments’ to ‘commandment’ in 1Jn_3:22-23.
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In these verses (5, 6) S. John seems to be referring to the First Epistle, which she would know.
as ye have heard] Better, as R. V., even as ye heard, referring to the time when they were first instructed in Christian Ethics. See on ‘received’ in 2Jn_1:4. R. V. is also more accurate in placing ‘that’ after, instead of before, ‘even as ye heard’. But A. V. is not wrong, for ‘even as ye heard’ belongs to the apodosis, not to the protasis: still, this is interpretation rather than translation.
ye should walk in it] In brotherly love; not, in the commandment, as the Vulgate implies. S. John speaks of walking in (ἐν) truth, in light, in darkness; but of walking according to (κατά) the commandments. S. Paul speaks both of walking in love (Eph_5:2) and according to love (Rom_14:15). Neither speaks of walking in commandments: and in Luk_1:6 a different verb is used. Moreover the context here is in favour of ‘in it’ meaning in love.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And this is love; i.e., the love which the…
And this is love; i.e., the love which the commandment enjoins consists in this active and unremitting obedience. Just as in the sphere of thought truth must be combined with love (see on verse 3), so in the sphere of emotion love must be combined with obedience. Warm feelings, whether towards God or towards man, are worse than valueless if they are not united, on the one hand with obedience, on the other with truth. This was the elect lady"s danger; in the exuberance of her chanty she was forgetting her obligations to the truth and the commandment.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain This is love, that we walk after His commandments.
2Jn_1:6
This is love, that we walk after His commandments.
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Love, the principle of obedience
I. Love as the principle of obedience.
1. The excellency of this principle. It renders obedience.
(1) Divinely acceptable.
(2) Delightful to ourselves. What are the most pleasing actions you ever performed? was a question once addressed to a man, and who answered, The services I have performed for those whom I love.
(3) Perpetual. Christs people are not detained in His service against their will; they are volunteers, made willing in the day of His power.
(4) Impartial.
(a) In avoiding all sins.
(b) In performing all duties.
2. How is this love produced and maintained? Power may cause a man to be feared; authority, to be reverenced; wealth, to be envied; learning, to be admired; genius, to be praised; but it is only goodness that chains one heart to another. And this is the grand and only expedient that God has devised and revealed to bring back the minds of His alienated creatures to Himself. Keep yourselves in the love of God.
II. Obedience as the fruit of love.
1. It is practical, consisting in nothing less than walking. In Scripture you will observe, that walking never refers to a single action, but always to our conduct at large. Everything else, however valuable in connection with this, will be found vain without it. Even endowments and exertion will not be substitutes for obedience.
2. It is prescribed. Walking shows that religion is not a speculation, a notion, a pretence, for we are not merely to walk, but we are to walk after His commandments--not after the course of this world--not according to the lusts of men--not according to the imagination of our hearts, but to walk after His commandments. (W. Jay.)
Love the great commanding commandment
Love is in the heart, the great commanding commandment, that commands all other duties whatsoever. It is the first wheel that turns the whole soul about. (R. Sibbes.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 6. And this is love, etc. Keeping the commandments…
6. And this is love, etc. Keeping the commandments is the demonstration of love. Compare 1 John 5:3, and John 14:15, 14:23.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.