1 John 2:11 - Exposition

Note the alternation: 1 John 2:10 is the antithesis of 1 John 2:9 , and 1 John 2:11 of 1 John 2:10 , repeating and enlarging 1 John 2:9 . Note also the climax effected by the gradual increase of predicates: in 1 John 2:9 one, in 1 John 2:10 two, in 1 John 2:11 three. The brother-hater has darkness as his habitual condition and as the atmosphere in which he lives and works; and long ago (aorist) the continual darkness deprived him of the very power of sight, so that he is in ignorance as to the course he is taking. Cf. "They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness" ( Psalms 82:5 ); "The fool walketh in darkness" ( Ecclesiastes 2:14 ). "St. John scouts all the pretences of men to illumination which do not involve the practical acknowledgment of brotherhood. A man may say he is in the light as much as he pleases; but to be in the light implies that he is able to see his brethren, and not to stumble against them" (Maurice).