1 John 2:7 7Beloved, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you had from the beginning. The old command is the word that you have heard.
John addresses the readers as Beloved, one of his many terms of endearment that connect him and his readers in close fellowship, which was one of his goals in writing this letter (1:3). The word also prepares the readers for the next significant topic in the letter. John reminds his community of something they should have known and lived out. The problem, many times, is not ignorance but unwillingness or even disobedience. Two types of commands need to be distinguished. New (kainxēn) could refer to time or condition. Old (palaia) could refer to something from the past or something that needs to be replaced. John is not replacing an old commandment with a new one. It is the same command that God gave from the beginning of time and restated throughout history through various ways, including direct and indirect actions and through special messengers. Jesus embodied this command and taught it to his disciples.
John has not yet fully stated this command, but it was implied in verse 5 with the word “love.” Whatever this command is, it will reflect Jesus (verse 6). Jesus gave his disciples the clear command several times to love one another (John 13:34; 15:12). John has faithfully preached this command to his readers, and they should have known it and lived it out. However, human nature leads us to forgetfulness because we can be easily deceived by the darkness. We must be reminded on a regular basis (the force of the present tense verbs in this letter) to keep Jesus’ commands and follow in his footsteps. The revelation Jesus brought was both new because it included the promise of victory and power through the Holy Spirit, and old because it was the same as what is revealed in the Old Testament.