Apostle John says he's writing an old commandment not new?
English: Ananias restoring the sight of Saint Paul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment. . . . Again, a new commandment I write unto you. . . .” ( 1 John 2:7-8 ) On the surface, this passage appears to be a real problem. The easily seen focus of the “commandment” is love for the brethren (vv. 9-11). The difficult wording lies in the “old” and the “new” side of the same thought. The “old” sense of the command to love is as eternal as the very nature of God Himself. Whatever love we express in our human nature derives its source from God who IS love ( 1 John 4:16 ). Even “from the beginning” ( 1 John 2:7 ) humanity was charged with the commitment of marital love ( Genesis 2:24 ), which is the earthly example of God’s love for His church ( Ephesians 5:25 ). Then as God codified His “rules” for those who would submit to His authority, God insisted that we were to “love thy neighbour as thyself” ( Leviticus 9