beginning of chapter 2. It will be considered by itself in the next section of the present study. The first false claim is a common one; namely, that a person can have fellowship with God at the same time that his life is characterized by unrighteousness. John expresses it as the claim to have “fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness.” Here, to “walk in the darkness” means to sin habitually, the contrast being, not a sinless life (for John teaches that everyone sins, v. 8), but a progressive
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