The passage
      v1-2. John has just written about God's free forgiveness in Christ, but of course, in writing about free forgiveness, he is not encouraging free sin. Yet, if we do sin, God's mercy extends to us in Jesus Christ. Jesus bore our punishment and personally intercedes on our behalf. Therefore, through Jesus we have fellowship with God.
      v3. John goes on to give a second test for the purpose of confirming a person's full standing in Christ. The first test had to do with an awareness of sin and of a believer's willingness to confess their sins, 1:5-2:2. John now outlines the test of obedience. An evidence of our full standing with God in Christ, is found in a desire to put God's commands into practice. A believer does not sit easily with sin. Although it is true that virtually all our motivations are compromised, if not corrupt, we do not sit easily with this fact and strive to rise above it. It is this very struggle that serves as an evidence of our full standing in Christ.
      v4. Those believers who claim an intimate knowledge of the divine, but then ignore his commands, show by their behavior that they do not really know the truth. Their knowledge is flawed.
      v5. On the other hand, those believers who give weight to the revealed will of God and seek to apply it in their daily life, imperfect as that application always is, express a love toward God that is really complete. It is a love that expresses, in a practical way, the true meaning of knowing God. It is this loving behavior toward God, this practical concern for his will, that evidences a person's union with the divine. It is the test of obedience and serves to assure us of our standing in Christ.
      v6. John now underlines his main point. A believer who claims "I abide in Christ" will strive to live like Christ. It is just not possible for a person to claim to be a follower of Christ, but then hold the opinion that they don't need to live like Christ.

Law and grace
      Our passage for study always causes heartfelt problems. The first two verses on forgiveness are not a problem, but the idea that our abiding in Christ is necessarily linked to living as he lived, causes us no end of problems.
      "B grade" movies don't usually have any decent lines, but in the Henderson Monster there was at least one good line: "our most noble motivations will not tolerate close inspection." How true! If then our corruption is so complete, how can we ever claim to abide in Christ?
      Of course, the problem rests with the way this passage is commonly interpreted. John is actually encouraging his readers, who like us, know only too well that living with Christ and living like Christ, go hand in hand. He is warning his readers of those who claim a spiritual status with Christ that frees them from any obligation to live like Christ. As far as John is concerned, such an opinion is stupid. The true believer is a person who struggles at obedience, falls flat on their face, picks themselves up, dusts themselves off, and gets into it again.
      It's probably worthwhile if we take a moment to remind ourselves of the fundamentals of our faith.

1. How do I gain right standing (righteousness) in the sight of God?
      We gain right standing in the sight of God by relying on his mercy. Jesus claimed that right standing in the sight of God was a matter of mercy/forgiveness. The Pharisee in the Temple might have kept the requirements of the law, but it was the sinner who asked for forgiveness and who went home justified in the sight of God.

2. Given that I have right standing in the sight of God, how do I continue in the Christian life such that my life reflects something of the image of Jesus? ie. How does sanctification proceed?
      Faith in Christ is the means by which we shape Christ-likeness in our lives. We are to proceed in the Christian life by the same means we began. We begin to realize the perfection we possess in Christ by looking to the indwelling Spirit to renew us and transform us into his own glorious image. Sanctification, as with justification, is a matter of grace through faith alone.

3. What place then, does the law have in the Christian life?
      The law, both Old Testament regulations and New Testament ideals, serves as God's guidelines for right living and should always be given an important place in the Christian life. We will always fall short of God's law of love, but we must not willfully disregard it.

Overview of the passage
      The test of sin, 1:5-2:2. Against the sectarians who seem to have little regard for sin, John makes the point that sin is a constant in the Christian life, and that forgiveness is God's constant in Christ.
        i] God is light, and to walk in the light (live in fellowship with God and one another) it is necessary to be cleansed from sin by the blood of Christ. 1:5-7.
        ii] Although sin will constantly blot our Christian walk, we are assured that confession gains forgiveness and thus, our continued fellowship with God. 1:8-10.
        iii] This grace of forgiveness comes through the atoning work of Christ. 2:1-2.
      The test of obedience, 2:3-6. Against the sectarians, who seem to have little regard for moral behavior, John makes the point that obedience is a constant in the Christian life and that it assures us of our fellowship with Christ. Given the context, it is quite clear that the "obedience" John speaks of is not the obedience of perfect behavior, but the inward desire and imperfect application of a Christ-like life. Put in a negative way, a believer is very aware of their sin and strives to overcome it.

        It is important to note that John's correlation between knowing God and keeping his commands is directed at the sectarians. It is made to expose their error, not to force the members of John's congregation to reassess the level of their obedience. John's point is simple, it is wrong to think that personal righteousness doesn't matter.
      This passage has the potential to be read as if John is demanding of us nothing short of perfect obedience, such that our standing in Christ is left open to question and thus, our assurance undermined. The fact is, our obedience will always be compromised, but the compromise can never be regarded lightly. For John, it is a believer's concern for personal righteousness that evidences their standing in Christ, not their perfect obedience.

Greek notes

v1
      teknia (on) "dear children" - little children. An affectionate note.
      tauta "this" - these things. His observations regarding our state of sin, Christ's sacrifice on our behalf and the place of confession in forgiveness, 1:5-10, or possible the whole letter.
      iJna + subj. "so that [you will not sin]" - in order that. It is always possible to argue that the way of forgiveness is cheep grace, but John's purpose in outlining this way is not to promote sin but "to keep you from committing any sin", Barclay.
      ean + subj. "if ..." - Introducing a conditional clause 3rd. class, where the condition stated in the protasis is assumed a probability in the apodosis. "If you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and he will speak to the Father for us", CEV.
      aJmarthte (aJmartanw) aor. subj. "does sin" - sins. Aorist tense indicating an act of sinning, not the state of sin.
      ecomen 1st. pl. "we have" - Note the inclusive move from "you" to "we".
      paraklhton (oV) "one who speaks [to the Father] in our defense" - helper, comforter, intercessor, advocate. The sense is a little obscure, but given the context, "advocate" is best, as NIV. Note that Jesus is identified as the "paraclete" which may well carry over to the gospel where the Holy Spirit is identified as the paraclete.
      dikaion adj. "the Righteous One" - righteous, just. "The one being righteous" obviously has the right to speak for us; "we have in Jesus Christ one who is acceptable to God and will plead our cause with the Father", REB. Possibly with the sense that we can always depend on "Jesus Christ the just", Moffatt.

v2
      iJlasmoV (oV) "the atoning sacrifice [for our sins] - The actual meaning of this word has prompted much debate. "Propitiate", in the terms of "turning aside / placating the wrath of God", with respect of our sins, by means of the sacrifice of Christ, is favored by some commentators. "Expiate", in the terms of "making amends for our sin", or "removing the defilement of sin", or "forgiving sin", again by means of Christ's sacrifice, is favored by most commentators.
      oJlou adj. "whole [world]" - An intensive adjective serving to make the point that the atonement covers the sins of all mankind. Naturally, there is debate as to whether this is a potential covering, or an actual covering of sin. Does Christ's death serve as a sacrifice for all sin, or only for the sin of those who seek the remission of their sins?

v3
      kai en toutw/ "-" - and in/by this ..... The sentence structure is best reformed to express John's point that there is a correlation between a person's relationship with God and their behavior. If wanting to press the idea that John is giving his congregation a series of tests to assure them of their full standing in Christ against the sectarians, then "here is a test by which we can make sure that we know him: do we keep his commands?", NEB.
      ginwskomen (ginwskw) "we know" - [and this is how] we can be sure, know, recognize [that]. Of discerning or recognizing truth and when used of God, becoming one with as a person becomes one with their wife/husband in "knowing" them. An important word reflecting the gnostic heresy of salvation/enlightenment through knowledge, quite apart from moral behavior, sin and the need for redemption.
      thrwmen (threw) subj. "we obey" - we keep, observe, complete, guard, confirm, agree to, .... As noted above, "obey", "keep", are very uncompromising words and often leaves the reader confused, given that we never obey - "even our most noble motivations cannot tolorate close inspection." The sense is more like, "do we agree with and try to live out God's instructions?"
      taV entolaV (h) "commands" - orders. "God's instructions."

v4
      oJti "-" Introducing direct speech, "I know him", obviously the words of the sectarians who claim their standing before God in their knowledge of him, irrespective of their behavior.
      mh thrwn (threw) pres. part. "does not keep" - not keeping. The present tense emphasizing a "continued keeping." Concessive participle, conceding a point, "although/though not keeping the commandments."
      hJ alhqeia (a) "the truth" - "The word is deliberately chosen by the writer to describe a genuineness which is neither philosophical nor abstract, but rather practical and concrete", Smalley. By treating God's commands lightly, a person indicates that their knowledge of God is not true, but false.
      en toutw/ "in him" - Either "in him" or "in that."

v5
      oJV d an "but whoever" - John widens the point he is making so as to include everyone.
      ton logon (oV) "[his] word" - Not just "orders", but his "word", his "revealed will." "His" probably means "God's word", but "Christ's word" is not an impossible sense. So, the sense here means "teaching", "doctrine". ie, The Old Testament law handed down to us and fine tuned by Christ.
      hJ agaph tou qeou "the love of God" - The genitive, "of God", is either: i] subjective, "God's love for humanity"; ii] objective, "humanity's love for God"; iii] qualitative, "God's particular kind of love", Schnackenburg. Objective seems to fit the context best. "In him love to God is really complete", Moffatt.
      teteleiwtai (teleiow) perf. pas. "has reached perfection" - has been perfected, completed, fulfilled. "In practice, the more a person learns to obey God's laws, the more truly and fully do they express their love for him", Phillips.
      en toutw/ "this is how" - in/by this [we know]. Most likely pointing back to v5a, although the NIV assumes it is looking forward. A believer's striving to obey serves to confirm their standing in Christ. "This is the proof that we are in God", RJB.
      en autw/ "in him" - in him. "This is how we can be sure that we exist (abide, v6) in him (God or Christ?)", Smaley