2 John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Love is walking in obedience to God's commandments, continuing in the way and teaching heard from the beginning. It is not mere emotion, feeling, words, or sentiment, but a principle of faithful devotion shown by doing, serving, sacrifice, and godly living. The commandment heard from the beginning is to walk in love and truth and to love one another, and it is not new and did not originate as a new law with Christ. God's law is the law of love, and love does not stand above or replace the law, but finds its active way in keeping all His commands. Keeping His commandments is the test of love and the fruit of the Spirit, and faith does not make the law void but establishes it, so that freedom from sin is freedom from transgressing the law.
Love's Meaning and Context
The elect lady and her children to whom the letter is addressed are a church, not an individual woman and her family.
Love is walking after God's commandments, even Christ's commandments.
It is continuing in the way and teaching heard from the beginning, walking in love and obedience before him in faithful devotion.
Believers are to continue in the commandment they had from the beginning.
Love is not merely emotion, feeling, sentiment, words, or satisfaction at feeling good.
It is a principle expressed through doing, serving, and sacrifice.
It is faithful devotion shown in godly living and obedience to all God's commandments.
Keeping the commandments is the test of love for God, and love, the fruit of the Spirit, is fulfilled through obedience rather than treated as a substitute for obedience.
The commandment heard from the beginning is to walk in love and truth and to love one another.
It is not new, and did not originate as a new law with Christ.
That original commandment is the law given at Sinai: love to God, including keeping the Sabbath holy, and love to others, including honoring parents and respecting life, marriage, property, truth, and what belongs to a neighbor.
The enduring works God works in his people include keeping his commandments.
Doctrine and Faithful Living
God's law is the law of love, and its purpose is love, for love is expressed by walking in God's commandments and continuing in the commandment heard from the beginning. It is not a new law that replaces the commandments, and love does not stand above or replace God's law, because the law is love's active way and obedience is the test of love. Love and obedience belong together, with the verse connecting them so that walking according to the commandments is what love means.
Keeping all God's commands is the test of love for God, and love is practical rather than merely feeling good or satisfied, feeling or words alone. Love is fulfilled through obedience rather than by treating love as a substitute for obedience, and keeping the commandments in godly living is how walking in love is done. That keeping is not a yoke of bondage, but the way those who love God obey all His commands, including the command received from the beginning to love one another. Obedience therefore remains the test, rejecting teaching that would lead people away from obedience.
True love is obedience expressed as walking after God's commandments, and faith does not make the law void but establishes it in a life of keeping the commandments. Righteousness by faith does not abolish God's law but establishes it, so love that claims freedom from the obligation to obey is rebellion and not genuine love. Grace does not permit continuing in sin, and although justification is by faith apart from the law, a life in harmony with God's law is its evidence. Freedom from sin means freedom from transgressing that law, lived out as willing service in harmony with it.
Love needs the direction God's law gives, shown by doing just what God commands, and while love may also lead to other things included in the general principles of Christianity, it never leads to what supersedes or destroys what He has commanded. It is willing service in harmony with God's law, not a claim that excuses disobedience or a demand for freedom to live without responsibility. Love in this sense obeys and does no harm to others.
Love to God is shown by observing the seventh day, which God commanded, placed in honor in the bosom of the moral code among precepts as immutable as Himself, and grounded on divine example and divine command. It cannot be shown by Sunday observance, which God never commanded and rests only on the various and contradictory positions of men.
Walking in this love means continuing in the commandment heard from the beginning to love one another and to walk in the truth, and this is not a new commandment. It does not mean welcoming or supporting those who reject the doctrine, for doing so makes a person a participant in their evil deeds, and it means rejecting teaching that would lead people away from obedience. The commandment remains the rule for conduct in the face of deceivers, kept through humble, consistent, godly conduct even when taking a stand with God's people to walk in His commandments brings strong opposition. Love that claims freedom from obligation to obey or excuses disobedience is rebellion rather than genuine love, while genuine love is willing service in harmony with God's law with freedom from transgressing it as freedom from sin.