1 John 3

1 John 3:11

The apostle discourses of the necessity and importance of brotherly love, as a distinguishing mark and characteristic of the children of God. 1 John III. 11, to the end.

1 JOHN III. 11.

I MENTIONED the want of brotherly love, as an argument of not belonging to God ; and a little consideration may persuade you, that it is indeed so. For this, as you know, is the message which you heard of us the apostles and ministers of Christ, from the beginning of our appearance among you, as our Lord had frequently in person inculcated it, and almost with his dying breath, that we should love one

another ; And that we should not be as Cain, [who] was most apparently of the wicked one, and barbarously slew his own innocent and pious brother. And for what cause did he slay him ? truly for this, because his own deeds were evil, and those of his brother righteous ; in consequence of which he was disapproved, and his brother approved by God ; and this excited not his repentance, but his envy and hatred, which at length settled into the most rancorous

JOHN III. 11. FOR this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him ? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

who loveth not his brother, abideth in death.

malice, and produced that horrible effect. And as there is a great deal of the same malignant temper remaining in the world, and there are many, in that sense, though not by natural descent, of the seed of Cain, wonder not, my brethren, if, under this influence, the world hate you. But we, on the other hand, know that we are passed over from the boundaries and territories of death, to those of life,ᵃ because we unfeignedly love the brethren; as they are the children of God as well as ourselves, and the members of one body with us. He that loveth not [his] brother, can have no good principle, but necessarily abideth in spiritual death, and must for ever continue in that miserable state, if the frame and temper of his mind be not entirely changed.

And this you may easily apprehend, if you consider, that every one who hateth his brother, is a murderer; and were it not for the restraint of human laws, that private malice which is harboured in his thoughts would produce, as it did in the instance of Cain, actual murder. And ye assuredly know, that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him, nor can any person of that detestable character enter into the celestial kingdom, the region of perfect love. Jesus Christ, who reigns in that blessed world, has given us various and numberless proofs of an unparalleled charity; and it is in this, above all the other instances of it, that we know by experience the greatness of his love, as he hath laid down his life for us:ᵇ and we in imitation of such an example ought to be ready to lay down [our] lives or the brethren,ᶜ when the good of his church

ᵃ Passed over from death to life] This is said even of the best of men; which implies by a strong consequence, that they are, as it were, born in the land and territories of death; or that the gospel finds them in such a condition, as to be liable to condemnation and destruction, to the execution of a capital sentence. And it seems to me, that such oblique expressions speak such truths as these, in a manner peculiarly convincing and affecting.

ᵇ We know his love, as he hath laid down his life for us.] This text, as it stands in our version, has generally been mentioned

as equivalent to Acts xx. 28, in which, as he who laid down his life for us, is God, as well as man, God is said to have done that which the man united to him did. But it is not to be denied, that many copies, which I here follow, read only avls instead of Ors: hereby we perceive his love. And there are many places, where the relative evidently refers to a remote antecedent. Compare Heb. vii. 2. noteᵃ.

ᶜ Lay down our lives for the brethren] That is, when the life and happiness of man are concerned, we ought to be willing

Therefore they s’ou d not ove in word, ut

or of any number of our fellow Christians requires it. And if we ought to be willing to die for the good of others, how much more to relieve them in any of those necessities, which require us only to impart to them a little of our substance? Whosoever therefore hath the good things of the present world, and when he seeth his brother in necessity, shutteth up his bowels from him; so that he will not impart any thing out of his own abundance for his relief; how du elleth the love of God in him, or with what face can he presume to call himself a Christian?

My little children, let me speak freely to you on this head, and let us not love, merely in word, or in tongue, nor content ourselves with any external and complimental expressions of regard; but let our affections prove the sincerity of our professions, and shew that we love in deed and in truth. And in this we know, that we are of the truth, and that we are real Christians; and in the consciousness of this shall assure our hearts before him, when we draw nigh in the exercises of devotion. For if our own heart condemn us of any evil which we secretly indulge, while we preserve our characters in the sight of men unsullied, we may well be thrown into terror and anxiety; knowing that God is infinitely greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things without exception; so as continually to view numberless follies, which we never observed, or have entirely forgotten, and numberless aggravations attending each, which it was impossible for us fully and distinctly to conceive. But, beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, but we have the testimony of our consciences before him, as to the sincerity of our repentance and faith, and the integrity of our general walk and conversation, [then] have we that confidence and freedom of speech before God, in our addresses to him, which nothing else

to sacrifice our own. If one only were to be rescued on such terms, the argument could in a great measure fail, unless that one were of so great importance, that in relying for him we died for many: and the

heathens themselves saw the obligation to submit to death in such a case, though they were unacquainted with that noble motive to which the apostle here refers. Compare Cicero de officio, lib. i. cap. iii. 34

We should love one another.

could give us, and which it is impossible we should have, while we know that we deal deceitfully in any instance, either with him or our fellow creatures. And we know, that whatever we ask, we shall receive of him, if subservient to our truest good, because we are conscious of a prevailing care to keep his commandments, and to do the things which we have reason to apprehend are pleasing in his sight; which he, as the righteous God, will be pleased with, when proceeding from a sincere principle of faith in Christ, and attended with those humble regards to him, which the imperfections of our own obedience, in its best estate, will require. And this is his great command, That we should believe in the name of his dear Son Jesus Christ, and endeavour to grow more in that blessed principle of faith in him; and that we should unfeignedly and cordially love one another, as he hath so strongly and affectionately charged us to do. And this is the true way to have that communion with God, to which I expressed, in the beginning of my epistle, such a desire to introduce you: for he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he, that is, God, abideth in that man: and in this we farther know, that he abideth in us by such an intimate union, even from the spirit which he hath given us, and which is the token and effect of his habitation in us; producing in our souls by his gracious operation, the image of God, and forming us to an intimacy with, and nearness to him.

IMPROVEMENT.

O THAT the Divine Spirit which God hath given to dwell in verse believers, and by which he himself resides in them, may teach us more effectually this great lesson of love, which is so agreeable to the purposes for which he was conferred! Let us abhor the temper of Cain, as much as we abhor the actions it produced, and dread the doom they incurred. As for that hatred of the world, which, in a steady adherence to our duty may probably fall to our lot, let it by no means surprise or discourage us. It is surely enough to support our spirits under the malice and outrage of a wicked world, that if we are steady and consistent Christians, we may know, that we are passed from death to life. O blessed transition! O the adorable riches of Divine grace to

VOL. . 38

Reflections on the obligations to Christian love.

which it is owing! May the ardour of our love to our brethren v. render this happy change more and more apparent; and may — this Christian benevolence be so ardent in our hearts, as to make verse us willing, when certain duty requires it, even to lay down our 16 lives for them: having been ourselves distinguished with the like token of the love of our Divine Master, who spared not his own life for us; and O, what are even thousands of our lives in comparison of his! And shall we then, while our brethren in 17 the Lord are in necessity, be tenacious of our substance? When we are surrounded with plenty, shall we be unwilling to impart a little of our abundance for their relief, or content ourselves with 18 the charity of words, which cost us nothing, while we withhold the things that are needful for them? How will such shameful, detestable hypocrisy disgrace all our pretensions to the love of God: but let us treat all hypocrisy, either towards God or man, with detestation and abhorrence. Let us love, not only in word and in profession, but in deed and in truth, and rather choose that our actions should exceed our engagements, than disappoint in any instance the expectations we have raised. 19 Of what infinite importance is it to have confidence towards God in all our addresses to his heavenly Majesty! And if we desire this to be the case, let us reverence our own consciences; avoiding every thing which would cause our hearts to condemn us, in 20,21 the presence of him who is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things. And while we rejoice in this, that they do not condemn us, let us be very careful that we examine them thoroughly, that we be not imposed on by a false answer, as it is to be feared many, through a superficial inquiry, are, whose expectations are the most sanguine, and whose pretensions are the loudest. 22 Let us remember this great summary of Christian duty, that we believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we keep his commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. An obedience, springing from such a faith, a faith, verified by such an obedience, will give us a comfortable hope, that our prayers shall be accepted of God now, and our persons accepted hereafter to eternal life. Amen.