1 John 4

1 John 4:1

My brethren, let me admonish you not to heed or follow every teacher that pretends to be inspired, (see note [d] Luke ix,) but to make trial of all that shall so pretend, by the rules afforded you both by Moses and Christ; and so much the rather, because as it hath been foretold by Christ, Matt. xxiv, that at this point of time many false teachers should come into the church: so now we find by experience there are many.

1 John 4:2

By this you may know the teacher to be truly divine, if he confess Christ thus born and crucified to be the Messias, (see ver. 15.) For no false prophet will ever teach that, it being not useful to the interest of the false pretenders, or those that consider their own advantages, to follow a crucified Saviour to all kind of purity and self-denial, and taking up the cross after him, suffering persecutions, as now all that follow Christ are sure to do.

1 John 4:3

And the Gnostics that in time of persecution do renounce and forsake Christ, by that appear to be not from God: and these are the antichristian seducers of whom Christ foretold, Matt. xxiv, (see note [b]

¹ have come out, ἐξκληλόθασιν. Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα. ² Jesus Christ which is come in the flesh, Ἰησοῦν ³ Jesus Christ which is come.

1 John 4:4

You, my tender Christians, have your doctrine from God, and have held out against the machinations and persuasions of those false teachers; for the true Christ, which is by his Spirit and his doctrines in you, is greater and more powerful than the false teachers and false Christs which are now abroad in the world, ver. 3.

1 John 4:5

They come not by any commission from God, but from the incitation of their own worldly hearts, to save themselves from persecutions; they are worldlyminded; their affections are placed on worldly pleasures, &c.; and accordingly their doctrine is a doctrine of licentiousness, of secular interests and freedom from persecutions; and worldly-minded men follow them.

1 John 4:6

Our doctrine is the true, pure doctrine of Christ, hath nothing of worldly greatness or secular interests in it, but only of piety and purity, self-denial, contempt of the world; and every pious person hearkeneth to us; and this is a way of discerning true from false prophets: one is all for purity and confession of Christ even in persecutions; the other, for worldly advantages and self-preservation.

1 John 4:7

Again, another evidence of our being from God is charity to our fellow-Christians; for that is most strictly commanded and exemplified to us from God; and no practice renders us so like to God’s example, and so concordant to his precepts, makes us such Gnostics, truly so called, as the sincere exercises of this duty; and therefore that is my next admonition, to be sure ye divide not, hate not, persecute not your brethren.

1 John 4:8

He that is not possessed and thoroughly acquainted with that grace of love, by that appears to be utterly unacquainted with God, to have nothing of God in him, who is made up of love and kindness to mankind.

1 John 4:9

And hath manifested that in a most eminent manner to us, in having sent his only Son into the world to reduce us sinners to an holy and pious life.

1 John 4:10

And in this appears the height of God’s love ⁴ that of antichrist, τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου. already, νῦν ἐστιν ἤδη. ⁵ he cometh, ἔρχεται. ⁶ that, ὅτι. ⁶ and now he is

1 John 4:11

This love of God to us must be answered with our imitating it toward our brethren, doing those acts of charity toward them which God is not capable to receive from us.

1 John 4:12

For God is not in our reach, to be seen or conversed with by us; whereas kindness or love is mostwhat among such. The trial therefore of our love, whether we have any of that divine grace in us or no, and so whether God abide in us, that is, whether those eminent virtues (which are so remarkable in God, as that they are said to be God himself, such as charity, vv. 8. 16.) are abiding in us, and whether the love which is in him toward men be copied out, and imitated, and so perfected by us, (as the sufferings of Christ are said to be perfected in us, when we after his example suffer also,) is this, by examining ourselves, if we are kind and loving to those that are among us, our fellow men and Christians, whom we do see, and who are capable of kindness, and the effects of love from us.

1 John 4:13

This is an evidence indeed by which we know that we adhere to God, are disciples indeed, and as such acknowledged by him, (see ch. iii. 24.) because that temper and affection of love and charity, so illustriously observable in Christ, is observable in some measure in us also.

1 John 4:14

And as an evidence of that, how great soever our hazard be from the enemies of the gospel, yet we continue constantly to preach Christ; and being eyewitnesses of those miracles, &c., which evidence him to be what he pretended, we accordingly preach and testify that Christ is the very Messias sent by God.

1 John 4:15

He that shall venture to be a martyr for Christ, to confess him (ver. 2.) when dangers attend that confession, (see note [b] Rev. ii.) as God is faithful to him, so shall he truly be said to be faithful to God: (see note [c] John xiv.)

1 John 4:16

It is acknowledged by all, that God hath given us a most eminent copy and pattern of love, by us to be transcribed toward him when he calls us to it. God is made up of love, and in that degree that we

1 John 4:17

In this the perfection of that love which is to be found in a Christian (see note [b] ch. i,) consists, that in a time of danger, when we are brought before judges, and may probably lose our lives for confessing of Christ, then we retain courage and cheerfulness, and confess him willingly, that we behave ourselves in this world as Christ did when he was here, that is, lay down our lives in testification of the truth.

[a] boldness in the day—] Παρρησία is bold and public speaking, confession of Christ before men, especially when we have discouragements from doing so, ἄδεια fearlessness, saith Hesychius. So παρρησία περιπατεῖν, John xi. 54, is to walk publicly and fearlessly, which Christ did not, because of their consultation to kill him, ver. 53. So in many other places, particularly Heb. x. 35, where παρρησία ὑμῶν is their constant confession of Christ, to which all that chapter had exhorted them, (and that in despite of persecutions,) explained by ὑπομονή, ver. 36, patience or constancy in suffering, and opposed to ὑποστολή, cowardly withdrawing, ver. 38, 39, (see note [a] on John vii.) And so here being joined with ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως, in the day of judgment, not the final judgment of God, but the day or time when we shall for the name of Christ be brought before any earthly tribunal, to be sentenced even to death itself. And so it is said of Ignatius, in the story of his martyrdom, that he conceived that he could never come ad dilectionem Dei in plenum, “to the full love of God,” neque perfectum ordinem doctrinae obtinere, “nor to the perfection of Christian doctrine,” nisi

1 John 4:18

Now such love as this which was in Christ hath no fear in it; Christ ventured and underwent the utmost, even death itself, for us; did not through fear draw back from any thing which love to man or constancy to the truth of God could prompt him to: and so indeed perfect love banisheth all fear of danger, even of death itself; suffers it not to interpose or keep him from expressing acts of love, makes the lover extremely valiant. For fear, in whomsoever it is, hath pain and anxiety in it, permits him not to do any thing that may bring danger with it, and so is quite contrary to perfection of lovet oward God; makes one man deny Christ, another draw back for fear of danger of confessing him; or else, perhaps, fear brings punishment eternal of body and soul, Matt. x. 28, and never permits any in whom it is to arrive to perfection or reward of love: (see note [b] Rev. ii.)

1 John 4:19

And certainly this love and degree thereof, and hazard run by it, though it be death itself, is but a mere duty of gratitude in us, (see ver. 11,) because Christ hath begun to us, and when we were his enemies, sinners that had never deserved any thing but hatred and vengeance from him, laid down willingly his own life for us.

[e] assure our hearts] What πείθειν καρδίας, to persuade hearts, doth fully import, will appear, first, by the use of the phrase πείσομεν αὐτόν, Matt. xxviii. 14, we will pacify him; and so in proportion it signifies to render our hearts peaceable and tame: secondly, by two other phrases that follow here, first, παρρησίων ἔχειν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, ver. 21, having confidence toward God, to have boldness, to dare appear before God, to be such as dare on good grounds have confidence to pray to him; secondly, λαμβάνειν ἃ αἰτοῦμεν, ver. 22, to have our prayers heard by God, which he that can challenge, and so προσεγγίζειν τῷ Θεῷ, draw near unto God in confidence in prayer, is said τελειοῦσθαι κατὰ συνείδησιν, Heb. ix. 9, to be perfected, or consecrated, according to conscience, viz. by having the conscience purged, to be made such priests as may with boldness draw nigh to God, which is the prerogative of every true Christian that doth that which is pleasing in God’s sight, ver. 22, the worshipper of God which doth his will, John ix. 31.

1 John 4:20

And it is not enough to profess this our love to Christ by appearing to be ready to die for him, or run hazards for the testifying the truth of our faith; for there may be a great deal of hypocrisy in this pro-

¹² In this the love with us is perfected, that we have, ‘Ἐν τούτῳ τετελεῖσται ἡ ἀγάπη μεθ’ ἡμῶν, ἵνα. ¹³ hath not been perfected, οὐ τετελεῖσται. ¹⁴ Or, Let us love him, Ημεῖς ἀγαλῶμεν αὐτόν.

1 John 4:22

And he will certainly hear our prayers, supposing them such as to which his promise of hearing doth pertain, because by obeying him we are qualified to have our prayers heard by him: see James i. 6.

1 John 4:23

And one prime part of that obedience is to continue constant in the profession of Christ, and perform all the duty owing from us to Christ and our brethren, according as he by special precept hath required of us.

1 John 4:24

And he that obeyeth him is really one of those which the Gnostics pretend to be, that is, dwelleth or continueth in Christ, and consequently receiveth all gracious influences from him, as the members from the head, as long as that is united to them: and that we are such, that is, that Christ hath not yet forsaken, but still continues united to us, appeareth by the gracious charitable temper and disposition, ver. 10. 17, which we transcribe from him, ch. iv. 13: see note [e] Luke ix.

CHAP. IV.

BELOVED, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.