1 John 3
OGC1 John 3:1-3
CHAPTER VIII
DIVINE SONSHIP TESTED BY PRACTICING RIGHTEOUSNESS
(The First Test. The Second Time)
A.
The Text
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew not him. (2) Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be, We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. (3) And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
B.
Try to Discover
What manner of love has God bestowed upon us?
Why does the world not know the sons of God?
How will seeing Him as He is make us to become like Him?
C.
Paraphrase
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us That children of God we should be called, And such we are! Therefore the world understandeth us not, Because it understood not him. (2) Beloved! now are we children of God; And not yet hath it been made manifest what we shall be, We know that if it should be made manifest Like unto him shall we be, Because we shall see him just as he is. (3) And whosoever hath this hope on him Is purifying himself, just as He is pure.
D.
Translation and Comments
Sonship produced by divine love. 1 John 3:1
(1 John 3:1) See what sort of love the Father has giver in our behalf, that we should be called children of God, and we are. On account of this the world is not knowing us, because it did not know Him.
The opening exclamation here, See what sort of love the Father has given on our behalf is reminiscent of Joh 3:16. There John concludes from Jesus-’ preceding conversation with Nicodemus concerning the new birth; For God loved the world like this, so that He gave His only begotten Son.
Neither of these verses can be taken as a measure of how much God loved. Rather they set forth the manner in which that love was brought to bear on our need. John 3:16 concludes that it was in order that we might not go on perishing but have eternal life. 1 John 3:1 treats this eternal life in terms of divine sonship resulting from the same manifestation of God’s love.
It is not just Calvary, but the entire incarnation experience which brought this love to meet our need and give us the right to become the sons of God. (Cf. John 1:12) The eternal Word of God left the gold-decked streets of Heaven where His praises are sung continually for the stinking disease-ridden streets of a fifth-rate planet. Here he was mocked and betrayed and denied and spit upon by those whose best are not worthy to stoop down and untie His sandals! And He did it that we might be called and indeed become the children of His Father!
How ridiculous it is that the emptying of Himself (Philippians 2:6-8) should become the very reason for His being rejected by those for whom He emptied Himself! But it has ever been so. His contemporary countrymen rejected Him because they could not accept a Galilean carpenter as the Son of God. The gnostic could not accept His humanity without rejecting His deity. And today’s pseudo-intellectual denies His unique Sonship to go in quest of the Jesus of history.
If God’s sense of humor is as great as His love, He must double over with laughter at the stupidity of those who profess themselves to be wise! Looking back on some sixty years as a child of God, John is still astounded at the privilege. The humility of Christ in the incarnation, as well as the awful price paid in the cross to grant this privilege remains beyond human comprehension.
This amazement on the part of the apostle stands out in vivid contrast to the self-asserting assumption by many of our day that all men are the children of God. In the presence of such pious platitudes as the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, it is well to remind ourselves that brotherhood is the result of a common fatherhood, rather than an easy going tolerance. We need also to remember that divine sonship does not rest upon the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)
To be a child of God one must receive Jesus. (John 1:12) This is precisely what the gnostic could not do. His prejudice concerning the incompatibility of spirit and matter made it impossible for him to believe that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
It sounds lofty today to talk about God’s love to all men, and to assume that all men are therefore His sons. However, to remain outside the pale of this love, as it is focused upon our need of redemption in the incarnation, is to fall into the same trap as the gnostic and hence, fail ever to become a child of God!
Present situation and future hope. 1 John 3:2
(1 John 3:2) Beloved now we are children of God, and it is not yet demonstrated what we shall be. We know that as He shall be openly demonstrated we shall get to be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.
One of the weakest areas of understanding in the minds of most modern Christians about eternal life is the failure to realize that it is a present reality. How many times we hear faithful men pray, At last in Heaven save us. The final hope of Heaven is not to be decried, but we gravely err when we assume that salvation and eternal life are something for which we must wait until death puts an end to everything else. We are now the sons of God. The life that vibrated in the being of the Incarnate Word and could not be held by death is ours here. It begins when we are begotten of God through faith (1 John 1:5). It begins to grow toward fruition when we are born again. (John 3:5) We have here and now ceased being mere creatures of God as Creator and have become sons of God as Father.
It is true that this present situation is only the beginning, but it is the beginning. We are now the sons of God. Eternal life has begun for those begotten of God.
. it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. (1 John 3:2) Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. (2 Corinthians 2:9) We are indeed presently His children, but what we shall be in eternity is not yet made known.
The answer to Job’s question, If a man die shall he live again, is ours. Paul’s passage in 1 Corinthians 15:35-ff assures us that in the real world these bodies now limited by corruption and dishonor and weakness shall be raised in incorruption and glory and power. As we have bourne the image of Adam, so shall we bear the image of the risen Christ. As we have experienced the natural, so shall we experience the spiritual. We shall be raised incorruptible or we shall be changed at His coming. But to what? Paul’s statement leaves us with a rather negative understanding as to what we shall not be. But what shall we be?
John, as Paul, had seen the risen Christ, yet neither could tell what He was like. It was enough to know that He was real, that He had conquered death, and that those who remain faithful to Him shall also overcome death. But what lies beyond? We only know that … if He shall be revealed, we shall get to be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. He became as we are that we might become as He is.
The seed is planted in our hearts. It sprouts and grows and buds here and now. But in eternity in His presence it shall blossom into full glory, incorruptible, undented and unfading. (Cf. 1 Peter 1:4)
The result of the hope. 1 John 3:3
(1 John 3:3) And everyone having this hope resting upon his is purifying himself just as that one is pure.
Whoever lives in the awareness of this future glory portrays in his moral conduct a purity corresponding to the hope. As our eternal lives begin here and now, so does our reflection of the image of God in Christ. (Cf. Romans 8:29) Not even the Apostles could boast that they had already attained this image perfectly. (Cf. Philippians 3:13) But the hope set upon us by Divine Sonship and the promise of even richer blessings in the future life causes us to consider all else as loss. (Cf. Philippians 3:7) Moral purity becomes our constant goal because we are God’s sons.
This is in striking opposition to the gnostic idea that one who was begotten of God could, perhaps should, live a life of debauchery in order to demonstrate that his spirit was not to be touched by physical behavior. Divine Sonship that is real rather than imaginary, that results from total commitment to the Incarnate Word, always produces an increasingly purer manner of life.
E.
Questions for Review
Neither 1 John 3:1 nor John 3:16 can be taken as a measure of how much God loves us, They are rather intended to set forth the ___________________________.
Eternal life, here tested as divine sonship, results from the same ____________________ _________.
Not just Calvary, but the entire ______________________ brought God’s love to bear upon our need.
The contemporary countrymen of Jesus rejected Him because they could not accept a ___________________ as God’s Son.
The gnostic could accept the humanity of Jesus without rejecting His ________________.
How does the modern pseudo-intellectual rejection of the deity of Jesus follow the same pattern as the Jews and the gnostics?
What is John’s constant reaction to the awareness that he is a son of God?
How is this amazement contrasted to the modern philosophy of the fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man?
Brotherhood results from common ___________________.
To become a child of God one must ____________________. (John 1:12)
When does eternal life begin?
When do we begin to be the sons of God?
What light does 1 Corinthians 15:35-ff throw on 1 John 3:2?
How does the awareness of present sonship and future glory affect the lives of the children of God?
Is one a child of God because he is righteous, or is righteousness the result of divine sonship?
1 John 3:4-10
CHAPTER IX
FURTHER APPLICATION OF THE FIRST TEST
A.
The Text
Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. (5) And ye know that he was manifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin. (6) Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him. (7) My little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous: (8) he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (9) Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God. (10) In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
B.
Try to Discover
If we are not under law, how is sin considered lawlessness?
Is it impossible for a child of God to sin?
How does the seed of God remain in the child of God?
Who are the children of the devil?
What is the basic moral contrast between the life of sin and the life of Divine Sonship?
C.
Paraphrase
Whosoever is committing sin Lawlessness he is also committing, and sin is lawlessness; (5) And ye know that He was made manifestIn order that our sins He should take away, And sin in Him is there none. (6) Whosoever in Him doth abide Is not sinning: Whosoever is sinning Hath not seen Him and doth not understand Him. (7) Dear children! let no one lead you astray! He that is doing righteousness is righteous, Just as He is righteous: (8) He that is committing sin is of the adversary, Because from the beginning the adversary is sinning. To this end was the Son of God made manifest, In order that He might undo the works of the adversary. (9) Whosoever hath been born of God is not committing sin, Because a seed of Him within him abideth; And he cannot be committing sin, Because of God hath he been born. (10) Herein are manifest the children of God and the children of the adversary: Whoever is not doing righteousness is not of God, Nor yet he that is not loving his brother.
D.
Translation and Comments
Divine Sonship contrary to sin on the basis of God’s authority. 1 John 3:4
(1 John 3:4) Everyone doing sin is also doing lawlessness.
All sin is contrary to the authority of God, It may be in open rebellion against that authority expressed in law or it may be completely without regard to the law. In either case sin is fundamentally I want rather than Thy will be done.
God’s original plan for man was that man should be holy and without blemish, (Ephesians 1:4) To be holy (Greek: hagios) is to be committed, dedicated or set apart to God. To be without blemish is to be morally pure as a result of this holiness.
Lawlessness is the opposite of holiness. It is disregard for the will and authority of God. It always results in immoral behavior, which is the opposite of being without blemish.
God’s plan was that man, being completely committed to Himself and consequently pure, should be His children. (Ephesians 1:5) This sonship was to be by adoption rather than by right of natural birth.
There is an element of choice in adoption that is lacking in natural birth. This choice is the choice of love. Consequently Divine Sonship results from God’s love rather than from necessity. Here, as Barclay so aptly points out, is the difference between paternity and fatherhood. Paternity indicates a father’s responsibility for a child’s physical existence. Fatherhood indicates a relationship based on love and circumscribed by parental authority. Since sin is lawlessness, it is opposed to the fundamental idea of holiness upon which the adoption to Divine Sonship depends. Therefore, anyone claiming to be a child of God is morally obligated to avoid sin.
The purpose of Jesus-’ mission, as well as His character forbids sin in the life of a child of God. 1 John 3:5-7
a.
The purpose for which the Word was manifested. 1 John 3:5
(5) And you know that that One revealed in order that He might take away sins, and sin is not in Him.
The purpose for which the Word was manifested (1 John 1:2) was in order that He might take away sins.
When man chose to place his will at the center of his behavior, either in direct disobedience to God’s authority or without regard for it; he was no longer without blemish. With his holiness and purity destroyed man was no longer qualified for the adoption to Divine Sonship. The entire purpose of God in man stood in jeopardy.
God’s plan, made in eternity before the foundation of the world, was made in Him. (Ephesians 1:4) The eternal Christ was responsible for the accomplishment of God’s purpose.
When sin entered the human stream and became a road-block in the way of accomplishment for the Divine purpose, the Christ must remove it. This is the meaning of Calvary. This is the purpose of His coming, that He might take away sin. In order to accomplish this purpose, He must Himself remain unstained by sin. Thus, the character of the only begotten Son became a clear demonstration that sin is incompatible with Divine Sonship.
b.
The secret of sinless life. 1 John 3:6
(1 John 3:6) Everyone remaining in Him does not go on sinning. Everyone going on sinning has not seen Him nor known Him.
The secret of Jesus-’ sinless life is revealed in His prayer in Gethsemane, Not my will, thine be done. This is genuine holiness, and always issues in a pure life. The secret of sinless living for the children of God is remaining in Him. This is John’s term for total commitment. So long as our actions are governed by this commitment we do not sin. The moment we forget His presence and begin to seek our own will in the slightest matter we do sin.
Since Divine Sonship depends upon commitment to God’s will, one who is His child can not have sin as a habit of his life. John does not deny either the possibility or the fact of occasional sins. He has already said that the denial of such is not according to truth. (Cf. 1 John 1:8; 1 John 1:10) What he does intend is that sin cannot be the manner of life for a child of God.
Anyone whose life is characterized by habitual sin, who regularly disregards the will and authority of God in his life, has neither seen nor known Jesus. John had seen and known Jesus, and so is able to appeal to experiential knowledge. The gnostics claimed to know Him, but their position in regards to sin was contrary to what John knew from personal experience.
As A. T. Robertson has it, The habit of sin is proof that one has not the vision or the knowledge of Christ.
c.
Righteousness is not theory but practice. 1 John 3:7
(1 John 3:7) Little children, let no one keep on leading you astray; the one doing righteousness is righteous just as that One is righteous.
Righteousness to John is not theory but practice. Whoever does righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. This ought not be taken as meaning that anyone has attained that standard of moral perfection exemplified by Jesus. Remember, righteousness is concerned with commitment to the standard revealed by God. It is possible to be as committed as was He. It is doubtful that we will ever attain the perfect here, as He attained it. The important point of this verse is that anyone, who says righteousness consists of anything less than righteous actions, is deceitful. John is concerned that we not be led astray by any philosophy which divorces righteousness from the deeds of our everyday living.
Contrast of origins between sin and Divine Sonship. 1 John 3:8-9
a.
The origin of sin. 1 John 3:8
(1 John 3:8) the one who keeps on sinning is of the devil, because from the beginning the devil is sinning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, in order that He might loose the works of the devil.
Sin originates in the devil. This is not an original thought expressed by John; it is as old as the experience of Adam and Eve, perhaps older. John makes no attempt to prove this, he simply reiterates it.
Insight into this truth may be gained by reading Jesus-’ statement to the Jews; Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. (John 8:44) In that context it was the Jews who were refusing to accept Jesus for who He is while making the claim to be the people of God. The basis upon which Jesus calls them the sons of the devil is that they were willing to do the desires of the devil. As with God, so with the devil, sonship is circumscribed by parental authority. Those who do the will of the devil are the devil’s children just as those who do the will of God are the children of God. The Bible knows no neutral ground between these two opposites.
The devil sins as a matter of principle, or as John has it, from the beginning. No one can claim to be a child of God while acting like the devil!
Once more John comes back to the purpose of the incarnation. He has just said that Jesus-’ purpose was to take away sin. (1 John 3:5) Now he says it was to loose the works of the devil. These are two sides of the same coin. That which is sin is lawlessness (i.e.) contrary to the will and authority of God. The devil is the epitome of such contrary self will. All sin originates in the devil. So to take away sin is to loose the works of the devil. It is the removal of all which stands in the way of God’s eternal purpose to have a holy, blemishless family in Christ. Divine Sonship, then, is clearly seen as opposed to sin in light of the origin of sin.
b.
The origin of Divine Sonship. 1 John 3:9
(1 John 3:9) Everyone having been begotten of God is not doing sin, because His seed is remaining in him and to go on sinning is not possible to him, because he has been begotten of God.
Just as sin originates in the devil and so is the manner of life for the devil’s children, so righteousness originates in God and is the manner of life for God’s children. Those who have been begotten of God do not have sin as a manner of life. Once again we must remember that John does not say it is impossible for a child of God to commit a sin. Rather he does say that sin cannot be the habit of life for one whose actions find their source in God as Father. This is clearly seen in the use of the present tense here by John.
Just as James said, Doth the same fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter? (James 3:11) So the life which takes its source in the divine begetting cannot issue in actions based on disregard for the authority of God.
Contrast between lives of sin and righteousness reveal children of God and the devil. 1 John 3:10
(1 John 3:10) In this is revealed the children of God and the children of the devil. Everyone not doing righteousness is not of God; also everyone not loving his brother.
By their fruits ye shall-’ know them. (Matthew 7:16) This lesson taught by Jesus was well-learned by His friend, John. Any individual whose life shows disregard for God’s will and authority as a matter of basic principle, is not of God. High and lofty claims such as those made by the gnostic are not the test. A man’s everyday life reveals him to be either a child of God or a child of the devil.
This is not a very popular doctrine in an age which is trying desperately to remove all distinction between the Christian life and the life of the world. It is still true, nevertheless.
Since righteousness is fundamentally the doing of God’s will, the keeping of His commandments, it is not strange to find John including love of one’s brothers as a matter of moral righteousness. He has already established love as the supreme commandment of God. (1 John 2:7-11) Failure to love one’s Christian brother is as unrighteous and immoral as adultery, murder, or the overt Infraction of any of God’s other commandments!
E.
Questions for Review
All sin is contrary to God’s authority. It may be __________ either or without. ____________.
God’s original plan was to have a family of children who were _____________ and without. _____________. (Ephesians 1:4)
The word holy as used in the N.T. means _____________.
To be without blemish is to be _____________ as a result of holiness.
The opposite of holiness is _____________.
Lawlessness always results in _______________ behavior.
What is the difference between paternity and fatherhood?
The purpose for which Christ came is stated two ways in this passage. What are they?
Who was originally responsible for the accomplishment of God’s purpose in man?
How does the character of Jesus demonstrate the need for righteousness in the lives of God’s children?
What is the secret of Jesus-’ sinless life?
Total commitment always issues in a ________________ life.
What does John mean by remaining in Him?
Righteousness to John is not theory but _________________.
What is the origin of all sin?
Does the Bible attempt to prove there is a devil?
What is the basis upon which Jesus said some are children of the devil? (John 8:44)
What is the origin of righteousness?
1 John 3:11-24
CHAPTER X
DIVINE SONSHIP PROVEN BY ACTIVE LOVE
(The Second Test. The Second Time)
A.
The Text
For this is the message which ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another: (12) not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. (13) Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. (14) We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the bretheren. He that loveth not abideth in death. (15) Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (16) Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (17) But whoso hath the world’s goods and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him? (18) My little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth. (19) Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him: (20) because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. (21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; (22) and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. (23) And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment. (24) And he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
B.
Try to Discover
What is the relation of command to love (1 John 3:11), to God as light (1 John 1:5) since both are presented as summary of the divine message?
How does the first murder demonstrate the effect of hate on the one hating?
Can a Christian ever be liked by the world? Explain. (Compare 1 John 3:13 and Acts 2:47)
When do Christians pass from death to life?
How can one be a murderer without killing anyone?
What is the relationship of love to need?
How do one’s actions prove or disprove one’s claim to Divine Sonship?
Should a Christian ever feel guilty to the point of self-condemnation?
Why are so many prayers seemingly unanswered?
What is Christian behavior in matters where there is no express commandment of God?
11
How does the experience of answered prayer have any bearing on John’s argument that Jesus is indeed the Christ?
How does the habit of believing Christ and loving our brothers affirm the deity of Christ?
How does the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives affirm the deity of Christ?
C.
Paraphrase
Because this is the message which ye have heard from the beginningThat we should be loving one another, (12) Not just as Cain was of the wicked one and slew his brother! And for what cause slew he him? Because his works were wicked, Whereas those of his brother were righteous. (13) Be not marvelling, Brethren, if the world is hating you (14) We know that we have passed over out of death into life, Because we love the brethren: He that loveth not abideth in death. (15) Whosoever is hating his brother is a murderer; And ye know that no murderer hath life age-during within him abiding. (16) Hereby have we come to understand love: In that He for us His life laid down, And we ought for the brethren our lives to lay down. (17) But whoso hath this world’s goods And beholdeth his brother having need, And shutteth up his tender affections from him How is the love of God abiding in him? (18) Dear children! Let us not be loving in word nor yet with the tongue, But in deed and truth. (19) Hereby shall we get to know that of the truth we are, And before Him shall persuade our heart; (20) Because if our own heart condemn us Greater is God than our heart, and perceiveth all things. (21) Beloved! if our heart be not condemning us Boldness have we towards God; (22) And whatsoever we are asking we are receiving from Him, Because his commandments are we keeping And the things that are pleasing before Him are we doing. (23) And this is His commandment, That we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ And be loving one anotherJust as He gave a commandment unto us. (24) And he that keepeth His commandments In Him abideth And He in him. And hereby perceive we That He abideth in us, By reason of the Spirit which unto us He hath given.
D.
Translation and Comments
Reiteration of the Gospel in summary. 1 John 3:11
(1 John 3:11) Because this is the message which you heard from (the) beginning, that we should be loving one another;
This is the second time in I John that the entire meaning of the incarnation has been condensed as a single message. In 1 John 1:5, the summary is: God is light. Here the message is summarized: That we should love one another.
In the first instance, the summary concerns the nature of God. In this present text the abbreviated message concerns the practical outworking of God-likeness in His children. Just as God as light is the source of life to those who walk in the light, so we are to practice love in such a way as to bring and sustain life in others. (See comment on 1 John 1:5. i.e., love illustrated by the process of photo-synthesis)
It is the nature of the life which we have in God to become as source of life to others. (Cf. John 4:14) This is done only when we love one another.
From the beginning, in this verse, goes back at least to the time of Cain and Abel. The new commandment is indeed old! (Cf. 1 John 2:7-8)
The example of Cain proves the world hates those who practice righteousness. 1 John 3:12-13
a.
The example of Cain. reason for the first murder. 1 John 3:12
(1 John 3:12) not as Cain was of the evil one and slaughtered his brother. And for what reason did he slaughter him? Because his works were evil, and the ones of his brother righteous.
Note the interplay here between love and righteousness. Righteousness keeps God’s commandments: the commandment is to love. No one is righteous who does not love!
There is nothing so violent as the inter-reaction which takes place when righteousness and sin meet. When the righteousness of God meets the sin of man, the result is called the wrath of God. (Cf. Romans 1:18-ff) When righteousness in men meets unrighteousness in men, the result is murder!
The first demonstration of this truth is in the murder of Abel by Cain. John says it explicitly, And for what reason did he slay him? Because his works were evil and the ones of his brother righteous. b.
The world may hate us also. 1 John 3:13
(1 John 3:13) Stop marveling, brothers, if the world is hating you.
Since the confrontation between righteousness and unrighteousness normally results in murder, we ought not be surprised if the world hates us. John will shortly show that hate is, after all, tantamount to murder. Since love is righteousness because it is obedience to God’s command, love may be expect to be crucified! Is not this what happened to our Lord? John does not say that everyone in the world will always hate everyone who practices Christian love. Indeed many instances may be cited from the scriptures to prove otherwise. However, since hate is the natural reaction of unrighteousness to love, we ought not be surprised when it happens.
Love is evidence of life. 1 John 3:14
(1 John 3:14) We know that we have passed over out of death into life, because we are loving the brothers. The one not loving is remaining in death.
The practice of loving the children of God is evidence that we have already passed out of death into life. To state it another way; when we have, as the normal course of our lives, the giving of ourselves to our brothers in such a way as to sustain life in them, we know we have passed out of death into life.
Here, again, is testimony of scripture that eternal life is not something that takes place only on the other side of physical death. Rather it begins here and now. Love for one another proves eternal life is a present reality.
A word of caution is needed here. Love as evidence of life does not mean our own loving causes us to live. We do not live because we love; we love because we live in Him. A man who does not love is a dead man. The man who does love, and so gives life to others, is alive.
Just as loving gives life; hating takes life. 1 John 3:15-18
a.
Whoever hates is a manslayer and does not have eternal life. 1 John 3:15
(1 John 3:15) Everyone who is hating his brother is a manslayer, and you already know that every manslayer is not having eternal life remaining in him.
Just as darkness is the absence of light; hate is the absence of love. As does the absence of light, so does the absence of love result in death. One does not need to uproot or chop down a plant to kill it, he need merely shut off the light. Likewise, one need not actually shoot or stab his brother to become a killer. He need only withhold the love which gives life.
Meseo, here translated hate, means simply indifference. It is the absence of the self-giving concern called love. It is the failure to become involved in the needs of our brothers.
In realizing that one who hates his brother is a manslayer, a taker of human life, we must bear in mind that the tests of life presented in I John are subjective. John is primarily concerned with what the absence of love does to the person who fails to practice it. The effect of hate is subjectively the same whether one actually kills or merely withholds the means of life. John’s point here is that the failure to love is proof of the absence of life. A murderer is not only a taker or withholder of life, he is himself a dead man!
b.
The proof of love is not words but deeds. 1 John 3:16-18
(1 John 3:16) In this we have come to know love, because He, in our behalf, laid down His life; we ought also, in behalf of the brothers, to go on laying down our lives. (1 John 3:17) Whoever may be having the necessities of the life of the world and may see his brother having need and shuts up his affections from him, how is the love of God remaining in Him? (18) Children, let us not go on loving by word, neither with the tongue, but in work and reality.
We know love only through the incarnation, and especially through Calvary. In all the pre-Christian Papiri on which Koine Greek was written, the word agape (love) has been found less than ten times. Such self-effacement to meet the needs of others, regardless of their response, was virtually unknown before Christ.
Our awareness of this love, and especially since we have come to know it as the supreme will of God for man, carries with it the moral obligation to demonstrate it as He demonstrated it. The world of men will only come to know love as we know it when they see it in us as we saw it in Him.
How are we to do this? John says we are to be constantly ready to lay down our lives as He laid down His; not as a martyr, but in the presence of need and for the purpose of giving and sustaining life. Laying down our lives, in this sense, involves living for others more than dying for them.
Giving our lives, which must be themselves redeemed by His life, obviously cannot be the means of atonement for others. Only Christ can do this. However, the same love which motivated Him can be shown to the world when we give what we possess of the necessities of life to sustain the temporal life of others. What He did on the higher plain in His atoning death, we do on the lower plain when we give our means of livelihood to assure the necessities of temporal life to others. John’s question is rhetorical. The life of Christ does not remain in the person who withholds the necessities of life from another.
John is not talking about the giving of our surplus to meet the needs of others. That is not love. It is not even giving. It is only when we give the means of sustaining our own lives to sustain the lives of others that we are following the example of Christ. Jesus did not give a spare life, He gave the only one He had. The widow who gave the mite had learned the lesson of love. She gave what she needed to meet the needs of others. The reason this is so necessary in assuring our own life is made clear in Jesus statement, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these, my brethren, (even) these least, ye did it unto me. (Matthew 25:40) When we consider that this statement was made by Jesus in reference to the final judgment, it becomes evident that giving is literally a matter of life and death: life and death, not only for the recipient, but for the giver also. It really is more blessed to give than to receive!
According to Matthew 25:44, there are going to be some surprised people at the judgment; lost because they never learned to demonstrate their love by giving treasure rather than talk.
The word children in 1 John 3:18 is intended to call attention to the claim of Divine Sonship. This claim is proven by active love for our brothers in His family. If it is not so proven, Divine Sonship does not, in fact, exist at all.
Love of our brothers issues in full confidence of our own sonship. 1 John 3:19-22
a.
Knowledge of our own situation, and consequent assurance before God results from love rather than words. 1 John 3:19
(1 John 3:19) In this we shall get to know that we are of reality and before Him we shall assure our heart.
Contemplation of one’s actual relationship to God, in terms of eternal life and eternal death is a staggering experience. It can result either in the most hollow dismay or the most joyous confidence of the future. Arrival at a reassuring conclusion in such vital personal invoice is determined by facts rather than fancy. If we actually give beyond our means for the sake of bringing life to others, we have tangible evidence that our own situation is as it ought to be. The conclusion can now be reached on the basis of fact instead of philosophy or feeling. This assurance is not intended to bring us to a smug self-righteousness, but to a calm inner confidence which John calls boldness. The experience of loving is the expeller of doubts.
b.
God’s infinite knowledge linked with His mercy and compassion. 1 John 3:20
(1 John 3:20) because if our heart should know (something) against us, God is greater than our heart and is knowing everything.
Any honest person can think of a million reasons why God should not claim him as His child. For this reason, many people will never say I am a Christian. When asked if he is a Christian, such a person will reply, I hope so or I-’d like to be. This fearful and negative evaluation of self by one who actually does strive to obey God, to face his own guilt, to love his brothers, and to hold fast his faith in Jesus Christ, is totally unnecessary. No child of God has any right to a guilt complex. Even though he may hold in the recesses of his heart the remembrance of the most heinous sin, one begotten of Him need not live in constant horror of death or terror of facing God. Even if our heart knows something real and terrible against us, God is greater than our hearts. God knows both the deed and the reason. He does not make excuses for our guilt, and neither should we. But He does make propitiation for our guilt in the blood of Christ, and we cannot but accept it. No matter how terrible the sin nor how far reaching the hurt, when it is given over to God to be washed away by the blood of Calvary, we have no right to hold it any longer as our own.
We said earlier that one of the greatest blessings of the Christian life is realized forgiveness. In 1 John 3:20, we have come face to face with the reason this is so.
The incidence of suicide among church members is evidence of how desperately we need to realize the mercy and compassion of God toward one who is acutely aware of his own guilt. How desperately we need to practice this mercy and compassion toward one another! Otherwise how does the love of God abide in us?
c.
Understanding of 1 John 3:20 results in assurance before God. 1 John 3:21
(1 John 3:21) Beloved, if our heart should not know anything against us, we are having boldness toward God,
Because all have sinned, there is no basis upon which an honest person’s heart can keep from condemning him, save in the realization of the mercy and compassion of God. When we do realize this, our hearts no longer condemn us. We must not delude ourselves. The mercy and companion of God, as well as the cleansing from that for which our hearts condemn us, are to be had only in the confession of our guilt. (1 John 1:8-9) We ought never assume that forgiveness is ours because we have rationalized away our guilt by blaming the pressures of life for our sins.
Nevertheless, when, in the realization of forgiveness, our hearts no longer condemn us, we may indeed walk tall and straight as children of God. There are no second class sons in His family!
d.
The fact of answered prayer is evidence of the deity of Jesus. 1 John 3:22
(1 John 3:22) and whatever we may ask we are receiving from Him because we are keeping His commandments and the things pleasing in His sight we are doing.
If prayer in His name is answered, it is evidence that Jesus is indeed who He claimed to be. If Jesus is not God, and therefore unable to answer prayer, it is absurd to pray in His name. To the first century Christian, answered prayer was a common occurrence. It was an experience so normal that it could be cited as evidence of Jesus-’ deity. This is obviously not the case among modern Christians, so John’s argument here is weakened.
Perhaps the reason real prayer is a rare commodity in the average New Testament congregation today is that we have lost sight of the conditions upon which prayer is answered. Too much contemporary prayer is merely the vain repetition of pious platitudes and selfish desires. Often our prayers sound more like ordering a meal in a restaurant than they sound like letting our request be made known of God. (Philippians 4:6)
John reminds his readers that the two-fold circumstance within which prayer is answered has to do with the life of the one praying rather than the form of the prayer. The common attitude of one’s everyday life must seek the will of God in all things.
First, it must be the predisposition of our lives to keep His commandments. Whenever we are confronted with a specific command, our immediate response must be willing obedience.
Secondly, in areas of life where there is no thus saith the Lord, the habitual course of action must be motivated by the desire to be well pleasing to God.
With these two conditions fulfilled, prayer in Jesus-’ name becomes a mighty means, not of getting our will done in Heaven, but God’s will done on earth, and particularly in our own personal lives. When a totally committed person goes to his knees in such an attitude, he can rise from prayer with the full assurance that whatever he has asked is his. Such prayer is so common an everyday experience of those totally committed to God in Christ that the experience can be used as evidence of the truth of the Gospel. There is no question whether prayer will be answered. Rather the frequency of answered prayer becomes a confirmation of faith. Where this is not true, total commitment is obviously lacking. A. T. Robertson has summed it up incisively, In form no limitations are placed here (on prayer) save that of complete fellowship, which means complete surrender of our will to that of God our Father.
e.
The two-fold commandment confronting Christians in the context of the gnostic crisis. 1 John 3:23-24
(1 John 3:23) and this is the commandment of Him, that we should believe the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and that we should love one another just as He gave us commandment. (1 John 3:24) And the one keeping His commandments is remaining in Him and He in him; and in this we are knowing that we are remaining in Him, from the spirit which He has given us.
Repeatedly in I John we are reminded that the child of God must habitually keep His commandments, Obedience is to be the normal response of his life to his Father. This was easily understood in the patriarchal society of that day. The father’s word was law in any household, and to say that God was Father brought to mind first of all His authority. This is in contrast to the image of sentimental overindulgence which so often comes to mind when the word father is mentioned in our society. We have unseated the father, where authority is concerned, and have replaced him with the unfettered self-expression of the individual. In so doing we have made it very difficult to think of God as Father in the way the first century Christian thought of Him in this role. Nevertheless, it is required in all ages that the child of God, confronted with a command from the Father, obey at once and without question. In the gnostic crisis, the commands which the Father sets before His children are believe and love. Obedience to the first is necessary if the Christian Gospel is to survive at all. Obedience to the second is necessary if the family of God is to remain united rather than torn asunder by the quarrel over the gnostic heresy.
Faith must have an object. The Christian faith has as its object the personal identity of Jesus of Nazareth as the Eternal Christ, the Son of God. The name of a person stands for all that he is. To believe the name of His Son Jesus Christ, is to believe that He is Who He is and Who He has ever been from eternity. It is very popular, in some pseudo-intellectual circles among present day theologians, to say that the important thing is to confront men with the question, Whom say Ye that I am; that the answer is entirely subjective and therefore of secondary importance.
John will have none of this. Rather, he informs us, we are commanded to believe the name of His Son Jesus Christ. The translation of this verse which reads, … that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, is unfortunate. The phrase to onomati tou hui ou (translated in the name of) does not contain the preposition en (in). The construction is in the dative case! The case of personal interest. When it is used, as here, as the direct object of a verb it is done for a reason, since the normal case of the direct object is the accusative.
Other passages, where the English has in, or on His name, use the Greek eis, (literally into). (For examples, read 1 John 5:13, John 1:12; John 2:23; John 3:18) The point is that John’s grammar in this verse makes the command a very personal matter. He is not concerned with formal creedal statements drawn up by councils, as was done at Nicea some time later to settle the gnostic controversy. John is concerned with personal individual conviction that the man, Jesus of Nazareth, is de facto, the unique Son of God.
The second command confronting the child of God in the gnostic crisis is that we love one another. To understand the vital necessity of obedience to this command, we must keep in mind the prayer of Christ (John 17:1-26) and the insistence of the apostles, (eg. Ephesians 4:1-5) that the church must be united if it is ever to do the will of God or be worthy of the call of the Gospel.
The controversy brought about by the introduction of gnosticism was furious, and a century after John wrote it, threatened to tear the church permanently asunder. John insists that the protagonists must love one another. The command obviously applies first of all to those who are on the side of truth! This is no easy command to heed in the face of false teaching, especially when we remember that love is the complete giving of one’s self to another for the other’s benefit and regardless of his reaction to us.
Nevertheless, love is still the only hope of healing the breaches which have been brought about in the family of God by the introduction of false teaching. And the command must be first of all obeyed by those who are on the side of truth. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 is particularly apropos in controversy. It is in such a situation that love is evidence of Divine Sonship.
It is only in the keeping of these two commandments, to believe and to love, that we remain in Him. Except we believe He is Who He is and our attitude toward our brothers is what His is, we are not actually in Him at all.
Being in Him and He in us recalls at once the truth mentioned above in connection with 1 John 2:18-27. He is the Anointed One. We have also been anointed by the gift of the Spirit when we were baptized into Him. (Compare Acts 2:38-39 and Galatians 3:27) We share with Him in the Family of God through this anointing. So, says John, We are knowing that we are remaining in Him, from the Spirit which He has given us.
E.
Questions for Review
The second summary of the message of the incarnation in 1 John 3:11 is _____________________________.
It is the nature of the life which we have in Christ to become a source of ___________ to others.
This is accomplished when we _____________________.
How does the murder of Abel by Cain demonstrate that the world is prone to hate those who practice righteousness?
The confrontation of righteousness by unrighteousness normally results in ____________________.
Because love is obedience to God it is also ___________.
When does a Christian pass out of death into life?
Do we love because we have eternal life, or do we have eternal life because we love?
Hate is the absence of ___________ just as ___________ is the absence of light.
The word translated hate in 1 John 3:15 means ________________.
Failure to love is proof of the absence of ______________________.
How does the world become aware of love as we know it in Christ?
How do we demonstrate divine love in such a way that it is recognizable?
Just as He brought eternal life in the presence of our need, so we are to give ___________________ in the presence of temporal needs.
Does giving what we can afford demonstrate divine love? Explain.
Many will be surprised in the judgment, who expect to be saved, because they have not learned to give ______________________ rather than ______________________.
How may we have assurance before God, even when our hearts condemn us?
Explain the statement, No Christian has any right to a guilt complex.
One of the greatest blessings of the Christian life is realized forgiveness. Explain this statement in light of 1 John 3:20.
The only basis upon which one’s heart can fail to condemn him is __________________.
The experience of answered prayer is evidence of _____________ according to 1 John 3:22.
What are the two conditions which must be present in our lives in order to pray effectively?
When the word father was mentioned in the society of the first century, the first impression was of parental __________________.
Why does the term father not suggest authority to us today?
Which is more important, the question, Who is Jesus, or our personal belief in the answer, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God?
______________________ is still the only hope of healing the divisions caused by false teaching.
How does the anointing of the Spirit demonstrate that we are in the Christ?