1 John | Chapter 3

1 John 3:4-6

Practicing righteousness

 

 

  • Introduction
  • 4-6 Destroyed roots

 

 

 Introduction

 

The start of chapter 3 makes it abundantly clear that John is addresses the true child of God who is enjoying the benefits of their relationship with God. As we noted previously in 2:28 John used    three words that spoke of the advantages of the Child of God: ABIDE, APPEARS, and ASHAMED!

ABIDE: Is John’s primary exhortation to believers, stay where you are at! The believer’s calling in maturity, their advancement is to STAY PUT. Stay put, in believing truth, stay put in living that truth out towards others in love, stay put in obeying the truth by dying to self-centeredness.

APPEARS: Next John wrote, WHEN, He appears not IF, He appears. John states the return of Christ as a FACT, a certain expectation. This reminds the believer that any such test taken now is to make certain that you will PASS the FINAL EXAM! Clearly John wanted this exhortation of Jesus soon return to produce, confidence in the present!

ASHAMED: The final word John used was ashamed and in context speaks of the sorrow at our unfaithfulness is related to His coming! John is NOT speaking to the loss of salvation instead it speaks of the LOSS of joy that a groom or bride may feel at their wedding knowing that they have been unfaithful to the love of their life! In the first three verses of chapter three John’s focus was:

Vs. 1 What we are

Vs. 2 What we shall be

Vs. 3 What we should be

 

Vs. 4-6 Destroyed roots

 

Now as we move onto this section John moves back to what we are NOW. His words are to remind the believer of the transformation granted the person of faith because Jesus was manifested to take away our sins. Our fellowship with God that John wrote of in the first three verses of chapter three where God’s love was bestowed upon us, transforming us into the children of God, also took away our sins making this fellowship possible. Sin separates us from enjoying this fellowship, it disengages us from the benefits of God’s bestowed love! The true Child of God will never want that to remain for any length of time. Our obedience to God is not because we are afraid of Him, it is because we love Him because He first loved us. I remember hearing a story of a young boy who had been adopted. He had come from a very abusive home and had also been abandoned and left to fend for himself. When he was rescued, he was placed in an emotionally cold orphanage where he remained for several years. One day he was told that he had a visitor who wanted to meet him, he had gone through this before only to be rejected. But when he met this man, he saw someone that wanted him, and was interested in him. The papers were signed, and he left to live with this man and his wife, he never knew what love was until he went to live with this new family, and it didn’t take long for him to grow in love with them because they had first loved him. It wasn’t but a few years when he was in high school that the true value of this relationship was put to a test. He had been invited to a party and didn’t know that they would have alcohol drinks and drugs. His friends invited him to enjoy the party, but he refused to participate. This made his friends uncomfortable, and they continued to encourage and even make fun of him for not doing what they were doing. Finally, someone asked why he wouldn’t get drunk and smoke pot. And He told them, “My Mother and Father wouldn’t approve of this!” The friends misunderstood his fear, as they thought it was that he was afraid of his father hurting him, but he corrected them when they suggested this and instead said, “Oh I’m NOT afraid of my father hurting me, I’m afraid that my actions would hurt him and the love that I’ve enjoyed these last few years and I don’t want to ever be apart from their love.” That’s the point of John’s words now!

Vs. 4 John takes up the issue of what separates us from enjoying God’s love and that is our sin. Notice in verse 4 that John defines two things about sin:

  1. Vs 4 Whoever commits sin: First John describes sin as an action as he uses the word commits and in the Greek language it means a completed action. This word speaks of practicing sin. In using this word, it speaks of a person whose behavior has a disregard to the moral law thinking that it doesn’t apply to them. Secondly, Johnuses the word SIN and not John’s point of view in this is the ROOT of the person who is practicing sin and not the individual fruits that are being produced by that root! In other words, the person that John is addressing is practicing sin at the root of their life as the root always determines the fruit.
  2. 4 Sin is lawlessness: Next John connects this action of practicing sin to living a life that doesn’t think that the moral law applies to them. They may hold others to a moral standard but don’t believe they are under the same obligation. This person isn’t ignorant of the truth instead they just don’t believe that this truth applies to them. To which John declares that it doesn’t matter if they think it doesn’t apply to them, they will be held accountable.

Vs. 5 To make matters worse such a condition does not need to be the Child of God’s experience as we are told in verse 5 that one of the reasons for Jesus’ manifestation was to eliminate this condition from those that believe in Him. Practicing sin at the root of our life should never be admitted into our Christian life as Jesus came to destroy sin at the very root! Furthermore, since Jesus has destroyed the root of sin and has given us a new nature then we are no longer under the root of sin. Oh, we may very well still have some branches and leaves, meaning we fall into sin from time to time, but we need to recon them dead in Christ. Since Jesus has dealt with the root then there ought not be any fruit of sin being continually harvested in our lives! Notice that such work of Jesus is completed as we. Are told in verse 8 that part of the purpose of Jesus was to destroy the works of the devil. As children of God, those who have experienced His love lavished upon us doesn’t mean that God now has no rules, instead it means as a part of His family we have a higher standard than the law, as our motive is Love and not fear! Since we have been transformed SIN is a matter of our will now. When we assert our will above God’s Word then we are in rebellion and this rebellion is at the root of all sin, believing that our way is better than God’s! We can be outwardly compliant but inwardly still be rebellious to God.

There was a child riding with her father who refused to put her seatbelt on, the discussion continued until the dad told his daughter if she didn’t comply, he would pull over and spank her for her disobedience. She believed him and put on her seatbelt but about 5 minutes later she turned to her dad and said, “Papa, I just want to let you know that inside I’m still standing up!”

Vs. 6 John connects the work of Jesus at removing the root of sin within us with our staying at home with him. If we have truly united our hearts with Jesus, then we won’t want to be anywhere that He isn’t. A man can get married to a woman, but then not stay at home and be out with other women, now they may say that they are married but the root of their behavior shows that they are not! That’s John’s point in verse 6. It seems as though there were some in the church that said that as long as you said I do to Jesus it didn’t matter if you didn’t act as if you were married to Him. John says that when we said yes to Jesus, we then say no to all others, and we will stay at home with Him and not practice sin anymore. The whole work of the Cross of Christ is denied when a professing Christian practices to deliberately sin. The person who deliberately and habitually practices sin is proving that the root of sin remains intact and either does not know Christ or at very least are not abiding in Christ!

 

1 John 3:7-10

Two Fathers

 

 

  • Introduction
  • 7-8 Fruit determines root
  • 9-10 Born of God

 

 

Introduction

 

To take our study of 1st John starting from verses 3:4-12 would be unfair to the heart in which the Holy Spirit wanted to communicate through John. John made certain that what he was about to say about SIN was coming from the amazing reality of the Love of the Father that was lavished upon the Child of God, (3:1-3). In so doing John is not speaking from a judgmental point of view but rather from the point of view that sin separates the believer from being able to fully enjoy the fellowship with their Heavenly Father. The perspective isn’t fear of retaliation, but fear of our loss of love that of God that has been graciously given us. We aren’t afraid of our Father hurting us, we are afraid that our actions would hurt Him, and that the love that we’ve enjoyed wouldn’t be experienced. In verse 4 John made it clear that he wasn’t talking about the occasional falling into sins but rather the ROOT of the person who is practicing sin and not theindividual fruits that are being produced by that root! He further describes this person as the person who doesn’t think that the moral law applies to them. To further clarify why the child of God would NOT be the person that practices sin, John reminds his readers that one of the reasons why Jesus came was to destroy the sin-root of fallen humanity and that by His blood we have be transfused with Jesus’ sinless blood. So, there is not a possibility that once the root of sin has been destroyed and we have Jesus sinless blood running through our spiritual system that we would continue to practice sin. On a physical plane this is what is behind immunotherapy and stem cell transplants. The first thing that must be accomplished is that the roots of the blood cancer must be destroyed. As the cancer is in the blood, that means that the stem cells which are produced in the bone marrow must all be killed so that the new doners cells can produce the healthy stem cells that would provide the immunotherapy that will attack the cancer cells. The spiritual illustration is that if a person claims that they have had the sin-root destroyed by Jesus who in turn has supplied the Child of God with His sinless blood and yet is continuing to practice sin then something is very wrong. It means that the sin-rootwasn’t destroyed or that the sinless blood isn’t able to cleanse the believer. John says that is impossible as that means that Jesus’ sacrifice isn’t enough or that His blood isn’t able to cure us. The only other possibility is that the person who is claiming that they have had the sin-root destroyed by Jesus and have been supplied with His sinless blood is not telling the truth!

  

 

Vs.7-8 Fruit determines root

Vs. 7-8 John will state what he just wrote above in the positive in verse 7 and in the negative in verse 8.

  • 7 Positive: This starts with John’s statement as who he is addressing is the true child of God as in verse 7 he address them as little children or dearly loved ones. John after addressing them this way, tells them that the reason for this communication is clarification as he didn’t want anyone to be able to deceive them. There were some false teachers that were trying to say that continuing to practice sin was completely normal for the child of God. Instead, John doubles down and says the opposite as he says: “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He (Jesus) is righteous”. Practicing sin is completely inconsistent with the transformative work of Christ in the life of the believer. I can’t help but notice as well that the child of God that is practicing righteousness is doing so completely based upon the Jesus’ work of both destruction of the sin-root of fallen humanity as well as the continual supply of the sin immunotherapy of Jesus’ blood. Jesus is the ONLY ORIGN of Righteousness available to humanity. They cannot achieve this by proper diet or vigorous exercise or keeping rules. The only way to become righteous is by NEW BIRTH in Christ!
  • 8 Negative: John writes about the true condition of the person who is practicing sin and that is that they are still under the influence of the devil and the fallen nature. Simply put, they are still rooted and grounded in sin. John lets his readers in on the root of practicing sin being that of the devil whom John declares has sinned from the beginning. The root nature of sin in humanity was originally external and the biblical record it’s entrance into humanity in Genesis. What we don’t have is all the information as to its entrance into the universe. That being said, John does tell us that it was in the personality of satan long before it entered humanity. We have this testimony of Jesus in Luke 10:18 where He said to His disciples “I saw Satan falllike lightning from heaven.” Jesus may have been describing what Isaiah 14:12-14 prophesied where we are told that, “Howyou are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’” The prophet Ezekiel in 28:12-15 also seem to describe his fall saying, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.  “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” What John does let his readers know is that SIN has its origins in the devil and affects the root of humanity and causes the fruits of rebellion. It causes the person to go against the design of their Creator and act out against the morality that God placed in His likeness. As bad as the sin root is, John wants us to know that Jesus destroyed its works in those who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior. The word destroyed doesn’t mean annihilate but instead means to render inoperative, or to rob of its power.

 

 

Vs. 9-10 Born of God

Vs. 9-10 As a result of this fact John continues to share the glorious truth that though a Christian can sin, he declares emphatically that true child of God cannot live in sin! The person who can enjoy deliberate sin and doesn’t see or feel conviction or the need to repentant needs to examine themselves to determine if they really are a child of God. Again, John states this truth: “Whoever is born of God does not practice sin.” The reason for this is what I stated above God’s seed remains in that person and God has changed the root of sin into the root of righteousness. John states this in a way that is practical not theological. True children of God can make no excuses for practicing sin, nor can they make any allowances for such a life! The child of God has been given three things by trusting in Jesus that makes it impossible for the believer to continually practice sin:

  • Justification: A new standing before God
  • Sanctification: Set apart to God for His work
  • Regeneration: A new Christlike nature

Physical life can only produce a physical controlled life; but a spiritual life produces a spiritually controlled life. Jesus said this in John 3:6 “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. Peter said in 1 Peter 1:23 that the true Child of God has been born again “not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever.” There is a sharp and visible contrast between the child of God and child of the devil: The person will always look like their Father! Moral wickedness, hatred, lies, pride are all what a child of the devil looks like. They will oppose the character and nature of God in their actions and words. They will oppose the work of Christ and believe that they do not need to mature and grow in Christ but have already arrived. They won’t love their brother in Christ. They will profess one thing while practicing another making themselves like their father the devil who is a liar. The true child of God overcomes the stubborn flesh by yielding their will and life daily to God as a living sacrifice. They spend time with their Father and feed their new nature. They seek to daily communicate with their Father agreeing with Him concerning areas that need to mature and grow closer to God. The true Child of God does not practice sin; a counterfeit believer cannot help but practice sin because the root of sin has not been broken and they haven’t been given a new nature.

 

 

1 John 3:11-12

Loving one another

 

 

  • Introduction
  • 11 Transformed by love
  • 12 Self-centered love

 

 

Introduction

 

 

John’s letter of 1st John has a circular nature to it as he continues writing about fellowship with God from three things that are keys to maintaining it: Obedience, Love, and Truth!

Each time John returns to one of these topics he does so from a different perspective. We left off with John’s words defining the two differences between the child of God and the child of the devil in verse 10 where he wrote, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother”. So, the distinctions between these two children with different fathers is to be seen in both Vertical Love and Horizonal Love:

  1. Vertical Love: The practice of righteousness in the life of the Child of God and the absence of the practice of righteousness in the child of the devil.
  2. Horizonal Love: The practice of loving his brother in the life of the Child of God and the absence of this in the child of the devil.

John had just mentioned the differences between the child of God and the child of the devil as it relates to these three areas. As he moves back around towards writing about love, his perspective is not Vertical Love towards God, but what this transformative love of God will produce through the child of God towards God’s other children or Horizonal Love. There is a visible difference between the children of these two fathers and it’s the difference between love and hate. I think it’s important to realize that John’s words on Horizonal Love have two important points before we look at the verses:

  1. First, these words come after the defining truth that as a child of God, Jesus has destroyed the root of sin. Jesus has changed our nature from death to life! He has broken down the walls of separation between Jew and Gentile making from two one body! (Eph 2:14-18) Humanity longs for peace and the Prince of Peace having destroyed the root of sin which is our problem of getting along with our brothers and sisters has been abolished making it possible to LOVE our brothers and sisters in Christ.
  2. Second, the Greek words as well as the context, makes it clear that what John is writing is specific in relating to loving our fellow children of God and NOT a universal love of all humanity. Though that is pointed out in other places in the bible like Luke 6:27-36 where Jesus says, “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”In his gospels John had much to say on what the Love of God should change regarding our love of those whom His love has been lavished upon:
    1. In John 13:34 Jesus said to His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” There was a clear expectation that a person who has encountered God’s Vertical Love will now love one another like He had loved them, Horizonal Love
    2. Then in John 15:12-17 Jesus further clarifies and defines this love by saying, “This is Mycommandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.”

It is apparent that John wants his readers to know exactly what Jesus had told him 70 years earlier in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John had remembered the type of love that Jesus had in mind when he said that Jesus was the example and definition of this love that had as its traits: “lay down one’s life for his friends”.

 

 

Vs. 11 Transformed by love

Vs. 11 The words in 1st John aren’t new as I just said by quoting the above verses which shows that those who have been transformed by God’s love can understand that all that was expected of the child of God has not changed, it did not need an advanced course, but it did need to be rekindled and remembered as the expectations had NOT changed in 70 years and it won’t in 70,000 years if Jesus should tarry. The Christian life and profession carry with it the action to love God’s fellow Christians as He has loved us. If the Child of God doesn’t love one another, as defined by Jesus’ example towards us, then we “cannot walk in the light as He is in the light” no matter what their profession is!

As we see after the command is remembered, it is now given in vs.12-24 four clear examples the remainder of this section verses 12-24. We could refer to these four examples as types of human relationships. But as we look at them it is clear from the examples that only one of these is compatible to the example laid forth by Jesus towards us. The four examples are:

  1. 12 Murder
  2. 13-15 Hatred
  3. 16-17 Indifference
  4. 18-24 Compassion

Though not given the first three can be looked at as defining what ought not be seen in the commandment of Jesus for the child of God. For instance, Cain murdered his righteous brother, but Jesus laid down His life for those who were His murders; and in this we can see the contrast even better.

 

Vs. 12 Self-centered love

Vs. 12 Murder: Cain is used as an illustration of what can be defined as a self-centered love. This is how the children of the devil loves! The murder shows the outcome of such self-centered love but the motive behind it was clearly that Cain was more in love with himself than he was with anyone else. What is even more important to realize is that the example that John uses is NOT of an atheist as Cain was a worshiper. According to Gen 4:1-16 both he and Able shared the same family, they were brothers born of Adam and Eve. They had the same access to the instructions in righteousness, both were trained and understood the concept of stewardship that all the blessings and gifts they had received had been given to them by a gracious loving God. They attended the same religious gatherings and brought offerings that represented the understanding of their dependence upon the grace of God to enjoy life’s blessings. And personally believe that Cain had most likely offered the right gifts to God as Able did in times past. But all that he had done in the past couldn’t mask what Cain was as the proof was in his actions of hatred and murder of his brother, Able. Cain’s attitude revealed his heart which look more like the devil. The difference between the gift showed that as well as Able offered in accordance with obedience and faith where Cain offered what to offer in accordance with his work and effort. Offering in faith is always based upon the revelation that God has given, and God had given clear instructions that Cain at this time refused to obey and even when given the opportunity to get it right he chose to kill his brother instead. Cain rejected God’s word and worshiped in his own way. Able left the altar of God with the peace and presence of God in his heart and Cain went away angry and disappointed and was even warned that if he didn’t deal with his own heart sin was crouching at the door ready to strike. But even after the mercy of warning and the opportunity to offer again so that he too could enjoy the peace that Able had Cain chose to listen to his father’s voice the devil and kill his brother. Cain proved that what angered him was he was evil, and his brother was righteous and instead of repenting he chose to kill his brother. When self-love comes face to face with truth and reality it has a decision: Repent and change or destroy the person exposing it! Far too often even in the Church today people try to cover up their true nature with religious activity. But their hatred of their fellow brothers and sisters reveals that they are not children of God. It never ceases to amaze me how folks do this as I hear them say things like: Now, don’t say anything to so and so but… These folks fail to realize that true brothers and sisters don’t do that, they also fail to realize that those conversations and gossip in which mean hateful and hurtful things are said inevitably get back to the person they are attacking behind their back. That is what children of the devil do, they are accusers of the brethren just like their father the devil does. This kind of stuff should not be tolerated in the body of Christ, and it is an indication that the person who practices such things is not a child of God. If this brings conviction to you then you should hear the words of God towards Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

            Next we will take up the other three examples as types of human relationships.

  1. 13-15 Hatred
  2. 16-17 Indifference
  3. 18-24 Compassion

 

 

1 John 3:13-17

Loving one another part 2

 

 

  • Introduction
  • 13-15 Hatred
  • 16-17 Indifference

 

 

 Introduction

 

 

The third chapter of John’s first letter is a contrast between two different groups of people the child of God and the child of the devil. In verse 10 John wrote, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother”. The two primary differences between these two children are seen in both Vertical Love and Horizonal Love:

  1. Vertical Love: The practice of righteousness in the life of the child of God and the absence of the practice of righteousness in the child of the devil.
  2. Horizonal Love: The practice of loving his brother in the life of the child of God and the absence of this in the child of the devil.

John had just written that these differences had transpired solely because of the finished work of Jesus and that His work had destroyed the root of sin as well as provided His blood that will enable the born-again believer to not practice sin habitually. It is apparent that even after 70 years John saw that the work of Christ in those who received Him as Lord ought to be THE EXAMPLE of the best of human relationships and families as Jesus had said in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” The verses that we are examining now offer for the reader just what this looks like in verse 12-24 as we see four examples as types of human relationships These examples show three things that ought NOT be a part of our fellowship with each other and ONE that should:

  • 12 Murder
  • 13-15 Hatred
  • 16-17 Indifference
  • 18-24 Compassion

Last lesson we focused on the first of these found in verse 12 with the example of Cain who murdered his righteous brother Able. Cain is an illustration of what is self-centered love. We discovered that the example that John uses is NOT of an atheist as Cain was a worshiper of the Living God. According to Gen 4:1-16 both he and Able shared the same family, they were brothers born of Adam and Eve. They had the same access to the instruction in righteousness, both were trained and understood the concept of stewardship that all the blessings and gifts they had received had been given to them by a gracious loving God. They attended the same religious gatherings and brought offerings that represented the understanding of their dependence upon the grace of God to enjoy life’s blessings. Furthermore, I personally believe that Cain had offered the correct offering to God as Able did in times past. The point that John is bringing out is that When self-love comes face to face with truth and reality it has a decision: Repent and change or destroy the person exposing it! Now we will take up the other three examples as types of human relationships.

  • 13-15 Hatred
  • 16-17 Indifference
  • 18-24 Compassion

 

 

Vs. 13-15 Hatred

Vs. 13-15 The case of Cain is an extreme one that led to murder but now we see where murder came from if not dealt with. Like any infection, if our immune system doesn’t deal with the infection of hatred early enough then it can cause death! While dealing with my first wife Donna’s cancer, I learned about designer DNA that they were experimenting with that in some cancers was able to detect and attack the defective cancer cells and actually alter them or destroy them before the cancer spread. John speaks of attacking “the cancer of murder by attacking hatred and then indifference with the God given treatment of compassion”. There is a difference between taking a life and the hatred actions, but the inward intent is the same. John says that this intent is part of the fallen world system that comes from the murderer satan himself. These three verses offer the difference between these two children.

  1. Vs. 13 First, John wants his readers to not be surprised by the world’s hatred of us as the transformative work of Christ is being made visible in our behavior and as such it brings conviction upon the ungodly. As I mentioned before when that happens the unrighteous has only two choices: Repent and change or destroy the person exposing it! While the Christian should not be surprised by their attitude of us the world should be surprised by our attitude and action towards them. Our business as Christians is to commend Jesus to the world in order so that they will be won to Him.
  2. Vs. 14 Second, as true as that reaction is in the world such hatred ought not be a part of the body of Christ and its actions towards each other. Insecurity and sin lead to bitterness and jealousy and those lead to active hatred. When the Christian doesn’t behave like the world in its insecurity it reveals to the individual believer that they have indeed passed from death to life. So, note this professing Christian when we act like we did before we knew Jesus in gossip and backbiting, we are showing that we are at that moment abiding in death! It is far too common today to see the Church seeking the love and acceptance from the world while they hate their brother and sister in Christ and in so doing, they reveal whose family to belong too. In Luke 6:31 Jesus gave His disciples the STANDARD in the form of a statement that each of us could easily ask ourselves before we say or act towards the family of God: Just as you want others to do to you, you also do to them likewise! Is what I’m engaged in; backbiting, gossip etc. how I want to be treated by those I call my friends and family? Oh, how better off the church would be if we simply practiced this Golden Rule.
  3. Vs. 15 Finally, we need to understand that just like in all of nature the human heart hates a vacuum: The absence of the transformative love of Christ in a life must be filled, and in this case, it will be filled with hatred! If we do not stay at home (abide) with Jesus, we will go out with the world and that will be seen in how we walk and talk! No person can maintain both residences: A person who is staying at home in the world cannot keep their home with Christ also! The presence of jealousy and hatred in a life is an indication that the person is not staying at home with Jesus and is living in the shack of the world. The person who has abandoned brotherly love has abandoned themselves to the world. Love and hate are like light and darkness, and life and death; you are either one or the other but never both at the same time!

 

 

Vs. 16-17 Indifference

Vs. 16-17 In the trilogy of the flesh we see that: Murder starts in the flesh with hatred and hatred begins with indifference! John uses Jesus as the contrast to indifference and as such we can see the difference between how a child of God handles the situation verses the child of devil. The comparison is to be found in the phrase: “By this we know love” Because He (Jesus) laid down His life for us. To understand this, we need to comprehend the depth of this so that we can understand the exhortation. The depth of this is that Jesus, the Holy Son of God who knew no sin became sin for us (2 Cor 5:21). The laying down His life for us was not based upon a debt He owed, an obligation that was required, instead as Heb 10:5-7 informs us of the conversation before the foundation of the world was laid as we read, “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’” Clearly John’s example of what defines hate is to put a condition upon our love based what we are receiving from the object we are called to love. Jesus loving sacrifice was not given to those who had deserved His love in return but to those that didn’t deserve such a sacrifice and never will! Such love is not to be in word but also in deed as John continues to illustrate in verse 17 as he mentions the practical nature of helps with regards to those in the body of Christ in need. We are many in the body of Christ wants answered and that is, How do we demonstrate our love to the individual believer in Christ?

to love not just in tongue, but also in truth as this is who we manifest God’s love for us as we love those whom He has loved with the love in which He has loved us. John answers the question that

And John answers, “Dear Children, let us not love with words and tongue alone but with actions and truth.” To not treat our brothers and sisters in Christ as such demonstrates that we are NOT abiding in the Love of God ourselves.

 

 

1 John 3:18-24

The antidote to hate

  • Introduction
  • 17-18 In deed and in truth
  • 19-24 By this we know

 

 

Introduction

 

Now we take up the antidote to the three examples in types of human relationships that should not be in the body of Christ.

  • 12 Murder
  • 13-15 Hatred
  • 16-17 Indifference

As we shall examine what abiding in Christ’s love should produce in our hearts towards each other in verses 18-24, Compassion and it is this compassion that is the antidote to the flesh. John revealed to his readers that there an unholy trilogy of the flesh in that we see: Murder starts in the flesh when Hatred has progressed beyond the continual attitude of Indifference towards someone in the family of God. The apostle points out in verse 13 that Christian’s should not be surprised by the attitude of the world towards us, but the world ought to be continually surprised by our attitude and action towards them. There are certain characteristics that are mutually exclusive: Love and hate, like light and darkness, life, and death; you are either one or the other but never both at the same time! No person can maintain both residences. A person who is staying at home in the world cannot keep their home (abide) with Christ also!

John will spend the bulk of this section reassuring believers on the assurances that God provides for the believer who is: Practicing righteousness and loving their brothers and sisters in Christ!

Vs. 17-18 In deed and in truth

Vs. 17-18 First John has a further clarification on the type of practical love that he is writing on. The followers of Christ need to remember that Love is seen and not just heard! Our Love for the body of Christ is the evidence of our having received the Love of God! It is the Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle John that reminds the believer that love cannot be understood solely by:

  • What we THINK, no matter how accurate
  • What we FEEL, no matter how passionately
  • What we SAY, no matter how often and eloquently

Instead, the only genuine proof that we can offer is practical, self-sacrificing activity directed towards our brothers and sisters in Christ. The body of Christ is to be the object of our affection and it is to be seen practically and not theoretically and not profession! It is in the small things that are the best tests of the love that Jesus commanded the Christian to have to one another. But the negative of this is also true that when the professing Christian are not willing to help their brothers and sisters in need, it makes it certain John says that at that moment and perhaps for certain that God’s love is not indwelling that person. There must be in every believer a Reality of God’s Love that is seen expressing Gods love by three things:

  • A heart that wants to help their fellow follower of Jesus
  • A heart that seeks to know others needs
  • A heart that is willing to sacrifice their comfort for the needs so others

While on a mission trip the missionary told me the story of a visitor on the foreign field that always spoke of their love for the believers in that country. They were always speaking to him with words that expressed their affection. The missionary was shocked to find out that not one time had they ever contributed anything to meet the needs of those they had said that they loved. The love they had was to be known as loving, but not truly to be loving! The one who has these worlds goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him shows the true condition of self-love. It is to this person that John now asks the question, “How does the love of God abide in him?” The true believer knows what loving in, deed and in truth is. The comparison here is between: DEED and WORD and TRUTH and TONGUE. James in his letter wrote of this in 2:15-16 “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed, and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” To love in WORD means that the person is only interested in TALKING about the need. Whereas as in DEED means that the believer is doing something about it. To merely discuss a NEED or to even have prayed for a need is not the same as doing something about it. The love that Jesus commanded involves more than words, it calls for sacrificial deeds! To love in tongue is the opposite of to love in truth. To love in tongue suggests an insincerity, whereas to love in truth speaks of genuine true heart! People will soon find out if a person is all talk or a person of action. A person of faith or a mere fraud!

 

 

Vs. 19-24 By this we know

Vs. 19-24 The context of this passage is found in the phrase at the start of verse 19 where John writes, “By this we know” and begs the reader to ask to question what is the this that John is writing of? The answer to that is obvious as these next verses describe three blessed assurances that God gives a true believer who practices Christian love.

  1. 19-24a Assurance of authentic relationship: In these verse John reveals 7 signs of an authentic relationship with God in three specific areas: Relationship, Prayer, and Abiding. John does this so that the believer would know that they have passed from death to life:
  2. 19a that we are OF THE TRUTH: Notice that John doesn’t say, IN TRUTH. The difference between IN TRUTH and OF TRUTH is that we are IN the United States which describes a geographical position, whereas if we said we are OF The United States we are declaring that we are made up of The United States, that it is impossible to separate the two. John is declaring that the first assurance that the true believer has because they are practicing truth is that it isn’t just head knowledge but also heart knowledge!
  3. 19b Confident hearts in the presence of God: The true believer has no fear before the presence of God as they practice living before Him in truth. Because they practice truth, they don’t have a condemning heart or accusing conscience and because of this they walk with God in love with an open heart knowing that God only disciplines those He loves.
  4. 20 Freedom from condemnation and doubt of God’s love: Even if our own heart condemns us, we can have the assurance that that God doesn’t condemn us. God is greater that our doubt and never judges us wrongly. Though we should never treat sin lightly, we must also never be harder on ourselves than God is.

  1. 21b-22 Assurance of answered prayer: These next two both deal with our communication with God:
  2. 21 We have confidence with God: The first is confidence in communication to say what is really truly in our hearts before God. We don’t have to pretend or be hypocritical to God. Not only is such action foolish as He is all knowing, in the believer who is practicing truth we can talk with God about whatever is on our hearts knowing that He loves us and longs to hear from us. The freedom of speech gives us greater boldness in approaching in confidence!
  3. 22 Assurance of answers: Here is that the truth that says, “If we seek to do God’s will as if it was ours than He will work through our will as if it was His.” John is not saying that somehow by doing right things we will earn answered prayer no, instead what John is declaring is that a “Christian whoever lives to please God will soon discover that God will always find ways to please His child.” That is what Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
  4. 23-24 Assurance of abiding commitment: John restates the expectation that God has for his children, but this twofold expectation is that which a relationship with Him has assured the follower of the ability to life this out. They we should trust Jesus and because of this that we should love one another. Because of this John declares that they have the assurance of a continued abiding relationship with Christ.
  5. 24a Abides in Him: What we see in this is that such abiding relationship with Christ is reciprocal in nature. Sometimes we think of it as only clinging to Him, and it is clear that we have made the daily decision to stay at home with Jesus, but it is even greater to understand that He has made the decision first to stay at home with us!
  6. 24b And He in us: This assurance also comes with a guarantee of the continual indwelling of the Holy Spirit by which our hearts are constantly reassured of our abiding relationship. The Holy Spirit in our hearts is the guarantee of authenticity of our ongoing relationship with God. Paul wrote to the Roman believers of this in 5:5 saying that the “Love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given us.”