Bible Study 1 John 3: 1-24

 

Commentary of the Book of 1 John 

By Dr. Barry L. Jenkins

Text Used: Legacy Standard Bible

Bible Study 1 John 3: 1-24

Text:

Children of God, Love One Another

3 See [a]how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God; and we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

4 Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or [b]has come to know Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 The one who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. The Son of God was manifested for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Everyone who has been [c]born of God does not sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been [d]born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifested: everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God, as well as the one who does not love his brother.

11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

13 Do not marvel, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his [e]heart [f]against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19 And by this we will know that we are of the truth, and will [g]assure our heart before Him 20 [h]in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence [i]before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

23 And this is His commandment, that we [j]believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He gave a commandment to us. 24 And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave us.

Verse by verse commentary:

Verse 1: “See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God; and we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”

“See how great a love the Father has given to us,” is an outburst of gratitude and thanksgiving. The Father’s love is a gift and not capable of being earned. It is a love of choice. While we were sinners, Christ died for us. When we were unlovable, He loved us in spite of ourselves. The world doesn’t “know” (means intimate knowledge of) us because they don’t have the Father’s love. We are His children not the world’s. Don’t fall into the error that God loves everyone the same. He loves His children, not the world.

NOTE: The “world” in John 3: 16 doesn’t mean everyone in the world.It refers to the world of those who do believe. That is for whom Christ died; He died for those that would believe, that is the elect of God.

Verse 2: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”

All those that repent and believe the Gospel and who places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ have saving faith. They have become a child of God permanently, yet in this life we will still have struggles because we live in a sinful world. One day, when He appears and overcomes the final rebellion during the Tribulation period, we will live a life free from the presence of sin. In the meantime, the Holy Spirit is sanctifying (setting us apart for Him)daily and molding us into the image of Christ.

Verse 3: “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

The person that has the hope described in verses 1 and 2 will seek to live a holy life. The blood of Christ purifies our hearts at conversion and we purify ourselves by resisting temptation, seeking constant cleansing and picking up our cross and following Christ. That is holy living.

Verse 4: “Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.“

“Lawlessness” is disobedience to that law. The verb “does” is in the present tense which means habitual and continual action. This is not about a single violation of the law. This is someone that habitually breaks the Law. One reason why Christians cannot practice sin is because sin is incompatible with the law of God which is loved by all true believers.

Verse 5: “And you know that He was manifested in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.”

Another reason why Christians cannot practice sin is because it is incompatible with the work of Christ that has been completed. Christ died to sanctify (i.e., make holy and set apart) the believer. To practice sin is contrary to Christ’s work of destroying the dominion of sin in the believer’s life. At conversion, we are saved from the penalty of sin. A result of our being born again is to break the power of sin in our lives. When Christ returns, we will be saved from the presence of sin. By becoming our substitute, Christ took away our sins. 

Verse 6: “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or has come to know Him.”

The Greek tense of the verb suggests behavior that is habitual, characteristic or usual.  John is acknowledging the possibility of sin in the life of a Christian, but does not excuse it. I have known denominations that use this verse and the ones to follow to argue for a Christian perfectionism that means that the Christian does not ever commit an intentional sin. They redefine sin to be something only intentional so this verse can stand for the proposition that Christians never sin. The first verse of chapter 2 should be sufficient to defeat that argument. When sin is properly defined, we should prayerfully seek forgiveness daily because we have missed the mark of God’s Holiness. The actual meaning of the verse is that no Christian will have a lifestyle of committing sin. 

Verse 7: “Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”

The word “deceive” means “to be led astray.” False teachers were attempting to pervert the fundamentals of the faith, to prevent this deception from occurring, John repeatedly emphasized the basics of Christianity, e.g., the need for obedience, the need for love, and the need for a proper view of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one “who does righteousness” is the one who practices righteousness. John’s point is that true Christians will have a life of practicing righteousness and walking on the “highway of holiness.”

Verse 8: “The one who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. The Son of God was manifested for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

Again, John is emphasizing the lifestyle of the believer. The lifestyle will be characterized by a life that consistently practices righteousness. The person who practices lawlessness has Satan as his father. You only have two choices: either God is your Father or Satan is. Christ’s mission from the beginning was to destroy the work of Satan that he has and continues to do to humanity. Without Christ, Satan’s work continues in the lives of the lost. 

Verse 9: “Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”

Christians cannot practice sin because it is incompatible with their new heart that has been purified when they were born again. At conversion, the Holy Spirit imparted a new nature to the believer. While the Christian has a new heart, his old corrupted heart still exists. The difference is that after being born again and becoming a new creature in Christ, the old carnal nature is not the dominant force in the life of the believer. Verses 6-9 collectively stand for the principle that a Christian, young or mature, will live a life that practices righteousness not sin. “He cannot sin” means he cannot habitually sin and be a Christian. 

Verse 10: “Christians cannot practice sin is because it is incompatible with the ministry of the Holy Spirit”

This is the summary verse for verses 4-10. There are only two kinds of people in the world: children of God and children of Satan. No one can belong to both families simultaneously. Either one belongs to God’s family and practices righteousness, or one belongs to Satan’s family and habitually commits sin. 

Verse 11: “For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;”

Christ’s command to love is founded on His own gift of love in agreeing to be the sin substitute for God’s chosen elect. He agreed to pay the ultimate price so God’s children could be saved.

Verse 12: “not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

Scripture tells us that Cain outwardly was a God-worshiper who even offered sacrifice. . Cain’s evil actions revealed that inwardly he was a child of Satan.  Cain’s offering was not accepted because he was sinful. Jealousy was heart motivation that led to the murder. 

Verse 13: “Do not marvel, brothers, if the world hates you.”

The world hated the Lord Jesus Christ so much it killed Him. If we are His disciples, we need to be prepared to suffer like He did. That is why our blessed Lord laid down the following terms to be His disciple: deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Him (to the place of execution if necessary). John says don’t be surprised when you are hated for His Name’s sake. 

Verse 14: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love abides in death.”

When you become a Christian, there has been a resurrection from spiritual death to spiritual life. The believer has turned from a life characterized by hate to one that practices love. A lack of love indicates the spiritual darkness in your soul. Love is the acid test of whether someone has been born again or is still in the darkness of spiritual death.

Verse 15: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

John now describes those who have Satan as their father. Their lives are characterized by hate. Hatred is spiritually the same as murder in the eyes of God, i.e., the attitude of the heart is equal to the act itself. Hate is the seed that leads to murder, as seen in the example of Cain's murder of Abel.

Verse 16: “By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

Christ willingly accepted the painful death of the Cross to be our sin substitute so that we might be saved from eternal punishment. While our love for others may not require us to be put to death like Christ, there must be some decision and action demonstrating our love for others. It is not enough to say “be warm be fed” if you have the means to help but don’t. 

Verse 17: “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

True love is not limited to supreme sacrifices such as crucifixion, but shows up in lesser ones. True Christian love expresses itself in sacrificial giving to other Christians’ needs in the church. It is a practical love that is demonstrated by helping others. Where this love does not exist, it is questionable that God’s love is present and that the professing “Christian” is really born again. John provides many practical tests for the church to follow. This is an attempt to expose the false teachers that were in the church.

Verse 18: “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

Making a profession to love is not enough. Love is not sentiment, but actions. Love is a verb. That means it is about action. 

Verse 19: “And by this we will know that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him”

A lifestyle of love demonstrated by actions is a proof of salvation. The word translated “assure” is literally the word persuaded. We can know our spiritual state if we habitually demonstrate love for others. This is not a tolerant woke love that accepts sin, but rather a convicting love that compels us to tell the truth of the Gospel to the lost. Most likely, we will be accused of hate because we won’t accept sinful lifestyles, but our heart knows different.

Verse 20: “in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”

The Word of God which finds us not guilty due the sin substitute we have in Christ  must also prevail over the word of our hearts that may condemn us. Our reality is the Word of God not the notions we dream up independently of the Scriptures. God’s Word is superior to our hearts' imaginations.

Verse 21: “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;”

When the Christian habitually demonstrates love toward the church brothers and sisters, it banishes self-condemnation. When a Christian recognizes in his life the manifestation of love in deeds and actions, it results in making your calling and election sure. It creates confidence about your relationship with God.

Verse 22: “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.”

Another benefit of love is answered prayer. Since love comes from a heart of obedience to the law, its presence in a life evidences submission to God which He blesses by answering prayers according to His perfect will.

Verse 23: “And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He gave a commandment to us.”

Essentially , John is saying, “Don’t say you believe in Him and then not love one another.” With one breath you praise the Lord and say you love the Lord Jesus Christ, but in the next breath you say how much you dislike a brother or sister.  John is not talking about an emotional feel good type of love, but rather a love expressed in genuine concern for the individual. 

Verse 24: “And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave us.”

The Holy Spirit verifies these truths to our hearts if we have not grieved Him. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we are disobedient to His commandments. If we do not keep His commandments,  we grieve the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to every believer when he is born again. The mark that you are a child of God is that you are indwelt by the Spirit of God, and it is the Holy Spirit who will verify these things and make them real to your heart.