Introduction
In last week’s passage, John was writing about the children of God and the children of the devil. The children of God are believers; and the children of the devil are unbelievers. And both of them display a family likeness. Both of them resemble their spiritual parent. So, the devil has been sinning from the beginning; and his children resemble him by making a practice of sinning. And God is righteous in all his ways; and his children resemble him by making a practice of doing what is right. It’s normal for the children of the devil to sin, whereas it’s normal for the children of God to obey. And the children of God have become the children of God, not because they deserved it, or did anything to earn it, but it’s because of the love of God which he has lavished on us when he caused us to be born again by his Spirit.
And last week’s passage closed with John saying that anyone who keeps on doing what is not right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. And that leads us into today’s passage where John reminds believers of our duty to love our fellow believers. And he says we’re not to love one another with words only, but with actions and in truth.
Today’s passage can be divided in the following way. Verse 11 is a kind of heading for what is to follow. Then in verses 12 and 13 he writes about Cain’s hatred for Abel, which represents the world’s hatred for believers. And then in verses 14 to 22 he says more about our duty to love one another. And he holds up the Lord’s love for us as a model for us to follow. And then in verses 23 and 24 he summarises God’s commandment which is twofold: we’re to believe in his Son and we’re to love one another.
Verse 11
And so, let’s turn to verse 11 which is, as I’ve said, a kind of heading for what is to follow. John reminds his readers — and that includes us — of the message which we have heard from the beginning. He’s referring to one of the first things his readers learned when they first heard the good news of the gospel. When they first heard the good news of the gospel, they not only heard about Christ who died for them, but they also heard the message that believers are to love their fellow believers. By giving up his life on the cross to pay for our sins, the Lord Jesus displayed his great love for us. And just as he loved us, so we’re to love one another. And this command to love one another goes right back to the teaching of the Saviour, because in John 13 the Lord Jesus said to his disciples:
A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
There you have it. There’s the message which they heard from the beginning. When they first heard about Christ, they heard about his love for them and how we’re to love one another.
Verses 12 and 13
Now, in a moment, John is going to set before us the positive example of the Saviour. But before he gets to that, he sets before us the negative example of Cain. We can learn from someone’s good example; and we can also learn from someone’s bad example. When it’s a good example, we’re to follow it. When it’s a bad example, we’re to avoid it. And so, do not be like Cain. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one. That is, he was of the evil one. He was a child of the devil. Don’t be like him, because he murdered his brother.
Do you remember the story from Genesis 4? Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. And one day, the two brothers brought offerings before the Lord to worship him. We’re told that God looked with favour on Abel and his offering, whereas the Lord did not look with favour on Cain and his offering. And Cain became angry with his brother and killed him.
‘Why did he murder him?’ John asks. Why did Cain kill Abel? John answers his own question when he explains that it was because Cain’s actions were evil and his brother’s actions were righteous. And we know from what John has been telling us that Cain’s actions were evil because he was a child of the evil one; and Abel’s action were righteous because he was a child of God. One was a believer who belonged to God; and one was not a believer; and he belonged to the devil.
And I’ve spoken before about the enmity which exists between an unbelieving world and the people of God; and how an unbelieving world hates the people of God. Cain killing Abel was the first time this enmity appeared. But we see it when Ishmael laughed at Isaac, the child of promise. We see it when Esau hated his brother Jacob, who was loved by the Lord. We see it when the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites in the days of Moses and killed their sons. We see it in the days of the Judges and the Kings, when God’s people were attacked again and again by the Philistines and other pagan nations. We see it when the Assyrians and Babylonians attacked the people of God and took them away into exile. And we see it in the way King Herod wanted to kill the infant Jesus. Throughout the Bible, we see how an unbelieving world hates the Lord’s people.
And so, John says to his readers in verse 13, that we shouldn’t be surprised if the world hates you. We shouldn’t be surprised because it’s been happening since the days of Cain and Abel; and it happened throughout biblical history; and it’s been happening ever since, because every day Christians are persecuted for their faith and an unbelieving world despises us and mocks us because of what we believe and do for the sake of Christ. Do not be surprised if the world hates you. This has always been the case.
Verses 14 to 18
But we’re to treat one another differently, aren’t we? The world may hate us, but we’re to love one another. We’re to love our fellow believer.
Now, we know that we’re to love everyone. We’re to love our neighbour, whoever our neighbour is. We’re to love even our enemies. And we’re to do good to all, just as God does good to all. We know that. But throughout the New Testament, there’s a special emphasis on the way believers are to love believers. The sad thing is that we can often treat unbelievers better than we treat believers. We can treat unbelievers with special kindness, because we’re trying to win them to Christ. But we can be unkind towards our fellow believer. We can criticise one another. We can complain about one another. We can be impatient with one another. We can look down on one another. We can dishonour one another by the things we say and think. And yet the Lord says to us that his people are to love one another.
In fact, love for our fellow believer is meant to be a mark of a believer. That’s John’s point in verse 14 where he says that we know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers. How do I know that I have passed from death to life? How do I know that I’m no longer under God’s condemnation and the sentence of death, but now have the hope of eternal life in the presence of God? I know it because I can see the mark of a true Christian in my life. Just as a shepherd puts a mark on his sheep to identify them, so God puts a mark on his people to identify his people. And the mark he puts on his people is love: love for other believers.
And the opposite is true. What is the mark of an unbeliever? The mark of an unbeliever is the absence of love. They have no love for Christians. And that person remains in death, says John in verse 14. That person is still under God’s condemnation. That person is still under the sentence of death. When the great day of judgment takes place, such people will be sent out of the presence of God into the darkness to suffer eternal punishment.
And John adds that anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. He’s basing what he says on the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, when the Lord Jesus made clear that God’s command forbidding murder, not only forbids the act of murder, but it also forbids hatred and angry thoughts. And no one who keeps on breaking God’s command forbidding murder and hatred and angry thoughts has eternal life in him. The person who keeps on breaking that command will be condemned on the day of judgment, unless he repents and trusts in Christ for salvation. If he repents and trusts in Christ, he will be forgiven. That’s the good news of the gospel. No matter what people have done, no matter how badly they have broken God’s commands, if they repent and trust in Christ for salvation, they will receive forgiveness from God and the hope of eternal life, because Christ the Saviour paid for the sins of all who believe in him when he gave up his life on the cross. But if people continue in their sin, without turning to Christ for salvation, all they can expect to receive from God is condemnation and eternal punishment.
But do you see what John is saying here to believers? He’s saying that the mark of a believer, the mark of someone who belongs to God, is love for other believers. And so, whenever we fail to love one another as we should, then we’re failing in our Christian duty. We’re falling short of doing God’s will; and we’re not displaying the family likeness to our Heavenly Father and to Jesus Christ his Son. And so, we need to ask ourselves whether or not we’re displaying the family likeness in our lives? Can the mark of a true believer be seen in me? What did the Lord Jesus say? ‘By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’
But how should we love one another? What does loving our fellow believer look like? In verse 16 we come to the positive example which we’re to follow. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us when he died on the cross. He laid down his life as the once-for-all, perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins and all that we have done wrong, so that, by believing in him, we have peace with God. But not only did the Lord Jesus lay down his life to pay for our sins, but he laid down his life to give us an example to follow. Just as he loved us with a sacrificial, costly love, so we’re to love one another with a sacrificial, costly love.
We ought to lay down our life for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. That’s the principle. That’s the rule. Just as he laid down his life for us, so we should lay down our lives for one another. But how should we apply the principle in our daily lives? What does this mean in practice? That’s what verse 18 is about. Here’s a down-to-earth and practical application of the principle. If we have material possessions, if we have what we need, and we have no pity on our brother or sister in the Lord who is in need, then how can the love of God be in us?
The phrase ‘the love of God’ can be interpreted a few ways, such as ‘God’s love for us’ or ‘the love we have for God’. But it’s likely John is referring to a love which comes from God. The believer who has no pity for a needy believer is lacking in that kind of love which comes from God and which was displayed so very clearly in the Lord Jesus when he laid down his life for us.
And so, this is how we apply the principle in our daily lives. Are my fellow believers in need? Are they struggling because of the cost of living crisis? Are they unable to pay their bills? If I’m able to help them, then I should help them. Just as Christ gave up his life for us, so we should give up some of what we have in order to help our brothers and sisters in the Lord who are in need. And so, this is a sacrificial love. It’s a costly love. It involves giving up something of mine to help my needy brother or sister in the Lord.
And so, instead of loving with words and tongue, we should love each other with actions and in truth. James says the same thing in his New Testament letter. He depicts a believer saying to a fellow believer, ‘Go, I wish you well. Keep warm and well fed.’ It sounds good, doesn’t it? It sounds loving. But what good is it? You need to do something to help so that your fellow believer is able to keep warm and well fed. And so, we’re not to love with words and tongue only. We’re to love with actions and in truth. In other words, true love involves action.
And once again it’s worth underlining that he’s referring specifically here to helping our fellow believers. We must be kind to everyone. We must help the poor, whoever they are. But our duty is not over if we give to support the Foodbank or the Vine Centre or another agency which helps the poor. John is reminding us of our duty to help our fellow believers.
Verses 19 to 22
The next verses are tricky. In verses 19 to 22 John refers to our hearts and to whether or not they condemn us and to God who is greater than our hearts and to our confidence before God. Commentators often interpret what he says about the heart as referring instead to our conscience. So, if our conscience condemns us, we should know that God is greater than our hearts. That is, he is kinder towards us than our guilty conscience is. And in that way, we can put our guilty conscience to rest. That’s often how these verses are interpreted.
However, John is not referring to our conscience, but to our heart. And the Greek words translated ‘set our hearts at rest’ really mean ‘persuade our hearts’ or ‘convince our hearts’.
And so, there’s another way to interpret verses 19 to 22. And it’s this. John says that this is how we know that we belong to the truth. How can we know that we belong to the truth? We can know it when we persuade our hearts to love our needy brothers and sisters in the Lord. So, if we persuade our hearts to help them, then we’ll know we belong to the truth, because we’re displaying the mark of a true believer in our lives.
Now, because we’re sinners, we’re often inclined to disregard our fellow believers who are in need and to show them no pity. And when that sinful inclination to do nothing appears in our lives, our hearts condemn us. We see the sin that still lurks in our hearts.
However, because we’re children of God and we want to please him, we should do what we can to convince our sinful hearts to do the right thing. After all, God is greater than our sinful hearts. He is better than we are and his will for us is to love one another in sacrificial, costly ways. And so, we should persuade our sinful hearts to obey him and do the right thing.
And we should obey him like this, because he knows everything. So, he knows when we fall short of doing his will. We might be able to fool other people, but we can’t hide our sins from him. And since he knows all things, we should resist the temptation to do nothing and we should persuade our sinful hearts to obey.
And then, another reason for obeying God is that if our hearts do not condemn us, then we can pray with confidence before God. So, when we’ve done wrong, we hesitate to come before God in prayer. Think of Adam and Eve who fled from God’s presence. But when we’ve done our duty, when we’ve persuaded our sinful hearts to do the right thing and we share what we have with others, then we can come before God with confidence. And John reassures us that we will receive from God whatever we have asked. We’ll receive what we have asked because we have obeyed his commands and we have done what pleases him. Now, God is under no obligation to give us what we ask. And we mustn’t think that we deserve these things from God. But to encourage our obedience, our loving heavenly Father graciously and freely promises to reward us when we do his will and to give us what we ask for in prayer — assuming, of course, that what we ask for in prayer is according to God’s will.
As I say, verses 19 to 22 are tricky. But the main point is clear: God’s will for his believing people is for us to love our fellow believers in action and in truth. True love involved action. And it is sacrificial and costly. And when we love our fellow believers we display the mark of a true believer; and we display in our lives a family resemblance to God the Father and to his Son who laid down his life for us.
Verses 23 and 24
And so, we come to the final two verses. And I hope verse 23 is familiar to you, because I quote a version of it at the end of every service of worship, because it sums up our duty before God. What is our duty before God? What does he command all of us to do? He commands us to believe in his Son and to love one another.
We’re to believe in his Son, because sinners are justified — pardoned and accepted by God — through faith alone in Christ alone. There is no other way to be saved than by believing in him. There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And when we stand before the judgment seat, no one who is here can claim that they never knew they were meant to believe in the Lord Jesus, because you hear this command at the end of every service. This is God’s charge. This is his command. We should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. And that means you should believe in the name of his Son. God is not saying this to some of you, but to all of you. Believe in his Son.
But the command is twofold, isn’t it? We’re to believe in the Lord Jesus, because we’re justified by faith alone in Christ alone. But the mark of a true believer is what? That we will love one another. That we will love our fellow believers. And true love involves action. So, God is commanding us to love one another not with word and tongue, but with actions. And so, will you do that? Having believed, will you do what you can to love your fellow believer? When you see a fellow believer in need, don’t disregard him, but help him. And if there’s anyone here who is in need, please let me know so that we can do something about it. Don’t suffer in silence. Tell me about it.
John adds right at the end that those who obey God’s commands live in him and he in them. As one of the commentators puts it (Bruce), obedience to the Lord’s commandments is not the cause, but the proof. It’s not the cause, but the evidence. Do you see what I’m saying? We’re not to think that because I obey, I live in God and God lives in me. It’s the other way around. It’s because I live in him and he lives in me, that I obey him. I live in him by faith. That is to say, I have a relationship with him by faith. And he lives in me by his Spirit. And his Spirit living in me enables me to obey him.
How can you know whether God the Spirit lives in you? You can’t see him. So, how can you know? You know because of the effect he has in your life and how he enables you more and more to do the will of God, which is to love your fellow believer.
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