Bible Commentaries
1 John 3

Verses 1-3

THE ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FELLOWSHIP

1 John 3:1. See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this rea­son the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

1 John 3:2. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not ap­peared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.

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

The first thing to mark is that all Christians, the weak as well as the strong ones, are the ob­jects of His love. Behold! Who ever heard of such a thing that sinners redeemed by the blood of Christ can become the objects of the love of God! In John 3:16 we are told the measure of His love. The same is true in Romans 5:8 where we read,

“God commendeth His love toward us, in that, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, Christ died for us.”

In the verse we are considering here, we are dealing with the manner of His love. Here is an imparted, a bestowed love so great and wonderful that we are brought into relationship with Him as His children. We receive not only an imparted life, but also an imparted love.

One translation of this first verse says “that we should be called the sons of God”—and we are!

In the Gospel according to John, we find this same wonderful truth of an imparted life. When a sinner accepts the Saviour, he receives a new life from God.

“In Him was life” (John 1:4).

“As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12).

In this new relationship we are partakers of the divine nature, and the imparted life which we re­ceive is divine life.

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and pre­cious promises: that by these YE MIGHT BE PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4).

This is not stated to angels, nor to principali­ties and powers, but to redeemed sinners.

What a wonderful place His love has given us! What a nobility of position! What a place of honor, of perfect assurance, of divine relationship! We find our hearts quieted in wonder. We are the chil­dren of One who is God.

The righteous God loves us!!

In John 13:1, the night when Jesus was be­trayed, the night that Peter denied Him, the night that all His disciples ran away and left Him, it still could be said of Jesus that “having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” It is because of this divine love for us as His children that we can come with confidence into the presence of God and have blessed, intimate fellow­ship with Him.

Who would not love such a Saviour?

Who would not want a life of obedience and submission in fellowship with such a God?i

The result of this relationship is stated in the last half of the first verse,

1 John 3:1 b. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Did you ever stop to think that the world never understood Jesus?

The Lord Jesus took His place among men and lived in the human family, but they never knew Him. He never sought wealth or fame or power. All He wanted was His Father’s will. Hence the world disowned Him, cast Him out, and crucified Him.

The world still wants to carry on its program without God and without God’s people. In many ways Christians are a thorn in the flesh to those leaders who wish to bring in a world dominion without God. The world is turning more and more away from God. It does not want God nor His in­terference with its plans and its program. When we declare that we are the children of One who is God, this world, which never knew the Saviour, will not know us either.

The world had no place for Christ. The world will have no place for us.

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me be­fore it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my say­ing, they will keep yours also” (John 15:18-20).

When we come to know the Lord, we are will­ing to give up even our friends for His sake. But believe me, when our friends give us up—that’s different! Then we find how much pride we have. Jesus said that if a man would come after Him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). If we follow the Lord, then we should not be surprised if the world mis­understands us and has no place for us.

Our present relationship to God is restated in the second verse:

1 John 3:2. Beloved, now are we children of God.

We are not waiting to become children of God. We are the children of God now. We will never be any closer in relationship with God, even after we have been in the glory for a thousand years. Rela­tionship does not change. Fellowship does.

“As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12).

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).

“God sent forth His Son . . . to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of chil­dren by Jesus Christ to Himself” (Ephesians 1:5).

God has determined that everyone who will put his trust in His Son should be adopted into His family as sons. It is an amazing thing. We are the sons of One who is God, and we are and ever will be the objects of His love and His devotion.

The verse goes on to state our future rela­tionship.

1 John 3:2. And it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.

God our Father is righteous. Our future experi­ence will be that we will stand in His presence looking just like His precious Son, who is made unto us righteousness. I love the confidence of John. We know.

How much do we know?

I KNOW whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day (2 Timothy 1:12).

BEING CONFIDENT of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:13).b

The American Standard Version translates the last phrase, “even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God.”

Did you ever stop to think of it? When God gets through with you and me, we are going to be just like His Son. What will we look like when we get to heaven? Just like Jesus. My, what a transforma­tion! Only God could do this.

We tend to look at the other fellow and say, “I am so glad he is going to be changed.”

Yes, but we are going to be changed, too. We can look at other Christians today and find plenty of ground to criticize. But let us not do that. Wait until God is through with all of us. God is not go­ing to be satisfied with any of us until we stand in his presence like His Son.

You will never be satisfied with me, and I will never be satisfied with you until we look just like Jesus. I say again, only God can do that. Isn’t it wonderful that we have this joyful anticipation of the coming of our Saviour, whom having not seen we love?

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I KNOW in part; but then shall I KNOW even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31).

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predesti­nate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fash­ioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself (Philippians 3:20-21).

What a blessed hope! Today we can live in the anticipation of His coming.

We have noted that we are encouraged in our fellowship because of our present relationship as the sons of God. It is this relationship which causes the world not to know us, because it did not know Him. We are also encouraged by the fu­ture prospect that when the Lord Jesus comes, the dead in Christ will be raised, and we believers will be caught up together with them and will be trans­formed and glorified (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:10-11).b

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-31; John 3:1-36).

“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalms 17:15).

Read also the passages in 1 Corinthians 15:51-57 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.

We also read,

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Co­rinthians 3:18).

If contemplation and occupation with Christ af­fects our lives and changes our lives now, what will it be when we see Him face to face? We shall be just like Him.

May I add a solemn note here? When the world sees Him, it will be a time of judgment for them:

“Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kin­dreds of the earth shall wail because of Him” (Revelation 1:7).

The Christian looks forward with joyful anticipa­tion, but the world shall wail.

You see, the first time He came to the world as a Saviour, but the next time He will return to the world as the Judge.

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid them­selves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:15-16).

Twenty-seven times in the Book of Revelation He is called the Lamb of God. Men are going to be judged in the presence of the Lamb.

If you are unsaved, what is your hope?

What is your prospect?

When you leave this world, then what?

It is an amazing thing that when we read the New Testament, we find that God has hope for the earth upon which we walk. It has the hope of be­ing delivered from the curse of sin. The animal creation has hope (Romans 8:18-25). The believer in Christ has hope.

Did you ever stop to think of the one group which has no hope? There are no prospects ahead for those who are out of Christ, who have never re­ceived the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.

Life is only a fleeting shadow. We are here today and gone tomorrow. But you can have hope and you can have life. Take the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for you and rose again, as your own personal Saviour, and then you, too, will have hope. In Him is Life.

I do not remember where I read this, but it is worth repeating:

Sonship starts with life,
It is expressed in love,
It is marked by loyalty,
It culminates in likeness.
When we see Him,
We shall be like Him!

The following outline is by Dr. Griffith Thomas taken from his The Apostle John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, pp. 279-283)

“WE ARE NOW HIS CHILDREN”

The Fact of Sonship (1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:1)

The Mark of Sonship—practical righteous­ness (1 John 2:29)

The Privilege of Sonship—objects of His love (1 John 3:1)

The Consciousness of Sonship—we are His sons (1 John 3:1)

The Mystery of Sonship—the world doesn’t even know us (1 John 3:1)

The Crown of Sonship—we shall be like Him (1 John 3:2)

The Demands of Sonship—to purify ourselves as He is pure (1 John 3:3)

Our present relationship and our hope for the future have a practical application in our pre­sent experience.

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

Every man that hath this hope in him has the incentive for holy living. The blessed hope and prospect of seeing Him face to face is a purify­ing hope. Notice that Christ Himself is the stan­dard of Christian living. We are to purify ourselves even as He is pure. May I say that setting our hearts on Him always brings purification from defilement. When we shall see Him, we shall be like Him.

What an incentive to live for God!

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right­eousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

Do you love His appearing? If you do, you will purify yourself even as He is pure. This is a sancti­fying, a purifying hope.

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

Verse 4

As we study the opposition to the fellowship with God who is righteous, we must first of all see what sin is. The very first verse of this section defines it for us.

1 John 3:4. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

Sin is lawlessness. Sin is self-will and rebellion against the person and law of God. It is not merely the transgression of the law of the Ten Com­mandments or the law of the Sermon on the Mount, but rather it is the spirit of lawlessness. It is a life which is lived without respect or consid­eration for the will and purpose of God.

I would like to say here that the law of Moses was not given as a means of salvation, but it was given to reveal what sin is. I would like to list here eleven things which the law does or does not do.

WHAT THE LAW CAN DO AND CANNOT DO

1. It makes sin exceeding sinful (Romans 7:7; Romans 7:13; Romans 5:20).

2. It works wrath (Romans 4:15).

3. It is a ministration of death (2 Corinthians 3:7-9).

4. It is the strength of sin (1 Corinthians 15:56).

5. It brings a curse (Galatians 3:10).

6. It was added because of transgressions (Galatians 3:19).

7. By the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).

8. It is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

9. The law is not of faith (Galatians 3:12)

10. The law cannot justify (Romans 3:20).

11. The law cannot give life (Galatians 3:21).

We see that the law is not of faith. It cannot give life. It cannot forgive or cleanse. It cannot make us strong. It demands, but gives no power to perform. The law makes sin exceeding sinful and gives a distinctive character to sin.

It acts like a mirror to show us just how un­clean we are (James 1:22-24). Mr. Moody used to say that we certainly do not wash our face with the mirror. The law shows us that we are transgres­sors, but it does not make us good. It cannot make us righteous; instead, it works wrath.

The law served as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth (Romans 10:4).

Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14).

John has explained in this chapter that sin is the transgression of the law. It is lawlessness. Sin is contrary to the very character of a righteous God, and so sin breaks fellowship with God. Sin is an enemy and should have no place in the life of one who is a child of God.

Verses 4-13

THE OPPOSITION TO THE FELLOWSHIP

1 John 3:4. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness: and sin is lawlessness.

1 John 3:5. And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

1 John 3:6. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.

1 John 3:7. Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who prac­tices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;par1John 3:8. the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this pur­pose, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:9. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

1 John 3:10. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

1 John 3:11. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

1 John 3:12. 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 righteous.

1 John 3:13. Do not marvel, brethren, if the world hates you.

It may come as a surprise to some to learn that there is opposition to fellowship with God who is righteous. Before we became Christians, we didn’t have any opposition. The devil was not opposed to us, the world was not opposed to us, and the flesh was enjoying sin too much.

When we accepted the Saviour, we were trans­lated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son. We received the gift of eter­nal life and the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Immediately we had three enemies:

1. the world,

2. the flesh,

3. and the devil.

Verse 5

The Apostle goes on to tell us that we have deliverance in our Lord Jesus Christ. The law is on one side of the cross, and the Christian is on the other side of the cross. This does not mean that Christians never sin. It does mean that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, and that He is our righteousness.

1 John 3:5. And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

Two things are mentioned about our Lord in this verse. The one has to do with His work, and the other concerns His Person. We will consider the statement concerning his Person first.

3:5. In Him there is no sin.

He is the absolutely sinless One with no trace of rebellion in Him. He is the exact opposite of what we are. In order to get a realistic look at ourselves, we must look at the Saviour.

Jesus is God’s perfect Man. Jesus, as He walked among men, lived the life that God wants men to live. Jesus could say to the religious leaders of His day,

“Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” (John 8:46).

His life was an open book. He could tell the high priest that He had done nothing in secret. I wonder, my friend, whether we would like others to see the secrets of our lives. Remember that Pi­late had to acknowledge that he could find no fault in him at all (John 18:38).

There are other Scriptures which refer to the truth that Jesus Christ is the sinless One.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, WHO KNEW NO SIN; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“WHO DID NO SIN, neither was guile found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, YET WITHOUT SIN” (Hebrews 4:15).b

WHICH OF YOU CONVINCETH ME OF SIN?” (John 8:46)

“IN HIM IS NO SIN” )1 John 3:5).

His work, that which He has accomplished for us, is the basic, essential, blessed truth of the Gospel. He had no sin in Himself, but He was manifested to take away our sins. The sinless One became sin. He was a fit sacrifice, and He put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. We should make no apology or allowance for sin when we re­alize that our Lord was manifested to take away our sins.

“Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21)

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from the present evil world” (Galatians 1:4).

“But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

“But this man, after he had offered one sacri­fice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12).

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Verse 8

In the eighth verse, the Apostle goes on to tell us that He was manifested so that He might destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8 b. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

I personally believe that the Lord Jesus Christ and the devil had a personal conflict. As a man, Christ faced the devil in person and defeated him. In His death, Christ triumphed over the devil. It is a wonderful truth that He guarantees to us deliv­erance from the power of the devil.

There is one thing that is absolutely sure: The devil has no authority over those who are in Christ Jesus. Our Lord was manifested to take away our sins and to destroy the works of the devil.

Proof Texts

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:14-15).(“In it” means in the cross.)

Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31).

What a wonderful deliverance He has made for us! Not only has He delivered us from the power of sin and Satan, but He has made us His children. We cannot repeat too often what John is showing us in this Epistle. The great yearning of the heart of God is that His children will walk in fellowship with Him.

The requirement for walking with God is that we must be righteous. He has made provision for this in Christ Jesus. So then, if I am a child of One who is righteous, righteousness should character­ize my life.

“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).

Now let us review the thrust of this third chap­ter. In the first three verses, the Apostle encour­ages us because we are in Christ and we are His children; and it is because of this that we can have fellowship with Him.

In the section from verse four to verse thirteen, he shows us the opposition to fellowship with God. That opposition is because of sin and so, in verse four, he shows us what sin is. It is lawlessness.

However, there is a solution to the problem of sin, and this is stated in verses five and eight.

The answer to our problem is that Christ was manifested to put away sin, and He was mani­fested to destroy the works of the devil.

Now, as a demonstration of what he is teaching us, he gives to us the contract between two fami­lies in the section from verses six to thirteen. Those two families are the children of God and the children of the devil. It is a contrast between right­eousness and sin.

The man in Christ Jesus is declared righteous by God. The believer in Christ is looked upon by God as being righteous with that righteousness which is the mark of divine Sonship. Therefore, right­eousness will manifest this relationship to God and be the evidence of it. Practical righteousness is a mark of divine Sonship.

This does not mean that a Christian will never sin. It does mean that the child of God does not want to sin. The believer in Christ does not habitually sin, so sinning is not the rule of his life. He is not dominated by sin. It is true that the Christian may fail God, but the pattern of his life is not one of rebellion and sinfulness against God. Rather, his desire is to please God.

Because this is true, the Christian may get dis­heartened when he does sin. Let me encourage you, my Christian friend, when you get disheart­ened about this.

Have you stopped to think that the man of the world does not get disheartened over sin? The unsaved man lives in sin. He is full of sin, full of self-will, full of unrighteousness. His relationship is not to God but is to the enemy, the devil; and therefore sin characterizes and dominates his life.

Verse 9

The devil was a liar and a murderer from the beginning, and so those who reject the Saviour and follow the devil will manifest this by lives of sin.

The believer who is born of God is a new crea­tion. This is stated in 2 Corinthians 5:17. The manner of this new birth is explained in John 1:12-13. This new creation is created in right­eousness and true holiness according to Ephe­sians 4:24. This new creation which is born of God does not commit sin. It is born of God and God is righteous.

1 John 3:9. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

This is restated later in this same Epistle.

“We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (1 John 5:18).

This new creation dwells in mortal, fleshly bodies, and so it is true that there are Christians who have been living somewhat in rebellion against God. This is a passing thing. If a person is really a child of God and is living in rebellion against God, then God will deal with him as with a son.

“Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6).

Chastening is not a pleasant thing to experi­ence (Hebrews 12:11), but God uses it to keep His children from disobedience and to produce right­eousness in character and in life.

God does not chasten those who are not His chil­dren. In fact, Hebrews 12:8 informs us that if we do not receive chastisement, the possibility is that we are not the children of God. I can remember that my mother did not chasten the neighbor’s children, but she surely chastened us. So, whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth.

If you really love the Lord, sin will not charac­terize your life. If you love to sin and love to rebel against the things of God, then you should exam­ine your heart to find out if you are truly trusting the Saviour. A new creation, born of God, is cre­ated in righteousness and true holiness.

Verses 11-13

Now the Apostle John goes on to give us an illus­tration of these two families and the characteris­tics of the families.

1 John 3:11. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

1 John 3:12. 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 righteous.

1 John 3:13. Do not marvel, brethren, if the world hates you.

Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. Their story is told in Genesis 4:1-26. Both boys had been taught by their parents. They understood the fact of sin. They knew that One would come, the Seed of the woman, who would provide redemp­tion. They knew that they must bring an offering as they came to worship God, and they knew the kind of offering they should bring and its signifi­cance.

Abel took firstling of his flock, a lamb without blemish, to offer as a sacrifice. We read in Hebrews 11:4: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more ex­cellent sacrifice than Cain.”i

In the bringing of his sacrifice he acknowl­edged that he was a sinner and that he believed in the promise of a coming Redeemer.

Cain, on the other hand, brought the fruit of a cursed ground as his sacrifice. He ignored the fact of sin and also the promise of God concerning a Saviour. He was an unbeliever. The great differ­ence was that Abel responded to God’s revelation and submitted to His will. He brought his offering in faith and obedience. Cain was disobedient and willful, coming to God with that which God could not receive.

Men today still seek to bring to God the fruit of a sinful, fallen nature; but a holy, righteous God cannot accept that which is sinful. Yet God was longsuffering with Cain, pleading with him to bring a sin offering. He rebelled against God, then rose up against his brother and slew him. He was not angry at Abel. He was angry at God. He demon­strated that anger by slaying God’s man.

John tells us in our text that Cain was of that wicked one and slew his brother. Why did he slay him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s works were righteous. In other words, the heart of Cain in his attitude toward God mani­fested itself in his disobedience to the Word of God. The heart of Abel in his attitude toward God manifested itself in his obedience to the Word of God.

Let us make this very, very clear. One is not a child of the devil because he is bad nor is one a child of God because he is good. A child of God is a person who has accepted God’s way of salvation in Christ Jesus.

“As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

God has declared that He will save. He will for­give. He will give eternal life to those people who accept His salvation in Christ Jesus.

Cain knew how he should come and knew what he should bring. He rebelled against God because his heart was evil. It was because of this evil heart that his works were bad. On the other hand, Abel had accepted God’s way of salvation, and his heart was right toward God. Therefore, he responded in simple obedience; and in his sacrifice he mani­fested his faith and his obedience. This is the rea­son he was accepted of God.

May I give a word of caution. All people on earth are divided into two families. One is either a child of God or a child of the devil. Christians, please be very slow ever to call anyone a child of the devil! It does say in Ephesians 2:3 that we were all by nature the children of wrath. However, when Scripture uses the term “children of the devil” as in John 8:1-59 and here in this Epistle, it re­fers to people who hate the Lord Jesus. In our Lord’s day, He referred to the religious leaders who were spurning and rebelling against Him, the Son of God. Here in this Epistle, a child of the devil is illustrated by Cain, who had an evil heart and manifested it in his refusal to obey God or to ac­cept God’s way of sacrifice.

May I also give a word of encouragement. God desires an intimacy with us. God makes known His ways only to those who walk with Him.

“He made known his ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel” (Psalms 103:7).

Israel saw only His acts, His power. Moses was given to know God’s ways. How wonderful it is to

know that God wants to sit down with us, through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, and teach us the things pertaining to Himself. He yearns to open His heart to us and show us the purposes that He has for the world. So let us be warm­hearted, in love with the Saviour. When we read the Word of God, let us let Him come into our lives.

Verses 14-18

THE EVIDENCE OF THE FELLOWSHIP

It is interesting that in chapter two we learned that love for the brethren is the evidence of fellow­ship with God who is light. Here we learn that love for the brethren is also the evidence of fellowship with God who is righteous.

1 John 3:14. We know that we have passed out of death into life, be­cause we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

1 John 3:15. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

1 John 3:16. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1 John 3:17. But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1 John 3:18. Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

We know. This is experiential knowledge. How do I know when I am in fellowship with God who is righteous? How do I know that I am a child of God?

We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. If I say that I am the child of God who is righteous, then I am going to manifest that by a righteous life, displayed in love for the brethren.

Remember, we do not receive eternal life by lov­ing the brethren! Eternal life is a free gift from God received by faith (John 5:24; John 3:16; Romans 6:23). Our faith has the risen Christ as its object. We have dared to believe that what God says is true. We have put our trust in the Saviour who died to put away our sins, and so we have received eternal life. This is what His Word declares.

God sees our faith and counts it to us for righteousness. Men cannot see our faith, but men can experience our love!

Then how can we know in our experience that we have eternal life? It will be manifested in our love for the brethreni .

Life is not received by love. Life is received by re­lationship through faith. Love is the action of that life!

The passage from verses 5-13 shows us that eternal life will be manifested in us by righteous­ness. If a believer is in fellowship with a God who is righteous, then his acts will be righteous.

3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

Now John is getting right down into our hearts and telling us that if we claim to be joined to God who is righteous, it will be evident by our love for the brethren. Loving the unsaved is not mentioned here; the evidence is loving the breth­ren. So the manifestation of our fellowship with God is a life of practical righteousness and a love for the brethren.

Verse 16

The next logical question would be: how are we to manifest our love for the brethren? John an­swers this by an illustration.

1 John 3:16. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

He expresses the same thought in the fourth chapter.

1 John 4:9. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

1 John 4:10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God manifested His love to us by sacrifice. We manifest our love for the brethren by sacrifice. We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. He is not talking about martyrdom here. He is talking about loving our brother with the kind of love He manifested. This is one of the greatest needs among God’s people today.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one an­other. By this shall all men know that ye are My disci­ples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:34-35).

How shall we love each other? Even as He has loved us! This is a love that must come from God.

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:5).

It is not our doctrine, nor our ability, nor some special gift of the Spirit, but it is love of the breth­ren that is the evidence of fellowship with God who is righteous. The Lord wants this love of the breth­ren to be a reality, not just empty profession. He wants deeds, not just talk. God sees my faith but men should experience my love. Christianity is love in action.

Let us not judge other Christians in the light of our own conscience or in the light of our experi­ence. It is so easy to judge the falling brother and to criticize those who do not walk the way we think they should walk.

Remember, there are those in the family of God who are mature Christians, and there are those who are not mature. We do not expect a baby to live and act like a grown man or woman. Likewise, there must be time for growth in the things of God.

Immature Christians, new Christians, babes in Christ may say things and do things that are not right, yet they belong to the Saviour. We are to love them. If God loves them, we ought to, too.

Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gen­tleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted (Galatians 6:1).i

Satan has knitted together all the antichris­tian forces, and he also succeeds in separating the believers from within. Love is the need among professing Christians today. We who love the Sav­iour and who love the Word of God should be genuine in our love one for the other. We are to love those who love the Saviour.

This does not mean that we are to compromise our own faith in the Saviour or our conviction of truth. It does mean we are to love anyone who be­longs to the Saviour. How are we ever going to come together in a oneness of doctrine and of life unless we first love one another in Christ?

What a testimony it would be before the world if we loved even those who don’t agree with us on every point!

Personally, I will go a long way with a person who really is genuine in his love for the Lord Jesus Christ. We must keep in mind that all Christians do not have the same opportunities, they are not equally taught, they do not equally love the Word of God.

Yet the command is that all Christians should love one another. The tragedy is that some Chris­tians will even go to the world to criticize another Christian. This is what the world loves. It is like a sweet morsel under their tongue. It gives them ammunition against the gospel.

My brother, if we must criticize another Chris­tian, let us do it in love and to his face, or, if nec­essary, before the people of God. Let us never go to the world and there run down the people of God.

We preach Christ. Then let us also manifest the love of Christ!

Verses 19-21

THE RESULT OF THE FELLOWSHIP

The result of our fellowship with God who is righteous is that we have confidence and assur­ance.

1. We have assurance in fellowship.

1 John 3:19. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him,

1 John 3:20. in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

1 John 3:21. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confi­dence before God.

I am thankful for that word “know,” which shows there is no doubting or questioning. This is not talking about assurance of salvation. This verse is speaking about assurance of the fact that we are in fellowship with God so that we have a boldness before God based on a walk with the righteous God.

“If our heart condemn us . . . ” When we come be­fore God, our heart is going to be convicted if there is failure or any disobedience to His Word. God is greater than our heart. If we know what we have done, certainly God knows what we have done. If we come into the presence of God and feel con­demned, it is because we are out of fellowship and are walking apart from Him. We cannot hide any­thing from Him. He knows all things. He longs for our heart to respond to His heart. We are to con­fess our sin to Him as we learned in 1 John 1:9. He has promised to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

“If our heart condemn us not . . .” If there is noth­ing between our heart and God’s heart, then we have boldness and confidence before God. This is not a demanding spirit but an attitude of worship and of humility. We come as the children of God but still His creatures.

There is a reverence and awe and worship in fellowship with God. There is also a peace and a confidence before God. The best way to describe it is to give an illustration from the Scripture.

In the book of Exodus, chapters 32 and 33, we are told something of the relationship between God and Moses. God had brought the people of Israel out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. They had been brought through the Red Sea, miracu­lously fed, given water in the wilderness by God. Then Moses went up on the mountain to receive the Lord’s law.

Meanwhile, Aaron and the people made a molten calf and worshiped it. God was displeased and told Moses that He would blot out this idolatrous na­tion and make a great nation of Moses.

Moses said to God, “You cannot do that. Then your promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would not avail. Furthermore, what would the Egyptians say? You would be dishonored among the nations of the earth.”

Notice the boldness of Moses. He pleaded with God on the basis of God’s promises and the glory of His Person. And the Lord heard the prayer of Moses.

Then the Lord promised Moses, “My presence shall be with thee, and I will give thee rest” (Exodus 33:14). Again, notice the boldness and the confi­dence of Moses as he asks God to show him His glory. Fellowship with the eternal God brings such confidence.

Oh, that we might come before God with such openness of heart! If you have failed God, remem­ber He has made the provision for you to be for­given and cleansed. If your heart condemns you in His presence, why don’t you confess your sin and be cleansed from all unrighteousness? Then you can go on to enjoy the day in fellowship with God.

Verses 22-23

2. Another result of fellowship with God who is righteous is assurance in prayer.

1 John 3:22. And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.

When we are walking in fellowship with God, all doubts are removed and we will come to Him in prayer.

Communion with God excludes all false peti­tions. We will not want that which is outside the will of God but will seek to please Him. Whatsoever we ask of Him we will receive because we are obe­dient to His Word and because we trust Him. What are His commandments to us?

The next verse tells us.

1 John 3:23. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He com­manded us.

Let us look ahead in this same Epistle to another expression of this same confidence in prayer.

And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him (1 John 5:14-15).

People often say to me, “I stood on these prayer promises and God didn’t answer me.” May I ask some questions?

What did you ask for?

Did you ask according to His will (1 John 5:14)? Did you ask those things that are pleasing in His sight (1 John 3:22)?

Were you asking for your own selfish purposes or for His honor and praise and glory?

Let us consider the Scriptures that give us the ground for answered requests.

And in that day you will ask Me no question. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for any­thing, He will give it to you in My name.

Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.

These things I have spoken to you in figurative lan­guage; an hour is coming when I will speak no more to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.

In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request the Father in your behalf;

for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father.

I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again, and going to the Fa­ther (John 16:23-28).

Jesus is saying, “In that day,” that is, in the day when the Spirit of God indwells you, “you shall ask me nothing.”

Why is this?

It is because in that day “you shall ask the Fa­ther in My name.” Jesus mentions the Father six times in six verses. Our Lord is emphasizing this. It is because of relationship to the Father that our Lord is not going to make our requests for us. The Father Himself loves us.

We can come into the presence of the Father in all the righteousness and beauty of our Saviour, and thus we may come with confidence. If there is nothing between us and the Father, then Jesus says, “Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, he will give it you.”

I am going to be bold enough to state that if we come to the Father under these conditions, we will invariably pray in the will of God. I believe this is what it means in Judges 1:20, “Praying in the Holy Spirit.”

We can have a confidence, a rest, an assurance in the presence of God so that we are not afraid to make our requests because He loves us. Did you mark this? Not because we love Him but because He loves us! “For the Father Himself loves you.”

When we make our request, there must be nothing between us and the Father, nothing for our heart to condemn.

The Lord Jesus sets forth another condition for answered prayer,

And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me any thing in My name, I will do it (John 14:13-14).

Here is another sure promise, but it does require our obedience. Do we make our requests so that the father will be glorified in the Son?

The Lord is telling us that we have this tremen­dous resource of coming into the presence of God in order that we might manifest to the world the character, the heart, the love, and the compassion of God.

An exegesis of this chapter would point out that Jesus is answering the request, “Show us the Fa­ther. ” He tells of the resources that we have, and one of these is prayer. When we, as Christians, walk in fellowship with God, then by the Spirit of God we get to know His will. Then our will and our wish will be that the Father might be glorified in Jesus Christ in the midst of men.

Let us consider another condition.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you (John 15:7).

Are we abiding in Him?

Is His Word abiding in us? Then, we ask what we will.

Well, then what will our desire be? What would we pray?

We will pray His will! He will put His desire into our hearts. Then, as we pray in the Spirit of God, He answers that prayer. Invariably! Because it is prayed through the Spirit of God in an obedient heart!

As we walk in fellowship with the Saviour, by the Spirit of God, we come to know the desires of God’s heart. Then, in cooperation with Him, we use prayer, that tool, that channel, that weapon which God has given us. We become instruments in the hands of God for the performance of His will and the carrying out of His purpose for the glorify­ing of His Son among men.

The Christian has two great weapons from God. One is the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit. It is by the Word of God that people are brought to Christ. It is by the Word of God that the Christians are cleansed. The other weapon is prayer. Prayer is the instrument by which we touch the sovereign, omnipotent God who has all authority in heaven and in earth.

We Christians have a tremendous responsibility to pray for our country and government and all in authority. We should pray that the church of Christ may realize its position and place, carrying to the world the wonderful story of redeeming grace. We should pray for the world. We cannot read the Bible without realizing that prayer is the weapon which God has put into the hands of His children. Abraham pleaded for Sodom and Gomor­rah and for Abimelech and his nation. Moses pleaded for Israel. Job prayed for his friends. Ezra, Daniel, Jeremiah prayed for their people.

We need to know these truths concerning prayer so that we do not become discouraged and disheartened in our praying. The Lord loves us with an everlasting love. Nothing delights Him more than that His children come to Him with their requests, with their worship, and with their praises. We come in humility before a loving, eter­nal, sovereign God, knowing that He is able to work out His own purposes. We can touch the throne of God. What a privilege is ours.

Verse 24

3. The third result of fellowship with God who is righteous is that we have assurance because of our union with Him.

We have been looking at the requirements for ef­fectual prayer and found the two specific com­mandments in verse 23. We should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another. This, then, leads to the ground for our confidence, which is our union with Him.

1 John 3:24. And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Here is the fact of our amazing union with Christ. Our Lord said the same thing in John 14:1-31.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

that is the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot re­ceive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while, the world will behold Me no more;

but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and

you in Me, and I in you (John 14:16-20).

“At that day” again refers to the day when the Spirit of God will indwell you. Because He is abid­ing in us by His Spirit, we have this wonderful un­ion between the Saviour and His people, and this gives us confidence to come into the presence of God.

Many of God’s people who love the Saviour really know so little about our bond with Him. The same union that Jesus has with the Father is the union that Jesus has with us. What confi­dence! What assurance! What joy!

We are eternally, completely, absolutely joined to the Son of God. There is no power on earth or in hell that can break that relationship and that un­ion. If this would ever grip our hearts as it should, we would be an entirely different people.

1 John 2:28 has the same thought of standing before Him with confidence and not being ashamed before Him at His coming. This is what God wants of you and of me. Because of our union with Him, we can have this confidence, this assurance, this boldness. Our Lord told us in John 4:23 that the Father is seeking worshipers.

The first thing that He wants from His people is worship. That is why the Saviour asked Peter three times in John 21:1-25, “Peter, do you love Me?”

He didn’t ask Peter whether he would serve Him or do this thing or that thing. The all-important question is whether we love Him. Everything else will come as an outflow of a love for the Saviour.

We need to get back to basic, foundational truth. We have confidence not only because our sins have been put away, not only because we can come into His presence as His children, not only because we stand before God in all the beauty and righteousness of Christ, but also because of our union with our Saviour.

His life has become our life.

His desire has become our desire.

His will has become our will.

His purpose has become our purpose.

We are going to cooperate with Him whatever He wants. This is Christianity in action. This is our love for Him in action.

Some people become so occupied with an experi­ence they have had that they shut out the pres­ence of the Saviour. They talk about experience but are ignorant of the Word of God and of this wonderful union with the Saviour. That is a life on the level of shallow emotionalism. It is true that God has given us emotions, but let us not live in emotionalism. Let us get down to the very heart of God, to the reality of our union with the Saviour. Let us stop playing at being religious, and let us walk with God and become available to Him. Then He will find us channels through whom He can display Himself to the hearts and lives of men and women on the earth.

Now let us take a quick overview of this chap­ter.

In the first three verses, we had the encourage­ment to have fellowship with God who is righteous. There is a present encouragement because we are now His children. There is a future encouragement, for His purpose will be completed and we shall all be conformed to the image of His Son. Everyone who has this hope in him purifieth him­self even as He is pure.

The opposition to the fellowship was set forth in verses 4-13. We are exhorted not to marvel if we are hated by the world. The world had no place for Christ and never understood Him.

The world could only cast Him out. So we are not to be surprised when we follow the Lord Jesus to find that this same old world will not want us ei­ther.

The evidence of fellowship with God who is righteous is love for the brethren, verses 14-18. God calls us to reality. We are not to love only in word but also in deed.

Verses 19-24 show us the assurance in fellow­ship because God has made provision to remove the barrier that has broken fellowship. We can have assurance in prayer, confidence to come to the throne of grace and know that He is going to meet our needs because the Father loves us and because we are in union with Jesus Christ. There is no power on earth or hell that can break that union with Him because the Spirit of God indwells us.

May the Lord make these wonderful truths very precious to your hearts. May you know something of the wonder of fellowship and union with the Son of God.