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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 John 3:13

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Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

13 24. Love and Hate: Life and Death

Marvel not, my brethren ] Comp. Joh 5:28; Joh 3:7. The antagonism between the light and the darkness, between God and the evil one, between righteousness and unrighteousness, has never ceased from the time of the first sin ( 1Jn 3:8) and of the first murder ( 1Jn 3:12). The moral descendants of Cain and of Abel are still in the world, and the wicked still hate the righteous. Therefore Christians need not be perplexed, if the world (as it does) hates them.

Both in Jewish (Philo, De sacr. Abelis et Caini) and in early Christian ( Clem. Hom. III. xxv., xxvi) literature Abel is taken as the prototype of the good and Cain as the prototype of the wicked. For the wild sect of the Cainites, who took exactly the opposite view, see Appendix C. It is possible that some germs of this monstrous heresy are aimed at in 1Jn 3:12.

brethren ] This form of address, which occurs nowhere else in the Epistle (not genuine in 1Jn 2:7), is in harmony with the subject of brotherly love.

if the world hate you ] Better, as R. V., if the world hateth you: in the Greek we have the indicative, not the subjunctive or optative. The fact is stated gently, but not doubtfully. The verse is another echo of Christ’s last discourses as recorded in the Gospel: ‘ If the world hateth you (same construction as here), ye know that it hath hated Me before it hated you’ (Joh 15:18). Comp. Mar 15:44.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Marvel not – Do not think it so unusual, or so little to be expected, as to excite astonishment.

If the world hate you – The emphasis here is to be placed on the word you. The apostle had just adverted to the fact that Cain hated Abel, his brother, without cause, and he says that they were not to deem it strange if the world hated them in like manner. The Saviour Joh 15:17-18 introduced these subjects in the same connection. In enjoining the duty of brotherly love on his disciples, he adverts to the fact that they must expect to be hated by the world, and tells them to remember that the world hated him before it hated them. The object of all this was to show more clearly the necessity of strong and tender mutual affection among Christians, since they could hope for none from the world. See the notes at Joh 15:18-19.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

1Jn 3:13

Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you

The worlds hatred–Gods love

The worlds hatred; Gods love; these are what are here contrasted.

And yet there is one point at least of partial similarity. The affection, in either case, fastens in the first instance upon objects opposed to itself. The world hates the brethren; God loves the world, the world lying in the wicked one. And in a sense, too, the ends sought are similar. The world, which hates, would assimilate those it hates to itself, and so be soothed or sated; God, who loves, would assimilate those he loves to Himself, and so have satisfaction in them.

I. The worlds hatred of the brethren.

1. It is natural; not marvellous. The Lord prepares His disciples beforehand to expect it, warning them not to look for any other treatment at the worlds hands than He had met with. Notwithstanding all warnings, and all the experience of others who have gone before him, the young Christian, buoyant, enthusiastic, may fancy that what he has to tell must pierce all consciences and melt all hearts. Alas! he comes in contact with what is like a wet blanket thrown in his face, cold looks and rude gestures of impatience, jeers and jibes, if not harsher usage still. Count it not strange that you fall into this trial. Why should you? Is their reception of you very different from what, but yesterday perhaps, yours would have been of one coming to you in the same character and on the same errand? Surely you know that love to the brethren–true Christian, Christlike love–is no plant of natural growth in the soil of corrupt humanity; that, on the contrary, it is the fruit of the great change by means of which a poor sinner passes from death unto life.

2. It is murderous, as regards its objects: He that loveth not its brother abideth in death: whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. Loveth not, hateth, murdereth! There is a sort of dark climax here! Not loving is intensified into hating, and hating into murdering. The three, however, are really one; as the Lord teaches (Mat 5:21-24). Be on your guard against this spirit of the world finding harbour again in your breasts. Even you need to be warned against the worlds evil temper of dislike and envy. Consider how insidious it is. Consider also its deadly danger. Consider, finally, how natural it is; so natural that only your passing from death unto life can rid you of it, and make you capable of its opposite. Grace may overcome it; grace alone can do so. And even grace can do so only through continual watchfulness and prayer, continual recognition of the life through which you pass from death, and continual exercise of the love which is the characteristic of that life.

II. Of this love, as of the hatred, two things are said.

1. It is natural now to the spiritual mind; natural as the fruit and sign of the new life.

2. It is the very opposite of the murderous hatred of the devil; it is self-sacrificing, like the love of God Himself. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.)

The world hating the Church

These words imply a fact, and contain a warning.

I. First, then, for the fact that the unbelieving world did hate the Church. It is established, not by sacred testimony only, but by the concurrence of heathen writers.

II. The apostle not only states the fact that the world did hate the Christian, but he proceeds to warn them not to marvel at it. There were two reasons that would very naturally induce Christians so to marvel.

1. The first was derived from considering the Divine origin of their faith. They might be inclined to suppose that a religion coming from such a source, and so confirmed, would at least secure its professors from persecution.

2. The singular innocence and harmlessness of the lives of its professors might reasonably be expected to disarm malice of its sting. Now, for the first of these grounds, of their marvel that the world should hate them. The very pretension of the religion to speak with authority from God, armed the world, Jewish or heathen, against it. With the Jew it was not like a new sect, such as the Herodians, added to the older division into Pharisees and Sadducees. But it was a deposing Moses from his authority, and placing him beneath Him whom they execrated, the carpenters son of Galilee. Nay, more, it was not deposing Moses only from his place, it was a loss of rank and caste to themselves likewise. For if the Christian religion broke down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, and made both one, what became of their own fancied superiority over the rest of mankind? Still more, what became of their own special position as lords over their brethren? Again, for the heathen. The Christian religion was not like adding another form of worship to the ten thousand that were already received in the world, so that it has been said that there were more gods than people at Rome; but it pronounced every one of these forms to be foul, cruel, pernicious, and false. Even some conviction that it must have conic from God, was not sufficient to hinder those to whom it was brought from hating and murdering those who brought it. But again, if the suspicion that the religion came from God were not sufficient to deter the world from persecuting the Christian, neither would the innocency of the Christians life be any defence. So far from it, it would be a special ground of attacking them. Wickedness has a consciousness that it is in the wrong, and as it only can support itself by having the multitude on its side, so it regards all goodness as a desertion, an exposure of its weakness. And what is the result? Clearly, that we ought not to be taken by surprise if we find the very best designs, the most palpable efforts of self-denial, not only misconstrued and misrepresented, but its ground of such opposition as the spirit of the age will permit. In more tranquil days, there is reason to apprehend that our faith may grow weak from want of exercise, and degenerate into mere morality and conventional decorum. (G. J. Cornish, M. A.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 13. Marvel not – if the world hate you.] Expect no better treatment from unconverted Jews and Gentiles than Abel received from his wicked and cruel brother. This was a lesson to the Church, preparatory to martyrdom. Expect neither justice nor mercy from the men who are enemies of God. They are either full of malice and envy, hateful, hating one another, or they are specious, hollow, false, and deceitful.

“A foe to GOD was ne’er true friend to MAN.”

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

This being so devilish a quality, and the world so generally under his power, as the god of it, 2Co 4:4, it is not to be thought strange, that good men should be the marks and designed objects of the worlds hatred.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

13. Marvel notThe marvelwould be if the world loved you.

the worldof whom Cainis the representative (1Jo 3:12).

hate youas Cain hatedeven his own brother, and that to the extent of murdering him. Theworld feels its bad works tacitly reproved by your good works.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. By “the world” is meant the inhabitants of the world, the wicked part of them; these hate the saints, though without a cause, any just cause, and for no other reason, but because they are chosen and called out of the world, and do not live the wicked life they do: and this hatred of theirs is not at all to be wondered at; so it was from the beginning, and has been in all ages since; immediately upon the fall there was enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, which showed itself in Cain, the instance just given, who hated and murdered his righteous brother; Ishmael, that was born after the flesh, persecuted Isaac, that was born after the Spirit; and as it was then, it is now, the Jews persecuted the prophets of old, and hated Christ and his apostles. This is the common lot of all the saints, of all that will live godly in Christ Jesus; and therefore it should not be reckoned a strange and unusual thing; it always was so, even from the beginning, as soon as ever there were two sorts of persons, good and bad, righteous and wicked. This is a corollary or conclusion drawn from the above instance of Cain.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

If (). Common construction after (wonder) rather than (that, because). Present imperative here with means “cease wondering.” Note (do not begin to wonder) in Joh 3:6 (an individual case). See this same condition and language in Joh 15:18.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Brethren [] . The only occurrence of this mode of address in the Epistle.

Hate [] . Indicative mood, pointing to the fact as existing : if the world hate you, as it does.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Marvel not, my brethren” (Gr. Thaumeazete) marvel ye not, or do not be amazed, brethren, John admonishes – human nature and the attitude of the lost – religiously wicked, has not changed since Cain. The Leopard has not changed his spots, nor the Ethiopian his skin Jer 13:23.

2) “If the world hate you”. In our Lord’s early ministry He asserted that the world “cannot hate you” the undisciplined disciples. Joh 7:7. But after they had followed him and embraced the way of truth and life, he warned them, “If the world hate you” and “the world hateth you”, Joh 15:18-20; Joh 17:14. It is the nature of the “world order” to hate, to despise right and righteousness. Neither love nor hate can agree with each other and have fellowship on earth, in heaven, or in hell. Thus the wicked and righteous can never have fellowship Amo 3:3.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES

1Jn. 3:13. World hate yon.The world includes all who are not actuated by the supreme motive, love to God. For hate read hateth (Joh. 15:18).

1Jn. 3:14. From death unto life.Death is spiritual death in selfishness. Life is spiritual life in love for others, which finds expression in serving others.

1Jn. 3:15. Is a murderer.With distinct allusion to the case of Cain. The first and the worst effect of hatred gives it its true character.

1Jn. 3:16.Read, Hereby know we love. Lay down our lives.The figure of self-surrender, reaching to the limits of self-sacrifice.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.1Jn. 3:13-17

A Sure Sign of the Regenerate Life.It is such a love of the brethren as leads us to self-denial and service for the sake of securing their highest well-being. That man must be born again, he must be a new man, other than the unnatural being which sin and self have made him, who really cares for his brother in such a way as enables him to give up his own things for his sake. The principal word in this paragraph is hate, hateth; and it is evidentally intended to stand in absolute contrast with love. But the word has undergone such change in meaning since it was used by the Bible translators, and even in their time it so imperfectly represented the Scriptural term, that the precise meaning and thought of St. John readily escapes the reader of his epistle. Hate is often the equivalent of our word despise, or pass aside, show yourself indifferent to, count as a thing of little value. Sometimes it means scarcely more than, put down into quite a secondary place of interest. In something of this sense it is said of God, that He loved Jacob, and hated Esau. What we have in modern times imported into the word is bitter, personal feeling, and that complicates our treatment of such expressions as are found in this paragraph. To hate is not always to be understood rigorously. It frequently signifies no more than a lesser degree of love (Deu. 21:15). If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, that means less beloved. So our Saviour says that he who would follow Him must hate father and motherthat is, he should love them less than Christ, less than his own salvation. Solomon says, He that spareth the rod hateth his son (Pro. 13:24). Fathers often spare their children out of an excessive love to them; but this is not a proper instance of affection, to forbear correcting them; their fond affection is as pernicious to their children as other mens hatred could be. There is also a malicious hatred of men referred to in Scriptureas in Ahab, who hated the Lords prophet, Micaiah (1Ki. 22:8). Wicked men do, in this sense, hate the righteous (Psa. 34:21). It may also be added, that there is a hatred of the sins of men (Jud. 1:23), and of our own sins (Rom. 7:15). Taking the milder connotation of the term hate, let us see if we can understand, and get the precise teaching of, this paragraph.

I. The sphere of hate that may reasonably be expected.1Jn. 3:13 : Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you, is indifferent to you, takes no interest in you, and even scorns you as enthusiasts. It is quite true that the world shows positive enmity to Gods people, and is, and ever has been, ready on occasions to persecute them; but we miss a point of much direct application to us, when we dwell too much on the active persecution to which Christs Church has at times been subjected. The indifference of the world, the scorn of the world, is constantly felt, and constantly wearing our hearts. Everywhere earnest piety is spoken against. It is the hate of the world in that sensethe society indifference which we are told should be expected, and should occasion no surprise. Our Lord impressed on His disciples that being, like Himself, not of the world, the world would be sure to hate them. Then this should be no occasion of anxiety to us. In entering on the regenerate life we should take account of it, and then it will not come on us as a surprise, or be in any sense a painful and trying experience. We may so satisfy ourselves with Gods approval, that we can be easily indifferent to the Worlds. Gods world is kin with us; mans world never can be.

II. The sphere of hate that is wholly unexpected, and cannot be approved.1Jn. 3:15 : Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. This is true when applied generally to the brotherly relations of man with mantrue in the same sense as the saying that sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Push hatred out to its utmost, and it appears as murder, as is illustrated in the case of Cain. But St. John here is distinctly addressing those who have the new life in Christ, and are thus set in new and gracious relations one with another. What he says is that hate, even in its milder form as indifference, is inconceivable among the members of the Christian brotherhood. In them the great human law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ought to be ennobled into this, For Christs sake thou shalt love thy Christian brother better than thyself, and be always going out beyond thyself in loving ministries and service to him. Then St. Johns point may be sharply presented in this contrast, Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you; but marvel much, my brethren, if you are found hating one another, even if it be only in the mild sense of being indifferent to one another, and loving yourselves better than your brethren.

III. The mastery of unloving thoughts concerning our brethren is gained through the service of love.1Jn. 3:16-17 : We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this Worlds goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him? The point is thisDo nothing for your brother, and you will find you very readily become heedless of him, indifferent to his interests, you may even come to dislike and hate him; but do something for him, tend him, spend yourself for him, give up something of your own to secure his well-being, imperil your life for him, and you will be surprised how love to him grows in your heart, how easy then it is to love the brethren. Activity of ministry keeps up the love, and delivers from all evil feelings. You never can hate people whom you are actively serving for Christs sake.

The love of the brethren is

1. A peculiar and most appropriate kind of love:
(1) there is a general love, which we owe to every man;
(2) there is a particular love, which Christians owe to their fellow-believers.
2. Free from all dissimulation.
3. Fixed and fervent, invariable in its operations, and disinterested and fearless on all occasions. This sort of love was shown by John towards Christ, by the early Galatian converts towards Paul, and by Onesiphorus to the same apostle.F. Gilpin.

SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES

1Jn. 3:10. Love seen in Self-sacrifice.And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Laying down life is the extreme expression of self-sacrifice. We may give up our time, our personal interests, our possessions, our health, in the service of others, and these are beautiful and persuasive expressions of the Christly love. But that love does not reach its perfection, its full flowering, until, in the spirit of the Lord Jesus, we are prepared to imperil, and even lay down, our lives for the saving of others. Love in self-sacrifice is seen in the home and family life. It may be that we expect it in father and mother; but where there is a fulness of family love we find it in the brothers and sisters. They will spend themselves for each others well-being. They will imperil life for each others sakes. And it should be thus in the family of God, among the regenerate sons, who have become, in the very highest sense, brothers. It is not often that the extreme demand is made. But seldom now does the service of Christ call for the laying down of life. Yet the persuasion of St. John will come home to us if we see that laying down life is the extreme limit, and that love can be shown in everything that has the spirit of sacrifice and service, which comes short of the limit. Therefore Christ set before us the extreme opposite limit, telling us that love could go into the little act of sacrifice, the little trouble and inconvenience in giving a cup of water to a disciple. The essence of a love-gift is the self-denial that is in it. And there is nothing so sweetens, so beautifies, so dignifies our various human associations as the love which can deny self, in order to serve others. That is artistically, ideally, presented to us in Marys bringing the alabaster box of precious ointment to pour upon the Saviours feet. It was a love-gift with a womans uttermost self-sacrifice at the heart of it. That is sublimely, divinely, presented to us, in the uttermost self-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, as the persuasion of the so great love He had for us.

For love of us He bled; for love of us He died.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 3

1Jn. 3:16. Laying down Life for the sake of Another.Two men were working together in a mine, and having prepared to blast the rock, and laid the train, the latter became by accident ignited. In a few moments a tremendous explosion they knew was inevitable, and the rock must be rent in a thousand pieces. On perceiving their danger, they both leaped into the bucket, and called to the man on the surface to draw them up. He endeavoured to do so, but his arm was found too feeble to raise the bucket while both the men were in it. What was to be done? The burning fuse, which could not be extinguished, was now within a few feet of the powder; a moment or two, and the explosion must take place. At this awful crisis, one of the men, addressing the other, said, You shall live, and I will die; for you are an impenitent sinner, and if you now die your soul will be lost; but if I die, I know that, by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, I shall be taken to Himself. And so saying, without waiting for a reply, he leaped out of the bucket, and prayerfully awaited the result. On the other reaching the surface, he bent over the shaft to ascertain the fate of his companion. At this moment a terrific explosion was heard; a portion of the rock was thrown up, and smote him on the forehead, leaving an indelible mark to remind him of his danger and deliverance. But the man of God, when they came to search for him, was found arched over by the fragments of broken rock in the mine, uninjured and rejoicing in the Lord. This magnanimous miner exhibited in this act an amount of disinterested love and charity which has seldom been equalled, and which is never found but in connection with the love of Christ.R. Young.

Self-sacrifice: the Pilot of the Rothesay.This vessel was wrecked in a cyclone in the Indian Ocean. The pilot, Paul Elson, collected a few volunteers, and rigged a raft. Thirteen only of the crew got on her; the rest were frantic with terrorsome praying, others drunk, others raving, others lashed inextricably to the sinking vessel. Elson was the last to leave the ship; leaping overboard, he swam to the raft, cut the hawser that held her, and constituted himself by inherent right her sole officer. Within an hour the doomed vessel heeled, lurched heavily, and went down head first. All that day and all that night the raft drifted, heavy seas breaking over her. We were up to our necks in water, says the man who tells the tale, for she floated low. All that night, nevertheless, Elson, who was a powerful swimmer, swam round and round the raft, lashing her together and strengthening her as best he could. Ever and anon the furious breakers washed a man off. And then would the brave pilot who had not only the heart but the strength of a gaint, strike out towards him and carry the drowning wretch back. But at last it became apparent that the raft must be broken up, and that a second and smaller raft must be constructed to relieve the other. This, too, the pilot effected almost single-handed. The large raft floated away into the night; Elson and three other men took to the smaller; while on the other drifted away a native boy, Paul Elsons servant, of whom hitherto, in the midst of all his terrible toil, the brave pilot had never once lost sight. He kept near him; he tended him as a mother would tend her child; he gave him our last supply of drinkable water. The vessel had sunk on the 29th of July; it was now the 2nd of August. The raft was drifting under a raging tropical sun; for three days there had been no food or water; worse than this, the frail support itself began to break up, and swimming about in a heavy surf, Paul Elson became much exhausted. The end of course could not now be far off. First one of the men was washed away, and then another, until Elson himself and the Scotchman who tells the story were the sole survivors. Pilot, said Iso the narrative runswe must fight it through! Oh, Fraser! answered he, I cant hold out any longer. Then a heavy sea broke upon us, and knocked him off. I found it impossible to hang on, and was forced to let him go. And so the story ends. The body of Pilot Elson, worn out by his incessant labours, floats away into the great deep, there to lie till the sea shall give up its dead.Daily Telegraph.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

13. Hate you It is nothing but the old antagonism of Cain and Abel. You stands as the parallel of Abel; the world as the parallel of Cain.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Marvel not, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love dwells in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.’

Cain represented the world in its rebellion against God. So we should not be surprised, if we are true Christians and seek the will of God, that the world hates us, or is against us. For the world rebels against the will of God. And yet it does not like to be reminded of the fact. It wants to be told that it is fine, and those who dwell on earth want to be told that there is nothing wrong with the way that they as men live and the way that they behave. So if any dare to do otherwise they will find themselves hated. If they speak out they will be vilified. The world becomes inflamed against them.

‘We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.’ This is the crucial factor. Whom we love depicts what we are. Those who love the brothers who are true to the faith (in contrast to those who love the world – 1Jn 2:15) reveal that they too are true to the faith, and thus that they have passed from death to life. They have eternal life. They are citizens of Heaven (Php 3:20). They have ‘crossed over’ from death to life (compare Joh 5:24).

‘He who does not love dwells in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.’ On the other hand those who do not so love dwell in death. They have not passed from death to life. They are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 1:1). They are dead while they live (1Ti 5:6). To live is to have been given new life by God and to walk in God’s way and will, according to the highest good. To be dead is to be living according to the course of the world, to live meaninglessly (1Ti 5:6). Their failure to love those who declare the truth reveals them for what they are, those who reject the truth, those who reject the will of God. And their attitude towards them makes them the equivalent of murderers. Here John has the words of Jesus in mind whereby one who hates is a murderer (Mat 5:21-22). We often find in John such assumptions of the recognised Christian tradition as expressed in the Gospels.

‘Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.’ That is, is like Cain, rebelling against God’s ways. But hate here is not a consuming hatred, (although it can become that), it is to have an aversion, in this case to the truth, and therefore to those who hold the truth.

And the result of this is that they cannot have eternal life dwelling in them, for they have within them the seed of murder, they are murderers at heart. And the one who is so ready to continue in such a thought reveals by that fact that he sees and walks contrary to the will of God and is therefore lost. (This refers to the set attitude of mind and not the instant thought. Things can happen that make even the best of us sometimes feel like ‘murdering’ someone).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

True brotherly love:

v. 13. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

v. 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

v. 15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

v. 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

v. 17. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

v. 18. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

The apostle, first of all, makes a general application of the thought which was included in the last sentence: And do not wonder, brethren, if the world hates you. What the righteous Abel experienced in the first days of the world’s history is the lot of all the righteous since his time. So it must not be a matter of surprise to us if we incur the hatred and must bear the enmity of the children of the world. Joh 15:18-19; Joh 17:14; Mat 10:16. Although the Christians are offering to the unbelievers the most wonderful blessings which were ever brought to this earth, although their one aim is to do good to all men, yet the unregenerate persistently resent the refusal of the Christians to join them in their transgressions. But this is not to be marveled at, because we are dealing with the world, with the children of unbelief, with such as willingly become identified with the trespass of Cain. Because the unbelievers prefer their life of sin and unbelief, which will finally land them in everlasting destruction, they cannot but hate the Christians.

The contrast, therefore, will remain: On our part, we know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren; he that does not love his brother remains in death. The distinction between unbelievers and believers, between world and Church, is clear and will remain till the end of time. So far as we are concerned, we have the knowledge, we are sure, that we have left our former state of spiritual death and have passed over to the true life in and with God. Our hearts that were formerly dead in sins are now turned to God in faith and love. We know that we have forgiveness of sins, and thus we have the willingness and the power to do that which pleases God. It was not a case of our choosing to embrace the truth, but of God’s choosing us and drawing us to Himself in the fullness of His mercy and grace. Of this we have evidence in the fact that we love the brethren. If we had not been converted through the power of God, it would be impossible for us to love the brethren. Noun-regenerated person is able to feel and to give evidence of real, genuine love. But the absence of this love is a sure sign that such a person is still lying in the death of sins. Moreover, he will remain in this spiritual death as long as he continues in his uncharitable attitude. In a case of this kind all external worship, all pretense at prayer, all churchgoing, all conversing of God and things divine, will avail nothing whatever: he that has no true love and gives no evidence of true love will remain in death until the Spirit of God works spiritual life in him.

The apostle repeats the same truth from the positive side: Every one that hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. In the phraseology of St. John, “not to love” and “to hate” are evidently synonyms; there is no neutral ground. That is the condition of natural man after the Fall: he has no true love for his neighbor in his heart, but only hatred, since being indifferent in the sight of God is identical with hating. Natural man is selfish and loves only himself. And therefore he is, in the judgment of God, a murderer, a homicide; for God judges the disposition of the heart. This is one of the strongest passages in Scriptures to throw the responsibility, also for sins of desire, of the heart, on the sinner. And all such men, all that are guilty of hatred, of the lack of proper love for their brother, have not the eternal life, that spiritual life which is begun in conversion and lasts beyond the grave, abiding in them. They belong in the kingdom of the devil, the murderer from the beginning. That is the terrible, the fearful lot of those that do not love their brethren. What an earnest warning to Christians not to let the love for their brethren leave their hearts, since the new spiritual life cannot remain in their hearts under such circumstances!

The apostle now gives a description and example of genuine brotherly love: In this have we known love, that He has laid down His life for us; and we should lay down our lives for the brethren. This is the one perfect example and type of love for all times. We Christians have realized and know what love is and means, wherein true love consists, how it expresses itself, in the example of Christ. For He, out of free love and merciful favor, laid down His life for us; He suffered the death which we had earned by our sins. His own holy life He laid down as the ransom, as the price, thus giving up the greatest, the most precious of earth’s gifts in order to deliver us. As one that was cursed of God, as a criminal in the sight of men He gave up His life. This example of love, than which there can be none more perfect, we Christians have before our eyes always. It teaches us the great lesson and obligation to love our brethren to such a degree as also to be willing to lay down our lives for them, if it will be for their benefit, to their advantage. Naturally this greatest sacrifice includes all the smaller services which we are called upon to perform for the brethren, the Christians ever forgetting, denying themselves in order to help and be of service to others.

Diametrically opposed to such unselfishness is the conduct which the apostle describes: But whoever has a living in this world and sees his brother have need and shuts up his mercies from him, how does the love of God remain in him? If we are under obligations to give up the highest and most precious gift of life for the sake of our brother, the smaller sacrifices, the minor evidences of love, will certainly offer no difficulties. If a person has a comfortable living in this world, if he possesses enough of this world’s goods for his own support and that of his family, those dependent upon him, he should really have incentive enough to share willingly with those in need. If such a one, however, sees his brother, his neighbor, in want, lacking the actual necessities of life, if he becomes a witness of his sorry plight, and yet closes up his heart before him, turns from him in the hardness of his heart, surely the conclusion is justified that he has lost the love and the faith which he might have possessed at one time. In such a case the Lord will also turn from him, will withdraw His love from the heartless wretch, since the love which the Lord demanded of him is no longer in evidence in his conduct and life. He has fallen back into spiritual death.

St. John, therefore, admonishes: Little children, let us not love with word or with the tongue, but in deed and in truth. Talk is cheap, as St. James shows, chap. 2:15-16, but it does not provide warm clothing or nourishing food. The mere expression of good will, unless backed up by real deeds, by acts which will provide the assistance for which the need is shown to exist, is worthless, a hollow sound. In some cases, indeed, it may be forgetfulness on the part of the Christians when they fail to provide for needs which are shown to exist, but in others there is danger of damnable hypocrisy, that covetousness and love of money hinder the professed Christian from showing concrete proof of the brotherly love of which he should give evidence. This admonition is certainly timely in these latter days of the dying out of true love, Mat 24:12.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

1Jn 3:13. If the world hate you By the world, understand the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles. See ch. 1Jn 5:19. The world is here set in opposition to the Christian brethren. This verse contains an inference from what had been said in that preceding; “There has all along been enmity between the seed of the woman, and the seed of the serpent; or, bad men have envied, hated, and persecuted the good from the beginning:” therefore the Christians to whom St. John wrote, were notto be surprized at it, as a thing new and unusual, if the world hated them: the more the world hates them, the more should Christians unite and love one another.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

1Jn 3:13 . If Cain is the type of the world, it is not to be wondered at that the children of God are hated by it; accordingly the apostle says: . . .; comp. 1Jn 3:1 ; not exactly to comfort his readers about it, but rather to bring out the antithesis clearly; Neander: “it must not surprise Christians if they are hated by the world; this is to them the stamp of the divine life, in the possession of which they form the contrast to the world.”

The particle expresses here neither a doubt nor even merely possibility; for that the world hates the children of God is not merely possible, but in the nature of the case necessary; it is only the form of the sentence, and not the thought of it, that is hypothetical; [223] comp. Joh 15:18 , also Mar 15:44 .

[223] Ebrard explains incorrectly: “whenever the case occurs,” for the hatred which is here spoken of is not a frequently occurring case, but a necessary relationship. Braune unintelligibly says: “by John signifies that his readers as a whole or as individuals have after all at present no hatred to endure.”

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. (14) We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (15) Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (16) Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (17) But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? (18) My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. (19) And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. (20) For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. (21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. (22) And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. (23) And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (24) And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

The exhortation of the Apostle, to feel no astonishment at the hatred of the world, follows very suitedly, after what he had been before observing, on the distinguishing love of God Christ. If the hatred of the world be solely on account of our attachment to Christ, so far from becoming a subject of marvel, it ought to be a subject of great joy. Jesus saith, Behold I, and the children whom the Lord hath given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel! Isa 8:18 . As Christ himself was despised, so are his people. And it is blessed to observe, that as the Person of Christ was despised, so were all his offices; Isa 53:2 . His preaching; Joh 7:12 . His miracles; Mat 12:24 . His conduct; Mat 11:19 . And his followers, as the off-scouring of the earth; Joh 7:48 ; 2Co 6:4-10 .

I have often thought, that to a child of God under temptations and fears, and doubts and misgivings, this testimony of the new-birth, in the love of the brethren when higher ones are for a time wanting, becomes very refreshing. There may be with some precious souls, seasons, when former views of Christ’s Person, and suitableness, and fulness, and all sufficiency, are not so bright and shining as heretofore. But there are no seasons, in the life of a regenerated believer its Christ, when the love of the brethren, as brethren in Christ Jesus is done away. Try a child of God in the darkest hours, and this remains. And if I love a child of God, because he is a child of God, I must certainly love him, on whose account feel that love. So that it is a sweet testimony, in the absence of higher tokens, of our love to the Lord Jesus, when we love the brethren for Jesus’s sake.

But when we have carried our love to the brethren of the Lord Jesus’s, on his account, to the highest possible pitch of affection, how infinitely short the whole falls, compared to what the Apostle, in the following verse, speaks of Christ’s love to his people. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. The name of God is not in the original; but it is very properly supplied. And that it is Christ who is meant by the name is evident, because it was neither the Person of the Father, nor the Holy Ghost; but God the Son who laid down his life for his people. And it is a sweet scripture on another account, for it is proposed the highest testimony of his love. It is similar to a verse in the next chapter; 1Jn 4:10 . Herein is love. As if this demonstration of love outweighed every other. It was love unparalleled, both in greatness and condescension, for Christ the Son of God to take upon him our nature, and for God to give us to Christ, and Christ to us; to bless us in all the departments of nature, and of providence, and of grace, and of eternal glory. But all these lessen to the view, when we rise to this highest, and best of all demonstrations of love, Jesus laying down his life for us; and offering himself an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling savor; Eph 5:2 . How our love to the brethren, with all the warmth of affection, sinks in our esteem, when we contemplate this love of Christ, which passeth knowledge! And in those cases, where men profess both a love to Christ and his people, who possess from the bounties of a gracious God, much of the good things of this life as they are called; (because when rightly used, they minister to good in the Lord’s glory,) but yet distribute them not to the necessities of the saints; how is it possible to interpret such a profession, by actions so totally dissimilar? Reader! depend upon it, if such men have real faith, with such unsuitable practice, it is a very weak faith at the best. He can never be said to trust God with his soul, who is over anxious in providing for the body. And very sure I am, that he is really lean in spiritual things, who is fattening on temporal things.

I will detain the Reader no longer in this Chapter, than just to observe, that when the Apostle saith, concerning the condemnation of a man’s own heart, that if self accusation becomes painful, the consciousness of the greatness of God, and his knowledge of our heart, may excite yet more alarming apprehensions. This is the sense in which the passage may be taken. But there is another sense, and which, if well-founded, ministers to the reverse, and in a way of comfort. If our hearts condemn us, what a blessed relief to a soul under heart reproaches, to look off self to Christ. There is more in Christ to uphold, more to bless, more to justify, than all the sin of the Lord’s people to condemn. And, when a child of God is born again, (and it is to such John is writing,) this life in Christ sin cannot destroy, neither can death or Satan reach it. Your life is hid with Christ in God; Col 3:3 . And when the Apostle adds, Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not; that is, he doth not mean a cold, insensible, unfeeling heart, (for he is all along writing to the regenerate,) but it is that heart, which, while laying low in the dust before God, beholds more in Christ to save, than sin unpardoned to condemn; then (saith he) have we confidence towards God. Here again, he doth not mean that it is our strength of faith which gives this confidence, but the full and finished salvation of Christ, which gives strength to our faith. Reader! you and I shall do well, (if so be the Lord hath wrought a work of grace upon our hearts,) to apprehend rightly, that our foundation for holy triumphs, doth not rest upon our faith, or the exercise of faith, or any other of the graces and gifts of God the Holy Ghost. Not in these; or any of them, or all of them put together, but the sure resting place of the redeemed soul is in the compleatness of Christ’s finished salvation, and God the Father’s perfect approbation, and acceptance of the Church in it. This is what the Holy Ghost so blessedly said, by the Apostle, and what every child of God; taught of the Lord, knows to be true, If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself; 2Ti 2:13 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

Ver. 13. Marvel not, my brethren ] Since it was so from the beginning, and the very first man that died, died for religion; so early came martyrdom into the world.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

13 .] The connexion with 1Jn 3:12 is close: the world (= the children of the devil) began so, and will ever go on as it began. Marvel not, brethren, if (no doubt is expressed by this . The hypothesis is set forth as actually fulfilled. See on this (originally Attic) use of after , and like verbs, in Khner, 771. Among his examples are the following: . , Demosth. p. 24. 23: , , . . ., ib. p. 52. 43: in both which places matters of fact follow the . Khner ascribes the idiom to the Attic urbanity, which loved to give to speech a certain tinge of doubt and uncertainty) the world hateth you (“magis esset mirabile si diligerent eos,” says Didymus. This verse is in close sequence on the example just given: Cain being taken as the prototype and exemplar of such hate).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

1Jn 3:13-24 . The Secret of Assurance. “Wonder not, brethren, if the world hateth you. We know that we have migrated out of the domain of death into the domain of life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in the domain of death. Everyone that hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that every murderer hath not life eternal abiding in him. Herein have we got to know love, because He laid down His life for us; and we are bound to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whosoever hath the world’s goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and locketh up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word nor with the tongue, but in deed and truth. Herein shall we get to know that we are of the Truth, and in His presence shall assure our heart, whereinsoever our heart may condemn us, because greater is God than our heart, and He readeth everything. Beloved, if the heart condemn not, we have boldness toward God, and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we observe His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we believe the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, even as He gave a commandment to us. And he that observeth His commandments in Him abideth and He in him; and herein we get to know that He abideth in us from the Spirit which He gave us.”

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

1Jn 3:13 . It is natural that the world (see notes on 1Jn 2:15 , 1Jn 3:1 ) should hate those whose lives contradict its maxims and condemn its practices. St. John frequently addresses his readers as and , here only as . The term suits the context, where he enforces love of the brethren. It is no wonder if the world hate us, and its judgment is not decisive. Nevertheless our business is not to be hated by the world, but to commend Jesus to it and win it. We must not impute to the world’s hostility to goodness the consequences of our own unamiability or tactlessness. “It is not martyrdom to pay bills that one has run into one’s self” (Geo. Eliot).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Jn 3:13-22

13Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But 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? 18Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

1Jn 3:13 “Do not be surprised” This is a present active imperative with a negative particle which often means to stop an act already in progress (cf. 1Pe 4:12-16). This is not a fair world; this is not the world that God intended it to be!

” if” This is a first class conditional sentence which is assumed to be true from the author’s perspective or for his literary purposes.

“the world hates you” It hated Jesus; it will hate His followers. This is a common theme in the NT (cf. Joh 15:18; Joh 17:14; Mat 5:10-11; 2Ti 3:12) and another evidence that one is a believer.

1Jn 3:14 “We know” This is a perfect active indicative (oida has perfect form, but present meaning). This is another common theme. God’s children’s confidence is related to (1) a change of mind and (2) a change of action, which are the root meanings of the term “repent” in Greek and Hebrew.

“we have passed out of death into life” This is another perfect active indicative (cf. Joh 5:24). One of the evidences of passing from death into life (i.e., Christian assurance, see Special Topic at Joh 6:37) is that we love one another. The other is that the world hates us.

“because we love the brethren” This is a Present active indicative. Love is the major characteristic of the family of God (cf. Joh 13:34-35; Joh 15:12; Joh 15:17; 2Jn 1:5; 1 Corinthians 13; Gal 5:22) because it is characteristic of God, Himself (cf. 1Jn 4:7-21). Love is not the basis of human relationship with God, but the result. Love is not the basis of salvation, but another evidence of it.

“He who does not love abides in death” This is a Present participle used as the subject with a present active indicative verb. As believers continue to abide in love, unbelievers abide in hate. Hate, like love, is an evidence of one’s spiritual orientation. Remember John’s stark, dualistic categories; one abides in love or abides in death. No middle ground.

1Jn 3:15 “Everyone” John has used this term (pas) 8 times since 1Jn 2:29. The significance of this is that there are no exceptions to what John is saying. There are only two kinds of people, lovers and haters. John sees life in black or white terms, no pastels.

“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” This is a present active participle (i.e., an ongoing, settled hatred). Sin occurs first in the thought life. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught that hatred equals murder as lust equals adultery (cf. Mat 5:21-22).

“and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” This is not saying someone who commits murder cannot be a Christian. Sin is forgivable, but lifestyle actions reveal the heart. It is saying that one who habitually hates cannot be a Christian. Love and hate are mutually exclusive! Hate takes a life, but love gives its life.

1Jn 3:16 “We know” This is a perfect active indicative. The Greek term used in 1Jn 3:15 was oida; here it is ginsk. These are used synonymously in John’s writings.

“love by this” Jesus has shown the ultimate example of what love is like. Believers are to emulate His example (cf. 2Co 5:14-15).

“He laid down His life for us” This is an aorist tense referring to Calvary using Jesus’ own words (cf. Joh 10:11; Joh 10:15; Joh 10:17-18; Joh 15:13).

“we ought” Believers are bound by Jesus’ example (cf. 1Jn 2:6; 1Jn 4:11).

“to lay down our lives for the brethren” Christ is the example. As He laid down His life for others, Christians are to lay down their lives if necessary for the brethren. Death to self-centeredness is

1. a reverse of the Fall

2. the restoration of the image of God

3. living for the corporate good (cf. 2Co 5:14-15; Php 2:5-11; Gal 2:20; 1Pe 2:21)

1Jn 3:17 “But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need” These are present subjunctive verbs. Laying down one’s life in 1Jn 3:16 is now put into the realm of potential, practical help of one’s brother. These verses sound so much like James (cf. Jas 2:15-16).

“and closes his heart against him” This is an aorist active subjunctive. The term heart is literally “bowels,” a Hebrew idiom for the emotions. Again, our actions reveal our Father.

“the love of God” Again is this an objective or subjunctive genitive or purposeful ambiguity?

1. love for God

2. God’s love for us

3. both

Number 3 fits John’s writings!

1Jn 3:18 “let us not love with word or with tongue” Actions speak louder than words (cf. Mat 7:24; Jas 1:22-25; Jas 2:14-26).

“but in deed and truth” The term “truth” is surprising. One would expect a synonym of “deed,” like “action.” The term seems to mean genuine (NJB) or true (TEV), like the use of “message” in 1Jn 1:5; 1Jn 3:11 which emphasizes both doctrine and lifestyle, so too, “truth.” The deed and motives must both be motivated by self-giving love (God’s love) and not just be showy deeds that feed the ego of the provider or giver.

1Jn 3:19 “We will know by this” This refers to the loving acts previously mentioned. This is a future middle (deponent) indicative, which is another evidence of one’s true conversion.

“that we are of the truth” Believers’ loving lifestyles show two things: (1) that they are on the side of truth and (2) that their consciences are clear. See Special Topic: Truth at Joh 6:55.

1Jn 3:19-20 There is much confusion about how to translate the Greek text of these two verses. One possible interpretation emphasizes God’s judgment, while the other emphasizes God’s compassion. Because of the context, the second option seems most appropriate.

1Jn 3:20-21 Both of these verses are Third class conditional sentences.

1Jn 3:20

NASB”in whatever our heart condemns us”

NKJV”for if our heart condemns us”

NRSV”whenever our hearts condemns us”

TEV”if our conscience condemns us”

NJB”even if our own feelings condemns us”

All believers have experienced inner grief over not living up to the “standard” that they know is God’s will for their lives (i.e., Romans 7). Those pains of conscience can be from God’s Spirit (to cause repentance) or Satan (to cause self-destruction or loss of witness). There is both appropriate guilt and inappropriate guilt. Believers know the difference by reading God’ book (or hearing His messengers). John is trying to console believers who are living by the standard of love but still struggling with sin (both commission and omission). See SPECIAL TOPIC: Heart at Joh 12:40.

“and knows all things” God knows our true motives (cf. 1Sa 2:3; 1Sa 16:7; 1Ki 8:39; 1Ch 28:9; 2Ch 6:30; Psa 7:9; Psa 44:21; Pro 15:11; Pro 20:27; Pro 21:2; Jer 11:20; Jer 17:9-10; Jer 20:12; Luk 16:15; Act 1:24; Act 15:8; Rom 8:26-27).

1Jn 3:21 “if our heart does not condemn us” This is a third class conditional sentence. Christians still struggle with sin and self (cf. 1Jn 2:1; 1Jn 5:16-17). They still face temptations and act inappropriately in specific situations. Often their conscience condemns them. As the hymn “At Even, Ere the Sun Was Set,” by Henry Twells states:

“And none, O Lord, has perfect rest,

For none is wholly free from sin;

And they who fain would serve Thee best

Are conscious most of wrong within.”

A knowledge of the gospel, a sweet fellowship with Jesus, a yieldedness to the Spirit’s leading and the Father’s omniscience calm our hearts of dust (cf. Psa 103:8-14)!

“we have confidence before God” This speaks of open and free access to God’s presence. It is an oft-repeated term and concept of John (cf. 1Jn 2:28; 1Jn 3:21; 1Jn 4:17; 1Jn 5:14; Heb 3:6; Heb 10:35, see Special Topic at Joh 7:4). This phrase introduces two of the benefits of assurance.

1. that believers have perfect confidence before God

2. they obtain from Him whatever they ask

1Jn 3:22 “whatever we ask we receive from Him” This is a Present active subjunctive and a Present active indicative. This reflects Jesus’ statements in Mat 7:7; Mat 18:19, Joh 9:31; Joh 14:13-14; Joh 15:7; Joh 15:16; Joh 16:23; Mar 11:24; Luk 11:9-10. These Scripture promises are so different from believer’s experience in prayer. This verse seems to promise unlimited answered prayer. This is where a comparison of other relevant texts helps bring a theological balance.

SPECIAL TOPIC: Prayer, Unlimited Yet Limited

“because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” Notice in this context the two requirements for answered prayer.

1. obedience

2. practicing the things pleasing to God (cf. Joh 8:29)

1 John is a “how to” book on effective Christian living and ministry.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

if. App-118.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

13.] The connexion with 1Jn 3:12 is close: the world (= the children of the devil) began so, and will ever go on as it began. Marvel not, brethren, if (no doubt is expressed by this . The hypothesis is set forth as actually fulfilled. See on this (originally Attic) use of after , and like verbs, in Khner, 771. Among his examples are the following: . , Demosth. p. 24. 23: , , …, ib. p. 52. 43: in both which places matters of fact follow the . Khner ascribes the idiom to the Attic urbanity, which loved to give to speech a certain tinge of doubt and uncertainty) the world hateth you (magis esset mirabile si diligerent eos, says Didymus. This verse is in close sequence on the example just given: Cain being taken as the prototype and exemplar of such hate).

Fuente: The Greek Testament

1Jn 3:13. , my brethren) In this one passage only he calls them brethren, in antithesis to the world without, and in his repeated mention of the brethren. At other times he says, beloved, my dear children, ch. 1Jn 2:7, 1Jn 3:12.-, has in hatred) as Cain hated even his brother, [viz. with a murderous hatred: for its bad works are reproved by your righteous works.-V. g.]

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

1Jn 3:13-24

LOVE AND HATE CONTRASTED

(1Jn 3:13-24)

13 Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. “Marvel not,” i.e., do not be surprised or astonished that the world hates you. The hatred of the good by the bad is nearly as old as the race; hence, it is not a thing to be surprised at, however much it may be regretted. This disposition was exhibited by Cain in the early morning of the race; and man’s subsequent history has been filled with similar examples. Jesus, in teaching the disciples the obligation of love, referred to this attitude: “These things I com-mand you, that ye may love one another. If the world hateth you, ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (Joh 15:17-19.).

It is significant that only here, in the Epistle, does John refer to his readers as “brethren,” the address being elsewhere, “little children,” “beloved,” etc. The designation “brethren,” literally, brothers, was especially appropriate here, in view of his discussion of brotherly love.

14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.–The connection which this verse sustains to the context in which it appears is very close, and must not be disregarded if the meaning of the text is to be deter-mined. Love of the brethren is that which distinguishes between the children of God and the children of the devil. (Verse 10.) The obligation of Christians to love one another is definite and positive, and has been taught them from their earliest acquaintance with Christianity. (Verse 11.) The feeling of hate which the world evidences toward the good is ever present, and is, therefore, to be expected, however much it may be regretted. (Verses 12, 13.) But, in spite of this, children of God have the blessed assur-ance of knowing that they have passed “out of death into life” because “they love the brethren.” They thus have more about which to rejoice than to regret in this fact, since they are in life while the world remains in death. “Death” is the status of the unregenerate; “life,” of the good. These terms, opposites in their reference to the condition of the good and the bad, are often used in this fashion in the scriptures. (Eph 2:1; Eph 2:5; Col 2:13.) Children of God “have passed” (migrated) from the spiritual death which formerly characterized them (and that which yet charac-terizes the world) into the life which is obtained through union with Christ. “He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life.” (1Jn 5:12.) The pro-noun “we” with which the verse begins is in the emphatic position in the sentence: whatever the world may do, or feel, toward us, we (in contrast with those of it) know (have certain, definite knowledge) that we have passed from a state of death into life because we love the brethren.

Just here care should be exercised in avoiding an obvious and common misinterpretation of this text. It was not the apostle’s purpose to affirm, nor did he affirm, that love of the brethren is the (or even a) condition of salvation from past, or alien, sins. Brotherly love is here declared to be the condition, not of our salvation, but of the certainty of our knowledge of it. It affords the evidence by which we may know that we have passed out of death into life. The test is human, not divine; it is one we are to apply to ourselves for the purpose designated. It is such a test by which the individual and (as Joh 13:34-35 shows) the world about him may determine the reality of his profession. “We know that we have passed out of death into life because . . . we have been baptized? Because . . . we meet on the first day of the week? Because . . . we give liberally of our means? However important these matters are, in their respective spheres, it remains that such do not constitute the test here set out. “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.” “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples . . .” (John 13 35.) Why? Because you say you are? Because there is outward conformity to the ceremonials of Christianity? Because you be-lieve that you are? These are not the tests which the Lord or-dained. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another.”

This does not mean that love alone is the basis of our accept-ance before God. What it does mean is that love is the base on which all other virtues rest; where it exists, the others may be implied; yea, they must exist. He who loves his brother will not only discharge his whole duty to him; he will be led, by the same considerations which prompt such love, to love God, and so to comply with all the requirements which such a relationship in-volves.

He that loveth not abideth in death.–In the absence of love, the state in which one dwells is death. As the presence of love signifies life, so its opposite, hate, indicates death. The reference is not to future death; it already exists and will reach its con-summation in the next life. “He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believed not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Joh 3:18.) The absence of love is not the cause of his death, but the sign of it by which it is evidenced to others. “He that loveth not” is, literally, the not loving man; and “abid-eth” suggests a state into which one has settled down permanently. The death is spiritual death–separation from God and all that is good.

15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer:–The phrase “he that loveth not” (ho me agapon) is followed by “who-soever hateth” (pas ho mison), thus indicating that the two are of identical meaning: it was the design of the writer to show us that in the absence of love there is hate; there can be no middle ground. Not loving is hating; it is impossible to avoid one or the other of these opposites. In the teaching of the apostle, love and hate, as life and death, light and darkness, mutually exclude each other. He who has not the one must be regarded as possessing the other. It follows, therefore, that the only protection against hate in the heart is love.

The affirmation of the text is that he who hates his brother is a murderer. This does not mean that he has committed the act of murder; or, that he is as guilty as if he had committed the act of murder; or, that God will hold him responsible for the act of murder. What is meant is, he has exhibited the disposition and spirit of a murderer; he has allowed passions to arise in his heart which, when carried to their ultimate ends, result in murder. The reason such a one does not commit murder is not that he lacks the disposition or desire the restraint which prevents it is not inward, but outward. Either the opportunity is lacking, or the courage or the means with which to accomplish it wanting. He refrains from the overt act, not from restraint which he himself has imposed, but a restraint from others. Murder is simply hate expressed in an overt act; and when it does not issue in this fashion, it is due to other causes than those which reside in the heart of the hater. If hate does not result in murder, the reason is to be sought, not in the hate, but in the lack of opportunity or means, or courage, of the hater.

It was this which prompted the Lord to forbid that which leads to hate. In his explanation of the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” he said, “Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoso-ever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the coun-cil; and whosoever shall say. Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire.” (Mat 5:21-22.) Unnecessary anger and words of provocation are thus shown to violate, in spirit, the command to do no murder, since such often leads to it. Cain, who slew his brother Abel (1Jn 3:12), affords an example of the fruits of Bate; and the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning (Joh 8:44), became such by sowing the seeds of hate in those whom he seduced.

And ye know that no murderer bath eternal life abiding in him.–Obviously, spiritual life and spiritual death cannot abide in the same soul. Where hate is, there is death; where there is death, there can be no life. He who entertains hatred for another, whether it follows its normal course and results in murder, or from outward restraints imposed, stops short of the overt act, it still remains that such a one is utterly incapable of possessing life. Several phrases of similar import are discernible in the context. He is not of God who loveth not his brother. (Verse 10.) He that loveth not abideth in death. (Verse 14.) He who hates his brother has no life abiding in him. (Verse 15.) Thus, to be not of God, to abide in death, and to be without eternal life in the sense here intended, is the same. (1) In view of this, how impor-tant it is that we search our hearts diligently and purge from them every semblance of bitterness, hate, and envy. (2) How we should guard with ceaseless vigilance our own hearts lest such evil dis-positions possess us. (3) How grateful we should be that we have fallen under the influence of the glorious gospel of Christ, which enables us to subdue the feelings of hate and bitterness and envy, and to triumph over the dispositions of the flesh and carnal mind.

16 Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us:–Every word in this verse is of the utmost importance and justifies the most minute and careful study. “Hereby” is, literally, “in this,” (en touto), i.e., in that which is about to be stated. “Know we” (egnokamen, perfect active indicative of ginosko, from an investigation of the facts we have come to possess certain knowledge of) “love,” what it is, its nature, its sacrifices, its extent, and its design. This knowledge we have come to appre-hend, for the reason that Christ laid down his life for us (huper hemon), in our behalf, for our protection. The verb “laid down,” is, significantly, the same mode of expression as that which the Lord utilized in his narrative of the shepherd and the sheep: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.” . . “Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” (Joh 10:11; Joh 10:17-18.) The meaning is, we have become acquainted with love we know what it is from having seen it displayed in Christ in his death for us. The preposition “for” here (huper) indicates the purpose of the death of Christ, and sheds much light on the nature and effects thereof. The picture in the preposition is of one who sees, for example, another who has fallen, wounded, in grave danger, and about to perish, and who rushes to him, stands over him, fights in his behalf, and enters the fray in his stead. This, and more, Jesus did for us in his death on the cross. He took our place; he suf-fered the penalty of law to be executed in his own person; “him who knew no sin he made to be sin in our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2Co 5:21.) We thus have, in both the Father and the Son, a clear demonstration of love, in all that it is and does. (Joh 3:16; Joh 5:13; Rom 5:8.)

And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.–In view of what Christ and God have done for us, we (the children of God) ought (are morally obligated) to lay down our lives (die) for the brethren (our brothers and sisters in Christ). The mean-ing is, Christ’s death was the greatest possible proof of love; if, therefore, we imitate him as we ought, the same evidence of love which prompted him to die for others will be seen in us. “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (Joh 15:12-13.) This, of course, does not mean that there is the same efficacy in the death of one Christian for another as there was in the death of Christ for the world; nor was it the writer’s design to compare the effects which follow such sacrifices. The subject is love; the comparison which is drawn is designed to demonstrate what love is; and the example of Christ’s sacrifice is offered for our emulation. Under what circumstances it is the duty of one child of God to die for another is not stated, but in any instance, we may assume, when more good would be accomplished for him by dying than by living. In any case, where a brother’s welfare depends on such a sacrifice, love prompts it, without regard to the cost that might result. The contextual force of the apostle’s teaching is clear: Cain is an example of hate; Christ, of love. Cain killed his brother Abel because of selfish-ness; Christ died for all men because of his unselfishness. If we are to avoid the hate which motivated Cain, we must adopt the love which influenced Christ. The willingness to give what one has, even his life, for the sake of others, is of the essence of true love.

17 But whoso bath the world’s goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?–In an argument from the greater to the less, the apostle shows, in the application of the principle taught in the verse preceding, that if a brother’s welfare should require that we give up our life for him, we surely ought to make those smaller sacrifices involving only material things. A refusal to make such comparatively minor sacrifices is to demon-strate that the love of God does not abide in us. The “world’s goods” here is, literally, “the life of the world” ton bion tou kos-mou); and the “world” contemplated is not the order of evil often set forth by this term (1Jn 2:15), but the material sphere in which we live. The “life” of the world is not the higher spiritual life (zoe), but the organic life (bios), which is sustained by the things of the world. The meaning is, He who has in his possession the necessary means to sustain life and who sees his brother in need yet refuses to be touched by a feeling of sympathy for his unfortunate condition or be moved to supply the things needed, how does the love of God abide in him? The question is rhetorical for emphasis; its significance is, the love of God does not abide in him. The “love of God” here is not God’s love for us, but our love for him. Here, as often elsewhere in the Epistle, and, indeed, throughout the sacred writings, we are taught the important lesson that it is impossible to separate theory and practice. Theology and religion are inseparable handmaids; theology without religion is an empty shell; religion without theology simply does not exist. Our obligation to our less fortunate brethren is clear and unmis-takable; we have the example of Christ (Mat 20:28); we have the admonition of the inspired apostle (Gal 6:10); only through compliance therewith do we exhibit the religion which is both pure and undefiled (Jas 1:27).

18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.–These words contain a summary of the ideas developed by the apostle in the verses im-mediately preceding. It was not his purpose to condemn affection-ate speeches, nor did he forbid us to express our love for others in word. The meaning is, “Let us not love in word only, neither with the tongue alone, but let us also love in deed and truth.” It is an admonition to exhibit our love in such fashion as to demon-strate its reality. As the Lord forbade words of hypocrisy in the sermon on the mount (Mat 6:5), so, here, John forbids the mere babble of brotherly love, when neither the word nor the tongue is attended by the fruits of brother love.

19 Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him:–Hereby, i.e., by what has just been said, we are enabled to know that we are of the truth, and have the means by which to assure our hearts before him. If our love is not merely in word or in tongue, but truly in deed and truth, in this (en touto) we shall know (come to possess the knowl-edge) that we are of the truth. “Of the truth” is, in significance, the equivalent of the phrase, “of God,” so often occurring in the Epistle. These words of the apostle were likely an echo of the Lord’s affirmation before Pilate: “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” (John 17:38.) Possessed of this informa-tion, we “shall assure our heart before him.” The word “assure,” from the verb peitho, means to still, persuade, placate; and the meaning here is, the knowledge of the reality of the love which we possess for others enables us to quiet the fears which arise in our own hearts and restrain the questionings which confront us from imagined deficiencies of life and conduct.

20 Because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.–If, in spite of the assur-ances provided, we yet suffer the uneasiness which springs from the realization of our own weaknesses and the consciousness of our own imperfections, let us remember that God is greater than our heart; he knows all things; and he will deal with us, not according to our conscience, but in harmony with the eternal and unchangeable principles of right. Knowing all things, he knows us better than we know ourselves, and he will deal with us ac-cordingly. Let us then not be disturbed by the promptings of conscience, but conform, as far as possible, to the standard of right, with the assurance that he will approve our course at the last day.

21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; –If, in addition to the assurance we have from God that we are approved of him, we also have the approval of our own heart, we thus experience even greater confidence of the fellowship that is ours. It will be, of course, unnecessary to add, to the thoughtful reader, that John has under consideration here individuals whose hearts were fully attuned to the gospel and whose consciences were awakened to the relation which all sustain to God. Obviously the apostle does not hcre refer to men of wicked and depraved conscience whose hearts have been hardened to the influences of the truth and the restraints of right. The ref-erence is to a time of judgment; the court is that of the conscience ; and the judgment rendered is one of approval. The approval is that which the individual recognizes as bestowed upon him from the Father.

22 And whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.–In proof of the fact that the assurance alluded to above is well grounded, the Father is attentive to the prayers of his children and bestows upon them whatever they ask. Two rea-sons are assigned: (1) they keep his commandments; (2) they do the things that are pleasing in his sight. The promise of the pas-sage is, of course, to be understood within the limitations of his promises regarding prayer elsewhere set forth: viz., that the prayer must be in faith, in confidence, according to his will, and in keeping with his instructions regarding prayer. The truly faithful child of God seeks ever to learn what the will of the Father is, even in matters pertaining to prayer, and does not ask for those things which he discovers to be contrary to the Father’s will. The verbs are all in the present tense here and emphasize continuous action; whatever we keep on asking, we keep on receiving, because we keep on keeping his commandments and habitually practice the things that are pleasing in his sight.

23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.–It is significant that the word “commandment” here is singular; it sums up the duties involved in the injunctions which follow it: (1) to believe in the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ; and (2) to love one another. This emphasizes a principle needing constant attention, and one often taught in the Bible; it is impossible to separate faith and practice, duty and dogma. Belief, in order to bless, must eventuate in love; love, without belief, is an impossibility. Faith is the ground not only of love, but of all obedience; it is that which leads to and produces it. And obedience is that which perfects and validates faith. “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren.” (Jas 2:20.) The name of Christ here is put for him and for all for which he stands to believe in his name is to accept him for what he is and all that he does. The command-ment, involving the duties herein set forth, was frequently on the lips of the Lord. (Joh 13:34; Joh 15:12; Joh 15:17.)

24 And he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him.–Here is a reference to the Lord’s own words, “If a man love me, he will keep my word:and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (Joh 14:23.) To “abide” in him is to have fellowship with him, to live and move in that realm of conduct which he approves, and thus to have the abiding presence of deity in the heart. While the context seems to require that the words “in him” refer to the Father (see verse 23), the affirmation is also true of the Son, and is so taught elsewhere. (Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14, etc.) The apostle had earlier referred to this same fellowship. (1:3.)

And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the spirit which he gave us.–This verse declares, (1) God abides in us (2) we have knowledge of his abiding presence; (3) we possess this knowledge by the Spirit which he has given. It should be observed that it is not the manner of entrance nor the mode of the Spirit’s dwelling which is here referred to, but the fact of it. The Spirit assures of approval by motivating its possessor to do those things which enable the Father and the Son to abide in us. If it be asked how the Spirit does this, the answer is, Through the word of God, the only motivating force in immediate contact with the individual. Neither here nor elsewhere do the scriptures teach a direct operation of the Holy Spirit, either before or after conver-sion. It is as erroneous to assume an immediate impact of the Spirit on the Christian’s heart as it is to argue similarly with reference to such impact on the sinner’s heart. The fact of the Spirit’s indwelling is often affirmed in the sacred writings. The manner or mode of such is an entirely different question. The two are not always distinguished; and the result is, a prepossession for some theory thereon creeps easily into our exegesis and colors our explanation, if we are not careful. The fact that the scriptures assert that the Spirit dwells in the Christian does not justify the conclusion that this indwelling is personal, immediate, and apart from the Word of God. Christ is in us (Col 1:25); from this we do not infer that in some mysterious, incomprehensible way he has, in his own person, taken up an abode in us. Why should we fall into similar error with reference to the third person of the Godhead the Holy Spirit?

Commentary on 1Jn 3:13-24 by E.M. Zerr

1Jn 3:13. Marvel not means not to be surprised or wonder at it, because such an attitude is to be expected. Jesus taught the same thing as recorded in Joh 15:18-19, and it is also taught in 1Pe 4:12. The world will hate a faithful disciple of Christ on the same principle that Cain hated his brother. The righteous life is a constant rebuke to the unrighteous ways of the world and causes it to hate the righteous people.

1Jn 3:14. The absence of love for the brethren is proof of one’s being still out of the body of Christ. Those who actually enter the spiritual body will necessarily have a fellow feeling for the members. The act of entering the body is equivalent to passing from death unto life. John says we know in the sense that we have the direct evidence, namely, our mutual relation to each other in Christ. The last sentence of the verse is merely the reverse of the forepart. With this verse before us we may conclude that genuine evidence of brotherly love is not just the sentimental feeling, but it can be claimed only after a person has passed from death unto life. There will be more said on this subject when we come to 1Jn 5:2.

1Jn 3:15. Cain slew his brother because he hated him, so that the poison of murder was in his mind before he talked with him. Others may have the same kind of hatred in their heart but do not have the opportunity of carrying it out. The Lord can read such a mind and hence will regard that man as a murderer. Ye know that no murderer, etc. The Old Testament condemned a murderer and required that he be punished with death (Gen 9:6 and many other passages). John is repeating the same condemnation except that he applies it to murderous intent as well as the actual deed.

1Jn 3:16. The words of God have been supplied by the translators. The passage means that the Lord gave direct evidence of His love in that he laid down his life for us. This is a beautiful contrast with the man who hates his brother. Such a person not only does not make any sacrifice for another, but takes the other man’s life from him. We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. This cannot necessarily mean that we can literally die for the sake of another, except where the other person’s life is in danger and we might lose ours in protecting him. The passage refers to the interest or devotion we would manifest for our brethren even to the extent of making great and trying sacrifices. (See Rom 16:4.)

1Jn 3:17. In this verse the apostle gives a simple example (on the negative side) of what it means to be devoted to the interests of others. Bowels is used figuratively because people in old times thought that was the seat of the finer sentiments of the mind. John uses it to mean that when a man closes his sentiments of compassion against such an unfortunate creature as this, he cannot truly claim the love of God.

1Jn 3:18. This verse means for our love to go farther than words; to be proven by our actions. It is a summing up of the preceding verse.

1Jn 3:19. Nothing can give a disciple any stronger confidence than to know that he is proving his love by actions that benefit the brethren. He thereby manifests his relationship with the truth of the Lord which requires us to show practical love.

1Jn 3:20. Our heart refers to our mind with its various attributes. Having been instructed to show our love by helpful works, if we do so we will feel assured in connection with the subject. If we fail to do our known duty we will have “a guilty conscience” and be self-condemned. If our own knowledge of neglect causes us to feel condemned, we may be sure that God will condemn us also because He knows our hearts.

1Jn 3:21. This verse is virtually a repetition of the preceding one, except that it is considering a person who has carried out the teaching of practical love.

1Jn 3:22. Because we keep his commandments is the condition on which we will receive what we ask. Keeping the commandments includes the obligation of consulting the scriptures to learn what would be right for us to receive. It also includes our doing the things that please Him.

1Jn 3:23. Believing on Christ and loving the brethren (with practical love) sums up the qualities of an obedient child of God. That is because belief in Christ means more than a mere profession. It includes a working faith that will carry out the teaching in Jas 2:18, to show our faith by our works.

1Jn 3:24. Dwelleth in him, and he in him. The matter of dwelling is a mutual affair between the Lord and his people. Since the subject is a spiritual one it is possible for “two persons to be at the same place at the same time”; it means they are dwelling with each other. Spirit which he hath given us enabled the apostles to speak with knowledge on the affairs of the kingdom.

Commentary on 1Jn 3:13-24 by N.T. Caton

1Jn 3:13-Marvel not, my brethren.

The apostle here says: We should not marvel-wonder –if we be hated by the world. While no reason is given, the former verse indicates the source of all hatred. The conflict between good and evil had its origin early in the history of the race. That conflict is still going on, and will to the end of time. It is the common lot of all the righteous to be hated by the wicked from the beginning.

1Jn 3:14-We know that we have passed from death.

While we are hated by the world, this should not be regarded by us, since we know that we have passed away from a state the final end of which is eternal death, into a state the end of which is life eternal.

1Jn 3:14-Because we love the brethren.

The reason is here given for the knowledge we possess of having passed from death into life. Love of the brethren is the test. This is the surest mark by which we can know our state. This disposition is enjoined by our holy religion. There is no danger that the humble disciple, because of the high encomiums bestowed on this virtue by the sacred Writers, shall ever conclude that love of the brethren exhausts all of his Christian duties. He knows better; he has always before him the example of his Master and his blessed teachings, and these unmistakably require at his hands many other duties which embrace those not of the brotherhood.

1Jn 3:14-Abideth in death.

The test by which one may know that the hope of eternal life is not entertained. When one hates his brother, the test is sure. Such an one is still under the condemnation of death; in other words, he is in that state which will ultimate in eternal death.

1Jn 3:15-Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.

One who hates his brother is in a state or condition, under slight provocation influenced by his passion of hate, to slay him. His hatred is the seed or germ from which murder is produced. The instance of Cain, given in a former verse, clearly illustrates this. It was his hatred which led him to slay Abel. As it influenced Cain, so hatred will, in like manner, influence others.

1Jn 3:15-No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Here is the announcement of a great truth. It is simply impossible that one who cherishes such a hatred of his brother as will, under any circumstances, lead to the taking of his life, justly or unjustly, has, or can have, the capacity for eternal life abiding in him. The states of love and of hate are opposites.

1Jn 3:16-Hereby perceive we the love of God.

Christ, by the appointment of God, showed his love when he laid down his life on the cross. Having his example before us for our guidance, should occasion require it, we should lay down our lives for the brethren.

1Jn 3:17-But whoso hath this world’s goods.

A plain contrast is here presented. If it be true that we should lay down our lives for the brethren, what shall be said of one who has an abundance, and yet refuses to furnish a needy brother those things necessary for his present succor? It is utterly impossible that the love of God could dwell in such a man. It can in no sense abide in him.

1Jn 3:18-My little children, let us not love.

We may claim to love our brethren, and many proper occasions present themselves where no outward manifestation is given: If such a thing were possible, this would be loving in word or tongue. Such love is not acceptable. The love must be shown by deeds; if it be true love, it will so manifest itself; empty professions will not do.

1Jn 3:19-And hereby we know that we are of the truth.

When our love exhibits itself in deeds, when it is operative or active, we may know assuredly that we are in the fellowship of God.

1Jn 3:20-For if our heart condemn us.

If we are deficient in love to our needy brethren, we know it; our own conscience so informs us. We thus condemn ourselves. God is greater than our hearts, for he knows all things; his condemnation is therefore certain, because he is a more perfect and impartial Judge.

1Jn 3:21-Beloved, if our heart condemn us not.

But if our conscience does not condemn us-that is, does not accuse us of being deficient in love to our needy brethren -we have a conscience void of offense toward God, and we are assured that he will hear us, for he knows that we have not failed in duty.

1Jn 3:22-And whatsoever we ask.

Having kept Gods commandments, by loving our brethren in deed and in truth, and thereby acting in a way well pleasing to God, we know that whatever blessings we ask of him, agreeably to his will, we shall receive.

1Jn 3:23-And this is his commandment.

The commandment that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another; believe that God sent his Son into the world; the same Jesus that was born in the manger; that he was sent to save us; take him, accept him as our Prophet, Priest and King; follow him as our Leader, trusting and relying upon him for salvation, and, in addition, love the brethren in deed and in truth. This is God’s commandment.

1Jn 3:24-And he that keepeth.

By keeping God’s commandments we have fellowship with him. We dwell with him, and he with us.

1Jn 3:24-That he abideth in us.

The spirit of the Master that is given to us manifests itself in our daily walk. If we be led by his spirit, we show its fruits in our lives, and by this spirit we know that we are the sons of God.

Commentary on 1Jn 3:13-24 by Burton Coffman

1Jn 3:13 –Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you.

The apostle Peter wrote a similar warning (1Pe 4:12), and Jesus Christ had repeatedly warned the apostles of the unyielding hostility of the world (Joh 15:18-19; Joh 15:25; Joh 16:1 ff; Joh 17:14, etc.). Cain with his murderous attitude toward his brother who was righteous is the prototype of all the unregenerated people who ever lived. Although it is natural for the non-Christian world to hate Christians, it is not the business or intention of Christians to seek or encourage such hatred; but, rather, it is the purpose of God’s children so to live and deport themselves as to disarm such hatreds and win the lost to Christ. In keeping with that purpose, Christians should diligently eliminate from their lives all lack of amiability, carefully avoiding all behavior that might justly incur the world’s hostility.

The reason why the wicked hated the righteous is that, “The good man is a walking rebuke to the evil man, even if he never spake a word to him. His life passes a silent judgment.”[33] Alcibiades, a debauchee, said to Socrates, “I hate you; because every time I meet you, you show me what I am.”[34] “There is still a Cain, the world, hating its Abel, the church.”[35]

[33] William Barclay, The Letters of John and Jude (Philadelphia: The Westminster press, 1976), p. 85.

[34] Ibid.

[35] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 73.

1Jn 3:14 –We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death.

We know that we have passed out of death into life … The true test of Christian achievement is not world opinion, but holy love within the heart. “Passed out of” is from a word that means, “passing from one form of government to another, and was used of transition from one place to another.”[36] It is akin to the word “migrated.”

Death into life … This strongly reflects the teaching of Jesus who said, “The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live” (Joh 5:25). All of the New Testament writers reflect the same thought. The old sinful life is death; the new joy in Christ Jesus is life.

He that loveth not … One whose heart is not healed, opened and expanded by love is still abiding in the old life which is death.

ENDNOTE:

[36] David Smith, op. cit., p. 186.

1Jn 3:15 –Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

John here skipped a point or two in his argument, but it is nevertheless evident anyway. “His full argument is: where love is not, there is hatred; where hatred is, there is murder; where murder, there can be no eternal life.”[37] An argument like this is squarely founded upon the teachings of the Master who equated the deprecatory word, the contemptuous epithet, and anger in the heart against a brother, with murder (Mat 5:21-22).

ENDNOTE:

[37] W. N. Sinclair, op. cit., p. 485.

1Jn 3:16 –Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

In such a verse as this the unattainability of the full Christian ideal is starkly clear. John did not here command Christians to lay down their lives for each other, but he thundered the principle that they ought to do it. Why? Because Christ did so for us. If the exhibition of such a love as this is the final test to be met before one can be saved, we must be convinced that heaven is going to be sparsely settled! Such an ethic is very much like that set forth in the parable of the good Samaritan, being simply beyond that which the vast majority of Christian people have ever dared to attempt. It is perhaps intended in such Scriptures as these that Christians shall behold the truth of their being “unprofitable servants,” and utterly incapable of achieving, in any complete sense, that righteousness which alone can save. In the light of this verse, who could ever imagine that he merited salvation, or that he had earned it? We believe that John’s purpose here was primarily that of illuminating this truth. Knowing human weakness and inability to survive such a test (at least in the general sense), God, in his providence, has most infrequently made it a test of Christian fidelity. There are other tests of love, however; and John will immediately turn to one of them.

1Jn 3:17 –But whoso hath the world’s goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?

“This is a much more common and practical test, which all may be called upon to meet, Christian philanthropy.”[38] A stingy Christian is a contradiction of terms. There is no use of one’s imagining that he has the kind of love that would give up life for a brother, if the countless opportunities of aiding those in distress find no adequate response within him. In a sense, it is even more difficult to aid the poor and the needy than to suffer martyrdom. As Smith put it, “Martyrdom is heroic and exhilarating; the difficulty lies in doing the little things, making the petty sacrifices and self-denials which no one notices and no one applauds.”[39] However, in a practical sense, no Christian can excuse himself from full compliance with the holy commandment in a matter like this.

Translators and commentators have devised all kinds of ways to tone down the import of a passage like this. Note the following:

“The well-to-do man who sees his brother in want, etc.”[40]

Doesn’t this let most of us off the hook?

In answer to the question of how far one should go in giving to the poor, although this is theoretical rather than practical, for the vast majority are in no danger at all of exceeding proper boundaries in the exercise of this grace, John Wesley wrote this:

“Give to him that asketh thee …” Give and lend to any so far (but no farther, for God never contradicts himself) as is consistent with thy engagements to thy creditors, thy family, and the household of faith.[41]

Such a comment reveals the serious question of priorities which makes this one of the most difficult Christian commandments; and yet it is one that every child of God must receive and obey.

The very great difficulty of implicit obedience to such commands as those in these verses has been “solved” in a number of devious ways. There are some who talk a good game of loving others, but whose lives show no evidence of it. John will deal with that in the very next verse. There are others who are masters of the art of doing good with “other people’s money.” They organize enterprises and institutions which they propose to support with contributions from others, feeling that in this they have obeyed the Lord. However, it is the clear intention of the New Testament that the personal element in giving should be dominant. A great many of the charitable enterprises in any community are run exactly like hard-nosed business establishments.

[38] J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 93.

[39] David Smith, op. cit., p. 186.

[40] From the New English Bible in The New Testament in Four Versions (New York: Iverson-Ford Associates, 1963), p. 763.

[41] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (Naperville, Illinois: Alec R. Allensen, Inc., 1950), p. 34.

1Jn 3:18 –My little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.

The prohibition here is not against expressions of love and concern for others; for, in their place, these are beautiful and helpful. What is forbidden is the substitution of loving words for needed assistance, which is here called loving “in word.” An even worse error is that of merely using the vocabulary of love without any sincerity whatever, that is, talking of a love and concern for others without either the desire or any intention of doing anything except talking about it. This is called by John, “loving … with the tongue.” The world is loaded with “word” lovers and “tongue” lovers! Christians are expected to love “in deed and in truth.”

1Jn 3:19-20 –Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him: because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

In this verse, “heart” is used with the meaning of “conscience.” “The heart in St. John’s language is conscience; the word conscience is not found in his writings.”[42]

“Opinion is much divided on whether these verses are meant to inspire awe, or afford consolation.”[43] There does not seem to be any way of arriving at an absolute certainty on this point, so both viewpoints (and translations) will be presented.

AS AFFORDING CONSOLATION

Westcott’s paraphrase is: “We shall then still our heart in whatsoever it may condemn us, because we are in fellowship with God, and that fact assures us of his sovereign mercy.”[44]

David Smith explained the meaning thus:

The foregoing exhortation may have awakened a misgiving in our minds: “Am I loving as I ought?” Our failures in duty and service rise up before us, and “our heart condemns us.” So the apostle furnishes a grand reassurance. The assurance is: (1) the worst that is in us is known to God, and (2) God sees the deepest things, and these are the real things. If our intention is to do his will, he takes account of that.[45]

The translation in the New Catholic Bible also follows this pattern of thought:

A probable rendering of the Greek is: “And in his sight we shall reassure our hearts, whatever our heart may accuse us of, because God is greater.”[46]

Orr wrote:

When conscience brings its accusations, we may appeal to the higher and final tribunal of Omniscience. “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love, etc.” (Joh 21:17).[47]

Plummer in his comment on “God knoweth all things …” has this:

This is an awful thought for the impenitent, a blessed and encouraging thought for the penitent. God knows our sins, but he also knows our temptations, our struggles, our sorrow, and our love.”[48]

Despite the above, however, there is another viewpoint that must be considered.

AS INSPIRING AWE

It could mean: since our hearts condemn us and God is infinitely greater than our hearts, God must condemn us even more. If we take it that way, it leaves us only with the fear of God and with nothing to say but, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.”[49]

Our conscience is but the faint echo of His voice who knoweth all things: if it condemns us, how much more He?[50]

The main objection to this interpretation was stated by Stott who thought that the emphatic purpose of the paragraph was that of healing wounded hearts and not that of “opening the wounds wider … and striking terror into their hearts.”[51] Despite this, we cannot rule out the possibility of this second meaning, for in so doing we might be guilty of presumption. Nevertheless, we dare to hope that the first meaning is correct. It could be that the blessed Spirit who inspired these precious words intended a certain ambiguity.

[42] Ibid., p. 912.

[43] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1057. [44] Ibid.

[45] David Smith, op. cit., p. 187.

[46] The New Catholic Bible, op. cit., p. 317.

[47] R. W. Orr, op. cit., p. 616.

[48] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 75.

[49] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 86.

[50] John R. W. Stott, op. cit., p. 148.

[51] Ibid.

1Jn 3:21 –Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, we have boldness toward God;

Whatever consolation may have been intended in the preceding verses, a greater consolation is promised for the Christian who will keep his conscience clean.

1Jn 3:22 –and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.

Whatsoever we ask we receive … “This declaration is limited by the conditions, which in other passages of Scripture, are made necessary to our petitions being granted by God.”[52] There is in this verse the implied condition that it is the prayers of the obedient which are answered.

ENDNOTE:

[52] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 78.

1Jn 3:23 –And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.

Believe in the name … and love one another … To believe and love – this is the greatest and most important command that ever issued from the throne of glory.”[53] The inclusion here of faith “in the name” of Christ shows that, “the commandments” mentioned in the preceding verse are “not only, or chiefly moral.”[54] They include the whole spectrum of Christian duty. It is a gross mistake to consider Christianity as chiefly an ethical code, though it is also that. Belief, or faith, in this passage also “carries an overtone of commitment”[55] and actually means fidelity, or faithfulness, as generally in the New Testament.

These last two verses of the chapter (1Jn 3:23-24) carry frequent references to the farewell discourses of Jesus (John 13, 15). Obedience to divine commands, continuity in faith and love, promised answer to prayer, abiding in God, and the gift of the Spirit are among these.

His commandment … Orr pointed out that “believe and love” as used in this verse have the meaning of “trust and obey.”[56] Barclay also agreed to this: “When we put these two commandments together, we find the great truth that the Christian life depends on right belief and right conduct combined.”[57]

[53] John Wesley, op. cit., p. 913.

[54] Amos N. Wilder, op. cit., p. 270.

[55] Ibid.

[56] R. W. Orr, op. cit., p. 616.

[57] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 88.

1Jn 3:24 –And he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

Abideth in him, and he in him … This refers to the Christian’s abiding in Christ and Christ’s abiding in the Christian, “a metaphor derived ultimately from our Lord’s allegory of the vine and the branches (Joh 15:1 ff).”[58] It is not, however, some mystical experience which is meant by this; “its indispensable accompaniments are the confession of Jesus as the Son of God come in the flesh, and a consistent life of holiness and love.”[59] In this connection, it is also appropriate to point out that no one was ever truly “in Christ” who was not baptized “into him,” as the New Testament repeatedly affirms (Rom 6:3-5; Gal 3:26-27; 1Co 12:13).

And hereby we know that he abideth in us … this is only another way of saying, “hereby we know we are truly Christians.”

By the Spirit he gave us … In Christians, this refers to “the influence of the Spirit renewing their nature, sanctifying their wills, and directing their actions.”[60] We have called this the “Gift Ordinary” of the Holy Spirit, given to Christians as an earnest in consequence of and subsequently to their being baptized into Christ (Act 2:38 ff and Eph 1:13). This is also called in the New Testament the “earnest’ of the Holy Spirit.

In the wonderful words of this great chapter, the apostle John has revealed the true secret of the wonderful life in Christ, a life so glorious that it is appropriately described as a transfer from darkness to light, and as passing from death to life. The basics of it are profoundly simple. These are: the acceptance of Jesus Christ as God’s only begotten Son, the confession of his name, being baptized into him, abiding “in him,” having him “abide in” us, and responding to his great love by loving all people of the whole world, and “the brethren in Christ” with even a more fervent love. Such a life is the greatest adventure that human life on earth can offer, and those who dare to accept the challenge shall receive a final reward of eternal life with God in heaven.

[58] John R. W. Stott, op. cit., p. 150.

[59] John R. W. Stott, op. cit., p. 151.

[60] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 79.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Loving in Deed and in Truth

1Jn 3:13-24

Love to the brethren is a sign that we have been born into the family. We may not like them all, yet we can love them. If we love, we live; and if we live in the deepest sense, we shall love; that is, we shall put others first, and our care for them will be tinged with the crimson of sacrifice. Love is not measured by the expressions of the lip or the emotion of the heart, but by the extent to which we will do or suffer.

The believer dares not affirm too much about himself, he is so unworthy and fickle; but God understands us and imputes to us what we would be. Mark in 1Jn 3:22 the double condition of prevailing prayer. It is also clear from 1Jn 3:23 that men can believe, if they will. God is prepared to impart to those who are wishful all that He commands. Augustine prayed thus: Give what thou commandest, and command what thou wilt.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

world

kosmos = world-system. 1Jn 4:3-5; Joh 7:7. (See Scofield “Rev 13:8”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

Marvel not: Ecc 5:8, Joh 3:7, Act 3:12, Rev 17:7

if: Mat 10:22, Mat 24:9, Mar 13:13, Luk 6:22, Luk 21:17, Joh 7:7, Joh 15:18, Joh 15:19, Joh 16:2, Joh 16:33, Joh 17:14, Rom 8:7, 2Ti 3:12, Jam 4:4

Reciprocal: Pro 29:10 – The bloodthirsty Pro 29:27 – General Isa 66:5 – Your Rom 12:2 – be not Gal 6:10 – especially 1Jo 2:9 – and hateth

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

1Jn 3:13-15. Cain becomes the world, and Abel you; the emphasis resting on these two words.

1Jn 3:14. There is no exhortation in this. Faithful to the thought of the great message, the apostle says: We know that we have passed out of death into life. Here the transition is regarded as perfect; and the evidence to ourselves is,because we love the brethren. Not, We are now in the life because we love; but, Because we love we know. Love is not the cause, but the fruit and evidence of regeneration.

He that loveth not abideth in death: the love is here general. But in the next verse it is made specific in two ways: first, it is whosoever hateth his brothernot to love is to hate; and, secondly, he who hateth is a murdererwith allusion to Cain, and to one behind Cain who was a murderer from the beginning. The remainder of the verse must be regarded as an appeal to the Christian or human instinct: Ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. The abiding is simply an echo of the former: it says nothing about his having had it and lost it, or as to his not retaining it hereafter; but is quite general, as when our Lord said, Ye have not My word abiding in you. The argument is an apostrophe: No man who would destroy life can have life in himself. Mark, finally, that the last words declare eternal life to be the true Divine life of regeneration or fellowship with God, not life as mere continuance in being. There would be no meaning in hath not abiding life abiding in him.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

The Danger of Hatred

So, it should come as no surprise when the world hates us when we do things pleasing to God ( Joh 15:18-20 ). Good works expose evil works and their reward stirs envy in the hearts of evil workers. We should not encourage the hatred of the world but live lives of example that may win them to the Lord’s way ( 1Jn 3:13 ; 1Pe 2:12 ; 1Pe 3:16-17 ).

God’s children have migrated from spiritual death to life ( Eph 2:1 ; Joh 5:24-25 ; Col 2:13 ). We can have certain knowledge that we have so migrated if we love the brethren. A failure to love the brethren is a clear sign we are still spiritually dead ( 1Jn 3:14 ).

The end result of hatred is murder ( Mat 5:21-22 ). Murder will certainly lead to the exclusion from eternal life with the Father, so we must avoid its beginnings. Jesus taught His followers to love instead of hate when He laid down His life for those who were enemies of His Father, or sinners ( Joh 15:13 ; Rom 5:6-8 ). Jesus voluntarily died that we might have life ( Joh 10:11 ; Joh 10:17-18 ; 2Co 5:21 ). His great sacrifice compels Christians to have the same attitude of sacrificial love toward their brethren ( 1Jn 3:15-16 ; 1Co 8:8-13 ; Gal 6:1-2 ; Gal 6:10 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

If we feel loving concern for one another, it should not surprise us if unrighteous people hate us for being more righteous than they are. Apparently John’s first readers could not understand why the world hated them, because he wrote, "Stop marveling." Christians are to the world what Abel was to Cain, so we should not be surprised if the world hates us. Sometimes unbelievers who become angry with us, for example, are reacting more against God in us than they are reacting against us personally.

"Of central importance for victory when a Christian is subjected to the world’s hatred is the recognition that hatred is the natural response of the sinful world toward righteousness." [Note: Hiebert, "An Expositional . . .," 146:302.]

"The author does not say that the world always hates believers. It did not always hate Jesus. But whenever the community of faith acts so as to expose the greed, the avarice, the hatred, and the wickedness of the world, it must expect rejection; and if it should go so far as to interfere with its evil practices, as Jesus did in the temple, it may expect suffering and brutal death (cf. Joh 15:18-19; Joh 15:25; Joh 17:14)." [Note: Barker, p. 335.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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