1 João 3
H.A. Ironside · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 3:4
Ironside - There was a little boy who when his Sunday school teacher asked him this question (WHAT IS SIN?), said, “I think it is anything you like to do.” That is not far from wrong, because in our natural state we are so utterly out of touch with God that we like to do those things that are contrary to His holy will. A person who deliberately and habitually sins is proving that he does not know Christ and therefore cannot be abiding in Him. Warren
1 João 3:5
Ironside - Here John declared more than he did in his Gospel. In John 1:29 John the Baptist exclaimed as he pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” In his Gospel John directed us to Christ’s work on the cross. There He settled the sin question and because of that finished work He is able to show grace to all men everywhere. But here in the Epistle, we have deliverance from the practice of sin for those who are already saved: “He was manifested to take away our sins.” “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). The Word says, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Our blessed Lord not only saves us from the guilt of sin through the work of His cross, but He has provided the means whereby He may save us from the power of sin (Ro 6:11). He takes away the habit of sinning through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ro 8:13) after the new nature has been communicated to us through the new birth (Jn 3:7, Ezekiel 36:27- note = God's part, Our part!). People who loved to sin and go their own way, now delight in holiness and find their joy in doing His will. This is the characteristic mark of a Christian. A man who has professed to accept Christ as his Savior, to have been justified by faith through His atoning blood, and yet goes on living in the world and liking the world, shows that he has never had a renewed nature. He is simply a hypocrite because he is pretending to be what he is not. A real Christian is one who has been born again, one who has a new life and a new nature and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and therefore has learned to hate the sin in which he once lived… And now this absolutely sinless One, who in grace became sin for us that we might be reconciled to God, dwells by the Spirit in the believer. Our new nature is really His very life imparted to us. It is in the power of this life that we triumph over sin. There is a friend of mine who has been for a long time a confirmed addict to the disgusting cigarette habit. He has tried to free himself from this habit, and wants to be free, but this thing has such a hold on him that unfortunately physicians have told him it would be best to continue smoking. I cannot tell you how many times I have looked at him and said, “Oh, how I wish it were possible for me in some way to get control of your will so that this habit would go away, because I detest it so! If I could only get within you so that my mind could control yours, and my feelings toward this thing would take possession of you, then you would never smoke again.” That is exactly what the Lord does for those who trust Him. He dwells within us, and as we yield to Him, He takes full control. He dominates the believer so that he lives to His praise and to His glory.....There was a little boy who when his Sunday school teacher asked him this question, said, “I think it is anything you like to do.” That is not far from wrong, because in our natural state we are so utterly out of touch with God that we like to do those things that are contrary to His holy will. "[Sin] is a deliberate rejection of God's standards and a resort to one's own desires." -- Guthrie Jon Courson - We need to remind those who claim to be believers yet habitually, continually practice sin that, in the life of a true believer, the Lord came to take away sin. (See Jon Courson's Application Commentary: Volume 3) Matthew
1 João 3:6
Ironside - Next the apostle went on to show what holiness really means in the Christian’s life. “Whosoever abides in Him sins not [is not characterized by sinning]: whosoever sins hath not seen him, neither known him” (1 John 3:6). This verse used to trouble me, because I was not clear about it. I used to read it as though it said, “Whosoever commits a sin hath not seen him, neither known him.” Verse eight was particularly disturbing: “He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning.” And as I got my eyes off the Lord and allowed myself to fall into something that dishonored Him, those words were the torment of my life-“He that commits sin is of the devil.” This verse seems to says that whoever sins has never been a Christian at all. I was greatly troubled, for I knew I had not gotten to the place of sinless perfection, even though I was trying to get there in those days. I was so sure I was born of God-that I was converted-but wondered if it had all been a mistake. I went to a teacher and asked him about this, and he said, “You have been converted all right, but every time you commit a sin you become unconverted again, and a child of the devil once more.” (Ed: Which of course is total heresy!) That made me even more bewildered than before, and I wondered how I would ever know when I was converted to stay. If I were converted over and over again how would I know for sure that I was still converted just before I died? I might suddenly become a child of the devil again and miss everything. What a relief of mind it was to get a better understanding of the tense of the verbs! Contrast 1John 3:6 with 1John 2:1+, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” He does not say if any man sin he ceases to be a child of God, but, “We have an advocate with the Father.” The word sin is in the aorist tense, and refers to a definite action at a given point of time, “If any man should fall into a sin.” But chapter three verse six (1 John 3:6) is in the present continuous tense (present tense), “Whosoever goes on practicing sin, whosoever makes it the habit of his life to live in sin, hath not seen Him neither known Him.” Peter fell into grievous sin, and that sin was repeated and repeated. But when the Lord turned and looked at him, he went out and wept bitterly. His heart was broken because of his failure, and he was soon restored. True believers fall into sin if for a moment their eyes are taken off the Lord Jesus Christ. But the advocacy of the Lord Jesus begins at that moment, and He restores their souls. (1 John 3 Commentary) WHEN SEEING IS BELIEVING No one who sins (hamartano - present tense) has seen (perfect tense) Him or (absolutely does not) knows (ginosko - perfect tense) Him - No one is literally all (every one), which in essence means all without exception. Sin practitioners are not Savior seers! To all who do not know Jesus in this life, He will declare "I never knew you" (Mt 7:23+)! Hiebert goes on to explain that in the "second group John asserts that “whosoever sins has not seen Him, neither known Him.” The construction again depicts a distinct class, all of its members characterized by the practice of sin as the ruling principle of their lives. The basic contrast between the two groups is sharply drawn; the first is marked by a continuing relationship with Christ, the second by the continuing practice of sin. There is also a strong contrast in the negative expressed concerning each group; the first group does not practice sin, but the second group “has not seen Him, neither known Him” (ouch heōraken auton oude egnōken auton). The two negations (ouch… oude) concerning the second group are not identical in meaning. The first verb, “has seen” (heōraken), here does not refer to a literal seeing of Jesus in the flesh, as in 1Jn 1:2–3+, but denotes a spiritual vision of Him through faith (cf. "eyes of your heart may be enlightened" = Eph 1:18+; "seeing Him Who is unseen" = Heb 11:27+); he has never arrived at a clear perception of the true nature of the incarnate Christ. The second verb “known” (egnōken) denies that he has entered into a personal relationship with Him so as to become familiar with the characteristics of the incarnate Christ." (1 John 2:29-3:12 Online) Sins ("keeps on sinning" = ESV) (hamartano) in the present tense describes continually living a lifestyle which is contrary to the will and law of God. This lifestyle of sin testifies to the fact that they are not regenerate. To say that this description applies to a genuine believer as some do, is to simply not allow the text to say what it says! Be a Berean (Acts 17:11+)! John makes a similar statement in his third epistle - "Beloved, do not imitate (present imperative) what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good (agathopoieo = to do good - present active participle = continually) is of God; the one who does evil (kakopoieo - present active participle = continually) has not seen God." (3 John 1:11+) So again John paints a striking, simple, straight-forward contrast between believers and non-believers based upon their habitual practice (of good or evil). Obviously those who habitually do good will still do evil because they possess the fallen flesh, but committing evil is not their way of life. The upshot is that genuine believers do not habitually practice evil! Do not let anyone tell you that you can profess faith in Christ at some point in time and then spend the rest of your life doing evil! That is a lie and as discussed in this section, it is a lie that is being perpetrated by pastors and commentators that many would classify as "evangelical!" Beware! Heed the apostle John's clear warning in his epistles. The heretical teaching is not new! The NET Note on 3 John 1:11+ says "The one who does what is bad has not seen God… reiterates the common Johannine theme of behavior as an indication of genuine faith, found in 1 John 3:6, 10; 4:7, 20; and in the Gospel of John 3:17–21. By implication, the genuineness of Diotrephes’ faith is called into question, because he has obviously done what is bad (3Jn 1:11b; cf. 3Jn 1:9–10). In John’s terminology it is clear that the phrase has not seen God is equivalent to “is not a genuine Christian” (see John 3:17–21 and 1 John 3:6, 10; 4:7, 20)." Holman Christian Study Bible - John was aware that Christians sin (1Jn 2:1+). They can receive forgiveness through Jesus' death (1Jn 1:7+ ) as they confess their sins (1Jn 1:9+). By everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him, John had in mind flagrant sin by false "believers" whose confession of Jesus was false (1Jn 2:23+), whose love was set on the world rather than God (1Jn 2:15+), and whose obedience was lacking (1Jn 2:4). Jesus Himself warned about people who called Him "Lord" and did great things in His name, but ultimately were not genuine disciples (Mt 7:21-23+). (BORROW HCSB Study Bible : Holman Christian Standard Bible )
1 João 3:8
Ironside - All through his fearful history the devil has been characterized by rebellion against God. He practiced sin from the beginning. Those who are children of the devil exhibit the moral characteristics of their father, while those who belong to the family of God exhibit the moral characteristics of their Father. They delight in holiness even as the others roll sin as a sweet morsel under their tongues. This is not the course, and habit, and tenor of his life; there is sin in much that he does, but he hates it, loathes it, and flees from it." Be wary of teaching (and beloved it is out there in pulpits that call themselves evangelical) that says John is describing believers who can practice sin and be of the devil and still be believers. Yes, believers sin but I like the way
1 João 3:8
Ironside - Dear believer, there is not only deliverance from the judgment due your sin, but deliverance has been provided from the power of sin. He provides deliverance over sin that He might annul the works of the devil. He sets His people free from the power of sin and Satan that they might live in this world to the praise of His glory. (1 John 3 Commentary) Jon Courson - In taking away our sin, Jesus paid the price for sin. In destroying the works of the devil, He destroyed the power of sin. That is, He destroyed the power of the Enemy to entangle us in those things that compromise our ability to impact the world for the kingdom. (See Jon Courson's Application Commentary: Volume 3) John Calvin on the Son of God appeared for this purpose - He repeats in other words what he had said before, that Christ came to take away sins. Hence two conclusions are to be drawn: that those in whom sin reigns cannot be reckoned among the members of Christ, and that they can by no means belong to his body; for wherever Christ exerts His own power, He puts the devil to flight as well as sin. And this is what John immediately adds; for the next sentence, where he says that those who do not sin are born of God (1 John 3:9), is a conclusion from what has gone before. John Stott nicely sums up John’s argument thus far: If the first step to holiness is to recognize the sinfulness of sin, both in its essence as lawlessness and in its diabolical origin, the second step is to see its absolute incompatibility with Christ in His sinless Person and saving work. The more clearly we grasp these facts, the more incongruous will sin appear and the more determined we shall be to be rid of it. (BORROW The Letters of John page 128) Warren
1 João 3:9
Ironside - When I think of justification, I think of a forensic act of God by which I am cleared of every charge of guilt. When I think of regeneration, I think of the imparting of a new nature through the power of the Holy Spirit in which the whole direction of my life is changed. Years ago when I went to California as a boy, the only oranges we knew were the ones with seeds. But then two of the Washington navel orange trees were brought to Riverside from Brazil and cultivated. Cuttings were taken from these parent trees at Riverside, and orange trees were budded with the Washington navel shoots, and their character was completely changed. A man having a forty acre orchard and not wanting to be left completely without fruit, would have the tops of one half of the trees cut off. Twenty acres would go on bearing the oranges with the seeds. But he would cut under the bark of the lopped trees, and put in the navel orange cuttings, and in a couple of years all those trees would have new branches and would be loaded with oranges. I might say to the owner, “What kind of oranges are these?” “Washington navel oranges,” he would reply. “Is that the only kind of oranges they bear? Don’t they sometimes bear oranges with seeds?” “Oh no,” he would say; “A budded tree does not produce seeded oranges.” But even as he speaks I stoop down and see a little shoot under the branches coming out of the trunk of the tree, and say, “Look, what is that shoot?” He would snip it off, or taking his knife out of his pocket would cut it away, saying, “That’s from below the graft. It must be pruned off.” You see what is characteristic of the budded tree is that it bears the navel oranges, but if one does not watch, below the grafting there will be a shoot of the old nature. Likewise as children of God we cannot go on living in sin. If you ever find a Christian slipping into anything unclean or unholy, you know that this comes from below the graft- it is the old nature manifesting itself! How can you keep the old nature from producing sin? By using the pruning knife of self-judgment. Whenever you find any tendency of rebellion against God, any tendency of self-will, any tendency to think of unclean or unholy things, get out the pruning knife and use it unsparingly on yourself. These tendencies are of the old nature, not of the new, and they must not be allowed to grow and develop, or they will destroy your fellowship with God. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,…because he is born of God.” The new life given to him is eternal life. It abides in him, and he cannot continue in sin because he is born of God. (1 John 3 Commentary) Oswald Chambers —1 John 3:9 WHAT PAUL DESCRIBES IN THE seventh chapter of Romans is a person’s human nature in the throes of two alternating dispositions. One disposition wishes to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, while the other disposition longs to obey the Spirit of God in all things. Too many people think that this struggle is the highest possible experience of grace through the atonement of Jesus Christ. They suppose that all Jesus does is to disturb their natural peace, awaken them, and then taunt them with the consciousness of what they ought to be—without any possibility of being it. But the regenerated life is not an “up and down” life; it is a life “up and up.” Regeneration divorces the disposition of the flesh and the disposition of the Spirit; and it then can produce a wonderful thing in your nature—a life without sin (1 John 3:9). This is not sanctification; it is another aspect of salvation. Sanctification makes little difference in your external life, but it makes all the difference inside. Yet even before sanctification, every man or woman who is born again of the Spirit of God has victory over sin! Adrian Rogers - 1 John 3:9 You may say, "I'm not sure I'm saved, because I know that the ability to sin is still within me." The word John used for "sin" in this verse is in the present tense, meaning a habitual course of action. John was saying that a person who is born of God does not make sin his practice, his lifestyle, his habit. It doesn't mean that he never, ever slips into sin. Before I was saved, I was running to sin. Since being saved, I am running from it. I may fall, I may slip, I may fail, but my heart's desire is to live for God. If that is your testimony as well, you can be assured of your salvation. Oswald Chambers - Signs of the new birth Ye must be born again. John 3:7. The answer to the question “How can a man be born when he is old?” is—When he is old enough to die—to die right out to his ‘rag rights,’ to his virtues, to his religion, to everything, and to receive into himself the life which never was there before. The new life manifests itself in conscious repentance and unconscious holiness. “As many as received Him.” (John 1:12.) Is my knowledge of Jesus born of internal spiritual perception, or is it only what I have learned by listening to others? Have I something in my life that connects me with the Lord Jesus as my personal Saviour? All spiritual history must have a personal knowledge for its bedrock. To be born again means that I see Jesus. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3.) Do I seek for signs of the Kingdom, or do I perceive God’s rule? The new birth gives a new power of vision whereby I begin to discern God’s rule. His rule was there all the time, but true to His nature; now that I have received His nature, I can see His rule. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,” (1 John 3:9.) Do I seek to stop sinning or have I stopped sinning? To be born of God means that I have the supernatural power of God to stop sinning. In the Bible it is never—Should a Christian sin? The Bible puts it emphatically—A Christian must not sin. The effective working of the new birth life in us is that we do not commit sin, not merely that we have the power not to sin, but that we have stopped sinning. 1 John 3:9 does not mean that we cannot sin; it means that if we obey the life of God in us, we need not sin. QUOTES ON REGENERATION John Blanchard - The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians - excellent resource Repentance is a change of the mind and regeneration is a change of the man. Thomas Adams Regeneration is the fountain; sanctification is the river. J. Sidlow Baxter Seeing we are born God’s enemies we must be new-born his sons. Richard Baxter Becoming a Christian is not making a new start in life; it is receiving a new life to start with. John Blanchard Take away the mystery from the new birth and you have taken away its majesty. John Blanchard Man’s basic need is not a grasp of logic but the gift of life. John Blanchard Regeneration is God’s mysterious prerogative. John Blanchard The new birth is infinite in its beginning because its beginning lies in infinity. John Blanchard The new birth is not only a mystery that no man can understand, it is a miracle that no man can undertake. John Blanchard Faith does not proceed from ourselves, but is the fruit of spiritual regeneration. John Calvin When God designs to forgive us he changes our hearts and turns us to obedience by his Spirit. John Calvin Adoption gives us the privilege of sons, regeneration the nature of sons. Stephen Charnock Regeneration is a spiritual change; conversion is a spiritual motion. Stephen Charnock Regeneration is a universal change of the whole man … it is as large in renewing as sin was in defacing. Stephen Charnock If the second birth hath no place in you, the second death shall have power over you. William Dyer Regeneration, however it is described, is a divine activity in us, in which we are not the actors but the recipients. Sinclair Ferguson Regeneration is the communication of the divine nature to man by the operation of the Holy Spirit through the Word. A. J. Gordon Regeneration is a single act, complete in itself, and never repeated; conversion, as the beginning of holy living, is the commencement of a series, constant, endless and progressive. A. A. Hodge Whatever man may do after regeneration, the first quickening of the dead must originate with God. A. A. Hodge Spiritual life is the consequence of spiritual quickening. The baby cries because it is born; it is not born because it cries. Erroll Hulse God’s work of regeneration is never directly perceived by the soul: it takes place in man within the region of what has now come to be called the subconscious. Ernest F. Kevan To expect Christian conduct from a person who is not born again is rank heresy. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones When God works in us, the will, being changed and sweetly breathed upon by the Spirit of God, desires and acts, not from compulsion, but responsively. Martin Luther We cannot be changed by altering a few of our bad habits. Reformation will not do, for the disease of sin has captured our very life system. We need regeneration, a new heart. Will Metzer The genesis of Christianity as an experience is that of being born again of the Spirit. G. Campbell Morgan Just as in the beginning ‘God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light’ so, at the moment he appointed for our new birth, he said, ‘Let there be life’ and there was life. J. A. Motyer We are helpless to co-operate in our regeneration as we are to co-operate in the work of Calvary. lain H. Murray Regeneration is inseparable from its effects and one of its effects is faith. John Murray The embrace of Christ in faith is the first evidence of regeneration and only thus may we know that we have been regenerated. John Murray We are not born again by repentance or faith or conversion: we repent and believe because we have been born again. John Murray Let them pretend what they please, the true reason why any despise the new birth is because they hate a new life. John Owen Regeneration has made our hearts a battle field. J. I. Packer Sinners cannot obey the gospel, any more than the law, without renewal of heart. J. I. Packer There is no regeneration without spiritual activities. J. I. Packer Regeneration is the transforming not only of an unlovely object, but of one that resists with all its might the gracious designs of the heavenly Potter. A. W. Pink The regenerate have a spiritual nature within that fits them for holy action, otherwise there would be no difference between them and the unregenerate. A. W. Pink The act of God in our regeneration is so momentous that no single category of thought is sufficient to describe the changes it brings about in and for us. Maurice Roberts Grace does not run in families. It needs something more than good examples and good advice to make us children of God. J. C. Ryle If you are never born again, you will wish you had never been born at all. J. C. Ryle There are no still-born children in the family of grace. William Secker Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, If he’s not born in thee, thy soul is still forlorn. Johannes Scheffler A dead man cannot assist in his own resurrection. W. G. T. Shedd The very first and indispensable sign of regeneration is self-loathing and abhorrence. Charles Simeon A person is never partially born. He is either regenerate or he is not regenerate. R. C. Sproul Every generation needs regeneration. C. H. Spurgeon Regeneration is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness and felt by a gracious experience. C. H. Spurgeon The new creation is as much and entirely the work of God as the old creation. C. H. Spurgeon God regenerates the soul by uniting it to Jesus Christ. Augustus H. Strong Regeneration is a restoration of the original tendencies towards God which were lost by the Fall. Augustus H. Strong Regeneration is essentially a changing of the fundamental taste of the soul. By taste we mean the direction of man’s love, the bent of his affections, the trend of his will. Augustus H. Strong Regeneration gives our birth a value and our death a glory. David Thomas Mere outward reformation differs as much from regeneration as white-washing an old rotten house differs from pulling it down and building a new one in its place. Augustus M. Toplady Man’s need can only be met by a new creation. Geoffrey B. Wilson Sam Storms - Special Study 1 John 3:9 (1 John 5:18) And the Doctrine of Perseverance From 1 John 3:9 and the Doctrine of Perseverance One thing John emphasizes is the reality and gravity of sin. In 1John 1:8 he forcefully labels those who say they have no sin as self-deceived and void of the truth. In 1John 1:10 the claim not to have committed sin is tantamount to calling God a liar, and in 1John 2:1 John clearly implies that Christians will sin (although he writes to help them avoid it). How then do we understand the statement in 1John 3:9 that the one who is begotten of God "does not do sin" (lit.) and in fact "is not able to sin"? Following are the major interpretative options (excluding the suggestion of some that John simply contradicts himself): (1) To avoid the difficulty some have narrowed the definition of "sin" to notorious crimes or offences against love (this was the view of both Augustine and Luther). (2) It has been suggested that what John means is that a Christian cannot sin because what is sin in the life of an unbeliever is not regarded as such by God when committed by a believer. This is contrary to both John and the rest of the NT. (3) One interpretation draws a distinction between the "old" nature in the Christian and the "new" nature. The "old" nature may continue to sin but the "new" cannot. But how do we isolate a "nature" from the "individual" himself/herself? We may speak of "flesh" and "spirit" in a person, but it is always the person who sins or does not sin, not merely a "nature". (4) Others say John is speaking about the ideal and not reality. The argument is: Since all anticipate that sinlessness will be characteristic in the age to come, and since John believed that the age to come had come (1John 2:8), he naturally asserted the sinlessness of Christians! (5) Some say that John, in the heat of controversial circumstances, breaks forth in holy passion and speaks with apparent exaggeration and over-emphasis. (6) One view stresses 1John 3:6 where it is stated that the one who "abides" in him does not sin. They contend that this "abiding" in Christ is not descriptive of all Christians but is a condition which only some (those "in fellowship") believers fulfill. The degree of a believer's holiness, then, and his ability to sin or not sin are dependent on whether or not he "abides". When one is abiding in Christ he cannot sin. When one does not abide, one does sin. But 1John 3:9 makes it clear why a Christian doesn't practice sin, indeed, is unable to sin, and it has nothing to do with abiding. It is because he/she "is born of God". (7) Others say that the sin of which John speaks in 1John 3:9 is willful and deliberate sin. The Christian, so they say, cannot commit such deliberate sin in the face of the Lord. Oh, really? What of David? (8) A few take John quite literally. Hence they believe he is teaching perfectionism. 1John 3:9 proves that sinlessness is attainable in this life. The statements in 1John 1:8,10 and especially 1John 2:1 are describing the immature believer who although not yet sinless may still become such through diligent activity and love. [I personally find either of the next two options to be the most likely.] (9) Some argue that the "sin" which a believer does not and cannot commit is the "sin that leads to death" in 1 John 5:16, namely, hatred of believers and denial of Jesus. I will address this view in great detail when we come to 1John 5:16. (10) The view adopted by most commentators is that the sin a Christian does not and cannot commit is habitual, persistent, unrepentant sin. John is not concerned so much with the momentary, individual acts of sin as he is with the overall characteristic tendencies and inclinations of a person's life. John is looking at the pervasive temper of one's overall experience in life, not at the singular incidents individually. John is not taking a snapshot, but a moving picture. His repeated use of the Greek present tense appears to bear this out. He focuses on the habitual character of the activity in view. In 1John 3:6 John says that the believer who abides in Christ "sins not" (present tense). Also, the one who "does sin" (present tense) shows that he has neither seen nor known Him. John no where denies that a Christian commits acts of sin. He does deny, however, that the Christian sins persistently, habitually as a reflection of the characteristic inclination of his soul. Note that in 1John 3:9a he says the one begotten of God "does not do sin." "Again," notes Stott, "it is not the isolated act of sin which is envisaged, but the settled habit of it, indicated by the verb poiein, to do or to practice, which is used of 'doing' sin in 1John 3:4a, 1John 3:8 and 1John 3:9, of 'doing' lawlessness in 1John 3:4b, and of 'doing' righteousness in 1John 2:29, 3:7 and 3:10a" (126). John also says the one begotten of God "is not able to sin". But again notice that "to sin" is not an aorist infinitive but a present infinitive. If the infinitive had been aorist John would be contradicting what he said in 1John 2:1. The present infinitive again indicates that he has in mind the inability of the born-again believer to habitually live in sin as if it were the prevailing temper of his soul. If the Christian "does not" practice sin, indeed, "cannot" practice sin, wherein lies this "impossibility"? That is to say, how does a believer avoid the life of persistent sin so characteristic of the non-believer? Stott's answer is excellent: "Wherein lies this 'impossibility'? John's answer is given in two phrases: for his seed remaineth in him and because he is born of God… his seed is accurately rendered in the RSV text 'God's nature', or 'the divine seed' (NEB), and … in him refers to the child of God. In this way the two parts of verse 9 become exactly parallel, each part consisting of a statement that the Christian does not or cannot sin, to which is added the reason for such an assertion. The implication will then be this: the new birth involves the acquisition of a new nature through the implanting within us of the very seed or life giving power of God. Birth of God is a deep, radical, inward transformation. Moreover, the new nature received at the new birth remains. It exerts a strong internal pressure towards holiness. It is the abiding influence of his seed within everyone who is born of God, which enables John to affirm without fear of contradiction that he cannot go on living in sin… Indeed, if he should thus continue in sin, it would indicate that he has never been born again" (borrow The Letters of John page 130). When those born of God do sin, conviction, grief, brokenness, misery, sorrow, discontent, all of which lead to repentance, will occur. GREEK WORD STUDY Sin (266) hamartia literally conveys the idea of missing the mark as when hunting with a bow and arrow (in Homer some hundred times of a warrior hurling his spear but missing his foe). Later hamartia came to mean missing or falling short of any goal, standard, or purpose. Hamartia in the Bible signifies a departure from God's holy, perfect standard of what is right in word or deed (righteous). It pictures the idea of missing His appointed goal (His will) which results in a deviation from what is pleasing to Him. In short, sin is conceived as a missing the true end and scope of our lives, which is the Triune God Himself. As Martin Luther put it "Sin is essentially a departure from God." From a Biblical perspective hamartia describes the missing of the ultimate purpose and person of our lives, that purpose being to please God Who is also the Person the sinner misses! Hamartia is a deviation from God's truth or His moral rectitude (righteousness). It is a deviation from the straight line, marked off by the "plumb line" of God's perfect, pure Word. As someone has well said ultimately sin is man's (foolish) declaration of independence of God, of the "apostasy" of the creature from his Creator! Woe! HAMARTIA USES BY JOHN - Jn. 1:29; Jn. 8:21; Jn. 8:24; Jn. 8:34; Jn. 8:46; Jn. 9:34; Jn. 9:41; Jn. 15:22; Jn. 15:24; Jn. 16:8; Jn. 16:9; Jn. 19:11; Jn. 20:23;1 Jn. 1:7; 1 Jn. 1:8; 1 Jn. 1:9; 1 Jn. 2:2; 1 Jn. 2:12; 1 Jn. 3:4; 1 Jn. 3:5; 1 Jn. 3:8; 1 Jn. 3:9; 1 Jn. 4:10; 1 Jn. 5:16; 1 Jn. 5:17; Rev. 1:5; Rev. 18:4; Rev. 18:5 Abides (3306)(meno) in simple terms means to remain in the same place or position over a period of time. It means to reside, stay, live, lodge, tarry or dwell. Menō describes something that remains where it is, continues in a fixed state, or endures. Meno can mean "to take up permanent residence" or "to make yourself at home." Meno is the root of the Greek noun mone which means mansion or habitation (Jn 14:2, 23). More than one half of the uses of meno are by John in his Gospel and letters. Here is a summary of some of the nuances of meno related specifically to dwelling or abiding in Christ - (1) to dwell in God (or Christ) means that we walk as Christ walked (1Jn 2:6, Php 2:5, Jn 13:15); (2) to dwell in Christ means that we don’t habitually live in sin (1Jn 3:6); (3) to dwell in Christ means that we continue in His Word (Jn 8:31, 1Jn 2:17); (4) to dwell in Christ means that we bear fruit (Jn 15:5, Heb 13:5, Col 1:10, Ro 6:22, Php 4:7, 1Co 16:5, Jn 4:36) MENO IN JOHN'S EPISTLES - 1 Jn. 2:6; 1 Jn. 2:10; 1 Jn. 2:14; 1 Jn. 2:17; 1 Jn. 2:19; 1 Jn. 2:24; 1 Jn. 2:27; 1 Jn. 2:28; 1 Jn. 3:6; 1 Jn. 3:9; 1 Jn. 3:14; 1 Jn. 3:15; 1 Jn. 3:17; 1 Jn. 3:24; 1 Jn. 4:12; 1 Jn. 4:13; 1 Jn. 4:15; 1 Jn. 4:16; 2 Jn. 1:2; 2 Jn. 1:9 Seed (04690)(sperma from speiro = to sow) means literal seed (source from which something is propagated) as of plants or of humans (sperm) (Mt 13:24, 27, 37f; Mk 4:31; Jn 7:42; 1 Cor 15:38; 2 Cor 9:10; Lxx - Ge 1:11, 12, 29). By metonymy sperma refers to the offspring of the "sperm," (product of insemination) the natural posterity, the children (Mt 22:25 = "children"; Mk 12:20, 22; Lk 1:55; Jn 8:33, 37; Ac 13:23; Ro 9:7f; 11:1; Gal 3:16, 19; Heb 11:11 (Lit = power for the laying down of seed); Lxx - Ge 3:15+ - protoevangelium; Ge 4:25). Jesus is referred to twice as "Seed" (singular) by Paul in Galatians 3 (Gal 3:16+ and Gal 3:29+). John 7:42 refers to Messiah "from the descendants of David." (Acts 13:23 = "From the descendants of this man" that is David, cf Ro 1:3, 2 Ti 2:8) In John 8:33, sperma refers to Jews who professed belief in Messiah but were not truly saved claiming to Jesus "We are Abraham's descendants." Yes, these Jews were his physical but not his spiritual descendants for they sought to kill Jesus (Jn 8:37, note Paul's contrast of the physical and spiritual descendants in Ro 9:7,8). In the figurative sense sperma refers to a surviving remnant or posterity (see remnant = a few survivors) (Ro 9:29). Figuratively refers to spiritual posterity (Abraham's spiritual offspring in Ro 4:13, 16,18; Ro 9:8 = "children of promise"; Heb 2:16 = "He gives help to the descendant of Abraham", Rev 12:17+ = "the rest of her children"). In Acts 3:25 "IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED," the "Seed" ultimately refers to the Messiah. Figuratively sperma refers to the principle of life implanted by the Holy Spirit (1 Jn 3:9) and thus speaks of the supernatural power of God available to believers BDAG says sperma can refer to "genetic character, nature, disposition, character, of the divine sperma (the word of God; the beginning or germ of a new life, planted in us by the Spirit of God; the grace that makes us holy) that dwells in one who is and makes it ‘impossible for such a person to sin (ED: continually) - 1 Jn 3:9." (BORROW A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament, and other early Christian literature;) Gilbrant - The usage in Galatians 3:16,29+ is significant. In Gal 3:16 Paul cited the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 13:15; 17:7,8) to make a point that Jesus, in the truest sense, is the (singular) “seed”—posterity— promised to Abraham. Then, in Gal 3:29+, he affirmed that all who are in Christ are therefore Abraham’s “seed.” (Compare Ps 22:30 where sperma identifies the spiritual “progeny” of the Messiah.) Gilbrant on sperma in classic use and in the Septuagint - In classical Greek sperma can refer to the seed of plants or animals, to the basic element of anything, to one’s immediate children or further progeny, and to anything that has life-giving force (Schulz, “sperma,” Kittel, 7:536f.). In other Greek literature sperma has breadth of usage similar to that of the classical period. Philo, for example, used the word both literally and metaphorically, the latter sometimes approaching our use of “germ” (as in the germ of life). As well, he used sperma of the starting point of the universe. Sperma appears over 200 times in the Septuagint (see passages below) with a similar variety of meanings including (occasionally) the male “sperm” (semen), as in Leviticus 15:16 for humans and Jeremiah 31:27 (LXX 38:27) for animals. One of the most common uses of sperma in the Septuagint is for the seed of plants described in the creation narrative (Genesis 1:11,12,29). Growing out of this, apparently, the Old Testament cultivates a sense of respect and care for seed as God-given and containing a precious, life-giving force (see Leviticus 11:37,38; 26:16; 27:30). Just as seed produces the plant, and the plant produces seed, so a person’s immediate offspring or subsequent lineage are his “seed” (posterity). This explains the other most common use of sperma in the Septuagint in reference to the seed of Abraham (Isaiah 41:8), seed of Aaron, seed of David, seed of Jacob (Isaiah 45:19), etc. Again, implicit in this is the sense of a God-given, life-giving force that is kept alive from one generation to another and represents its progenitor. Thus the ancients despaired if they had no “seed” (Genesis 15:3). This gives a reason for God’s provision for levirate marriage (Genesis 38:9; cf. 19:32,34) and the seriousness of a judgment that “cut off” one’s seed (1 Samuel 24:21 [ LXX 1 Kings 24:22]). (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary) Vine on sperma - akin to speirō, "to sow" (Eng., "sperm," "spermatic," etc.), has the following usages, (a) agricultural and botanical, e.g., Matt. 13:24, 27, 32 (for the AV of vv. 19-23, see sow, as in the RV); 1 Cor. 15:38; 2 Cor. 9:10; (b) physiological, Heb. 11:11; (c) metaphorical and by metonymy and for "offspring, posterity," (1) of natural offspring e.g., Matt. 22:24, 25, RV, "seed" (AV, "issue"); John 7:42; John 8:33, 37; Acts 3:25; Rom. 1:3; Rom. 4:13, 16, 18; Rom. 9:7 (twice),8,29; Rom. 11:1; 2 Cor. 11:22; Heb. 2:16; Heb. 11:18; Rev. 12:17; Gal. 3:16, 19, 29; in the 16th ver., "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ," quoted from the Sept. of Gen. 13:15; Gen. 17:7, 8, there is especial stress on the word "seed," as referring to an individual (here, Christ) in fulfillment of the promises to Abraham, a unique use of the singular. While the plural form "seeds," neither in Hebrew nor in Greek, would have been natural any more than in English (it is not so used in Scripture of human offspring; its plural occurrence is in 1 Sam. 8:15, of crops), yet if the Divine intention had been to refer to Abraham's natural descendants, another word could have been chosen in the plural, such as "children;" all such words were, however, set aside, "seed" being selected as one that could be used in the singular, with the purpose of showing that the "seed" was Messiah. Some of the rabbis had even regarded "seed," e.g., in Gen. 4:25; Isa. 53:10, as referring to the Coming One. Descendants were given to Abraham by other than natural means, so that through him Messiah might come, and the point of the Apostle's argument is that since the fulfillment of the promises of God is secured alone by Christ, they only who are "in Christ" can receive them; (2) of spiritual offspring, Rom. 4:16, 18; Rom. 9:8; here "the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed" points, firstly, to Isaac's birth as being not according to the ordinary course of nature but by Divine promise, and, secondly, by analogy, to the fact that all believers are children of God by spiritual birth; Gal. 3:29. As to 1 John 3:9, "his seed abideth in him," it is possible to understand this as meaning that children of God (His "seed") abide in Him, and do not go on doing (practicing) sin (the verb "to commit" does not represent the original in this passage). Alternatively, the "seed" signifies the principle of spiritual life as imparted to the believer, which abides in him without possibility of removal or extinction; the child of God remains eternally related to Christ, he who lives in sin has never become so related, he has not the principle of life in him. This meaning suits the context and the general tenor of the Epistle. (Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words) Sperma in the NT 43x in 40 verses - children(7), conceive*(1), descendant(4), descendants(16), posterity(1), seed(10), seeds(4). Matt. 13:24; Matt. 13:27; Matt. 13:32; Matt. 13:37; Matt. 13:38; Matt. 22:25; Mk. 4:31; Mk. 12:19; Mk. 12:20; Mk. 12:21; Mk. 12:22; Lk. 1:55; Lk. 20:28; Jn. 7:42; Jn. 8:33; Jn. 8:37; Acts 3:25; Acts 7:5; Acts 7:6; Acts 13:23; Rom. 1:3; Rom. 4:13; Rom. 4:16; Rom. 4:18; Rom. 9:7; Rom. 9:8; Rom. 9:29; Rom. 11:1; 1 Co. 15:38; 2 Co. 9:10; 2 Co. 11:22; Gal. 3:16; Gal. 3:19; Gal. 3:29; 2 Tim. 2:8; Heb. 2:16; Heb. 11:11; Heb. 11:18; 1 Jn. 3:9; Rev. 12:17 Sperma in the Septuagint - Gen. 1:11; Gen. 1:12; Gen. 1:29; Gen. 3:15; Gen. 4:25; Gen. 7:3; Gen. 8:22; Gen. 9:9; Gen. 12:7; Gen. 13:15; Gen. 13:16; Gen. 15:3; Gen. 15:5; Gen. 15:13; Gen. 15:18; Gen. 16:10; Gen. 17:7; Gen. 17:8; Gen. 17:9; Gen. 17:10; Gen. 17:12; Gen. 17:19; Gen. 19:32; Gen. 19:34; Gen. 21:12; Gen. 21:13; Gen. 21:23; Gen. 22:17; Gen. 22:18; Gen. 24:7; Gen. 24:60; Gen. 26:3; Gen. 26:4; Gen. 26:24; Gen. 28:4; Gen. 28:13; Gen. 28:14; Gen. 32:12; Gen. 35:12; Gen. 38:8; Gen. 38:9; Gen. 46:6; Gen. 46:7; Gen. 47:19; Gen. 47:23; Gen. 47:24; Gen. 48:4; Gen. 48:11; Gen. 48:19; Exod. 16:31; Exod. 28:43; Exod. 32:13; Exod. 33:1; Lev. 11:37; Lev. 11:38; Lev. 15:16; Lev. 15:17; Lev. 15:18; Lev. 15:32; Lev. 18:20; Lev. 18:21; Lev. 19:20; Lev. 20:2; Lev. 20:3; Lev. 20:4; Lev. 21:15; Lev. 21:21; Lev. 22:3; Lev. 22:4; Lev. 22:13; Lev. 26:16; Lev. 27:30; Num. 5:13; Num. 5:28; Num. 11:7; Num. 14:24; Num. 16:40; Num. 18:19; Num. 21:30; Num. 23:10; Num. 24:7; Num. 24:20; Num. 25:13; Deut. 1:8; Deut. 3:3; Deut. 4:37; Deut. 10:15; Deut. 11:9; Deut. 14:22; Deut. 22:9; Deut. 25:5; Deut. 28:38; Deut. 28:46; Deut. 28:59; Deut. 30:6; Deut. 30:19; Deut. 31:21; Deut. 34:4; Jos. 24:3; Ruth 4:12; 1 Sam. 1:11; 1 Sam. 2:20; 1 Sam. 2:31; 1 Sam. 8:15; 1 Sam. 20:42; 1 Sam. 24:21; 2 Sam. 4:8; 2 Sam. 7:12; 2 Sam. 22:51; 1 Ki. 1:48; 1 Ki. 2:33; 1 Ki. 2:35; 1 Ki. 11:14; 1 Ki. 18:30; 2 Ki. 5:27; 2 Ki. 11:1; 2 Ki. 14:27; 2 Ki. 17:20; 2 Ki. 25:25; 1 Chr. 16:13; 1 Chr. 17:11; 2 Chr. 20:7; 2 Chr. 22:10; Ezr. 2:59; Ezr. 9:2; Neh. 7:61; Neh. 9:8; Est. 9:27; Job 5:25; Ps. 18:50; Ps. 21:10; Ps. 22:23; Ps. 22:30; Ps. 25:13; Ps. 37:25; Ps. 37:26; Ps. 37:28; Ps. 69:36; Ps. 89:4; Ps. 89:29; Ps. 89:36; Ps. 102:28; Ps. 105:6; Ps. 106:27; Ps. 112:2; Ps. 126:6; Prov. 11:18; Eccl. 11:6; Isa. 1:4; Isa. 1:9; Isa. 14:20; Isa. 14:22; Isa. 14:29; Isa. 14:30; Isa. 15:9; Isa. 17:5; Isa. 17:10; Isa. 23:3; Isa. 30:23; Isa. 31:9; Isa. 33:2; Isa. 37:31; Isa. 41:8; Isa. 43:5; Isa. 44:3; Isa. 45:19; Isa. 45:25; Isa. 48:14; Isa. 48:19; Isa. 53:10; Isa. 54:3; Isa. 55:10; Isa. 57:3; Isa. 57:4; Isa. 58:7; Isa. 59:21; Isa. 61:9; Isa. 61:11; Isa. 65:9; Isa. 65:23; Isa. 66:22; Jer. 7:15; Jer. 22:30; Jer. 23:8; Jer. 31:27; Jer. 35:7; Jer. 35:9; Jer. 46:27; Jer. 50:16; Ezek. 17:5; Ezek. 17:13; Ezek. 20:5; Ezek. 31:17; Ezek. 43:19; Ezek. 44:22; Dan. 1:3; Dan. 1:12; Dan. 1:16; Dan. 2:43; Dan. 9:1; Dan. 11:6; Dan. 11:31; Mal. 2:15; Can A True Believer Continue in Sin and Persist in Sin? "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God" (1 John 3:9-10). "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not" (1 John 5:18). The Teaching of Zane Hodges and Joseph Dillow The fruitful believer The partaker or heir The believing believer The overcomer The barren believer The carnal one (non-heir) The saved person who stops believing The non-overcomer This righteous saved person has a new nature that never sins. Moreover this saved person consistently walks in the Spirit and does not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. This unrighteous saved person continues in sin and persists in wickedness. This carnal believer does not practice righteousness. He is born of God and has a new nature but he consistently walks in the flesh. He will not inherit the kingdom and will not reign with Christ. There are three factors which prevent a true believer from continuing in sin, and they all begin with the letter "C." (1) CONFESSION—The sinning believer need not continue in a state of sin because he may CONFESS his sins (1 John 1:9) and God is faithful and just to forgive his sin and cleanse him from all unrighteousness. (2) CONVICTION—Spirit wrought conviction ought to lead to humble confession. If it does not, the conviction continues. The Holy Spirit makes His grieved presence felt (Eph. 4:30). The true believer can never be comfortable in his sin, even as righteous Lot’s soul was vexed in Sodom (2 Pet. 2:7-8). We can thank God that He makes us miserable when we are not right with Him. When we are disobedient we are unsettled, unpeaceful, unhappy. Thank God it is so! (3) CHASTENING—If the sinning believer does not respond in the right way to God’s conviction in the heart, then the Father will chasten His child whom He loves (1 Cor. 11:31-32). Maximum chastisement can even result in the physical death of the believer (1 Cor. 11:30). As a good human father will not permit his child to continue doing wrong, so the Heavenly Father will not permit His child to continue in wickedness. [Hodges teaches that it is possible for true Christians to be "bastards" (Heb. 12:8--KJV) or illegitimate sons, and even though they are saved, they will not be chastened of the Father and they will lose their inheritance! See Hodges discussion of Hebrews 12:8 in The Bible Knowledge Commentary. See also The Teachings of Zane Hodges ] A Key Question: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" (Rom. 6:1) Paul’s answer: "God forbid (Perish the thought!). How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom. 6:2) Hodges/Dillow answer: The believer should not continue in sin but many believers do. Many persist in sin and practice unrighteousness (even persisting in the sins mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). They will be saved but they will not inherit the kingdom. Questions: Why are not these believers convicted? Where is the Father’s chastening hand? Where is the heavenly restraint? R. Gene Reynolds in his helpful book Assurance—You Can Know You’re A Christian said the following on page 73: A person who is living sinfully, who knows he is living sinfully, who enjoys living in such a manner, who intends to continue that sinful way of living—that person does not have the Holy Spirit living within him. The very fact that he is ‘comfortable’ about his sin is proof of the Spirit’s absence. His spiritual vital sign registers ‘no life.’ (From Assurance: You can know you're a Christian See also Gerald Borchert's book "Assurance and Warning") Hodges teaches that righteous living proves that a person is saved but that unrighteous living does not prove that a person is lost (Bible Knowledge Commentary, p. 893). He says, "the converse does not follow" (p. 893). In other words, Hodges teaches that a person can give evidence that he is saved but he cannot give evidence that he is lost! His righteous living points to LIFE but his unrighteous living does not point to DEATH! He can have assurance of salvation but not assurance of damnation! For more discussion of this dangerous, deceptive teaching of Hodges, Dillow, Wilkin, et al see INDEX PAGE.
1 João 3:14
Ironside asks "Do we know that we have passed from death unto life because we are sound in the faith, because we are fundamentalists, because we are earnest Christian workers, or because we give liberally to missions or the Lord’s work? No. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” We love them in the divine sense-with agape. Dear friend, if you don’t have that testimony you better begin to investigate the foundations of your Christian profession. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” (1 John 3 Commentary) Sam Storms - [Having briefly mentioned the hatred which will inevitably arise from the world towards the Christian, John now speaks of that love which should permeate the church. As to its role as a test of authentic Christianity, love for the brethren is an evidence of life, as its absence is a testimony of death (1Jn 3:14-15). Furthermore, the essence of such love is self-sacrifice as seen from the person and work of Jesus (1Jn 3:16-18).] 2. the presence of love for the brethren confirms and assures the genuine Christian as having passed out of death into life, whereas he in whom it is absent abides in death, and is manifested as a murderer and one in whom eternal life does not abide - 1Jn 3:14-15 (First John 3:10b-24)Utley on He who does not love abides in death - This (love) is a Present participle used as the subject with a present active indicative verb (abides). 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. (Commentary) Charles Simeon on the vital importance of showing genuine love to Christian brethren - Two things must be borne in mind, as distinguishing the true test from all its counterfeits. The “love of the brethren” is a love to them purely for Christ’s sake, and a love displaying itself towards them in all its proper offices. It is not a love to them on account of their having embraced our sentiments, or their belonging to our party; nor will it shew itself merely in speaking well of them, and in espousing their cause: it is called forth by the single circumstance of their being the friends and servants of the Lord Jesus Christ: and it will show itself in such a deportment towards them, as we would maintain towards the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, if He were circumstanced as they are. The description given of love in the 13th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians(1Cor 13:4-7-+), is precisely that which the Christian will realize in his conduct towards Christians of every denomination: and then only is it a proper test of our conversion to God, when it so operates. But, supposing it to be of this kind, then may we “know” from it, without a shadow of doubt, that “we have passed from death into life:” for such love can proceed from God alone: it springs from no root whatever but faith in Christ: and, consequently, its existence and operation in the soul proves us to be true believers, children of God, and heirs of glory. Those who are strangers to this peculiar regard—If the existence of it in the soul prove that we have passed from death unto life, the non-existence of it may well lead you to fear that this change has never been wrought in you. Examine yourselves, therefore, and try your own selves (2Cor 13:5+). In truth, this test is of peculiar importance to you: for, if you will look within, you will find that, by nature, you are rather alienated from persons on account of their relation to Christ, than drawn to them: the want of congeniality of taste and sentiment sets you at a distance from them; and a consciousness of this may well lead you to conclude that you are yet dead before God. The Apostle tells us this, in the very words following my text; “He that loves not his brother, abides in death.” O consider this, ere it be too late: and seek that change, without which you must for ever perish! (1 John 3:14 Love of the Brethren) Illustration: It is said that when A. B. Earl was a young man he sought membership in a Baptist Church. In those days it was necessary that one should relate their experience before they were baptized. Young Earl told the church that he had no big experience; that he had heard no voices, and had seen no visions, but said he: "My brethren, I love God's people and I love the house of God." One old deacon is said to have arisen, and to have said: "Brethren, we cannot refuse this young man our fellowship, because the Bible says: 'We know we have passed from death unto life when we love the brethren.'" Vance Havner - The new birth is mysterious (John 3:7-8); it is the work of the Holy Spirit using the Word (Tit. 3:5; Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23). On our part, the means is faith (Gal. 3:26). The new birth is manifested in a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17); in love (1 John 3:14; 4:7); in victory over sin (1 John 3:9; 5:18); in righteous living (1 John 2:29); in overcoming the world (1 John 5:4). Vance Havner - I KNOW" A doctor friend of mine gave me a book composed of the statements of faith, or rather of the lack of faith, of many prominent writers. I read it awhile and was growing rather weary of it when the radio began to broadcast from somewhere those precious lines of that great hymn: Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me. I threw down the book and said, "Thank God, I don't have to read such guesswork." 1. "1 know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12). 2. "If any man will do his will, he shall know the doctrine" (John 7:17). 3. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). 4. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren" (I John 3:14). 5. "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). 6. "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1). Vance Havner - I Trust His Heart Today at lunch a friend of mine told me that Spurgeon said that God is too good to be unkind, too wise to be mistaken, and when you cannot trace His hand, you can always trust His heart. I have been through much that I do not understand. God does not ask me to understand it but to accept it. He is saying, "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter" (John 13:7). I cannot trace His hand but I can trust His heart. I know that God is love and back of all His doings is that love. It sent His Son into this world and reached its climax on Calvary. It is the hallmark of His disciples. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14). "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another' (John 13:35). WE know and ALL MEN know that we are His because His love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is inward evidence and outward evidence. I know that whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. His corrective discipline proves my sonship. Back of all the misery and mystery of this world beats that heart of love. I cannot trace God's hand in news reports and the happenings in this modern madhouse. Satan is on the loose. Careless seems the great Avenger; history's pages but record One death-grapple in the darkness 'twixt old systems and the Word; Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne,— Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own. JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL Let me keep step with the heartbeat of God and that heartbeat is love. I believe that I have reached to some degree that rest I sought at the first of this year. There remains much land to be possessed and I do not count myself to have attained but I am on my way. I did not dream what lay ahead. I do not fathom nor can I explain my Father's dealings. But I find no rebellion in my soul and know that all of it is working together for good. I cannot always trace His hand but I can trust His heart. And His heart directs His hand. If I trust the heart I need never question the hand They never contradict each other. Melvin Tinker: 1 John 3:11–24 INTRODUCTION: Loving other Christians is basic to what it means to be a Christian. If you are a believer you will imitate your Father. God is love (1 John 4:16) and so we must love others. We can find our confidence in this passage. 1. The Opposite of Love Is Seen in Cain (1Jn 3:11–15). 2. The Measure of Love Is Seen in Christ (1Jn 3:16–18). 3. The Fruit of Love Is Confidence (1Jn 3:19–24). CONCLUSION: If you are not trusting you will not love; if you are trusting then you will love. Faith in Christ is the root, loving Christians is the fruit, and if we are doing both authentically then we can rest assured we are His. Adrian Rogers - 1 John 3:14 If God's love is in us, we are going to love what He loves. This includes loving His dear family. That's why it is foolish to say yes to Jesus and no to His church. The church is a building. And Jesus Christ is its foundation. Who could say yes to the foundation and no to the building that rests upon it? The church is His bride. Who could say yes to the groom and no to the bride? The church is His body. Who could say yes to Christ—its head—and no to the body? Jerry Bridges - DO WE LOVE EACH OTHER? 1 JOHN 4:7 Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts The apostle John gave us yet another indicator of the Spirit’s work within us in 1 John 3:14: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” Do you love other believers? Do you enjoy gathering with them to worship God? I once became baffled while seeking to help another believer struggling with assurance. Nothing I suggested seemed to work. Then one day he told me his struggle was over. He’d come across 1 John 3:14. As he thought about that verse, he said, “I do love other believers. I rejoice to be around them and fellowship with them. I must truly be a Christian.” The Holy Spirit had used that Scripture to give him assurance that he was indeed God’s child. We should ask ourselves if our love for other believers is the kind described in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. Are we patient, kind, gracious, slow to anger, and ready to forgive? None of us can completely measure up to this standard, but do you want to? Do you grieve over your failures in these areas? If so, you love your brothers. Of course, this indicator (like others) can cut both ways. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). We should never be afraid to examine ourselves. But when doubts arise, the solution is not to try harder to prove to ourselves that we are believers. The solution is to flee to the cross and to the righteousness of Christ, which is our only hope. Kay Arthur - A true Christian cannot help but love others. Love of others is evidence of a genuine faith. Because love is an attribute of God, and because a Christian is a person who is indwelt by God, then it is only logical that love would be a fruit that a child of God would bear! Andrew
1 João 3:14
Ironside - 1 John 3:13, 14. All who are bom of God partake of His nature. Hence, as He is love, so they are loving. Hatred is incompatible with the new life imparted to all who believe in the Lord Jesus. Nor is this love merely a matter of sentiment or of lip-service. It is a very real experience and marks out the believer as one who like his Master loves on in spite of the world’s attitude, whether of hate or of cold unconcern. God’s perfect love apprehended by faith frees the soul from fear and fills the heart with love toward others. “Happy the heart where grace doth reign Where love inspires the breast; Love is the brightest of the train, And perfects all the rest. Knowledge, alas, ‘tis all in vain, And all in vain our fear; Our stubborn sins will fight and reign, If love be absent there. ‘Tis love that makes our cheerful feet In swift obedience move: The devils know, and tremble too; But Satan cannot love. —Isaac Watts. FELLOWSHIP An American doctor traveling in Korea knew just enough of the language to get around. At a station stop an old Korean boarded the train and sat across from the doctor. He carried a large bundle in a white cloth. Soon the old Korean began to speak to the doctor, pouring out a torrent of words. The doctor replied with the only sentence he had memorized, “I do not understand Korean.” The old man persisted. A second time the doctor gave his stock answer. This was repeated a third time. In the stream of Korean words the doctor thought he had detected a somewhat familiar word. Had the old man said something about Jesus? His doubt vanished when the Korean pointed to the doctor and asked, “Yesu? Yesu?” With a smile the doctor nodded in agreement, “Yesu, Yesu.” Smiling from ear to ear, the Korean opened his large bundle and proudly displayed his Korean Bible. Then he put his finger on a verse. The doctor couldn’t read it, of course, but carefully figuring out the approximate place in his own Bible, he read from 1 John 3:14: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.” —Leslie B. Flynn Henry Mahan - 1 John 3:14 If there is anything better than being loved, it is to love; for this is the mark of discipleship, the evidence of regeneration, and the bond of perfection. It is the nature of God, for God is love. It is the old, the new, the great commandment, and all the commandments in one word —love! It is the first fruit of the Spirit; it is the foundation of all other graces. And of all that abides, it is the “greatest of these.” It casteth out fear, it covers a multitude of sins, and it brought Christ to earth to be our redeemer. Love sees what no eye sees, hears what no ear hears, and understands that which only love can teach. It can’t be defined, only experienced. It can’t be destroyed as long as God lives. It can’t be developed; it is the gift of God. It’s presence is evidence of God’s presence, and its absence is evidence of God’s absence; for “he that loveth not knoweth not God.” The apostle said, “Make love your aim” (1 Cor. 14:1). Adrian Rogers - I remember hearing about a woman who went to the doctor. She’d been bitten by a rabid animal and said, “Yes, you do. You have rabies.” And, she got out a pen and a piece of paper and began to write. He said, “What are you doing—making out your will?” She said, “No, I’m making a list of people I’m going to bite.” There are people just like that—filled with hatred. God writes it down as murder. That’s another level of life. F B Meyer Devotional - Practicing Christianity - 1 John 3:14 IT IS a great comfort to find that Love is not regarded by the Apostle as though it were merely an emotional or sentimental matter, for every reference points to action! The love of God was manifested in the laying down of His life, and we are to be willing to follow in His steps (1 John 3:16). The injunction is that we should love in our deeds. We are not to shut up our hearts in compassion, but to help our brother in need. If we begin with doing kind and loving actions, we shall end by feeling the same. Often when people come to me, saying that love has completely died out of their life towards some other person, I have bidden them go back again, and act with love, making the other one the centre and object of helpful ministry; the invariable result is the refreshing and rekindling of the hot geyser-springs of affection. Do not wait to feel love, but begin at once to show it, because it is fight, and your duty, and as you step out in simple faith you will find that God will make this to abound towards that also abound in grace you may this good work. Love of such kind is self-giving and it is the gift of the Spirit of God. This exotic bloom cannot flourish on our wintry soil; the heart of man cannot furnish it. There may be a few wild growths, but they bear small comparison to its beautiful flower and fruit. Love is of God. It proceeds from His Nature, and is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us. "The fruit of the Spirit is love," and as we are united with Christ by faith, the love of God will be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and we shall be able to love with God's love. We know that we have been born from above as soon as we find ourselves willing to put the interests of another before our own, not because we have a natural affection or affinity for him, but because he and we belong to God. If there is hatred or dislike in our hearts towards any, let us beware! We must uproot it by generous action, or it will bring darkness into our own lives (1 John 2:9, 10, 11). PRAYER - Enable us, O God of patience, to bear one another's burdens, and to forbear one another in love. Oh, teach and help us all to live in peace and to love in truth. Subdue all bitter resentments in our minds, and let the law of kindness be in our tongues. AMEN. - F. B. Meyer. Our Daily Walk. JOHN PIPER SUMMARIZES JOHN'S EVIDENCE OF THE NEW BIRTH I think God wants the totality of this book to have its impact on us. It is dominated by the concern to give “tests of life” or effects and evidences of the new birth. He gives at least eleven evidences that we are born again. We could probably boil them all down to faith and love. But for now let’s let them stand the way he says them. Here they are: 1. Those who are born of God keep his commandments. 1 John 2:3-4+: “By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 3:24+: “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him.” 2. Those who are born of God walk as Christ walked. 1 John 2:5-6+: “By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 3. Those who are born of God don’t hate others but love them. 1 John 2:9+: “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.” 1 John 3:14+: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” 1 John 4:7-8+: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:20+: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” 4. Those who are born of God don’t love the world. 1 John 2:15+: “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 5. Those who are born of God confess the Son and receive (have) him. 1 John 2:23+: “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 4:15+: “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” 1 John 5:12+: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 6. Those who are born of God practice righteousness. 1 John 2:29+: “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” 7. Those who are born of God don’t make a practice of sinning. 1 John 3:6+: “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” 1 John 3:9-10+: “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” 1 John 5:18+: “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” 8. Those who are born of God possess the Spirit of God. 1 John 3:24+: “By this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” 1 John 4:13+: “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” 9. Those who are born of God listen submissively to the apostolic Word. 1 John 4:6+: “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” 10. Those who are born of God believe that Jesus is the Christ. 1 John 5:1+: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” 11. Those who are born of God overcome the world. 1 John 5:4+: “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” Two Wrong Conclusions - One of the effects of all those “tests of life” is to overwhelm us with the sense that John may be saying: “If you’re born again, you’re perfect. If you’re born again you don’t sin at all. There is no defeat in the Christian life. There is only victory.” Another effect that these tests might have in our minds is to make us think we can loose our salvation. That is, we can be born again for a while and then begin to fail in these tests and die and lose the spiritual life that we were given in the new birth. Two Key Clarifications - John is very aware that his words could be taken in these two wrong ways. So he is explicit as any writer in the New Testament that this is not the case: Christians are not sinless, and born-again people cannot lose their spiritual life and be lost. He says in 1 John 1:8-10-+, “If we say we have no sin [present tense], we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins [present tense], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” So John is at pains to say that “walking in the light” (1Jn 1:7-+) does not mean walking flawlessly. It means that, when you stumble, the light of Christ causes you to see it and hate it and confess it and move forward with Christ. And John is just as jealous to make sure we don’t infer from these “tests of life” that we can be born again and then later lose our life and be lost. 1John 2:19-+ is one of the clearest statements in the Bible that there is another way to understand what happens when a person abandons the church. It says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” Notice three things John says to protect us from misunderstanding. 1) Those who seemed to be born again and forsook the faith never were born again—they never were of us. “They went out from us, but they were not of us.” In other words, the explanation is not that they lost their new birth. They never had it. 2) Those who are truly born again (“of us”) will persevere to the end in faith. 1Jn 5:19b-+: “For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” Endurance is not the cause of the new birth. The new birth is the cause of endurance, and endurance is the evidence of new birth. 3) God often makes plain who the false Christians are in the church by their eventual rejection of the truth and the people of God. Verse 19c: “But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” It became plain. And it often becomes plain today. (Everyone Who Has Been Born of God Overcomes the World) Here is a letter from Dr John Piper that is a critique of Zane Hodges' interpretation of 1 John. The letter was written in 1986 and entitled "Who Am I Talking About?" (Bold added for emphasis). I have referred several times to a contemporary movement of evangelicalism that offers assurance of salvation to professing Christians who go on living in sin. Who am I talking about? Here is an example. Zane Hodges, who teaches at Dallas Seminary, has written a book entitled The Gospel Under Siege (Redencion Viva, 1981). His position is the very opposite of mine: “An insistence on the necessity or inevitability of works fundamentally undermines assurance” (p.13). That is, “if good works are really . . . an essential fruit of salvation,” we cannot be sure of our eternal salvation (p. 9). Therefore, “works have nothing to do with determining a Christian's basic relationship to God.” “There is not even a single place in the Pauline letters where he expresses doubt that his audience is composed of true Christians.” (p. 95). Apart from the fact that 2 Corinthians 13:5+ contradicts his last statement, 1 John remains an insuperable obstacle. His interpretation will not stand. Consider for yourselves what he says concerning 1 John 3:14+ (“We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers.”). Here assurance of passing out of death into life is the product of loving our fellow Christians. How will he escape it? He tries to escape it by saying that the verse has “no reference to conversion as such.” He says that there is a sphere of light and a sphere of darkness within the Christian life. “If anyone does not love his brother he is out of touch with God. He is not living as a true disciple of his Master” (p. 63). But he is still a child of God because eternal security has nothing to do with whether you are a loving person or not. This will not stand scrutiny. The one other place where John uses the same Greek phrase (“We have passed from death to life”) is John 5:24, where he says, “Truly, truly I say to you that the one who hears my word and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but has passed from death into life.” Therefore it is grasping at a straw to say that “passing from death to life” in 1 John 3:14 refers to two states within Christian life. It plainly means: passing from lostness to eternal life. I appeal to you, judge for yourselves, does John's assurance in 1 John 3:14 come from loving the brothers or not? Bowing before the Word with you, Pastor John Related Resources: Zane Hodges - Middletown Bible church The Unusual Teachings of Zane Hodges - Middletown Bible church The Easy English Bible commentary summarizes (in simple, straightforward language) what John is saying… All those people who trust in the *Lord Jesus belong to him. They know that they have a new life. People of the *world may hate them. But they are safe with the *Lord. Death is in contrast to the new life. Death is the state of all who do not know the *Lord. We Christians know that we are no longer dead. We have come into a new life. Once we belonged to death but now we do not. The *Lord has transferred us from death to life. Now we belong to him. We know that this is true. Our love for each other shows that it is true. We know that we have life. We know this because we love other Christians. Such love shows that we are God’s children. We do not become Christians by our love. But love shows that we have become Christians. Those who do not love do not have this life. They remain in death. This is the opposite of life with God. Love is the evidence of life. But hate is the evidence of death. (1 John - Bible Commentary in Easy English) Robert
1 João 3:15
Ironside has an excellent comment on this passage - . I heard a professed Christian woman speaking of another, and between her clenched teeth, she said, “I wish she were dead.” That is murder! That is what sends men to the electric chair. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” “But,” you say, “you heard a Christian woman say that?” Yes, but that was just for a moment, when she allowed the old nature to assert itself. She soon judged it and put it away. If Christians get out of touch with God, there may be a demonstration of the old flesh, or carnal mind. But they are indwelt by the Holy Ghost, and He will soon make them intensely miserable, and they will judge their sin and put it to death. No one who willfully goes on in these sins has any business calling himself a child of God. No one who is characterized by hatred has eternal life abiding in him. No murderer possesses eternal life, and hatred is the root of murder. This does not mean that an actual murderer cannot be saved. It does mean that if he is saved, he will no longer live in hatred. (1 John 3 Commentary) NET NOTE - Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer. On one level it is easy to see how the author could say this; the person who hates his brother is one and the same with the person who murders his brother. Behind the usage here, however, is John 8:44+, the only other occurrence of the Greek word translated murderer (anthropoktonos) in the NT, where the devil is described as a "murderer from the beginning." John 8:44+ refers to the devil's role in bringing death to Adam and Eve, but even more to his involvement (not directly mentioned in the Genesis account, but elaborated in the intertestamental literature, especially the writings of Philo) in Cain's murder of his brother Abel. This was the first incident of murder in human history and also the first outward demonstration of the full implications of sin's entry into the world. Ultimately, then, the devil is behind murder, just as he was behind Cain's murder of Abel. When the hater kills, he shows himself to be a child of the devil (cf. 1 John 3:10). Once again, conduct is the clue to paternity. Hatred and murder belong to the realm dominated by Satan. Hiebert adds that "Satan revealed his murderous spirit in the beginning of human history by leading Eve and Adam into sin, into destructive rebellion against the Word of God. Hatred and murder belong to the realm dominated by Satan. He who has such a spirit cannot belong to the realm of light and love of which God is the center and motivating power." It is evident that the one who hates has the same inner nature as his diabolical father. Daniel Akin - The driving force that motivates the hater to commit murder stems from Satan himself and is thus a distinguishing mark of his children… It is evident that the one who hates has the same inner nature as his diabolical father. (See 1,2,3 John: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition) People with murderous hearts have never been transformed. They're just like Cain, they are children of the evil one.