1 João 3

James Montgomery Boice · Citado em PreceptAustin

1 João 3:12

Boice - Love between Christian brothers suggests hatred between brothers as its contrast. So John turns to the example of Cain and Abel. (Borrow The Epistles of John Expositional Commentary page 112) W E Vine - the contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil, having been followed by the mention of that which characterizes those who really belong to the former, leads to a typical case and the first instance of hatred to one’s brother. (Collected Writings) Henry Mahan - Let us not be like Cain, who took his nature and got his motivation from Satan and killed his brother. This was the first instance and example of hatred of the brethren. What was the cause of this hatred? What moved him to hate and kill his brother? Abel attributed everything to God — all mercy, righteousness, forgiveness, acceptance and all grace. Cain attributed everything to himself. The controversy was over salvation by grace alone or by works! Cain hated his brother on this account. While his brother looked to God alone for salvation, Cain sought acceptance on the basis of his righteousness and works. So carnal men today hate those who find righteousness in Christ alone. (1 John 3 Commentary) Vine on not as Cain - the contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil, having been followed by the mention of that which characterizes those who really belong to the former, leads to a typical case (example of Cain) and the first instance of hatred to one’s brother. The eighth verse, 1 Jn 3:8, recorded the beginning of the whole history of sin. Cain showed his spiritual connection with the Evil One by the slaughter of his brother. Sin, which passed into the human heart (cf Ro 5:12+) through man’s willful yielding to the suggestion of him who “sinneth from the beginning,” took this form in Cain’s case in spite of the divine warning (Gen. 4:6,7), and gave evidence of his moral relationship with the Evil One (see John 8:44). The title “the Evil One” is the same as in 1 Jn 2:13, where see +. The word sphazo, “to slay,” occurs here only in the New Testament. Originally it signified “to cut the throat”; later it came to mean “to slay violently.” (Collected Writings) The application to the believer's life is that those who do not love us, hate us the way Cain hated Abel, possibly even to the point of killing us. Many believers in America are totally unaware of the martyrdom (Satanically influenced murder of saints just as Cain's hatred prompted him to slay Abel) - if you are one of those who are unaware, take a moment to click on the Voice of Martyr's map that gives details of ongoing persecution of believers today -- you may be shocked even though John says in the next verse "Do not be surprised… if the world hates you." (The Voice of the Martyrs Prayer Map). Related Resources - Who was Cain in the Bible? What was the mark that God put on Cain (Genesis 4:15)? Of whom was Cain afraid after he killed Abel? Why did God accept Abel's offering but reject Cain's offering? Why did Cain then kill Abel? Why wasn't Cain's punishment death (Genesis 4:14)? Cain - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Of the evil (poneros) one - Evil one in context refers to the devil in 1Jn 3:8+. The Greek word is poneros describes the devil as pernicious and actively opposing all that is good and godly. Cain was of the seed of the serpent and manifested enmity toward Abel, the seed of the woman (Ge 3:15+). Cain in the present passage is an illustration of the one who practices sin in 1Jn 3:8+. Of the evil one means "out of" (preposition = ek = out) not in the sense that the evil one gave birth to Cain (cp "seed" Ge 3:15+), but in the sense of Cain being under the devil's authority and influence (cp Acts 26:18+ where Satan's "dominion" = exousia = the right and the might). John's description of the evil one exerting his influence on Cain reminds us of Paul's teaching on spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6 where he describes the "fiery missiles of the evil one" (Eph 6:16+), which are to extinguished by taking up the shield of faith, something that Cain clearly did not do. The evil one (ho ponēros) is the specific phrase used to describe Satan in Mt 5:37,39; Mt 6:13; Mt 13:19; Lk 11:4; Jn 17:15. Evil one in First John - 1Jn 2:13-14, 3:12, 5:18-19 W E Vine - Cain showed his spiritual connection with the Evil One by the slaughter of his brother. Sin, which passed into the human heart through man’s willful yielding to the suggestion of him who “sinneth from the beginning,” took this form in Cain’s case in spite of the divine warning (Gen. 4:7), and gave evidence of his moral relationship with the Evil One (see John 8:44+). (Collected Writings) In both Jewish and early Christian writings Cain serves as a model for those who deliberately disbelieve. -- W Hall Harris Hawley - If we hate someone, we wish he or she were dead, and the Lord sees the inner desire as equal to the outward act that would result from it (cf. Matt 5:21–22). Therefore, those who hate are murderers. Slew… slay (4969)(sphazo) means to kill, as in Ge 4:8 "Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him." It is interesting that sphazo is the usual expression in Classical Greek and the Septuagint to describe killing for sacrifice! And for what reason did he slay (sphazo) him?: Vine says "the form of a question is used in order to stress the evil character of the murderer, and to contrast the character of Abel. The “And” stresses the question itself (for other instances see Luke 10:29; John 9:36)." (Collected Writings) As Strauss says "The first murderer learned to kill from Satan. An evil man who hates and kills is demon controlled. (Ed: I might not go quite that for as it implies demon possessed. They are certainly strongly influenced by the demonic beings.) Because (hoti) - It is always worth a "rest stop" to pause and ponder the terms of explanation (for, because, etc), asking what is God explaining? Many times (as in this context) the answer is very simple (in fact in this case God even asks the question for you!) and might lead you to think this is a waste of time. But beloved, pausing to ponder God's Word will never be a waste of time. Vine on Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.- this expresses not so much the motive in Cain’s heart as the nature within him; it was exhibited in his works in contrast to those of Abel, which revealed that he was righteous. The murder itself with its immediate motive, was the outcome of that nature by which Cain “was of the Evil One.” The righteousness of Abel (Heb. 11:4+) incited Cain’s jealousy. The Lord sought to arrest the course of sin in Cain’s heart, that he might repent of his jealousy and carry his sin no further. Probably the best translation of Genesis 4:7+ is as follows: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted; (Cain could have even then gone and brought the divinely appointed sacrifice) and if thou doest not well (i.e., refusing to do the will of God, which was still possible for him), sin croucheth at the door (i.e., the sin of murder is like an animal ready to spring upon its victim), but thou shouldest rule over it.” Instead of giving way to it and allowing it to gain the mastery over his heart, Cain ought to have subdued it. Instead of this he disregarded the gracious warning and allowed the sin to gain the mastery, leading him to rise up against his brother and slay him. Thus from beginning to end Cain’s works were evil. This verse concludes the mention of righteousness in this epistle. It began at 1Jn 2:29. There has been a transition from the subject of righteousness to that of love at the close of this section (v. 10) and love now forms the central theme of the epistle. (Collected Writings) His deeds (ergon) were evil (poneros) - Remember that Scripture is always the best commentary on Scripture (See Comparing Scripture with Scripture), so let's look at some parallel passages to see if that helps us understand why Cain did what he did. First, notice that it wasn't that God had not given Cain a warning when He asked him "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen (see context = Ge 4:4-5)? “If you do well, will not [your countenance] be lifted up? And if you do not do well, SIN is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master (Heb = mashal = have dominion, have authority over) it.". (Ge 4:6-7+) Sin has desire and Satan ("a murderer from the beginning" - Jn 8:44) can shoot fiery missiles to "fan the flame" of the evil desire. John had just explained that the devil had sinned from the beginning (1Jn 3:8+), so one reason Cain practiced evil is because Satan, the "sin stimulator," was prowling around like like a roaring lion and he pounced on Cain in a moment of anger, tempting him to extract revenge on his brother Abel. (1Pe 5:8+) Cain was vulnerable because he did not master the evil desire. And what was the root cause of Cain's hatred that led to murder? Hebrews says that "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." (Heb 11:4+) Cain's basic problem was a defective, deficient faith which led to a disastrous disobedience. Genuine faith is always linked closely with obedience (see the phrase "obedience of faith" in Ro 1:5+, Ro 16:26+) Beloved, faith that does not obey (as this case the commandment to love one another) is not a saving faith! Cain's deeds clearly demonstrated his "spiritual family", specifically identifying him not as a child of God but as a child of the devil (1Jn 3:9+). James Smith - Cain hated the righteousness of God as seen in his brother. The carnal mind of man would rather quench the divine light in bloodshed than acknowledge sin. Christ was the Righteousness of God, and men cried, "Away with this Man" (Luke 23:18). They loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. John

1 João 3:16

Boice: "What is it that gives the love of God as seen at the cross its special character? Primarily it is the element of self-sacrifice on behalf of those who are totally undeserving and even undesirous of the sacrifice." (Borrow The Epistles of John Expositional Commentary page 116) Reduced to the absolute minimum, love gives and hate takes. -- Hawley What is agape love? "Agape love a love that denies self for the benefit of the object loved. Agape describes the love of the Spirit-filled husband, purified and made heavenly in character. Agape is the love which the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in the heart of the yielded believer (Ro 5:5+) The saint is to order his behavior or manner of life within the sphere of this divine, supernatural (agape) love produced in his heart by the Holy Spirit. When this love becomes the deciding factor in his choices and the motivating power in his actions, he will be walking in love. He will be exemplifying in his life the self-sacrificial love shown at Calvary and the Christian graces mentioned in 1Co 13:4-7 - see notes 1Co 13:4; 13:5 ; 13:6 , 13:7 . (It is) a love that is willing to sacrifice one’s self for the benefit of that brother, a love that causes one to be long suffering toward him, a love that makes one treat him kindly, a love that so causes one to rejoice in the welfare of another that there is no room for envy in the heart, a love that is not jealous, a love that keeps one from boasting of one’s self, a love that keeps one from bearing one’s self in a lofty manner, a love that keeps one from acting unbecomingly, a love that keeps one from seeking one’s own rights, a love that keeps one from becoming angry, a love that does not impute evil, a love that does not rejoice in iniquity but in the truth, a love that bears up against all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. That is the kind of love which God says one Christian should have for another." (Agape love) speaks of a love which is awakened by a sense of value in an object which causes one to prize it. It springs from an apprehension of the preciousness of an object. It is a love of esteem and approbation. The quality of this love is determined by the character of the one who loves, and that of the object loved. (In Jn 3:16) God’s love for a sinful and lost race springs from His heart in response to the high value He places upon each human soul. Every sinner is exceedingly precious in His sight… each sinner is most precious to God, first, because he bears the image of his Creator even though that image be marred by sin, and second, because through redemption, that sinner can be conformed into the very image of God’s dear Son. This preciousness of each member of the human race to the heart of God is the constituent element of the love that gave His Son to die on the Cross. The degree of the preciousness is measured by the infinite sacrifice which God made. The love in Jn 3:16 therefore is a love whose essence is that of self-sacrifice for the benefit of the one loved, this love based upon an evaluation of the preciousness of the one loved, this love based upon an evaluation of the preciousness of the one loved. (Compiled from Wuest's Word Studies Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) Amazing love, How can it be, That you my King, should die for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true. It’s my joy to honor You, in all I do, I honor you.” -- Chris Tomlin David

1 João 3:19

Boice explains: "To be sure, John has developed his argument concerning the basis for Christian assurance in a masterly way. But as a pastor he knows that in spite of all he has said there will still be some who feel condemned in their own eyes and who are therefore depressed by this and lack assurance. This self-condemnation can be due to a number of factors. It can be a matter of disposition; some people are just more introspective and melancholy than others. It may be a question of health; how a person feels inevitably affects how he thinks. It may be due to specific sin. It may be due to circumstances. But whatever the cause, the problem is a real one and is quite widespread. How is a believer to deal with such doubt? How can he overcome depression? John apparently recognized this problem as a real one in his time and therefore wisely interrupts his argument at this point to deal with it. How does a Christian deal with doubt? Although there are many causes for it, there is only one answer. It is: by knowledge. The Christian must simply take himself in hand and confront himself with what he knows to be true concerning God and God's work in his life. In other words, faith (which is the opposite of doubt), being based on knowledge, must be fed by it. This is the point that John develops at the close of this third chapter" (quoted from The Epistles of John Expositional Commentary page 120 - borrow) (Sam Storms- First John 3:10b-24) W Hall Harris in his exegetical commentary on First John writes that "it seems better to understand the phrase by this (en toutō) in 1Jn 3:19 as referring to the preceding context, and this makes perfectly good sense, because we have understood 1Jn 3:18 to conclude with a reference to the righteous deeds with which believers are to love one another, deeds which are produced by the truth. It is by doing these deeds, these expressions of love, that believes can assure themselves that they belong to the truth, because the outward action reflects the inward reality of their relationship with God. Put another way (once again), conduct is the clue to paternity." (Exegetical Commentary on 1 John 3:11-24) John