1 João 3
William Barclay · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 3:9
Barclay - What John is saying may be put down in four stages. (a) The ideal is that in the new age sin is gone forever. (b) Christians must try to make that true and with the help of Christ struggle to avoid individual acts of sin (ED: BETTER = THE ENABLING POWER OF THE SPIRIT - SEE Ro 8:13+). (c) In fact all men have these lapses and when they do, they must humbly confess them to God (1Jn 1:9, Pr 28:13), Who will always forgive the penitent heart (ED: NOTE THAT THE ACT OF CONFESSION RESTORES FELLOWSHIP. CONFESSION IS NOT A MERITORIOUS ACT THAT EARNS GOD'S FAVOR BUT DOES RESTORE FELLOWSHIP. EVERY SIN OF A BELIEVER HAS BEEN PAID FOR IN FULL ON THE CROSS. SEE Jn 19:30+). (d) In spite of that, no Christian can possibly be a deliberate and consistent sinner; no Christian can live a life in which sin is dominant in all his actions. John is not setting before us a terrifying perfectionism (ED: HE HAS REFUTED THAT IN 1Jn 1:8, 10); but he is demanding a life which is ever on the watch against sin, a life in which sin is not the normal accepted way but the abnormal moment of defeat. John is not saying that the man who abides in God cannot sin; but he is saying that the man who abides in God cannot continue to be a deliberate sinner. (Daily Study Bible) Because - Another term of explanation. What is John explaining? He is explaining why a believer cannot life a life of sin and lawlessness. Born of God - Repeated for emphasis. His new nature gives him new desires, because He now has the Holy Spirit within his body (cf 1Jn 2:20, 27) and habitual unholy behavior is not even possible for a genuine born again individual. John
1 João 3:11
Barclay adds "We can tell what a tree is by its fruits, and similarly we can tell what a man or woman is by that person’s conduct. John lays it down that anyone who does not do what is right is by that fact shown not to be of God." (Daily Study Bible) Harris notes that "This section marks the beginning of the second major part of First John (1John 3:11–5:12)." (Exegetical Commentary on 1 John 3:11-24) The mark of the Christian is love for one another. The standard for that love is the pattern of Christ’s love for us. -- Allen Ross John Stott refers to 1Jn 3:11-18 as "an elaboration of the social test… namely that to love is the new command (which is yet old) and belongs to the new age in which the true Light is already shining (1Jn 2:8-note). As he now fills in his preliminary sketch, he uses no colours but black and white. He continues the stark contrast he has already pointed in 1Jn 3:10-note between the children of God and the children of the devil, and writes of hatred and love, life and death, murder and self-sacrifice." (BORROW The Letters of John page 143) Hawley - Our nature has consequences; eventually we act the way we really are. To love the brothers and sisters in the believing community demonstrates that we belong to God; to reject the brothers and sisters demonstrates that we don’t really belong to God. It is not enough to believe rightly. We must behave rightly -- David Allen For (hoti - see note) this is the message (aggelia) which you have heard (akouo) from the beginning (arche), that (hina - introduces purpose or result) we should love (agapao - present tense) one another (allelon) - For (hoti) serves here as a marker of an explanatory clause, "drawing an inference based upon all that has preceded." Whenever you encounter a conjunction used as a term of explanation, pause and ask "What is the writer explaining?" As in this case, it will usually force you to examine the context. In the context the message is a reference to the original, apostolic Gospel, the good "message" of Him Who loved us (Jn 3:16) and which births children who exhibit a Spirit-enabled, supernatural love for their brothers and sisters in Christ. From the outset of their Christian life, John's readers had been taught the importance of love for one another. It was not something they had never heard before. John was not telling them some new truth or something he had "invented." As John Calvin said "John reminds us that he was teaching nothing but what had been heard by the faithful concerning love from the beginning and had become old through long usage." The absence of love in the life of a child of God is inconsistent with the message of love that has been proclaimed to them. -- Daniel Akin Vine says for this is the message is "more literally, “Because the message is this,” cp. 1 Jn 1:5. The message there spoke of the nature of God and its bearing on the Christian life. The message here instructs us as to our duty one to another. The readers heard it from the beginning, since it was among the first things inculcated in their hearts as believers, and not only so but it had been constantly repeated. Jerome informs us that toward the close of the apostle’s life, after he had become too infirm to preach, he still continued constantly to give the exhortation, “Little children, love one another.” He tells us how he remarked. “It is the Lord’s command, and if this is done, it is enough.” What is here stated, then, is that the manifestation of the character of Christ in the believer is the outcome of receiving the word of God. The gospel not only saves men but unites them to Christ and this produces in them that love which is essential in His character, was manifested by Him, embraces all the other qualities of the fruit of the spirit, and fulfills the law of God. (Collected Writings) John
1 João 3:13
Barclay - In ancient Athens, the noble Aristides was unjustly banished; and, when one member of the jury was asked how he could have cast his vote against such a man, his answer was that he was tired of hearing Aristides called ‘the Just’. The hatred of the world for Christians is a phenomenon that is always with us, and it is due to the fact that in Christians people with worldly values see themselves condemned; they see in Christians what they are not and what deep down they know they ought to be; and, because they will not change, they seek to eliminate those who remind them of the lost goodness. (1 John 3 Commentary - Daily Study Bible) Bridges on the moral world - The moral world includes people indifferent or hostile to God, the God-hostile environment generally, and in the widest sense, corruption and evil summed up under the general term "the world." If the people of the world can be spoken of as "the world" in a neutral sense, "the world" can also refer to the subclass of indifferent and hostile people who reject God and his ways. Before the flood nearly all the people of the world became corrupt (Genesis 6:11). In Jesus' time the world hated him (John 7:7) and will hate his followers (John 15:18-19). The world, ungodly people, cannot receive the things of God (John 14:17,22; 16:8-9 ; cf. 1 John 3:1) and is not even worthy of the people of faith who live among them (Hebrews 11:38). In the New Testament the world also appears as a hostile environment. Because of the hatred of the world's people, the Son asks the Father to protect his followers rather than remove them from their alien surroundings (John 17:14-16 ). Paul expresses his indifference to the world by saying he "is crucified" as far as the world is concerned (Galatians 6:14). Seven times in 1Corinthians 1-3 Paul refers to the world's ignorance of God and its powerlessness to find him without the cross of Christ. Because of the world's hostility to God, it is full of corruption (2 Peter 1:4) and stands as a symbol of corruption. One cannot be friendly with the evil world and love God at the same time (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17+). Believers by their faith must "overcome the world" (1 John 5:4-5), killing whatever belongs to their "earthly nature" (Colossians 3:5) and denying "worldly passions" (Titus 2:12 ). (World) Related Resources: What does it mean that we are not to love the world? How can believers be in the world, but not of the world? Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible World Hastings' Dictionary of the NT World World What is Christianophobia? Surprised (2296) thaumazo from thauma [from thaomai = to wonder] = wonder, admiration) means to wonder, marvel, be struck with admiration or astonishment. Thaumazo means surprise at the unexpected, whether regretful, or pleasurable. Thaumazo describes the human response when confronted by divine revelation in some form (Mt 9.33). Be surprised (Gal 1:6). It denotes incredulous surprise. Thaumazo was a rhetorical device used in law courts and politics to attack things done by the opposition party. THAUMAZO - 43V - Matt. 8:10; Matt. 8:27; Matt. 9:33; Matt. 15:31; Matt. 21:20; Matt. 22:22; Matt. 27:14; Mk. 5:20; Mk. 6:6; Mk. 15:5; Mk. 15:44; Lk. 1:21; Lk. 1:63; Lk. 2:18; Lk. 2:33; Lk. 4:22; Lk. 7:9; Lk. 8:25; Lk. 9:43; Lk. 11:14; Lk. 11:38; Lk. 20:26; Lk. 24:12; Lk. 24:41; Jn. 3:7; Jn. 4:27; Jn. 5:20; Jn. 5:28; Jn. 7:15; Jn. 7:21; Acts 2:7; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:13; Acts 7:31; Acts 13:41; Gal. 1:6; 2 Thess. 1:10; 1 Jn. 3:13; Jude 1:16; Rev. 13:3; Rev. 17:6; Rev. 17:7; Rev. 17:8 Brothers (80)(adelphos from a = denotes unity + delphus = a womb) is literally those from the same womb and means brother or near kinsman. Adelphós generally denotes a fellowship of life based on identity of origin and of course in this passage describes members of the same family with God as their father (cf Jn 1:12+) and thus brothers and sisters in Christ. (Ro 8.29). ADELPHOS IN FIRST JOHN - 1 Jn. 2:9; 1 Jn. 2:10; 1 Jn. 2:11; 1 Jn. 3:10; 1 Jn. 3:12; 1 Jn. 3:13; 1 Jn. 3:14; 1 Jn. 3:15; 1 Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 3:17; 1 Jn. 4:20; 1 Jn. 4:21; 1 Jn. 5:16 Hates (3404)(miseo from misos = hatred) means to have a strong dislike, a deep enmity (implying hostility and even persecution - cp Mt 5:43-44+). Miseo means to dislike strongly, to have a strong aversion to or to detest, all of these representing expressions of hostility of one person (or group) toward another (Mt 5:43, Lk 6:27, et al). Specifically the hatred can be directed toward God (Lk 1:71). Good hatred in Heb 1:9 (cf use of miseo in Lxx of Ps 101:3, Ps 119:104, 113, 128, 163, Ps 139:21-22). The majority of the NT uses of miseo convey the literal meaning of animosity towards God, people or particular attitudes. It is notable that except for Lk 1:71, miseo is always used by Jesus in the Gospels. The literal meaning of bearing ill will towards another person or persons is found in the majority of texts (e.g., Mt 5:43, 44; 6:24; Lk 1:71; Jn 7: 7; 17:14; Titus 3: 3; 1Jo. 2: 9 ff.; Rev. 17:16). The world’s hatred for the people of God is expressed in Lk 1:71; Jn 7: 7; 15:18; 17:14; 1Jo. 3:13. Mt 10:22; 24:9; Mk 13:13; Lk 21:17 describe suffering hatred for the cause of the Gospel. MISEO IN FIRST JOHN - 1 Jn. 2:9; 1 Jn. 2:11; 1 Jn. 3:13; 1 Jn. 3:15; 1 Jn. 4:20; World (2889)(kosmos) describes the godless world system and its evil, inveterate, incorrigible, intractable, intransigent, irrevocable enmity toward God and every one of His children. Trench has a famous definition of the anti-God world system as "All that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, which it may be impossible to seize and accurately define, but which constitutes a most real and effective power, being the moral, or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale." KOSMOS IN FIRST JOHN - 1 Jn. 2:2; 1 Jn. 2:15; 1 Jn. 2:16; 1 Jn. 2:17; 1 Jn. 3:1; 1 Jn. 3:13; 1 Jn. 3:17; 1 Jn. 4:1; 1 Jn. 4:3; 1 Jn. 4:4; 1 Jn. 4:5; 1 Jn. 4:9; 1 Jn. 4:14; 1 Jn. 4:17; 1 Jn. 5:4; 1 Jn. 5:5; 1 Jn. 5:19 Greg Laurie - IS THERE A CATFISH IN YOUR TANK? (GREAT ILLUSTRATION) Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. (1 John 3:13) I heard a story about some fish suppliers who were having problems shipping codfish from the East Coast. By the time the fish reached the West coast, they were spoiled. They froze them, but by the time the fish arrived, they were mushy. So the seafood company decided to send them alive…but the fish arrived dead. On their third try, they once more shipped the fish alive, but with one difference. They included a catfish in each tank. You see, the catfish is the natural enemy of the codfish. By the time the codfish arrived, they were alive and well, because they had spent their trip fleeing the catfish. Could it be that God in His wisdom has put a catfish in your tank to keep you alive and well spiritually? Maybe there’s a person at work who always has eight hardball questions for you every Monday morning regarding spiritual things. Maybe it’s that neighbor who constantly gives you a hard time about your faith in Jesus. Maybe it’s a spouse or family member who doesn’t believe. And you begin to wonder, “Why is this happening to me?” It’s just that catfish in your life…keeping you spiritually alert and on your toes. Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19). God will allow persecution in the life of the believer. If you’re experiencing persecution—whether subtle or out front and in the open—here are two things to remember: 1. Persecution confirms that you are a child of God. 2. Persecution causes you to cling closer to Jesus. When you endure persecution for your faith, remember that this world is not your home. As far as I know, there are no catfish in heaven. Martyn Lloyd-Jones - HATED BY THE WORLD 1 JOHN 3:13 Walking with God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotional Selections Let me put this as a historical fact. This is one of the great principles that we find in the Bible from the beginning. There are many people who have difficulty with this verse. If this is true of you, you have somehow failed to understand the first great essential divisions of the Bible. The difference between Cain and Abel was in Cain, not in Abel. Cain (the world) hates Abel (the Christian). Look at Joseph and his brethren. Look at David and Saul; read the story of how King Saul treated David and tried to get rid of him—the jealousy, envy, and malice. Look at the treatment that was meted out to the prophets, those men of God who were trying to save the nation. It is there everywhere. Look at the supreme example of our Lord Himself. Here is the Son of God incarnate; here is the eternal life in the flesh. Look at the world sneering at Him, how they picked up stones to cast at Him, how they shouted, “Crucify Him, away with Him!” The world crucified the very Son of God who had come to save it! “Marvel not, my friends, if the world hate you.” The world does not hate you because you are hateful people; the case of Cain and Abel proves that. Cain did not hate his brother because there was something hateful about him. There was nothing hateful in Abel, but Cain hated him in spite of that. Neither does the world hate us because we are good. Let us be quite clear about that. The world does not hate good people; the world only hates Christian people. That is the subtle, vital distinction. If you are just a good person, the world, far from hating you, will admire you; it will cheer you. And what is true of the individual is true of the whole Church. The world, we are told, hates Christians, not because they are hateful, not because they are good, not because they do good, but specifically because they are Christians, because they are of God, because they have Christ within them. The world does not hate good people; the world only hates Christian people. John Butler - HATE 1 John 3:13 “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13). The legislatures of our land and of some other countries are engaged in composing, passing, and enforcing anti-hate laws. These laws are supposedly designed to stop hate. But these laws are hypocritical, for hatred of anything that has to do with God is not prosecuted. Homosexuals are especially interested in these “hate” laws and will use them to attack anyone who speaks out against their vile conduct. These “hate” laws will not condemn the homosexuals when they spit on church doors and throw urine and human excrement on church furniture, but let someone preach against homosexual conduct, and the “hate” laws will go after the preacher. So the “hate” laws are a bunch of political-correctness garbage that will only encourage evil and prosecute righteousness. Our text speaks of hated that is real and that no law in any land will be made to counter the problem in our text. FIRST—THE SAINTS “My brethren.” These are the redeemed, the ones who live a holy life. They are the ones who are hated. The hatred of the world has always been primarily at those who walk uprightly and are godly. You would think when a person gets saved and cleans up his lifestyle that the world would appreciate the improvement. But alas, they do not. They “hate” the way the man was cleaned up, namely, through Jesus Christ. They also hate righteousness. The world is no friend of holiness. Given the right circumstances they will do violence to those whom they hate. The word translated “hate” in our text involves doing harm to the one who is hated. Persecution of the saints is guaranteed by the attitude of the world towards Christ and righteousness. SECOND—THE SINNERS “The world.” These are the haters. The world in which we live is not a friend of Jesus Christ. I have seen at shopping malls some of the vilest T-shirts worn by young people which are strongly anti-Christ. Interestingly, these T-shirts have fire printed on them as well as the anti-Christ slogan. Fire will indeed be the destiny of all those who hate Christ. The fires of hell will bring great misery to those who hated God’s people. “The world” does not have a good future. Those who hated God’s people are doomed, and will not be so anxious to hate the things of God when they enter their eternal home of fire. THIRD—THE SURPRISE “Marvel not.” It may surprise you that goodness is hated. But our text tells God’s people not to be surprised at this hated. We are not to let it cause us to throw in the towel and quit. If you continue to act surprised, you will be tempted to change your conduct to gain the favor of the world. If you walk a holy life, you can expect more brickbats than bouquets. If the world hated Jesus Christ, the personification of goodness, how much more will they hate us who do not have the character of the Savior. Embrace Christ and the world will be your enemy. Vance Havner - Known and Unknown The world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. I John 3:1. I never knew you. Matthew 7:23. This world knew not our Lord. "There standeth one among you whom ye know not." So said John the Baptist. "If thou hadst known... If thou knewest... If ye had known"—so runs Jesus' constant refrain while He was among us. Because the world knew Him not it knows us not. "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you" (1 Jn. 3:13). It not only does not know us, it hates us. "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them" (Jn. 17:14). We cannot love the Word and be loved by the world. But what matters the hatred of this world if He knows and loves us? Most fearful of all pronouncements ever to fall on human ears is that word to those who profess to know Him but whose works deny Him: "I never knew you." "The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 Tim. 2:19). This world makes much of "knowing the right people." What matters is to know God. H A 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. James Smith - "Do not be surprised, my brothers—if the world hates you!" 1 John 3:13 And yet, like Israel in Egypt, the more they were persecuted, the more they multiplied and grew; until at length they spread not only over the Roman empire—but nearly over the world. And, had they retained . . . the simplicity of their lives, the spirituality of their minds, and the correctness of their creed— they would no doubt have encircled the globe! But at length they were . . . courted by royalty, loaded with wealth, became intoxicated with worldly honors, and then their glory departed! They drank into the spirit of the world, conformed to its maxims and customs, sought its approbation and applause—and so fell from their exalted station, and lost their real dignity. The 'sect' that had been spoken against everywhere, with the exception of a few—was swallowed up in a worldly church! There are still some, who, like the ancient sect of the Nazarenes, are spoken against everywhere. They will not swim with the stream. They will not compromise their Master's honor, or give up their Master's truth. According to the light they have—they walk; and they rejoice to exalt the Savior, humble the sinner, and proclaim salvation, all of grace. They rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer shame, for His dear name. Reader! Do you belong to this sect? Is there anything in your religion that is distasteful to the world, anything that draws forth its opposition, or excites its contempt? The carnal mind is still enmity against God, and if we are godlike—that enmity will manifest itself against us! If we copy Christ's example, as set before us in the gospel; if we testify against the world, that its works are evil, and call upon it to repent, as Christ did—we shall soon be hated by the world! BLOOD BROTHERS The Christian History Devotional: 365 Readings & Prayers to ... Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 1 JOHN 3:13 2008: On this date Pastor Samuel Nayak stood at the entrance of his church in Orissa state, India, attempting to block the path of several hundred Hindu radicals. They slit his throat, left him for dead, and destroyed the church. This was one of several horrors occurring between August 25 and 28, 2008, a bloody wave of anti-Christian violence. Thirty-eight Indian Christians were killed, forty-one churches of different denominations destroyed, hundreds of houses and vehicles destroyed, and an orphanage burned. A few weeks later the radicals announced a large bounty for the killing of Christian pastors. The rampage left fifty thousand Christians fleeing for their lives into nearby forests. A year after the carnage, many of these were still afraid to return to their home villages, having been warned by the radicals that if they came home, they would be forced to convert back to Hinduism—or die. For many of the refugees there were no homes to return to. What prompted such hatred and violence? The short answer is: hatred of minorities and nonconformists, something found across the globe in all periods of history. The long answer: a noted Hindu swami was murdered on August 23, 2008, probably by Indian Communists, but many Hindus blamed his death on Christians and thus began the wave of violence. Christian and human rights groups worldwide condemned the violence, but those who closely monitor the world scene knew there was nothing new about anti-Christian violence in India. Though in the past Hindus were relatively tolerant of Christians—even though few Hindus actually converted—the twenty-first century has seen countless atrocities perpetrated, particularly aimed at Hindus who convert to the “alien” religion of Christianity. The sad news is that, as Jesus foretold, his followers will suffer for his sake. The good news is that the gospel of love continues to spread in a world saturated with hatred. Prayer: Lord, be with your children in their suffering. Arm them with love in the war against blind hate. Amen.
1 João 3:16
Barclay - ‘If you want to see what this love is, look at Jesus Christ. In his death for us on the cross, it is fully displayed.’ In other words, the Christian life is the imitation of Christ. ‘Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 2:5+). ‘Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps’ (1Peter 2:21+). No one can look at Christ and then claim not to know what the Christian life is. (1 John 3 Commentary - Daily Study Bible) Warren Wiersbe makes a great point - Every Christian knows John 3:16, but how many of us pay much attention to 1 John 3:16? It is wonderful to experience the blessing of John 3:16; but it is even more wonderful to share that experience by obeying 1 John 3:16: Christ laid down life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Christian love involves sacrifice and service. Christ did not simply talk about His love; He died to prove it (Rom. 5:6–10). (Bible Exposition Commentary) We know (1097)(ginosko) often means to know by experience (some think ginosko and eido are used interchangeably by John but I think there are definite shades of difference depending on the context). Ginosko is in the perfect tense which means that we came to know at a point in time and that we still know, to acquire and possess this knowledge. It speaks of permanence of this knowledge. "We have learnt and now hold the lesson forever." (Westcott) And what was it they had experienced? They had experienced the love of God in Christ laying down His life that they might become recipients of His payment of the price of redemption (from slavery to sin and Satan) and forgiveness of their sins. And such a permanent knowledge should serve to motivate believers to do as their Savior did, to love as He loved, laying down their lives as He laid down His. THOUGHT - Have you prayerfully (asking the Spirit to open the eyes of your heart) meditated recently on what Jesus did for you when He laid down His life for you? What might a revived experiential knowledge of His sacrifice do for your spiritual life, particularly in the area of sacrificial love (you might want to read Jesus' words in Rev 2:4-5+)! Steven
1 João 3:17
Barclay - Someone may say: ‘How can I follow in the steps of Christ? He laid down his life upon the cross. You say I ought to lay down my life for others. But opportunities as dramatic as that do not come into my life. What then?’ John’s answer is: ‘True. But when you see someone who is in need and you have enough, to give that person from what you have is to follow Christ. To shut your heart and to refuse to give is to show that the love of God which was in Jesus Christ has no place in you.’ (Daily Study Bible) Warren
1 João 3:18
Barclay - Fine words will never take the place of fine deeds; and no amount of talk of Christian love will take the place of a kindly action to someone in need, made at some personal expense or with some self-sacrifice, for in that action the principle of the cross is at work again. (1Daily Study Bible) Biblical love is a verb! It begins with feelings of concern and compassion for those in need and always results in tangible, substantial sacrifice. -- 1, 2, & 3 John Henry Mahan - Let us not merely profess with our tongues that we love one another, but prove it by deeds; for this is the only true way of showing love. We read in scripture of the work and labor of love. Talking about love is mere show! Demonstrating love in meeting the physical, material and spiritual needs of others is love in truth. (1 John 3 Commentary) Stephen Smalley - The major concern of this passage is to encourage obedient and active love from all those who claimed allegiance to the Johannine church. (1, 2, 3 John Word Biblical Commentary page 198) Little children (5040)(teknion diminutive of teknon) is literally My "born ones", the diminutive expresses affection ("my dear children"). Teknion is used by John to address true followers of Jesus. From John's repetitive use of teknion in this epistle, one might say it is an epistle for little children! Clearly the subjects with which John deals are not "child's play," but have serious implications regarding one's spiritual life, now and in eternity future! Teknion is John's way of lovingly appealing to his readers as a spiritual father would do as he sought to encourage his children to give an authentic expression of the love of God. Little children (8x only by John - John 13:33; 1 John 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21) - John is fondly addressing the believers as a father would his children. Harris on little children - It indicates the warmth of affection the author feels for the recipients of the letter—he is genuinely concerned for their spiritual welfare. (Exegetical Commentary on 1 John 3:11-24) If the expression of love is limited to mere verbal expression, it is simply “mouth mercy!" Hiebert on not love with word or with tongue - While Christian love must be a vital inner reality, by its nature love demands active expression. Negatively, John insists that true love cannot be restricted to mere verbalization… If the expression of love is limited to mere verbal expression, it is simply “mouth mercy,” (expression used by John Trapp) which is profitless and disappointing. (Cf. James 2:15–16.) John Trapp's full quote - Words are light and cheap; and there is a great deal of mouth mercy abroad. A T