THE FATHER HAS LOVED US! _Christ-on-the-cross_ is the declaration of God's love for us (John 3:16)!!! "See how much the Father has loved us Jews and Gentiles who do what is right (1 John 2:29)! We are God's children!" THIS IS WHY. "The world knows the children of the pagan gods, but the world will n... [ Continue Reading ]
WE ARE NOW GOD'S CHILDREN. "The world may hate us and persecute us, but even now we are already God's children!" BUT IT IS NOT YET CLEAR. "We have not been told the details of our future glory. We could not now understand it, since it must be experienced to be understood!" BUT WE KNOW. "We know that... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERYONE. "Everyone who has this hope of seeing God and of becoming like Him (John 17:24) and of living with Him forever, keeps himself pure." Compare 1 John 3:8.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOEVER SINS. Some said God did not count sin against one who believed in Him. (See Introduction to this Letter.) John is talking about a continuous action. "One who continues to sin is breaking God's law, and will be severely punished for it (if he does not turn away from his sins), no matter what... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU KNOW. "The very reason that Christ appeared in human form was for the purpose of taking away men's sins! This shows how certain punishment is if you purposely go on sinning!" THERE IS NO SIN IN HIM. "This proves he does not allow us to continue to sin! We are like him when we QUIT sinning!... [ Continue Reading ]
DOES NOT CONTINUE TO SIN. Both the TEV and the NIV bring out the fact that the Greek uses the _present continuous tense._ All Christians sin _on the spur of the moment_ (1 John 1:8-10). But Christians do not purposely go on sinning continuously!!! See 1 John 3:9. BUT WHOEVER CONTINUES. "The one who... [ Continue Reading ]
LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU! "Do not let the false teachers fool you with their talk that merely believing will make you righteous even though you go on sinning!" WHOEVER DOES. "It is the one who makes a habit of doing what is right who has the same righteous character that Christ has!... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOEVER CONTINUES TO SIN. "The one who purposely makes a habit of sin shows by this that he belongs to the Devil (see 1 John 3:12)_."_ BECAUSE THE DEVIL HAS SINNED. This is in the _present continuous tense,_ which shows the Devil has been continuously sinning all during human history, as he tempts p... [ Continue Reading ]
DOES NOT CONTINUE TO SIN. Again the _present continuous._ See note on 1 John 3:6. BECAUSE GOD'S VERY NATURE. _MacKnight_ thinks this is true of the _word_ that lives in us (1 Peter 1:23). It is also true of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 8:15). HE CANNOT CONTINUE TO SIN. "In becoming... [ Continue Reading ]
HERE IS THE CLEAR DIFFERENCE. This is the same as the _old command_ of 1 John 2:7-11. Actions clearly identify the loyalty of a person!!! ANYONE WHO DOES NOT. "Failing to do right and failing to love fellow-man, identifies a person as one of the Devil's children." [In this John is scolding those who... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. "The message of the Good News does not change!!! The message originally announced is still in effect (Galatians 1:6-9). New and esoteric teaching about faith and morals disqualifies itself by its very newness!" WE MUST LOVE ONE ANOTHER. This is Jesus' new commandment (John 1... [ Continue Reading ]
LIKE CAIN. Cain is an example of _hate._ The Greek says literally that Cain _butchered_ his own brother! BECAUSE. "The _bad_ in Cain caused him to hate the _good_ in his brother!" Compare John 3:20; John 8:44; Matthew 5:21-22.... [ Continue Reading ]
SO DO NOT BE SURPRISED. "The _world_ to which Cain belonged (1 John 2:15-17) still belongs to Satan. As Cain hated his righteous brother, so this same _world_ will hate you." Those who made a _habit_ of sin were making themselves part of this _world._... [ Continue Reading ]
WE KNOW. "The _world_ is death! We Christians have left death and come over into life! The proof of this is the love we have for our brothers (fellowman)l Whoever does not _love_ proves he is still in _death_!_"_... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOEVER HATES. "As a plant cannot be both growing and dying at the same time, so a Christian cannot be both loving and hating. When the _light_ came into the _world,_ it caused a _crisis!_ There is no NEUTRAL GROUND!!!" Compare Matthew 5:21-22. Hate (_lack of love_) is a serious matter!!!... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT LOVE IS. "Christ _acted out_ this LOVE by giving his life for us. Rather than hating and destroying our brother, we ought to have the spirit of Christ and lay down our lives for our brothers, when called upon to do so.... [ Continue Reading ]
YET CLOSES HIS HEART. "Let me show you this practical example, If we love as Christ loved us, how can we refuse to help others???" It is easy to be a martyr and die as a hero for Christ. The difficult part is the little things of day-to-day living, the trivial sacrifices and self-denials that no one... [ Continue Reading ]
IT MUST BE TRUE LOVE. Talk is cheap! See what James says in James 2:14-17. James says _faith;_ John says _love_! It is good to _talk,_ but we must back it up with _action_!... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS, THEN. "Only by this kind of behavior, _acting out our love,_ can we know that we belong to the truth and the fellowship of the Father and the Son." WILL BE CONFIDENT. No need to be ashamed! See 1 John 2:28.... [ Continue Reading ]
IF OUR HEART CONDEMNS US. It is best to make this part of the same thought as 1 John 3:19_. J. W. Roberts_ thinks this is so. "Our heart condemns us because of our acts of sin (_see note on_ 1 John 2:1), and we ask in fear, Am I loving as I ought to do???' The fact that we are acting out our love wi... [ Continue Reading ]
IF OUR HEART DOES NOT CONDEMN US. "If the fact that we _love_ will quiet the fears of our hearts, even though we see our mistakes; how much more courage will we have in God's presence if we live so that our hearts do not condemn us!!! If our love shows itself in actions, we will have more courage wh... [ Continue Reading ]
WE RECEIVE FROM HIM. "Doing what is right and having a heart that does not condemn us are _two sides of the same coin._ Because we are his children, he hears and answers our prayers." Compare Proverbs 15:29; Psalms 66:18-19; Job 27:8-9; Isaiah 1:11-15.... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS IS WHAT HE COMMANDS. John has been stressing actions. Here he shows us faith and love as _two sides of the same coin._ See note on James 2:19. BELIEVE IN THE NAME. _Name = authority._ To believe in _his name_ means to believe in everything that his name symbolizes and stands for. JUST AS CHRIST... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOEVER OBEYS. See John 14:21-23 and notes. BECAUSE OF THE SPIRIT. Every Christian has the Spirit (Acts 5:32). John sees this as a fact of experience that can be used as a proof. Obedience identifies the Spirit within us (Galatians 5:22-23). The presence of the Spirit was a strong reason for the Jew... [ Continue Reading ]