1 John 3 - Introduction

He declareth the singular love of God towards us, in making us his sons; who therefore ought obediently to keep his commandments, as also to love one another as brethren.

Anno Domini 90.

THE apostle, in the last verse of the preceding chapter, having declared that every one who worketh righteousness, that is, internally and externally, has been begotten of God, and is his son, beginsthis chapter with an exclamation, expressive of his high admiration of the love of God in calling such his children, although they are not acknowledged to be such by the men of the world, because unregenerate men have no just notion of the character of God, 1 John 3:1.—Then, to explain the ground of his admiration, he described the dignity and happiness to which the faithful children of God will be raised, at the appearing of Christ to judge the world. They shall be like Christ, because they shall see him as he is, and shall live with him for ever, 1 John 3:2.—Now, this being the greatest honour and felicity of which mankind are capable, every one who has the hope of seeing Christ, and of becoming like him, and of living with him for ever, is careful to purify himself from evil affectionsand wicked actions, as Christ is pure, that he may be qualified to associate with Christ, 1 John 3:3.—This naturally led the apostle to condemn a second time the impious doctrine of the Nicolaitans, Simonians, and other heretics, whoaffirmed, that every action being free to those who had the knowledge of God, such will not be punished for their actions, however vicious they may have been. For, in opposition to these heretics, the apostle declared, that whoever worketh sin, shall certainly be punished; because sin being a transgression of the law of God, without doubt God will support the authority of his law, by punishing severely the transgressors of it, 1 John 3:4.—Besides, that he will punish obstinate sinners, God hath shewed, by sending his Son to take away the punishment of sin from those only who repent and believe. For since the Son of God was free from sin himself, he would not die to procure for his disciples a liberty of sinning, 1 John 3:5.—From this it follows, that whosoever abideth in the fellowship of Christ, and is the object of his love, doth not sin. Whosoever sinneth, though he may have seen Christ in the flesh, has not seen him in his true character, neither has known his will, 1 John 3:6.—Wherefore, my beloved children, let no teacher deceive you, byaffirming that the speculative belief of the gospel will make you righteous in the sight of God. He alone who habitually worketh righteousness on the true foundation of the atoning Blood, is righteous in the sight of God, and will be accepted by him; even as Christ himself was righteous, by keeping his Father's commandments, and abode in his love, 1 John 3:7.—He who worketh sin, instead of being a child of God, is a child of the devil: for the devil hath sinned from the beginning of the world. Now the evil nature of sin, and its hatefulness to God, may be known from this, that the Son of God was manifested in the flesh to destroy the works of the devil; namely sin, and all themiseries which flow from sin, 1 John 3:8.

Having described the character of the children of the devil, together with the evil nature of their works, the apostle explained the character of the children of God, and taught the faithful how to distinguish them from the children of the devil. Whosoever is begotten of God, doth not commit sin, because God's seed, the doctrine of the gospel, with the grace and Spirit of God, abideth and operateth in him constantly. Such a person cannot sin, for this very reason that he is begotten of God, 1 John 3:9.—By this sure mark, therefore, the children of God, and the children of the devil, are distinguished. Whosoever doth not internally and externally practiserighteousness, is not begotten of God, neither he who doth not love his brother, so as both to do him good, and to abstain from injuring him, 1 John 3:10.—And to impress them strongly with a sense of the obligation which lay on them, as the disciples of Christ, thus to love their brethren,St. John put them in mind, that the message which the apostles brought from Christ, and delivered to them from the very first, was, that they should love one another, 1 John 3:11.—and not behave like persons begotten of the wicked one, as Cain was, who slew his brother from envy and hatred, because his own works were evil, and his brother's good, 1 John 3:12.—Having this example of the hatredwhich the wicked bear to the righteous, recorded in the scripture, the faithful were not to wonder that the wicked hated them. It has been the lot of the righteous, from the beginning of the world, to be hated and persecuted of the wicked, 1 John 3:13.—But to animate them to bear these evils courageously, he told them, if they really and cordially loved their brethren, they might know certainly that they had passed from death to life; that they were quickened from the death of sin to the life of righteousness. Whereas the person who does not cordially love his brother, remains under the condemnation of death, 1 John 3:14 because everyone who hateth his brother, is a man-slayer, like Cain; and unless he repenteth, he is incapable of eternal life, 1 John 3:15.—Farther, to prevent them from thinking that the only operation of love, is to restrain one from injuring his brother, the apostle told them, that as by this we have known the great love of Christ to us, that he laid down his life for us, we ought to shew our love to our brethren, by laying down our lives for them when called in providence to do so, 1 John 3:16.—Whosoever, therefore, hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother in necessitous circumstances, and yet does not give him somewhat to relieve him, such a hard-hearted person has no love to God, 1 John 3:17.—From this consideration, the apostle affectionately exhorted his disciples, not to put off their needy brethren with good words only, but to shew the reality of their love to them, by relieving their necessities, and by doing them acts of beneficence, as occasions required, 1 John 3:18.—For by such a conduct, amongother divine marks, they would know themselves to be of the fellowship of the true God, and would have confidence in his presence, as his acceptable worshippers, 1 John 3:19.—But if our own conscience condemneth us, as wanting in love both to God and man, because we refuse to relieve our needy brethren in their distress, certainly God, who is a more perfect and impartial judge, than our conscience, and knoweth all things, will much more condemn us, 1 John 3:20.—Whereas, if our conscience does not condemn us as deficient in any of the sacred fruits of love, we may have confidence with God, that we are accepted of him, and are the objects of his love, 1 John 3:21.—And whatsoever we ask, agreeably to his will, we shall receive; because by the improvement and exercise of divine love in every thing which relates to the glory of God and the good of our brethren, we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing to him, 1 John 3:22.—For this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of Jesus Christ as his only-begotten Son, and that we should love one another, as he gave commandment to us by his Son, 1 John 3:23.—Now he who thus keepeth God's commandments, abideth in his fellowship, and God abideth in him, as the principle of his spiritual life and strength. And by this we know that God abideth in us, even by the witness and graces of the Spirit, which he hath given us, 1 John 3:24.