1 John 3:11-24
"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brothers' were righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hats his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. This is how we have come to know love: he laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has this world's goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him - how does God's love reside in him?
Little Children, let us not love in word or speech, but in actions and in truth. This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things. Dear friends, if our hearts don't condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight. Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of the Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commands us. The one how keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us."
In our Thursday Night Zoom meeting we talked about Real Love In Action. This passage kicks off about the Cain & Abel when God accepted Abel's offering and not Cains (Gen 4:1-16) Abel's offering showed that Cain was not giving his best to God, and Cain's jealous anger drove him to the acts of murder to Abel. Cain allowed this bitterness to poison him. This shows that we'll encounter people who straight up hate or dislike you. And to be honest for me personally, I do my best to get along with everyone but reality is doesn't always work out for some. Here we see Abel is doing what is right in God's eyes by offering the best to God thus leads to a bitter Cain.
John the author of this passage echos Jesus's teaching that whoever hates another person is a murderer at heart from Matthew 5:21-22. Christianity is a religion of the heart; outward compliance isn't enough. Again looking at Cain & Abel, sure outwardly Cain did give an offering but it wasn't his best. It was rejected. His heart wasn't right. While Abel gave his best & God accepted. So whatever is in your heart will eventually come out. If anger, hatred, bitterness is in your heart then that action will produce itself.
Real Love is an action not a feeling.
It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The great act of love is giving oneself for others. So the question is How can we give up our lives? Simply by serving others with no thought of receiving anything in return. Such as buying someone lunch. Helping them with a project. Meeting a need that you possibly can meet. It's by producing an act of love.
Verse 17 is very similar to James Ch 2:14-17 which says "What good is it, my brothers and sisters if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of them says to them, 'Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,' but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if doesn't have works, is dead by itself."
Did you catch? "If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of them says to them, 'Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,' but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it?" How many of us relates to this? How many of us simply ignored a persons need. Perhaps maybe we can't offer anything. But maybe we can point them in the right direction to someone who can.
Look at verse 18 in 1 John 3: "Little Children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth."
Not in word or speech but in action and in truth. Love can be said, but we also need to show that love in action. It's like with Jesus, how do we show him our love? By obeying his commands. John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commands."
Looking at Verse 19-20 of 1 John 3, many are afraid that they don't lvoe others as they should. They feel guilty because they think they are not doing enough to show proper love to Christ. Their consciences bother them. But John has these who deal with this in mind. So how do we escape the gnawing accusations of our conscience? Not by ignoring them or rationalizing our behaviors but by setting our heart on God's love. When we feel guilty, we should remind ourselves that God knows our motives as well as our actions. If we are in Christ he will not condemn us.
Moving on to verse 21-22 if your conscience is clear, you can come to God without fear, confident that your requests will be heard. John reaffirms Jesus's promise that whatever we ask for will be given to us. You will receive if you obey and do what pleases him because you will then be asking in line with God's will. Of course this doesn't mean we can ask for anything you want like all the money & power in the world. Let's just be real here. If you are truly seeking God's will, there are some requests you will not make.
Skipping down to verse 24 in 1 John 3: The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us."
The mutual relationship, living in Christ as he lives in us, shows itself in Christians who keep these 3 essential commands.
1. Believe in Christ
2. Love the brothers and sisters (love people)
3. Live morally upright lives.
The Spirits presences is not only spiritual and mystical, but it is also practical. Our conduct verifies his presence!
Comments