Down an Unfamiliar Road

I’m sure you’ve heard the word cooperation frequently, whether in politics, sports, family, or church. We all have a reasonably good idea of what it means to cooperate, but the meaning is more profound than just working together in harmony. Psychologists tell us that Culture and Psychology Cooperation are “the ability of humans to work together toward common goals” and are required for survival. Therefore, groups with better member cooperation were more likely to survive.

Andreas Shikesho, Superintendent of Infrastructure Maintenance at Rio Tinto Rössing, supports the idea that all organized efforts lead back to the concept of cooperation. And everyone here on earth can learn to use the principle of cooperation to their advantage. There are two forms of cooperation.

First, it involves people who meet to form a Master Mind. The Law of the Master Mind refers to a group of individuals who unite to form alliances with the sole purpose of cooperating to attain a given end.

Second, cooperation between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind refers to the human being’s ability to use the Cosmic Habitforce[1] by contacting, communicating, and drawing upon the power of the universe.

Businesses use the first form of cooperation. Nearly all successful companies must have some form of operation to foster cooperation. And virtually every professional group has a group to enhance and promote cooperation and growth. For example, lawyers have their groups and bar associations; doctors have their medical associations; bankers and engineers with their councils, etc.

Even when it comes to workers’ unions etc., their preoccupation with cooperation, or collaborative effort, is that groups most efficiently apply cooperation psychology survive the longest. And who does not want to survive?

Cooperation is essential in power development and represents an organized effort or energy. And three most important factors involved in the organized attempt are Concentration, Collaboration, and Coordination, which promote Cooperation.

Personal power comes about by developing, organizing, and coordinating the different facilities of the mind. It refers to the Seventeen Laws of Success which must first be mastered and applied to gain personal power.

Developing personal power is the first step needed to access potential energy available through joined effort or cooperation. The allied effort is also appropriately termed “group power,” which comes through the Law of the Master Mind.

All men and women who have accumulated large fortunes can enlist the cooperative efforts of others who supply the talent and power they lack. But unfortunately, a lack of organized and cooperative action applications limits any business or profession.

It is necessary to form alliances and organizations that consist of individuals who supply “all of the necessary talents needed for the attainment of the object in mind.” For example, in practically all commercial endeavors, at least three classes of talent must cooperate to reach their goal: salespeople, buyers, and those familiar with finance.

How unfortunate is the person who imagines they can sail this sea of life in the frail canoe of independence through ignorance or because of egotism? Such a person will discover that there are vortexes more dangerous than any mere whirlpool of cold waters. All natural laws and all of Nature’s plans are based upon unified, cooperative effort, as all who have attained high places in the world, have discovered.

Success in life is impossible any other way than through peaceful, harmonious, cooperative effort, not single-handedly or independently. Therefore, cooperation is always involved in the attainment of success.

Suppose a person’s mind is set on cooperating with others and not competing against them. In that case, such a person will not only acquire the necessities and luxuries of life with less effort, but this person will enjoy an extra reward in happiness. On the other hand, a person whose mind stays focused on competition instead of cooperation will never feel the same way and will go unrewarded with abiding happiness.

All success is based upon power. Power grows from applied knowledge organized and expressed in terms of constructive service to society. Thus, a person’s object must be to earn a living. Plain cooperative effort produces power, but cooperative effort based upon complete harmony of purpose develops superpower.

The degree of power created through cooperation is measured by the nature of the motive the group proposes to attain. Find a reason why others can be rallied in a highly emotionalized, enthusiastic spirit of perfect cooperation, and you have found the ingredient for creating a Master Mind. The extent to which others can be enlisted to cooperate in harmony depends upon the driving motive that impels them to action.

Our ability to understand someone’s emotional experience then cooperation will occur when we see that person’s perspective and try to understand their point of view. When empathizing with a person in distress, the natural desire to help is often expressed as a desire to cooperate. Trust is the belief that another person’s actions will benefit one’s interests, enabling them to work together as a single unit. Regarding cooperation, trust is necessary; however, our willingness to trust others depends on their actions and reputation. One typical example of the difficulties in trusting others you might be familiar with is a group project for a class. Many students dislike group projects because they worry about social lounging, the way that one person expends less effort but still benefits from the group’s efforts.

Over time, individuals develop a reputation for helping or just plain laziness. The willingness or unwillingness to cooperate with others depends on their prior actions, reputation, and memory of the events. Individuals perceived as cooperative gained a reputational advantage, earning them more partners willing to cooperate and a larger overall monetary reward.

There are cultural differences in the belief about the goodness of people, which can be seen as a measure of trust. High trust refers to positive expectations about the behaviors of others (returning a lost wallet), and low trust refers to negative expectations about the behaviors of others (keeping a lost wallet). Trusted societies are more likely to cooperate without sanctions (punishment); however, there is a lot of variation in cooperation across cultures, and willingness to sanction group members is moderated by factors like social norms, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and individual reputation (whether someone has helped in the past).

Psychologists also tell us that the theme of cooperation has been a prominent domain of theory and research within various disciplines, including philosophy, political science, economics, sociology, biology, and psychology. The broad interest in cooperation is not surprising. This theme is intimately linked to the basic views and assumptions regarding human nature and is relevant to the functioning of cooperating groups, organizations, and even societies. Although it is often assumed that mankind is rationally self-interested, more recent theorizing and research reveal that human nature is far richer than the concept of selfishness can capture.

Cooperation is formally defined as the tendency to maximize outcomes for self and others (“doing well together”). It is often contrasted to competition, the tendency to maximize relative advantage over others (“doing better than others”), and to individualism, the inclination to maximize one’s outcomes with no or minimal regard for others’ consequences (“doing well for yourself”).

Cooperation and competition have been examined in several hypotheses. However, such issues have received the most direct attention in experimental games, such as the well-known Prisoner’s Dilemma Game. In this situation, people often face two choices – a suitable choice, which helps others at some cost, and a selfish choice, which harms others but serves self-interest. Cooperation has also been studied in the context of other experimental game situations as well as in real-life contexts. In all this research, the critical question is: How can we promote cooperative behavior that benefits outcomes for all individuals involved? Research indicates several personalities and situational variables that affect collective behavior.

To begin with, people differ in their tendency to cooperate or not. For example, prosocial people are more strongly inclined to make a cooperative choice than others (individualists and competitors), who may be more likely to make a selfish choice. This variable, called social value orientation, is also relevant to understanding cooperation in everyday life.

For example, the prosocial are more likely to engage in self-sacrifices in their close relationships, are more likely to help others, and are more likely to make donations to noble causes, such as helping the ill and the poor.

BUT WHAT DOES GOD’S WORD SAY ABOUT COOPERATION?

We read where Moses’ arms finally became too tired to hold up the rod any longer. So, Aaron and Hur cooperated in rolling a stone to where Moses was standing for him to sit on, then they stood on each side, holding up his hands until sunset. (Exodus 17:12)

The Psalmist exclaimed, how wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers cooperate in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

A First Covenant Preacher’s homily includes the story of a man without a son or brother, yet he worked hard to keep gaining more riches. So, to whom will he leave it all, and why is he not using it now? It is all so pointless and depressing. Two can accomplish more than twice as much as one, for the results can be much better. If one falls, the other pulls him up; but if a man falls when he is alone, he’s in trouble. Also, on a cold night, two under the same blanket provide warmth for each other, but how can one be warm alone? And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:8-12)

So, the prophet Nehemiah tells us the returning exile from Babylon built the wall. And all the wall was joined to half its height, for the people had a mind to cooperate. (Nehemiah 4:6)

The prophet Amos asks, “Can two people cooperate if they disagree on what they’re going to do?” (Amos 3:3)

The Apostle Paul has this to say about working together, “All things should be done with orderly cooperation.” (1 Corinthians 14:40) Paul also urged the Ephesians to cooperate for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)

Finally, Paul offers this advice, “Is there any such thing as Christians cheering each other up? Do you love me enough to want to help me? Does it mean anything to you that we are brothers in the Lord, sharing the same Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic at all? Then make me truly happy by loving and wholeheartedly cooperating with each other, with one heart, mind, and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.” (Philippians 2:1-3)

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[1] Cosmic Habitforce is the law that fixes habits. The conductor keeps the universe in time but constantly changing, ensuring that everything evolves, that night follows day, that oaks will come from acorns, and that life will grow and thrive in its natural environment.

We often find stories that teach us new lessons when we look back at history. After reading this story, I wanted to share a miracle involving a veteran. The young man named David Earley, who grew up in Mottville, Michigan, was the oldest son in a family of six children.

Earley must have been anxious to fight for the freedom of black slaves in the south.  In September 1862, when an infantry group came through nearby St. Joseph, Michigan, he lied about his age and enlisted as a private in Company D, 25^th Michigan Infantry.  He said he was nineteen but later admitted he was only fifteen.   His mother tracked him down in Louisville, Kentucky, a few months later and had him discharged on December 12, 1862. He was home for Christmas but still restless.  David later testified, “I was in Company D 25^th Michigan Infantry.  I served in Company D for about three months and was only fifteen years of age.  My mother got me out of the service on Disability.”  Just after his birthday in September 1863, he enlisted again, this time with Company H of the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters.   

His regiment first served in Chicago, then joined the Army of the Potomac in Annapolis, Maryland.  David fought with his regiment at Spotsylvania, Virginia, in May 1864.  That engagement left many dead and wounded.  Soon after, David and his unit were involved in the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, that began in June 1864.  During the bloody assault on the city, David was captured by the Confederate Army.  He was marched with the other prisoners of war to Andersonville Confederate prison in Southern Georgia.  

Andersonville was little more than a large-scale open-air chicken coop.  Tall timbers enclosed an area teeming with tattered soldiers.  Guards on turrets shot at anyone going within a 20-foot fenced buffer near the wall.  Like the other prisoners, David Earley only had what he carried with him from home to help him survive.  Almost 30,000 people were kept in this 26-acre compound when he arrived.  That amounts to just a few square feet per person.  It was cold in the winter and muggy hot in the summer.  They camped in make-shift tents in groupings by state.  Michigan soldiers camped on the northern rise.  Adding to the hazards, desperate roving thieves terrorized the prisoners in gangs.

The worst part of living there was the lack of food and water.  The Confederate guards were low on food; there wasn’t much to offer the prisoners.  And by the prison’s design, the only water coming into the compound flowed in from the upstream barracks and animal pens of the Confederate officers.  As a result, the area was filthy even before entering the camp.  The polluted water spread diarrhea; a poor diet caused scurvy – a disease marked by swollen and bleeding gums, itchy spots on the skin, exhaustion, etc., due to the lack of vitamin C.  Both diseases affected David Earley.  Disease and malnutrition killed over 12,000 soldiers interred there and reduced the others to skeletons.  David Earley recalled, “I contracted scurvy and diarrhea caused by poor and insufficient food, lack of shelter, and poisonous water taken from the swamp.” 

The stream that flowed into camp nearly ran dry in the hot summers of Georgia.  To get to the stream, prisoners had to wade knee-deep into the surrounding swamp.  A bridge was built leading to the center of the stream, with “latrine holes”[1] along one side.  So many prisoners needed fresh water that the soldiers took to praying for rain.  They often prayed for the rain to wash out the river and dilute the waste.  And finally, after much prayer, it rained.  

A miracle occurred after the largest group of Christian prisoners prayed for rain in August 1864.  The prison population now had topped 33,000, and 3000 were dying monthly from disease.  That’s roughly 100 deaths per day.  The believers vowed that they wouldn’t stop praying until the rain came.  They prayed most of the day.  Later in the day, clouds formed above the camp.  Lightning flashed and struck near the prisoner-of-war camp.  

The first miracle was that lightning hit no one, with so many people crowded together.  Instead, one strong bolt struck the earth on a hill just outside the outer wall, near where the stream entered the compound.  Freshwater erupted from the hole and flowed freely into the camp under the timbers, rushing downhill until it removed the wall and washed out the polluted stream.   It cleaned out the swamp thoroughly.  One prisoner remarked, “When the almighty cleans house, he puts housekeepers to shame.”  Men crowded around the freshwater pouring in, gulping in water, and praising heaven.  This spring remained active for the remainder of the war, providing the prisoners a small amount of fresh water each day.  They named it “Providence Spring.”  It may have been what kept David Earley alive. 

For us today, “rain” can be taken as a figure of speech for any desperately needed blessing from God to keep us spiritually and physically alive to serve in His army. Perhaps we can think of a name like “Providence Spring” to give that occasion. I don’t know about you, but my wife and I have many springs we can revisit to remind us of God’s divine intervention in our lives.

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[1] Latrine is the military term for toilets.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XV) 10/14/22

^5:2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children – your brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much you love and obey God.

William Loader (1944) says we can expect to love God’s children if we continue to love God and obey His commands. At one level, this is true because if we love God, we should keep His commands. But the Apostle John never remains at the level of obligation; there is more to Christian love than obligation and directives. From verse one, John argues about the natural connection between caring parents and their children. The same spontaneous linking should exist between loving God and loving His children. Where such loving does not happen, we are probably dealing with an understanding of God that is uninformed about love and denies God’s love for His creation. Such an attitude causes love and relationships to become personal ambition and authority. By doing so, these ill-informed Christians project careless conceit, which willingly dismisses people who do not fit into their narrative. Such is the approach of John’s opponents portrayed in this Epistle.^[1]

David Jackman (1945) believes that if we rightly understand faith in Jesus as a sign of the new birth, then the evidence of faith that John now enumerates is a confirmation of the unique relationship between the spiritually newborn child of God and their heavenly Father. There are three ways to demonstrate faith’s reality in a Christian’s life. Initially, love. As soon as we realize what happened to us through the new birth, our spiritual response is gratitude and love for God. He is now our heavenly Father; we are members of a new family. Then, we have a special affection for and interest in God’s children at the human level. Consequently, by loving all His children, we express gratefulness to our heavenly Father for all He has done for us. It not only applies to our love for the only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus but also to all of God’s adopted children, as verse two makes clear.^[2]

John W. (Jack) Carter (1947) points to the fact that there is no work, no actions, no set of rules, no dress code, activities, or efforts; the rules we live by and how we determine our behavior neither provide for nor enhance eternal salvation. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s counsel teaches us that these are not agents of salvation; they are the fruit of a promised salvation already obtained. However, being informed of the Holy Spirit, there is a third indicator of true salvation: the desire to be obedient to the LORD. When John refers to keeping His commandments, he is not stating this as a law, nor is he referring solely to the Ten Commandments given to Moses in the First Covenant. Christians do not seek to obey God because He demands it:  they desire to follow the LORD because of their love for Him. Furthermore, keeping His commandments is not adhering to a long list of written instructions. Instead, the constant submission to the guidance of the Holy Spirit informs our spirit and encourages us to make them consistent with God’s Word as revealed by the Spirit’s guidance.^[3]

As Robert W. Yarbrough (1948) interprets it, verse two begins with the fifth and final occurrence of “by this we know.” [4] Verse one spoke of divine parentage producing a faith that results in love, while verse two spoke of a love for fellow believers sparked by God’s agápē and compliance with His commandments. It means that God’s agápē is no idle thing. The phrase “this is how we know” looks forward to “when.” It introduces the two clauses that conclude the verse’s revelation – when we respond to His commands.^[5]

Colin G. Kruse (1950) observes that the Apostle John made the point in verse one that those who love God also love His children. He explains how people may know they love God’s children. We know we love God’s children: by loving God and carrying out His commands. By saying this, John appears to be reversing the approach he uses elsewhere in the letter. His usual method is to say that people’s claims to love God get tested by the presence or absence of love for fellow believers. But here, in verse two, he does the reverse. He states that people loving God’s children can be proven by the presence or absence of love for God and obedience to His commands. Again, John’s thought appears to go in a circle. Perhaps it is because the two things involved cannot exist apart from one another as far as he is concerned. One cannot love God and keep His commands without loving God’s children, and one cannot love God’s children without loving Him and obeying His commands.[6] ^[7]

Judith Lieu (1951) says that the logic of the preceding verses suggests that love shown to fellow believers helps confirm love for God. Instead, it states the opposite: love for God approves the idea that this is how “we know” we are showing love to those who are His children. It provides the context for “when” such love is exercised. The effect sets love for God at the center around which all else orbits. The description of fellow believers as “the children of God” rather than as brother/sister belongs to the set of ideas associated with God as a birther,[8] but it also recalls the uncompromising opposition expressed in the last use of that phrase – the incompatibility between God’s children and the devil’s viper brood.[9] Hence, it excludes as much as to includes, and to that extent, so does love. Such love is measured at this point not by what it does but by the unbreakable bond of unity it shapes. However, what determines this unity is the status of being God’s children, something not shared with humanity at large. It is only possessed by those who recognize that God is their heavenly Father.^[10]

Gary M. Burge (1952) points to the Apostle John’s principle that we should love all members of God’s family if we claim to love God. Other interpreters (including the NIV) prefer to point forward: “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.” Essentially, the question here is what fuels Christian love: Is it grounded in moral obligation or God’s love? Perhaps both should work together. The command in verse two is to love God’s children, which springs from a profound affection for God.^[11]

Bruce B. Barton (1954) states that just as believers’ love for their spiritual brothers and sisters is the sign and test of their love for God, their love for God (tested by obedience)[12] is the only basis of their love for fellow Christians. John was not contradicting what he wrote earlier.[13] Instead, he insisted that we cannot separate our love for God and other believers. Christians cannot love God without loving their spiritual brothers and sisters in the Anointed One. They can be sure they love God and other believers if they obey Him. John first urged the effect (love for others); now, he champions the cause (love for God). The Apostle Paul, writing to various churches, often thanked God for the evidence of the believers’ love for one another.^[14]

Bruce G. Schuchard (1958) states that in verse two, the Apostle John is responding to the unfaithfulness of the secessionists. In summary, John readdresses the question, “How can we know, how can we be certain, that ours and only ours is the knowledge of the one true God?” Then he answers: “Let me tell you in what way we can know.” The initial and emphatic “in this way” is anticipatory because of the “when” clause that follows. That is “when” we love the children of God by keeping His commands. Thus, John offers his final and perhaps most crucial answer to the question, “How are we to know?” “How can we be certain?” ^[15]

Duncan Hester (1967) suggests that “His commandments” refer to the one great commandment: love God’s children as the Lord loved them. It is why “doing” or “keeping” the commandments is always associated in the Apostle John’s writings with love, often love for God. Since he has taken the time to point out in chapter four, love for God and His children are interrelated. With the phrase, “This is how we know,” and similar language used elsewhere, John often speaks in absolute terms of our living in love with “eternal life.” Nevertheless, he recognizes that significant doubts may form within us as to whether we have reached that confidence in our love. So, by all means, John seeks to comfort and encourage. He looks at the equation of loving God and His children from the perspective of asking us to enquire whether we love God.^[16]

Karen H. Jobes (1968) notes that here in verse two, the prepositional phrase “in this way” points forward to the “when” clause. Thus, upon reading, loving God, and carrying out His commands is how we know that we love God’s children, which seems to be the reverse of what he previously argued.[17] But rather than a contradiction or reversal, it is another way of saying that we cannot define love for others until we obediently love God. In other words, “Love is not instinctively defined but revealed[18] so that the knowledge that we love is grounded in our love for God and keeping His commandments.” ^[19]

^5:3 Loving God means obeying His commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us,

EXPOSITION

Just in case someone may have questioned the Anointed One on where He got this idea of loving one another, He could easily say to them, “Have you not read where Moses told the Israelites that God’s message to them contained a promise: ‘I will remain unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love Me and keep My commandments?’” [20] Later, in this second giving of “To-rah” (the Law).[21] Moses calls on Israel to remember what God said, even when troubled times may come. He asked them, “So, now, Israel, what does God expect from you? It’s elementary: Live in His presence with holy reverence, follow the road He sets out for you, love Him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, and obey the commandments and regulations of God that I’m commanding you today – live as a good person does.” ^[22]

Some people think that reading their Bible, praying, attending church, participating in praise and worship, and joining some church ministries prove they love God. John says this is useless unless they do so out of unconditional love for God’s Word and Will. John is not making this up on his own. Not only does he have the words of his Lord to back him up, but he can point even further back. After God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, He told him, “I will be very kind to people who love Me and obey My commandments. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations.” ^[23]

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[1] Loader, William: Epworth Commentary, The First Epistle of John, op. cit., pp. 60-61

[2] Jackman, David: The Message of John’s Letters, op. cit., p. 138

[3] Carter, Dr. John W. (Jack). 1,2,3, John & Jude: (The Disciple’s Bible Commentary Book 48) pp. 117-118

[4] Cf. 1 John 2:3, 5; 3:24; 4:13

[5] Yarbrough, Robert W., 1-3 John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., p. 271

[6] Cf. 1 John 2:7-8; 3:22-24; 4:21

[7] Kruse, Colin G., The Letters of John (The Pillar New Testament Commentary, op. cit., loc. cit., Kindle Edition

[8] 1 John 2:29-3:2; 3:9-10

[9] Ibid. 3:10

[10] Lieu, Judith: The New Testament Library, I, II, & III John, op. cit., p. 201

[11] Burge, Gary M., The Letters of John (The NIV Application Commentary), p. 192

[12] 1 John 5:3

[13] Ibid. 4:20-21

[14] Burton, Bruce B., 1, 2, & 3 John (Life Application Bible Commentary), op. cit., pp. 106-107

[15] Schuchard, Bruce G., Concordia Commentary, 1-3 John, op. cit., p. 523

[16] Heaster, Duncan. New European Christadelphian Commentary: op. cit., The Letters of John, pp. 67-68

[17] 1 John 4:20

[18] Ibid. 3:16; 4:19

[19] Jobes, Karen H., 1, 2, and 3 John (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament Series Book 18), op. cit., p. 209

[20] Exodus 20:6; cf. Deuteronomy 5:10; 7:9

[21] I use the Hebrew word “Torah” without “the” because “To-rah” means in English “the Law.” So, there is no need to say “the” twice before “Law.”

[22] Deuteronomy 10:12-13

[23] Exodus 20:6, cf. Deuteronomy 5:10; 7:9-10

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XIV) 10/13/22

^5:2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children – your brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much you love and obey God.

If the Apostle John was right about so-called Christians, says Findlay, there is a grave mistake or misunderstanding in such instances. Some people are more spiritually minded than they realize and are aware of others with much less. John says, “We know that we love the children of God when we love God and do His commandments.” We must, to be sure, take the word “love” in its biblical sense as agápē. It has nothing to do with human affection that is nothing more than animal passion, nor with a father or mother’s compassion for their children, family, friends, and relatives. It often does not exist outside a narrow circle, including love for humanity. We agree there is much humane affection for the object of its adoration’s physical well-being, but without any thought for that person’s inner health of the human soul.” ^[1]

William Macdonald Sinclair (1850-1917) is confident that love and obedience to God will validate our love for others. These are signs of having knowledge and love for Him.[2] They are inseparable. If love for God is absent, then our love for others is not genuine – it is earthly and makes a mockery of agápē. If the love of other Christians is missing, then we have no love for God. Therefore, we must test all friendships with our loyalty and love for God. Then, we can examine our love for Him through our generosity.^[3]

Charles Gore (1853-1932) believes the Apostle John begins by saying that when we affirm that Jesus is the Anointed One, it is the mark of divine kinship. Thus, we have equal love for our spiritual brothers and sisters and our heavenly Father. On the one hand, you cannot love the Father (“Who birthed you”) unless you love the other children born again through His Son. But, on the other hand, you cannot love His children unless you love them to show your love for Him.

Love for God means nothing except diligently keeping His commandments which are not a burden too hard to carry. They seem heavy to worldly people addicted to worldly things like “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and self-pride.” However, as newborn children of God, we are strengthened to have victory over the world’s Satanic powers. And the instrument of this victory is our faith. Christian faith has triumphed because it believes in Jesus as God’s Son. The world seemed to be winning over Him, rejecting Him, and crucifying Him. Yet, He was triumphant through His death and resurrection as our Lord and God. And through faith in Him, John now tells us, His conquest is ours. And there is no other instrument of success except faith.^[4]

Alonzo R. Cocke (1858-1901) points out that we should love the parent if we love the children because of their inherited life. On the other hand, love for our Christian spiritual brothers and sisters is the best evidence of our love for God. Let us never forget this double exhibition of the truth in the first and second verses. We must never separate love from obedience:^[5]

According to Robert Law (1860-1919), love is finally tested by doing what’s right toward God or others. To begin with, in verse two, the Apostle John says that genuine Love must be holy. It is a verse of great significance which may be easily overlooked. Its statement of the necessary relationship between love for God and love for mankind is the exact opposite given in the preceding verses. There it has been shown that by a threefold necessity of opportunity,[6] obedience to express ordinance of the Divine Will,[7] and the instincts of spiritual kinship,[8]  love for God can only realize itself in love to others.

On the other hand, Law maintains that love for our fellow humans only exists when it is rooted in and governed by love for God. Reverence for God without compassion is unreal and might be immoral – giving a snake instead of a fish or a stone instead of bread[9] – at best, it is important to give the highest good. It is a great ethical principle that John here voices his opinion that we cannot bless our fellowman unless, in our personal lives, we follow the highest good – “Love God and do His commandments.” The person who gives a lot to charity but lives an immoral and godless life does more harm than good. The Anointed One’s love made a maximum contribution, not in His feeding the hungry or giving sight to the blind, but in this – “Making Himself completely ready to serve. He did this for us so we might be fully qualified for His service.” [10] The highest service anyone can render to humanity is to “love God and keep His commandments.” ^[11]

Alan England Brooke (1863-1939) notes that the Apostle John adds a test by which the sincerity of love may be determined. “By this” is used in this Epistle in pointing forward to “when.” The usual constructions “but if” or “that” are employed to connect sentences. But the effort is not confusing, probably because “by this” should be interpreted as usual. Whenever our love for God is evident and issues in active obedience to His will, we know by this that our love for His children is real. Thus, the duty of loving our spiritual brothers and sisters is part of the natural law of affection^.[12]

David Smith (1866-1932) sees love for God as the inner principle and love for fellow believers as its outward manifestation. Everyone who believes in the Incarnation of God’s Son is God’s child, and everyone who has faith in the Incarnation loves God’s children. These are the two commandments of God, the fundamental and all-embracing Christian duties to love God and each other. And faith in the Incarnation is an inspiration for both “believing” and “assurance.” [13] ^[14]

Ronald A. Ward (1920-1986) finds that the Apostle John is unwavering that the regenerate are “God’s children.” He views them here collectively, in the previous verse individually, with a slight emphasis on personal relationships rather than community ones. So as not to let our love for fellow believers become mere sentiment, we can impose a check on ourselves. We love them when we love and obey God. Notice that John interlocked our love for God with each other.[15] [16]

Ian Howard Marshall (1934-2015) points out that the Apostle John now concludes his Epistle. We would expect him to say, “Everybody born of God (the Father) must love all of God’s children.” But this is not what he says. His expression is more complicated. The KJV renders it, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” The NIV adopts one common interpretation of the text by placing a forward reference in this verse: “In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands.” It, however, is not what we would expect John to say. Typically, he argues that we love our spiritual brothers and sisters because we love God; love for fellow believers is evidence and proof that we love God and keep His commands.[17]

The NLT gives us a better sense of “Loving God means keeping His commandments.” Once we adopt this sense, it is apparent that “this is” did not refer forward. Instead, it referred to something already said and done. The content of loving God and keeping His commands must involve love for His children. So, Marshall says that what we expected John to say, he expresses himself differently. It is worth asking why John described himself like this. The most probable answer is that he wished to move on to the thought of keeping God’s commandments and therefore tried to include this idea, placing it at the end of the verse to form a link to his next statement.[18]

John Painter (1935) The final and most problematic use of the “by this we know” construction appears here in verse two. The problem is that it seems to make loving God and doing God’s commandments the test of loving God’s children. Such a reading runs contrary to John’s argument in this letter.[19] The phrase “by this” makes good sense as a reference to verse one. The problem is that the structure of verse two seems to imply a forward connection to the conditional “when.” So, we can say that the test of verse two arises from the conclusion in verse one. Or is the specific reference of “by this” to “when” here in verse two?

Nevertheless, verse two tells us what we know. “We love God’s children when we love God and keep His commandments.” However, John does not tell us what “by this” points out. But we know “by this” refers to “everyone loving the Birther loves the ones birthed by Him.” This way, “we know that we love the children of God when we love God and do His commandments.” Painter’s reading of the Greek shows what the text means. The early scribes found no problem with the rendition because they have not corrected this part of John’s Epistle. Revising is common where the text is unclear.^[20]

Muncia Walls (1937) finds the Apostle John’s approach very interesting when he emphasizes our love for God. But it seems backward as one cannot love God without loving His children, as John wrote earlier.[21] ^[22]

For Michael Eaton (1942-2017), the Apostle John’s next concern is that readers correctly understand the Love he urges.  At first, this verse might seem to turn everything around. After everything John has written so far, we expect him to say, “we know that we love God when we love His children and obey His commands.” It is true both ways. We show genuine love for God through our love of His children, but it is also true that love for His children is authentic only when it arises from love for God and the particular ways in which He demands we show love. Not every kind of generosity is the kind of love John is talking about here. Even less does the world’s immoral expression of sexuality worth being called “love.” While love is the test of knowing God, knowledge of God is also the test of love.^[23]

These comments sound very much like the old question: “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” I find this simple logic helpful. First, God showed us what divine love is by sending His Son to save us.[24] Second, by accepting Him as our Savior, God’s Spirit took that same divine love (agápē) and poured it into our hearts.[25] Third, we began loving with agápē all His children as He loved us in gratitude for this gift.[26] Fourth, in so doing, we showed God how much we love Him. Following this circle formula perfects God’s love in us.[27]

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[1] Findlay George G: Fellowship in the Life Eternal: An Exposition of the Epistles of St. John, op. cit., p. 369

[2] 1 John 2:3; 4:20-21

[3] Sinclair, W. M: New Testament Commentary for English Readers, Charles J. Ellicott, (Ed.), op. cit., Vol. III, p. 490

[4] Gore, Charles: The Epistles of St. John, op. cit., p. 191

[5] Cocke, Alonzo R: Studies in the Epistles of John; or, The Manifested Life, op. cit., p. 122

[6] 1 John 4:20

[7] Ibid. 4:21

[8] Ibid. 5:1

[9] Matthew 7:9-10

[10] John 17:19

[11] Law, Robert: The Tests of Life: A Study of the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., pp. 253-254

[12] Brooke, Alan E., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary of the Johannine Epistles, op. cit., pp. 129-130

[13] 1 John 5:4

[14] Smith, David: Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1 John, op. cit., p. 193

[15] Cf. 1 John 14-21

[16] Ward, Ronald A., The Epistles on John and Jude, op. cit., p. 53

[17] 1 John 3:14-19; 4:20

[18] Marshall, Ian Howard. The Epistles of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., pp. 227-228

[19] 1 John 3:16-18; 4:11-12, 20-21; 5:1

[20] Painter, John. Sacra Pagina: 1, 2, and 3 John: Volume 18, op. cit., loc. cit., Kindle Edition

[21] 1 John 4:20

[22] Walls, Muncia: Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., p. 82

[23] Eaton, Michael: Focus on the Bible, 1,2,3 John, op. cit., pp. 174-175

[24] John 3:16

[25] Romans 5:4

[26] John 15:12

[27] 1 John 4:17-19

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XIII) 10/12/22

^5:2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children – your brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much you love and obey God.

As the Apostle Paul declares: “How blessed is God! And what a blessing He is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus the Anointed One, and takes us to the high places of benefits in Him.”[1] Long before He laid down the earth’s foundations, we were on His mind;[2] the focus of His desire was to make us whole and holy by His love. Then He adopted us into His family through Jesus the Anointed One. (What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son.”^[3]

John James Lias (1834-1923) points out that verse two distinctly asserts the opposite of the Apostle John’s earlier proposition – we cannot love God unless we love our spiritual brothers and sisters.[4] And if we want to know if we love our Christian family members, we must first ask whether we love God. Thus, keeping God’s commandments tests our love for God. Furthermore, it is how we display our love to our neighbors. Yet, even in so prominent a duty as the display of love, we need directions.

Sometimes, says Lias, a person’s weak compliance with God’s command is often proven to be the opposite. If we want to know how to display love to our spiritual brother or sister, we must seek God’s source of our inspiration. He is love, and to do what He tells us must be to love our neighbor. If we want to know whether we plan our actions out of love, let us make God the object of all our aspirations and let His Word guide all our attempts, and we can’t go wrong. We can emphasize this truth when motivated by God’s love and following His commandments. This way, we may be sure that we are fulfilling the great duty of Christian love. We may compare the expression “do His commandments” with the still more remarkable term “do the truth.”[5] ^[6]

Lias also notes “The Paradoxes of Scripture.” He points out that we frequently confront possible contradictions in the Bible. For instance, King Solomon says, “Don’t answer the thoughtless arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.” Then he says, “Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their estimation.” So, which is it? Then the Apostle Paul tells us to “Share each other’s burdens.” Then says, “You must each accept your responsibilities.” And most are familiar with the apparent contradiction in words between the Apostles Paul and James on faith and works.[7] Now John seems to contradict what he said in the last chapter. There, the love of our neighbor is the test of our love for God.[8]

But here, in verse two, love for God and keeping His commandments is the test of our love for our neighbor. And yet, there is no fundamental contradiction in any of these. Truth is many-sided based on context. Therefore, the contradiction becomes a compliment when every fact stays within its proper limits. I have not found any of these instances as contradictions; they represent both sides – thesis (idea or theory) and antithesis (opposite idea or theory). It helps form a synthesis (a combination of ideas from both views and theories) to create a solid understanding. It was how the United States Constitution was written and adopted.

Lias then explains that the definition of Christian love is found in certain factors: Mankind is uninformed, not knowing how to direct their steps.[9] Nor can they demonstrate love for their neighbor for the following reasons: 1. They don’t know where to look for directions because it’s outlined in God’s Holy Word, which they ignore. 2. What do the Scriptures say? God is love, and we can only carry out the principle of brotherly love by acting in His Spirit. These directions are twofold; principle and, better still, precedent, like that of Jesus the Anointed One, whom they do not know.[10] Thus a person cannot love God unless they include their neighbor. Neither can they learn how to love their neighbor unless they love God and seek direction from Him.^[11]

Robert Cameron (1839-1904) asks, how can we know that we love God’s children? Only when we love God and observe His commandments. As we have seen, love for a spiritual brother or sister proves the reality of love for God. In verse two, we learn that love for God is the test of love for each other. Thus, we prove the existence of love for a spiritual brother or sister by love and obedience to our Heavenly Father’s commands. As such, compliance is possible because of the new life we possess. Now, if a person is born of God and it becomes an incentive to love, it follows that we should love all who are born again.

Consequently, we exercise our love toward fellow believers, not merely because we find them pleasant and agreeable companions but because they are our spiritual brothers and sisters. John previously stated that love for others is a sign and condition of love toward God. So here in verse two, our love for God manifested in keeping His commandments is a sign and measure of love to the children of God. It is “children” here, those in whom the divine life may have the least possible development but in whom the life indeed exists. So we may say we love the brethren we see, and therefore we love God whom we have not seen. Conversely, we may say we love God and keep His commandments; therefore, we love our spiritual brothers and sisters. The existence of one form of love is reasonable ground for assuming the presence of the other. And because of this inward experience of love and outward obedience to commandments, we come to know that we love God and love His children also.^[12]

Erich Haupt (1841-1910) does not believe the Apostle John intends to show that God’s love and loving each other must go hand in hand. On the contrary, the only basis is that our relationship with God must become the standard for loving our spiritual brothers and sisters. Verses one and two, therefore, are connected as “general” and “particular” expressions of loving God and each other. The thought presented by the second verse is, however, very striking. It would be clearer if it said in verse one that our affection for one another rests upon agápē as the causa essendi.[13] But what of the causa cognoscenti. [14] Has not John, at the end of verse one, explained simply that shared Christian love is the symbol of God’s agápē? But, first, let us observe that the approving mark of loving fellow believers is not God’s love itself unless connected to “keeping His commandments.”

Meanwhile, in the first part of verse three, we read about the relationship between love for God and obedience to His commandments. There we find the love for God is none other than that which approves itself in obedience. Thus, we see the exact relation between love and practical obedience in John’s Gospel: “The world must know that we love the Father. Therefore, we do exactly what the Father told us to do.”[15] ^[16]

In verse two, Alfred Plummer (1841-1926) finds a couple of syllogisms[17] condensed into irregular Sorites.[18] Believing the Incarnation involved God’s Son motivates loving our heavenly Father. So, to have faith that Jesus is the Messiah is to trust that a God-man fulfilled a Divine commission; that He who was born of a woman and died as a human is the Anointed One, the world’s Savior. Believing this means accepting the First and the Final Covenants and that Jesus is all He claimed to be. Thus, being equal with the Father, Jesus demands every believer must surrender themselves to Him.[19] However, it takes more than saying you believe. The Apostle James tells us that belief without love is what the demons have.[20]

To prove this, Plummer suggests that the Apostle John gave these tests: “Do you love God?” “Are you striving to obey Him?” “Is your love of others morally right”? For the characteristic phrase “keep His commandments,”[21] the accurate reading seems to “do His commandments,” – a phrase which occurs nowhere else. All ancient Bible Versions[22] and several early church Fathers support this rendering. In addition, Plummer wants us to take note of the Greek particle hotan, translated as “when” in verse two, or more literally, “whenever” or “as long as.”[23]  Thus, we have fresh evidence that our compassion is Godly whenever we love and obey.^[24] The Greek is in the present tense, meaning, once started, keep it going.

For Ernest von Dryander (1843-1922), the Apostle John invites us to notice how serious this demand of obedience to the Father is. It is the one and infallible sign of our fellowship with God. This indispensable condition is irreplaceable; no confession notwithstanding it being faithful; no “Lord, Lord,” though earnest; no church-going, despite being regular; no commission, and no matter how high. Nothing can take the place of obedience to the Father. Not to sin is, in other words, to obey God’s commandments. Suppose anyone at the highest level of thought revealed a new sphere of understanding of brother-to-brother, sister-to-sister, and brother-to-sister relationships in the Gospels, which opened our eyes to a holier, more profound conception of God. In that case, that man is the Apostle, John. But this same John is so intensely practical that when he wishes to show a way towards attaining a more excellent knowledge of God, he says, in simple words, “don’t sin.”

The fulfillment of this precept brings with it the knowledge of God, declares Dryander, which must be the ultimate aim of all Christians. God is not comprehended with primitive understanding, as though any simple-minded person could attain a profound knowledge of God. We can only comprehend God by the spiritual impulse we feel inside. One of the early Church scholars said, “He is only known in proportion as He is loved; He is only understood by him who becomes like Him.”[25] So that there is only one infallible sign of His fellowship: “whereby we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments.”^[26]

George G. Findlay (1849-1919) taught the same principle of God’s solidarity with mankind in Jesus the Anointed One. We cannot love one another without loving God, who is Love. Such is the Apostle John’s argument contained in verse two. If our love for others proves our love for God, then loving God proves the value of loving others. In other words, loving God is impossible without loving our fellow man. Still, loving those around us is possible but is imperfect and unsure without love for God. While human affection reveals the existence and employs the energy of Divine love, it takes agápē to guard the purity and sustain the faithfulness of human respect. Indeed, some love others without regard for God – friendly, generous, courteous people who are not religious.

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[1] Ephesians 1:3-6 – The Message cf. 1 Peter 1:3-4

[2] Reminds me of the song by Ronald Michael Payne, “When He Was on the Cross, I Was on His Mind,” which my favorite singer Maricris Bermont Garcia sang when I was in the Philippines.

[3] Spurgeon, Charles H., Salvation Altogether by Grace, Sermon No. 421, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, July 29:1866, p. 449

[4] 1 John 4:20

[5] Ibid. 1:6

[6] Lias, John James: The First Epistle of St. John with Exposition, op. cit., pp. 356-357

[7] Ephesians 2:8-9; James 2:20

[8] 1 John 4:20

[9] Proverbs 3:5-6

[10] Philippians 2:5

[11] Lias, John James, The First Epistle of St. John with Homiletical Treatment, op. cit., pp. 356-357

[12] Cameron, Robert: The First Epistle of John, or, God Revealed in Life, Light, and Love, op. cit., p. 208

[13] Causa essendi is the Latin term for “cause of being.”

[14] Causa cognoscenti is the Latin term for “reason to know.”

[15] John 14:31

[16] Haupt, Erich: The First Epistle of St. John: Clark’s Foreign Theological Library, Vol. LXIV, op. cit., pp. 288-289

[17] Syllogism is a rhetorical device that starts an argument with reference to something general, and from this, it draws a specific conclusion, much like deductive reasoning.

[18] Sorites is an argument having several premises but one conclusion.

[19] Matthew 10:38

[20] James 2:19

[21] Ibid. 2:3

[22] See Wycliff Version; also see Revelation 22:14

[23] Cf. Matthew 6:5 et al.

[24] Plummer, Alfred: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, The Epistles of St. John, op. cit., pp. 155-156

[25] Aquinas, Thomas: Summa Theologica, Vol. 3, op. cit., p. 361

[26] Dryander, Ernest von: A Commentary on the First Epistle of St. John in the form of Addresses, op. cit., III, Obedience, p. 33

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XII) 10/11/22

^5:2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children – your brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much you love and obey God.

Richard H. Tuck (1817-1868) finds verse two reminiscence of our Lord’s teaching His disciples; if you love Me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I’ll tell My Father, and He’ll provide you with another friend to always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and make myself plain to them. And because this is a loveless world, it is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, they will carefully keep my word, and my Father will love them – will move in and live with them. I’ve loved you the way my Father loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. You’ll remain intimately at home in My love if you keep My commands. That’s what I’ve done – kept my Father’s commands and made Myself at home in His love. If we love God, we will do whatever He tells us to. And He told us from the very first to love each other.[1] ^[2]

John Stock (1817-1884) says that love as a sensible passion is variable in its perception and, like the atmosphere, is liable to fluctuations. Yet as that atmosphere remains, no matter how hot or cold, so does love for God’s children. Thus, it would seem that the Apostle John hints at the transfer of our knowledge of love to fellow believers in obedience to God’s command; it affirms we are assured of our love for God. Obedience is an established principle in those born of God. However, it remains inconsistent and deficient, even when nearest to perfection. So our blessed Lord taught His servants to call themselves unprofitable servants, even after doing all He commanded.[3] Yet perfect obedience is sought for, and longed for by the faithful; and in heaven will be attained to, as they are to wake up after God’s likeness⁴, and when they see Him, will be like Him.[4] He is without darkness, whose holiness is unblemished, and whose righteousness is as everlasting as His law is truthful.[5] ^[6]

God’s children inhabit, here below, a mortal body, notes Stock. They go through weaknesses that make them less than perfect examples. We have imperfections such as dark spots on a white surface or a birthmark on a fair face; the eye will focus on it with a painful stare. In fact, if someone hears a word spoken out of line or sees a questionable act committed against any child of God, it will be talked about as a failure in trying to do good. Such little mistakes outweighed a person’s reputation for wisdom and honor.[7] The Apostles corrected the Churches, forbidding their speaking evil to one another, backbiting, devouring one another, and charging them to be careful not to consume one another.[8] There is no need to underscore that the Churches did not attain the expected perfection. Those free from rebuke are very choice and fragrant; thus, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica shine with light and loveliness.

Johannes H. A. Ebrard (1819-1893) finds that what verse two offers now is what the Apostle John said in verse one, but in reverse order. John connects Christian love with faith in the Anointed One showing where love has its roots. Therefore, the natural and direct consequence is that any love for fellow Christians that does not rest upon this faith is not true love; thus, John lays down this suggestion: “By this, we know that we love God’s children because we love God.”

Furthermore, Ebrard points out that in verse twenty, John offered the proposition that true faith and love for God only exist when tied to our love for others; therefore, love for fellow believers is a sign of faith and love for God. However, in verse two, John declares that communion with other believers cannot exist without the foundation of faith and love for God. Therefore, faith in and love for God are defined as obedience to God’s commandments and a sign of genuine Christian love. Previously, John listed confession of faith and love for others as proof of God’s abiding agápē.[9] So, John shows that these two elements provide evidence for each other.

Ebrard agrees with the Apostle John that where there is no Christian love, there can be no true faith and no true love for God, and where there is no obedience to His commandments, true faith and love do not exist. John makes it clear that faith is dead without love for one another. You hear nothing better than meaningless lying babble about faith. Consequently, Christian love without faith, or the faithful fulfillment of God’s commandment, is no better than hypocrisy – it is not spiritual but immoral in its innermost being. In fact, it is a type of love that seeks only surface spiritual satisfaction or honor.^[10]

William Kelly (1822-1888) finds another principle in verse two. “Here’s how we know that we love God’s children when we love God and keep His commandments.” According to human logic, a person can hardly conceive anything more illogical. They would call it arguing in a circle, which defines faulty reasoning. So, Kelly asks, what does logic have to do with truth, the grace of the Anointed One, or love for God and His children? What does human judgment have to do with life eternal? It is not a question of rational but faith. No wonder some people cannot rise above logic or learning or science because they are blind to the truth in God’s Word and find His love unintelligible or false according to the rules of interaction.

According to Kelly, the cause is that there is no spiritual food for people who only want to argue. A person only needs to find the bread of life. Jesus quoted Moses when He told Satan, “People do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”[11] The workings of the Holy Spirit guide Christians on the way to God’s Word, spiritual life, and divine love. They, therefore, bow to this anointed revelation. “We know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments.” So, what is the greatest commandment? Our Lord answered that question.[12] These divine truths are bound together in one. It is the perception of the heart purified by faith, not only down from God but up to Him again, blending obedience with love for God and His children. It is a most secure guard against deceiving or being deceived.^[13]

William B. Pope (1822-1903) comments on the Apostle John’s advice that we know that we love God’s children by loving Him. We cannot separate these two truths. Still, remembering that the commandment to love is now a top priority, we must unite if we love God and abide by His commandments firmly. We love all that are born again of Him because we love Him as our heavenly Father. Therefore, the consciousness of loving God guarantees that we have all that Christian love implies in us, especially as the energy of complete obedience empowers that love.^[14]

Daniel Steele (1824-1914) says that “Do His commandments” occurs nowhere else in this epistle. Love to God’s children is the Apostle John’s expression for our love for God is proven by obedience to His commandment. The two passions confirm and verify each other. Their testimony is false if anyone says they have one kind of love but not another. One may know their love for fellow believers is genuine when they are sure of their love for God. Every time we love and obey God, we have fresh evidence that our compassion is sincere.”^[15]

Brooke F. Westcott (1825-1901) wonders if we may ask if the sign of this spiritual love differs significantly from the emotion of natural affection. When it comes to loving God’s children, we see the answer in love for God: by obedience to God’s Word. Love for God and His children do, in fact, include each other. Therefore, it is equally correct to say, “They who love God love His children” and “They who love the children of God love God.” Either form may be the grounds to dismiss any argument. But in reality, the test of love for each other here introduces a new idea. A Christian’s will is essentially God’s will.[16] Therefore, any effort to fulfill God’s commandment to love is to do what our fellow believers desire: prove that love.^[17]

Henry A. Sawtelle (1832-1913) points out that according to the Apostle John, loving God and keeping His commands proves we love His children. The same is spoken of those birthed by God in the preceding verse. How can we know that we love those who share God’s nature? We may already love Christian friends based on various motives, such as church membership, social connections, or shared political views, or because they are good-natured. But we must love them because they are God’s children and reflect His nature. For this reason, we must love all Christians and not a select group.

Once we establish these choice factors, says Sawtelle, we must determine if our love for God’s children is valid. Then, when we truly love God, who is in spiritual union with His children, we may know that we exercise our love for spiritual reasons.[18] Here in verse sixteen, John reverses the proposition of love for God proven in love for our fellow believers; to love for fellow Christians establishes our love for God. Thus, we find the final reason for loving God’s people in God, on a principle that leads us to love them all on the basis that we follow His commandment to love.

The Gospel’s commands are obeyed because they are God’s commands, remarks Sawtelle. They include belief, confession, baptism, observing the Lord’s Supper, meeting together, giving, faithfulness, and the like. Those with the heart to do these things perform them as a principle of obedience. People may know they love their fellow believers; they don’t need to guess. The Apostle John here, as elsewhere, emphasizes this principle of compliance in the new life as not being a complimentary sentiment but has the strong vigor of duty and obedience. The Christian must be an obedient person. Otherwise, the connection between doing the commands and loving the believers may be as follows: They who love their spiritual brothers and sisters love God. Hence, if they love God, they regard His will or commands as necessary. So, obeying the commands becomes evidence of love for each other, proving John’s thought process.^[19]

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) comments that to present the truth that salvation is of grace, the Apostle John declares that it is of God and springs directly and entirely from Him. It is what the Holy Spirit teaches in other places, where He repeatedly affirms that the Alpha and Omega of our salvation must be found not in ourselves but in God.[20] Our Apostle says that God saved us and refers to all the persons of the Divine Unity. The Father has saved us.[21] It was He whose gracious mind first conceived the thought of redeeming His chosen from the ruin of Adam’s fall. He was the one in whose mind planned the way of salvation by substitution of innocent animals; from His generous heart, the thought first sprang to choose the Anointed One as the head of the Church under the Final Covenant.

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[1] John 14:15-23; 15:10; 2 John 1:6

[2] Tuck, Richard H., The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary, op. cit., p. 328

[3] Luke 17:10

[4] 1 John 3:2

[5] Psalm 119:142

[6] Stock, John: An Exposition of the First Epistle General of St. John, op. cit., pp. 402-403

[7] Ecclesiastes 10:1

[8] Cf. Galatians 5:15

[9] 1 John 4:2-3, 7

[10] Ebrard, Johannes H. A., Biblical Commentary on the Epistles of St. John, op. cit., pp. 311-312

[11] Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3

[12] Matthew 22:37; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5

[13] Kelly William: An Exposition of the Epistles of John the Apostle, op. cit., p. 351

[14] Pope, William B., The International Illustrated Commentary on the N. T., Vol IV, op. cit. p. 37

[15] Steele, Daniel: Half-Hours with St. John’s Epistles, op. cit., p. 129

[16] Cf. 1 John 3:22

[17] Westcott, Brooke F., The Epistles of St. John Greek Text with Notes, op. cit., p. 177

[18] 1 John 4:20

[19] Sawtelle, Henry A., Commentary on the Epistles of John, op. cit., pp. 54-55

[20] John 14:1; Acts of the Apostles 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5 and others

[21] 1 John 5:2

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson XI) 10/10/22

^5:2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children – your brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much you love and obey God.

Catholic theologian George Haydock (1778-1862) shares that we must all know why we love God’s children. Of course, all mankind, especially the faithful, whom He chose as His adoptive children. When we love God and keep His commandments, these two branches of kindness, love for God and our neighbor, are inseparable: the one is known and proved by the other.^[1]

William Lincoln (1788-1844) focuses on the first two verses in this fifth chapter; an important opinion is put in a two-fold form, as is frequently done in Scripture. It means if a person says they love God, God says, you will love My people then; or if an individual proclaims that they love God’s people, God says, You will love Me, who as a Father, loves His children. Therefore, you must love my other children as well. Thus, we see that the Apostle John comes at it from both sides. Do not, beloved friends, think that the double exhibition of the truth is not needed; it is sorely needed.

You see, in some minds, says Lincoln, there is a tendency to put too much weight on one approach. For instance, many worship God only on Sundays. On top of that, we all know our “Christian principles” [2] as outlined in the Gospels. Now we have people who are either too strict or too lax. Some put too much emphasis on loving their fellow believers; they forget about God; or make such a fuss over loving God that they ignore their spiritual brothers and sisters. Both sides are wrong. Who would feel comfortable fellowshipping with those who believe they are better than all the rest? Loving one’s spiritual brothers and sisters in the Lord is on the same level.

The Apostle John combined these two factors in the first two verses of this fifth chapter. You love the child if you love the parent. On the other side, you love the parent by loving their child. We must be on guard for any danger, either excessive liberality or having no preference for either view. We must be careful where anything concerning the truth, honor, person and the work of the Lord Jesus is involved. For Lincoln, he observed the devil’s influence in breaking up God’s people over the doctrine that sought to eliminate eternal punishment.

Albert Barnes (1798-1870) points out that it is universally true that if we love Him who birthed us, we also love our spiritual brothers and sisters because they are His children. In other places, the Apostle John says that we may know that we love God if we love those He birthed in His image.[3] However, there is another way of determining what we are. If we feel that we love God, we might conclude that we possess love for His children. We may be conscious of it, find pleasure in meditating on it, and feel sure that we are motivated to obey Him by being in union with Him as our heavenly Father.

But how does this prove that we genuinely love His children? Is it not easier to determine this by itself than it is to decide whether we love God? To this, it may be answered that we may love Christians because of many motives: we may love them as personal friends; we may love them because they belong to our church, sect, or party; we may love them because they are naturally amiable: but the apostle says here, that when we are conscious that an attachment does exist towards Christians, we may ascertain that it is genuine, or that it does not proceed from any improper motive, by the fact that we love God. Consequently, we will love them as His children, whatever other grounds of affection there may be towards them.[4]

Lincoln concludes we must all stand up for God and His Word. We must keep our eye on the Lord. Individuals will not listen to sound preaching because of some philosophical rule invented by those who love unfounded propositions. We should hear both sides, but they all must be in harmony with God’s Word. So, it is when John says that if we love Him who gave us new birth, we must love all those for whom He did the same. Here, we see the working of divine life on both sides.^[5]

Richard Rothe (1799-1867) finds that the Apostle John’s appeal to practicing brotherly love ends here.[6] It came to a close by pointing to the fact that love for each other is indispensable in proving the genuineness of one’s love for God. John now declares that genuine agápē has loving God as its premise, just as love for God is the basis for loving one another. John derives this position directly from the thought of the previous verse, from which it logically follows. If Christians love their neighbor as one born of God, this is impossible without their loving God simultaneously. Therefore, it is considered normal for a Christian to love their neighbor. As one is likewise born of God, the believer loves their neighbor like a spiritual brother or sister. To expose this connection, John does not write “fellow believers” but “God’s children.” ^[7]

Heinrich A. W. Meyer (1800-1882) says that verse two reverses what chapter four outlines. There, the thought is: “If we love our spiritual brothers and sisters, we may be sure that we love God.” But here, in verse fourteen, we have: “If we love God, we may know that we love our spiritual brothers and sisters.” The explanation of this change seems to be twofold: First, it is a case similar to that in the Christian life.[8] The proof moves in both directions. Secondly, John desires to bring out the inseparable connection between love for our spiritual brothers and sisters and devotion to God: If we love God, we love God’s family. That verifies that whenever we love God, which is real and genuine so that we keep His commandments, it comes with the awareness that we also love our spiritual brothers and sisters in God’s family.” ^[9]

Robert Jamieson (1802-1880), Andrew Fausset (1821-1910), and David Brown (1803-1897) look at the Apostle John’s inquiry on how we know that we love God’s children? It depends on our love for spiritual brothers and sisters, which is a sign of our love for God. Not only that, but our love for God is tested by “keeping His commandments,” which is the ground and only valid basis of our love for them. John does not mean the outward criteria of genuine brotherly love but the inward spiritual standards. The consciousness of our love for God manifests itself in the satisfactory keeping of His commandments. When we have this inwardly and outwardly confirmed love for God, we can be sure that we genuinely love God’s children. At one time, Christians believed that love for one’s spiritual brother or sister came after our love for God. But recently, they began accepting that love for one’s fellow believers came before[10] love for God.[11] [12]

Johann Eduard Huther (1807-1880) notes that the difficulty of interpreting when the Apostle John speaks of keeping the commandments as evidence of loving God^[13] now presents the opposite relationship. John makes the cause (love for God) the effect of loving our fellow believers. The explanation is that these two elements, “love for God” and “love for God’s children,” prove one another. John makes it clear that love for God shows itself in obeying His commandment to love one another. This obedience, rooted in love for God, is equally tied to brotherly love because God’s commandments include the duties we owe to each other. Therefore, those who regard it as mandatory to fulfill God’s commandments possess evidence that they love their Christian spiritual brothers and sisters. It means their love for them is not mere appearance but a reality. Let us further observe that the first use of agápē is not related to expressing what is imagined, wished, or possible. Neither is it futuristic in scope. Instead, it is used to describe actions that take place in the present or which occur regularly.^[14]

Daniel D. Whedon (1808-1885) points out that the Apostle John said earlier that our love for fellow Christians proves our love for God.[15] Here, he states that our love for God proves our love for each other. The first goes in the order of effect to cause; the second goes from cause to effect. Obediently following the commandments is the external form of expressing our love for God.^[16]

Henry Alford (1810-1871) sees how inseparable loving God and loving others seem. Earlier,[17] the Apostle John declared that our love for each other was a sign and necessary condition for loving God. Now here, we validate our love for God by keeping His commandments. That is a measure of our love for God’s children. Both are in the present tense, followed by the other. By this, we know that we love God’s children.^[18]

William Graham (1810-1883) asks, “How do we know that we love God’s children?” We find the answer here in verse two, which gives us two infallible proofs of this brotherly love: First, by loving God. And second, by loving His children. So closely are the children united to the Father, and so thoroughly is the Father’s image etched in their hearts that in the assurance of your love for Him, you are confident of your love for them. The Apostle John finds it impossible to love God and not love or despise His children; therefore, he makes loving God the ground or foundation for loving His family.

Graham has a message for those pretenders wrapped up in their heavenly enthusiastic, and delightful emotions of divine love who do not take the time to consider the needs and the weaknesses of their spiritual brothers and sisters. For Graham, such spiritual bliss is a delusion of the human mind spawned by the devil and will not withstand the fire of God’s righteous judgment. Keep in mind God’s love is not some tender, dreamy emotion. On the contrary, agápē is a strong and impulsive current that flows out of the believer’s heart into acts of faith and labor of love to all who are within its reach.^[19]

William E. Jelf (1811-1875) finds love for God and His children so closely connected that loving our spiritual brothers and sisters is not self-enhancing love done to please oneself. Instead, if we love God, we know that we love our fellow believers in union with the Anointed One for His sake. Jelf wants to prevent anyone from feeling that love for God is an experiment. So, the Apostle shows that there is another test to be applied before we can be sure of the reality and purity of our love for others in that it gives us a solid commitment to keep His commandments. Hence, the message is clear: those who love their spiritual brothers and sisters prove their love for God by practicing that love through obeying God’s command to love one another.^[20]

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[1] Haydock, George L., Catholic Bible Commentary, N. T., op. cit., p. 519

[2] These beliefs and practices of the Plymouth Brethren churches reflect their early influences. They accept no creed but the teaching of the New Testament and stress obedience to Jesus the Anointed One and a simple way of life. Like their Anabaptist forerunners, they reject infant baptism in favor of adult baptism.

[3] 1 John 3:14

[4] Barnes, Albert: New Testament Notes, op. cit., p. 4873

[5] Lincoln, William, Lectures on the Epistles of St. John, op. cit., Lecture VIII, p 141

[6] See 1 John 3:10

[7] Rothe, Richard: Exposition of the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., January 1895, p. 175

[8] See 1 John 4:16

[9] Meyer, Heinrich A. W., Critical Exegetical Handbook New Testament, op. cit., Vol.10, p. 811

[10] 1 John 4:20

[11] Ibid. 5:2

[12] Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, New Testament Volume, op, cit., pp. 728-729

[13] Cf. 1 John 2:3; 4:20-21

[14] Huther, Johann E., Critical and Exegetical Handbook on General Epistles, op. cit., pp. 601-602

[15] 1 John 4:12

[16] Whedon, Daniel D., Commentary of the New Testament, op. cit., p.

[17] 1 John 4:20

[18] Alford, Henry: The Greek Testament, Vol. IV, op. cit., p. 497

[19] Graham, William: The Spirit of Love, op. cit., pp. 308-309

[20] Jelf, William: Commentary on the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., p. 60

SKEPTICS may ask, why don’t people follow the advice of numerous proverbs and maxims of forethought available for centuries? Instead, they conclude that these apply only after some rightful venture has gone “horribly wrong.” When, for instance, a person gambles and loses all they have, including their house, didn’t they remember the old Scottish proverb, “willful waste leads to woeful want?” However, it wouldn’t have done much good because of the gambler’s greed. So, are the maxims on ethics, virtues, and morality useless just because people disregard them? No! For Christians and Jews, the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are great examples; what about other religious thinkers and philosophers?

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, rendered in English as Machiavel once said, “People are of three different capacities: one understands instinctively; another understands so far as it is explained, and a third understands neither instinctively nor by explanation. The first is excellent, the second commendable, and the third altogether useless.” #32

It reminds us of what the Bible says about these three capacities:

To the first group, “If you want to become wise, look for wisdom. Use everything you have to understand.” (Proverbs 4:7)

For the second group, “Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend solely on what you know. ⁶ With every step you take, think about what He wants, and He will help you go the right way.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

For the third group, “People who are evil and cheat others will become worse and worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.” (2 Timothy 3:13)

I found this inspiring story by an unknown author. They tell us about a young man named Bill. He has disheveled hair and wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This outfit was his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kind of a loner but very, very bright.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative Christian church. One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, T-shirt, and wild hair. The church service had already begun, so Bill started walking down the aisle, looking for a seat.

The church is packed, and he can’t find an open seat. By now, people looked a bit uncomfortable, but no one said anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he squats down right in the middle of the aisle on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, this had never happened in this church before!)

By now, the people are uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. At about this time, the minister saw one of his Elders slowly making his way toward Bill from the back of the church. This gentleman is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. He is a godly Christian, very elegant, dignified, and courtly. He walks with a cane, and as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone gets a nasty vision in their head and tells themselves that they can’t blame him for what he’s about to do.

How can you expect a man of his age and background to put up with some college kid sitting on the floor in the middle aisle, distracting everyone? It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy finally. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man’s cane.

All eyes are focused on him. You can almost hear everyone breathing in deeply. The minister can’t even preach the sermon until the Elder does what he must. They see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. Then, with great difficulty, he lowers himself, sits down next to Bill, and worships beside him so he won’t be alone.

Everyone suddenly chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control, he says, “What I’m about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget. So be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read.”

Most of us should pray daily for God to give us an equal opportunity to practice our beliefs.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FIVE (Lesson X) 10/07/22

^5:2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children – your brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much you love and obey God.

The Apostle John was so inspired as he dictated this event for his Gospel that he exclaimed, “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him remains no longer dead in their sins but is made spiritually alive in the Anointed One. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it. Therefore, there is no eternal doom awaiting those who trust Him to redeem them. However, those who don’t trust Him are already guilty and condemned to eternal separation from God for not believing in His only Son as their Savior.”[1]

The phrases in verse two, “everyone who believes” and “everyone who loves,” are connected. Therefore, divine life inevitably manifests itself in love for the family of God. Genuine love for God stimulates specific responses to His commandments. If a person loves God, they will love God’s children.[2] The believer loves the Lord and His family because the Lord provides regeneration for both.

Christians should love all of God’s family members. Everyone who believes in the Incarnation is a child of God. Therefore, every believer of the Incarnation loves God, and everyone who loves God loves the family of God. If God loves the believer, other believers should love that believer because they are part of God’s household. You cannot love one without the other. If you love the parent, you love the child as well. Loving other Christians is evidence that the new birth took place. Every child of God is entitled to our love because they are birthed into God’s family. They, like you, now represent the invisible God on earth as His representative.

We also know from nature that look-alikes are attracted to each other. There’s an old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Love starts in God’s family. If we tell a mother that we do not like her kids, we will have a problem with Mommy. Love for the mother and love for the kids are a package deal. Likewise, we cannot separate belief and love. One is the source of the other.

Consequently, if we wish to show our love for God, we should demonstrate it to a visible agent, another child of God in His family. Fellow Christians are worthy of our love because they possess distinguishing features of God’s family, qualities that non-Christians do not have. Love for God shows itself in active love for God’s children, not just emotional love. We love other Christians best when we respond to God’s command to love. Therefore, love for God and His children is obedience to His commands. It is not how we feel about God and other believers but how we choose to relate to them.

The Lord Jesus the Anointed One is the common meeting place for all Christians. There, one’s race, class, and color are distant from Him. It is an elementary test of our love for God. How committed are we to fully applying His principles to our lives? That is the quantity of our love. Fellowship with God carries power with it. The person who puts their trust in Jesus the Anointed One yields themselves to God’s principles and standards for living. They receive direction for life from their heavenly parent’s instructions. Operating out of the identity of the dignity of their spiritual family, they love members of God’s family more than they love themselves.

COMMENTARY AND HOMILETICS

Additional comments, interpretations, and insights of Reformation Theologians, Revivalist Teachers, Reformed Scholars, and Modern Commentators on this verse.

Matthew Poole (1624-1679) states that we don’t need to broadcast that we love God’s children. But, if we hear people talk about how much we love God’s children, we must clarify that it’s on God’s account. We want to conform to Him and obey His commandments. Our love for them supposes that we also love God and must be demonstrated by doing so.^[3]

English Presbyterian Minister William Bates (1625-1699) asks whom the Apostle John describes when he says, “the children of God?” This title is bestowed for several reasons. To begin with, by creation. After all, angels are called “the sons of God,”[4] and humanity is His “offspring.”[5] Furthermore, the reason for the title relates to the manner of their production by God’s immediate power. It also resembles godliness in its spiritual, immortal nature and intellectual operations. No wonder God designates believers as “His children” due to their calling because God places them into a family relationship by His grace. Finally, it offers a kinship with God and each other that arises from our regeneration by supernatural means.

What does our love for the children of God include, asks Bates? The fundamental principle of agápē.[6] Therefore the qualifications for this love are easy to understand. Such love must be sincere and cordial. Any counterfeit, formal affection enhanced with any garnish is so far from pleasing God that it infinitely aggravates Him. In addition, it must be pure because the attractive impulse is the image of God appearing in those who have such love. Not only that, but it is universal and extended to all the saints. Therefore, we can see why it must be enthusiastic in truth and its degree of importance.[7] ^[8]

William Burkitt (1650- 1703) observes that using agápē reveals how sincere we love God and His children and our obedience to His commands. The search for that assurance might begin by asking, “What kind of affection is required to love God’s children?” Burkitt answers by saying that it starts with what we esteem the highest, a love of desire, a love of delight, a love of duty, and a love of dedication. The next thing to establish is, “What kind of obedience towards God is that which springs from love?”Most would say it is uniform and universal. As such, love regards the whole Law in its permissions, prohibitions, and studies to please the Law-Giver. It makes it a pleasant exercise, not a pitiful task. But, at the same time, it is also explicit and exact, producing a careful watchfulness over our conduct, that nothing is done or allowed by us displeasing to God’s eye. Furthermore, it is constant and persevering. Therefore, any sinful activity caused by human passion will cease when the scales are balanced. But that which proceeds from an inward principle, or life, is continual. We rejoice that such a principle is the agápē God planted in the Christian’s heart so they can find out how much they love God’s children – spiritual brothers and sisters in the Lord – by how much they love and obey God.^[9]

James Macknight (1721-1800) looks at the words in verse two: “By this, we know that we love God’s children when we love God and keep His commandments” and tells us that Dutch theologian Hugo Grotius (1583-16:45), a towering figure in philosophy, political theory, law, and associated fields wanted to rewrite what he thought the Apostle John’s reasoning was at this point and to make it more transparent. So, the verse should be interpreted and translated in the following manner: “By this, we know that we love God when we love God’s children and keep His commandments.” Macknight feels that this is a forced rendering; it represents the Apostle as giving a mark by which we may know when we love God: whereas John intends to show how we may know when we correctly love God’s children.

Now, says Macknight, this was necessary to be pointed out since some may love God’s children because they are related and engage in the same pursuits or are mutually united by some common bond of friendship or membership. But love proceeding from these factors is not the kind of Christian love that John desires. By what mark, then, can we know that our devotion to the children of God is of the right quality? I’ll tell you, we love God, and following that excellent principle, keep His commandments, especially His commandment, to love His children because they bear His image. True Christian love proceeds from loving God, respecting His will, and leading us to obey all His commandments.^[10]

John Brown of Haddington (1722-1787) states that we must love God’s children because of their relation and likeness to God; that is where our love begins. Moreover, such a highly principled love for Him engages us to try our best to give complete obedience to His holy commandments.^[11]

Samuel Elyes Pierce (1746-1829) observes that in and throughout this Epistle, the Apostle John draws one general line of distinction. It is between simply professing the Lord Jesus by outwardly acknowledging Him and the inward reality of knowing Him to the profit of their souls and their salvation. But, as John realizes, some who only profess to know the Lord get distracted and turn away from the Anointed One’s Truth to the heresies and false and blasphemous doctrines of that time.

Therefore, says Pierce, John used the words we and us often. The Apostle knew he was a regenerated person – that he was born of God – and that all of God’s regenerated people had the same evidence concerning the reality of being born again like himself. John stood convinced that there was and had to be outward proof given to all newborns concerning what the Lord had done in and for them. John expounded on this in a variety of instances in the previous chapters. For example, in the third verse of the second chapter, John said of himself and others, “We can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments.” And here, in verse two, John says, “By this, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments.”

Pierce notes that for the Apostle John, loving God’s children is the fruit of loving God, which is abundantly shown when we keep His commandments. But, as John closes his epistle, the grand line of distinction is maintained between the real saint and the religious saint. These are those who forsook God to commit sins that brought spiritual death. By this, John undoubtedly meant blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, our Lord Jesus the Anointed One pronounced it an unpardonable sin.

Looking more closely at the text, we find several nuggets of truth. First, we see the best way to know that we love God’s children. Also, we are brought into and have attained this knowledge, which is to be declared. And secondly, our love for God is the only motive we need to love God’s children. It is on account of our relationship and likeness to Him. God’s image in the saints gives us reason to love them. Thirdly, to love the saints is to keep God’s commandments. Reading verses one and two as one may give us some light in viewing how they are connected: with the other. Here’s what they say: “If you believe that Jesus is the Anointed One, then you are God’s child because all who love the Father love His children also to find out how much you love God’s children by how much you love and obey God.” It leaves us with a question: “How were we attain this knowledge, and how is it to be declared?”^[12]

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[1] John 3:17

[2] 1 John 4:20-21

[3] Poole, Matthew, Commentary on the Holy Bible – Book of 1st, 2nd & 3rd John (Annotated), Kindle Edition

[4] Cf. Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7

[5] Ibid. 5:25

[6] 1 Peter 1:22

[7] John 15:12

[8] Bates, William: The Biblical Illustrator, Vol. 22, First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 387

[9] Burkitt, William: Expository Notes, Vol. II, op. cit., p. 734

[10] Macknight, James: Apostolic Epistles with Commentary, Vol. VI, pp. 102-103

[11] Brown, John of Haddington: Self-Interpreting Bible, op. cit., Vol. IV, New Testament, p. 506

[12] Pierce, Samuel E., An Exposition of the First Epistle General of John, Comprised in Ninety-Three Sermons, Vol. 2, Sermon LXXIV, 1 John 5:2