Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXXV) 05/03/22

^4:11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

John James Lias (1834-1923) mentions that the Apostle John uses the term “Beloved” for the sixth and last time. The meaning here is not “if God loved us so much,” we ought also to love one another, but “if God loved us in such a manner,” namely, in the way in which we have been already told that He loved us, [1] namely, in sending His Son into the world (1) that “we might live through Him,” and (2) that He might “be a sacrifice for our sins.” If God did this for us, if He in this way manifested His agápē towards us, we also ought to love one another. It is not that we are to show love to our brethren without waiting for them to show love because God set this example for us.[2] [3]

So, says Lias, we are constantly reminded how far the Gospel transcends our human reasoning or instincts. So, naturally, the feeling excited by this revelation of God’s agápē would be to make us return to Him; to sacrifice our time, our goods, our persons to Him; give up things to follow Him; to spend days and nights in delightful contemplation of what’s to come; to give of our means to build splendid Cathedrals to Him. But He doesn’t require this; all He asks is that we love one another.[4]

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) picks up on the Apostle John’s directive that we should love one another as God loved us. Spurgeon concludes that our love for one another is God’s agápē to us, flowing into us and then flowing, not dripping, out again. If you and I desire to love our fellow Christians and the fallen human race, we must be joined to the stream that conducts love from this eternal source, or else we will fail in trying to love. Make note, says Spurgeon, that since God’s agápē is the source of all true love in us, a sense of that love stimulates us. Whenever your human heart fills up and starts running over, the overflow of God’s agápē courses out to all God’s people, your love will respect the same person or persons as God’s agápē does, and for the same reasons. God loves people; so, will you; God loves them when there is nothing good found in them, will love them in the same way? Our love ought to follow God’s agápē in one point, namely, is always seeking to produce reconciliation. To this end, God sent His Son to us; should we not then feel sent to others?[5]

Alfred Plummer (1841-1926) notes that the Apostle John says, “surely we ought also.” In the RSV, it is expressed even better: “we also ought to,” which ties “also” and “we” together. In the spiritual family, it is a case of “noblesse oblige.”[6] As children of God, we must exhibit His nature, follow His example, and love those He loves. Nor is this the only way the Atonement forms part of the foundation of Christian Ethics. Only when we learn something of the infinite price paid to redeem us from sin can we rightly estimate the moral enormity of sin and the strength of the obligation which lies upon us to free ourselves from its pollution. And it was precisely those false teachers who denied the Atonement who taught that idolatry and every abominable sin were matters of no moral significance.[7]

Frederick B. Meyer (1847-1929) says that in the Apostle John’s Day, the intense confusion of some minds brought many delusions and heresies into the assemblies garnished with many temptations to young converts, and the Apostle wished to give tests for determining which voice spoke from God. The confession of Jesus the Anointed One as the Incarnate Word, guided by a spirit of love and gentleness, and the willingness to abide in the Apostles’ doctrine, were signs that the Anointed One commissioned the speaker. The question then is still the same: Do you want to be victorious over the world? If so, then let the Anointed One enter and take control of your life, [8] and the world will have no attractions for you. There is only one source of pure, divine love, and wherever that love is present, you know that the possessor has found its source in God’s selfless agápē. He loves the unloving to make them love, putting away their sin and perfecting their union with Himself.[9]

Alonzo R. Cocke (1858-1901) Such love from God the Apostle John talks about here in verse eleven, must give birth to love in return to those who are its objects; and love ignited by the sight of God’s redeeming agápē must manifest itself in love to each other. From the consciousness of God’s agápē to us must spring mutual kindness: “We ought also to love one another.” “If God so loved us,” we must love, for we are commanded: “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of the Anointed One. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”[10]

Cocke tells us that German Protestant theologian Julius Müller (1801-1878) says, speaking of God’s agápē in the Anointed One is the inner seed which unfolds in progressive development into love to the Christian brother: “As the root lives on, although the plant has grown up out of it, and as the fountain does not cease to stream, though it has formed the brook, so, too, the beginning of the Christian life continues in its further progress. So as a plant and brook, at once, cease to be if the root is dried and the fountain sealed, so Christian brotherly love ever continues to derive its life from God’s agápē.”[11]

David Smith (1866-1932) says that here Love, as in John 3:16, may denote either the extent or the etiquette of God’s agápē – “to such an extent,” “going such a length;”[12] “in such a manner.” As John says in his Gospel, “A person who claims to be continuing in union with Him ought to conduct their lives the way He did.”[13] Smith calls it “noblesse oblige.”[14] If we are God’s children we must have our heavenly Father’s Spirit.[15] That way, we reciprocate His agápē, not ours.[16]

Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) points out that God loved us when there was nothing lovable about us, God loved us when we were in a war against Him and “alienated by wicked works,” God loved us when our desires were contrary to His desires when we were trampling His Word beneath our feet, spurning His grace, breaking His commandments. So now we read, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

Remember, our Lord Jesus the Anointed One told His disciples that if you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that.[17] Why, even the most wretched creatures in the world love those out of whom they get some satisfaction, those who seem to give them some return for their affection. But the great principle laid down here is that after we have been born of God and are partakers of the divine nature, we will not wait for people to love us, to behave themselves in a way satisfactory to us. Still, they believe we will go on loving them just the same. That is divine love manifested through the new nature. That is a challenge even to Christians because we still have our old sinful nature. Though born of God, the Christian has a sinful nature that came from fallen Adam, and that nature is selfish and is looking for satisfaction in others and the things of this world. It is only through the power of the new nature, the divine nature, communicated by the second birth, that the Christians can rise to the standard now set before them.[18]

Charles H. Dodd (1884-1973) indicates that after what has just been said in verse ten, the command of love comes with greater intensity than ever. Already it has been enforced by the example of the Anointed One’s sacrifice.[19] That sacrifice has now been shown to express the “essence” of God as Love. It can now be seen that the new command is no arbitrary or optional addition to the original Gospel.[20] For the Gospel is the proclamation of God’s agápē – of God as Love – and consequently, to accept the Gospel is to place ourselves under the obligation of Love to our fellowman. Indeed, such Love is the only appointed and approved way of communion with God.[21]

For Greville P. Lewis (1891-1976), the Apostle John says something about God that humans could never have argued themselves into believing. The idea that the One, the supreme God, could, and does, love such people as ourselves is quite unthinkable; besides, it would suggest that God is incomplete and self-sufficient. The astonishing truth that “God is love” is revealed truth; it has been manifested in action in all God’s dealings with the human race, but supremely and finally in the person and life of His incarnate Son. We see Jesus loving depraved tax-collectors and abandoned harlots, as well as decent men like John and Peter; the brutal soldiers who scourged Him and nailed Him to the Cross, as well as the gentlewomen who ministered to Him in Bethany: we see Him dying that He may save, not only those who are devoted to Him, but those who engineered His crucifixion – and we cry, “This is God in action” – and only then can we accept the incredible truth that “God is love;” universal, unchanging love.[22] Lewis sees this same expression of love in the old Methodist hymn:

v.4 Yield to me now, for I am weak, but confident in self-despair! Speak to my heart, in blessing speak, be conquered by my instant prayer. Speak, or thou never hence shalt move, and tell me if thy name is Love.

v.5. ‘Tis Love! ‘Tis Love! Thou diedst for me, I hear Thy whisper in my heart; The morning breaks, the shadows flee: Pure universal Love thou art; To me, to all Thy mercies move; Thy nature and Thy name are Love.[23]

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[1] See 1 John 4:9-10

[2] Cf. 1 John 4:19

[3] Lias, John James: The First Epistle of St. John with Exposition, pp. 316-317

[4] Ibid. The First Epistle of St. John with Homiletical Treatment, pp. 315-316

[5] Spurgeon, Charles H., The Biblical Illustrator, op. cit., 1 John 4, p. 74

[6] The French term noblesse oblige translates to our “nobility obligates,” meaning that with great wealth comes the responsibility to give back to those who are less fortunate than oneself.

[7] Plummer, Alfred: Cambridge Commentary, op. cit., p. 149

[8] Revelation 3:20

[9] Meyer, Frederick B: Through the Bible Day by Day, op. cit., loc. cit., StudyLight

[10] Ephesians 5:1-2

[11] Cocke, Alonzo R., Studies in the Epistles of John, op. cit., loc. cit., Logos

[12] Cf. Romans 8:32

[13] 1 John 2:6 – Complete Jewish Bible

[14] The French term noblesse oblige translates to “nobility obligates,” meaning that with great wealth comes the responsibility to give back to those who are less fortunate than oneself.

[15] Cf. Matthew 5:44-48

[16] Smith, David, Expositor’s Greek Testament, op. cit., p. 191

[17] Matthew 5:46

[18] Ironside, Harry A., Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., p. 146

[19] John 3:16

[20] 1 John 2:7

[21] Dodd, Charles H., The Moffatt Commentary, Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p. 112

[22] Lewis, Greville P., The Epworth Commentary, The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p. 99

[23] Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown by Charles Wesley, 1742

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXXIV) 05/02/22

^4:11 That is how much God loved us, dear friends! So, we also must love each other.

Graham then shares the inspiring lyrics of a great hymn of his day:

Behold His patience, bearing long With those who from Him rove; Till mighty grace their heart subdues To teach them ‘God is love.’

The work begun is carried on By power from heaven above; And every step, from first to last, Declares that ‘God is love.’”[1]

John Stock (1817-1884) has this word of wisdom: The more we are unlike our natural selves, the more we walk in the newness of life, not serving sin.[2] In everything we do, we should seek in all things to please God, to resemble Him, do nothing that will not bring God the glory, and the more we are kind to everyone; the more intense will be the commitment within us that we are destined to live in that heavenly world where love exists free from all harassment, in full power, and where there is everything to expand its intensity, and perfect its contentment. Until then, we are to follow on to know and to be like the Lord, more and more; and pray in the Holy Spirit to keep ourselves in God’s agápē, loving everyone, avoiding unnecessary interference with other people’s affairs; and as far as in us lies seeking to live peaceably with society, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One unto eternal life.[3] [4]

William Kelly (1822-1888) points out that we have seen that to give the agápē into which we are called its true character, the Apostle John, in previous verses, recalls the manifestation of God’s agápē in the Anointed One. First, when we were spiritually dead, to give us life. Secondly, when we came spiritually alive and felt the burden of our sins as never before, we wanted to settle our debt with God and rid ourselves of all our sins. Such is the valid order of God’s acting on the soul. It enables us to see how important spiritual life is, for, without such life, there is nothing to help us hear or answer divine messages. Any thought of the possibility of the soul’s spiritual death and the notion that the Spirit of God could go on causing us to be spiritually alive without God’s life in us is ridiculous. The Spirit of God could not consistently act if there were no life in the soul.[5] In other words, John says, to love others as God loved us is the best way to prove that we still have the life of the Anointed One alive in us. Other than that, all the singing, praying, testifying, shouting, or rejoicing a person may demonstrate, without love for one another, is only done as dead people walking.[6]

Kelly then goes on to say that this is not all. If God loved us and demonstrated it as nothing else could, “we also ought to love one another.” Interestingly, John uses the Greek verb opheilō, translated as “ought” – KJV, and NIV means “to settle a debt.” In other words, we are indebted to others to love them as God loved us. It’s not an option, choice, or decision; it is a mandatory obligation. So, if the Anointed One settled our debt with God caused by our sin, how much more should we satisfy our love debt to others.

William B. Pope (1822-1903) points out that God manifested His agápē in us to create a new sphere for its existence. That’s why He sent us a permanent token of His agápē – His only-begotten Son into the world so that we might become spiritually alive and live through Him. So here, the Apostle John focuses his emphasis on “in us.” So, it’s not the case that we love God, but He loves us. Without Him or His Spirit living in us, we have no agápē. And this agápē that flows in us through Him must continue flowing back to Him, but by expressing that love to others. That’s what completes the circle; that’s how agápē is perfected in us.[7]

James Nisbet (1823-1874) sees the Apostle John sums up his argument, which is the conclusion of the whole matter: “Who are we supposed to love?” The answer is clear, “One another.”  But don’t we love God first? No, you can’t love God unless you love one another. John is not writing about family affections, personal friendships, parents and children, brothers and sisters, or a few intimacies. He is writing to the “Church.” All in the Great Family of God; “the Church.” We are copying verse eleven, which says, “If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” So, what else should we know? Here are some essential things to keep in mind:

First, God’s agápē is original – He loved us long before we loved Him. He ultimately took the initiative. We should do the same – not wait to be loved; but look around to someone whom we might love and be kind to, who does not love us, whom we ought to love; and at once do something, say a kind word, do a kind thing, to that person.

Second, God’s agápē is thoughtful – O, how wise! How thoughtful! Our love is often very unwise and unthoughtful. We take no pains about it. It is a mere passion. It has no distinct aim. There is no fundamental principle in it. And then it is not appropriate. It does not fit the person we love. There is minimal thinking involved, and no consideration; therefore, our love often does harm instead of doing good.

Thirdly, God’s agápē is faithful – God can give pain, but He doesn’t. So far as reproof is faithful, God’s agápē is faithful. Therefore, be authentic in your affections and not exaggerate or overstate your concerns. See faithfully. Speak of faults. Do it opportunely; very gently, hopefully, sympathizing, and tenderly.

Fourthly, God’s agápē is sacrificial – What sacrifice? How much time, money, or comfort are we making for anyone? Even if we do it in our own families or for a few friends, are we doing it outside? Are we doing it beyond the circle of our relations? Are we doing it as fellow Christians, as fellow citizens? Are we doing it for “one another?”

Fifthly, God’s agápē is careful – It is never a thing to be taken up and put down again on an impulse. It is never easy to initiate. It is constant. Furthermore, it never changes, except to deepen. “He loved His disciples during his earthly ministry and would love them to the very end. He never leaves; He never fails; He is never tired of a friend. Is your love that way too?”[8]

Daniel Steele (1824-1914) suggests that as God’s spiritual children, we must honor Him by representing His moral attributes and following His example in loving those He loves. The obligation which God’s agápē lays upon us is not that we should love Him in return, as we would naturally expect, but that we should be His agápē to “love one another.” It was when Jesus was “knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He was come from God, and was going to God” that He put on the attire of a servant and washed His disciples’ feet. His followers should learn that the spiritual nobility implied by adoption into the family of God imposes the corresponding obligation. The more mature the Christian, the more service to humanity is expected.[9]

German preacher and professor Theodor Christlieb (1833-1889) speaks about the Divine example of Love – “God loved us so.” How? The preceding verse shows us some of the glorious traits of this agápē.

First: Its greatness and depth. One may scoop out the ocean with a seashell sooner than exhaust the seas of God’s agápē with the small bucket of human conceptions.[10] [11] It is as boundless as God Himself. The greatness of agápē ought also to be the motive and the example for our love for our neighbor. It begins with our motive. How often are we stirred to love by beauty merely, by talent, or other excellencies, or even sometimes by pleasing weaknesses, but not first and foremost by the thought that God the Lord in the Anointed One pursued us in love! Of course, we are egoists by nature.[12] But, from the creation to the new creature, the soul of God’s whole activity is love.[13]

Second: The all-embracing extent of this agápē. Sometimes, we are very kind and pleasing towards those who love us, but towards others indifferent. Some attract us, countless others are repulsive. Therefore, if we desire to do what pleases God’s heart, let us also love those whom no one else is likely to love!

Third: The transparency and tranquility of God’s agápē. The more passionate our love, the harder it is to remain pure and calm. The love of the Anointed One was unclouded and tender in all its greatness. Either our love continues fresh and soothing, or it can become lukewarm.[14]

Fourth: It’s unselfish impartialness. We love those who please us, who loves us, or from whom we expect love. Therein appears the interests of our passion. But, on the contrary, God loves those who do not love Him, from whom, moreover, He can have no great hopes of love. And the Anointed One’s love is just as unselfish. In all His life of love, He never seeks His gain – not His honor, not His advantage, not His proper esteem, but only the glory of the Father and the world’s salvation.[15] How rare is the love in which one does not think themselves, but only of the welfare of another; which forgets one’s self, even expects nothing for itself because it has its reward in itself.

Fifth: The steadfastness and faithfulness of God’s agápē, is worthy of imitation. Selfish love has a worm that speedily gnaws away its life in its selfishness. The purer love is, the less it changes. Therefore, because God’s agápē is without any mixture of impure self-seeking, it is so steadfast.[16]

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[1] “Come, Ye that Know and Fear the Lord,” Lyrics in 1784 by George Burder (1752-1832), Music in 1832 by Lowell Mason (1792-1872)

[2] Romans 6:4, 6

[3] Jude 1:20-21

[4] Stock, John: Exposition of First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 352

[5] Kelly, William: An Exposition of the Epistles of John the Apostle, op. cit., Logos, loc. cit.

[6] See Ephesians 2:1-3

[7] Pope, William B., Popular Commentary, op. cit., p. 315

[8] Nisbet, James: Church Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., Vol. 12, pp. 301-302

[9] Steele, Daniel: Half-Hour, op. cit., pp. 108-109

[10] See the Hymn “The Love of God” by Frederick M. Lehman, 1917, which says, “Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade; To write the agápē of God above would drain the ocean dry.” [Later, the words, “Nor could the scroll, contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.”]

[11] Lines similar to verse 3 are found in the Qur’an (18:109 and 31:27) and in Akdamut, an 11th-century Jewish poem. Frederick Lehman tells us that the English rendition included in his song had reportedly “been found penciled on the wall of a patient’s room in an insane asylum after he had been carried to his grave.”

[12] Philippines 2:21

[13] See Luke 1:78; 9:49

[14] Cf. Revelation 3:15-16

[15] Matthew 4:3; 26:23

[16] Christlieb, Theodor: Biblical Illustrator, op. cit., Vol. 22, pp. 88-90

Whenever we hear the news about a pending flood or drought conditions, a hurricane or tornado warning, possible recession or inflation, we also hear a lot about being prepared for another danger or catastrophe. But it isn’t always the weather, stock market, or salmonella in food, it can also be about what we see others doing or their behavior that may bring them or us difficulties we must cope with.

In psychology, preparedness is a concept developed to explain why specific connections are adopted more readily than others. For example, the theory states that people who learned to fear threats faster had a greater survival rate. Psychologist Martin Seligman’s preparedness theory of phobias implies that fear-relevant stimuli cause us to pay attention to safety signals advising preparation. This means it should be challenging to establish a fear-relevant motivation as a safety signal in nonphobic subjects. Preparedness also points to one’s tendency to learn some connections more easily, quickly, and permanently than others.

Social Psychologist Danielle Every explains that psychological preparedness is a “state of awareness, anticipation, and readiness – an internal, primed capacity to anticipate and manage one’s psychological response in an emergency.” Psychological preparedness is not necessarily about removing feelings of anxiety or stress, as these may be adaptive, but in learning to anticipate, recognize and manage these effectively. 

But there is another aspect to preparedness. Although psychologists do not offer therapy at disaster sites, they can help people build upon their internal strengths to begin recovering from the disaster. Psychologists help those in disastrous circumstances develop their resilience skills to move from feeling hopeless to having a more long-term, realistic perspective. This process can include taking small steps toward concrete goals and connecting with others as they learn to cope with a disaster’s logistical and emotional challenges.

Dr. Juliet Roudini at the Charitē Universitätsmedizin, and Hamid Reza Khankeh of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences in Berlin, Germany, tells us that disaster mental health preparedness is an effective reduction method to protect individuals from detrimental psychological effects arising from unexpected natural disasters. And the results of an investigation by Evelin Witruk in Leipzig, University, Germany, show that people with a strong belief in a just world believe the hazards to be a result of human failure, and this belief is an essential factor when dealing with natural disasters.

Furthermore, Psychologists in Australia point out that we should think about how we usually react to highly stressful situations? Although these reactions are very natural, they can get in the way of other necessary preparations. If you understand your usual reactions, you can learn ways to manage them better when they happen. How you feel in highly stressful situations is strongly affected by how you cope with the physical signs of anxiety and the thoughts running through your head. In dangerous situations, our physical and emotional responses are called “fight or flight.” That is, you either fight for your life or run for your life.

But what about family and personal relationships with others? An online survey by the American Psychological Association conducted by Harris Interactive found that 73% of parents report family responsibilities as a significant source of stress. The survey also found that more than two-thirds of parents think their stress level has slight to no impact on their child’s stress level. However, only 14% of pre-teens and teens reported not being bothered when their parent is stressed.

Furthermore, the connection between high-stress levels and health is alarming, with 34% of obese parents experiencing high-stress levels (defined as an 8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale) compared to 23% of normal-weight parents. Therefore, it is crucial to consider the way a parent’s stress and corresponding unhealthy behaviors affect the family. For example, the APA survey found that parents who are obese are more likely than those who are average weight to have children who are obese. In addition, overweight children are more likely than normal-weight children to report that their parents are often worried and stressed.

Children model their parents’ behaviors, including those related to managing stress. Parents who deal with stress in unhealthy ways risk passing those behaviors on to their children. Alternatively, parents who cope with stress in healthy ways can promote better adjustment and happiness for themselves and promote the formation of critically important habits and skills in children. Parents know that changing a child’s behavior can be challenging, let alone their own. By taking small, manageable steps to a healthier lifestyle, families can work toward meeting their goals to be psychologically and physically fit. It certainly points to the need for preparedness on our part to successfully cope with these situations.

But as Christians, what does the Bible have to say about preparedness? King Solomon offered an example of what it means to be prepared. He told those who showed no concern over pending hardships that they should watch what the ants do and learn from them. Ants have no ruler, no boss, and no leader. But in the summer, ants gather all of their food and save it. So, when winter comes, there is plenty to eat.[1] Then Solomon goes on to point out that a wise person foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the uninformed goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

Also, the Apostle Paul, speaking from experience, told believers in Corinth to be prepared. Hold firmly to your faith. Have courage and be strong.[2] And the Apostle Peter urged his readers always to be prepared to answer everyone who asks them to explain their hope.[3]

But for Christians, there is an even more important need for preparedness when it comes to what our Lord Jesus said. Again, the author of the Book of Hebrews gives an illustration. He wrote that God warned Noah about things he could not yet see. But he had faith and respect for God, so he built a large boat to save his family. With his dedication, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith.[4] The only reason Noah and his family survived the great flood is that he was prepared.

The same is true of another unannounced event on the horizon. Jesus said that the whole world, earth, and sky, would be destroyed, but His words will last forever. No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when it will be. Only the Father knows. When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as what happened during Noah’s time. In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married right up to the day Noah entered the boat. ³⁹ They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them all. So be prepared, said Jesus, for you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Just as an individual can prevent trouble from thieves by keeping watch for them, you can avoid trouble by always being prepared for My unannounced arrival. So, stay awake and be prepared, for you do not know the date or moment it will happen.[5]

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[1] Proverbs 6:6-8

[2] 1 Corinthians 16:13

[3] 1 Peter 3:15

[4] Hebrews 11:7

[5] Matthew 24:35-39; 25:13

BE WISE WHEN SPENDING YOUR TIME

When you were born, God stamped an expiration date on your life’s calendar. Every year, month, week, day, hour, and second were included.[1] Therefore, every second wasted cannot be recovered, not one blink of the eye, nor can you save some for later use; that time is lost forever. But there is a vast difference between the mind’s conviction and the proper disposition of the heart, resulting in diligent, dutiful practice of proper time management.

One meets with many souls who are most perfect and saintly in what they believe, but “by their fruit you will recognize them,’’ the Savior of the world has said. It is an essential rule if it is fairly dealt with, and by this, we must judge ourselves.

Time bears a very different aspect at different seasons of one’s life, but one maxim applies equally to all seasons: No time should go by uselessly. Every second forms a link in God’s chain of foresight. Every season carries with it various responsibilities of God’s appointing. We must give account to Him of how we used them from the first to the last moment of life. God never meant for us to look at any minute as having no purpose.

The important thing is to know how He would have us use it. And this is to be learned, not by restless, fidgety eagerness, which is more likely to confuse than enlighten us, but by a pure, upright heart, simply seeking God and being diligent in resisting the deceits and tricks of self-love as quickly as we recognize them. Keep in mind; we waste time doing nothing or something inappropriate, and doing things that arc in themselves are not part of God’s plan for our life. We are strangely ingenious in perpetual self-seeking, which worldly people do openly, those who want to serve God sometimes do with more refinement, under some pretext that hides the faultiness of their conduct.

One general rule for the correct use of time is to accustom yourself to live in continual dependence upon God’s Holy Spirit, receiving whatever He wills to give from one moment to another, referring all doubts to Him. Then, where an immediate course of action has to be taken, seek strength in Him, lift your heart to Him whenever you become aware that outward things are leading you astray or tending toward forgetting all about God.

Blessed is the soul that by sincere self-renunciation always abides in its Creator’s hands, ready to do whatever He wills, not weary of saying a hundred times daily, Lord, what will you have me do? Teach me to do Your will, for you are my God. Send forth your light, Lord, to guide me; teach me to use the present time for Your service, forgive the misuse of what is past, and may I never blindly count on an unpredictable future.

As to business and outward duties, we need only to give straightforward, diligent heed in keeping with God’s wisdom. As all such obligations result from His plans, we have only to accept them dutifully, subordinating our dispositions, fancies, inclinations, self-will, perfectionism, and restless anxieties –our natural impulses to do what we like. Take care not to let yourself be overwhelmed by outer things or be utterly immersed in external interests, however necessary. Every undertaking should begin with a definite view of God’s glory, continued quietly, and end without excitement or impatience.

Time spent in society and amusement is generally the most dangerous time for oneself, though it may benefit others. Therefore, be on guard, that is to say, be more faithful in remembering the presence of God at such times. You need then to cultivate the watchfulness so often urged by our Lord – to use aspirations and to lift your heart to Him as the only source of strength and safety: otherwise, you can scarcely hope to be kept from the subtle venom so often lurking amid society and its pleasures.

Spare time is often the most pleasant and beneficial for oneself. It can hardly be put to better use than renewing your strength (bodily, mentally, and spiritually) through personal communion with God. Prayer is so necessary and is the source of so much blessing that when once the soul realizes its gifts, it will hardly fail to seek as often as it is free to do so.[2]

Archbishop François Fénelon

 (1651-1725)

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[1] Hebrews 9:27; cf. Job 14:5; Psalm 39:4

[2] Fénelon, François: Paraclete Giants, The Complete Fénelon, Translated and Edited by Robert J. Edmonson, Paraclete Press, Brewster, Massachusetts, 2008, pp. 54-55; Vocabulary and grammar redacted by Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXXIII) 04/29/22

COMMENTARY

Bede the Venerable (672-735) sees a correlation between God’s agápē for us and our love for each other. He writes that this is what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as the Anointed One loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”[1] [2]  And Œcumenius notes that as imitators of God: “The love we show to one another ought to be like God’s love to us. It should be sincere and pure; without ulterior motives or other hidden thoughts of the kind we normally associate with robbers and other evildoers.”[3]

John Trapp (1601-1669) warns his fellow believers. If God loved us so much, His one example answers all our objections. It removes all our excuses, such as our fellow believers are inferior and mean spirited, and we deserve better.[4]

John Owen (1616-1683) encountered doubters who objected to what the Apostle John says in verse sixteen about trusting God to love them. Owen responds by saying that this is one of the most unbelievable thoughts anyone can take a stand on. But it is the easiest way to try and rob God of His glory by refusing to accept the truth that we love God because He loved us.[5] The Holy Spirit inspired John to say, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” There is no reason to invert the order and say, this is love: not that God loved us, but that we loved Him first.

Why try and take God’s glory from Him? He loves us without reason as to what we have to offer Him.[6] But we have every reason to worship Him. Or would you rather say that God loved you just because of who you are? This is human nature’s way of trying to find out, but it will not bring glory to God nor peace to your soul. So put this kind of thinking out of your mind, then take God at His word by believing the Gospel message, and that will open your soul free it to join the Lord in the communion of love.[7]

Isaac Barrow: 1630-1677) comments on what the Apostle John says here in verse eleven, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Since He so lovingly gave up His only Son for us, shouldn’t we express kindness toward our fellow believers in imitation of Him concerning gratitude? How many good things can we do for them; what part of our lives should be so dear to us to share what we can for their good?[8] Those are questions we must ask ourselves since our Master told us, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

William Burkitt (1650-1703) makes a good point that the Apostle John’s argument here is to provoke us to do something we should already be doing. God is to be loved by us for His wondrous love: But as God is unseen, we must love Him through others. It is because He made His creatures after His image and likeness: And if we love the divine image of God in each other, it is evidence that God dwells in us, and we in Him; namely, by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, which is a Spirit of love in us, draws forth our love towards Him and others.[9]

Thomas Pyle (1674-1756) suggests that such an unparalleled instance of divine compassion to sinful creatures ought to make us express the tenderest regard to the welfare of all those whom God was pleased to put such high a value on. Not only that, but demonstrate our appreciation by showing mercy, even to those who least deserve it.[10]

John Wesley (1703-1791) picks up on the Apostle John’s words where he says that God gave us this command: If we love God, we must also love each other as brothers and sisters[11] and that our love must be real. We must show our love by the things we do.[12] With these things being true, says Wesley, then we must heed what John then says, that is how much God loved us, dear friends! We also must love each other in the same manner.[13] As King David said, to every human soul, “The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all His creation.”[14]

We must agree, says Wesley, that the affection of those who receive God’s agápē must include humanity for His sake, not excluding the ones they’ve seen or those they knew nothing about except that they were “the offspring of God.”[15] (Never say you don’t have God’s agápē in your heart because the Holy Spirit put it there, [16] you just choose not to use it.) So, John included those whose souls for whom God’s Son died, not omitting the “evil” and “unthankful,” and least of all their enemies who hated, persecuted, or despitefully used them for their Master’s sake. These had a peculiar place, both in their heart and prayers. They loved them, “even as the Anointed One loved us.”[17] [18]

John Brown of Haddington (1722-1787) asks since God so loved us with such high and astonishing standards, we whom He so loved and redeemed by His Son’s precious blood most certainly ought, under the influence of this agápē, and in imitation of it, to maintain the most enthusiastic affection toward our fellow Christians for His sake and in obedience to His will.[19] Again, Dr. Brown asks us to compare our love for Him with His agápē for us. Most certainly, all of us would fall way short of any expectation of equaling His example.

William Jones of Nayland (1726-1805) believes Christians are obligated to copy the Divine example in loving one another, grounded upon our relation to Him as His children. Because we are “born again of God,”[20] we should seek to resemble Him. The Apostle Paul’s argument is similar: You are God’s children, so be like Him.[21] If we are “partakers of the Divine nature,” we should imitate the Divine example. First, relative to mankind in general.[22] He loved us with the love of compassion before He could love us with the love of contentment. Let us imitate Him regarding our relationship with those who are yet in their sins. Second, relative to the Christian brotherhood in particular.[23] Let us demonstrate our relation to the Father, who is infinite Love, by our sincere love for our Christian brothers and sisters. Let the supreme manifestation regarding His agápē for us produce its appropriate effect in us.[24]

Charles Hodge (1797-1878) says that the Scriptures do not mock us when they say that God is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic, especially to those who reverence Him.[25] Our heavenly Father meant what He said when He proclaimed that Yahweh, the Lord, is a kind and merciful God. He is slow in getting angry, full of great love, and can be fully trusted.[26] That’s why the Apostle John can say that we should love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God’s child. And so, everyone who loves knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. It is how God showed His agápē to us by sending His only Son into the world to give us eternal life through Him. True love is God’s agápē for us, not our love for God. He sent His Son as a way to take away our sins. That is how much God loved us, dear friends! We must do the same.[27] The word love has the same sense throughout this passage. God is love, and love in Him is what love is in us, in all that is essential to its nature. That’s why we do rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.^[28]

Pastor Samuel Martin, (1802-1877) pastor of the General Baptist Conigre Chapel, Trowbridge County, England, famous for its woven cloth, 120 miles west of London, says that God’s agápē is the pattern for our love. And here are the reasons why: 1. Because ignorance of what God means by love must now be willful. 2. Because doubt and uncertainty about the objects of love are forever excluded. 3. Because the power of love to conquer obstacles and impediments is most gloriously shown in God’s case. 4. The restoration of love between humans is one of God’s objects in that redemption, proving His agápē for us. 5. Because we are required to be followers of God as dear children. 6. Because love on our part must be pleasing to God. 7. Because “as a result of this, we express our love towards God.”[29]

William Graham (1810-1883) says that the subject of Love contained in the seventh to eleventh verses in various forms is like surveying a magnificent building from multiple sides and angles, that you might gain the combined idea of the whole in all its varieties of architectural elegance: so, the Apostle John contemplates the theme of Love from all angles and finds it ever new and beautiful; for, in all its manifoldness, it comes from God and returns to God. It’s all about “brotherly love.” We are loved, says John; therefore, we should treasure the arms of the Father around us, and, consequently, we ought to love one another. The experience of His agápē to us awakens the consciousness of our duty to love one another. This we find practically true in our experience among people, for where we find those who love God, we are sure to find love to the brethren in a similar proportion. His agápē is first, and then, loving Him in return, we are also conscious of the obligation to love the brethren. May we seek to remove every impediment to exercising this noble affection. May we recognize all those of our brethren and fellow pilgrims of every name and country who love the Lord in our daily walk. Jesus the Anointed One in sincerity and truth![30]

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[1] Ephesians 5:1-2

[2] Bede the Venerable, Ancient Christian Commentary, Vol. XI, Bray, G. (Ed.), James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John

[3] Œcumenius, Ancient Christian Commentary, Vol. XI, Bray, G. (Ed.), James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John

[4] Trapp, John: Commentary upon all books of New Testament (1647), op. cit., p. 477

[5] 1 John 4:10-11

[6] Romans 5:8

[7] Owen, John: On Communion with God, op. cit., Ch. 4, p. 49

[8] Barrows, Isaac: An Exposition on the Creed, op. cit., p 181

[9] Burkitt, William: Notes on N.T., op. cit., p. 731

[10] Pyle, Thomas: Paraphrase, op. cit., p.

[11] 1 John 4:21

[12] Ibid. 3:18

[13] Ibid. 4:11

[14] Psalm 145:9 – New Living Translation

[15] Acts of the Apostles 17:29

[16] Romans 5:5

[17] Ephesians 5:2

[18] Wesley, John, the Works of: Vol. 5, Sermon 4, pp. 25, 99

[19] Brown, John of Haddington: Self-Interpreting Bible, op. cit., p. 1328

[20] See 1 John 4:7

[21] Ephesians 5:1-2

[22] Matthew 4:44-45

[23] Cf. 1 John 3:10-18

[24] Jones, William: First Epistle of John, Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, op. cit., Homiletics, p. 121

[25] Psalm 103:13

[26] Exodus 34:6

[27] 1 John 4:7-11

[28] Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 404

[29] Martin, Samuel: The Biblical Illustrator, op. cit., 1 John 4, p. 88

[30] Graham, William: A Practical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of John, op. cit., pp. 254, 270

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXXII) 04/28/22

^4:10 This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Colin G. Kruse (1950) believes that the Apostle John wanted to make something clear to his community in negative terms, that love is not to be understood in terms of our love for God: “This is love: not that we loved God.” Then, having made that clear, John states that love is to be understood as God’s love for us: “This is love … that He loved us by sending His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” The combined effect of verses nine and ten is that the expression “God is love” is to be understood not as a supernatural statement about God’s essential being, but in terms of the love of God expressed historically in the sending of His only Son into the world as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.[1]

Judith M. Lieu (1951) says it is evident that the world is the setting into which the Son is sent, but the purpose of His mission is that “we” might live. The word “world” (Greek kosmos) describes the planet earth in general in contrast to its negative connotations elsewhere.[2] However, when set alongside 1 John 3:8, it would allow us to envision the assignment of God’s Son into hostile territory to rescue those who count themselves among “us.” Since the sphere of the world is that of hatred and death, that rescue leads to true living; the verb “to live” appears only here in the Epistle, but even, as here, without the adjective “eternal.” This noun has been used for the life that belongs to God’s realm.[3] The means of that gift of life is expressed in verse seven, the most general of terms, “through Him” (His Son).[4] John is not disregarding the atonement purchased by the Anointed One on the cross. Instead, he lines up his thoughts to amplify in verse eight how and why God manifested His agápē in such a manner.

Ben Witherington III (1951) stresses that first, the Apostarele John emphasizes that Jesus was sent so that we might have life through Him. Second, God sent His Son as a sacrifice of atonement to appease divine anger about sin. If God is love, then it is hardly a surprise that God is supremely and righteously indignant about our sinning because it destroys our love relationships with God and each other. We have statements here are similar to what we find in John’s Gospel.[5] Love and life are the opposites of hate and death, yet the substitutionary and atoning death of Jesus is the prime example of God’s love for us.[6]

Gary M. Burger (1952) says that Christians who claim to be loving should exhibit much more. They also give evidence that they have been born from God and know Him.[7] The first verb is a perfect tense, suggesting that divine rebirth is in the past, yet bearing fruit is in the present. A person once converted now demonstrates the fruit of that conversion. The second verb is in the present tense, implying that love is connected to an ongoing awareness of who God is. Why did John select these particular words? Spiritual rebirth and divine knowledge were undoubtedly promoted among those who forsook the community.[8] John, therefore, gives a test of true spiritual maturity that defeats in a stroke his opponents’ spiritual claim; he bases his comments on their unspiritual conduct in that they have been unloving.[9]

Bruce G. Schuchard (1958) states that earlier in this passage, the Apostle John contrasted “everyone who loves… knows God” and “the one who does not love has not known God.” Here, John likewise concludes with the division of “not because we have loved God” and “but because He loved us first.” Sinful human nature has taught us that unbelievers are so smothered in sin’s embrace they cannot think or feel anything good about God. Consequently, they do not love God but hate Him because He ruined their lives. Therefore, as John says, it’s not that we loved God, but in the Anointed One, love found us. What a wondrous thought! Found us when we were not seeking Him, but because He loved us first. Therefore, a proper understanding of love does not begin with the question of our love for God but His love for us.[10]

Marianne Meye Thompson (1964) highlights that the atoning death of Jesus provides how believers come into a life-giving realm where love is received and expressed.[11] Second, we do not simply gaze at the painting on the wall; stand in front of a statue; count beads with our fingers, or read we are touched by the hand of God and receive life-giving love. And third, because life and love come from God, God’s activity and not our behavior and efforts define the essence of love.[12]

Peter Pett (1966) This is the ultimate definition and revelation of agápē. It is not found in any love that we have but in God’s great Love in which He sent His own beloved Son to be the remedy for our sins. It is a Love that has provided a way back to God. Likewise, it is a love that offers a means of doing everything necessary to remove the effects of sin from those who respond to Him. The Greek noun hilasmos (translated by KJV as “propitiation”) might be too strong a word because it might suggest unrighteous anger, and God’s “anger” is holy[13] and pure and never unrighteous.

What this propitiation achieves, says Pett, is that what Jesus did through His sacrifice can make a person as though they never sinned because of all the consequences of God’s total dislike for sin. But despite that, the penalty for our sin was carried by Jesus the Anointed One to the cross, and through His death, He was given our punishment as a payment. Through it, He has redeemed humanity from sin, delivering them by the price of His life for our life. He made a “ransom” payment for many.[14] He Who knew no sin was, as it were, made sin for us, suffering on our behalf, that we might be made right with God in Him.[15] There can be no greater love than this. Love expressed itself when God humbled Himself, and in Jesus, the Anointed One became human to bear in Himself the sin of the world.[16] [17]

Karen H. Jobes (1968) relates that human history has witnessed many things motivated by love for God. Some of them were horrendous acts of evil. Even the purest and well-intentioned “love” for God that has its origin in only human emotions and sentiments is not the kind of agápē of which John speaks. The Apostle John has already stated that “God is love” and that God’s love motivated the incarnation of Jesus the Anointed One so that “we might live through Him.”[18] In verse ten, John restates that true love is the agápē that originates with God, not whatever might pass for love by human origin and definition. The agápē of which John speaks does not originate within the human being, but is from God’s Spirit’s divine being.[19]

4:11     This shows how much God loved us, dear friends!  So, we must love each other the same way.

EXPOSITION

John could have said this with such conviction had he not been there after Jesus washed their feet and told them, “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”[20] And when Jesus was teaching the disciples about His being the vine, and they serve as branches, He told them, “This is what I command you: Love each other as I have loved you. The greatest love people can show is to die for their friends.”[21] Recipients of God’s agápē have a responsibility. How can a Christian not love someone God loves? God’s agápē is a motivation for the love of fellow Christians. We have a moral obligation to love as Jesus loved. None of us has gone to the extent of the cross for others. The very nature of the cross is selflessness. If God loved us without our loving Him, then we ought to love others without their loving us.

The word “ought” employed by KJV translators is a contraction of two English words: “owes it.” That is what the Greek verb opheilō means. We owe love to fellow Christians for God’s sake and the sake of His agápē for us. We ought to serve them and minister to them. There is no question that the believer falls under a moral obligation to love fellow Christians. We find the word “ought” is utilized the same way in this Epistle.[22] It established a principle: If God loved us without loving Him, we ought to love others without them loving us.[23]

This is the sixth and last time John uses “beloved” for his readers.  John was passionate about his readers, and God loved John’s readers as well. God’s example of love should set an example for the believer’s love for Christians.  The “if” in Greek assumes that John’s readers agreed with the reality of God’s agápē for them.  “If” or, better, “since” refers to verse ten. The word “so” is just as broad as John 3:16. How robust is God’s agápē in sending His Son to die for us? There is no way to measure it.  Nothing men did or said about God changed His agápē for them. 

Responsibility to love falls on those who receive God’s agápē. How can a Christian not love someone God loves? God’s agápē is a motivation for the love of fellow believers. It is incumbent upon us to love as Jesus loved. None of us has gone to a cross for others. The very nature of the cross is selflessness. If God loved us without our loving Him, then we ought to love others without their loving us. We owe love to fellow Christians for God’s sake and the sake of His agápē for us.

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

[2] Cf. 1 John 2:15-17; 3:13; 4:4-5

[3] Ibid. 1:2; 3:14

[4] Ibid. 3:16

[5] John 3:16-17

[6] Witherington III, Ben: Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians: op. cit., loc. cit., (Kindle Locations 7173-7177)

[7] 1 John 4:7b; cf. 5:4

[8] Ibid. 3:9

[9] Burge, Gary M., The Letters of John (The NIV Application Commentary), op. cit., p. 186

[10] Schuchard, Bruce G., Concordia Commentary, op. cit., p. 449

[11] John 3:16; 1 John 3:16

[12] Thompson, Marianne M., The IVP New Testament Commentary, op. cit., p. 123

[13] Romans 1:18

[14] Mark 10:45

[15] 2 Corinthians 5:21

[16] Philippians 2:5-11

[17] Pett, Peter: Commentary on the Bible, op. cit., PDF. loc. cit.

[18] 1 John 4:8-9

[19] Jobes, Karen H., 1, 2, and 3 John (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament, Book 18), p. 192

[20] John 13:34

[21] Luke 15:12-13

[22] 1 John 2:6; 3:16

[23] Derickson, Stanley L., Notes on Theology, op. cit., pp. 254-255

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXXI) 04/27/22

^4:10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

John concludes by saying that God “sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Earlier in his epistle, John wrote the same words.[1] God’s only Son covered our sins and set us free from guilt. Note that the contrast is between God’s Son and our sins in this last part of verse ten. God took the initiative in showing His agápē to mankind when He sent His Son.[2] It should wake us to consider our answer to the question, “What have you done for Him?” Not to pay Him back, that’s impossible, but as a way of saying, “I love you too, Lord.”

Stephen S. Smalley (1931-2018) sees the thought of verse nine paralleled in verse ten, which develops the ideas in the previous verses by explaining the nature of the divine mission undertaken for humanity’s salvation. The words “through Him” in verse nine form the bridge, for John is now going on to describe how it is that “through” the work of the Son we can experience the Father’s love and life.[3] It is essential to get the Apostle John’s point here about love. It is not simply the awakening of some dormant feeling we already have in us. It was never there before, so it must be instilled in us. And that does not come by way of meditation or assimilation but a deliberate act of the Holy Spirit.[4] Therefore, the fountain of this agápē is not self-generated but flows from God in and through us to others.

Edward J. Malatesta (1932-1998) sees verse ten as being in step with verse nine, but adds the thought that the nature of God’s agápē is such that He took the initiative and loved us first. It didn’t start when Jesus came; it was in God’s Spirit before the world was formed. His coming was significant in many ways; He not only came to cover our sins and remove the penalty of eternal separation from the Father, but to give of His life so that we could live on earth as He did, loving others. It cost Him His physical life, so we could have eternal spiritual life with Him.[5]

Muncia Walls (1937) states that another interesting thing about this verse is the fact the definite article (“the”) appears before the word love. So, we are not considering just any love here, but the unique love which only God could manifest to His creation. Our Lord’s great love was a direct result of His will. He did not love us because we loved Him. He loved us even though we did not love Him. In fact, we could not manifest this love until He first loved us and manifested it through us.[6] So, that leaves us with this question: Since Jesus told us to love one another as He loved us, [7] should we wait for those who refuse to love us first? If you want to be like Jesus, no; we must love them first.

Stanley L. Derickson (1940) says there are different levels of love. One may be the levels that a couple passes through on their way to the altar. They first get that fuzzy feeling when they are getting to know one another. They may then move into the area where they are deep friends. Furthermore, they may even begin to see the beauty in us, that inner beauty that expresses itself. However, the love that a marriage needs to survive is the love that determines to do good for the other partner. Couples may get married in the first level of love and find that they have worked through the other three to a solid marriage; however, a marriage in the first three levels is not usually rock-solid. The first three types of love lack the total commitment of the final level of love. God’s agápē is far above all four of these human levels of love. His agápē is that within Him that moves Him to give of Himself to His creatures, regardless of their merit. He does this of His free will and does it eternally. This agápē is what the Apostle John talks about, which shows that God sent the Anointed One in love with a people who did not love Him or God. “This is love! It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us. For God sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins with His blood.”[8]

Derickson recalls that he once heard a little boy say, “If I were God, I’d go to every country in the world and say, ‘You guys love one another or else!’” God does not operate in this way, however. He gives His agápē and does not force that love upon those that reject it. The Apostle Paul tells us that while we were yet sinners, He acted by sending His Son. He did not wait for someone to approach Him.[9] And the Apostle John also said that God loved us so much He sent His only Son to die so that we could be free to love Him and each other.[10]

Michael Eaton (1942-2017) points out that men and women did not reach out after God in true worship and gratitude. Although they knew that God was there, they did not glorify Him as God and were ungrateful to Him.[11] The initiative was entirely on God’s side. He took the steps that were needed to bring us to Himself. The purpose was “that we might become spiritually alive through Him.” When we are cleansed from our sins, the result is the spiritual liveliness that comes from God.

The situation for humanity was awful, says Eaton. God was righteously angry with the human race. Yet, He sent His Son to be a “propitiation.” Although scholars have discussed the meaning of this word many times, there can be little doubt that it includes the notion of turning away anger. Propitiation is “a sacrifice that turns away anger.” God is love, but there is such a thing as God’s anger. It is not a matter of God losing His temper. God’s anger is His purposeful reaction to sin and evil, through which He wishes to express His disgust and call people to repentance. In Torah, we read that God’s anger is a reaction. It is not inherent and spontaneous, as is His agápē. Love in God is eternal; God’s anger is holy. It bums when holiness is scorned.[12] God’s anger is injured, love.[13] [14]

William Loader (1944) notes that the Apostle John had already referred to the Anointed One’s atoning work.[15] He probably wants us to understand sacrifice in very general terms. As there were sacrifices for sin in the First Covenant order, the Anointed One’s sacrifice deals with sins supremely. There is no indication that John is thinking here of any particular offering, such as the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement or the Passover lamb, which developed atoning significance.[16] To put this another way, John sees Jesus’ coming to destroy the devil’s works, not to quench the spark of each sin but to put a blanket of His blood upon all the flames of sin to extinguish the fire.

David Jackman (1947) says that verses nine and ten are packed full of meaning as the Apostle John elaborates his second great theme. Since God is love, all our definitions of what love is and how it behaves must be drawn from Him if they are to accord with reality· This also helps elaborate and explain the quality of love, to which John has been referring in the previous two verses. The love which is the proof of a genuine relationship with God is a love manifested in actions for the benefit of others, even to the point of self-sacrifice. To understand that love, we have to understand the heart of God. It also underlines that only those who love has ransomed know its full extent. As the Apostle Peter said, “It is all so wonderful that even the angels eagerly watch these things happen.”[17]

It is expressed in an old hymn that reads:

His love is stronger than death and

Its riches are unsearchable.

The first-born sons of light

Desire in vain its depths to see;

They cannot reach the mystery,

The length, and breadth, and height.[18]

So, let us grasp a further truth about what the death of the Anointed One accomplished. He died for our sins. It was because of our sins that Jesus died, for He had none of His own. He dealt with them in that death because He paid the penalty of separation from the heavenly Father, which we deserve. Therefore, our sins are forgiven and removed because of the cross, the consequence being that we might live through Him. So, the ultimate purpose of this sending and commissioning His Son was that we might receive eternal life in the place of everlasting death. It is only through Jesus that such energy can come to us.[19]

John W. (Jack) Carter (1947) points out that some might teach a heresy that states that one can lose their salvation by expressing any individual or number of sins.  Some communicate that salvation is lost for any sin that one has not subsequently repented of and sought forgiveness.  However, the scriptural evidence is clear that salvation is secure, simply because sin no longer has the power to separate us from God.  God keeps the commitment for us.  The decision for faith was not a vow to stop sinning.  The decision for faith was a commitment to repent from our sin, as we strive to live a life of obedience to the one to whom we have committed our lordship.[20]

Robert W. Yarbrough (1948) states that the Apostle John’s theological sociology is not rosy. The Jesus of John’s Gospel told listeners, “I know that you do not have God’s love in your hearts.”[21] Later in this epistle, John laments, “The whole world is under the control of the evil one.”[22] The stubbornness of the human heart made it impossible for Jesus to “entrust Himself” even to His disciples.[23] John portrays the Anointed One as having addressed people – “the world”[24] – “whose hearts were blinded and deadened.”[25] It is only through spiritual rebirth that people are infused with capacities that make reception of divine love, and thereby the expression of divine love, a possibility.[26]

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[1] See 1 John 2:2; cf. Romans 3:25

[2] Kistemaker, Simon J., New Testament Commentary, op. cit., p. 333

[3] Smalley, Stephen S., Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 51, op. cit., pp. 242-243

[4] Romans 5:5

[5] Malatesta, Edward J., Interiority and Covenant, op. cit., pp. 297-298

[6] Wall, Muncia: Epistles of John & Jude, op. cit., p. 74

[7] John 13:34

[8] 1 John 4:10

[9] Romans 5:8

[10] 1 John 4:10

[11] See Romans 1:21

[12] See Exodus 32:10ff; Isaiah 5:25

[13] Hebrews 10:31

[14] Eaton, Michael: Focus on the Bible, 1.2.3 John, op. cit., pp. 149-151

[15] 1 John 2:2

[16] Loader, William: Epworth Commentary, op. cit., p. 53

[17] 1 Peter 1:12b

[18] “O Love Divine, How Sweet Thou Art,” by Charles Wesley (1749) 

[19] Jackman, David: The Message of John’s Letters, op. cit., pp. 119, 121

[20] Carter, Dr. John W. (Jack). 1,2,3, John & Jude: Holding to the Truth in Love (The Disciple’s Bible Commentary Book 48), pp. 107-108

[21] John 5: 42 – NIV

[22] 1 John 5:19

[23] John 2:24

[24] 1 John 1:10-11

[25] John 12:49

[26] Yarbrough, Robert W., 1-3 John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., p. 239

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXX) 04/26/22

^4:10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) says that in verses nine and ten, the Apostle John is anxious to remind us that God is manifesting that essential nature of His – He is love. Out of mercy for us, God manifested that love. He did not leave it up to our imagination. He made it unmistakably plain and clear. So, we can express John’s immediate argument: “If only you simply understood agápē, if only You knew something about it, then most of your problems and difficulties would immediately vanish.” So, John then proceeds to tell us more about this great and glorious agápē of God.

At this point, Lloyd-Jones admits that sometimes he cannot understand the hardness of his heart. How could we look at and believe all that John has said and not be overwhelmed by God’s love? How can we contemplate these things and not be thoroughly humbled? How can any hatred remain in us? How can we do anything but love one another, as we consider such astonishing love? How can we look at these things and believe them and not feel utterly unworthy and ashamed of ourselves and that we owe everything to Him and that we dedicate our lives to expressing our gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving?

Then Lloyd Jones makes a request that we should follow today. He says, let us resolve together to meditate more and more every day upon this amazing love. First, look at it in terms of yourself, then in terms of God, what God has done, what the Anointed One has done. Go over these things; study them; read more in the Bible about them; examine them. Go on looking at them; contemplate them until your heart melts, and You feel God’s agápē possessing You wholly. Then Lloyd-Jones offers the words of an old hymn which is still sung today in many churches.[1] The lyrics read:

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.[2]

Rudolf Schnackenburg (1914-2002) sees the Apostle John contemplating on the nature of love. He is profoundly impressed by the unique and supreme deed of God’s agápē as he has just described it. This, in turn, leads him to recognize that such a perfect revelation of love and the reality of such love exist only as a result of a gracious act of God. It is this act that forms the center of the Christian revelation. Love could not become an adequate existential power in the world through human effort, but only through God. There is no parallel to these statements outside of Christianity.[3] They contain genuine Christian insights, which the author has grasped in-depth. In them, the essence of Christianity is recognized as a religion of “to-love” (each other) and “not-love” (the world.) Not, however, in the sense that love is the peak and centerpiece of Christian teaching, but in the much more important reason that the human race only knows what love is since the sending of God’s Son. Only in Him have they experienced an unconditional love given to them to its furthermost depths and heights.[4]

Daniel C. Snaddon (1915-2009) says that this perfected love of which the Apostle John speaks is unrelated to anything humans could do. It’s “not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” This perfect love flowed “toward us” and is expressed in the gift of Jesus the Anointed One.[5] God’s agápē cannot be compared with or related to human love. According to Paul, these are rare examples of a person dying for an upright man. There are other examples of people who have given their lives for a good person. Such care is extremely rare indeed.

God’s agápē cannot be measured – size – height – depth– length – width, says Snaddon. It is a love that transcends all human logic.[6] And to compare it to other loves, God’s agápē is “a depth without a bottom” and “a sea without a shore,” “a beachless ocean,” God’s agápē knows no bounds; deep, vast, immense, unfathomed, incredibly profound! What can ever separate us from the Anointed One’s love?[7] His agápē gives us confidence in the day of judgment.[8] He came to seek and save that which was lost.[9] Like the woman with the issue of blood[10] or the woman caught adultery, [11] He came to save you even if you are a lost sheep[12] or a prodigal son.[13] [14]

John Phillips (1927-2010) concludes that nothing a person could have done or said for God to adopt a favorable attitude or kindly disposition toward us. God is appeased because His holy and righteous character has been vindicated through the Anointed One’s sacrifice and atonement on our behalf. He eradicated our guilt and sin so that He could show mercy to believing sinners like us – Love found a way. At the same time, it is never said that God is reconciled to us. All the hostility exists on our side, not His. We need to be reconciled with God, not He with us. He has always been ready to embrace us. God is immutable, changeless, and forever the same. He can act differently toward those who approach Him, but such action is based solely upon the ground of the atoning work of the Anointed One at Calvary, not because He has changed. He can act differently toward the believer because Calvary, having removed our sin and guilt, makes it possible for Him to do so. He always works in keeping with His changeless righteousness as well as in keeping with His boundless love.[15]

Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) comments on the Apostle John’s words here, “Herein is love,” (KJV); “This is love” (NIV), and suggests that we see it as, “In this, then, does love consist.” In this instance, virtually all commentators agree. In verse nine, says Brown, the Apostle John said that God’s agápē was revealed; now he tells us what this agápē consists of. Not surprisingly, a scribe named Sinaiticus copied the Greek text in what is known as “Codex Sinaiticus”[16] and added “God” after “Herein is [God’s] love,” in imitation of verse nine. So also, a scribe named Sahidic added “of God” after “love” for the same reason in the Ethiopian Coptic language. But this was all unnecessary, since John is speaking of a comprehensive love, which only God contains.[17]

John R. W. Stott (1921-2011) puts verses nine and ten together to be read as one. It is not our primary love, but God’s, free, unconditional – so we don’t have to earn it; and spontaneous – so we don’t have to beg for it; all our love is but a reflection of His and a response to it. We must ask ourselves if the love we use is the same. If not, then it is not God’s agápē. Therefore, the coming of the Anointed One is a concrete, historical revelation of God’s agápē, for agápē is self-sacrifice, seeking another’s positive good at one’s own cost. A more incredible self-giving than God’s gift of His Son has never existed, nor ever will be.[18]

David E. Hiebert (1928-1995) designates “only begotten” as a key term. As applied to the Anointed One, it is unique to the Apostle John.[19] Elsewhere in the Gospels, it is used of an only child.[20] In the Book of Hebrews, it is used of Isaac to indicate his unique relationship to Abraham as the only son of promise[21] The term is derived from the Greek mono (“only,” “single”) and genes (“kind”), which denotes uniqueness (“the only one of its kind”) rather than origin. The term denotes that as the “only” Son of God, He has no equal and can fully reveal the Father. It is why the Apostle Paul’s expression “His own Son” reflects the same concept.[22] Actually, the familiar English rendering “only begotten Son” was based on Jerome’s usage of the Latin unigenitus in the Vulgate for the Old Latin translation unicus.[23] It is where we get our English word “unique,” which is borrowed from the French unique. No doubt that is why the NIV and NLT leave out the word “begotten” and render it as “one and only.”

Simon J. Kistemaker (1930-2017) includes these two verses among the treasured passages of the entire epistle. They, too, speak of love that originates in God and describe the believer as a person who loves and knows God. John states that love stems from God, not mankind.[24] God loves the unlovable. As a hymn writer once wrote:

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew

He moved my soul to seek Him seeking me;

It was not that I found, O Savior true,

No, I was found, was found of Thee.

Thou didst reach forth thy hand and mine enfold,
I walked and sank not on the storm-vexed sea.
‘Twas not so much that I on thee took hold
as thou, dear Lord, on me.

I find, I walk, I love; but O the whole

Of love is but my answer. Lord, to Thee!

For Thou wert long beforehand with my soul,

Always, always thou lovedst me.[25]

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[1] Lloyd-Jones, Martyn: Life in the Anointed One, op. cit. pp. 429-430, 438-439

[2] When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, (1707), with lyrics by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), and music by Lowell Mason (1792-1872)

[3] See Excursus 10.4

[4] Schnackenburg, Rudolf: The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p. 209

[5] See Ezekiel 41

[6] Ephesians 3:18-19

[7] Romans 8:35-39

[8] 1 John 4:17

[9] Luke 19:10

[10] Mark 5:25-34

[11] John 8:3-11

[12] Luke 15:3-7

[13] Ibid. 15:11-12

[14] Snaddon, Daniel C., Plymouth Brethren Writings, loc. cit.

[15] Phillips, John: Exploring the First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 140

[16] Codex Sinaiticus, found in Sinai, written circa 330-360 AD

[17] Brown, Raymond E., The Anchor Bible, op. cit., p. 518

[18] Stott, John. The Letters of John (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries), op. cit., pp. 162-163

[19] John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18

[20] Luke 7:12; 8:42; 9:38

[21] Hebrews 11:17

[22] Romans 8:32

[23] Hiebert, David E., Bibliotheca Sacra, op. cit., January-March 1990, p. 74

[24] Ref. 1 John 4:19; 2 Thessalonians 2:16

[25] From the hymn, “I Sought the Lord, and afterward I knew,” by Jean Ingelow, 1870

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXIX) 04/25/22

^4:10 This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

How should we be affected by this manifestation of God’s agápē, asks Morgan? It ought to make us ashamed of our rebellion. It should encourage us to return to God in repentance and faith. It ought to urge us to love Him who first loved us. It ought to engage all our energies for His service. But we may well say, the love of the Anointed One controls us because we know that one person died for everyone. He died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for Him.[1]  Nor let us fail to add if this agápē is rejected and dishonored, it must seriously aggravate our guilt. “What makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation?”[2] “What will the outcome be for those who do not obey the Gospel of God?”[3] Fearful beyond all wrath will be “the wrath of the Lamb.”[4] [5]

Alonzo R. Cocke (1858-1901) reminds us that not only were we spiritually dead, but guilty of breaking God’s law and going against His will. We were creatures who needed punishment for our “sins” and “misery” linked to sin. The Anointed One wanted to save us from such pain and bear our sins. But first, He must take our guilt upon Himself and make it His own. We all would earn the eternal separation from God awaiting us unless the Anointed One accepted that penalty. Not only was He “made of a woman,” “made under the law,”[6] but He became “obedient to death, even the death of the cross.”[7] So then, if we want to know the vastness of God’s agápē for those who didn’t love Him, look at how He gave His Son as payment for our sins. No one will join the multitudes in heaven as they celebrate the removal of sin’s debt to God, “Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.”[8] until they first sing here on earth: “All glory to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us.”[9] [10]

Albert Barnes (1872-1951) says that God’s great gift of His Son is the highest expression of Love, as if it had done, all it can do. It wasn’t that we loved God first or were in such a high moral state that we might suppose He would make such a sacrifice for us, but just the opposite. If we had loved and obeyed Him, we might have had reason to believe that He would be willing to show His agápē to us in a corresponding manner. But we were alienated from Him. We had no desire for His friendship and favor. In this state, He showed the greatness of His agápē for us by giving His only Son to die for His enemies, in that He loved us first. Not that He approved our wickedness, but that He desired our welfare. He loved us not with the love of complacency, but with the love of compassion.[11]

Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) mentions that it is an interesting fact that the original word translated as “propitiation” is the same word used for “atonement” in the Septuagint’s (LXX) translation of the First Covenant by seventy Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt from Hebrew to Greek around 230 BC. In that translation, wherever the translators sought to reproduce the Hebrew word caphar or atonement, they used the Greek word hilasmos rendered propitiation. The Hebrew word atonement comes from a root meaning “to cover,” and so this word speaks of an expiation (“to compensate”), a settling of the sin question, so that one who was once lost and guilty may stand in the presence of God without one charge against them. The finished work of compensation covers all their transgressions by the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One – covered so effectually and entirely that they can never be found again.[12]

Paul E. Kretzmann (1883-1965) says that verses seven to ten are one of the most beautiful and, at the same time, the most powerful passages in the entire Final Covenant. For the third time in this letter, the Apostle John feels it necessary to speak of brotherly love and plead with all Christians to show God’s love was placed into their hearts by faith. Such love is the essence of God; it is a reflection of God’s agápē in the hearts of those that have learned to know His agápē. It is a part of the new divine disposition and conduct which characterizes the believers. It is a proof of the new birth by the power of God through the Gospel; it is an outgrowth, a fruit, of faith, of the saving knowledge of God. On the other hand: Those that do not love do not know God. Where there is no love toward the brethren in the conduct and life of a person, this is a sure and certain sign that they have not yet come to know God as they should, that there is no saving knowledge, no faith toward God in their heart.[13]

Bishop of Rochester, England, Christopher M. Chavasse (1884-1962) states that Love for God must come down from heaven like the rain and the snow. The Apostle of love, John, tells us love is of God, yet He placed within our reach how we learn to love God or love Him better than we do already. Let me remind you what some of these are:

            First, Thirst: We receive grace in proportion as we desire it. For example, do we wish to love God? Then, eventually, that desire will be satisfied if it is the supreme desire of the heart. And that is for two reasons – God never implants a desire in a person’s heart to mock Him, but in due time, He may satisfy it. And that desire will find its voice in prayer and worship. A great promise was made: “Ask, and it will be given.”

      Second, Faith: The secret of loving God is to believe that God loves us, not to try to force ourselves to love God, but to accept the great truth that God loves us. And God has given our faith two footholds upon which we may plant our feet and be perfectly sure that God loves us. The first is the cradle of Bethlehem, and the second is the Cross of Calvary.

     Third, Service: The cause of Jesus the Anointed One wants our service, wants our heart. Work because God loves you and loves everyone; and as we act out the love of God, or because God loves them and us, our love will grow. Love can only live by loving, and by serving, love will grow.

      Fourth, Sharing: God is training us all by the sweet, pure love of home life to love Him. Some people say, take care that you do not love your husband, wife, friend, or child too much. You can never love them too much if you love them in God and for God. God will train you to love Him through loving your dear ones at home. And in the love that the husband has for the wife, or the wife has for the husband, we have a dim reflection of the love wherewith the heavenly Bridegroom loves His Church. The husband and the wife will say: If our love is so strong and deep and dignifying, what must be the love wherewith the Anointed One loves us? We will mature by using the stepping-stones of human love to realize God’s love for us and love Him back. First faith, then service, then love to the creature: these are some means that God has put within our power to make us love Him better.^[14]

Charles H. Dodd (1884-1973) says that the way Aristotle and other Greek philosophers’ thought was certainly dominant in the religious world of Hellenism.[15] However, those with different religious preferences kept breaking away from it in various ways. Over against it stands the Christian affirmation: Love is anchored in this, not in our love for Him, but His agápē for us. Appropriately, Greeks use a different word for “love.” In Plato and Aristotle, usually, the word is eros, after the Greek god Eros, a term connoting primarily sexual desire. Here, as all through the Final Covenant, the word is agápē. Eros is a comparatively colorless noun. The First Covenant translators of the Hebrew verb ‘āhaḇ preferred for God’s agápē to humanity and their response, [16] and by doing so, they began to fill it with a specific content for which paganism, even in its highest forms, had no proper expression.[17]

William Neil (1909-1979) says that caring for and about each other brings us into the very presence of God because God is agápē. Other motives could have made God send His only Son to live with us, to allow us to live as He meant us to live. Let us not define love by any human standards. It is something divine that moved our heavenly Father to send His Son so that the power of sin over us might be destroyed.[18] But sin is like the ocean; your sailboat will drift if there is no wind. The devil has not such wind; only the Holy Spirit can provide such a moving force to those on their voyage to heaven’s shores.

F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) agrees with the Apostle John that the purpose of God sending His Son is our blessing – allowing us to receive life through Him. Here the initiative lies entirely with God. Before there was any possibility of our exercising such love, God first must manifest it by “loving us and sending His Son as a propitiation (“ransom payment”) for our sins.” These last words in verse ten are repeated from chapter two, verse two. Professor Bruce pointed out earlier that the Greek noun hilasmos is used in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10. It basically means “to appease,” such as bringing an argument to an end, paying a debt, or settling a question. Why the KJV translators chose this Latin term might be that “propitious” means “to be merciful” or “for mercy’s sake.”[19]

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[1] 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

[2] Hebrews 2:3

[3] 1 Peter 4:17

[4] Revelation 6:16-17

[5] Morgan, James B., An Exposition of the First Epistle of John, op. cit., Lecture XXXII, pp. 322-323

[6] Galatians 4:4

[7] Philippians 2:8

[8] Revelation 19:2

[9] Ibid. 1:5b

[10] Cocke, Alonzo R., Studies in the Epistles of John, op. cit., loc. cit., Logos

[11] Barnes, Albert: New Testament Notes, op. cit., p. 4865

[12] Ironside, Harry A., Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., pp. 142-143

[13] Kretzmann, Paul E., Popular Commentary, Vol. II, op. cit., pp. 572-573

[14] Chavasse Christopher M: Christian World Pulpit, vol. 78, p. 97

[15] Hellenism was the national character or culture of Greece, especially ancient Greece. The word Hellenistic comes from the root word Hellas, which was the ancient Greek word for Greece. The Hellenic Age was the time when Greek culture was pure and unaffected by other cultures. By comparison, Helvetia. The Old Swiss Confederacy of the early modern period was often called Helvetia or Republica Helvetiorum (“Republic of the Helvetians”). The Latin name is ultimately derived from the name of the Helvetii, Frenchmen living on the Swiss plateau in the Roman era.

[16] See Genesis 22:2; Proverbs 8:17; Hosea 14:4; Ecclesiastes 3:8

[17] Dodd, Charles H., Moffatt Commentary, Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p. 111

[18] Neil, William, Harper’s Bible Commentary, op. cit., p. 529

[19] Bruce, F. F., The Epistles of John: A Verse-by-Verse Exposition. Kingsley Books, Inc. Kindle Edition.

CYNICS may ask, why don’t people follow the advice found in the numerous proverbs and maxims of forethought available for centuries? Instead, they conclude that they are only used after some hopeful venture has gone “horribly wrong.” When, for instance, a person gambles and loses all they have, including their house, they should have remembered the old Scottish proverb which declares that “willful waste leads to woeful want.” But didn’t the gambler know this well-worn saying from earlier years? But, what good, then, did it do? Are the maxims of morality useless because people disregard them? For Christians and Jews, the Book of Proverbs is a great example. But what about other religions?

Here is one to consider by 6th century Sanskrit poet Bharavi, the author of the classical Sanskrit epics classified as a mahakavya (“great poem”). He wrote:

“Some who wish their friends well try to please them with words which are not true.”

It sounds very similar to what the great wise King Solomon wrote,

“Some people try to cover their dislike with pleasant words, but they’re deceiving you. They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them. Their hearts are full of evil thoughts. While they may conceal contempt with trickery, their wrongdoing will be exposed publicly. If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead. A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin.” (Proverbs 26:24-28)