Down an Unfamiliar Road

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NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LXII) 10/07/21

^3:12 We are not to be like Cain, who belonged to Satan and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing wrong, he knew very well that his brother’s life was better than his.

Robert W. Yarbrough (1948) sees the context of verses eleven and twelve continue to build the case that the Apostle John’s readers ought to love one another. Such love is what was announced to them “from the beginning.” It refers to the time when they heard and received the Gospel message. The tactic John uses to address the danger of lovelessness is first in narrative form. He presents the story of Cain, who slaughtered his younger brother, Abel, serves as a precedent.[1] John wanted to call attention to the particulars of this drama as a historical account in its primitive setting.

John’s ensuing critique of Cain is simple, says Yarbrough; he murdered Abel because of the moral nature of Abel’s sacrifice in contrast with the selfish intent of his offering. It points to Cain’s jealousy because Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable to God, who rejected his offering.[2] Cain’s behavior and underlying attitude were the antitheses of love. John uses Cain, the epitome of betrayal, [3] to exemplify how God’s people must never regard each other. The message that God is Light;[4] and the announcement that John’s readers have had that Light “from the beginning” must be issued in active goodwill for others, not murderous impulses toward them. A significant assurance by John of salvation is the expression and the exercise of love.[5] [6]

Colin G. Kruse (1950) notes that in this verse, the Apostle John urges his readers to keep themselves from falling into that category of persons who do not love fellow believers. He does so by saying, “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.” John was referring to the story in Genesis[7] of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was angry because his offering was not accepted by the Lord, whereas Abel’s sacrifice was approved. In his anger, Cain planned and carried out the murder of his brother. It is permissible to believe God rejected Cain’s offering because he was an evildoer.[8] Following his rejection of Cain’s offering, the Lord says to Cain (before he murdered his brother): “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”[9] It was an offer for repentance, but Cain rejected it.

Judith M. Lieu (1951) notes that the Apostle John relates a story where the failure to love ends in tragedy.^[10] John already mentioned in verse eight that any person who claims they have no sin belongs to the devil. There is no evidence that Cain brought his offering with any ulterior motive to kill Abel. That emotion was sparked when God did not accept his gift, but blessed Abel’s sacrifice. As they say in the Orient, “Cain lost face.” As the older brother, that was unacceptable. What could Adam and Eve say? How did they feel? It is all told under the banner of “Love one another.” Just as God being Light cannot be independent of the lives of those who confess Him, so here the call to love one another is not based on common humanity or a shared set of ethical values but an understanding and application of God and His Word.^[11]

Marianne M. Thompson (1954) also classifies Cain as a hater and robber. He is a hater because he manifested no love for his brother, and a robber because he took his brother’s life and property. Thompson goes on to say that Abel represents Jesus, but does not say who Cain represents. Putting it into the same context, Thompson says that Cain represented the Jewish leaders responsible for having Jesus crucified. But since the Apostle John is talking about brothers, Cain and Abel are best suited as models for the secessionist who forsook the congregation and Abel the faithful who remained. Added to this is the fact that Cain is described as belonging to the devil. Therefore, Abel belongs to God.^[12]

Bruce B. Burton (1954) mentions that Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve’s, first two sons. Abel offered a sacrifice that pleased God, while Cain’s offering was unacceptable.[13] Cain brought grain and fruit, while Abel brought an animal from his flock. Abel’s sacrifice (an animal substitute for his life) was more acceptable to God, both because it was a blood sacrifice and, most important, because of Abel’s attitude when he offered it. After Cain’s offering was rejected, God gave him the chance to right his wrong and try again. God even encouraged him to do so. But Cain refused, and his jealous anger drove him to murder. And why did he kill his brother? Because Cain had been living without acknowledging God’s role in his life, and his brother had been in close communion with God. John’s point was not that Cain committed murder and became part of the devil’s viper brood; instead, because Cain belonged to the evil one, his anger and jealousy drove him to murder.[14] John wanted his readers to understand the terrible results of refusing to love one another. Lack of love can lead to anger, jealousy, hatred – and finally, even to murder.[15]

Bruce G. Schuchard (1958) points out that the word used for murder in Cain’s killing of his innocent brother is the same as that to describe the butchering or slaughtering of a sacrificial animal, mainly by cutting the throat. Therefore, it can easily be employed when cutting a human’s throat with the intent of making them a sacrifice. Furthermore, it pictures Abel’s gift to God like a lamb being slain later on the altar in the Temple. But things got worse; Cain then tried to deceive God when he was asked, “Where is your brother?” Cain pretended he didn’t know anything about Abel’s location.

Schuchard then goes on to say that, like Cain and Abel, we are all descendants of Adam and Eve and are, therefore, kin to one another. Yet, in today’s world, some are part of this kinship, and those who are not, belong to its prince, power, darkness, and death; the others belong to God, His Anointed One, His Spirit, His Light, and everlasting life.

The principles with which John operates, says Schuchard, are sure to shock and alarm the sensibilities of more than a few modern members of society. John’s message speaks to a culture that has almost come to cherish a sense of uncertainty pervading all of life’s circumstances. But John offers a healthy reminder; we might even say a “wake-up” call. The choices that we make matter; the sides we take do too. There are two sides in the universal, everlasting scheme of things: the side of God and those who stand with Him, and the other side does not nor ever will.^[16]

David Guzik (1961) tells us that Cain is an excellent example of the failure to love. 1) We can presume that Cain had a godly upbringing that should have equipped him to love, but he chose not to. 2) Cain’s disobedience came from a lack of faith, [17] resulting in defiance, then hatred. 3) Cain’s lack of discipline and alienation were based on pride. 4) Cain’s revolt and animosity made him feel miserable.[18] 5) Cain refused the warning God gave him and surrendered to the sin of bitterness.[19] 6) Cain’s disgust led to action against the one he despised.[20] 7) Cain was evasive about his sin of revenge and tried to hide it. But God exposed him.[21] Thus, incredibly, there were two of God’s creations. One was good and the other bad. Otherwise, if both were good, there would have been love.[22]

What John is talking about here and the response from the world can be summed up in the well-known poem titled “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley. It reads like this:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeoning’s of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

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[1] Genesis 4:1-16

[2] Hebrews 11:4

[3] Cf. Jude 1:11

[4] 1 John 1:5

[5] Ibid. 3:14

[6] Yarbrough, Robert W., 1-3 John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., pp. 197-198

[7] Genesis 4:1-25

[8] See ibid. 4:6-7

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

[10] Cf. 3:10

[11] Lieu, Judith M., I, II & III John – NT Library, op. cit., pp. 143-145

[12] Thompson, Marianne M., 1-3 John, IPV NT Commentary, op. cit., pp. 100-102

[13] Genesis 4:1-16; Hebrews 11:4

[14] See John 8:44

[15] Barton, Bruce B., 1, 2, & 3 John (Life Application Bible Commentary), op. cit., p. 72

[16] Schuchard, Bruce G., 1-3 John – Concordia, op. cit., pp. 342-346

[17] Hebrews 11:4

[18] Genesis 4:5

[19] Ibid. 4:6-7

[20] Ibid. 4:8

[21] Ibid. 4:9-10

[22] Guzik, David – Enduring Word, op. cit., p. 58

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NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LXI) 10/06/21

^3:12 We are not to be like Cain, who belonged to Satan and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing wrong, he knew very well that his brother’s life was purer than his.

Lias goes on to say that any intention to seek one’s benefit at the expense of others is irreconcilable. And since John is writing to Christians, it makes such thinking even more irresponsible. Lias also admonishes that John is warning against two tendencies that have no place in the mind of God. A person who is either too shortsightedly or longsightedly selfish. They either squander whatever means they have as soon as they get it, or they carefully arrange to store it up for themselves in order to enjoy prosperity and power in years to come while others suffer. The stingy person despises the squanderer, and both should be unfamiliar attitudes for any Christian. Cain illustrates such tendencies by bringing the least expensive gift to God as an offering and then murdering his brother to take possession of all Abel worked so hard to acquire.^[1] God forbid that any of God’s children would give up being a living sacrifice in service of God by attempting to hurt some dedicated believer to take their prominent position in the congregation.

Theodore Zahn (1838-1933) believes that because the Apostle John knew there were some in the circle of those who would read this epistle who thought you could be righteous without practicing strict holiness and avoiding sin, he needed an example. So, with an eye toward the contrast between Godly righteousness and self-righteousness, John describes a person who perfects themselves and those who do not bother with sanctification as vipers in the devil’s nest.^[2]

Robert Cameron (1839-1904) states that the whole aim of the Apostle John’s message he received from the Word of life that he saw, gazed upon, and handled: that is, we must love one another. The whole aim of that which was revealed by the Anointed One, in life and death, is to save mankind from selfishness and lead them to self-sacrifice. In other words, to awaken in them, love one for another. The message is light; its fruit is love. Had sin never entered into the world, had humanity never needed grace, then righteousness would have been the mold in which a person’s life was formed. But the introduction of sin made grace a necessity. This grace was the channel for the outflow of divine love. Therefore, love coming to us, saving us, and putting us before God on a new foundation that places upon us the obligation of having our whole conduct based on love, and love consistently exceeds righteousness.[3]

C. H. Dodd (1884-1973) writes that this is the only time the Apostle John explicitly references the Book of Genesis. In Dodd’s mind, John would show the relevance of this story later on.[4] As such, Adam and Eve’s sons become representatives of the evil world in which God’s children must live.^[5] It seems odd that when a known Christian falls into sin, the world’s judgment is swift and unmerciful. But when a sinner commits the same offense of God’s law, they pass it off as a flawed character. So, beware of how the world judges your words, actions, and attitude.

Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) sees the Apostle John describing the opposite of love in Cain’s murderous behavior. Bultmann is also curious why a question is raised concerning the motive of Cain’s repulsive deed – “why did he murder him?” Could it be that Cain simply hated Abel? Or was it because Abel found favor in God’s eyes, and he did not? In any case, in today’s world, Cain’s act would be declared a “hate crime,” which John describes to be the same as taking another person’s life.^[6] When Christians act this way toward each other, it can also be called robbery because they steal your joy, peace, and loyalty to God’s Word.

Amos N. Wilder (1895-1993) points out that by saying Cain belonged to the Evil One, he had in mind that Jesus charged the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Jewish leaders with having the devil as their promoter. Thus, when our Lord called Satan “a murderer from the beginning,” John uses it to reference Cain.^[7] But the Apostle had more than Abel’s murder in mind. In the next verse, he explains that this same attitude exists in the world. In other words, Christians should realize that they are Abels living in a world full of Cains.

Paul W. Hoon (1910-2000) says that this story of Cain and Abel reflects the struggle between good and evil going on in the universe and is reenacted in the moral battles each person fights. The imagined disgust evil has for what’s good is reflected in daily life’s moral and psychological counterparts.^[8] We need not read the conflict between Cain and Abel to understand this; turn on the news at the end of the day, and there will be numerous stories that establish this principle. Morals and ethics are constantly being eroded so that the guilty feel less convicted of their shameful acts. But even more critical, the same erosion is going on among the people of God.

Donald Burdick (1917-1996) states that genetically Cain was a son of Adam, but spiritually and morally, he was an offspring of the devil. It was evident from the works of Cain, they were done with evil intentions. Burdick also points out that the Greek verb sphazō, translated as “slew” KJV; “murder” NIV, was often used to describe the slaughter of an animal by cutting its throat.^[9] So, we can imagine that after Abel cut the throat of the lamb he brought to God as an acceptable sacrifice, Cain took the same knife to cut his brother’s throat. But that’s not the end of the story. John then infers in the next verse that the world will treat us the same way they treated our Savior. Only, instead of cutting his throat, they hung Him up to die.

Raymond E. Brown (1921-1986) takes what the Apostle John says here about Cain and Abel as representative of the secessionists (the devil’s brood) and the faithful (God’s children). But instead of interpreting this literally, it is best understood and applied as a figure of speech. Behind all of it are the forces of good and evil. The devil is the lead henchman of his gang and Jesus, the shepherd of His flock. You can tell which person belongs to whom by their actions.^[10] The presence of original sin is evidenced by the youngest of children. You need not teach them to get angry, envious, spiteful, lying, cheating, or disobedient. It comes naturally to them. Parenting is a matter of teaching them the opposite. The Ten Commandments were all written to show the children of Israel the opposite of what they were doing. Years ago, most of the preaching was on “what not to do.” But, thank the Lord, it is preached now as “what to do.”

Rudolph A. Culpepper (1930-2015) says that the clearest sign of sin is the lack of love. The opponents have shown that they do not love the community; the elder charges because they departed from it. The Johannine love command is significantly more restricted than the Sermon on the Mount, which commands love for one’s enemies.[11] The new commandment required love for “one another,” which means love for others within the Christian community.

According to Culpepper, those who did not love their Christian brothers and sisters were like Cain, who killed his brother. Those who live by this command, however, have already crossed over from spiritual death into eternal life. Such love is, therefore, an essential quality of the life that God gives to His own. That love is most clearly manifest in Jesus’ act of laying down His life for others. Believers, therefore, ought to live “just as” Jesus did. Specifically, the love command requires one who sees a brother or sister in need and shares what they lack with them. Love is not just a feeling. Therefore, it is the faithful believer’s lifestyle.[12]

Wendell C. Hawley (1930-) calls Cain a “brother-hater.” It didn’t start when they brought their offerings to honor God; it was already in Cain’s heart to kill his younger brother.^[13] Could we have here the original example of what we later see in Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Saul and David? I can remember as a young boy in my father’s strict Pentecostal church, where people tried to “out-holy” one another through abstinence, even to not chewing gum. It was also visible in the gifts of the Spirit when one member would quickly give an interpretation of tongues to be first. But what I never saw was one person trying to out-tithe or out-love others. It was also a sad case when, across town, people knew that the congregation in one church despised the assembly of another because they did not behave like them. God help us never to follow those examples.

Stephen S. Smalley (1931-2018) says that this story of Cain presents someone overwhelmed with anger,^[14] unrighteousness,^[15] and deliberate disobedience,^[16] in contrast to the “faithful” attitude of Abel.^[17] How could Cain expect to come to God to present a few sheaves of grain with arrogance and have it accepted? Could it be that God turned him down more because of his attitude than his action?^[18]

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[1] Ibid. The First Epistle of St. John with Homiletical Treatment, op. cit., pp. 250-251

[2] Zahn, Theodore, The Writings of John, op. cit., p. 363

[3] Cameron, Robert: The First Epistle of John, op. cit., pp. 135-136

[4] 1 John 3:15; see 1 John chapter 5

[5] Dodd, C. H., The Johannine Epistles – Moffatt, op. cit., p. 82

[6] Bultmann, Rudolf, The Johannine Epistles – Hermeneia, op. cit., p. 54

[7] Wilder, Amos N., The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., pp. 261-262

[8] Hoon, Paul W., The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., pp. 259-260

[9] Burdick, Donald, The Epistles of John – Everyman’s, op. cit., pp. 56-57

[10] Brown, Raymond E., The Epistles of John – Anchor Bible, op. cit., p. 444

[11] Matthew 5:44

[12] Mays, J. L. (Ed.). (1988, Harper’s Bible Commentary, op. cit., p. 1293

[13] Hawley, Wendell C., 1-3 John – Cornerstone, op. cit., p. 354

[14] See 1 John 3:6

[15] Ibid. 3:7

[16] Cf. Jude 1:11

[17] Cf. Hebrews 11:4

[18] Smalley, Stephen S., 1,2,3 John – Word Biblical Commentary, op. cit., pp. 184-186

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NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LX) 10/05/21

^3:12 We are not to be like Cain, who belonged to Satan and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing wrong, he knew very well that his brother’s life was better than his.

We see that Cain’s sinful tendencies originated from Satan; they developed out of his lack of spiritual relationship with God. So, the source of Cain’s behavior is the devil, but Cain did not become an offspring of the devil because he murdered his brother. He killed his brother because he was part of the devil’s viper brood. Cain’s murderous attitude also came out of his sense of failure before the Lord. He viewed Abel as a rival in spiritual matters. As Cain crawled out of Satan’s nest, he demonstrated that relationship by his act of rejecting God’s system of payment for sin – a blood sacrifice – and sacrificed his brother. Cain was a physical but not a spiritual brother to Abel. They came from two different spiritual origins. The principle is this: actions always arise out of either sin or holiness, either from Satan or God.

So, now we know the origin of spiritual rebellion? It does not begin in humans. Love springs from God, and hate originates in the devil. If you are in the grip of hatred, it has a satanic source. Just as Satan entered the heart of Judas at the institution of the Lord’s Supper to betray Jesus, [1] so Satan enters the heart when Christians are hated. Satan convinced Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, two Christians, to lie and cheat.[2] It all begins when a person’s purpose is to undermine the things of God. As such, the degenerate person remains under the influence of Satan.

It was everyone’s development in life before they became Christians. They rejected salvation by grace. Most non-Christians do not have a clue that this is the case with them.[3] It is why non-Christians hate the confidence and conviction of believers who know where they stand with God. They despise the Grace concept because it violates their self-trust. Non-Christians often love religion and morality, but their faith and moral code are without the grace of the Anointed One. Therefore, they hold great disdain and contempt for the Gospel message. A skunk by any other name is still a skunk. Anyone can squirt perfume on it from now until doomsday, but it will still smell. No fragrance of religion or morality will help non-Christians find acceptance with God, no matter what they call themselves.

Pride often seeks to diminish those to whom they compare themselves. Others often make them feel small, so they attempt to cut them down a notch or two. Unfortunately, just as Abel threatened Cain, Christians also try to intimidate other Christians they deem more able, talented, or gifted than they are. So, ask yourself, does your heart burn in anger toward another Christian? You cannot stand them. Why don’t you call it what it is? Hatred. Hatred originated in the devil. May God draw our hearts toward Him and His love.

Cain did not kill his brother because he was a terrible person. He killed him out of spite because God rejected his offering. Abel’s lamb was a sacrifice of grace, while Cain’s fruit and grain was an offering of works. Cain hated the grace concept. Adam and Eve’s firstborn did more than murder his brother – he slaughtered him. The Greek often uses the word “murder” for ritualistic slayings. It can mean “to cut the throat.” Sometimes the Greek uses this term for slaughtering a goat. It is a gruesome picture of Cain holding Abel’s head back to cut his throat and jugular vein. In other words, Cain butchered his brother. It is a violent term for putting to death by violence. It is a solid term for fratricide.[4]

It was as though Cain was saying to God in effect, “You wanted a blood sacrifice, didn’t you?  I gave you one – I shed the blood of my brother as a ritual sacrifice. So, how do you like your bloody sacrifice now?” Cain hated God’s system of blood sacrifice because it was the foundation for salvation by grace. He wanted to bring the work of his hands, the fruit of the field, to merit salvation. He believed in salvation by personal merit and good works.

The word “because” in verse twelve means “on account of.” It is the reason Cain killed Abel. A wicked person will naturally dislike an individual who claims they are right in God’s eyes. That’s why Cain despised Abel’s relationship with God. He detested Abel’s method of salvation by blood and, therefore, by grace. As such, Abel’s sacrifice by grace stood in stark contrast to Cain’s offering by the work of his hands.

Cain’s murder of Abel proved the true family to which he belonged. Unfortunately, he was under the control of Satan rather than God. The motive behind Cain’s murder was astonishing. He hated his brother’s honest approach to God! He could not stand the comparison between himself and his brother’s path to God. It forced him into doing someone unimaginable. It is because Cain disliked what Abel represented. Abel’s sacrifice symbolized grace. Cain’s offering represented works. Cain believed that a person could work their way into acceptance with God by merit. These two brothers came from the same physical family and environment, but ended in two different outcomes.

Therefore, let’s look at Cain as an illustration of John’s enemies who brought malicious division into the assembly of believers – they belonged to the evil one. They attacked genuine believers because they were committed to salvation by faith instead of works by members of Satan’s brood. It was the same as the crowd that attacked Jesus. Jesus told those religious leaders’ their father[5] was the devil.[6] So remember, Christians will sometimes be required to pay the price for taking a stand on Grace instead of works. The problem is, Grace flies in the face of human achievement and self-help. People want to come to God their way, not God’s way, “I’ll find God my way; I don’t need any help.” The world loves religion but hates Grace.[7]

COMMENTARY

Bede the Venerable (672-735 AD) says that by using the word “world,” John means those who love the world’s corrupt system. It is hardly surprising that those who love the world will be incapable of loving a brother or sister who separated themselves from the world and is now concerned with acquiring heavenly things. Religion is an abomination to the sinner, as Scripture testifies.[8]

George Swinnock (1627-1673) states that we may say with King David, “They hated me for no reason.”[9] The world has no just cause to hate and curse the people of God. However, there is a reason for all their rage and anger, hostility and cruelty against the saints; and that is because they are God’s children. Why did Cain drench his hands in his brother’s blood? Because his offering was wrong and his brother’s sacrifice was right.[10] Then Swinnock has this thought to share: “Light is burdensome and grievous to owls and bats and all birds of the night; the light of a saint’s holiness is offensive to sinners that are accustomed to deeds done in darkness; thus, the greater the light, the more painful to their sore eyes. Swine cannot endure sweet odors. Those that are unclean, and delight to wallow in the mire of vice, hate the fragrant perfumes of grace. The distinctive aroma of spikenard is poisonous to them. In fact, horse-flies are killed with ointments.”[11]

Thomas Scott (1747-1821) concludes that we should never consider those who ignore God’s grace as true Christians. Instead, associate them with Cain, a professed God worshiper. Nevertheless, he showed himself to belong to the nest of “that wicked one,” the devil, by envying, hating, and murdering his brother. But the question is, what caused Cain to commit this atrocious murder? What provoked him? What injury had he received? None at all. He simply hated God’s divine image he saw in Abel and his humility, faith, and devotion. As such, Cain envied him and was angry even with God, who accepted his brother’s sacrifice in preference to his. He was so enraged that he murdered him “because his works were unacceptable, and his brothers accepted.”^[12]

Richard Rothe (1799-1867) points out that the Apostle John does not state Cain’s motive for killing his brother precisely as recorded in Genesis. According to Torah, it was envy because Abel had the better offering. However, John emphasizes the core problem in context with what he has been saying about the children of God and the devil’s brood. That is: evil persecutes good out of envy over God’s blessings. Therefore, in John’s mind, Cain and Abel are seen as types of those who love their fellow man and those who have no time for them. But more specifically, why the world hates believers are because of the way God showers them with His goodness.^[13]

John J. Lias (1834-1923) takes issue with the translations of the opening line. The KJV has, “Not as Cain, who was of [that] wicked one,” and the NASB “Not as Cain, [who] was of the evil one,” and NIV “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one.” Lias prefers, “We are not as Cain, who was of the evil one.” I like the ERV that renders it, “Don’t be like Cain. He belonged to the Evil One.” Lias believes that we need a necessary break between warning who not to be and then why. The Apostle John gives his number one objection to being like Cain – he was the first murderer. But it is more than making Cain an example of wicked conduct; it emphasizes sinful tendencies in the human heart and mind.^[14]

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[1] Luke 22:3

[2] Acts of the Apostles 5:3

[3] See Ephesians 2:1-3

[4] Fratricide is the killing of one’s brother or sister

[5] Father, not in the biological or spiritual sense, but metaphorically as the “originator or author.” See Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on John 8:44; Strong’s GK3962

[6] John 8:44; 13:2, 27

[7] Hebrews 11:4

[8] Bede the Venerable, Ancient Christian Commentary, Vol. XI, Bray, G. (Ed.), James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, p. 202.

[9] Psalm 69:4; cf. John 15:26

[10] 1 John 3:12

[11] The Works of George Swinnock: Vol. 4, The Pastor’s Farewell, pp. 73-74

[12] Scott, Thomas, The Holy Bible with Explanatory Notes, vol. 5, p. 698

[13] Rothe, Richard, The Expository Times, May 1893, p. 355

[14] Lias, John J., The First Epistle of St. John with Exposition, op. cit., pp. 251-254

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LIX) 10/04/21

^3:12 We are not to be like Cain, who belonged to Satan and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing wrong, he knew very well that his brother’s life was better than his.

The Apostle John was not talking about a new sinful virus strain. When the hateful Jews were stoning Presbyter Stephen for his message and faith in Jesus as the Anointed One, he told them he was not surprised because their forefathers persecuted every prophet who lived. It included those who prophesied that the Anointed One would come. And now they had turned against that Anointed One themselves and killed him.^[1] So, we should not be surprised when the Apostle Paul wrote the Thessalonians and told them that there were still Jews around with the same idea, but since the Anointed One ascended back into heaven, and they can’t reach Him, we would now take the hatred they meant for Him on us to His glory.[2] Also, concerning this same hostility, the Apostles did not spare Gentiles their fair share of criticism. The Apostle Peter mentions that some of those he was writing to had friends in the world who thought it strange that they no longer joined them in all the wild and wasteful things they used to do. And so, they started spreading rumors of the bad things they once did to ruin their reputations as Christians.^[3]

Meanwhile, Jesus did not treat His enemies with destructive tactics, just disdain. In fact, He told them that when they stood before God at the judgment seat, they would be found guilty of causing the death of His people.^[4] That’s why they should know that if they change their mind and want to belong to this fellowship of believers, they will come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. They will come to God, the Judge of all people, and the hospitality of blessed people who have been made perfect. They will enjoy communion with Jesus – the One who brought the Final Covenant from God to His children. Thus, they will arrive at the place of the sprinkling of His blood^[5] that had a better message than the blood of Abel.^[6]

There is an interesting conversation between Cain and Abel found in a Jewish Commentary. It goes this way: “And Cain said to Abel, his brother, come, and let us go out into the field. And when they arrived in the field, Cain continued and said to Abel, I perceive that the world was created in goodness, but it is not governed (or conducted) according to the fruit of good works. Therefore, there is respect [special privileges] to persons in judgment. Consequently, it is that your offering was accepted, with goodwill and not mine. So, Abel answered Cain: the world was created in goodness and governed according to good fruit. Therefore, there is no respect [special privileges] of persons in judgment. But because the fruit of my works was better than yours, my offering was accepted with goodwill, and yours was not. So, Cain answered and said to Abel, there is neither judgment nor Judge, nor another world; nor will any good reward be given to the righteous, nor vengeance taken out on the wicked. And Abel answered Cain, there is a judgment, and there is a Judge; and there is another world and a good reward given to the righteous, and vengeance taken out on the wicked. And because of these words, they had a disagreement out in the field; and Cain rose against Abel his brother, and drove a stone into his forehead, and killed him.”^[7]

In other sayings by early Jewish authors, Rabbi Jochanan stated that Cain did not know that our secrets are revealed to the Holy One, blessed be He.[8] Cain took the corpse of his brother Abel and laid it in a hole that he dug in the field. But then the Holy One, blessed be He, asked him, where is your brother Abel? Cain responded by telling the Sovereign of the world that all he did was take care of a vineyard and a farm, so why should he be responsible for his brother? The Holy One, blessed be He, revealed that He had heard that he killed his brother and took possession of his wife and flocks in the field. In fact, his brother’s blood cried out to Him from his grave.

When Cain heard this, he was horrified. He cried out in grief to the Holy One, blessed be He, that his sin was more than he could bear because this was no forgiveness for such things. This statement was accepted as his repentance. But Cain asked the Lord, “will some righteous person come along and rebuke me in your great Name and kill me?” So, the Holy One, blessed be He, took one Hebrew letter from the twenty-two in the alphabet and attached it to Cain’s arm so that he would not be killed. Meanwhile, Abel’s shepherd dogs guarded his corpse against all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. So, the Holy One, blessed be He, cursed Cain so that he would become a drifter.^[9]

Now, what we know about the Apostle John,^[10] he was not an educated individual. That means he was not taught how to read or write. Everything was learned through oral teaching in those days. These sayings of the early Jewish Fathers had not yet been collected and written down; they were transmitted by mouth. So, that does not leave out the possibility that John may have heard these teachings and thought this story of Cain and Abel was an excellent object lesson to insert here in his epistle.

And during John’s time, the great Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (BC 20-50 AD) offered his philosophical view of what John says here in verse eight. As Philo says, “for the field to which he [Cain] invites him [Abel] we may call a symbol of rivalry and contention.”[11] In its fallen, self-loving, materialistic-minded condition, Cain’s ego resisted the simple purity of his better nature, seeking to draw Abel into an internal rationalistic dispute. So, the Cain part of our mind excels in developing rationalizations, logical and inaccurate arguments.

On the other hand, our Abel-disposition, childlike and trusting, is ill-equipped to rebut these dishonesties and should resist the challenge – at least until it develops skill in emerging counter-arguments. So, what Cain proposes to do is this: having by invitation led Abel into a dispute, to gain the mastery over him by reasonable fraud-like thoughts that have the appearance of truth. It involves forming conjectures of uncertain things from our perspective. Therefore, we think the area where Cain invites Abel to symbolize strife and conflict. We must now question what these matters are all about, so we foolishly decide to start an intellectual investigation.

It is indeed plain that they are opposite and rival opinions: Abel, who refers everything to God, is the God-loving opinion; and Cain, who refers everything to himself (for his name, being interpreted, means acquisition), is the self-loving opinion. Many people are self-loving when, entering the arena with those who honor virtue, never cease struggling against them with every kind of weapon. They keep this up until the virtuous person surrenders or is utterly demoralized. Therefore, it would have been well for Abel to have exercised the virtue of caution and stayed at home, disregarding the invitation to the arena of discussion to contend with Cain. He should have imitated Rebecca, a symbol of patient waiting. When Esau, the companion of wickedness, was making threats, she advised Jacob, the practitioner of wisdom, to retreat until Esau relaxed his fierce hostility toward him.

All of this may sound highly intellectual and on a philosophical level of reasoning for the average person, but in reality, it opens the door for us to look at what John says here about deeds that can either be good or evil. It all starts with our attitude and mindset. Are those who oppose us controlling our logic and will, or are we under the governorship of the Holy Spirit? John says it all starts with loving one another. So, instead of taking differences as an insult, we take them as issues to discuss. But, John says, the world is uncomfortable with this because their differences are a badge of honor. Once removed, however, they have no choice but to accept what they’ve heard.

John is trying to tell us that we should not do what Cain did, who, under Satanic influence, schemed to get rid of his brother. Cain’s conduct typifies the attitude of the world towards Christians. The Greek verb sphazō (“slew” – KJV) in the Final Covenant occurs only here and in Revelation.[12] The Septuagint Version and the Final Covenant seem to indicate “slay” without necessarily implying the cutting of a victim’s throat. Cain’s works being called evil is not stated in Genesis, but inferred in God’s rejection.[13] The world’s wicked envy the good in blessings and try to destroy what cannot be shared with them – the war between evil and good aims at extermination. The wicked try to destroy the righteous with hatred, while the righteous extinguish the wicked’s hostility by converting them with love.

John, in this verse, offers representatives of two different spiritual families: the family of God and the brood of Satan. Cain represents Satan’s vipers, and Abel represents the family of God. These families stand in stark contrast to one another. John says what love is not before he says what love is. It is not Cain’s attitude and action toward Abel;[14] it is Cain’s jealous resentment of his brother’s more acceptable sacrifice that drove him to kill Abel.[15]  Cain was religious but lost. He was lost because his offering was not sufficient to meet God’s demands.

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[1] Acts of the Apostles 7:52

[2] 1 Thessalonians 2:14

[3] 1 Peter 4:4

[4] Matthew 23:35; cf. Luke 11:51

[5] This is reference to the blood that is sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement

[6] Hebrews 12:23-24

[7] The Targum of Palestine by Jonathan ben Uzziel, Genesis 4:8

[8] This tag line that is said every time after mentioning God’s name is the same as what Jesus repeated in the prayer He gave His disciples: “Our Father which are in heaven, blessed be He.”

[9] Pirḳê de Rabbi Eliezer, translated by Gerald Friedlander, published by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd. London, 1916, pp. 155-156

[10] Acts of the Apostles, 4:13

[11] Philo: That the Worse Attacks the Better, Early Christian Writings, ⁋ I:1

[12] Revelation 5:6, 9, 12; 6:4, 9; 13:3, 8; 18:24

[13] Cf. Hebrews 11:4

[14] Genesis 4:8

[15] Ibid. 4:1-7

• 

DEALING WISELY WITH THE FAULTS OF OTHERS

Archbishop François Fénelon (1651-1725) saw what some of his parishioners were bragging about and concluded that “self-conceit” cannot bear to look at itself. The sight would overwhelm it with shame and frustration, says the archbishop, and if it catches an accidental glimpse, it looks for some dim lighting that may soften the glare of the hideous thing it’s seeing. Therefore, we always keep up some illusion as long as we retain any trace of self-love. In order to see ourselves better, self-love must be rooted up, and the love of God must blossom within us. Then the same light that shows our tanks will remove them. Until then, we will know little about ourselves, since we have partially given ourselves to God while we cling to our egos a great deal more than we think or dare to admit to ourselves.

Only when we accept the truth will we see more clearly. Then, loving ourselves only with the love of charity, we will see ourselves as we see our neighbor, without self-interest without flattery. Meanwhile, God spares our weakness, showing us our true repulsiveness only in proportion to the courage He gives to cope with what we’re seeing. He shows us first one bit and then another, as He gradually leads us toward changing ourselves for the better. Without this merciful groundwork of providing light and strength in due proportion, the sight of our frailties would only lead to utter despair.

Those to whom spiritual guidance is delivered should reveal people’s faults only as God prepares the heart to see them. Spiritual guides must learn to watch a person’s faults with patience and take steps until God makes them feel the conviction in their conscience. Indeed, spiritual counselors must imitate God’s way of dealing with the soul by softening their rebuke so that the person reprimanded feels it was their self-reproach and a sense of wounded love rather than God rebuking them. All other guidance methods – impatiently correcting or because the spiritual guide is agitated by the other person’s many weaknesses – the odor of explosive opinions, not the scent of Grace’s restoration. It is imperfection rebuking the imperfect: this is a case of self-love not wanting to let go, for it cannot see anything to forgive in the other person’s self-conceit. The greater our arrogance, the more severe critics we become. Nothing is so offensive to a self-righteous person than the egotistical attitude of others.

On the other hand, God’s love is full of consideration, self-restraint, like an Army General willing to talk to a Private with humility and tenderness. It adapts itself, waits, and never moves more than one step at a time. The less self-love we have, the more we can adapt ourselves to sharing principles that will help our neighbors deal with failings of any kind. For example, we have learned never to applying healing ointment to a cut or wound until it’s cleaned. Never tell a friend to get rid of certain unhealthy foods without providing them something healthy to eat.

Furthermore, never take untried chances; make sure you know what you are doing and that it’s safe. Sometimes we learn to wait years before giving a helpful warning. Think it through before offering advice; wait until the right time. Let God’s Spirit open their heart and mind. For, if you persist in picking fruit before it is ripe, you are simply wasting your time, and it leaves a bad taste.  

Since most of our moods are momentary and complicated, our explanations are apt to become incorrect before we finish making them up. Something changes and makes our ideas unrealistic. So, it is best to be content to say what seems to be true when we are opening our hearts to them. It is unnecessary to tell everything carefully and precisely. Plan on keeping nothing to yourself; share with them what the Holy Spirit is telling you at the moment. Please don’t put it off until you can soften it with the flattering touches of self- conceit. According to its needs, God supplies what is lacking to an upright heart, and spiritual guides who are enlightened by grace quickly perceive when others may not know what to say. Unlike you, they may not know how to respond to a person opening up and being honest without holding anything back.

Since our friends, too, are imperfect, they can only have a flawed view of us. They often judge us by comparing their failings to our faults, which jars their self-conceit. Self-love is a very sharp, harsh, and unforgiving critic, and the same self-conceit that softens their view of their shortcomings leads to magnifying ours. Because their point of view differs completely from ours, they think they perceive something in us, we know little about, while overlooking much of what we do see. They are then quick to discern many things that wound their sensitive, jealous self-love, things we’ve decided not to share. But they do not see those secret faults that stain our virtues even more because they offend no one but God. And so, their mature judgment may be very superficial.

My conclusion, says the archbishop, is that it is best to listen attentively to God in reflective inward silence and in all simplicity to speak for or against ourselves whatever His light discloses to us at the moment we seek to open our heart.[1] When we know ourselves better, we can improve our understanding of others.

The Bible is not silent on the subject of self-conceit. King Solomon, who had every right to be conceited, since he was thought to be the wisest man in all the world. Even he recognized that we should not be impressed with our wisdom.[2] That’s why some foolish-minded people think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.[3] That why he urges us to be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their estimation.[4] And if you know someone who is consumed with self-conceit, share with them Solomon’s assessment: “There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise.”

No doubt this led the Apostle Paul to tell the believers in Rome not to claim they are wise, otherwise they will become utter fools.[5] Instead, live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all![6] If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.[7]

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[1] François Fénelon, Paraclete Giants, The Complete Fénelon, Translated and Edited by Robert J. Edmonson, Paraclete Press, Brewster, Massachusetts, 2008, pp. 23-25; Vocabulary redacted by Dr. Robert R Seyda.

[2] Proverbs 3:7

[3] Ibid. 12:15

[4] Ibid. 26:5

[5] Romans 1:22

[6] Ibid. 12:16

[7] Galatians 6:3-4

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LVIII) 10/01/21

^3:11 Here is the teaching you were taught when you were converted: We should love one another.

Colin G. Kruse (1950) feels that the NIV translation of this verse, unfortunately, obscures the clear connection between what is foreshadowed in 3:10 and developed in 3:11-18. It is because they failed to translate the Greek conjunction hoti (“for”) with (“which”). Otherwise, 3:11-18 would be introduced as: (“Which is the message …”). The Apostle John establishes this connection by picking up the notion of the person “who does not love” in verse ten when he urges his readers not to be like Cain, who “murdered his brother” in verse twelve. Then, in verse fifteen, John informs readers that anyone who “hates their fellow believer is a murderer.”

Thus, John begins his exposition of loving one’s fellow believers as the mark of those who belong to the truth. He reminds his readers that this is something they’ve heard from the time they were born again. The Gospel message they heard included the command of the Lord Jesus that those who believe in Him should “love one another.”[1] John’s assertion was probably dependent on our Lord’s discourse during the Last Supper. What John means by loving one another is spelled out negatively in the next verse and positively later in verses sixteen to eighteen.[2]

Judith Lieu (1951) mentions that the Greek conjunction hoti can be translated as “that,” “because,” “since.” The NIV, NASB, and the KJV all renderer it “For.” But as Thayer’s Greek Lexicon explains, it refers to some word or words that precede or immediately follow it in this context. But Lieu prefers “because this is the message” as the opening for this eleventh verse. Therefore, what does John say before? If you claim to love God but do not love your brother or sister, you cannot be of God because you’ve heard the message to love one another from the beginning.^[3]

Bruce B. Barton (1954) does not see this “love one another” as a command, as in the old system of Torah, but as an announcement of something good. The message announced from God requires believers to love their brothers and sisters in God’s family. The beginning refers to the time Jesus first told his disciples to love one another[4] and when John’s audience was first formed.[5]

Daniel L. Akin (1957) says that one of the most effective ways of teaching is by using contrasts and comparisons. For example, I might contrast what it means to be a male with being a female. I might highlight the attributes of a tall person by putting them next to a short person. Boy/girl. Big/small. Fast/slow. Up/down. North/South. East/West. Winner/loser. These are all simple examples, but we use this teaching technique all the time. And this technique is not new. The Apostle John also found drawing comparisons and contrasts to teach theology and spiritual truth effectively. Throughout 1 John, the Apostle draws our attention to various contrasts:

Walk in darkness/Walk in light	1:6-7
Say we have no sin/Confess our sins	1:8-9
Keep God’s commands/Do not keep God’s commands	2:3-5
Those who love the world/Those who love the Father	2:15
They/Us	2:19
Antichrist/Christ	2:22
Deny Christ/Confess Christ	2:23
Confident at Christ’s coming/Ashamed at Christ’s coming	2:28
Those who do what is wrong/Those who do what is right	3:4-7

Keeping this in mind, says Akin, lets us see how verse eleven flows naturally out of verse ten. Having been born of God, the child of God does what is right, which includes loving one another. In contrast, the devil’s offspring do not do right and hate their neighbors, destroying their reputation. Thus, there is a crystal-clear contrast between children of God and the devil’s brood, between those who love and those who hate. To make this plain, John goes back in time, all the way back to the beginning. There, he draws our attention to the first murder in human history, the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. He addresses both the act and the sinister source behind the action. Just as God delights in giving new life, the devil equally delights in producing death by instigating ad hominem.[6] [7]

David Legge (1969) notes that while there is deliverance, the Apostle John warns us that a sinful lifestyle can never be an alternative way of living for the child of God. Some propose that you can commit adultery and be a Christian. Or that a believer can engage in drunkenness and be a Christian. Listen to what the Apostle Paul had to say: “Don’t you know that those doing such things have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who live immoral lives, who worship idols, adulterers, or practice homosexuality – will have no share in his Kingdom. Neither will thieves nor greedy people, drunkards, slanderers, or robbers.”[8] That may sound harsh in today’s society, but it’s a case of betting that Paul was either wrong or right. Only on the Day of Judgment will that be decided by God. 

So, says Legge, God’s word is clear: you can do those things, but if you’re going to become a Christian, you must repent of them. Of course, it doesn’t mean that believers will not fall into some of those sins; God forbid that any believer stumble into such immoral behavior during their walk with the Lord. But the point is: these lifestyles must change and cease to be active in a Christian’s life. Here the Apostle John points it out in verse eleven, “Some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One and by the Spirit of our God.” Apparently, some in John’s audience were going back to their old sins. When the Apostle Paul saw the same thing among his converts, he told them, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless you fail the test.”[9] [10]

Douglas Sean O’Donnell (1972) tells us that while verse eleven starts the second half of the epistle, it does not introduce a new theme. The Apostle John has applied the “love test” before, and continues his thought from the final phrase of verse ten. We might even say that the following thirteen verses are an exposition of verse ten on “loving one another.” So, what is new is John’s illustration and application of love. John illustrates Christian love with a contrast between Cain-like hatred and Christ-like love. John begins with his reminder to love. This “message” came to John’s readers from the apostolic evangelists. It is what they heard when the Gospel was first preached to them (the meaning of “heard from the beginning”). That message, however, has its origin in Jesus.[11]

3:12 We must not be like Adam and Eve’s firstborn, Cain, who killed his brother Abel under the influence of Satan. And why did he kill him? Because Cain knew he did wrong with his offering, his brother did what was right with his sacrifice to God.

EXPOSITION

What better illustration could the Apostle John have used?^[12] None! It fits perfectly in his narrative about loving one another even when one is wrong, and the other is right. John was there when the Master told about the farmer who sowed his seed, and some of it fell along the road, and the birds came and took it away. So likewise, the seed of God’s Word is sown in the hearts of those who hear the Gospel, but Satan, like a crow, comes and steals the seed before it can take root.^[13] In fact, we see the same devious operation by Satan when he brought hostility between King Saul and his son-in-law David.^[14]

The Psalmist certainly knew that such inexcusable plans existed in the hearts of the wicked. Therefore, there was nothing that cheered them up other than causing a right-living person to do wrong. And when they failed to do so, they gritted their teeth in anger.^[15] Even King Solomon made a point of this in his wise sayings.^[16] But sometimes, you cannot persuade false accusers to exchange their lies for the truth.^[17] The Apostle John even heard his Master make that charge to those who hated Him.^[18] In fact, even some of those people in the world who were once good friends and buddies will turn against a friend who becomes a vibrant Christian.^[19] Pontius Pilate sure found that to be true when he told them that he could find no fault in the Anointed One.^[20]

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[1] See 1 John 3:23; 4:7, 11, 12; 2 John 1:5

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

[3] Lieu, Judith, I, II, & III John, op. cit., pp. 142-143

[4] See John 13:34-35; 15:17

[5] Barton, Bruce B., 1, 2, & 3 John (Life Application Bible Commentary), op. cit., pp. 71-72

[6] Ad hominem is an attack on an opponent’s character

[7] Akin, Dr. Daniel L., Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary), op. cit., Kindle Edition.

[8] 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

[9] 2 Corinthians 13:5

[10] Legge, David: Preach the Word, 1,2,3 John, op. cit., Part 9

[11] O’Donnell, Douglas Sean, 1-3 John (Reformed Expository Commentaries), op. cit., Kindle Edition.

[12] Genesis 4:4-15; See Hebrews 11:4; Jude 1:11

[13] Matthew 13:19

[14] 1 Samuel 18:14-15; See 19:4-5

[15] Psalm 37:12

[16] Proverbs 29:27

[17] Matthew 27:23

[18] John 10:32

[19] Ibid. 15:19-25

[20] Ibid. 18:38-40

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LVII) 09/30/21

^3:11 Here is the teaching you were taught when you were converted: We should love one another.

Not only that, says Kretzmann, but they must show their appreciation for the Anointed One’s wonderful blessings of love with one another, of which they have become partakers. The very antithesis of such unselfish love is shown in the example of Cain. Cain, who was of the Evil One, the one who murdered his brother. And why did Cain kill Abel? Because his offering to God was based on his works, but those of his brother were founded on God’s blessings.

Cain, the first murderer, received the inspiration for his evil deed from the devil, a murderer from the beginning.[1] Having rejected that which was good, Cain became a servant of selfishness and sin. At the same time, he was jealous of the pure character of his brother Abel, just as unbelievers resent the fact that Christians refuse to join them in their blasphemy of God and their various transgressions of God’s holy will.[2] That was the reason why he took his brother’s life because he could not bear God’s favor for Abel’s offering. Thus, it angered Cain that God accepted Abel’s sacrifice rather than his.[3]

Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1973) says it is no secret; the Apostle John clearly reveals that the message he is speaking of is that “we must love one another.” But John wants his readers to understand that we should love our neighbor as we want to be loved. If someone is still not convinced, love was why God sent His Son into the world;^[4] love is so powerful that the Apostle Paul said that loving God and one another fulfills the entire Law.^[5] It echoes what Jesus said that by loving, we fulfill the writings of the prophets.^[6] So while the demand for righteousness is an article of faith, the command for love is a matter of ethics.^[7]

Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952) writes about the inward confirmation of the reliability of the Scriptures. He touches on what the Apostle John says here in verse eleven about the teachings his readers already heard from him and other apostles. Pink points out that the Bible testifies to the fact that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,”[8] and our convicted conscience confirms it. The Bible declares that it is “not by trying to do what is right, but according to His mercy”[9] As sinners, we all learned that we were unable to do anything to win God’s favor. However, after crying out the prayer of the Publican, [10] we all went away justified by faith.

The Bible also teaches that “if any person is in union with the Anointed One, they are a new creation: old things have passed away; behold all things are now new.”[11] Consequently, the believer has found that the objects they once hated they now love, and the things thought to be for their pleasure, they now regard as trash to be thrown away. Furthermore, the Bible explains that we “are kept by the power of God through faith.”[12] Therefore, believers have proven that God’s grace is sufficient for all their needs, although the world, the flesh, and the devil are organized against them.[13] Ask any Christian why they believe that the Bible is the Word of God. They will tell you it’s because it has done for them what it professes to do. They have tested its promises for themselves and found its teachings verified in their experiences.^[14]

Greville P. Lewis (1891-1976) says that once we accept the Anointed One as Savior, we must obey Him as our Lord and Master. It is so because of the incredible offer of everlasting life and the supreme ethical demand to love our brothers and sisters in the fellowship of the Church.^[15]

Amos N. Wilder (1895-1993) sees the original message in this epistle is represented as an imperative declaration. The nature of the Good News is such as to have its outcome in the fellowship of mutual love. Look at it this way, the vows that a couple make at their wedding to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, until death us do part, is also a declaration. But it has no meaning unless it becomes a reality.^[16] The same is true with our relationship with the Anointed One. We can declare our love for Him, but it is meaningless unless it is evident in our fellowship with one another. So, for walking in the Light to have any significance, we must be moving forward with a purpose to love God by loving each other.

Paul W. Hoon (1910-2000) tells us that love as an ethical factor in our Christian life is not an option, not a religious or moralist invention, nor something based on pure emotion. Love confronts us as a necessity flowing from the heart in real-time. It is not a philosophical concept. Instead, it has its meaning in our Christian life. The Bible does not call Love a theory; it is God’s Law. Laws are established after the theory is proven as fact.^[17]

Rudolf Schnackenburg (1914-2002) notes that the Apostle John repeats here in verse eleven what he said in 1 John 1:5 and links them at the end of verse ten. To neglect this message, says Schnackenburg, would be a dangerous compromise. Earlier, John talks about Jesus’ command that we love our fellow believers, but now he broadens that by saying “love one another.” In other words, love is a two-way street; it is mutual and reciprocal. You might hear someone say, “I love that statue,” or “I love that car.” The problem is that your love is not returned to you. John does not want loving others to be restricted only to those in our group, but every human we meet. And the kind of love John is speaking of is defined in John 3:16 – God’s Love led to His giving, and His gift brought trust, and trust delivered help. Therefore, how can we love those outside God’s family if we do not love those inside?^[18]

Donald Burdick (1917-1996) reminds us that the love of brothers and sisters in God’s family is essential for Christian living. That’s why God gave it as a command. Burdick mentions that the excluded Gnostics and Dualists only appeared after Jesus came. Their refusal to fellowship with others caused them to be considered part of the antichrist spirit.^[19]

Stephen S. Smalley (1931-2018) says that a true child of God not only renounces any love for sin, but announces their unconditional love for others. The reason is that the message which Apostle John says was from the beginning is Good News about Love.^[20] Just think of this: Did God create the universe out of anger? Did He generate man and woman out of spite? Did He cause the atmosphere to provide light and rain out of rage? Did He call Abraham just to be mischievous? Did He give Moses the Law out of hatred? No! Nor did He send His Son to punish sinners, but to save them.^[21] So, long before it was spoken and then written, Love has been God’s proclamation to the world.

Edward Malatesta (1932-1998) states the Apostle John announces the central theme of this section to be love for one another. It is something he heard and preached since he became a disciple of the Anointed One. Now he adds faith in verse twenty-three as an integral part of the commandment.^[22] It’s understandable that you cannot love God or love your fellow believer unless you believe in God.

James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) sees verses 11-18 as the second contrast of Love and Hate, the first being the children of God versus vipers of the devil. While that may seem improper for the Apostle John’s day, it certainly is relevant for today. The meaning of love has been so degraded that the world uses it when talking about loving bad things. Boice brings up a popular song some years ago titled, “Everybody loves somebody sometime.”[23] But it doesn’t work with God. You can’t say that you love the Father and all His children just because you went to church. Hate originated with the devil; love commenced with God, who is Love. John expands on this in the next verse.^[24]

Michael Eaton (1942-2017) makes an interesting point by noting that the earliest promise of the Gospel comes as a commitment that God will crush Satan’s head.^[25] In other words, He will undo everything that Satan did in engineering the alienation between God and humanity. But this account in Genesis three is followed in Genesis four by a breach between man and woman. It then goes on to detail the breakdown between Cain and Abel. Later we read of the division between Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, David and Saul, and finally, physical Israel and spiritual Israel. No wonder the Psalmist cried out, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”[26] [27]

---

[1] John 8:44

[2] 1 Peter 4:4

[3] Kretzmann, Paul E., Popular Commentary, 1 John, op. cit., pp. 567-568

[4] John 13:34-35

[5] Galatians 5:14

[6] Matthew 22:40

[7] Bultmann, Rudolf, A Commentary on the Johannine Epistles – Hermeneia, op. cit., p. 54

[8] Romans 3:23

[9] Titus 3:5

[10] Luke 18:13

[11] 2 Corinthians 5:17

[12] 1 Peter 1:5

[13] 2 Corinthians 12:9

[14] Arthur W. Pink: The Divine Inspiration of the Bible, Ch. 12, p. 56

[15] Lewis, Greville P., The Johannine Epistles – Epworth, op. cit., p. 84

[16] Wilder, Amos N. The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., pp. 260-261

[17] Hoon, Paul W., The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., pp. 260-261

[18] Schnackenburg, Rudolf, The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p. 178

[19] Donald, The Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 56

[20] Smalley, Stephen S., 1,2,3 John – Word Commentary, Vol. 51, op. cit., 181-183

[21] John 3:17

[22] Malatesta, Edward, Interiority and Covenant, op. cit., p. 251

[23] As song written by Sam Coslow, Irving Taylor, and pianist Ken Lane which Dean Martin made popular in 1964

[24] Boice, James Montgomery, The Epistles of John, op. cit., pp. 91-92

[25] Genesis 3:15

[26] Psalm 133:1

[27] Eaton, Michael, Focus on the Bible, 1,2,3, John, op. cit., p. 107

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LVI) 09/29/21

^3:11 Here is the teaching you were taught when you were converted: We should love one another.

Fellowship with God [living right] is inseparable from love. The God of Light is also the God of Love. Knowing this, love, enables us to love beyond human love. Loving some members of the family of God is not easy, but God wants us to love unloving Christians. You may have heard the following jingle that reveals the true state of love among some believers today:

            “To dwell above with saints, we love,

                    Oh, that will be glory.

               But to live below with saints, we know,

                    Well, that’s another story.”

In the comic strip “Peanuts,” the cartoon character, Linus, once said, “I love mankind; it is just people I can’t stand.”[1]  In the face of irritation, loving a fellow Christians is an actual test of love coming from divine nature. Christians should love one another because they have a common origin – the family of God. As British Admiral Nelson drew his ship alongside to battle the Dutch fleet, two English officers quarreled. Nelson flung himself between them and, pointing to the ships of Holland, said, “Gentlemen, there are your enemies!” Never should our fellow Christians become our enemies.   

COMMENTARY

Richard Rothe (1799-1867) says that anyone unwilling to keep God’s commandment, in which God expressed the interest closest to His heart, cannot have genuine fellowship with Him in the heart where love began. Therefore, when we not only love God but are living in harmony with God, it is because we have a divine principle to love implanted in us through love. It is real life in union with God expressed by loving one another as He loved us.^[2]

Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (1802-1870) was an American author, educator, clergyman, French general in Revolutionary France, dramatist, memoirist, historian, and short storyteller. He was once quoted^[3] as saying, “I don’t know if it is because I will soon leave this earth, and the rays that are already reaching me from below the horizon have disturbed my sight, but I believe our world is about to begin to realize the true meaning of the words, ‘Love one another,’ without being concerned whether a human or God uttered them.”^[4]

It brings to mind the words of poet Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933)

               The worlds in which we live are two

                    The world “I am” and the world “I do.”       

               The worlds in which we live at heart as one,

                    The world “I am,” the fruit of “I have done.”

               And underneath these worlds of flower and fruit,

                    The world “I love” – is the only living root.^[5]

Frederick D. Maurice (1805-1872) makes a bold statement here. He states that the Apostle John never says or dreams that believers desire to sin because the devil forced them to do it. The thought of being obliged to sin is not implied in John’s words; in fact, they contradict it. Tempter and Accuser’s names do not indicate such a thing; the word “Sin” excludes it. That must belong to the person. The Apostle says that sin comes from contact or fellowship between an individual’s saintly and sinful spirits. To commit sin is to become Satan’s dependent, his servant. Do you think anyone will take more responsibility for their actions if they throw John’s doctrine overboard? On the contrary, it seems they would be in greater danger of denying their guilt. It might lead them to believe that sin is so much a part of them they can’t get away from it. There, excuses for wrongdoing await our signal under the words, inclination, tendency, and disposition. At the same time, they may give up hope for spiritual reformation. So, the best thing to do is cut themselves off from any communion with their fellow-creatures.

We need to remember, inclinations, tendencies, and dispositions may be more assertive in us than another believer, says Maurice. That means what is strong in us is weak in others. Each person tries to make their case; each pleads that their sinful tendencies are irresistible; each hardly looks at their fellow believer’s struggle, of which they know nothing. It is no myth – we know that it is what we are all continually tempted to do. Thus, it is the secret of narrow-mindedness and wanting everyone to feel sorry for us; it is the undisclosed reason for our hugging our vices until they destroy us.

Maurice continues. We must heartily believe that we have a common enemy plotting against us all, making use of every person’s particular gift or characteristic designed for blessings to bring them spiritual ruin. Satan is busy making accusations against us before our heavenly Father, [[6] then has us condemning every brother or sister for wrongdoing, turning us against each other. It means persuading us that they are not God’s children, that they do not belong to God’s family. The questions are: should we pamper this miserable pettiness that is preying upon our fundamental beliefs? Is it right to be cruel by mocking the spiritual illnesses and instabilities of our fellow believers? Should we not feel that we are in this fight together? That each person who stands their ground firmly is doing something to benefit us all, even if they are wounded?[7]

James J. Lias (1814-1923) notes that while most versions render verse eleven as “For this is the message,” we could translate it as “For the message.” That would make the passage a little more emphatic. And when we look at the phrase “from the beginning,”[8] it would mean from when they first heard the Gospel. The message John refers to contains the practical doctrine Jesus preached in His sermon on the mountainside.[9] We also find it formulated in the last discourse of Jesus before His crucifixion.^[10]

Lias goes on to say that many try to confine loving one another to the Christian society, no doubt because it is the first and most obvious precept within the Church. The Church was destined to embrace the whole world, since it was prophesied: “the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the water that fills the seas.”^[11] It was God’s will that “all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.”^[12] Therefore, it was proclaimed from the beginning of the Gospel that all believers should love one another.^[13]

Paul E. Kretzmann (1883-1965) says that so much depends upon the genuineness of a Christian’s conduct that the Apostle John warns against every form of deceit: “Little children, let no one deceive you:” they that practice righteousness are living right, just as the Anointed One is righteous; they that commit sin is of the devil, for from the beginning the devil sinned. John intended this clear statement to remove all misunderstandings and prevent every form of deception. The righteous disposition of the heart molds the Christian character by faith and is bound to express itself in holy living. The Anointed One is the type, the example, the pattern of righteousness, and a life of perfect holiness. A spiritual child of God will have His manner; a disciple of the Anointed One will follow the Master.

By contrast, says Kretzmann, a person that deliberately sins is a servant of sin, thereby showing themselves a compliant pupil, a part of the devil’s brood, and Satan’s workshop. He works in the children of disobedience and uses them as his tools for committing every form of wrongdoing. That means the devil was sinning from the beginning. The very first sin recorded was caused by him, and induced people to sin from then on. It makes them his slaves, servants of unrighteousness and damnation. It is a terrible picture that the Apostle John paints, which should cause any Christian to shudder with fear.

And the same test may be applied concerning the practice of brotherly love, notes Kretzmann, for this, is the message the Apostle John’s readers heard from the beginning, that they should love one another. John reverts to this topic time and time again. To John, brotherly love is the very essence and substance of the Christian life. All trees are known by their fruit. So likewise, the faith of the Christian must be revealed in the fruit of love.[14] According to the Word of God and the last instructions of Jesus, love is the outstanding trait and characteristic of the believer.

---

[1] This line was spoken by Linus Van Pelt in the November 12, 1959 comic strip of Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz (1950-2000).

[2] Rothe, Richard, The Expository Times, op. cit., May 1893, pp. 354-355

[3] In 1893

[4] Dumas, Alex: The Expositor’s Dictionary of Texts, Vol. 2, 1 John, op. cit.

[5] Van Dyke, Henry: Poem: One World.

[6] Revelation 12:10

[7] Maurice, F. D., The Epistles of St. John, op. cit., pp. 188-189

[8] 1 John 2:24

[9] Matthew 5-7

[10] See John 13:34, 35; 15:12, 13; cf. 1 John 2:7

[11] Isaiah 11:9

[12] 1 Timothy 2:4

[13] Lias, James J., The First Epistle of St. John with Exposition, pp. 249-251

[14] See Galatians 5:22-23

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LV) 09/28/21

^3:10 So now we can tell who is a child of God and who belongs to Satan. Whoever lives a sinful life and doesn’t love their brother or sister shows that they are not part of God’s family.

Peter Pett (1966) takes the Apostle John’s word that the children of God will be revealed. They are already exposed by the fact that they love God and obey His teachings, and love their brothers and sisters who are steadfast in the faith. It does not make them God’s children; it results from the fact that they are His children. But those who do not seek to obey God’s will, who are not living right, and who does not love those who are faithful in the faith, reveal who they are – the devil’s brood. It means they behave like the devil in his refusal to listen to God.

It must be noted, remarks Pett; there is no suggestion of being “born of the devil.” The devil gathers followers by deceit and betrayal. He is an intruder. John is contrasting God birthing us with being born as a human. When Satan convinces people whom he has tempted to join him, it is a work of disgrace. It is not the natural order of things. Nevertheless, it is their free choice. They, too, respond because of what they are. They have, by free choice, taken their stand against the will of God.[1]

David Legge (1969) says that this Son of Thunder[2] seems to offer choices in his condemnation of any kind of sin in a Christian’s life. The thought should come to mind that there appears to be an apparent inconsistency in what John is saying here and what he said in 1 John 1:8-10. He is equally dogmatic here in verse ten, but in a different sense. In verse eight, John says, “‘If we say we have no sin,” speaking of our sinful tendencies, “we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Now here he says, “If we say that we have not sinned,” speaking practically of the sins that we commit, “we make God a liar, and His Word is not in us.” Some theologians have concluded that John is contradicting himself. On the one hand, he says believers should not sin, especially if they call themselves a Christian. Otherwise, they are lying. Yet, John calls those liars in whom the truth does not reside, who deny they have a sinful nature and who refuse to believe they have sinned.[3]

Douglas Sean O’Donnell (1972) notes that the Apostle John moves beyond the idea of “wrongdoing” in Genesis[4] and the “lack of faith” in Hebrews[5] and places Cain’s motive at the devil’s doorstep.[6] It is a logical theological association to Genesis 3:1-4. It also fits Jesus’ view of the murder connection (“the devil” has been “a murderer from the beginning.”)[7] John confidently follows his Lord’s lead by equating those who reject other Christians to this same satanic source. John also has the apostate antichrists in mind. Did they depart the Christian community because they were envious of John? Envy or no envy, they hated John, and their poisonous gossip and false gospel were spilling into the church’s ears. They wanted the Christianity of the Apostles dead.[8]

^3:11 Here is the teaching you were taught when you were converted: We should love one another.

EXPOSITION

Ancient tradition tells us that as the Apostle John approached his final days, his voice grew so weak that he could no longer preach to the congregation in Ephesus. Yet, each Sunday, as he arrived at the church, he would offer a similar appeal: “Little children, love one another.” When the congregation grew tired of this same sentence, someone finally asked John why he frequently repeated it. He replied, “I say what I say because it is the Lord’s command, and if this is all you do, it is enough.”^[9]

Now the Apostle John removes all doubt as to where this truth was revealed to him. No sooner did Jesus call him and his brother, James, to be His followers than Jesus told them about God’s Love for the world and how we should love each other even as God loved us.^[10] It is clearly shown in John’s comments after he saw how Jesus dealt with Nicodemus.^[11] Once we become a beacon for the Light who dwells within us, the world will easily spot us as one of those “Christians.” And one of the things that will alert them is when they see us having compassion for those in need, even if they hate us.^[12] It was the same message Paul sent to the believers in Ephesus.^[13]

It appears that the Apostle Paul saw that the saints in Thessalonica were doing quite well when it came to being a light to the world and salt of the earth in their image of being a good Samaritan.^[14] And the Apostle Peter gave his readers a commendation on their change of heart and mind when it came to helping their spiritual brothers and sisters with physical, material, and spiritual needs.^[15] That is why he encouraged them always to find a way to agree on how to better understand each other, especially as part of the family of God.^[16] Doing this will spread and cause others to forgive one another of any hurts because real love is the remedy for disharmony.^[17] And the Apostle John used this same principle when writing his second letter.^[18]

This Greek entolē (“commandment” – KJV)[19] to love one another, the Apostle John’s readers heard from the beginning. Not merely in the beginning, but from the beginning; it was among the first announcements, and it had never ceased to be in force. In his Commentary on Galatians, Jerome tells us that when John became too infirm to preach, he often used to say no more than this, “Little children, love one another.” Finally, his hearers grew tired of it and asked, “Master, why do you always say this?” “It is the Lord’s command,” John replied, “and if you do only this, it is enough.”[20]

The only other occurrence of the noun “message” in the Final Covenant occurs in 1 John 1:5. That message has to do with “fellowship” with God.  The message here in verse eleven is that we “should love one another,” which is at the center of fellowship.  It is a message to saints who wish to have communion with God on an ongoing basis.

John issues a test of whether a believer is in fellowship with God and others.[21] Then, he views the Christian life as divine citizenship.[22]  He employs love again as a test of a person who is a genuine son. John continues his stark contrast between the family of God and Satan’s vipers in verses eleven and twelve. Cain is typical of Satan’s offspring, and the Anointed One is the firstborn of God’s family.

Also, the Greek conjunction hoti (“for” – KJV) at the beginning of verse eleven explains the basis on which the statement of the previous verse leans. John offers evidence substantiating the declaration, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor are they those who love Christian brothers and sisters.”[23] The people of God love God’s people.  This epistle aims to help John’s readers understand the nature of God’s Love.

The message that John was proclaiming was not new; they heard this at the very beginning of their walk with the Lord. It also draws attention to the divine nature of verse nine. The principle of love goes back to a family issue, the family of God.  Love is a reflection of divine nature. Love proves that spiritual life exists. The test of fellowship lies in love, not in religion, church attendance, or remorse. It starts with loving one another.

It should be noted that the words “love one another” occur 5 times in this epistle.[24] Thus, the term “love” in its various forms occurs 46 times. Believers should put their stamp on love. The words “one another” mean another of the same kind. Spiritual birth and divine nature came in the same package; therefore, love is no option for the believer. If God generated Christians into one family, it is reasonable that they would love people like themselves. So, the principle at work here is that the manifestation of love is the outcome of being a member of God’s family.

So, how do we apply this to our lives? Remember, the origin of spiritual life starts at conversion.  Believing and accepting the Gospel puts believers into one household.  It unites them in the Anointed One as members of God’s family.  It should generate family love, the Anointed One’s love within one another.

---

[1] Pett, Peter: Truth According to Scripture, op. cit., loc. cit.

[2] Mark 3:17

[3] Legge, David: Preach the Word, 1,2,3, John, op. cit., Part 9

[4] Genesis 4:9

[5] Hebrew 11:4

[6] 1 John 3:12

[7] John 8:44

[8] O’Donnell, Douglas Sean, 1-3 John (Reformed Expository Commentaries), op. cit., (Kindle Locations 3196-3198)

[9] From Jerome (Galatians 6.10), cited in Alfred Plummer, The Epistles of St. John, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1894), xxxv. Cf. Jerome, Commentary on Galatians, trans. Andrew Cain, Ancient Christian Writers 121 (New York: Newman, 2010), p. 260

[10] John 13:34-35; 15:12

[11] John 3:16

[12] Galatians 6:2

[13] Ephesians 5:2

[14] 1 Thessalonians 4:9

[15] 1 Peter 1:22

[16] Ibid. 3:8

[17] Ibid. 4:8

[18] 2 John 1:5; cf. 1 John 2:3-4, 7-8; 3:22-24; 4:21; 5:2-3; see John 13:34

[19] 1 John 3:11

[20] Jerome, Fathers of the Church, Commentary on Galatians, 6:10

[21] 1 John 5:7-11

[22] Ibid. 5:11-24

[23] Ibid. 3:10b

[24] Ibid. 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12

• 

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER THREE (Lesson LIV) 09/27/21

^3:10 So now we can tell who is a child of God and who belongs to Satan. Whoever lives a sinful life and doesn’t love their brother or sister shows that they are not part of God’s family.

William Loader (1944) says that the Apostle John focuses on a believer’s ongoing attitude and behavior rather than a single incident. We are not called to show our love for a fellow believer just with a hug or embrace and a few kind words. No, John says, it must involve practical caring at the level of helping to meet one another’s basic necessities. In other words, it’s not just telling some member of the congregation that you heard about their needs and will be praying for them. It involves finding out what they lack to see which one you can help them with. That is how we love our Christian brother and sister. Our sanctified lifestyle must be holistic because it embraces the entire connection from God to the Christian community.^[1]

David Jackman (1945) says that membership in the family of God is not a cold and clinical relationship. God’s children are inseparable from love. Love is an honest connection with others – not an emotion, but an act of the will. Love as a feeling is useless. We must express our love by caring and sharing, hard work and loyalty, generosity, and long-suffering. That’s the love we need in order to claim the right to be called a child of God. God’s love does not grow naturally. It is a gift from our heavenly Father.^[2]

Robert W. Yarbrough (1948) writes that the Apostle John reaffirms that God’s offspring do not sin: No one born of God sins due to their divine parentage. John’s assertion has points of contact with previous verses, but makes its claim in slightly different ways. Thus, 1 John 3:9, taken together with 3:10, lays the foundation for the summons to love that is the central theme of 3:9-18. The passive forms of the Greek gennaō (to birth) infer that God is the active agent. The word appeared earlier[3] and persisted in later discussions.[4] It enables believers to be called “children of God.”[5] They have been “birthed” through the Holy Spirit, which harmonizes with the concept that they are not products of human procreation.[6] No wonder John will go on to make ambitious demands of them: they are a unique reality, divinely fathered and therefore graced with a higher ethic than those of natural birth.

Yarbrough then notes that verses nine and ten lay the foundation for loving by affirming the visible nature of the distinction between divine and demonic origins. Based on divine parentage, John is confident that God’s true children, like the devil’s brood, ultimately cannot conceal their true identity. The nature of their inner distinctiveness will be “evident” (Greek: phanera) from their actions. This Greek word repeatedly occurs in the Final Covenant (though only here in John’s writings) to describe the laying bare of the inner truth about deeds, [[7] whether they are characteristics of God’s[8] or Jesus.[9]

A third-way verses nine and ten lay the foundation for a love call to love, says Yarbrough, is by affirming the ethical nature that distinguishes between the two groups. In particular, some fail to obey God and then to love others. By touching on not doing the right thing, [10] John restates the moral dimension of knowing.[11] It foreshadows relating to moral and ethical instruction in later verses of this section.[12]

Colin G. Kruse (1950) observes that verse ten brings this section to a conclusion (1 John 2:29-3:10) and does so by restating (3:7-8) the criterion by which we distinguish the children of God from the devil’s brood. This is how we know who God’s children are and who the offspring of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God. Therefore, doing what is right and not doing what is right (both understood as ongoing actions) become important identifying marks of the children of God and the devil’s vipers. However, these are not the only identifying marks, as John’s concluding remark in this verse clarifies: neither is anyone who loves their Christian brother and sister. Other important identifying marks of God’s children and those from the devil’s nest are not loving fellow believers, respectively. By saying this, John introduces a new element into his argument and foretells the subject of the letter’s upcoming section.[13]

Judith Lieu (1951) makes a good point. She says that when we talk about someone being born of God, it no longer concerns identifying people by their actions and drawing conclusions. Instead, we must consider what we will be when we meet Jesus in the air. That is something for which we are not yet responsible. Just like offspring have no choice in who their parents were and can take no credit or blame for it, society considers them accountable for every thought or deed influenced by their upbringing. But God’s children are unique; the indwelling Spirit is their source for instruction on godly behavior. Nevertheless, it is up to them whether or not they obey.^[14]

Marianne M. Thompson (1954) points out that this tenth verse takes us back to verses one through three and contrasts the seen and unseen, the known and unknown. As of now, we are known in the world as God’s children, but we still must wait until God reveals everything about us to the world. At this time, the world recognizes us for our right living and loving. These are both characteristics of our Father God and His Son Jesus, our brother. Moreover, they conform to God’s standard and the pattern set by Jesus. The Apostle John emphasizes this because those who left the congregation did not believe in Jesus as God’s Son nor practiced brotherly love, especially with those who disagreed with them. As far as John is concerned, this violates God’s Royal Law of Love and makes them sinners.^[15]

Bruce B. Barton (1954) notes that the Apostle John spoke in absolutes – right or left, up or down, hot or cold; he offered no middle ground: a person either belongs to God or the devil. The matter concludes that believers can tell who God’s children apart from the devil’s brood. The way to spot the “pretenders” is to see whether they live righteously[16] and whether they love other believers[17] who are powerful witnesses to the reality of God’s Love. Believers must help to unify their congregations. They can also pray for other Christians, avoid gossip, build others up, work together in humility, give their time and money, exalt the Anointed One, and refuse to get entangled in troublesome disputes.[18]

Daniel L. Akin (1957) states that verse ten summarizes a discussion that began back in 1 John 2:3. It also prepares us for a more extended argument to follow on the importance of love. Two basic and straightforward tests are outlined in this text that distinguishes a child of God from the devil’s vipers. First, do you do what is right? Second, do you love others? John says it is that simple. In these verses, the Apostle John puts the issue in negative terms (not doing what is right and not loving others). But they are meant to be an appeal to believers: “Show yourselves to be true children of God! Practice these two virtues!” Those who hate sin have been set free from the devil’s clutches and born of God to do what is right and love others.[19]

Bruce G. Schuchard (1958) sees the Apostle John here shifting from the theme of living for the sake of righteousness to the theme of loving one’s fellow believer. Schuchard takes the Greek me agapon “no loving” to mean “fails to love.” This is not a “sign of weakness” but an action that ultimately defines the person. It is more than just forgetting to love or consciously or unconsciously missing the opportunity to love. Instead, it is characteristic of someone who refuses to love;^[20] they are traitors to the faith by failing to live either for the sake of the Father or the Son. They refuse to live right and embracing those who are their brothers and sisters in God’s family.^[21]

David Guzik (1961) notes that the Apostle John doesn’t spend time trying to prove or explain the devil’s existence. He knows the reality of the devil is a biblical fact. Unfortunately, some today lack John’s wisdom and either deny that the devil is real or they are obsessed with the devil. Some might think John is far too harsh in saying some are the devil’s offspring, supposing perhaps that John did not love people as Jesus did. But Jesus also called certain people children of the devil.[22] In this passage, Jesus’ point was important, establishing the principle that our spiritual parentage determines our nature and our destiny. If we are born again and have God as our Father, it will show in our character and determine our fate. But whether our ancestor is Satan or Adam, it will also show in our personality and future – just as it showed in Jesus’ adversaries.[23]

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[1] Loader, William, The First Epistle of John, op. cit., pp. 39-40

[2] Jackman, David, The Message of John’s Letters, op. cit., p. 96

[3] 1 John 2:29

[4] Ibid 4:7; 5:1^x3, 4, 18^x2

[5] See Ibid. 3:2

[6] Cf. ibid. 1:13

[7] Cf. Mark 4: 22; Luke 8: 17^2×; Acts of the Apostles 4:16; 1 Corinthians 3:13; 11:19; Galatians 5:19

[8] Romans 1:19

[9] Matthew 12:16; Mark 3:12

[10] See 1 John 2:29

[11] Ibid. 2:1

[12] Yarbrough, Robert W., 1-3 John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., pp. 194-196

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

[14] Lieu, Judith, I. II, III John, op. cit., pp. 137-142

[15] Thompson, Marianne M., 1-3 John, op. cit., pp. 97-99

[16] See 1 John 2:3-5

[17] Ibid. 2:7-11

[18] Bruce B. Barton (1954) 1, 2, & 3 John (Life Application Bible Commentary), op. cit., p. 71

[19] Akin, Dr. Daniel L., Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary), op. cit., Kindle Edition.

[20] See 1 John 2:9-11

[21] Schuchard, Bruce G., 1-3 John, Concordia, op. cit. pp. 338-339

[22] John 8:41-45

[23] Guzik, David – Enduring Word, op. cit., pp. 56-57