CHAPTER 3

(A.D. 90)

LOVE

¹Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us (presents that which is foreign to this present world, and, in fact, comes from another world), that we should be called the sons of God (we are sons of God by virtue of adoption into the Family of God, derived through the Born-Again experience): there fore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not. (The world does not recognize nor acknowledge Believers as sons of God, just as they did not recognize nor acknowledge Christ to be the Son of God.)

²Beloved, now are we the sons of God (we are just as much a son of God now as we will be after the Resurrection), and it does not yet appear what we shall be (our present state as a son of God is not at all like that we shall be in the coming Resurrection): but we know that, when He shall appear (the Rapture), we shall be like Him (speaks of being glorified); for we shall see Him as He is. (Physical eyes in a mortal body could not look upon that Glory, only eyes in Glorified Bodies.)

RIGHTEOUSNESS

³And every man who has this hope in Him (the Resurrection) purifies himself (takes advantage of what Christ did for us at the Cross, which is the only way one can be pure), even as He (Christ) is pure (places Christ as our example).

⁴Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the Law (the Greek Text says, the sin, and refers to Believers placing their Faith in that other than the Cross; such constitutes rebellion against Gods Prescribed Order and is labeled as sin): for sin is the transgression of the Law. (This refers to the moral Law the Ten Commandments. Rebelling against Gods Order, which is the Cross, opens the door for works of the flesh [Gal. 5:19-21].)

⁵And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins (He did so at the Cross; the Christian cannot practice what Christ came to take away and destroy); and in Him is no sin. (This presents the fact that He was able to be the Perfect Sacrifice to take away the sin of the world, which completely destroys the erroneous doctrine that Jesus died spiritually, as some claim.)

⁶Whosoever abides in Him sins not (does not practice sin): whosoever sins (practices sin) has not seen Him, neither known Him. (As stated, Jesus saves from sin, not in sin. If we look to the Cross, sin will not have dominion over us [Rom. 6:14].)

⁷Little children, let no man deceive you (the entirety of this Epistle is a warning against antinomianism, which teaches that sin doesnt matter because Grace covers it): he who does Righteousness is Righteous (truly being Righteous will truly do Righteousness, i.e., live Righteously), even as He is Righteous. (We have been granted the Righteousness of Christ, so we should live Righteous, which we can if our Faith Eternally abides in the Cross [Rom. 6:1-14].)

⁸He who commits sin (practices sin) is of the Devil (whoever is truly born of God does not live a life of habitual sinning); for the Devil sinneth from the beginning (from the beginning of his rebellion against God). For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. (This proclaims what was done at the Cross [Col. 2:14-15].)

⁹Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin (does not practice sin); for his seed remains in him (refers to the Word of God): and he cannot sin (cannot continue to practice sin), because he is born of God. (This refers to the repugnancy of sin in the heart of the true Christian.)

¹⁰In this the Children of God are manifest, and the children of the Devil (there is no comparison between the two): whosoever does not Righteousness is not of God, neither he who loves not his Brother. (Righteousness and Love are the two manifestations of the Child of God.)

LOVE

¹¹For this is the Message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (The first attribute made evident in the new Christian is Love.)

¹²Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his Brother (presents the prototype of evil). And wherefore slew he him? (Cain was not a murderer because he killed his Brother, but killed his Brother because he was a murderer.) Because his own works were evil, and his Brothers Righteous (points directly to the Cross; the rejection of Gods Way [the Cross], which Cain did, is labeled by the Holy Spirit as evil; Abel accepted the Cross [Gen., Chpt. 4]).

¹³Marvel not, my Brethren, if the world hate you (expect no better treatment from the world than Abel received from Cain).

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the Brethren (love for the Brethren is the first sign of spiritual life). He who loves not his Brother abides in death. (Love for the Brethren must characterize the Salvation profession. Otherwise, our claims are false.)

¹⁵Whosoever hates his Brother is a murderer (the absence of love proclaims the presence of hatred; where hatred is, there is murder): and you know that no murderer has Eter nal Life abiding in him (comes back to the absence of love).

¹⁶Hereby perceive we the Love of God(speaks of knowledge gained by experience), because He laid down His Life for us (the highest proof of love is the Sacrifice of that which is most precious): and we ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren. (This proclaims Christ as our example, and what the meaning of true love actually is.)

¹⁷But whoso has this worlds goods (refers to the necessities of life), and sees his brother have need (it is seeing a Christian in need of the necessities of life over a long period), and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him (presents the individual who has the means to truly help, but refuses to do so), how dwells the Love of God in him? (His actions proclaim the fact that despite his profession, there is actually no love of God in him.)

¹⁸My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue (let us not merely talk love); but in deed and in truth. (True love demands action.)

¹⁹And hereby we know that we are of the Truth (the evidence of love is the guarantee of Truth), and shall assure our hearts before Him. (Am I loving as I ought to be? Our hearts will tell us!)

²⁰For if our heart condemn us (our failures in duty and service rise up before us, and our heart condemns us), God is greater than our heart (the worst in us is known to God, and still He cares for us and desires us; our discovery has been an open secret to Him all along), and knows all things (presents God Alone knowing our hearts; this is the true test of a man).

²¹Beloved, if our heart condemn us not (does not claim sinless perfection, but represents the heart attitude of a Saint that, so far as he knows, has no unconfessed sin in his life), then have we confidence toward God (implies no condemnation).

²²And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him (speaks of prayer, and that we must keep asking for that which is desired), because we keep His Commandments (Christ has already kept all of the Commandments; our Faith in Him and the Cross gives us His Victory, and is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit [Rom. 8:1-2, 11]), and do those things that are pleasing in His sight (pertains to the fact that the Cross is ever the Object of our Faith [Heb. 11:6]).

²³And this is His Commandment (is given to us in the singular), That we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ (stands for all the Son of God is in His wonderful Person, and above all what He did for us at the Cross), and love one another, as He gave us Commandment. (Proper Faith guarantees proper love [Mat. 22:37-40].)

²⁴And he who keeps His Commandments dwells in Him, and He in him. (Faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for us at the Cross proclaims the fact that we are dwelling in Him, and He is dwelling in us [Jn. 14:20; Rom. 6:3-5].) And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us. (The knowledge that God is abiding in the Saint comes from the Holy Spirit. He bears witness in connection with our human spirit, as energized by Him, that we are children born of God [Rom. 8:16].)