PT-3 "Introduction to 1 John 3:11-18"

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/15/2025 10:51 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  PT-3 “Introduction to 1 John 3:11-18”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  1 John 3:11-18

 

            Message of the verses:  “11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

 

            I want to pick up where I left off yesterday’s Spiritual Diary by talking about that John’s readers knew that truth, and the reason is because apostolic preachers had faithfully delivered it to them (cf. 1:5; 2:24).  The problem however is that false teachers had also come and taught, apparently, that brotherly love is not an essential mark of true salvation.  Now as we have been looking at John’s letter we know that he has told them that true believers are to love one another as this is part of the new nature that was given to them by the Holy Spirit once they became believers.  The trouble is that those apostates added to their erroneous view of Christ’s nature and their disobedience to God’s commands a lack of love for true believers.  One thing that is true in all of John’s writings is that he certainly talks a great deal about love, genuine Christian love.  Now in response, John directed his readers back to the message they had heard from the beginning, referring to the beginning of gospel proclamation.  Now that teaching included the truth about Jesus Christ, the gospel, mankind’s sinful condition, and the need for righteous living, as well as the command to love one another.  Now the apostle urged his readers to remember what they were first taught and not allow anyone to lead them astray.  Let us look now at the third verse in Jude’s letter.  “3  Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”

 

          I will now quote from the ending of John MacArthur’s comments from his commentary on this introduction.  “In one sense, the Lord’s command in John 13:34-35 was very old (Lev. 19:18; Rom 13:10).”  Perhaps it would be good to quote Leviticus 19:18 because it is an Old Testament verse:  ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”  Now back to MacArthur’s quote:  “But in another sense, it was new.  Love had never before been manifested as it was by Christ—culminating in His sacrificial death for those He loved,  ‘This is My commandment,’ He declared, ‘that you love one another, just as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:12-13; cf Luke 19:10; Gal. 2:20; Rev. 1:5).  The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect model of the love God has always commanded.  Though believers cannot love to the degree He loves, the can obey John’s command to love one another (3:23; 4:7, 21; 2 John 5; cf. Rom. 12:10; 13:8-9; Gal. 5:13-14; Col. 3:14; Heb. 10:24; 13:1; 1 Peter 1:22; 4:8) the way Christ loved, by the power of the Spirit (Rom. 5:5), lovingly and selflessly sacrificing for others.

 

            “Having stressed the importance of love in 3:11, John contrasted the children of God, who obey that command, with the children of the Devil, who do not.  Instead of being characterized by love, Satan’s children are marked by murder, hatred, and indifference toward the children of God.”

 

            Now Lord willing we will begin “Satan’s Children Murder God’s Children” which will cover 1 John 3:12, 14, in the next SD.

 

1/15/2025 11:14 PM