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14 1st John 3.17-24
June 26th 2016
Meat
Okay, we left off with . . .
1st John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
John has talked over and over and over about our loving the brethren, not hating the brethren, laying down our lives for the brethren. Our last verse last week he said
“This is how we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
We perceive the love of God in the fact that He laid down His life for us –
Taking this statement we might ask ourselves:
Did we deserve His love for us?
Did we earn it?
And of course we answer “no” to both – we neither deserved His loving grace nor did we earn it. He laid down His life for us because He loved us. And we perceive this love by and through the fact that He gave us an unearned, unmerited gift – His life.
Having said this John then adds a conclusion:
“We ought to therefore lay down our lives for the brethren in response.”
And then he gives us an example of what this actually looks like and gives us our text for today:
17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
He goes on and adds . . .
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Alright having told us we ought to lay down our lives for others John continues at verse 17 and says:
17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
Let’s break the verse down because I think we need to really understand what John says here.
First of all the Greek for the worlds goods is KOSMOS BEE-OS – the worlds life – the worlds means or products of existence and livelihood.
Whatever such things are but John is purposefully talking about material products that exist and operate here in this world.
Whoever possesses them.
“and seeth his brother have need . . .”
Now, there are some games we play in the faith when it comes to the term brother. Some like to suggest that there is no obligation to help a person who is NOT a brother in the Lord. I say that this decision is up to them and the reason I believe this is because sometimes when a non-believer suffers they come to their senses – so in a way we might contribute to people’s recalcitrance by helping them – just a thought.
The Spirit must lead and everyone is allowed to follow it as they see fit.
Scripturally, the term brother is used in seven different ways.
It is used in the natural and common sense as in
Matthew 1:2 which says:
“Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren – (adelphos)
It is used to describe a near relation or a cousin
The term is also used to identify a fellow-countryman.
We find an example of this in Matthew 5:47 where Jesus says:
“And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?”
Jesus uses Adelphos to describe a disciple or follower in Matthew 25:40 when He says:
“Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then fifth we know from passages like 1st Corinthians 5:11 that the early disciples of the Lord were known to each other as adelphos or brethren.
Brother can also means “a colleague in office” (that’s our sixth application) and then to really broaden the meaning out it also means can be applied to our fellow-man (or what is commonly called the brotherhood of Man – as manifested in the flesh).
And finally for instance in the case of David and Jonathan we have two men bound in mutual respect and love referring to each other as brother.
All that being said we have passages in the New Testament that seem to place brethren in the faith as a priority (compared to our brethren in the flesh) but at the end of the day I suggest that the willingness to lay down ones life is acceptable by God when it is applied to any person on earth, believer or not.
(repeat) “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
The thinking goes something like this – if we won’t give a beggar a crust of bread we will in all probability not lay down other elements of our lives from him either.
So John seems to be saying if we can see that a brother has a material need in this world but we shut up our bowels (which are emblematic of our mercy and care) to him how could we believe that the love of God dwells in us (since He knows of our needs and provides to us in the same manner we refuse to provide for those who are in need here).
The general meaning of this verse, in connection with the previous verse, is, that if we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for others, we ought to be willing to make those comparatively smaller sacrifices which are necessary to relieve them in their distresses; and that if we are unwilling to do this, we can have no evidence that the love of God dwells in us.
Now, we have to remember that John was writing to a specific audience at a specific time where material suffering was only alleviated by the kindness of others – and I happen to personally believe He is writing to believers taking care of other believers here in this last hour.
But it has been one of the calls of Christianity to reach out and try to lend assistance to those who are in need today.
But the circumstances and Spirit must guide.
The meaning is plain, however, that said believers cannot have evidence of Him in them unless they have a desire, at least, to help others. And since love is a verb John adds the following at verse 18:
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Notice something about what John says here – he says, “let’s NOT love in word nor in tongue.”
From this we know that we can show love through our words, words that are kind and sincere and uplifting and encouraging – but from what John seems to be saying this is an inferior form of love – especially if or when that is all we do is talk.
What’s interesting is John says directly here, “Let’s NOT love in this manner.” I mean he doesn’t even say to love in word AND deed – he cuts all the talk right out and seems to suggest we don’t even express our love through words IF it means we are going to fail to love in deed.
That’s kind of an interesting approach – one where we might benefit by in our interpersonal relationships – if we refuse to express words of love unless we have shown our love through action.
Unfortunately ours is a juvenile world that wants the words as much or more than the actions of selfless love.
In any case, the scripture admits that both profession (words – through worship and prayer and confession) are important but it seems to place a weightier emphasis on deeds.
Jesus gave this stunning insight to the judgement between the sheep and the goats when he said in Matthew 25:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Paul said in Romans 12:9 that our love should be without hypocrisy, which to me means it does what it claims to feel and be.
Later in 1st Corinthians 13 Paul describes love with great VERBINESS, saying:
1st Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Adding to the verbiness of love Paul says in Galatians 5:13
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
In 6:2 he adds a short but weighty verse saying:
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (which is to love one another with the verbiness implied)
He says in 1st Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
The concept of love being a labor is reiterated in
Hebrew 6:10 where the writer says:
“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”
Speaking of faith and the labor of love James makes the point clear when he says:
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
The fact that we are saved by grace through faith cannot be dismissed – it is key to not only understanding God and our grateful relationship to Him.
But we cannot ignore the reason and purpose that He has saved us – so that we would and could (and should) bear fruits of love.
We can’t do it without being saved so we know he had to save us first – before we could bear any fruit. But the salvation is purposeful – so purposeful that to claim salvation without bearing fruits of love is impossible for those who have been permitted long Christian life.
I liken being a true Christian, created and functioning as God would have us function, as swimming in a deep pool.
It is an act of faith to leave or exit the deck and jump in the water and once we do we are certainly in the pool – we are certainly Christians.
Then we learn to swim as Christians and once we have become proficient we help and teach others to stay afloat and swim and navigate the waters.
If entering the pool and then drowning was all there was to it that would be saved by grace through faith period – everything else is over and done.
I don’t think so. Christians are expected to learn to swim (by the Spirit and the Word) and then once proficient give their life actually helping others to do the same – even to point of saving the lives of those who find themselves drowning – out of love – a verb.
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue but in deed and in truth.
And then John returns to the “we know” theme, saying:
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
Once again John tells us here how we can know (or assure our hearts before God) by loving those around us.
We can profess all we want – but that won’t convince us. We can talk and teach proper doctrine, we can spout like a boiling tea kettle but in the end it is only the “verby love” we share (and by the way, “verby-love” can include the manner and way in which we communicate because that often requires the act of self-restraint) but it is through the acts of love that our hearts are assured that we are His.
Now this conversation points back to our teaching on our not being able to sin (in the Spirit) but being able to sin (in the flesh.
The Greek means we persuade ourselves.
In other words, though our heart may condemn us as guilty for the sins of our flesh, and though we knows that God sees and understands the evil that resides within our flesh these agitations and alarms are calmed and soothed by this internal evidence that we are a child of God and that we will not be finally condemned.
So we are confronted with this paradox again – we know and do not conceal the fact that within the our flesh there is great justification for accusation from God and Man but in the face of the love we are extending to the sacrifice of our own desires and will is evidence that persuades us that we are a child of God, and he is persuaded that all will be wel one the carnal flesh is shed.
Then John affirms to us an amazing fact and says in verse 20-21:
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
Look the heck out. These words are yet another great insight on how to exist in these bodies of flesh while learning to trust in God and His promises to us.
In verse 19 John told us that by our love, the existence of our “verby love,” we can know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.”
And then in 20 and 21 he explains that in the vacillations we experience between the facts of our fleshly failures and the reality of our sinless spirits there are reassurances available – no matter how we happen to be seeing things.
So on the one hand he says:
“If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”
I take this to mean that if we get bogged down with shame and guilt for failing to love that we, as the literal Children of God, who have the Spirit of God in us, He is GREATER than our CONDEMNING hearts – and knows all things including the state of our spirit granted us by grace through faith.
In other words when we get hard on ourselves for the weaknesses in our flesh, because in the flesh sin will always abide, we remember, in faith, that God is far greater than our self-condemnation – and He is looking at the New Creature thriving in us which cannot sin.
That is a wonderful realization and one we have to share with people who have a tendency to focus on their sinful flesh rather than their new identity in Him.
But then John presents the other side of the coin in verse 21 and says:
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God!.
If our hearts condemn us, don’t fear, God is greater than our hearts but if our hearts don’t condemn us we have confidence toward our place with Him!
Isn’t that the way it is in Christian living? We feel so bold and confident in our relationship to God when we love others and so distant when we sin in the flesh?
From these words we can see that the way to have greater confidence toward God is in and through love – the greater the love the greater the confidence – a thought that confirms all He has said in our verses today.
Having spoken to this confidence John now adds (verse 22)
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
There are some presuppositions we have to include in our understanding of this passage.
First, we have to see that the verse begins with, “and.” This connects us to the previous verses which give us the context that we are Christians, we are loving, and we so do by the Spirit of Christ living in us.
Having said this we then know that whatever we would ask would be in accordance with His Spirit – and would not be some fleshly based request.
So when John says, “And whatsoever we ask,” it is understood that we would not be asking something that was against the will and ways of God.
Secondly, we cannot take the line he presents here, “And whatsoever ye shall ask we shall receive of him” out of context and use it as a proof text for name it and claim it.
James makes this clear when he wrote:
“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
So again, “whatsoever we ask,” must be couched that whatsoever a believer walking in the Spirit would ask would be right and not something of the flesh.
Then taking the whole passage –
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
We cannot be tempted to believe that “because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight” that we have the right or can expect Him to grant our request. I do not believe (in the context of scripture) that we can put God in our debt and have an assurance that because we have done X that He will do Z.
I think all John is saying is when those who are the Children of God, as evidenced by the fact that they keep the commandments (loving others in deed) that this is the Spirit of God and by it we are furnished with evidence that we are his children, and that He does hears his children who request things of Him by the Spirit.
The thinking seems to be because we do what God desires, and are then requesting things that are in harmony with His Spirit and will (love) then we know He will respond in kind.
I make an slight issue of this line because I am trying to dissuade people into thinking that if they do this then God will do that BUT to agree with the idea that when we are in God’s will He would seem to be more likely to bestow upon us the things that are asked of Him in the Spirit.
So John has referred to believers in verse 22 who keep His commandments. And then in verse 23 he tells us what those commandments are, saying:
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
First, you have been invited to receive Christ. Jump into the pool. By faith. Believe.
Second, learn to swim (as He swam – love) and then love all others by showing and teaching them to do the same.
And this is His commandment, “That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ.”
No more primary or important command in all the Bible than to believe. I say this with a caveat. The Law and the prophets all hang upon the command to love.
But until a person believes in Him, and is born from above, they will forever fail in their ability to love as God loves – unconditionally.
In the world love does exist – but without God it has its limits.
In the light of Christ love shifts from conditional to selfless, from limited to limitless.
It is the Spirit of Christ, the Sperma of God within us (which comes by faith) that allows us to die to self and conditions and then learn to love as He loved.
So, “believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Of course this is a Hebraism to believe on the name of and might better be understood as to believe on all the name Jesus Christ represents – a virgin birth, a perfect life, miracles, a death by crucifixion, resurrection on the third day.
To just say the name without the data behind it is not a magical formula, in my estimation to salvation. His name is a metonym for all the things associate with Him and His existence.
So receive the Lord and Savior, the author and finisher by faith. This is the first commandment given or mentioned by John but we cannot help but notice that this command does not stand alone. There is an “and.” “Believe and . . .
“. . . love one another as He (Jesus, the one we are to believe upon) gave commandment.”
It is this love manifested as fruits by those who receive the Word gladly into their hearts that Jesus speaks to in the parable of the sower and then either bear much fruit . . . or fail.
The tenuous nature of the relationship between believing and loving is ever present in many religious people switching the order of these two commands to believe and love and making the faith more about loving and believing.
In other words, many religions claim that we evidence love through great sacrificial works and this is evidence of our faith.
But the heavenly alignment is without question:
“Because I have faith in Jesus I am able to love” and not “My labors of love justify and sanctify me before God.”
In my opinion this is one reason John purposely listed the commandments as first faith and the second love and not the other way around.
So while love and loving actions are very much part of essential Christian living, Jesus made it clear that without Him leading the way the love and wonderful works are empty, saying in Matthew 7
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (We know from John 6 and our text for today that the will of the Father is to BELIEVE on His Son. Jesus continues and says):
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Galatians 5:6 says it perfectly:
“For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith (mentioned first) which worketh by love.”(mentioned second)
FAITH WHICH WORKS BY LOVE.
FAITH WHICH WORKS BY LOVE.
In 1st Thessalonians 1:3 Paul says:
“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love.”
John wraps our teaching up today with verse 24 – another reiteration:
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Let me take the liberty of rewriting this or putting it another way:
“Those that believe on Jesus and love dwell in Him, and He in them. And it is in this way that we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us!”
In John 14:23 Jesus said something fascinating and very applicable to the words John has written here. He said:
“If a man love me, he will keep my words (to love others): and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
The proof of this (in us) comes by the Spirit (John says) which is constantly calling to all who are His to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to live as He lived, to love as He loved, to be Him to all we see and hear and when this occurs we can be confident in our hearts that God is with is, and we are with Him.
The fruit of the Spirit is love.
This love is manifested in
Joy
Peace
Longsuffering
Gentleness
Goodness
faith,
Meekness and
Self-Control
Discover the presence of such things in your flesh and you know that God and Christ have made a home in you.
Q and A
