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“Love And
The Life Of God” • 5.14.20 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday
Night Study (Covid-19 #12)
Intro.
- John has spent the first nine verses of
chapter reminding the church of her distinction from the world. They come from
a different family, in that they are children of God.
- They are being prepared for a different
destiny, one in which they will physically see the Lord and take on a body like
His own.
- This has led them to a very different ethical
reality. Believers in this world are transformed by the Spirit of God,
regenerated to a new life which is governed by a drive to please the Lord.
- That has left them without the desire to
enter into sin as a matter of lifestyle or pattern. John continues to explain
how these distinctions play out in a God rejecting world. Let's pick it up in
v.10.
Text
• I John 3:10-12 : " In this the children of God and the children of the devil are
manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who
does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that
we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother.
And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s
righteous." : John is not trying to win any
political contests here! He is pointing out a spiritual fact. There are
children of God and there are children of the devil!
- I once heard a preacher boil it down to this:
There are "saints" and there are "aints!" This might be a
bit brusque, perhaps borderline rude, but it is nonetheless true!
- Biblically speaking, there are only two types
of people on this planet. Our lot in this life is to discover which type were
are. Are we children of God or children of the devil?
- How can you plainly recognize a person's
origins? Who is a child of God and who is a child of the Devil? Most believe
themselves to be children of God. Some will admit that they are the devil's.
- The beautiful thing is that while we have
breath, there is a chance to change families! May the Lord give His grace to us
all to address this, even this very evening! But how do you tell?
- John
tells us that it's easily apparent! It is "manifest," plainly
recognized!
- He has already said that the person who
practices unrighteousness can't possibly be related to God. (I John 3:7) It's not possible for the
one with God's life in them!
- In addition to that, a person without an
abiding love for his brother cannot claim to be God's child! Once again, the
grammar indicates that this is a pattern of love.
- We may not get along with our brothers for a
spell and we may be separated by choices that are made, but love is the usual
and ultimate response toward one's brother.
- This kind of committed, unconditional love is
standard for the child of God. That shouldn't be considered odd. That's what
Christians have known from the beginning!
- When the church was born, it was born into
the knowledge of a love for God and an equally important, love for our brother!
Do you want to see what a lack of love looks like?
- John cites the story of Cain as an example,
the first example of "anti-love" after Adam and Eve's fall. Cain is
an interesting character for our study.
- Like us, he is born into the world after sin
had wrecked everything. He is born to "believing" parents that God
had personally covered with animal skins.
- When he was born, Eve seemed to believe that
he was the fulfillment of God's prophecy of the seed that would one day crush
the head. (Genesis 3:15, Genesis 4:1) That is pressure!
- Would Cain be the one to crush the head of
the serpent? Not only would he not be the one that crush Satan's head, he would
ultimately be his first "victim."
- A final note on Cain that is interesting: He is
one of only a few men in the Bible that God Himself attempts to reach out to personally!
Before he murdered his brother, God warned him.
- His sin was crouching at the door of his
heart and he was to be master over it. (Genesis
4:7) What does it tell you about Cain's resolve when even God's attempt to
stop him was unsuccessful?
- John tells us that Cain was "of the
wicked one." There are generally two words that are used for evil in the
scriptures. The first is the opposite of good.
- It is the description of something bad that
has occurred. The second word, the word that is used here, is to desire evil in
it's intent.
- It is the impulse that gives birth to or
initiates evil! In this way, it is not satisfied when evil occurs. It is
consistently active in bringing more evil to pass!
- Is that not an apt description of the enemy
of our souls!? Is he not relentlessly wicked?
- Cain, being the first son of the first
couple, murdered his brother. If you have ever wondered how, the language seems
to give us an answer.
- The word that John uses refers to the
butchering of a sacrifice! Cain had treated his brother as if he was a
sacrificial animal! One commentator noted how this would have made sense.
- When did Cain ever see something die? At that
time, it was only when a sacrifice was required. When Cain decided to murder
Abel, this was the only method that he knew!
- Why does John bring this up? First, it
illustrates how sin progresses from thought to action.
- Cain revealed himself to be related to the
wicked one, which eventually came to the surface when he committed murder. "Murder was the deed, but hatred was the
seed!" Sandy Adams
- The fruit of Cain's sin resulted in murder,
but the root of his sin was a lack of love for his brother! Cain hated his
brother and that turned into a cowardly act of pre-meditated murder!
- On a second note, John is introducing the
idea that the sons of God and the sons of the Devil will always be hostile
toward one another! Why did Cain hate his brother?
- John explains that he hated him because all
of his works were evil and his brother's righteous! The two entities, evil and
righteous, cannot peacefully co-exist.
- When Jesus was condemning the hypocrisy of
the religious leaders of His time, one of His charges was against their
building momuments to righteous men.
- Along with their ornate monuments came great
claims of "theological distancing." "If we had been there, this
man would not have suffered."
- Jesus noted that this recognition was in
fact, a confession of guilt! God had sent them prophets, wise men and scribes,
to turn them from their way. Who was the first?
- Jesus mentions Abel as the first to have his
righteous blood spilled! (Matthew 23:35)
Hebrews 11:4 tells us that Abel's
sacrifice was better than Cain's because it was offered by faith!
- That tension will always exist between the
righteous and the wicked! The wicked One will always promote evil measures
against God's children! Verse 13.
• I John
3:13-15 : "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from
death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother
abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no
murderer has eternal life abiding in him." :
Do not wonder at the response of the world to you. Multiple translations employ
the word "surprise."
- We should not be surprised if the world hates
us! The grammar indicates though that there is a continual sense of being
surprised that needed to stop!
- It's as if the people couldn't believe that
anyone could hate them for their faith. "How is that possible? Why would
they respond that way?" Friends, stop marveling!
- Many of us spend as much time as possible
trying to win the world's approval, to skate on the edge and to avoid any
conflict with the world.
- John is letting you know there that this will
be the world's normal response to you. Why? Because you and I have passed, as
one passes on a journey, from death to life!
- How do we know that this is true? We know
this because of our response to our brothers!
- The love that is in us, that we express
toward them is unusual. It's not our natural tendency but a natural by-product
of the Lord's work in us!
- We love our brothers, even if we don't care
for their choices. We love them, even though they are often quite different
than us! We love them, even if they don't know how to love us!
- That kind of response comes from the Lord! It
is a veritable sign of His good presence!
- Not to love one's brother means that a person
has comfortably remained in death, in this case, the realm of the spiritually
dead, unregenerate person!
- They are walking around, they have a
heartbeat and an intellect, but there is no spiritual vitality in them. Beyond
that, to God, there is no separation between that person's thought and action.
- A person who abides in a hatred of his
brother, who comfortably remains in that sin, is already committing murder
against his brother, at the very least, in his own mind and heart!
- This is a shocking thing to say and for our
hearts to grasp. The truth is, unabated hatred will find a vent eventually. It
eats a person alive until it finds expression.
- In our world, there are grotesque examples of
how such a thing plays out in real life. One would think that they are not
guilty of murder so long as they don't actually commit one!
- But how does that excuse what we would want
to do if we had the chance or if we knew that there would be no consequences?
In the mind of God, it does not!
- A person with such a bent in their mentality
cannot have eternal life flowing through their veins! Murder begins in the
heart. That's where love begins as well! Verse 16.
• I John
3:16,17 : "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And
we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods,
and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the
love of God abide in him?" : This is
the love that we have known by experience. This is the measure of love,
exemplified eternally for the body of Christ.
- When we consider how one ought to love their
brother, all we have to do is look upon the cross of Jesus Christ! Jesus voluntarily
laid down His own life for our salvation!
- You cannot put a value on His life, but you
can consider what value He put upon us! We are worth His own life. If we know
this to be true, shouldn't we be willing to do the same for our brothers!?
- Notice the connection. A minute ago, John
compared hatred with murder. Now, he connects love and the sacrifice of
Christ's own life.
- You might be tempted to think of an extreme
measure that you should take to lay down your life and that would be logical
from the text.
- When we think of the immensity of what Jesus
was willing to go through for us, we want to see if we can match that. The
issue is when are any of us asked for such a sacrifice?
- It may come to that. Perhaps the Lord would
open an opportunity for us to give an organ or donate platelets or bone marrow
to one another. That would be akin to laying down of one's life.
- But this practical decision matters just as
much to the Lord! When Jesus laid down His life for us, He went all the way.
The cross was ultimate expression of His decision that was made in heaven!
- Jesus laid down His eternal life and status
for us, simply to come here. He laid aside all of the riches of His position to
be poor that we might become rich in Him! (II
Corinthians 8:9)
- With that in mind, our example of His love
laid down begins with a decision to meet common need! Here is the example.
"Whoever has the world's goods."
- The picture behind the grammar indicates a
present condition. This is a person who always has the things that are needful
for this life.
- When someone is in that position, it's easy
just to give thanks to the Lord and myopically consider one's own blessing.
That isn't bad. It's right to be grateful, but it's better to be watchful!
- In this case, this person who has what one
needs to live, gets a glimpse of a brother who is in need. John uses the word
"thereo" to speak here of seeing. Our word "theory" comes
from this.
- How does one come to theorize about anything?
First, there needs to be presence. I don't necessarily mean
"attendance" though, I can't imagine you being present without being
present!
- The idea is that you need to be aware of
others. You cannot love people that you refuse to be around! You cannot prove
that you love Jesus without also having a record of loving His people!
- You must understand that coming to church,
even in this period of "social distance," is not entirely meant to
enrich you. You should be here to check in on your brothers and sisters!
- If you are not present in this way, you have
no chance of beginning to theorize! That leads me to my second point and that
is a sensitivity to God's spirit.
- Walking into a fellowship prepared to bless
another person is vital! How often have you come in lately and asked,
"Where are the needs?" "How can I be useful to someone
else?"
- In order to theorize, you need to be present
and sensitive. It can't happen otherwise! When that begins to be your habit,
you will begin to have the opportunity to be obedient to the Lord.
- The Lord will impress upon you the potential
shortfalls that a person is experiencing. You discover that they have lost
their job or perhaps, have been forced to move.
- You sympathize with their plight and
understand what they might be going through. Now, John tells us of a twist.
- This person who has the resource and that
sees the need naturally carries the responsiblity to act upon it, but what if
He doesn't?
- John presents a picture of a man that
"shuts up his heart from him." This phrase has been provided as a
translation for us. Those of us in the west talk about our feelings being from
the heart.
- The people of the east feel things in their
bowels. Literally, the person who sees a need and decides not to do anything
about that, closes off their bowels to that person!
- How can that person claim to have God's love
in Him when they won't act in the same way that Jesus did? It's absolutely
baffling!
- Friends, let's listen to the Spirit of God
and not be found guilty, in any way, of transgressing this simple expression of
love. Verse 18.
• I John
3:18-20 : "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in
deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure
our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and
knows all things." : What a shame it would be to
speak the language of love, but not have the actions to prove it!
- John is not forbidding or condemning the use
of speech or communication of love. It's a wonderful thing to encourage people
and you should practice that with one another.
- John's point is that our love toward each
other should not stop there! The fact that the Apostle commands them not to be
in the habit of loving in word or tongue, tells us that this was a temptation!
- It's easy to say things to each other and not
intend to act. Words and speech are cheap. They are easy to say and just as
easy to dismiss! We are to love energetically and truthfully!
- We should be willing to expend our energies
if that will aid our brothers and sisters. We should do that according to the
truth of our hearts toward God.
- That will reveal to us that we belong to the
truth. These kind of actions which require commitments "assure our hearts
before Him." The idea generally refers to persuasion.
- These actions on our part help to convince
our own hearts that we belong to Him. The NIV says that this is how we
"set our hearts at rest in His presence."
- Why? Because we are genuinely acting out in
love like He would. Why is that important? To silence our hearts. Listen verse 20 from the NLT.
• I John
3:20 (NLT) : "Even if we
feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything." : God's truth always takes precedence over our feelings! This is
true, but not exactly what this passage is teaching.
- John is arguing from the lesser to the
greater. If our hearts condemn or accuse us, then we KNOW we need to act in a
certain way.
- That still small voice of our conscience is a
powerful indicator that an action is required!
- Our hearts act as the first sentry calling us
to action. We can ignore our hearts or justify inaction because we also know
our hearts can be wicked!
- John is saying that if we ignore our hearts,
we had better beware that God is far greater than our hearts and you cannot
fool Him! He knows all things!
- We don't want to put ourselves in the
position of being corrected by God! Verse 21.
• I John
3:21-23 : "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence
toward God. And
whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do
those things that are pleasing in His sight. 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." : If my heart doesn't accuse
me, I can walk confidently with the Lord, knowing there isn't a witness against
me.
- When our hearts cannot blame us, we stand
boldly before the Lord and the channel is wide open! Whatever we ask as
obedient children, we will receive from Him. Why?
- Because we will do that which brings Him
pleasure! We treasure, guard and attend carefully to what He commands us to do.
What comes from that lifestyle of obedience brings Him pleasure.
- Do you want to please Jesus? Here's how.
Before we look at it, notice that this is His commandment SINGULAR though it's
two-fold.
- The commandment is that we trust in the name
of His Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another. How are we to love one
another? Do we get to subjectively set our own standard? Not at all!
- Jesus told His disciples to love each other
in the very same way that He loved them! He gave His life for them.
- That's the call we need to answer, from the
most menial tasks to the greatest expression! That love must be present if we
claim to have any allegiance to Christ! Verse 24.
• I John
3:24 : "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.
And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." : Attending to the Lord's commands insures our lasting and binding
relationship to Him! Perserverance in walking with Jesus assures you that He is
in you!
- When a person confesses that they have no
stomach or will for the heart of God in any matter, they prove to themselves
and the watching world, that He is not in them!
- Why? Because that is the life that is born in
a believer! The very desire to please God doesn't come stock in a human life!
It must be implanted by the Holy Spirit!
- He is the One who witnesses of God's presence
to us! The Holy Spirit's presence in our heart confirms His abiding presence.
Conclusion
- Let's pray!
- Let's pray!
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