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<p id="Chapter3" align="center">Commentary by A. R. FAUSSET<br>CHAPTER 3
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<p id="a1Jo3_1"><a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,'1-24');">1Jo 3:1-24</a>. DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD AND THE CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL. BROTHERLY LOVE THE ESSENCE OF TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.
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<p><b>1. Behold</b>—calling attention, as to some wonderful exhibition,little as the world sees to admire. This verse is connected with the previous <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',2,29);">1Jo 2:29</a>, thus: All our <i>doing of righteousness</i> is a mere sign that God, of His matchless love, has adopted us as children; it does not save us, but is a proof that we are saved of His grace.
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<br><br><b>what manner of</b>—of what surpassing excellence, how gracious on His part, how precious to us.
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<br><br><b>love...bestowed</b>—He does not say that God hath given us some gift, but <i>love itself</i> and the fountain of all honors, the heart itself, and that not for our works or efforts, but of His grace [LUTHER].
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<br><br><b>that</b>—"what manner of love"; resulting in, proved by, our being, etc. The immediate <i>effect aimed at</i> in the bestowal of this love is, "<i>that</i> we should be called children of God."
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<br><br><b>should be called</b>—should have received the privilege of such a glorious <i>title</i> (though seeming so imaginary to the world), along with the glorious <i>reality.</i> With God <i>to call</i> is to <i>make really to be.</i> Who so great as God? What nearer relationship than that of <i>sons?</i> The oldest manuscripts add, "And we ARE SO" really.
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<br><br><b>therefore</b>—"on this account," because "we are (really) so."
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<br><br><b>us</b>—the children, like the Father.
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<br><br><b>it knew him not</b>—namely, the Father. "If they who regard not God, hold thee in any account, feel alarmed about thy state" [BENGEL]. Contrast <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',5,1);">1Jo 5:1</a>. The world's whole course is one great act of non-recognition of God.
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<p id="a1Jo3_2"><b>2. Beloved</b>—by the Father, and therefore by me.
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<br><br><b>now</b>—in contrast to "not yet." We <i>now</i> already are really sons, though not recognized as such by the world, and (as the consequence) we look for the visible manifestation of our sonship, which <i>not yet</i> has taken place.
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<br><br><b>doth not yet appear</b>—<i>Greek,</i> "it hath not yet ('at any time,' <i>Greek</i> aorist) been visibly manifested what we shall be"—what further glory we shall attain by virtue of this our sonship. The "what" suggests a something inconceivably glorious.
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<br><br><b>but</b>—omitted in the oldest manuscripts. Its insertion in <i>English Version</i> gives a wrong antithesis. It is not, "<i>We do not yet know manifestly</i> what...but we know," etc. <i>Believers have</i> some degree of the manifestation already, though the <i>world has not.</i> The connection is, The manifestation <i>to the world</i> of what we shall be, has not yet taken place; <i>we know</i> (in general; as a matter of <i>well-assured knowledge;</i> so the <i>Greek</i>) that when (literally, "if"; expressing no doubt as to the fact, but only as to the time; also implying the coming preliminary fact, on which the consequence follows, <a onclick="return mV('Mal',1,6);">Mal 1:6</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',14,3);">Jhn 14:3</a>) He (not "it," namely, that which is not yet manifested [ALFORD]) shall be manifested (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,5);">1Jo 3:5</a>; <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',2,28);">2:28</a>), we shall be like Him (Christ; all sons have a substantial resemblance to their father, and Christ, whom we shall be like, is "the express image of the Father's person," so that in resembling Christ, we shall resemble the Father). We <i>wait for the manifestation</i> (literally, the "apocalypse"; the same term as is applied to Christ's own manifestation) <i>of the sons of God.</i> After our natural birth, the new birth into the life of grace is needed, which is to be followed by the new birth into the life of glory; the two latter alike are termed "the regeneration" (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',19,28);">Mat 19:28</a>). The resurrection of our bodies is a kind of coming out of the womb of the earth, and being born into another life. Our first temptation was that we should be like God in knowledge, and by that we fell; but being raised by Christ, we become truly like Him, by knowing Him as we are known, and by seeing Him as He is [PEARSON, <i>Exposition of the Creed</i>]. As the first immortality which Adam lost was to be able not to die, so the last shall be not to be able to die. As man's first free choice or will was to be able not to sin, so our last shall be not to be able to sin [AUGUSTINE, <i>The City of God,</i> 22.30]. The devil fell by aspiring to God's <i>power;</i> man, by aspiring to his <i>knowledge;</i> but aspiring after God's <i>goodness,</i> we shall ever grow in His likeness. The transition from <i>God</i> the Father to "He," "Him," referring to Christ (who alone is ever said in Scripture to be <i>manifested;</i> not the Father,<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',1,18);">Jhn 1:18</a>), implies the entire unity of the Father and the Son.
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<br><br><b>for,</b> etc.—Continual beholding generates likeness (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',3,18);">2Cr 3:18</a>); as the face of the moon being always turned towards the sun, reflects its light and glory.
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<br><br><b>see him</b>—not in His innermost Godhead, but as manifested in Christ. None but the pure can see the infinitely Pure One. In all these passages the <i>Greek</i> is the same verb <i>opsomai;</i> not denoting the action of seeing, but the state of him to whose eye or mind the object is presented; hence the <i>Greek</i> verb is always in the middle or reflexive voice, to <i>perceive</i> and <i>inwardly appreciate</i> [TITTMANN]. Our spiritual bodies will appreciate and recognize spiritual beings hereafter, as our natural bodies now do natural objects.
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<p id="a1Jo3_3"><b>3. this hope</b>—of being hereafter "like Him." <i>Faith</i> and <i>love,</i> as well as <i>hope,</i> occur in <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,11, 23);">1Jo 3:11, 23</a>.
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<br><br><b>in</b>—rather, "(resting) <i>upon</i> Him"; grounded on His promises.
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<br><br><b>purifieth himself</b>—by Christ's Spirit in him (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',15,5);">Jhn 15:5</a>, end). "Thou purifiest thyself, not of thyself, but of Him who comes that He may dwell in thee" [AUGUSTINE]. One's justification through faith is presupposed.
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<br><br><b>as he is pure</b>—unsullied with any uncleanness. The Second Person, by whom both the Law and Gospel were given.
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<p id="a1Jo3_4"><b>4.</b> Sin is incompatible with birth from God (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,'1-3');">1Jo 3:1-3</a>). John often sets forth the same truth <i>negatively,</i> which he had before set forth <i>positively.</i> He had shown, birth from God involves self-purification; he now shows where sin, that is, the want of self-purification, is, there is no birth from God.
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<br><br><b>Whosoever</b>—<i>Greek,</i> "Every one who."
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<br><br><b>committeth sin</b>—in contrast to <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,3);">1Jo 3:3</a>, "Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself"; and <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,7);">1Jo 3:7</a>, "He that doeth righteousness."
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<br><br><b>transgresseth...the law</b>—<i>Greek,</i> "committeth transgression of law." God's law of purity; and so shows he has no such hope of being hereafter pure as God is pure, and, therefore, that he is not born of God.
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<br><br><b>for</b>—<i>Greek,</i> "and."
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<br><br><b>sin is...transgression of... law</b>—definition of <i>sin</i> in general. The <i>Greek</i> having the article to both, implies that they are convertible terms. The <i>Greek</i> "sin" (<i>hamartia</i>) is literally, "a missing of the mark." God's will being that mark to be ever aimed at. "By the law is the knowledge of sin." The crookedness of a line is shown by being brought into juxtaposition with a straight ruler.
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<p id="a1Jo3_5"><b>5.</b> Additional proof of the incompatibility of sin and sonship; the very object of Christ's manifestation in the flesh was <i>to take away</i> (by one act, and entirely, aorist) all sins, as the scapegoat did typically.
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<br><br><b>and</b>—another proof of the same.
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<br><br><b>in him is no sin</b>—not "was," but "is," as in <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,7);">1Jo 3:7</a>, "He <i>is</i> righteous," and <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,3);">1Jo 3:3</a>, "He <i>is</i> pure." Therefore we are to be so.
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<p id="a1Jo3_6"><b>6.</b> He reasons from Christ's own entire separation from sin, that those in him must also be separate from it.
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<br><br><b>abideth in him</b>—as the branch in the vine, by vital union living by His life.
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<br><br><b>sinneth not</b>—In so far as he abides in Christ, so far is he free from all sin. The ideal of the Christian. The life of sin and the life of God mutually exclude one another, just as darkness and light. In matter of fact, believers do fall into sins (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',1,'8-10');">1Jo 1:8-10</a>; <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',2,1,2);">2:1-2</a>); but all such sins are alien from the life of God, and need Christ's cleansing blood, without application to which the life of God could not be maintained. He sinneth not so long as he abideth in Christ.
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<br><br><b>whosoever sinneth hath not seen him</b>—<i>Greek</i> perfect, "has not seen, and does not see Him." Again the <i>ideal</i> of Christian intuition and knowledge is presented (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',7,23);">Mat 7:23</a>). All sin as such is at variance with the notion of one regenerated. Not that "whosoever is betrayed into sins has never seen nor known God"; but <i>in so far</i> as sin exists, <i>in that degree</i> the spiritual intuition and knowledge of God do not exist in him.
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<br><br><b>neither</b>—"not even." To <i>see</i> spiritually is a further step than <i>to know;</i> for by <i>knowing</i> we come to <i>seeing</i> by vivid realization and experimentally.
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<p id="a1Jo3_7"><b>7, 8.</b> The same truth stated, with the addition that he who sins is, so far as he sins, "of the devil."
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<br><br><b>let no man deceive you</b>—as Antinomians try to mislead men.
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<br><br><b>righteousness</b>—<i>Greek,</i> "<i>the</i> righteousness," namely, of Christ or God.
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<br><br><b>he that doeth...is righteous</b>—Not his <i>doing</i> makes him <i>righteous,</i> but his <i>being righteous</i> (justified by the righteousness of God in Christ, <a onclick="return mV('Rom',10,'3-10');">Rom 10:3-10</a>) makes him to do <i>righteousness:</i> an inversion common in familiar language, logical in reality, though not in form, as in <a onclick="return mV('Luk',7,47);">Luk 7:47</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',8,47);">Jhn 8:47</a>. Works do not justify, but the justified man works. We infer from his <i>doing righteousness</i> that he is already <i>righteous</i> (that is, has the true and only principle of <i>doing righteousness,</i> namely, <i>faith</i>), and is therefore <i>born of God</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,9);">1Jo 3:9</a>); just as we might say, The tree that bears good fruit is a good tree, and has a living root; not that the fruit <i>makes</i> the tree and its root to be good, but it <i>shows</i> that they are so.
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<br><br><b>he</b>—Christ.
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<p id="a1Jo3_8"><b>8. He that committeth sin is of the devil</b>—in contrast to "He that doeth righteousness," <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,7);">1Jo 3:7</a>. He is <i>a son of the devil</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,10);">1Jo 3:10</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',8,44);">Jhn 8:44</a>). John does not, however, say, "born of the devil." as he does "born of God," for "the devil begets none, nor does he create any; but whoever imitates the devil becomes a child of the devil by imitating him, not by proper birth" [AUGUSTINE, <i>Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John,</i> Homily 4.10]. From the devil there is not generation, but corruption [BENGEL].
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<br><br><b>sinneth from the beginning</b>—from the time that any began to sin [ALFORD]: from the time that he became what he is, the devil. He seems to have kept his first estate only a very short time after his creation [BENGEL]. <i>Since the fall of man</i> [at the beginning <i>of our world</i>] <i>the devil is</i> (<i>ever</i>) <i>sinning</i> (this is the force of "sinneth"; he has sinned from the beginning, is the cause of all sins, and still goes on sinning; present). As the author of sin, and prince of this world, he has never ceased to seduce man to sin [LUECKE].
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<br><br><b>destroy</b>—break up and do away with; bruising and crushing the serpent's head.
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<br><br><b>works of the devil</b>—sin, and all its awful consequences. John argues, Christians cannot do that which Christ came to destroy.
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<p id="a1Jo3_9"><b>9. Whosoever is born of God</b>—literally, "Everyone that is begotten of God."
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<br><br><b>doth not commit sin</b>—His higher nature, as one born or begotten of God, doth not sin. <i>To be begotten of God</i> and <i>to sin,</i> are states mutually excluding one another. In so far as one sins, he makes it doubtful whether he be <i>born of God.</i>
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<br><br><b>his seed</b>—the living word of God, made by the Holy Spirit the seed in us of a new life and the continual means of sanctification.
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<br><br><b>remaineth</b>—abideth in him (compare <i>Note,</i> see on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/1Jo/1Jo003.html#a1Jo3_6">1Jo 3:6</a>; <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn005.html#Joh5_38">Jhn 5:38</a>). This does not contradict <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',1,8,9);">1Jo 1:8-9</a>; the regenerate show the utter incompatibility of <i>sin</i> with <i>regeneration,</i> by cleansing away every sin into which they may be betrayed by the old nature, at once in the blood of Christ.
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<br><br><b>cannot sin, because he is born of God</b>—"because it is <i>of God</i> that <i>he is born</i>" (so the <i>Greek</i> order, as compared with the order of the same words in the beginning of the verse); not "because he <i>was</i> born of God" (the <i>Greek</i> is perfect tense, which is <i>present</i> in meaning, not aorist); it is not said, Because a man was once for all born of God he never afterwards can sin; but, Because he is born of God, the seed abiding now in Him, he cannot sin; so long as it energetically abides, sin can have no place. Compare <a onclick="return mV('Gen',39,9);">Gen 39:9</a>, Joseph, "How CAN I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" The principle within me is at utter variance with it. The regenerate life is incompatible with sin, and gives the believer a hatred for sin in every shape, and an unceasing desire to resist it. "The child of God in this conflict receives indeed wounds daily, but never throws away his arms or makes peace with his deadly foe" [LUTHER]. The exceptional sins into which the regenerate are surprised, are owing to the new life principle being for a time suffered to lie dormant, and to the sword of the Spirit not being drawn instantly. Sin is ever active, but no longer reigns. The <i>normal</i> direction of the believer's energies is against sin; the law of God after the inward man is the <i>ruling</i> principle of his true self though the old nature, not yet <i>fully</i> deadened, rebels and sins. Contrast <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',5,18);">1Jo 5:18</a>; compare <a onclick="return mV('Psa',18,22,23);">Psa 18:22-23</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Psa',32,22,23);">32:2-3</a>;<a onclick="return mV('Psa',119,113,176);">19:113, 176</a>. The magnetic needle, the nature of which is always to point to the pole, is easily turned aside, but always reseeks the pole.
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<p id="a1Jo3_10"><b>10. children of the devil</b>— (See onJFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/1Jo/1Jo003.html#a1Jo3_8">1Jo 3:8</a>; <a href="./Comm/jfb/Act/Act013.html#Ac13_10">Act 13:10</a>). There is no middle class between the children of God and the children of the devil.
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<br><br><b>doeth not righteousness</b>—Contrast<a href= "#" onclick="return mV('1Jo',2,29);">1Jo 2:29</a>.
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<br><br><b>he that loveth not his brother</b>—(<a href= "#" onclick="return mV('1Jo',4,8);">1Jo 4:8</a>); a particular instance of that <i>love</i> which is the sum and fulfilment of all righteousness, and the token (not loud professions, or even seemingly good works) that distinguishes God's children from the devil's.
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<p id="a1Jo3_11"><b>11. the message</b>—"announcement," as of something good; not a mere <i>command,</i> as the law. The Gospel <i>message</i> of Him who loved us, announced by His servants, is, that we <i>love the brethren;</i> not here all mankind, but those who are our brethren in Christ, children of the same family of God, of whom we have been born anew.
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<p id="a1Jo3_12"><b>12. <i>who</i></b>—not in the <i>Greek.</i>
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<br><br><b>of that wicked one</b>—Translate, "<i>evil</i> one," to accord with "Because his own works were <i>evil.</i>" Compare <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,8);">1Jo 3:8</a>, "of the devil," in contrast to "of God," <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,10);">1Jo 3:10</a>.
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<br><br><b>slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous</b>—through envy and hatred of his brother's piety, owing to which God accepted Abel's, but rejected Cain's offering. Enmity from the first existed between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
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<p id="a1Jo3_13"><b>13. Marvel not</b>—The marvel would be if the world loved you.
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<br><br><b>the world</b>—of whom Cain is the representative (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,12);">1Jo 3:12</a>).
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<br><br><b>hate you</b>—as Cain hated even his own brother, and that to the extent of murdering him. The world feels its bad works tacitly reproved by your good works.
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<p id="a1Jo3_14"><b>14. We</b>—emphatical; hated though we be by the world, <i>we</i> know what the world knows not.
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<br><br><b>know</b>—as an assured fact.
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<br><br><b>passed</b>—<i>changed our state.</i> <a href= "#" onclick="return mV('Col',1,13);">Col 1:13</a>, "from the power of darkness...translated into the kingdom of His dear Son."
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<br><br><b>from death unto life</b>—literally, "<i>out of the</i> death (which enthrals the unregenerate) <i>into the</i> life (of the regenerate)." A palpable coincidence of language and thought, the beloved disciple adopting his Lord's words.
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<br><br><b>because we love the brethren</b>—the ground, not of our <i>passing over out of death into life,</i> but of our <i>knowing</i> that we have so. <i>Love,</i> on our part, is the <i>evidence</i> of our justification and regeneration, not the <i>cause</i> of them. "Let each go to his own heart; if he find there love to the brethren, let him feel assured that he has passed from death unto life. Let him not mind that his glory is only hidden; when the Lord shall come, then shall he appear in glory. For he has vital energy, but it is still wintertime; the root has vigor, but the branches are as it were dry; within there is marrow which is vigorous, within are leaves, within fruits, but they must wait for summer" [AUGUSTINE].
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<br><br><b>He that loveth not</b>—Most of the oldest manuscripts omit "his brother," which makes the statement more general.
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<br><br><b>abideth</b>—still.
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<br><br><b>in death</b>—"in <i>the</i> (spiritual) death" (ending in eternal death) which is the state of all by nature. His want of <i>love</i> evidences that no saving change has passed over him.
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<p id="a1Jo3_15"><b>15. hateth</b>—equivalent to "loveth not" (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,14);">1Jo 3:14</a>); there is no medium between the two. "Love and hatred, like light and darkness, life and death, necessarily replace, as well as necessarily exclude, one another" [ALFORD].
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<br><br><b>is a murderer</b>—because indulging in that passion, which, if followed out to its natural consequences, would make him one. "Whereas, <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,16);">1Jo 3:16</a> desires us to lay down our lives for the brethren; <i>duels</i> require one (awful to say!) to risk <i>his own</i> life, rather than not deprive <i>another</i> of life" [BENGEL]. God regards the inward disposition as tantamount to the outward act which would flow from it. Whomsoever one hates, one wishes to be dead.
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<br><br><b>hath</b>—Such a one still "abideth in death." It is not his <i>future</i> state, but his <i>present,</i> which is referred to. He who hates (that is, loveth not) his brother (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,14);">1Jo 3:14</a>), cannot in this his present state have eternal life abiding in him.
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<p id="a1Jo3_16"><b>16.</b> What true <i>love to the brethren</i> is, illustrated by the love of Christ to us.
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<br><br><b>Hereby</b>—<i>Greek,</i> "Herein."
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<br><br><b>the love <i>of God</i></b>—The words "of God" are not in the original. Translate, "We arrive at the knowledge of love"; we apprehend what true love is.
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<br><br><b>he</b>—Christ.
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<br><br><b>and we</b>—on our part, if absolutely needed for the glory of God, the good of the Church, or the salvation of a brother.
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<br><br><b>lives</b>—Christ alone laid down His one <i>life</i> for us all; we ought to lay down our <i>lives</i> severally for the lives of the brethren; if not actually, at least virtually, by giving our time, care, labors, prayers, substance: <i>Non nobis, sed omnibus.</i> Our life ought not to be dearer to us than God's own Son was to Him. The apostles and martyrs acted on this principle.
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<p id="a1Jo3_17"><b>17. this world's good</b>—literally, "livelihood" or substance. If we ought to lay down our <i>lives</i> for the brethren (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,16);">1Jo 3:16</a>), how much more ought we not to withhold our <i>substance?</i>
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<br><br><b>seeth</b>—not merely <i>casually,</i> but deliberately <i>contemplates</i> as a spectator; <i>Greek,</i> "beholds."
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<br><br><b>shutteth up his bowels <i>of compassion</i></b>—which had been momentarily opened by the <i>spectacle</i> of his brother's need. The "bowels" mean the <i>heart,</i> the seat of compassion.
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<br><br><b>how</b>—<i>How</i> is it possible that "the love of (that is, '<i>to</i>') God dwelleth (<i>Greek,</i> 'abideth') in him?" Our superfluities should yield to the necessities; our comforts, and even our necessaries in some measure, should yield to the extreme wants of our brethren. "Faith gives Christ to me; love flowing from faith gives me to my neighbor."
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<p id="a1Jo3_18"><b>18.</b> When the venerable John could no longer walk to the meetings of the Church but was borne thither by his disciples, he always uttered the same address to the Church; he reminded them of that one commandment which he had received from Christ Himself, as comprising all the rest, and forming the distinction of the new covenant, "My little children, love one another." When the brethren present, wearied of hearing the same thing so often, asked why he always repeated the same thing, he replied, "Because it is the commandment of the Lord, and if this one thing be attained, it is enough" [JEROME].
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<br><br><b>in word</b>—<i>Greek,</i> "<i>with</i> word...with tongue, but in deed and truth."
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<p id="a1Jo3_19"><b>19. hereby</b>—<i>Greek,</i> "herein"; in our <i>loving in deed and in truth</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,18);">1Jo 3:18</a>).
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<br><br><b>we know</b>—The oldest manuscripts have "we shall know," namely, if we fulfil the command (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,18);">1Jo 3:18</a>).
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<br><br><b>of the truth</b>—that we are real disciples of, and belonging to, <i>the truth,</i> as it is in Jesus: begotten of God with the word of truth. Having herein <i>the truth</i> radically, we shall be sure not to love merely <i>in word and tongue.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,18);">1Jo 3:18</a>).
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<br><br><b>assure</b>—literally, "persuade," namely, so as to cease to condemn us; satisfy the questionings and doubts of our consciences as to whether we be accepted <i>before</i> God or not (compare <a onclick="return mV('Mat',28,14);">Mat 28:14</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Act',12,20);">Act 12:20</a>, "<i>having made</i> Blastus their friend," literally, "persuaded"). The "heart," as the seat of the feelings, is our inward <i>judge;</i> the <i>conscience,</i> as the witness, acts either as our justifying advocate, or our condemning accuser, before God even now. <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',8,9);">Jhn 8:9</a>, has "conscience," but the passage is omitted in most old manuscripts. John nowhere else uses the term "conscience." Peter and Paul alone use it.
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<br><br><b>before him</b>—as in the sight of Him, the omniscient Searcher of <i>hearts. Assurance</i> is designed to be the ordinary experience and privilege of the believer.
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<p id="a1Jo3_20"><b>20.</b> LUTHER and BENGEL take this verse as consoling the believer whom his <i>heart condemns;</i> and who, therefore, like Peter, appeals from conscience to Him who is <i>greater than conscience.</i> "Lord, Thou <i>knowest all things:</i> thou knowest that I love Thee." Peter's conscience, though condemning him of his sin in denying the Lord, assured him of his <i>love;</i> but fearing the possibility, owing to his past fall, of deceiving himself, he appeals to the all-knowing God: so Paul, <a onclick="return mV('1Cr',4,3,4);">1Cr 4:3-4</a>. So if we be believers, even <i>if our heart condemns us of sin in general,</i> yet having the one sign of sonship, love, we may still <i>assure our hearts</i> (some oldest manuscripts read <i>heart,</i> <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,19);">1Jo 3:19</a>, as well as <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,20);">1Jo 3:20</a>), as knowing <i>that God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.</i> But thus the same <i>Greek</i> is translated "because" in the beginning, and "(we know) <i>that</i>" in the middle of the verse, and if the verse were consolatory, it probably would have been, "Because EVEN if our heart condemn us," etc. Therefore translate, "<i>Because</i> (rendering the reason why it has been stated in <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,19);">1Jo 3:19</a> to be so important to 'assure our hearts before Him') if our heart condemn (<i>Greek,</i> '<i>know</i> [aught] <i>against</i> us'; answering by contrast to 'we shall <i>know</i> that we are of the truth') us (it is) <i>because</i> God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things." If our heart judges us unfavorably, we may be sure that He, knowing more than our heart knows, judges us more unfavorably still [ALFORD]. A similar ellipsis ("it is") occurs in <a onclick="return mV('1Cr',14,27);">1Cr 14:27</a>; <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',1,6);">2Cr 1:6</a>; <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',8,23);">8:23</a>. The condemning testimony of our conscience is not alone, but is the echo of the voice of Him who is greater and knoweth all things. Our hypocrisy in <i>loving by word and tongue,</i> not in <i>deed and truth,</i> does not escape even our conscience, though weak and knowing but little, how much less God who knows all things! Still the consolatory view may be the right one. For the <i>Greek</i> for "we shall <i>assure</i> our hearts" (see on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/1Jo/1Jo003.html#a1Jo3_19">1Jo 3:19</a>), is <i>gain over, persuade</i> so as to be stilled, implying that there was a previous state of <i>self-condemnation by the heart</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,20);">1Jo 3:20</a>), which, however, is <i>got over</i> by the consolatory thought, "God is greater than my heart" which condemns me, and "knows all things" (<i>Greek</i> "<i>ginoskei,</i>" "<i>knows,</i>" not "<i>kataginoskei,</i>" "<i>condemns</i>"), and therefore knows my <i>love</i> and desire to serve Him, and knows my <i>frame</i> so as to pity my weakness of faith. This <i>gaining over</i> the heart to peace is not so advanced a stage as the <i>having</i> CONFIDENCE <i>towards God</i> which flows from a <i>heart condemning us not.</i> The first "because" thus applies to the two alternate cases, <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,20,21);">1Jo 3:20-21</a> (giving the ground of saying, that <i>having love we shall gain over,</i> or <i>assure our minds before Him,</i> <a href= "#" onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,19);">1Jo 3:19</a>); the second "because" applies to the first alternate alone, namely, "if our heart condemn us." When he reaches the second alternate, <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,21);">1Jo 3:21</a>, he states it independently of the former "because" which had connected it with <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,19);">1Jo 3:19</a>, inasmuch as CONFIDENCE <i>toward God</i> is a farther stage than <i>persuading our hearts,</i> though always preceded by it.
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<p id="a1Jo3_21"><b>21. Beloved</b>—There is no "But" contrasting the two cases, <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,20,21);">1Jo 3:20-21</a>, because "Beloved" sufficiently marks the transition to the case of the brethren walking in the full confidence of <i>love</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,18);">1Jo 3:18</a>). The two results of our being able to "assure our hearts before Him" (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,19);">1Jo 3:19</a>), and of "our heart condemning us not" (of insincerity as to <i>the truth</i> in general, and as to LOVE in particular) are, (1) confidence toward God; (2) a sure answer to our prayers. John does not mean that all whose hearts do not condemn them, are therefore safe before God; for some have their conscience seared, others are ignorant of the truth, and it is not only <i>sincerity,</i> but <i>sincerity in the truth</i> which can save men. Christians are those meant here: knowing Christ's precepts and testing themselves by them.
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<p id="a1Jo3_22"><b>22. we receive</b>—as a matter of fact, according to His promise. Believers, as such, ask only what is in accordance with God's will; or if they ask what God wills not, they bow their will to God's will, and so God grants them either their request, or something better than it.
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<br><br><b>because we keep his commandments</b>—Compare <a onclick="return mV('Psa',66,18);">Psa 66:18</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Psa',34,15);">34:15</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Psa',145,18,19);">145:18-19</a>. Not as though our merits earned a hearing for our prayers, but when we are believers in Christ, all our works of faith being the fruit of <i>His</i> Spirit in us, are "pleasing in God's sight"; and our prayers being the voice of the same Spirit of God in us, naturally and necessarily are answered by Him.
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<p id="a1Jo3_23"><b>23.</b> Summing up of God's commandments under the Gospel dispensation in one commandment.
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<br><br><b>this is his commandment</b>—singular: for <i>faith</i> and <i>love</i> are not <i>separate</i> commandments, but are indissolubly united. We cannot truly <i>love</i> one another without <i>faith</i> in Christ, nor can we truly believe in Him without love.
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<br><br><b>believe</b>—<i>once for all; Greek</i> aorist.
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<br><br><b>on the name of his Son</b>—on all that is revealed in the Gospel concerning Him, and on Himself in respect to His person, offices, and atoning work.
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<br><br><b>as he</b>—as <i>Jesus</i> gave us commandment.
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<p id="a1Jo3_24"><b>24. dwelleth in him</b>—The believer dwelleth in Christ.
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<br><br><b>and he in him</b>—Christ in the believer. Reciprocity. "Thus he returns to the great keynote of the Epistle, <i>abide in Him,</i> with which the former part concluded" (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',2,28);">1Jo 2:28</a>).
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<br><br><b>hereby</b>—herein we (believers) know that he abideth in us, namely, from (the presence in us of) the Spirit "which He hath given us." Thus he prepares, by the mention of the true Spirit, for the transition to the false "spirit," <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',4,'1-6');">1Jo 4:1-6</a>; after which he returns again to the subject of <i>love.</i>
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