Jesus Christ Through the Eyes of the Apostle John Lesson #56 John's Letters Love One Another 1 John 3:4 3:24 This is a very difficult portion of

Transcription

1 Jesus Christ Through the Eyes of the Apostle John Lesson #56 John's Letters Love One Another 1 John 3:4 3:24 This is a very difficult portion of First John... We will need to sort out several challenging issues in the light of the Apostle's words... These issues have troubled scholars for centuries: Can a true Christian commit sin; or said differently, can a true Christian live a sinless life? Does true Christian love require being willing to actually die for another Christian? How should a Christian get along in a world that clearly hates Christians and what they stand for? How do faith and action work together within a loving Christian? If you have a study apparatus in your Bible, please consider it for this passage... Please be prepared to discuss what you learn in our Sunday school class... These are difficult issues that relate to how we live our daily lives and we may all benefit from what you learn... As you read this passage, please go back to our study of John's Gospel that included Jesus' words to His disciples on the night He was betrayed... Particularly reread the portion in John Fifteen when Jesus described Himself as the vine and His disciples as the branches... Do you think that John may have had Jesus' words and the image of Jesus Himself ringing in his ears and burning in his mind's eye as he wrote these words? Both John and James declare that Christians will show their faith by what they do (1 John 3:17 18 and James 2:14 26) as well as what they believe... This has caused considerable difficulty among those who believe that our salvation depends solely on our faith in Jesus Christ and not on what we do... As you consider these two passages, try to develop a way that you would explain them to someone who argues that we must do something to be saved...

2 In all things, please hold to John's assurance that God does reside in us through His Holy Spirit... This passage is from the New English Translation (NET Bible)... Also refer to the version you usually use... If it has a study apparatus, please use it and plan to share in class... Righteousness and Sin Compared (1 John 3:4 10) 4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. 8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness the one who does not love his fellow Christian is not of God. Christians Know What Is Love (1 John 3:11 17) 11 For this is the gospel message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another, 12 not like Cain who was of the evil one and brutally murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother s were righteous. 13 Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 We have come to know love by this: that Jesus laid down his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians. 17 But whoever has the world s possessions and sees his fellow Christian in need and shuts off his

3 compassion against him, how can the love of God reside in such a person? Love One Another (1 John 3:18 24) 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth. 19 And by this we will know that we are of the truth and will convince our conscience in his presence, 20 that if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience and knows all things. 21 Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God, 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing to him. 23 Now this is his commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he gave us the commandment. 24 And the person who keeps his commandments resides in God, and God in him. Now by this we know that God resides in us: by the Spirit he has given us.

4 Study Questions and Thoughts How can John's words that all are sinners (1 John 1:8 & 10) and believers don't sin (1 John 3:6) both be true? How might you show true Christian sacrificial love in your daily life and actions (1 John 3:16 18)? Explain what is meant by, God is greater than our conscience and knows all things in 1 John 3:20... What does John mean when he says whatever we ask we receive from God in the full context of 1 John 3:21 22? What does it mean to believe in the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 3:23)? How do you think that God intended these passages to affect our daily life today?

5 Jesus Christ Through the Eyes of the Apostle John Lesson #56 John's Letters Love One Another 1 John 3:4 3:24 Righteousness and Sin Compared (1 John 3:4 10) 4 Everyone who practices sin A also practices lawlessness; B indeed, sin is lawlessness. C A Everyone who practices sin. In contrast to the construction in 1 John 3:3 (everyone who has, which referred to believers, the use of everyone who practices sin here refers to the author's opponents. A similar use, referring to the opponents' denial of the Son, is found in I John 2:23. [NET_Bible] B C The Greek word ἀνομία (anomia) is often translated iniquity or lawlessness and in the Septuagint (LXX) refers particularly to transgression of the law of Moses. In Jewish thought the ideas of sin and lawlessness or iniquity were often equated because sin involved a violation of the Mosaic law and hence lawlessness. For example, Psalm 51:5 Septuagint (LXX) sets the two in parallel, and Paul in Romans 4:7 (quoting Psalm 32:1) does the same. For the author, it is not violation of the Mosaic law that results in lawlessness, since he is writing to Christians. The 'law' for the author is the law of love, as given by Jesus in the new commandment of John 13: This is the command to love one's brother, a major theme of 1 John and the one specific sin in the entire letter which the opponents are charged with (1 John 3:17). Since the author has already labeled the opponents antichrists, it may well be that he sees in their iniquitous behavior of withdrawing from the community and refusing to love the brethren a foreshadowing of the apocalyptic iniquity of the end times (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8). In Matthew 24:11-12 Jesus foretold that false prophets would arise in the end times, that lawlessness would increase, and that the love of many will grow cold (which would certainly fit the author's portrait of the opponents here). [NET_Bible] Greeks saw sin as imperfection; the Old Testament and Judaism saw it as transgression of God s law. John wants everyone to understand that he means sin in the biblical sense. [IVPBBC]

6 5 And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away D sins, and in him there is no sin. E 6 Everyone who resides in him does not sin; F everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. D E F In Johannine thought it is Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. [NET_Bible] Under the Old Testament sacrifice system, a lamb without blemish was offered as a sacrifice for sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Because Jesus lived a perfect life and sacrificed himself for our sins, we can be completely forgiven. We can look back to his death for us and know that we need never suffer eternal death (1 Peter 1:18-20). [LASB] Everyone who resides in him does not sin. This phrase raises interpretive problems for our understanding... See extended discussion of this phrase in the end notes... [MRM]

7 8 The one who practices sin G is of the devil, H because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. I G H I We all have areas where temptation is strong and habits are hard to conquer. These weaknesses give the devil a foothold, so we must deal with our areas of vulnerability. If we are struggling with a particular sin, however, these verses are not directed at us, even if for the time we seem to keep on sinning. John is not talking about people whose victories are still incomplete; he is talking about people who make a practice of sinning and look for ways to justify it. [LASB] The person who practices sin is of the devil. 1 John 3:10 and John 8:44 might be cited as parallels, because these speak of opponents as the devil's children. However, it is significant that the author of 1 John never speaks of the opponents as fathered by the devil in the same sense as Christians are fathered by God. A concept of evildoers as fathered by the devil in the same sense as Christians are fathered by God would imply a much more fully developed Gnosticism with its dualistic approach to humanity. The author of 1 John carefully avoids saying that the opponents are fathered by the devil, because in Johannine theology not to be fathered by God is to be fathered only by the flesh. This is a significant piece of evidence that 1 John predates the more fully developed Gnosticism of the 2nd century. What the author does say is that the opponents ( the one who practices sin ) are from the devil, in the sense that they belong to him and have given him their allegiance. [NET_Bible] In the Dead Sea Scrolls, all sins were influenced by the spirit of error. Given the traditional Jewish view that the devil had introduced sin into the world, all sins were ultimately the devil s works and reflected his character. [IVPBBC]

8 For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: J to destroy K the works of the devil. J K Three steps are necessary to find victory over prevailing sin: (1) Seek the power of the Holy Spirit and God's Word; (2) stay away from tempting situations; and (3) seek the help of the body of Christ be open to their willingness to hold you accountable and to pray for you. [LASB] In the Gospel of John [the word translated, destroy ] is used both literally and figuratively. In John 1:27 it refers to a literal loosing of one's sandal-thong, and in John 2:19 to a destruction of Jesus' physical body which was understood by the hearers to refer to physical destruction of the Jerusalem temple. In John 5:18 it refers to the breaking of the Sabbath, in John 7:23 to the breaking of the law of Moses, and in John 10:35 to the breaking of the scriptures. The verb is again used literally in John 11:44 at the resurrection of Lazarus when Jesus commands that he be released from the graveclothes with which he was bound. Here the verb means, with reference to the works of the devil, to destroy, bring to an end, abolish. See BDAG 607 s.v. λύω 4 and F. B chsel, TDNT 4:336. [NET_Bible]

9 9 Everyone who has been fathered by God L does not practice sin, M because God s seed resides in him, N and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness the one who does not love his fellow Christian O is not of God. L M N O We are born into God's family when the Holy Spirit lives in us and gives us Jesus' new life. Being born again is more than a fresh start; it is a rebirth, receiving a new family name based on Christ's death for us. When this happens, God forgives us and totally accepts us; the Holy Spirit gives us a new mind and heart, lives in us, and begins helping us to become like Christ. Our perspective changes, too, because we have a mind that is renewed day by day by the Holy Spirit. So we must begin to think and act differently. [LASB]...does not practice sin. This phrase raises interpretive problems for our understanding similar to those in 1 John 3:6... See extended discussion of this phrase in the end notes... [MRM] Some scholars have suggested that John borrows the image of seed here from his opponents, since the idea is later attested among the Gnostics; but the image was already widespread in Christian tradition (James 1:18-21; 1 Peter 1:23). A child was believed to inherit his or her father s nature through the seed, hence John is able to use this image to make his point: those who are born from God through conversion reflect his character now in them, and those who are not reveal this by their nature as well. In the Old Testament one could overcome sin by the word written or dwelling in one s heart. [IVPBBC] Does not love his fellow Christian. The theme of loving one's fellow Christian appears in the final clause of 1 John 3:10 because it provides the transition to the second major section of 1 John, and specifically to the following section 1 John 3: The theme of love will dominate the second major section of the letter. [NET_Bible]

10 Christians Know What Is Love (1 John 3:11 17) 11 For this is the gospel message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another, 12 not like Cain P who was of the evil one Q and brutally murdered his brother. R And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother s were righteous. S P Q R S Cain s murder of Abel is often rehearsed with little adornment in Jewish tradition; at other times, Jewish tradition expounds on Cain s wickedness in great detail. He became a stereotypical prototype for wickedness (Pharisees sometimes associated Cain with the Sadducees and their denial of the life to come); one pre-christian Jewish text calls him the unrighteous one. Philo used Cain repeatedly as a symbol of self-love and made him an illustration that the worse attacks the better, as here. Some later antinomian Gnostics took Cain as a hero. [IVPBBC] Since the author states that Cain...was of the evil one, in the immediate context this imagery serves as an illustration of 1 John 3:8a: The person who practices sin is of the devil. This is similar to John 8:44, where Jesus told his opponents you people are from your father the devil...[who] was a murderer from the beginning. In both Jewish and early Christian writings Cain is a model for those who deliberately disbelieve; Testament of Benjamin 7:5 looks forward to the punishment of those who are like Cain in the envy and hatred of brothers. It is not difficult to see why the author of 1 John used Cain here as a model for the opponents in light of their failure to love the brothers. [NET_Bible] Murder of a brother was considered one of the most hideous crimes possible in antiquity; John applies brother or sibling to any member of the Christian community. A murderer was a child of the devil, for one of the devil s first works had been to bring death to Adam; some later rabbinic texts claim that Cain s father was a bad angel, even the devil himself. Sibling rivalry was normally outgrown, but Cain s act did not allow that to happen. [IVPBBC] Cain killed his brother, Abel, when God accepted Abel's offering and not his. Abel's offering showed that Cain was not giving his best to God, and Cain's jealous anger drove him to murder. People who are morally upright expose and shame those who aren't. If we live for God, the world will often hate us, because we make them painfully aware of their immoral way of living. [LASB]

11 13 Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. T 14 We know that we have crossed over U from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. V T See Jesus' similar warning in John 15: U V This verb essentially means to transfer from one place to another, go/pass over, according to BDAG 638 s.v. Μεταβαίνω 1. In John 13:1 the same Greek verb translated crossed over here is used to refer to Jesus' departure from this world as he returns to the Father. Here it is used figuratively to refer to the believer's transfer from the state of (spiritual) death to the state of (spiritual) life. This use is paralleled in John 5:24, where Jesus states, the person who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over (same verb) from death to life. [NET_Bible] Because we love our fellow Christians. This echoes Jesus' words in John 13:35, where he states, by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. As in 1 John 2:3 and 2:5, obedience becomes the basis for assurance. But the relationship between loving one's fellow Christian and possessing eternal life goes beyond a proof or external test. Our love for our fellow Christians is in fact a form of God's love for us because as far as the author of 1 John is concerned, all love comes from God. Therefore he can add the next line of 1 John 3:14, the one who does not love remains in death. Why? Because such a person does not have God's love residing in them at all. Rather, this person can be described as a murderer as the following verse goes on to do. Note also that the author's description here of the person who does not love as remaining in death is another way of describing a person who remains in darkness, which is a description of unbelievers in John 12:46. This provides further confirmation of the spiritual state of the author's opponents in 1 John 2:9-11. [NET_Bible]

12 The one who does not love remains in death. W W The one who does not love remains in death. Again, the author has the secessionist opponents in view. Their refusal to show love for the brothers demonstrates that they have not made the transition from (spiritual) death to (spiritual) life, but instead have remained in a state of (spiritual) death. [NET_Bible] Murder was a capital offense under Old Testament law and thus merited Gehenna in post-old Testament Jewish thought. Jesus included as murder the attitude that generated the literal act (cf. Matthew 5:21-22). [IVPBBC]

13 15 Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer, X and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing Y in him. X Y Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer. On one level it is easy to see how the author could say this; the person who hates his brother is one and the same with the person who murders his brother. Behind the usage here, however, is John 8:44, the only other occurrence of the Greek word translated murderer in the NT, where the devil is described as a murderer from the beginning. John 8:44 refers to the devil's role in bringing death to Adam and Eve, but even more to his involvement (not directly mentioned in the Genesis account, but elaborated in the intertestamental literature, especially the writings of Philo) in Cain's murder of his brother Abel. This was the first incident of murder in human history and also the first outward demonstration of the full implications of sin's entry into the world. Ultimately, then, the devil is behind murder, just as he was behind Cain's murder of Abel. When the hater kills, he shows himself to be a child of the devil. Once again, conduct is the clue to paternity. [NET_Bible] The verb [translated residing here] refers to a spiritual reality (eternal life) which in this case does not reside in the person in question. To speak in terms of eternal life not residing in such an individual is not to imply that at some time in the past this person did possess eternal life and subsequently lost it, however. The previous verse makes it clear that the individual under discussion here has remained in death (the realm of spiritual death) and so has never possessed eternal life to begin with, no matter what he may have claimed. Taken together with the use of [the word] in 1 John 3:14, the use here implies that the opponents have remained in death all along, and have not ever been genuine believers. Thus residing rather than remaining is used as the translation here. [NET_Bible]

14 16 We have come to know love by this: that Jesus laid down Z his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians. AA Z References to the fact that Jesus laid down his life using [this] verb are unique to the Gospel of John and 1 John (only here). From John's perspective Jesus' act in giving up his life sacrificially was a voluntary one; Jesus was always completely in control of the situation surrounding his arrest, trials, and crucifixion. There is a parallel with 1 John 2:6 there, as here, the life of Jesus (during his earthly ministry) becomes the example for believers to follow. This in turn underscores the importance of Jesus' earthly life and ministry (especially his sacrificial death on the cross), a point of contention between the author and his opponents in 1 John. [NET_Bible] AA John s readers anticipated persecution and the possibility of death, although few had actually been martyred so far. Refusal to participate in the worship of the emperor would brand them as subversives, and their enemies would be more than happy to betray them to the government as such. Since noncitizen prisoners were routinely tortured for information, especially if they were slaves, Christians might have to pay a tremendous price to avoid betraying their fellow Christians to death. [IVPBBC] Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others. How can we "give up our lives"? By serving others with no thought of receiving anything in return. Sometimes it is easier to say we'll die for others than to truly live for them this involves putting others' desires first. Jesus taught this same principle of love. [LASB]

15 17 But whoever has the world s possessions AB and sees his fellow Christian in need AC and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the love of God AD reside AE in such a person? AB Note the vivid contrast with Jesus' example in the preceding verse: He was willing to lay down his very life, but the person in view in [here] is not even willing to lay down part of his material possessions for the sake of his brother. [NET_Bible] AC But John also demands of them a practical commitment to love in the present. Their opponents, who had withdrawn from the community, perhaps to avoid persecution, are responsible for others deaths as Cain was; but the true Christians are to live sacrificially on behalf of others daily. As in some Jewish thought, withholding goods from someone in need was equivalent to starving him or her (cf. James 2:15-16). [IVPBBC] AD The love of God. The author is not saying that the person who does not love his brother cannot love God either (although this may be true enough), but rather that the person who does not love his brother shows by this failure to love that he does not have any of the love which comes from God 'residing' in him. Once again, conduct is the clue to paternity. [NET_Bible] AE Once again the verb [ reside ] is used of a spiritual reality (in this case the love of God) which does or does not reside in a person. Although the author uses the indefinite relative whoever, it is clear that he has the opponents in view here. This is the only specific moral fault he ever charges the opponents with in the entire letter. It is also clear that the author sees it as impossible that such a person, who refuses to offer help in his brother's time of need (and thus 'hates' his brother rather than 'loving' him,) can have any of the love which comes from God residing in him. This person, from the author's dualistic 'either/or' perspective, cannot be a believer. The semantic force of the deliberative rhetorical question, How can the love of God reside in such a person?, is therefore a declarative statement about the spiritual condition of the opponents: The love of God cannot possibly reside in such a person. [NET_Bible]

16 Love One Another (1 John 3:18 24) 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed AF and truth. AG AF Ancient literature often coupled word and deed; one who did both was praised, but one who only spoke and did not act accordingly was viewed as a hypocrite. [IVPBBC] These verses give an example of how to give up our life for others to help those in need. This is strikingly similar to James's teaching (James 2:14-17). How clearly do your actions say you really love others? Are you as generous as you should be with your money, possessions, and time? [LASB] AG The noun truth here has been interpreted in various ways: (1) There are a number of interpreters who understand the final noun in this series, truth in an adverbial sense ( truly or in sincerity ), describing the way in which believers are to love. If the two pairs of nouns are compared, however, it is hard to see how the second noun with tongue in the first pair can have an adverbial sense. (2) It seems better to understand the first noun in each pair as produced by the second noun: Words are produced by the tongue, and the (righteous) deeds with which believers are to love one another are produced by the truth. [NET_Bible]

17 19 And by this AH we will know that we are of the truth AI AH Once again there is the problem of deciding whether the phrase [ by this] refers (1) to what precedes or (2) to what follows. When an explanatory or epexegetica clause follows, and the [ that ] clause is not grammatically unrelated to the phrase [ by this], then the [ by this] is best understood as referring to what follows. Here there are no less than three [ that ] clauses that follow, one in 1 John 3:19 and two in 1 John 3:20, and thus there is the difficulty of trying to determine whether any one of them is related to the[ by this] phrase in 1 John 3:19. It is relatively easy to eliminate the first [ that ] clause from consideration, because it is related not to [ by this ] but to the verb [ we know ] as an indirect discourse clause giving the content of what believers know ( that we are of the truth ). As far as the two [ that ] clauses in 1 John 3:20 are concerned, it is difficult to see how believers could know that they belong to the truth by means of either, since the first speaks of a situation where they are under self-condemnation ( if our heart condemns us... ) and the second [ that ] clause seems to give a further explanation related to the first ( that God is greater than our heart... ). Therefore it seems better to understand the phrase [ by this] in 1 John 3:19 as referring to the preceding context, and this makes perfectly good sense, because 1 John 3:18 concludes with a reference to the righteous deeds with which believers are to love one another, which are produced by the truth. By this refers to the righteous deeds mentioned at the end of 1 John 3:18, the expressions of love. It is by doing these deeds that believers assure themselves that they belong to the truth, because the outward action reflects the inward reality of their relationship with God. Put another way, 'conduct is the clue to paternity.' [NET_Bible] AI The Dead Sea Scrolls sometimes called the righteous children of truth or the lot of God s truth. [IVPBBC]

18 and will convince AJ our conscience AK in his presence, AJ The verb [here translated convince ] in the active voice means (a) to convince ; (b) to persuade, appeal to; (c) to win over, strive to please; or (d) to conciliate, pacify, set at ease or rest (see BDAG 791). Interpreters are generally divided between meaning (a) and meaning (d) for the verb in the present context, with BDAG opting for the latter (although it is pointed out that the text is not in good order ). In any case the object of the verb in this context is [ heart or conscience ], and this leads to further problems because the meaning of [the word] will affect one's understanding of [the word] here. [NET_Bible] AK Further difficulties are created by the meaning of καρδία (kardia) in 1 John 3:19. Although it may be agreed that the term generally refers to the center and source of the whole inner life, with its thinking, feeling, and volition ( BDAG 508 s.v. l.b), this may be further subdivided into references to (a) the faculty of thought...as the organ of natural and spiritual enlightenment, that is, the mind; (b) the will and its decisions; (c) the emotions, wishes, desires, i.e., the emotions or feelings; or (d) moral decisions, the moral life, that is, the part of the individual where moral decisions are made, which is commonly called the conscience. Thus [the word] in 1 John 3:19 could refer to either the mind, the will, the emotions, or the conscience, and it is not transparently clear which concept the author has primarily in view. In light of the overall context, which seems to discuss the believer's assurance of his or her standing before God in 1 John 3:19 and the mention of boldness or confidence in 1 John 3:21 it seems probable that the conscience, that aspect of one's καρδία which involves moral choices and the guilt or approval for having made them, is primarily in view here. Thus the meaning convince is preferred for the verb, since the overall subject seems to be the believer's assurance of his or her standing before God, especially in the case when the believer's conscience attempts to condemn him on account of sin. [NET_Bible]

19 20 that AL if our conscience condemns AM us, AL The first [ that ] in 1 John 3:20 may be understood either (1) as causal, because if our heart condemns us, or (2) as explanatory, that if our heart condemns us. There are two other instances of the combination [of these Greek words] in 1 John, 1 John 3:2 and 5:14. In 3:14 the [ that ] clearly introduces an indirect discourse (content) clause. In 5:14 the [ that ] is [explanatory] to a preceding statement ( and this is the confidence which we have before him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us ). This is analogous to the present situation, and the subject under discussion (the believer's confidence before God) is also similar. It is thus more likely, by analogy, that the first [ that ] clause in 3:20, should also be understood as explanatory to the preceding clause, and we convince our heart before him ). [NET_Bible] AM In Deuteronomy 25:1 Septuagint (LXX) [the word] means to condemn in a context where it is in opposition to [the word which means] to acquit. In Job 42:6 Septuagint (LXX) (Symmachus) and Eze_16:61 Septuagint (LXX) (Symmachus) it is used of self-judgment or self-condemnation, and this usage is also found in the intertestamental literature. Thus the word has legal or forensic connotations, and in this context refers to the believer's self-condemnation resulting from a guilty conscience concerning sin. [NET_Bible]

20 that God is greater than our conscience AN and knows all things. AO 21 Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God, 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, AP because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing to him. AN Many are afraid that they don't love others as they should. They feel guilty because they think they are not doing enough to show proper love to Christ. Their consciences bother them. John has these people in mind in this letter. How do we escape the gnawing accusations of our consciences? Not by ignoring them or rationalizing our behavior but by setting our heart on God's love. When we feel guilty, we should remind ourselves that God knows our motives as well as our actions. His voice of assurance is stronger than the accusing voice of our conscience. If we are in Christ, he will not condemn us. So if you are living for the Lord but feeling that you are not good enough, remind yourself that God is greater than your conscience. [LASB] AO Judaism repeatedly stressed that God knew the hearts of all people (cf. Jeremiah 29:23); some texts even call him Searcher of Hearts. As one Jewish wisdom writer expressed it, Happy is the one whose soul does not accuse him. [IVPBBC] AP If your conscience is clear, you can come to God without fear, confident that your requests will be heard. John reaffirms Jesus' promise that whatever we ask for will be given to us. You will receive if you obey and do what pleases him because you will then be asking in line with God's will. Of course this does not mean that you can have anything you want, like instant riches. If you are truly seeking God's will, there are some requests you will not make. [LASB]

21 23 Now this is his commandment: that we believe in the name AQ of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he gave AR us the commandment. 24 And the person who keeps his commandments AS resides in God, and God in him. Now by this we know that God resides in us: by the Spirit he has given us. AT AQ In the Bible, a person's name stands for his or her character. It represents who he or she really is. We are to believe not only in Jesus' words, but also in his very person as the Son of God. Moreover, to believe in the name means to pattern your life after Christ's, to become more like him by uniting yourself with him. And if we are living like Christ, we will love one another. [LASB] AR The author of 1 John repeatedly attributes the commandments given to believers as given by God the Father, even though in John 13:34-35 it was Jesus who gave the commandment to love one another. 2 John 4-5 also attributes the commandment to love one another directly to the Father. Thus it is clear that God the Father is the subject of the verb gave here. [NET_Bible] AS These commandments are precisely those which the secessionists are violating: by leaving the Christian community they have demonstrated their lack of love for their supposed brothers and sisters, and by not believing Jesus as the only true Christ they have failed the faith test as well. [IVPBBC] AT The mutual relationship, living in Christ as he lives in us, shows itself in Christians who keep these three essential commands: (1) Believe in Christ, (2) love the brothers and sisters, and (3) live morally upright lives. The Spirit's presence is not only spiritual and mystical, but it is also practical. Our conduct verifies his presence. [LASB]

22 Other Scripture Related to the Lesson Deuteronomy 25:1-3 CJB If people have a dispute, seek its resolution in court, and the judges render a decision in favor of the righteous one and condemning the wicked one; 2 then, if the wicked one deserves to be flogged, the judge is to have him lie down and be flogged in his presence. The number of strokes is to be proportionate to his offense; 3 but the maximum number is forty. He is not to exceed this; if he goes over this limit and beats him more than this, your brother will be humiliated before your eyes... Job 42:1-6 NASB Then Job answered the LORD and said, 2 I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 3 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 'Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.' 5 I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes. Psalm 51:5 NLT For I was born a sinner yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. Jeremiah 29:21-23 NASB Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, 'Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes. 22 'Because of them a curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, 23 because they have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness, declares the LORD.'

23 Jeremiah 31:34 NASB They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the LORD, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Matthew 5:21-22 NASB You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell... Matthew 24:11-12 NKJV Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. John 3:18-21 NASB He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. John 5:24 NET I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life... John 8:44 NLT For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

24 John 12:46 NASB I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness... John 13:1 NASB Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. John 13:34-35 NASB A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 15:18-23 NLT If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to Me, they would listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of Me, for they have rejected the one who sent Me. 22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone who hates Me also hates My Father... Romans 4:6-8 NIV David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them. Galatians 5:16-26 NLT So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

25 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 NLT Don't be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed the one who brings destruction. 4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. 5 Don't you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of His mouth and destroy him by the splendor of His coming. James 1:18-21 NIV He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so

26 prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. James 2:14-17 NLT What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 17 So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 1 Peter 1:18-20 NLT For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose Him as your ransom long before the world began, but He has now revealed Him to you in these last days. 1 Peter 1:22-23 AU NASB Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. AU The new life of obedient love is natural for the person with a new nature; it was axiomatic in antiquity that children inherited the nature of their parents. (Many writers even remarked that adulterers gave themselves away because children bore their image.) The father s seed was especially important; followers of Jesus had been reborn through the living word, the gospel, and it was imperishable. (A variety of parallels could be adduced, including Philo s perspective on the divine word as not only imperishable but as seminal, or a seed; but most of these examples are individual and distinct cases rather than based on general tradition. The parallels may thus all be remote, drawn from the same sort of natural imagery as Peter s [except that Philo, unlike Peter, might draw on Stoicism s seminal Logos]. That the Word of God was imperishable, however, was agreed throughout all of Judaism.) [IVPBBC]

27 1 John 2:1-2 NIV My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:18-19 NIV Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 1 John 5:1 NIV Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 John 1:4-5 NIV It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.

28 End Notes Everyone who resides in him does not sin. (1 John 3:6) From the NET Bible notes apparatus: The interpretive problem raised by the use of the present tense [ does not sin ] in this verse is that (a) it appears to teach a sinless state of perfection for the true Christian, and (b) it appears to contradict the author's own statements in 1 John 2:1-2 where he acknowledged that Christians do indeed sin. (1) One widely used method of reconciling the acknowledgment in 1 John 2:1-2 that Christians do sin with the statements in 1 John 3:6 and 3:9 that they do not is expressed by M. Zerwick (Biblical Greek ß251). He understands the aorist to mean commit sin in the concrete, commit some sin or other while the present means be a sinner, as a characteristic stateª. N. Turner (Grammatical Insights, 151) argues essentially the same as Zerwick, stating that the present tense ἁμαρτάνει is stative (be a sinner) while the aorist is ingressive (begin to be a sinner, as the initial step of committing this or that sin). Similar interpretations can be found in a number of grammatical works and commentaries. (2) Others, however, have questioned the view that the distinction in tenses alone can convey a habitual meaning without further contextual clarification, including C. H. Dodd (The Johannine Epistles [Moffatt New Testament Commentary Series], 79) and Z. C. Hodges ( 1 John, BKCNT, 894). B. Fanning (Verbal Aspect [OTM], ) has concluded that the habitual meaning for the present tense cannot be ruled

29 out, because there are clear instances of habitual presents in the NT where other clarifying words are not present and the habitual sense is derived from the context alone. This means that from a grammatical standpoint alone, the habitual present cannot be ruled out in 1 John 3:6 and 3:9. It is still true, however, that it would have been much clearer if the author had reinforced the habitual sense with clarifying words or phrases in 1 John 3:6 and 1 John 3:9 if that is what he had intended. Dodd's point, that reliance on the distinction in tenses alone is quite a subtle way of communicating such a vital point in the author's argument, is still valid. It may also be added that the author of 1 John has demonstrated a propensity for alternating between present and aorist tenses for purely stylistic reasons. Does not sin. It is best to view the distinction between everyone who practices sin in 1 John 3:4 and everyone who resides in him in 3:6 as absolute and sharply in contrast. The author is here making a clear distinction between the opponents, who as moral indifferentists downplay the significance of sin in the life of the Christian, and the readers, who as true Christians recognize the significance of sin because Jesus came to take it away and to destroy it as a work of the devil. This argument is developed more fully by S. Kubo ( I John 3:9: Absolute or Habitual? Andrews University Seminary Series 7 [1969]: 47-56), who takes the opponents as Gnostics who define sin as ignorance. The opponents were probably not adherents of fully developed gnosticism, but Kubo is right that the distinction between their position and that of the true

30 Christian is intentionally portrayed by the author here as a sharp antithesis. This explanation still has to deal with the contradiction between 1 John 2:1-2 and 3:6-9, but this does not present an insuperable difficulty. The author of 1 John has repeatedly demonstrated a tendency to present his ideas antithetically, in either/or terms, in order to bring out for the readers the drastic contrast between themselves as true believers and the opponents as false believers. In 1 John 2:1-2 the author can acknowledge the possibility that a true Christian might on occasion sin, because in this context he wishes to reassure his readers that the statements he has made about the opponents in the preceding context do not apply to them. But in 1 John 3:4-10, his concern is to bring out the absolute difference between the opponents and his readers, so he speaks in theoretical rather than practical terms which do not discuss the possible occasional exception, because to do so would weaken his argument. From the Bible Knowledge Commentary The seriousness of sin is further underscored by the consideration that Christ appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. The Incarnation brought into the world the One who is totally sinless and who had as an objective the removal of sin from the lives of His own. It follows logically from this that a person who is ( abides ) in a sinless Person must himself be sinless, for he has a sinless, regenerate nature. This is the inescapable logic of the text. But a different point is suggested by the NIV s rendering: No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. A widely held explanation