What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written,

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1 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Four [4:20] 199 God is the One Who initiates the whole enterprise of eternal salvation. If asked why we love one another, or why we are willing to give ourselves to the betterment of our brothers and sisters, or how we have come to experience and receive the saving love of God in His Son, Yeshua, then the answer begins with God Himself. For apart from His initiating love toward us, we, being dead in our sins, had neither the desire nor the ability to seek Him. In fact, in our flesh, we would find the whole idea of a righteous God to be contrary to our very nature, for apart from God s redeeming us, we would have nothing to do with affirming Him as our sovereign Lord and King. Paul makes this clear in his epistle to the Romans. What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for god; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. there is no fear of god before their eyes. (Rom 3:9 18, quoting from Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1 3; 5:9; 140:3; 10:7; Is 59:7f; Ps 36:1) Indeed, it is the love of God made known through the giving of His only begotten Son, Yeshua, that is the initiating expression of God s love for sinners. And the promise of this infinite gift of His love was given to Adam and Chavah, and thus from the very beginning of Scripture, God s sovereign and infinite love is made known. Once the Ruach opens the eyes of the heart to receive the message of God s love in the Gospel, God s love compels the one being drawn to Him to repent and receive the unspeakable gift of eternal life. 20 If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. Once again we sense that John has the Gnostic teachers in mind when he writes this sentence, for though they confessed to love God, their having left the community after denying Yeshua, and seeking to persuade others to follow their errant teachings, resulted in open hatred toward those who remained steadfast in their faith in Yeshua. The Gnostic sect confessed that they loved God, but this was a purely philosophical love, for they also taught that God had no connection whatsoever to the physical world, and that He was not the One Who created the universe. Rather, they believed that an ignorant demiurge was responsible for the physical world, and they characterized this demiurge as an impersonal force, often resembling the God of the Tanach. As such, they viewed God as being entirely transcendent, not having revealed Himself to mankind through the physical creation but known only through mystical experiences achieved through special knowledge. Indeed, the primary goal of Gnosticism was to escape the physical world through mystical experiences, for in their view, the physical world was imbued with evil through and through.

2 200 [4:20] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Four Gnostics hoped to escape from the prison of their bodies at death and to traverse the planetary spheres of hostile demons to be reunited with God. There was for them, of course, no reason to believe in the resurrection of the body. 1 As such, it would have been an obvious extension of the Gnostic teaching to despise people who rejected their teaching. If all physicality was imbued with evil, this opens the door to hating one s fellowman, especially those who believed in the God of the Bible Who pronounced the created world to be good. Further, to confess that Yeshua, the Son of God, came in the flesh, was at direct odds with the Gnostic philosophical theology. John s point in this verse is simply a reiteration of what he has already stated in 2:4, but with some small but notable differences. The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; (1Jn 2:4) In 2:4, the confession is that I have come to know Him while in our current verse the confession is I love God. Interestingly, both the verbs to know as well as to love find usage in covenant contexts of the Tanach. 2 For instance, in Gen 18:19, where God is speaking about His covenant relationship with Abraham, most of our modern English translations have: For I have chosen him, but the Hebrew has For I have known him כּ י י ד ע תּ י ו) ). Likewise, know is used as a covenant term in Amos 3:2, though the majority of English translations use chosen to translate the verb י ד ע, yāda, to know. You only have I chosen [known] among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. (Amos 3:2) These are two good examples of how the word know is used in the Tanach in the sense to know someone, meaning to have close, covenant relationship with the one who is known (see also Gen 4:1). Likewise, the verb to love א ה ב), āhav) is used in the Tanach to describe a close, covenant relationship. The Shema (Deut 6:4ff; 11:13ff) is a prime example, for the command to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might means to be loyal to the covenant 1 E. M. Yamauchi, Gnosticism in Dictionary of New Testament Background (IVP, 2000), p On the covenant use of the Hebrew verb י ד ע, see A. Fitzgerald, Hebrew Love and Beloved CBQ, 29 (1967), ; H. B. Huffman, The = ידע Treaty Background of Hebrew,ידע BASOR 181 (1966), 31 37; H. B. Huffman and S. B. Parker, A Further Note on the Treaty Background of Hebrew,ידע BASOR 184 (1966), On Hebrew א ה ב, love used as a technical covenant term, see W. L. Moran, The Ancient Near Eastern Background of the Love of God in Deuteronomy, CBQ 25 (1965), ; McCarthy, Notes on the Love of God in Deuteronomy and the Father-Son Relationship Between Israel and YHWH, CBQ, 25 (1965), ; Larry Walker, Love in the Old Testament: Some Lexical Observations in Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, Gerald F. Hawthorne, ed. (Eerdmans, 1975), pp. 277ff.

3 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Four [4:20] 201 relationship one has with Him, which means not entering into any relationship with other gods, and thus not giving one s ultimate and final obedience to any other being. In short, to love God means to give oneself entirely to honor and worship only Him, and thus to acknowledge God as one s final and supreme authority. This loyalty flows from a heart overwhelmed by God s redemptive actions, freeing the redeemed one from a life of slavery and bringing him or her into the liberty of His unending grace. This means that all human authorities, even those put in place by God Himself, necessarily must be held as subordinate to the will of God. As Peter said, When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man s blood upon us. But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:27 29) We see, then, that to love God, while not in any sense devoid of one s inner emotions, cannot be summed up by one s inward thoughts or feelings. In fact, the covenant aspect of love for God is seen, as John teaches us, in loving God by doing, that is, by obeying His commandments. And one of those commandments is that we are to love our neighbor as ourself (Lev 19:18; Matt 19:19; 22:39; Rom 13:8 9). In our immediate context of 1John, the specific object of love is one s fellow believer. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar What does John mean by hates his brother? Clearly, brother in this verse primarily refers to those who are part of one s own faith community, though not excluding those outside of one s community with whom one might meet occasionally or periodically. Hate is a lack of love, or the opposite of it. To hate someone is to seek the demise of that person, to hope and even find ways to bring grief, trouble, and failure to the one hated. In a passive sense, hating someone is to withhold that which could help them or keep them from harm or trouble. John has already taught us that one who has truly received the love of God in Yeshua has been transformed so as to love others. Failure to love one s fellow believer thus brings into question whether such a person has truly received the love of God in Messiah. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1Jn 2:9, 11) Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (1Jn 3:15) As noted earlier, John is no doubt basing this teaching upon the very words of Yeshua: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34 35)

4 202 [4:20] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Four for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. In our verse, we find the fourth time John has used the word liar (ψεύστης, pseustēs) in this epistle (the word is previously used in 1:10; 2:4, 22). He will use it one more time in chapter five (v. 10). When John uses such strong language, describing as a liar the one who confesses to love God but hates his brother, he is not engaging in hate speech, but is simply stating the blunt application of the law of noncontradiction. 1 And his commonsense logic is this, as Yarbrough explains: God is infinitely remote; Christians are all around, and our help can touch them immediately, directly, and effectively. It is therefore pure self-delusion to view love for God (who is far away) as fulfilled when love for others (who are nearby) is lacking. 2 In John s Gospel, the fact that God is invisible is repeated a number of times: No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (Jn 1:18) And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. (Jn 5:37) Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. (Jn 6:46) Thus, when in our verse, John speaks of God Who is not seen, he is specifically referring to the Father. In a very real sense, however, the Father has revealed Himself in and by the creation, and therefore those who deny Him are without excuse (Rom 1:20). And another way He makes Himself known is through the lives of His people. Since He created mankind in His image, as believers express the love He has given them by loving each other, He is made known through their acts of obedience and their righteous ways. It is not merely through outward acts of devotion to God, as in participating in religious ceremony, attendance at worship, or even one s verbal confessions that are sure marks of genuine faith, for all of these can be mere outward and empty acts of show, devoid of any true sanctifying faith. Yeshua Himself warned against outward acts of piety, such as praying in public, but which gave no credence to helping widows. Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows houses, and for appearance s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation. (Mk 12:38 40) 1 Yarbrough, 1John, p Ibid. Yarbrough is not denying the omnipresence of God when he writes that God is infinitely remote. He is simply expressing that fact that only those who truly believe in Him, in His Son Yeshua, and thereby have the abiding Ruach with them and in them, know and experience the closeness of God. To the unbeliever, however, God (if they even think God exists) is hidden and thus far removed from reality.

5 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Four [4:21] 203 But when we love each other, and do so for the sake of the other and not with a goal to gain something for ourselves, then the very image of the invisible God is manifest in our lives. As Calvin notes: But John meant another thing: he meant to shew how fallacious is the boast of every one who says that he loves God, and yet loves not God s image which is before his eyes. 1 Indeed, the fact that all mankind is created in God s image is the basis for the sanctity of life. Every life is sacred because all human beings have been created in the image of God. This reality forms the basis for the murderer to receive capital punishment. Whoever sheds man s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man. (Gen 9:6) If we are to view every person as bearing the very image of the God we confess to love, then how much more ought we to love those who are our brothers and sisters in the Lord, who not only bear the image of their Creator but also are one together with us in God s family. This love, which we are to have for our brothers and sisters in the Lord, does not in any way negate what might be described as tough love, that is, a love that seeks to rescue someone from error. In fact, a sense of obligation to exhort, admonish, and even confront, when done so in wisdom and by the prompting of the Ruach, may be one of the most significant expressions of the kind of love we are to have for one another. Yet it is not our place to judge the hearts of others. Rather, the acts or deeds of the one who professes to love God are what give notice of the reality of one s true character. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. John concludes with a reminder that loving one s brother is not an option. It is a commandment from God Himself. Does a person therefore confess to love God? If so, the obvious conclusion is that if that person is speaking the truth, he or she will strive to show their love by obeying what God has commanded. Once again, John is summarizing what he has taught in the previous chapters. This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Yeshua Messiah, and love one another, just as He commanded us. (1Jn 3:23) Who is the One Who has given us this commandment? John writes we have this commandment from Him. Is this commandment from the Father and the Son? The obvious answer is yes, for the very One Whom Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders saw on Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:10) was Yeshua, and it was then that Moses received the Ten Words. Moreover, Yeshua reiterated the commandments of the Torah when asked by the lawyer regarding the greatest commandment in the Torah. 1 Calvin, 1John, p. 249.

6 204 [4:21] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Four Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Torah and the Prophets. (Matt 22:36 40) What does Yeshua mean when He states that the second is like it? It is like it because loving one s neighbor as oneself means a willingness to give of oneself for the betterment of one s neighbor, thus extending the love of God received in one s own salvation to one s brother or sister by loving them in a self-giving way. This parallels the very act of God by which He gave Himself, through sending His Son to redeem His people. It was through the promise and the Promised One that the love of God was fully demonstrated. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1Jn 4:10) As noted above, to love God means to give oneself to be His loyal and obedient covenant partner. It is therefore clear that we demonstrate our love for God by living in accordance with His commandments and honoring Him through our obedience to Him. All who are truly His children are enabled to do so through the abiding presence of His Ruach. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1Jn 3:24) The consistent emphasis that John puts upon loving one another within the body of Messiah is presented, not as a means of gaining one s position or status before God, but as the inevitable fruit of a changed life the reality of a new heart that seeks to obey God out of love for what He has done for the believer through the work of His Son, Yeshua. This is an important topic for discussion among the wider so-called Messianic Movement. Our desire to walk in the ways of Torah while lifting up the glories of our Messiah Yeshua, must not set us against our Christian brothers and sisters who may be quite certain that our desire to live in the ways of the Torah are wrong-headed. God is not honored by excoriating with our words those who differ with us but who do confess Yeshua as their savior. While we must remain firm in the truth as we have it in Scriptures and not compromise the truth for the sake of so-called unity, we must nevertheless be willing and ready to show love to those who confess Yeshua to be their Lord and Savior, and who show the reality of that confession through obedience to Him. When we have the opportunity to interact with them; to express our understanding of the Scriptures in areas where we may disagree, we must still do so as motivated by the love of God which we have ourselves experienced. It is by such an expression of love that we will prove ourselves to be true disciples of Yeshua.