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3:1
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of
God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him
purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
3:6
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is
righteous.
3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's
righteous.
3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in
death.
3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of
compassion from him, how
dwelleth the love of God in him? 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
3:21 Beloved, if our heart
condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us
commandment.
3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.
And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
1 John
Book: 1 John
Chapter: 3
Overview:
The
Apostle admires the
Love of
God in making believers his
children.
(1,2) The purifying influence of the
Hope of seeing
Christ, and the danger of pretending to this, and living in
Sin.
(3-10) Love to the brethren is the character of real Christians.
(11-15) That
Love described
By its actings.
(16-21) The
advantage of
Faith,
Love, and obedience.
(22-24)
1,2 Little does the world know of the happiness of the real
followers of
Christ. Little does the world think that these
Poor, humble, despised ones, are favourites of
God, and will
Dwell in
Heaven. Let the followers of
Christ be content with
hard fare here, since they are in a land of strangers, where
their
Lord was
So badly treated before them. The sons of
God
must walk
By Faith, and live
By Hope. They may
Well wait in
Faith,
Hope, and
Earnest desire, for the
Revelation of the
Lord
Jesus. The sons of
God will be known, and be made manifest
By
likeness to their Head. They shall be transformed into the same
image,
By their view of him.
3-10 The sons of
God know that their
Lord is of purer eyes than
to allow any thing unholy and impure to
Dwell with him. It is
the
Hope of hypocrites, not of the sons of
God, that makes
allowance for gratifying impure desires and lusts. May we be
followers of him as his dear children, thus show our sense of
his unspeakable
Mercy, and express that obedient, grateful,
humble mind which becomes us.
Sin is the rejecting the Divine
Law. In him, that is, in
Christ, was
No Sin. All the sinless
weaknesses that were consequences of the fall, he took; that is,
all those infirmities of mind or body which subject
Man to
suffering, and expose him to
Temptation. But our moral
infirmities, our proneness to
Sin, he had not. He that abides in
Christ, continues not in the practice of
Sin. Renouncing
Sin is
the great proof of spiritual union with, continuance in, and
saving knowledge of the
Lord Christ. Beware of self-deceit. He
that doeth
Righteousness is righteous, and to be a follower of
Christ, shows an interest
By Faith in his obedience and
sufferings. But a
Man cannot act like the
Devil, and at the same
time be a
Disciple of
Christ Jesus. Let us not serve or indulge
what the
Son of God came to destroy. To be born of
God is to be
inwardly renewed
By the power of the
Spirit of
God. Renewing
Grace is an abiding principle. Religion is not an art, a matter
of dexterity and skill, but a new nature. And the regenerate
person cannot
Sin as he did before he was born of
God, and as
others do who are not born again. There is that
Light in his
mind, which shows him the evil and malignity of
Sin. There is
that bias upon his
Heart, which disposes him to loathe and hate
Sin. There is the spiritual principle that opposes sinful acts.
And there is
Repentance for
Sin, if committed. It goes against
him to
Sin with forethought. The children of
God and the
children of the
Devil have their distinct characters. The seed
of the
Serpent are known
By neglect of religion, and
By their
hating real Christians. He only is righteous before
God, as a
justified believer, who is taught and disposed to
Righteousness
By the Holy
Spirit. In this the children of
God are manifest,
and the children of the
Devil. May all professors of the
Gospel
lay these truths to
Heart, and try themselves
By them.
11-15 We should
Love the
Lord Jesus, value his
Love, and
therefore
Love all our brethren in
Christ. This
Love is the
special
Fruit of our
Faith, and a certain sign of our being born
again. But none who rightly know the
Heart of
Man, can wonder at
the contempt and
Enmity of ungodly people against the children
of
God. We know that we are passed from
Death to
Life: we may
know it
By the evidences of our
Faith in
Christ, of which
Love
to our brethren is one. It is not zeal for a party in the common
religion, or
Affection for those who are of the same name and
sentiments with ourselves. The
Life of
Grace in the
Heart of a
regenerate person, is the beginning and first principle of a
Life of
Glory, whereof they must be destitute who hate their
Brother in their hearts.
16-21 Here is the condescension, the
Miracle, the
Mystery of
Divine
Love, that
God would redeem the
Church with his own
Blood. Surely we should
Love those whom
God has loved, and
So
loved. The Holy
Spirit, grieved at selfishness, will leave the
selfish
Heart without comfort, and full of
Darkness and terror.
By what can it be known that a
Man has a true sense of the
Love
of
Christ for perishing sinners, or that the
Love of
God has
been planted in his
Heart By the Holy
Spirit, if the
Love of the
world and its good overcomes the feelings of compassion to a
perishing
Brother? Every instance of this selfishness must
weaken the evidences of a
Man's
Conversion; when habitual and
allowed, it must decide against him. If
Conscience condemn us in
known
Sin, or the neglect of known duty,
God does
So too. Let
Conscience therefore be
Well-informed, be heard, and diligently
attended to.
22-24 When believers had confidence towards
God, through the
Spirit of
Adoption, and
By Faith in the great High
Priest, they
might ask what they would of their reconciled
Father. They would
receive it, if good for them. And as good-will to men was
proclaimed from
Heaven,
So good-will to men, particularly to the
brethren, must be in the hearts of those who go to
God and
Heaven. He who thus follows
Christ, dwells in Him as his
Ark,
Refuge, and
Rest, and in the
Father through him. This union
between
Christ and the souls of believers, is
By the
Spirit he
has given them. A
Man may believe that
God is gracious before he
knows it; yet when
Faith has laid
Hold On the promises, it sets
reason to work. This
Spirit of
God Works a change; in all true
Christians it changes from the power of
Satan to the power of
God. Consider, believer, how it changes thy
Heart. Dost not thou
long for peace with
God? Wouldst thou not forego all the world
for it?
No profit, pleasure, or preferment shall hinder thee
from following
Christ. This
Salvation is built upon Divine
Testimony, even the
Spirit of
God.