Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From 1 JOHN #4 - 3:1-24)
III. 3:1-24 “GOD’S LOVE IN DIVINE FELLOWSHIP”
A. 3:1-12 THE PRODUCTION OF GOD’S LOVE
1. 3:1-3 PURITY IS PRODUCED
a. 3:1a PROOF OF GOD’S AMAZING LOVE: OUR SONSHIP
Ide-te po-taMEN aGApen DEdo-ken heMIN ho paTER,
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us,
HIna TEKna TheOU kleTHOmen [2563]; KAI es-men.
that we should be called children of God; and we are.
b. 3:1b For this cause the world knows us not, because it knew him not.
diA TOUto ho KOSmos ou giNOSkei heMAS, HOti ouk EGnoauTON.
c. 3:2a Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet manifested what we shall be.
A-ga-peTOI, nun TEKna TheOU es-men, kai OUpoe-pha-neROthe[5319]ti eSOme-tha.
d. 3:2b CHRIST’S MANIFESTATION: THE KEY TO OUR GLORIFICATION
OIda-men HOti, eAN pha-ne-roTHE, HOmoi-oi auTOeSOme-tha;
We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him;
HOti oPSOme-tha auTON kaTHOS es-tin.
for we shall see him even as he is.
e. 3:3 And every one that has this :hope on him purifies himself, even as HE is pure.
kai pas ho Echon ten elPIda TAUten ep’ auTOhagNIzei he-auTON, kaTHOS eKEInos hagNOS [53]es-tin.
2. 3:4-8 SINLESSNESS IS PRODUCED
a. 3:4 Every one that does :sin does also :lawlessness; and :sin is :lawlessness.
Pas ho poiON ten ha-marTIan kai ten a-noMIan poiEI; kai heha-marTIa esTIN hea-noMIa.
b. 3:5 And you know that he was manifested to take away :sins; and in him is no sin.
kai OIda-te HOti eKEInos e-pha-neROtheHIna tas ha-marTIas Are[142]; kai ha-marTIa en auTOouk EStin.
c. 3:6 THE SECRET AND PENALTY FOR SIN
pas ho en auTOMEnon ouch ha-marTAnei:
Whoever abides in him sins not:
pas ho ha-marTAnon ouch heOra-ken auTON, ouDE EGno-ken auTON.
Every one that does sin has not seen him, neither has known him.
d. 3:7-8a CONTRASTING EFFECTS OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND SINNERS
TekNIa [5038], meDEIS plaNAto[4105]huMAS:
Little children, let no one lead you astray:
ho poiON ten di-kai-oSUnen DIkaiOS es-tin, kaTHOS eKEInos DIkaiOS es-tin:
who does :righteousness is righteous, even as HE is righteous:
ho poiON ten ha-marTIan ek tou di-aBOlou [1228]esTIN; HOti ap’ arCHES ho diAbo-los ha-marTAnei.
8 who does :sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning.
e. 3:8b To this endwas the Son of :God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
eis TOUto e-pha-neROtheho huiOS tou TheOU, HIna LUse[3089]ta ERga [2041]tou di-aBOlou.
3. 3:9-12 LOVE OF THE BRETHREN IS PRODUCED
a. 3:9 RESULT OF NEW BIRTH: NO SIN!
Pas ho ge-gen-neMEnos [1080]ek tou TheOU ha-marTIan ou poiEI, HOti SPERma auTOU en auTOMEnei:
Every one born of :God does no sin, because his seed abides in him:
kai ou DUna-tai ha-marTAnein [264], HOti ek tou TheOU geGENne-tai [1080].
and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of :God.
b. 3:10 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO KINGDOMS: DEVIL’S CHILDREN SIN
en TOUtopha-neRA es-tin ta TEKna tou TheOU, kai ta TEKna tou di-aBOlou:
In this the children of :God are manifest, and the children of the :devil:
pas ho mepoiON di-kai-oSUnen ouk EStin ek tou TheOU, kai ho mea-gaPON ton a-delPHON auTOU.
Every one that does not righteousness is not of :God, neither he that loves not his :brother.
c. 3:11-12a THE MESSAGE: LOVE – NOT MURDER
HOti HAUteesTIN heag-geLIa [31]hen eKOUsa-te ap’ arCHES, HIna a-gaPOmen alLElous:
Because this is the message which you heard from thebeginning, that we should love one another:
ou kaTHOS KaIN ek tou po-neROU [4190]en, kai ESpha-xen [4969]ton a-delPHON auTOU.
12not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his :brother.
d. 3:12b And why did he slay him? kai CHArin TInos ESpha-xen auTO?
e. 3:12c Because his :works were evil, and his :brother’s righteous.
HOti ta ERga auTOU po-neRA en, ta de tou a-delPHOU auTOU DIkai-a.
3:13-24 THE PROVING OF GOD’S LOVE
1. 3:13-15 LOVE PROVES POSSESSION OF ETERNAL LIFE
a. 3:13 Marvel not, brothers, if the world hates you.
MethauMAze-te [2296], a-delPHOI, ei miSEI [3404]huMAS ho KOSmos.
b. 3:14a LOVE OF BRETHREN: PROOF OF PASSAGE FROM DEATH TO LIFE
heMEIS OIda-men HOti me-ta-beBEka-men [3327]ek tou thaNAtou [2288]eis ten zo-EN,
WE know that we have passed out of :death into :life,
HOti a-gaPOmen tous a-delPHOUS.
because we love the brethren.
c. 3:14b Who loves not abides in :death. ho mea-gaPON MEnei en tothaNAto.
d. 3:15 RESULT OF HATRED: NO ETERNAL LIFE FOR THE MURDERER
pas ho miSON ton a-delPHON auTOU an-thro-pokTOnos [443]esTIN:
Whoever hates his :brother is a murderer:
kai OIda-te HOti pas an-thro-pokTOnos ouk Echei zo-EN aiOni-on en auTOMEnou-san.
and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
2. 3:16-18 LOVE PROVES ITSELF BY ACTION
a. 3:16 LOVE: LED TO CHRIST’S DEATH, AND LEADS TO OUR MARTYRDOM
En TOUtoegNOka-men ten aGApen, HOti eKEInos huPER heMON ten psuCHEN [5590]auTOU Ethe-ken:
Hereby know we :love, because HE laid down his :life for us:
kai heMEIS oPHEIla-men huPER ton a-delPHON tas psuCHAS THEInai.
and we ought to lay down our:lives for the brethren.
b. 3:17 LACK OF LOVE: CAUSES HELP TO BE WITHHELD
hos d’ ’AN Echeton BIon [979]tou KOSmou, kai the-oREton a-delPHON auTOU CHREIan Echon-ta,
But whoso has the goods of the world, and beholds his :brother in need,
kai KLEIse[2808]ta SPLAGCHna [4698]auTOU ap’ auTOU, pos heaGApetou TheOU MEnei en auTO?
and shuts up his :compassion from him, how does the love of :God abide in him?
c. 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.
TekNIa, mea-gaPOmen LOgo[3056], meDE teGLOSse[1100]; alLA en ERgo[2041]kai a-leTHEIa [225].
3. 3:19-24 LOVE PROVES ITSELF BY OBEDIENCE
a. 3:19-20 WALK SO AS NOT TO HAVE CONDEMNATION
En TOUtognoSOme-tha HOti ek tes a-leTHEIas esMEN,
Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth,
kai EMpros-then auTOU PEIso-men ten karDIan heMON: HOti eAN ka-ta-giNOSkeheMON hekarDIa,
and shall assure our :heart before him: 20 because if our :heart condemn us,
HOti MEIzon esTIN ho TheOS tes karDIas heMON, kai giNOSkei PANta.
:God is greater than our :heart, and knows all things.
b. 3:21-22 ANSWER TO PRAYER: RESULT OF NO CONDEMNATION
A-ga-peTOI, eAN hekarDIa meka-ta-giNOSke[2607], par-reSIan [3954]Echo-men pros ton TheON;
Beloved, if the heart condemn not, we have boldness toward :God;
kai ho an aiTOmen lamBAno-men ap’ auTOU,
22and whatever we ask we receive of him,
HOti tas en-toLAS [1785]auTOU teROUmen kai ta a-resTA [701]eNOpi-on auTOU poiOUmen.
because we keep his :commandments and do the things pleasing in his sight.
c. 3:23 CHRIST COMMANDS BROTHERLY-LOVE AND FAITH
kai HAUtees-TIN heen-toLEauTOU,
And this is his :commandment,
HIna pisTEUso-men tooNOma-ti tou huiOU auTOU IeSOU ChrisTOU,
that we should believe on the name of his :Son Jesus Christ,
kai a-gaPOmen alLElous, kaTHOS Edo-ken en-toLEN heMIN.
and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.
d. 3:24a And who keeps his :commandments abides in him, and he in him.
kai ho teRON tas en-toLAS auTOU en auTOMEnei, kai auTOS en auTO.
e. 3:24b And hereby we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he gave us.
kai en TOUtogiNOSko-men HOti MEnei en huMIN, ek tou PNEUma-tos [4151]hou heMIN Edo-ken.
NOTE: These notes are not intended as a commentary. It is my conviction that the above translation, and sentence and paragraph summaries speak for themselves, and little else need be said. And with no knowledge of Greek, it is possible to use the Berlitz method of transliteration along with Strong’s number for significant Greek words, and painlessly over time pick up a good and fair running knowledge of Greek. For those not motivated to do this, the Greek transliteration is in light print, and can easily be passed over – while the English is in black bold print, and appears with but the slightest updates, substantially as it appears from the Oxford Press, England, as delivered to it by Ivan Panin.
Yet I would like to draw special attention to 1 John 3:8b and 3:9. It is so important to note the purpose for Jesus’ first coming. What He came to do, He did! When He cried from the Cross, “It is finished!” – the head of Satan was powerfully crushed. He cannot do as effectively what he did prior to Calvary. For all who press in to understand “The Finished Work” of Christ on the Cross, and what He purchased for us – all such join the ranks of Paul and say, “I am alwayscaused to triumph through Him who loved me and gave Himself for me! I am morethat conqueror through the crucified, risen and ascended Christ! Let us learn to daily, hourly and yes – even momentarily – restin this enormous and relevant truth.
And right on the heels of this revelation, follows 1 John 3:9 – “Every one born of God does no sin, because his seed abides in him, and he cannotsin, because he is born of God.” This is the second of the six proofs in this book given to the believer that he is truly born again. It is “Christ’s seed” within us that cannot sin. When like Rees Howells we allow Him to possess us, our relationship with God and our victory over Satan is enormous.
True, there is no good thing in me – that is in my flesh. But that Holy seed of Christ in me, the Hope of Glory – has alltransforming power. And God is no respecter of persons – so that what Paul had – you and I have equal access to the same victory, overcoming-life, plus allthat Christ purchased for us in His Great Redemptive Act at Calvary! Satan hatesto hear this truth proclaimed. Oswald Chambers expressed it most effectively, plus many others. Thank God for the faithful preachers of our day who see it, experience it, and proclaim it! It is becoming a growing number. Let us each one join that band of victorious proclaimers! J.A.W.