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CHAPTER 3

Verses 1, 2. From the words “born of him” in the previous verse, John draws the conclusion that we are children of God, and enumerates some of our privileges as such. “Born of him”; then we are His children! “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons [children] of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not ... it doth not yet appear what we shall be ... when he shall appear, we shall be like him,” etc. “It knew him not” signifies knew not Christ, although the commencement of the sentence speaks of the Father. It is the same language as in Revelation 22: 3, “the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face.” John says, “his face,” in the singular, yet he is speaking of God and of the Lamb.

“We shall be like him.” Our likeness to Christ then is the result of a present privilege, that of having life in Christ, as Paul expresses it when saying, “Christ, who is our life.” We shall be like Christ, but such as He is now with the Father. In the same way our privilege of seeing Him will be seeing Him as He is now.⁺ Surely we shall reign with Him, but we shall receive neither the special glory, nor the attributes proper to the Son of man, for they belong to Jesus only.

Verses 3-6. Christ Himself is the measure of the Christian’s sanctification. The hope of seeing Jesus in His glory makes us desire to be like Him now. “Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure. In him is no sin ... whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.” Thus our hope is linked with practical righteousness.

⁺This point raises the question whether we shall see God in the brightness of His essential glory. The scripture answers: “dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see.” In another place speaking of the heavenly Jerusalem, it says, “The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light [lamp] thereof.” It follows from this that it is outside the inaccessible light that the God of glory reveals Himself to man, and that this revelation is made through Jesus.

Verse 4. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law.” The true version reads: “Whosoever practiseth sin, practiseth also lawlessness.” “Transgresseth also the law,” and “committeth iniquity,” render the Greek imperfectly. If it were said, “practiseth lawlessness,” it would be nearer the Greek, which is lawlessness.

Verses 7, 8. Let us notice the different manner in which John speaks of him who practises righteousness and of him who practises sin. Of the first he says that he “is righteous, even as he [Christ] is righteous.” This indicates the state of a person owing to the possession of a nature received, and consequently an abiding state. Of the second, John says: “Is of the devil,” which signifies, he receives his disposition from the wicked one. The enemy may exert an action upon man, but he cannot impart himself. God alone can communicate His nature. We are “partakers of the divine nature.”

Verse 9. “Whosoever is born of God doth not practise sin.” In interpreting this passage some make the words “commit sin,” mean “live in sin,” but this weakens its bearing. These words have reference to something absolute, to the nature of Christ within us. So John does not say, That which, but “whosoever is born of God,” thereby meaning a being and not a thing, and that being does not practise sin. Doubtless not to practise sin is the characteristic of the child of God. The Christian does not live in sin, and this because he has a holy nature which spiritually constitutes the individual.

Verses 10-18. To complete the subject we now get some developments upon the two great principles combined; righteousness and love. The two leading features of the child of God are that he practiseth righteousness and loveth his brother. By contrast, he that practiseth not righteousness and loveth not his brother is not of God. “His brother.” Has one, who is not born of God, a brother? Here again we must follow abstractions. The principles remain, although there may not be all the elements of application.

Verse 12. The opposite of the child of God is seen in Cain. He slew his brother (evidence of his hatred), and wherefore? because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

Verses 13-15 are application. The brethren — and by this word John designates all the children of God — are hated by the world, even as Abel was hated by Cain. On their part there is love, and this love is the proof that they have passed from death to life.

^[p. 318] Verse 16. But love is seen in and learnt from Christ. We know love through Him who has been the most complete proof of the love of God, for moved by this love Christ gave Himself.

Verses 16-18 are application. The love of Christ in us should lead us even to lay down our lives for the brethren. It can also shew itself by lesser actions, and can lead us to make our brethren partakers with us of any of this world’s goods that we may possess.

Verses 19-23. As obedience introduced the subject of the proofs that we are partakers of divine life, so now it concludes this also. In loving the brethren we not only have evidence that we are of the truth, but we assure our hearts before God, love being the keeping of the commandment which we have received to love one another (verse 23). And more, being obedient to His commandment, whatsoever we ask, we receive.

Verse 19. “Assure our hearts before him.” The subject in hand is evidently a question of liberty with God, and not of salvation or condemnation.

Verse 20. “God is greater than our heart.” He knows us better than. we know ourselves. Immediately our heart allows something that cannot stand before God, our communion and liberty with Him suffer. Now sometimes we know not where to discover what has unsettled our intercourse with God. What has done it? After a little searching we shall discover that our hearts are tolerating some elements of evil which God sees and will not allow.

Verse 22. “Whatsoever we ask we receive of him.” This truth appertains to the absolute principles of the new man, for our prayers are not always answered. On one occasion Paul prayed three times and was not heard. But the prayer of the new man is always according to Christ who could say to His Father: “Thou hearest me always.” Verse 22 supposes such a prayer as we address to God when we are walking in His ways; and not that which bursts from the heart when we find ourselves in exceptional circumstances. We can understand why, in Gethsemane, Jesus requested that He might not have to drink the cup which involved the hiding of God’s face.

Verse 23. “His commandment” signifies both the commandment of God and the commandment of Christ; for God it is who has given us the command to believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ,” and Christ that to “love one another.” This is another instance of the way in which John speaks without distinguishing between God and Christ. The exposition of the experimental proofs of divine life in us are concluded with this verse.

Verse 24. We now enter upon a new subject. Two great privileges of the saints, expressed by John in these words, “He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him,” correspond to the obedience which maintains our hearts in a state of liberty before God.

Here, as in other passages which we have already looked at, the word he is indefinite; it applies to God and to Christ indiscriminately. Abide in Him may mean, abide in God, or abide in Christ. Still by the light which chapter 4 sheds upon the subject, we can see that these words signify rather, that we abide in God, and God abides in us. This expresses the immensity of the grace which God has given us in granting us life and a place in communion with Himself.

To abide in God is, as we remarked in chapter 2, the privilege of resting on the bosom of God Himself, there tasting divine affections; a privilege alas! too little enjoyed by our souls, for we know not how at all times to fall back upon God in order to escape from the dearth of the wilderness. We enjoy communion with the Father and the Son; but we have more, we abide in God.

God abiding in us indicates a different blessing from that of our abiding in God. God abides in us through the communication of His nature. He is Himself thus the element of our being. “He has given us of his Spirit,” chapter 4: 13. We have received the life manifested by the Son in this world, and the received Spirit is God Himself in us.

This last privilege is now mentioned for the first time in this Epistle, and in speaking it, John gives the proof of its reality in these words: “And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” Although he has just mentioned two privileges, he only adduces the proof of the latter, which is introductory to the former, and which is the subject he is about to unfold.

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