This message of loving one another, is the same message that the readers had heard from the beginning. That is, this is what Jesus had taught, and it's what the apostles also taught in their messages, their teaching, and their preaching. That we should "love one another"
We should not be or act like Cain did. Don't love the way Cain did. This love for one another, is not what you see Cain doing, no, not at all. Cain was not only one of Adam and Eve's children, but, as we are told here, he was of the "wicked one, and murdered his brother" This statement, supports what John had said in 3:10, about either being of God, or of the devil. Here the devil is called the wicked one. Wicked means, one who does evil things. Full of annoyances, and hardships. A bad nature, or condition, an evil, bad, person.
Cain was not only of the wicked one, but he acted in the same way as the wicked one ( who is among other things a murderer ) and murdered his own brother Abel. We are also told here, why he did this. Why would a person do what Cain did to his own brother, to a family member? That's a good question, and it's answered here, and is really so helpful in our own understanding of why people often act the way that they do, and in this case a family member, doing something evil and wicked towards another family member.
Cain acted this way, because of the difference between his works, and that of his brother Abel's.
Cain's works were evil, and his brothers were righteous. Cain saw his brother, and the way that he acted, and it was very different then the way he acted, and this is why he did what he did. It's because of who Cain was, it's because of his character, that's the reason given us here by God.
Applying this, John then goes on to say, that we should not "marvel" if the world hates us. Don't be amazed if people in the world, the unsaved people hate you. This helps to explain the reaction, and reception that Christians often get in the work place, and even in their own families.
It's hard to be a christian in a group, when that group is of the devil, and is of the world. They might very well as John has said, "hate" you. Or detest you.
Moving on here, John tells us that we "know" that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren The person who does not love his brother, abides in death. He develops this truth quite extensively in the next number of verses.
The love a christian has for other christians, is one of the ways that a christian knows that he is indeed a christian. It's evidence, it's a mark of, it's characteristic of those people who have been born again. The person who does not possess this love, is living in death. They are abiding in death, not life.
The person who hates his brother, is a murderer. The two go together. Hate/murder Hating/Murdering. Murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. So, just like the love for brethren, is proof of being a child of God, and being in the light, and having eternal life, the fact of being a murderer, shows that that person is abiding in death, and is not in the light, and does not have eternal life.
So, we can see how important "love" is. It really is indeed the supreme evidence of our relationship with God. If we have this love, then we can know that we do indeed have a relationship with God, and if we do not, then we can know that we do not have that relationship with God.
To help us understand this love, John gives us an example of it, defining it for us. Christ is our example, in that He gave His life for us. He sacrificed for us. Love is sacrificial. We also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We ought to sacrifice on their behalf.
He will go on to give more application of this love.
But, how important "loving one another" is.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
No comments:
Post a Comment