Love another: (3:11-24)
John contrasts the children of God and the children of the devil, using Cain and Abel as examples. Abel had faith and was accepted; Cain tried to be saved by works but was not accepted (Gen.4). Cain was a liar and a murderer, like the devil (Jn. 8:44), he murdered his brother Abel, then lied about it to God. Satan’s seed (children) will oppose God’s seed (Gen.3:15). This will finally culminate in Christ’s battle with the Antichrist in the last days. Cain worshiped at an altar, and the Pharisees were the most religious people of their day. Not religion, but a true love for God and God’s children, should be the test of our devotion to God. True Christians do not hate and murder; instead, they show love and try to help others. The new nature that is implanted at the new birth is responsible for this change. (Jn. 3:16 and 1 Jn.3:16) have similarities. Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Christianity is a religion of the heart, not the tongue and outward compliance alone is no enough. Real love is an action, not feeling. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others which means putting others desires before ours. Let us love others not with words but with actions and in truth. Self sacrificing love is required of the believer. Although many are not called for such action, we can sacrificially give material necessities of life to others.
Many are feeling guilty that they are not doing enough for others. Such times we should remember that God knows our motives. Our hearts may condemn us but God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything. When our conscious is clear, we can come to God confidently and make our requests. What ever we ask, God will grant us. Of course this does not mean that we should ask for instant richness.
If there is sin in our hearts, then we cannot pray with confidence (Ps.66:18-19). But the Holy Spirit within us convicts me of this sin, and we may confess it and get back into fellowship with the Father. What a tremendous revelation: whenever a Christian is out of fellowship with another Christian, he or she cannot pray. The secret of answered prayer is obeying God and seeking to please Him. By doing so we abide in Him, and when we abide in Him, we can pray with power (Jn. 15:7).
Faith and love go together (3: 23). If we trust God, we love one another. We love the saints because we are all one in Christ and because we seek to please the Father. How happy earthly parents are when their children love one another! The indwelling Holy Spirit helps us to unite all believers in a wonderful fellowship of love, the kind of spiritual unity Christ prayed for in (Jn. 17:20-21.)
God abides in us by His Spirit; we ought to abide in Him by yielding to the Spirit and obeying the Word. People who claim to be born of God, but who repeatedly disobey the Word and have no desire to please God, ought to examine themselves to see if they are really born of God. In short we can know whether Christ lives in us with 3-commands:
- Believe in Christ.
- Love the brothers and sisters.
- Live morally upright lives.