1 John 4:1-6

The fourth chapter of 1 John is 21 verses in length. John has laid out three tests for discerning authentic Christianity, in others and in us, and he has gone back over the first (the moral) and the second (the relational) tests. In the first part of this chapter, he recovers the third (the doctrinal) test before moving back to the relational test of loving one another. To summarize, we could say that holiness is needed in the moral test; love is needed in the relational test; and discernment is needed in the doctrinal test. Let’s take a look:

1) V1-6 – ¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. ⁴You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

John wrapped up chapter three by declaring that we can know God lives in us by the Spirit He gave us. But it wasn’t enough for John to that. Then, as today, discernment was needed to distinguish between those who really had the Holy Spirit and those who merely claimed to have it. False teachers abounded back then (v1; 1 John 2:19), all claiming to have the Holy Spirit as their authority. And today, we have so-called experts in every field, but it can be difficult to discern whom to believe when they disagree. So John revisits the doctrinal test of authentic Christianity, commanding his audience not to believe every spirit but to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” John has said that the command of God is “to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 3:23). And now he says not to believe everything you hear about Jesus Christ. So discernment is needed. Holiness is needed in the moral test; love is needed in the relational test; and discernment is needed in the doctrinal test.

John tells us how to recognize the truth in v2 and how to recognize error in v3. He says, “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” Doctrinally, the early church was bombarded with false teachers claiming that Jesus was divine but not human. So here, the doctrinal test demands that we see the full humanity of Jesus. If a spirit denies that truth, then it is not from God. The fact that the question, “Is He human?” had to be asked is surely evidence for the truth of the gospel; for no one would wonder about Jesus’ humanity if He hadn’t conquered the grave. In conquering the grave, there was no doubt about Jesus’ divinity. It would be 200-300 years before false teachings claimed the opposite, that Jesus was merely human and not divine, that perhaps He didn’t really conquer the grave. But even that heresy was soundly refuted to such a degree that 1500 more years would pass before the suggestion arose again.

So spiritual discernment is crucial for authentic Christianity; while this can be a test of salvation, here John is thinking more of a test of living the Christian life. Surely the thief on the cross didn’t weigh Jesus’ humanity and divinity; rather, he trusted in Jesus and humbly asked to be remembered when Jesus came into His Kingdom. I suppose there’s the acknowledgement of divinity in that request. But thief was saved, and he didn’t have to wrestle with doctrinal issues. But we have lifetimes still to live, and we are called to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). That’s a call to spiritual discernment. John says, “As you grow in the knowledge of Jesus, you have to recognize His humanity.” As we yield our thoughts to the Word of God, led by the Spirit, we’ll succeed.

John also echoes back in v3 to his teaching from 1 John 2:18-22 regarding the antichrist. He says, “The spirit of the antichrist (who is coming) even now is already in the world.” And the message in v4 is that “you have overcome them.” Who is “them”? It’s the spirits of the antichrist, the false teachings that are nothing more than lies. And then in telling us how we have overcome them, John is teaching that this is a spiritual matter, not merely an intellectual matter. In other words, we haven’t overcome the evil spirits, the false teachings, by knowing more truth or by studying harder or even by checking our brains at the door on the way into church. Rather, we have overcome falsehood by the One who is in us. “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” The true Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is the victor for us and through us over the false spirits. He is how we have overcome; and He is how we know we are from God.

In v5-6, John gives the final verdict on the doctrinal test. The evil spirits, the false teachings about Jesus Christ, are “from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them” (v5). This is especially challenging truth in today’s culture of esteemed intellectual authority. Those wise people of the world who deny Biblical truth are from the world, not from God, and they speak from a materialistic, humanistic, relativistic, secular worldview; and sadly, the world listens to them. Sadly, many professing Christians listen to them. But we, living in the world, show that we are not of the world by holding fast to Biblical truth. When we believe God’s Word in the face of worldly denial, we prove that we know God. We shine brightly, reflecting the glory of the Creator, and we face persecution and mockery. The world declares us to be ignorant or intellectually diseased in some way. But John says in v6, “Whoever knows God listens to us (that is, the apostolic authorities); but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.” And this is how spiritual discernment develops. The war is waged in the spiritual realm. We fight battles daily. Does the truth or the world win in your life?

1 John 3:17-24

V17-24 –¹⁷If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ¹⁹This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence ²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything. ²¹Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²²and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him. ²³And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. ²⁴Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.

This final passage of chapter three contains some hypothetical examples so that we can test ourselves regarding love for one another. Do you have material possessions and know someone, a brother, in need? If you don’t show pity – which is to say, if you don’t help them – then John wonders how God’s love can be in you. In v18, he teaches us to avoid proclaiming that we care without showing that we care. We need to do more than say the truth; we must do the truth (John 3:21). And in v19, John says that by doing the truth, we gain assurance that “we belong to the truth,” and “we set our hearts at rest in His presence” (see Ephesians 3:12).

There are times I don’t want to go to the nursing home. But I go. And every time I leave, I walk away refreshed and excited and humbled and reassured that it was a good thing. Sometimes, 25 people attend, and the message is well received; other times, 6 people show up and my voice crackles and 4 of the 6 fall asleep. But either way, it was a good thing. I belong to the truth. Can you say that? I belong to the truth. That’s an example of what John’s talking about here. He says in v20, “Whenever our hearts condemn us.” In other words, when you don’t want to go to the nursing home, go. You heart is condemning you, and if you go, you will be reassured that you belong to the truth. And then in v21-22, “if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” Sometimes I really want to go to the nursing home. I want to see the people. I want to deliver the message. I want to fellowship with them. And I have confidence before God that I belong to the truth. Either way, God is greater, and His justice is right.

The footnote from my Reformation Study Bible says for this passage, “Our hearts condemn us when we measure our love for one another against God’s love for us in Christ. We’ll never measure up. But God, greater than our hearts, overcomes that condemnation to give us confidence and assurance by His word.” And Calvin says, “Let this, then, be the first proposition, that no one truly loves his brethren, except he really shows this whenever an occasion occurs; the second, that as far as any one has the means, he is bound so far to assist his brethren, for the Lord thus supplies us with the opportunity to exercise love; the third, that the necessity of every one ought to be seen to, for as any one needs food and drink or other things of which we have abundance, so he requires our aid; the fourth, that no act of kindness, except accompanied with sympathy, is pleasing to God.”

I hope from that nursing home example, you see that love is a commitment. Biblical love is not a feeling or emotion, and it doesn't change. Love is a commitment. If I love, I go; and I go, because I love. Whether I want to go (in confidence) or not (for the sake of reassurance and peace of mind, or heart), I go. And I belong to the truth. Maybe there are Christians you don't like; you still love them. Maybe they don't like you; they still love you. And when you love when you don't want to, you gain assurance and set your hearts at rest in His presence. When you love while wanting to, you have confidence, obeying His commands and doing what pleases Him. And John wraps up, saying in v23, "This is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another." Obeying God's commands shows that we are alive in Him and that He lives in us. But how do we know that He lives in us? John tells us in v24 - "By the Spirit He gave us." We know that God lives in us by the Spirit He gave us. Calvin concludes, saying, "The sum of what is said is, that it hence appears that we are God's children, that is, when His Spirit rules and governs our life. John at the same time teaches us, that whatever good works are done by us, proceed from the grace of the Spirit, and that the Spirit is not obtained by our righteousness, but is freely given to us." And John will elaborate on that truth in chapter four as he moves into a reminder of the doctrinal test for genuine Christianity.

1 John 3:7-16

V7-16 – ⁷Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. ⁸He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. ¹¹This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹²Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. ¹³Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. ¹⁶This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

John pours out his heart to his audience in v7-9, calling them his “dear children.” He doesn’t want any false teachers to lead them astray by claiming that one can be righteous and yet not do righteousness. In other words, John is saying something very important: you do what you are. Paul says the same thing in Galatians 5:25, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” The things you do reflect who you are, and even to whom you belong. Do you lie? You are a liar? Do you cheat? You are a cheater. Do you steal? You are a thief. “He who does what is sinful is of the devil” (v8). As Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You do the things your own father does… You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me”(John 8:41, 44-45)! Jesus appeared “to destroy the devil’s work” (v8). He did this by freeing us from the condemnation of the law – the very tool of the devil taken captive by sin (Hebrews 2:14-15).

On the other hand, do you avoid sinful behavior? Do you flee temptation? Do you show compassion? Do you care for the needy? Do you love one another? Are you selfless and humble and patient? Do you do things Jesus did? Do you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit? God’s seed remains in you! You have been born of God! You cannot, John says, continue to sin. It would be inconsistent with the rebirth. That’s what John says in v10. If you do not desire and do what is right, then it would be impossible to declare that you are a child of God. Beginning the transition from the moral to test to the relational test, John says, “If you do not love your brother, you aren’t a child of God.” It’s quite a statement, quite a challenge, quite a test. The moral test of authentic Christian asks, “Do you do what Jesus did?” The relational test asks, “Do you love your brother?” If you don’t meet these tests, which really none of us do, then you might want to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” and take heart in “knowing that it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13). And thus we all ought to humbly consider these exhortations and rely on grace.

John has transitioned from a reminder of the moral test to this reminder of the relational test of authentic Christian living. He hearkens the audience to see the urgency of this message, which was “heard from the beginning.” It might be easy to drift off mentally, hearing the same message over and over, but it’s truly a matter of life and death. John says in v14, “Anyone who does not love remains in death.” And then he says in v15, “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer.”

John gives the message, “We should love one another,” says it’s “from the beginning,” and recalls Cain and Abel from the beginning, from Genesis 4. Cain, the first person born into this world, “belonged to the evil one and murdered (literally slaughtered, or butchered, as in “slit the throat”) his brother.” John interprets the historical event for us: The murder of Abel is not what gave Cain over to Satan; the murder of Abel confirmed that Cain had been given over Satan already. Cain was evil, as proven by his evil deeds; Abel was righteous, as proven by his righteous deeds (v12). And John uses this illustration of sharp dichotomy to say, “Do not be surprised if the world hates you” (v13). Not loving is equivalent for John of hating, and therefore murdering. But the believer, the one who loves his brother, has “passed from death to life” (v14); on the contrary, “no murderer has eternal life in him” (v15).

Finally, for those in his audience who may have wondered what love is, what love looks like, John gives us Jesus. Jesus, laying down His life, is love. It was self-denial; it was sacrifice. And it was “for us.” Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). And John says that we ought to mimic that kind of love for one another. We ought to practice self-denial and sacrifice for the benefit of others, not like Cain but like Jesus.

1 John 2:29; 3:1-6

V29,1-6 – ²⁹If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him…. ¹How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. ²Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears [or, when it is made known], we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ³Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. ⁴Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. ⁶No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.

John has laid out three tests of authentic Christianity for his audience, the moral test, the relational test, and the doctrinal test. He visits those themes repeatedly, and here in this passage, John is transitioning from the doctrinal test with which he wraps up chapter two (v29) into a revisiting of the moral test mentioned earlier in chapter two (v1-10). “If you know that Christ is righteous (that’s a doctrinal assertion), you know that everyone who does what is right (there’s the moral test) has been born of Him.” In other words, “If Jesus is righteous, and we are united to Him, then we are to be righteous, even if for no other reason than to show our union with Him.”

The pursuit of holiness is not how we gain rebirth; rather the pursuit of holiness proves that we have already been born again, born from above, born of God. This teaching echoes John’s earlier teaching, from his gospel (John 1:12-13). Faith saves; but Jesus did not come only to forgive our debts. He came to change us, as v2 declares. Romans 8:29 says, “We are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of [Jesus].” Since that is true, we are to strive for righteousness, holy living in this life by the Spirit.

John teaches in v1-2 that God’s love is so deep and amazing that we have been made children of God. Again, the teaching echoes John 1:12-13. We who were by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), have been adopted as sons and daughters, given new natures worthy of being called children of God and co-heirs with Christ of all things. And in v2 John elaborates on the claim that we are children of God. He says that we already are, but that “what we will be has not yet been made known.” In other words, we don’t look like Christ just yet; but “we shall be like Him.” We already bear His image, but it’s faint; at glorification day, we’ll see the fullness of “Christ in me” revealed (Philippians 3:21; Colossians 3:3-4). 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” John says, “We shall see Him as He is.

John recognizes the hope that v2 brings, and so he builds on that hope to bring a proper response in v3. We don’t just hope and sit back and wait; rather, we purify ourselves, “just as He is pure.” Calvin says, “Though we have not Christ now present before our eyes, yet if we hope in Him, it cannot be but that this hope will excite and stimulate us to follow purity, for it leads us straight to Christ, whom we know to be a perfect pattern of purity.” If we truly want to be like Christ, we’ll pursue that end starting now.

V4-6 offer illustrations of this truth. First, in v4, John claims that continuing in sin is lawlessness, a rejection of God’s word and provision in Christ. He is affirming the need to obey God’s law as part of the new covenant Christian life. Second, in v5, John reminds his audience of the doctrine of Christ’s sinlessness and the purpose of His coming – to take away our sins as the Lamb of God, echoing John the Baptist. And third, in v6, John ties v4-5 together, explaining that true faith brings change. “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning.” But if we continue to sin, we prove that we do not know Him. It’s the moral test of genuine Christianity.