1 John 3 14-15

Verse 13

Read vs 13-15

Imagine John on the Island of Patmos… Can you imagine that he sees the sky and thinks of heaven, the rocks and thinks of the rock of his strength, the waves and how they have their set place...

Acts of the Apostles Chapter 56—Patmos

In the experience of the apostle John under persecution, there is a lesson of wonderful strength and comfort for the Christian. God does not prevent the plottings of wicked men, but He causes their devices to work for good to those who in trial and conflict maintain their faith and loyalty. Often the gospel laborer carries on his work amid storms of persecution, bitter opposition, and unjust reproach. At such times let him remember that the experience to be gained in the furnace of trial and affliction is worth all the pain it costs. Thus God brings His children near to Him, that He may show them their weakness and His strength. He teaches them to lean on Him. Thus He prepares them to meet emergencies, to fill positions of trust, and to accomplish the great purpose for which their powers were given them.

He moves on from this thought in verse 14 and yet they are connected.

“We KNOW”

We = he includes himself with brethren mentioned in vs 13

He continues with the “we” talk...

He speaks from experience. This is one of the sons of thunder… Mark 3:17

Mark 3:17 LEB

and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (and he gave to them the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”),

Why would someone nicknamed Boanerges speak about love…

He knows personally about passing from death to life… He now loves his brother… His mantra in his writing is about love

KNOW = We brethren know because the Holy Spirit instructs the brethren. We have an inner knowledge the worldling doesn’t have.

Turn to John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.”

John is echoing what he learned from Jesus. John does know the one who sent Jesus… it is sanctifying him… changing him to one who loves… surely the parable of the Good Samaritan opened his eyes in a big way...

He says HOW WE KNOW in verse 16. This is the “Jesus Loves Me” song. He saw love in action on the cross...

Is he saying… “Do you wonder if you’ve truly been converted? Do you love...”

The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 7 Have Passed

Have passed. Gr. metabainō, “to pass over [from one place to another],” “to remove,” “to depart.” The form of the Greek verb shows that John is referring to those who had passed over to a new experience and have remained in their new sphere, as immigrants permanently settled in the country of their choice.

Notice John 5:24

The Lexham English Bible (Chapter 5)

24 Truly, truly I say to you that the one who hears my word and who believes the one who sent me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

LOVE is spoken of a lot at this time of year. I had boys tell me when I was younger. “I LOVE you”… I thought… “How do you know you love me… we just met”

LOVE is the theme of many songs… John describes what love is in verse 16 and what it isn’t in verse 15 HATE

His fellow worker in the gospel of Jesus describes it in 1 Cor 13

1 Corinthians 13 LEB

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a ringing brass gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and I know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I parcel out all my possessions, and if I hand over my body in order that I will be burned, but do not have love, it benefits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, it does not boast, it does not become conceited, it does not behave dishonorably, it is not selfish, it does not become angry, it does not keep a record of wrongs, it does not rejoice at unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will pass away. If there are tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but whenever the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside the things of a child. For now we see through a mirror indirectly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know completely, just as I have also been completely known. And now these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Leviticus 19:18 LEB

You shall not seek vengeance, and you shall not harbor a grudge against your fellow citizens; and you shall love your neighbor like yourself; I am Yahweh.

God is speaking in our language! Nobody has to explain how to love ourselves… but how to love others

Deuteronomy 30:6 (LEB)

“And Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul so that you may live.

Deuteronomy 6:5 LEB

And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your might.

Acts of the Apostles Chapter 54—A Faithful Witness

Supreme love for God and unselfish love for one another—this is the best gift that our heavenly Father can bestow. This love is not an impulse, but a divine principle, a permanent power. The unconsecrated heart cannot originate or produce it. Only in the heart where Jesus reigns is it found. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” In the heart renewed by divine grace, love is the ruling principle of action. It modifies the character, governs the impulses, controls the passions, and ennobles the affections. This love, cherished in the soul, sweetens the life and sheds a refining influence on all around.

Deuteronomy 10:12 LEB

And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your God asking from you, except to revere Yahweh your God, to go in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love

Acts of the Apostles Chapter 54—A Faithful Witness

Centuries, ages, can never lessen the efficacy of His atoning sacrifice. Neither life nor death, height nor depth, can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus; not because we hold Him so firmly, but because He holds us so fast. If our salvation depended on our own efforts, we could not be saved; but it depends on the One who is behind all the promises. Our grasp on Him may seem feeble, but His love is that of an elder brother; so long as we maintain our union with Him, no one can pluck us out of His hand.

“Abides in death...”

Listen to this interesting definition of death

Death is the unnatural divorce of the immaterial soul and the physical body, resulting from the separation between God and humanity, brought about by sin.