First John: 1 John 3:23b-The Father’s Command Related to His Children’s Relationship with Each Other Lesson # 138

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (ESV)

“And love one another” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (2) first person plural present active subjunctive form of the verb agapaō (ἀγαπάω), “love” (3) accusative masculine plural form of the reciprocal pronoun allēlōn (ἀλλήλων), “one another.”

This time the conjunction kai is adjunctive which means that it is not only introducing a command which is in addition to the previous one but it indicates that they are inextricably tied together.

This would indicate that these two commands identify specifically the identity of the commands being referred to by the phrase tas entolas autou (τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ), “His commands” which appears in the fifth class conditional statement in 1 John 3:22.

The verb agapaō means “to divinely love” since the word is referring to a love which resides in the character and nature of each member of the Trinity and is reproduced in the child of God by God the Holy Spirit when they obey the command to love one another.

The first person plural form of this verb means “we” referring to John and each of the recipients of First John.

Thus, this is an “inclusive” we referring to both the author and the recipients of First John.

By using the first person plural form rather than the second person plural form, the apostle John is identifying with the recipients of First John in the sense that he is subject to this command to love one another just like they are.

The first person plural form of this verb is used in a distributive sense emphasizing on exceptions.

Each believer is required to obey the command to love one another and there are no exceptions.

The present tense of the verb agapaō is a customary present used to signal a repeated or habitual action indicating that John and the recipients of First John were required to continue making it their habit of loving each other.

The reciprocal pronoun allēlōn is used with reference to the relationship between believers with each other.

The word denotes that there was to be a mutual exchange between all of them in that they were to love each other as the Lord loved them.

“Just as he has commanded us” is composed of the following: (1) adverb kathōs (καθώς), “just as” (2) third person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb didōmi (δίδωμι), “he has commanded” (3) accusative feminine singular form of the noun entolē (ἐντολή), “ he has commanded” (4) dative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “to us.”

The adverb kathōs is employed in a comparative sense, which means that it is “comparing” John and the recipients of First John continuing to make it their habit of divinely loving one another with the command the Father issued them to do so as His children through His Son and the Spirit.

The verb didōmi means “to give.”

The third person singular form of this verb refers to the Father and the word’s direct object is the noun entolē, which is referring to the Father’s command to love one another, which His Son Jesus Christ communicated by the Spirit to the church.

Therefore, didōmi is expressing the idea that the Father gave this command to John and the recipients of First John.

The aorist tense of the verb didōmi is a “constative” aorist describing in summary fashion the Father giving to John and the recipients of First John the command to love one another through His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

The dative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego means “each and every one of us” since the word refers to John and the recipients of First John as a corporate unit and is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.

This means that each and every child of God is required to obey the Father’s command to love one another.

1 John 3:23 Specifically, this is His command: First, that each and every one of us believed in the name, that is His Son, who is Jesus who is the Christ. Secondly that each one of us continue making it our habit of divinely loving one another just as He gave to each one of us this command. (My translation)

1 John 3:23 is epexegetical which means that it is introducing a declarative statement composed of a hina appositional clause.

This clause identifies specifically for the reader the identity of the commands being referred to in phrase tas entolas autou (τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ), “His commands” which appears in the fifth class conditional statement in 1 John 3:22.

This hina appositional clause contains two commands, which summarize the Father’s commands.

Therefore, it is asserting that the command is two-fold.

The first required that John and the recipients of First John trust in the name of the Father’s Son Jesus Christ.

The second required that they love one another as God’s children.

Therefore, “His command” refers to these two commands.

The first is related to the moment the sinner is declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

At this moment, the sinner becomes a child of God.

Then, the second is applicable only to the child of God since only the child of God has the capacity to obey the command to love one another since obedience to this command demands the indwelling omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, which John identifies as the “anointing” in 1 John 2:20 and 27.

Therefore, the first command in 1 John 3:23 refers to the moment when a person makes the non-meritorious decision to place their complete and total trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Consequently, they were declared justified by the Father, regenerated by the Spirit and identified with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

This justifying faith delivers the sinner from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, personal sins, the sin nature, the devil and his cosmic system as well as spiritual and physical death.

Therefore, this first command refers to making the non-meritorious decision to totally and completely trust in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ and His substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross in order to be declared justified by the Father and to become a child of God.

The second command required that John and each one of the recipients of First John continue making it their habit of obeying the command to love one another.

When this author says “continue,” he means that they were already making it their habit of obeying this command, which is indicated by John’s statements in 1 John 2:12-14.

When the believer obeys the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command to love one another which He received from the Father to pass along to them, the Holy Spirit reproduces God’s attribute of love in the life of the believer.

In other words, this love is divine in quality and character because is resides in the character and nature of God and is reproduced in the Christian by the Spirit when they obey this command to love one another.

When believers obey this command to love one another, there is a mutual exchange of God’s love between them.

This exchange with each other is the proper, appropriate and obligatory response by them to each other since both were created by God, according to His image, redeemed at the cross, justified through faith alone and Jesus Christ alone and fellow members of the body of Christ.

This mutual exchange manifests that a believer is experiencing fellowship with God.

“Just as He gave to each one of us this command” refers to the Father issuing both the first and second command found here in 1 John 3:22.

Therefore, it refers to the Father issuing through His Son Jesus Christ, the command to trust in His Son in order to be declared justified by the Father and thus to become a child of God.

The gospels record Jesus Christ issuing this command to unregenerate sinners in Matthew 5:36, John 3:16-18, 4:21, 7:38, 10:25, 11:25-27, 12:44.

This comparative clause also refers to the Father issuing through His Son Jesus Christ the command to love one another to those who trusted in His Son as Savior.

John 13:34 and 15:12 record His Son issuing this command to His apostles on the night in which He was betrayed.