Love And Hate

JANUARY 27, 2021 STUDY NOTES I JOHN 3:11-13 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES LOVE AND HATE INTRODUCTION John has revealed that there are only two kinds of people in the world: Those who are of God, the saved, the born again, those with new spiritual life Those who are of the Devil, without spiritual life and spiritually separated from God Throughout the book John has spoken in comparisons and opposites In the previous verses he compared sin and righteousness His examples were to the ultimate limit, using Christ and Satan as the examples: Christ is the ultimate of righteousness, in Him is no sin Satan is the ultimate of sin, he is the beginning of sin, he continues to deceive others in sin The one who practices sin is compared to the Devil The one who practices righteousness is compared to Christ The statements that he has made about sin and righteousness instructs the Christian: To practice righteousness more and more is to be more like Jesus To commit less and less sin is to be less like the Devil We are to be growing daily as a Christian, learning more about Jesus, living more like Christ Living like Christ by doing that which is righteous Righteousness is WHAT God wants us to do and HOW God wants it done (Keep that in mind) The righteous path of life gives us the assurance of salvation and excites our spiritual life A righteous life gives us hope and we will continue to do more for Christ and sin less The opposite of that path is the path of sin, live in sin and ultimately you will be ashamed In sin you will finally lose the assurance of life and you will be emotionally defeated A continual path of sin leads to the defeat and destruction of a Christian witness A continual path of righteousness leads to a strong and mature spiritual life and a Godly testimony Now John is going to reveal to us that righteousness must be done in love (Read 1 Corinthians 13) John is going to once again work with comparisons and opposites He compares love and hate by taking them to the extreme We find that hate will murder even a brother and love will sacrifice its own life for a brother LOVE IN THE BEGINNING 1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. “Message” refers to that which is of fundamental Truth and of utmost importance It is the message that was heard “from the beginning” The “message” was first spoken by Jesus and it did not stop with Jesus The “message” was then spoken by the apostles and it did not stop with the Apostles It is still the same “message” for us today and must not stop with our generation of believers It had its beginning with Jesus, and it must not end with us “The message” is for the Christian and the message is “love” From the time of our salvation, we begin to learn of the love of God, 1Jn 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. (The Holy Spirit touched our heart with the love of God and we accepted Jesus) Love was the beginning of our relationship with God, 1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. We first learned that God loved us, and He filled our heart with love, Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Page 1 of 6 The beginning of our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ was God’s love, 1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. The first characteristic identified in a Spirit-filled life is love, Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Love for one another is written within the heart of a believer, 1Th 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. God’s “message” does not change, we know that we have been loved by God The truth that John now presents has not changed The “message” is for Christians today and that message is--that we should love one another. His words are not presented as an option but a Christian obligation To “love one another” is our Christian duty and it should be the daily practice of our life We should be continually and habitually loving one another Christians use many different symbols to identify themselves as a Christian They carry a Bible, wear a cross, wear a cap or shirt with a scripture printed on them They carry tracts and give them to people or leave them in public places All of that is well and good, but Jesus gave us the greatest sign of Christianity, “love one another” Life today is filled with opportunities to love others as Jesus commanded us to do, Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. It is within the new nature of the Christian life to “love one another” The commandment to love is new because it is based upon His sacrificial love for us Jesus revealed that the real test of Christianity is to “have love one to another,” Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Jesus repeats the commandment-, Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. And it must be important because He repeats it again, Joh 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another. Five times in the Gospel of John Jesus said, “Love one another” Love one another was an important message according to Jesus, was it an important message to John? John said, “It is important to believe in Jesus and it is important to love one another,” 1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. The evidence that you are of God is God’s love in you loving one another, 1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. The absence of God’s love in your life is the absence of a Christian testimony John states the standard of love that we must live by, 1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. God in His divine nature and essence has never been seen by man living on earth But the evidence of His presence can be seen in the life of a Christian who loves others, 1Jn 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. The word “perfected” means to fulfill the purpose, to attain the goal, which is God’s love accomplished John writes the same commandment in his second letter, 2Jn 1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. John then defines Christian love as obedience to God, 2Jn 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. Christians walking in love toward one another is the living proof of who Jesus really is Page 2 of 6 The truth of Christian love will defeat the lies of the spirit of antichrist, 2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Many of Satan’s false teachers have gone out into the world to deceive others Today’s life is an opportunity to bring God’s love to perfection, daily life gives us many opportunities We have many opportunities in our world today to share the love of God with others Christians must go out into the world with the love of God and teach the truth of God’s life The message to love one another is of utmost importance to the church of today, 1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: “Unfeigned” means, real, true, sincere, no pretending, and without hypocrisy A love that is natural because there is something common among us, we are “brethren” “Brotherly love” does not refer to the natural affection among the human race “Brotherly love” is the love of brothers and sisters in the Family of God The love that must be practiced among Christians, Heb 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. Brotherly love is natural for the Christian, but it still requires an all-out effort “Brotherly love” is a major theme within the NT, we must “let” it happen on a daily basis Without it there can be no true Christian testimony unto a lost world “Brotherly love” is not based upon race, color of skin, social status, or education It is based upon the love of Christ which is within us and to be shared with others through us Our present world does not have a love for the Christian, the world hates us, why? Jesus explains the hatred of the world toward the Christian, Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. (It is Christ that the world hates) And the world hates the Christian who is living for Christ, Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John has already told us to live righteous every day and stay away from sin Love and righteousness go together, you cannot experience one without the other So how do we express love? John is going to show us in the next two verses by way of contrast He gives an example of something that love will not do His example says, this is not love, it is the opposite of love, it is hate John gives us a good contrast between hate and love What is hate? What causes hate? What is the ultimate limit of hate? HATE IN THE BEGINNING 1Jn 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Over the years I have known of many churches being hindered by hatred among the members Hate smoldering in the heart because of something said or done in the past You can find Church members who will not even speak to one another Cliques and factions exist among the membership of too many churches today Instead of “love for one another” there is too much criticism and hate toward one another Paul gives us the answer to that sinful problem, Rom 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; John uses an example to instruct us concerning love and hate Christians are not to look to Cain as an example to follow, he is not an example of love He was not righteous, in fact Cain belonged to the devil and murdered his brother Cain and Abel were sons of Adam and Eve and their story is found in Genesis 4 Cain and Abel each brought an offering to God, Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God because it was in faith and evidently Cain’s was not, Heb 11:4 By Page 3 of 6 faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. God accepted Abel’s offering, Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: And God rejected Cain’s offering, Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. Cain had no grounds to complain or get angry, Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? His sacrifice could have been accepted, Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. God had revealed His will to both, Abel believed and obeyed, Cain willfully disobeyed Cain had an opportunity to make things right with God But he was unconcerned about pleasing God and making things right with God He became angry and jealous, he was filled with envy and strife, all characteristics of the Devil John says that he was of the wicked one, Cain is an illustration of one who is of the devil who was of that wicked one, Physically Cain was a son of Adam, spiritually he was a child of the devil Cain represents those who are spiritually dead, those who have never been born-again Before he killed his brother, he belonged to the Devil, the “wicked one” (See 1 John 2:13-14; 5:18) He did not become a child of the devil because he killed his brother, he was already a child of the devil By nature, he was of the devil, he walked in the footprints of the devil, he acted just like his Daddy His attitude and actions originated with Satan The actions of Cain were evil and resulted in murder, Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. “That wicked one” is a title that identifies Satan as the evil one who corrupts others Satan wants to drag everyone as far down the evil path as he is, into the depths of corruption Satan wants everyone to be as deep in sin and rebellion against God as he is The evidence that Cain followed him is now shown--and slew his brother. “Brother” refers to a physical brother, they were not spiritual brothers because Cain was of Satan Cain is the first instance of hatred of others in scripture, he is the first Biblical example He was motivated by Satan to murder his brother which is described as a brutal murder The original wording is translated by some as “slaughtered” or “butchered” It can also mean to “cut his throat,” which describes the slaying of sacrificial animals Which is interesting because we find the same word in, Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And in-reference to the Lamb of God, Rev 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. It also is used in-reference to the saints of God who are martyred because of their testimony, Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: John’s description of Abel’s violent death brought forth a question--And wherefore slew he him? Why did Cain do it? What was the reason? What was Cain thinking? A question we find ourselves asking quite often today, “why would anyone do such a thing?” Page 4 of 6 There is a very simple answer but those who are lost and spiritually dead would never agree to it Because his own works were evil, It was not because the works of Abel were evil, but because Cain’s own works were evil “Evil” is the same word used to describe Satan, evil spirits, and demons Satan influenced Cain to rebel against God, what he did was evil, wicked, wrong in God’s sight Jealousy was involved, resentment toward Abel was involved, there was envy and hatred in Cain and his brother's righteous. The offering of Abel was a righteous offering which was offered by faith (Hebrews 11:4) Even after death Abel’s testimony of righteousness still lives on, Cain’s testimony also still lives on Cain knew that his brother was right and knew that he was right because he had obeyed God Abel’s faith was in response to God’s commands and promises Abel’s offering was the offering that God wanted and offered the way that God wanted it Therefore, Abel’s offering was a righteous offering Abel’s testimony of righteousness was a rebuke to the evil of Cain A life of righteousness condemns a life of wickedness Those who hate righteousness do not envy those who are righteous They hate them because their righteousness rebukes their evil God offered Cain another opportunity to repent and confess his sin, God asked, Gen 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? John is answering Cain’s question for us in 1 John CHRISTIAN EXPECT HATRED 1Jn 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. “Marvel not” means “do not be surprised “My brethren” refers to Christians who are not to be surprised at what John has told us Don’t be surprised as you read Cain killed Abel, or at the history of Christian martyrdom Don’t be surprised at the Satan influenced martyrdom of Christians throughout the world today Don’t be surprised that the world hates God, the Bible, the True Church, and the Christian lifestyle Actually, John says, “Stop being surprised,” Peter agrees, 1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: Our world today hates a Christian witness, Christians who are living like Christians should live Those who are continually, habitually, daily obeying God and living for Christ Do not be surprised when the world hates you, literally, John says, “since the world is hating you” Until a Christian learns the truth of John’s words, they are surprised or amazed at the fact, 2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (Not a maybe, but a fact) “The world” is Satan’s organized system of evil which opposes God The organized system of evil that is opposed to the righteousness of God “The world” is under the power and authority of Satan and operating in the darkness of sin Hostile toward God, rebelling against God, opposing God’s children The lost world still hates righteousness because they are spiritually dead You can identify them by their hatred of righteousness The world is full of those like Cain who will hate you If Cain’s hatred of his brother was of the devil, then the world’s hatred today is also of the devil In our world today we still see that which is of the wicked one, Cain-like hate is still in the world It was in the world in the day of Jesus and Jesus told us that it will continue--Why? Satan hates God’s love, Satan hates it when you obey, Joh 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another. Jesus warned his disciples, Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. The world will not hate you if you are of the world, Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would Page 5 of 6 love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Just like Cain’s hatred of Abel, there is no cause for the hatred of the world, Joh 15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. There is no just cause but there is a reason, Joh 16:3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. Hatred is the evidence of living in spiritual darkness which is living in the realm of death Hate has been going on since Satan entered the Garden of Eden God’s love has been going on since before the creation of man But the greatest manifestation of God’s love is Jesus, Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The greatest manifestation of God’s love today is found in, 1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Love is the evidence of being spiritually alive, that is what John is now going to show us In the following verses John is going to share with us things we must understand as a Christian today John is going to show us the normal daily life of a Spirit-filled Christian We are to love one another so that the world might see truth of the love of God Our love for Christ and one another will not control the hatred of the world toward us But it will control us in our difficult times, Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. How should we respond towards the persecution we face? Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. In the following verses John will explain to us the “Sacrifice of Love” CONCLUSION The world doesn’t hate good people, it hates the Christian who is living for Christ The world likes good people but hates Christ-like people Too many Christians today are just trying to be good people and not Christ-like Christians Have you lost any friends because you are living for Christ? The purpose of our life is not to make enemies, but to lead people to love God Some people seek the world’s hatred and enjoy talking about it, they do things to entice the world’s hate The world’s hatred is not something to be proud of, to brag about, or to boast about That is not what John means, he is revealing the truth of living a daily normal life filled with God’s love Which is something to be proud of, but it is heartbreaking that the world hates God’s love We are to love so that they might see Christ, and not to get them to hate us If we are going to touch the lives of others with the love of Christ We must remember that the love of Christ touched us Others must see that touch of Christ in our daily life, listen to the song Page 6 of 6