Author: Charlie Garrett

Saturday, 25 April 2020

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 1 John 3:13

John just referred to Cain who murdered his brother. He then explained that he did so because “his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” John, understanding that those in Christ are now imputed His righteousness, shows that what Cain felt toward Abel – meaning the enmity and hatred – is something to be expected by believers. In this, he says, “Do not marvel.”

The word signifies to be amazed or astonished. John is implying that those he is writing to may be incredulous at the enmity they were experiencing. He next says, “my brethren.” This is the only time he uses this particular word in the epistle. His usual address has been “little children,” or “beloved.” However, he certainly uses the term “brethren” here to contrast his brothers, whom he loves, to Cain who hated his brother.

One may have a brother by blood and hate him, but within the context of those in Christ, they are brothers who are to be loved – unconditionally. One may not especially like another believer, but those differences should in no way negate his loving him in a volitional manner.

John finishes the thought with, “if the world hates you.” Here, the word “hate” is in the present tense and in the indicative mood. There was hatred, and that hatred was a fact that was directed towards the believers. One might paraphrase his words, “if the world hates you as it does.” If Cain hated Abel for his right conduct in his offering to the Lord, how much more would one expect the world to hate believers who are “in Christ” and thus not of this world! As it is so, no believer should be surprised at the matter.

Life application: The believers John addressed had obviously been caught unaware by persecution from the nonbelievers around them. Nothing has changed since that time. The sons of disobedience who are under the devil’s power have been, and will continue, persecuting the sons of God. When John says “if” the world hates you, he is using the word as a foregone conclusion. It is a fact and not a mere possibility. The reason faithful believers are hated is because their lives are a testimony to the fact that the unsaved are… well, unsaved.

The problem with people is that they don’t want to admit that it’s possible that God has chosen one path, and one path alone, for men to be saved. Rather, man desires to follow the desires of his heart, knowing inside that this path condemns him. But the prospect of condemnation is something no one looks forward to. And so, a conflict rises which demands a choice –

1) Give up on self and trust in Jesus (with all that should entail, such as giving up on one’s favorite vice or perversion), or
2) Mentally blocking out the truth of the gospel and directing anger at the God who is intolerant of their behavior.

In the case of the second option, the anger at God is directed at the people of God. If you don’t believe this, simply go to the internet and type “Christian Persecution” into your image search engine. The horrors perpetrated against faithful believers around the world are astonishing – all because of the name of the One who can bring about reconciliation with God.

When a believer understands the depravity of the unregenerate human heart, he should in no way marvel when persecution comes. Be faithful to the Lord regardless of what you may face in the future. He has promised a far better eternal existence for those who love Him.

Thank You, O God, for Jesus! May we be willing to endure whatever it takes to remain faithful and obedient sons – bringing glory to You through His name! Regardless of what the world can do to us, we cherish above all else the title of “Christian” because it reflects our personal relationship with Jesus. And that makes being a child of Yours possible. Amen.

Friday, 24 April 2020

…not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. 1 John 3:12

Greek scholars and commentators almost universally note the strange grammatical construction of John’s words. There is no “who” in the original, and there is no pronoun before “the wicked one.” It is said to be irregular and almost ungrammatical. However, John is making the definite article into a demonstrative pronoun. Young’s Literal Translation says, “not as Cain – of the evil one he was.”

Stating the position of Cain in this way has, unfortunately, led many Christians into very sloppy theology. They claim that Satan actually had sex with Eve and Cain is the offspring of this union. An entire theology is built up from this type of thinking which leads into a very poor hermeneutic in much of the rest of the Bible. The point John is making is that Cain, instead of following the truth of God, followed the way of the devil.

Adam and his wife were deceived by the devil and fell. However, Adam later believed the truth of God’s word concerning the coming Messiah by faith, and the Lord clothed him and his wife – a picture of salvation. But as a lesson for all people who come from Adam, the story of Cain and Abel is immediately introduced. One son continued in faith and presented an acceptable offering to God. The other, despite offering to God, did not do so in faith. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering, but He rejected Cain’s.

This lesson was given to show exactly what John had just referred to in verses 3:7-11. One is either in Christ and his works are acceptable, or he remains of the devil and his works are not acceptable. This has nothing to do with Cain being born of a union between the devil and Eve. Rather it is a truth that affects all people on earth who descend from Adam. Cain was “of the wicked one” and his heart and actions reflected his position in the devil.

He failed to live in faith, “and murdered his brother.” The account is recorded in Genesis 4 –

“Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. ³ And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. ⁴ Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, ⁵ but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.” Genesis 4:2-5

Many commentaries are put forth attempting to explain why the Lord accepted Abel’s offering and why He rejected Cain’s, but they are unnecessary. The Bible explains why –

“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” Hebrews 4:4

Abel’s offering was one of faith. It is the consistent message of Scripture. One cannot work his way into pleasing God. Only by faith in God’s word and in His promises can one be pleasing to Him.

John next demonstrates this by using the concept of works. He asks, “And why did he murder him?” The word translated as “murder” is only found in the writings of John. It is used twice in this verse, and eight times in Revelation. It signifies to butcher, particularly an animal for food or as a sacrifice.

Cain treated his brother as an animal for sacrifice, maybe thinking that he could make up for his own failed offering by offering a man – his own brother – instead of the fruit of the ground. But he did so out of jealousy concerning his brother’s offering. In this, he only sinned more. As John says, “Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”

What works? It was the offerings presented to the Lord. But the works themselves show why they were or were not accepted. It is because of the faith that either accompanied them, or that was lacking in them. Abel’s works were based on his faith and extended from that faith. Cain’s works were not works of faith, and thus they were works of pride, of self, and of earning God’s favor through personal merit. The Lord rejects such works because they are of the devil.

This is the same lesson that James conveys in James 2. James is not speaking of works being a natural result of saving faith, and thus an evidence of it. Rather, he is speaking of works (if they exist) being works of faith. Only deeds of faith are acceptable to God.

Life application: Cain is the first human ever recorded as being born, and he was a murderer. The Bible records that he “was of the wicked one,” meaning the devil. Jesus said elsewhere –

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44

The devil “was a murderer from the beginning.” Jesus was indicating that it is through the work of the devil that death came into the human experience. This doesn’t mean only physical death – a result of the removal of the tree of life. It also, and more specifically, means spiritual death.

This spiritual death occurred when Satan enticed Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Just as Satan is a murderer, so Cain, who followed the path of the devil, became one. John says Cain killed his brother “because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”

We must remember that the offering of Abel was one of faith. The type of offering made no difference – both types of offerings are later required under the Levitical law. Instead, what matters to God is that the offering then, and our offerings now, must be of faith.

Lord, we pray that you will accept our offerings based on the faith we place behind them. Though we may not be rich by the world’s standards, we know that You will accept whatever amount we give when it is done with the proper attitude and in recognition of who You are, what You have already done on our behalf, and of what You have promised for us into the future. May it be so, to Your glory alone. Amen.

Thursday, 23 April 2020

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 1 John 3:11

The previous verse relayed that the one who does not love his brother is not of God. To demonstrate that this is something expected of those who are in Christ, John now says, “For this is the message that you heard.” The word translated as “message” was first used in 1 John 1:5. This is now its second and last use. It signifies an announcement. By implication, it is then a precept.

John says this message is one “that you heard from the beginning.” This thought goes back to Chapter 2. There he wrote –

“Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning.” 1 John 2:7

There, he used the word “commandment.” Here John calls it a “message.” John is showing that this “commandment” is not one which falls under the category of the law. Rather, it is a precept which is expected of believers, but the failure of which (something that all must admit to from time to time) does not end in the imputation of sin.

The words, “from the beginning,” speak of from the beginning of the New Covenant. Christ Jesus had set forth this commandment, and it then extended forth to all who heard the word.

John then says the message is, “that we should love one another.” This is taken from John’s gospel, where he noted the words of Jesus –

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34, 35

John is repeating that word from the Lord to ensure it would continue to be remembered by those who do believe, and to be passed on to those who will believe. So ingrained in John was this precept, that the Pulpit Commentary notes –

“Jerome, in his ‘Commentary on Galatians’ (Galatians 6:10), tells us that when St. John became too infirm to preach, he used often to say no more than this, ‘Little children, love one another.’ His hearers at last wearied of it, and said, ‘Master, why dost thou always say this?’ ‘It is the Lord’s command,” he replied; “and if this alone is done, it is enough.’”

Life application: Think about the times in which the recipients of this letter were given this word. Their lives were lived under the weight of the Roman Empire. The emperors were heralded as living gods. Vows of allegiance to them were often required, and the complete authority of the empire rested in their hands.

At times, people living under these rulers were expected to verbally acknowledge the deity of the emperor or forfeit their own lives. This very well may have been what John was thinking about as he wrote this. The Christians were desperately in need of sticking together, despite petty differences. As it says in Ecclesiastes –

“Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

There is strength in numbers. More importantly, the bond of love is that which securely holds those numbers together; cementing them into one strong and impenetrable union. This is truly the message we have heard from the beginning, because love is the very state which would have kept us from all of the grief of ages past, which sustains us in the present, and is the perfect state we can anticipate for the eternal ages which are yet future.  Listen well to the advice – We should love one another.

Most glorious Heavenly Father, give us the ability to love others, even as You have loved us. We can look to the mystery of the Trinity and see infinite and perfect love. We can look to the cross and see unimaginable love. We can look to the eyes of our Savior and see eternal love. May we reflect these examples in our love for those around us, and especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ! Amen.

Wednesday, 22 April 2020

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10

The words, “In this,” are debated as to the reference. Is it what he just said concerning being born of God, or is it referring to what he will next say concerning practicing righteousness? The NKJV places a colon at the end of this first clause, indicating the latter view, but it isn’t really certain. In verse 3:8, the reason for the manifestation of Christ was stated afterwards. If John is consistent in that pattern, then the second clause explains the first. This seems logical and likely.

John has said that one who has been born of God does not sin. Now, he will show a way of telling who such a person is. To do so, he says, “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest.” This is the only time that the term “children of the devil” is used in Scripture. There are verses which imply someone is a child of the devil, or that use a similar term, such as Acts 13:10, John 8:44, and Ephesians 2:3. Also, 1 John 3:8 likewise made the distinction clear.

However, John’s use of the two opposing terms in this one verse shows that these are the only two positions for humanity. One is either a child of the devil, or he is a child of God. No other intermediate position exists. To help identify a person’s position in this regard, John continues with, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God.”

It is a present participle. Thus, it literally reads, “Each one who is not practicing righteousness.” This is a further explanation of what was stated in verse 3:7 when John said, “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” The two thoughts complement and support one another. The person who is truly a believer in Christ does righteousness, and the one who is not truly a believer does not do righteousness. The position defines the nature of the doing.

John finishes the verse with, “nor is he who does not love his brother.” This statement begins a thought on love which will continue in the verses ahead. John brings in love as an evidence of a person who is a child of God, or of the person who remains a child of the devil. In this, love is again a present participle (is loving). It is a volitional act of the will. The actions are intended to demonstrate the position in relation to God.

Life application: Paul speaks of the position of humanity belonging to either God or to the devil in his writings. One example is in Ephesians 2:3 –

“…among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

We are children of wrath by nature. Only when we come to Jesus Christ is our nature changed. It is this moment that we are “born again” as Jesus states in John 3.3. This is also a logical conclusion based on God’s curse of Adam in Genesis 3.

God told Adam in Genesis 2 that he would die on the day he ate of the forbidden fruit. In Genesis 3, Adam is cursed and removed from Eden and from fellowship with God. Adam died spiritually that day and that spiritual death remains in all humans, through him, until we move to Christ.

To “practice righteousness” is to accept the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, and thus it enables victory over sin in our lives. Until we do this, we cannot attain the state necessary to be righteous because our very nature excludes what is necessary – spiritual life. The two go hand in hand and are inseparable. Either we are in Jesus and able to practice righteousness, or we are in Adam and unable to do so.

“Practicing righteousness” then is more than doing good works. It is the complete state of the person based on his position in Jesus Christ. Attempts at good works apart from Christ actually further remove us from Him, because they become trust in self, not in God – an amazing paradox.

Lord, we can only thank You for the gift of righteousness that came through Jesus our Lord. Without His work on our behalf, we would have remained dead in sin and lost…children of Your wrath. By Your infinite grace and mercy though, we are saved, saved, saved by the precious blood of Jesus. Hallelujah and amen!

Tuesday, 21 April 2020

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 1 John 3:9

In the previous verse, John wrote concerning Christ’s manifestation and that it was “to destroy the works of the devil.” This is what Christ did. The devil uses the power of the law against man. It is not that there is anything wrong with the law, but it is man’s inability to keep it which keeps him in a state of bondage. By the law is the knowledge of sin, and when one is under law, sin is imputed. However, Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law for those who come to Him.

In coming to Christ, John says, “Whoever is born of God.” It is a perfect participle, “having been born.” The act is complete, and the new nature is assumed. Just as when a person is born into humanity, he remains a human, when one is born of God, he remains a child of God. The nature is changed, the action is complete, and it is ongoing from that point on.

For such a person, John says he “does not sin.” The word signifies to do, produce, make, or cause (etc.). It is used when a tree bears, or brings forth, fruit of one kind or another. The one who is born of God does not bring forth sin. John then says that the reason for this is because “His seed remains in him.”

It is the seed of God which remains in the believer. Jesus alluded to such a change in Matthew 7 when He said –

“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” Matthew 7:17, 18 

Vincent’s Word Studies calls the seed, “the divine principle of life.” It is a correct analysis. Man begets human children, cows beget cows, mango seeds produce mangoes. It is theology 101 from page 1 of the Bible. All things reproduce after their own kind. When a person comes to Christ, a child of God is produced in that act. And just as God does not sin, so the one born of God does not sin because the change has taken place. The seed which brought forth the new life remains in that person.

With this change, John then says, “and he cannot sin.” This is reflected in 1 John 3:6, where John wrote, “Whoever abides in Him does not sin.” That is strengthened here with “he cannot sin.” Of this, Vincent’s Word Studies says this is, “Conceived as a perfect ideal.” That misrepresents the matter. It is not merely an ideal, but it is an absolute truth. But Vincent’s then rightly explains the thought by saying, “life in God excludes the possibility of sin.” It is more than an ideal, but an objective fact. This is then explained by the final words of the verse, which say, “because he has been born of God.”

As already noted, all things reproduce after their own kind. Being born of God moves a person from Adam to Christ. The believer is in Christ, and the change is complete. But how can this be? The answer takes one back to Abraham. He was declared righteous in Genesis 15. Many years later, he was given the sign of that righteousness – circumcision. A sign anticipates and speaks of something else. It is not a thing in and of itself.

In other words, one cannot point at a circumcised man and say, “He is righteous.” That is evident by Paul’s words of Romans 2:25. The sign anticipated and pictured the coming of Christ. The male sexual organ was cut in order to provide a picture of what Christ would do. The seed of man is transmitted through this organ. It is through the sexual act that sin is transferred from father to child when the child is conceived. As all humans have human fathers, then all are conceived in sin (see Psalm 51:5).

However, Christ was born of a woman, but His Father is God. Thus, he is fully human, but He is also fully God. As God is the Father, and as God has no sin, there was no transfer of sin to Christ Jesus. The picture of circumcision – the cutting of man’s sin nature – is complete. He is the sinless, perfect, Son of God. He was born under the law, He did not sin under the law, and He died in fulfillment of the law. Therefore, when one comes to Christ, he dies to the law. As he is no longer bound by law, he cannot sin.

Even if he does wrong, no sin is imputed to him (2 Corinthians 5:19). This is what John is saying. Sin is still possible (see John 1:8). However, without the imputation of that sin, then as Vincent’s rightly noted, “life in God excludes the possibility of sin.” It may be more precise to say, “life in Christ.” It is in Christ – the God/Man – that this is realized. His human nature bears as much weight in the redemptive process as does His divine nature.

This is the marvel and wonder of what God has done in and through the giving of His Son for fallen man. It is a glorious state in which we exist, and it is a state which should be treated in practice in the same manner as the person stands in position – to the glory of God.

Life application: Notice the pattern of John’s writing – he makes basically the same statement in both a favorable and an unfavorable light. “Whoever is…does not sin” and “he cannot…because he has been.” This particular statement is adamant about the expected life of holiness that the believer is to live in, and it therefore intimates the obvious state of those who don’t live as mentioned.

What he says here may seem contradictory to what he said in other verses, such as 1 John 1:8 which says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” However, such a contradiction is only apparent in our English translation. First, the tense used in the verses is different. The example from 1:8 tells us that we can’t claim to be sinless because we all fall and sin from time to time (even if sin is not imputed). The verse here tells us that we “cannot sin and be born of God.” It speaks of our nature and position in Christ regardless of our human actions.

As we were told in verse 2 of this chapter, because of Jesus Christ we are now children of God. When a child is born, he naturally takes on the characteristics of his father. This is the genetic pattern of life. As we are sons of Adam through the physical world, we bear the image of Adam in the physical world. Likewise, we bear his image in the transmission of sin.

However, when we come to Jesus Christ, our spiritual nature takes on the nature of God. If the marks of the physical world are so obvious that we resemble Adam hundreds of generations and thousands of years after his life, how much more will our spiritual nature resemble that of God when we move from spiritual death to spiritual life through the regeneration by the Spirit?

Should we fall away and walk in a pattern of habitual sin, the circumstances will be the same as if we fail to drink water when we thirst; we will die because of our actions. One cannot live in sin without reaping the consequences of that sin. Physical death is sure to ensue and our rewards from God will be excluded. Only our spirit will be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:5). But the imputation of sin no longer occurs because our nature is that of man in Christ and under grace, not law.

Thank God for Jesus Christ who has brought us to this state. Let us live out our lives in a manner which reflects our true and holy nature before God, to the praise of His glorious grace.

Lord God, as the psalmist said, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” And so, Lord, we ask that you look over us and keep us from the habitual sins which can only bring about sadness before You. Instead, strengthen us to live now in Your temple as living stones, holy and acceptable to You. May our walk in this life reflect the position we already hold because of the change brought about in us through Christ. Amen.