Author: Charlie Garrett

Saturday, 2 May 2020

For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 1 John 3:20

This is admitted to be a difficult verse by Greek scholars. Vincent’s Word Studies argues that the opening conjunction should be translated as a relative – “In whatever.” If so, it would say as the NASB – “In whatever our hearts condemn us.”

No matter what the translation, the verse does not stand alone. It must be taken with the surrounding context. John had just noted (verse 18) that we are not to love in word or tongue, but in deed and truth. That was based on how we treat others (verses 16 & 17). He then said (verse 19) that we know we are of the truth, “and shall assure our hearts before Him.” He is tying in our treatment of others to the state of our hearts.

There may be things which condemn our hearts, such as our treatment of others, a hidden sin we cannot shake off, a sudden burst of anger at someone or because of something, and so on. In such a display, our hearts may say, “How can you be saved?”, or “How can God love you?”, or maybe, “You are a miserable excuse for a Christian.”

This is natural thinking, and it is correct. If it were up to our actions, we would lose our salvation. If God was any other than God, He would truly not like us. And if being a Christian meant that we must be perfect in and of ourselves, we certainly would not be Christians. But each of these is an evaluation of the situation based on our own limited perceptions and abilities. God is infinite and has control of the entire universe. He is not stuck on our teeny little part of either time or space. As John says, “God is greater than our heart.”

Our hearts are, as Jeremiah says, “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” He then asks, “Who can know it.” The answer is, “No human can know even his own heart.” But God can, because He “knows all things.” He is not limited to time. Therefore, when a person comes to Christ, that person is given a new direction, a spiritual rebirth, and he is no longer imputed sin for the things he does (such as those mentioned above).

God does not forget the sealing of His Spirit upon the person. He does not forget the guarantee which that signifies, and He understands the limitations and failings that accompany our fallen bodies in a fallen world. If it were up to any person to remain saved, no person would remain saved. But God is greater than that. He has saved, He continues to apply that salvation, and His unconditional decree will continue to do so for all eternity.

Life application: Maybe we are being too harsh on our fellow brothers. Or maybe we are being too soft on them. Either way, our heart – our conscience – is condemning us because of it. Have you ever overly accused a fellow Christian of something and later felt remorse at it? Or on the other hand, have you seen a fellow Christian doing something and not been harsh enough on him? If so, maybe later you felt your conscience attacking you over it.

But maybe you handled the matter exactly as you should have, and yet you still are not even sure about that. In all three of these cases, God is greater than our heart (and our actions which condemn our heart.) He knows all things and looks inside of us, knowing what our true intent was and the love that our action was intended to be carried out with.

Because He knows us, even better than we know ourselves, He is there approving of the correct attitude of the heart, even if the appropriateness of the action we took is uncertain to us. Have confidence that He knows your heart, and your intent, and that He is there to soothe you when you talk to Him about such things. Just like the closest of friends (and even more) He has an ear for our thoughts. Don’t be afraid to talk to Him about them.

Thank You Lord, for knowing us even better than we know ourselves! Thank You for listening to the trials of our hearts as we walk uncertainly in some of the actions we take. You peer deep inside and know the very motives for the things we do, and so we know that we can trust that You are dealing in the fairest way towards us. We love You Lord. Amen.

Friday, 1 May 2020

And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 1 John 3:19

John just wrote of loving not merely “in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth.” Now, speaking of such true love, he says, “And by this we know that we are of the truth.” He is referring to that which he just wrote, not something he will next write about. We know that we are of the truth if we love as we ought to love.

In the end, the state of our hearts is really only known by us and by God, and we even have the ability to deceive ourselves. Therefore, John is essentially asking us to do a full self-evaluation of our words and actions, searching to see if “we are of the truth.” In this, we “shall assure our hearts before Him.”

Here, the words “before him” are emphatic. The order of the Greek is, “and before Him we will assure the heart of us.” In evaluating our actions, and especially the intent behind them, we will be able to assure our own hearts that we are truly conducting ourselves in the manner which reveals the truth of our state.

In doing this, we then make it possible to then have an appropriate response to our self-evaluation – either a condemning heart, or a heart which has confidence toward God. That is what John will continue to speak of in the verses ahead. But such is not possible without truly searching ourselves out – in both deed, and in the motive behind our deeds.

Life application: John has been talking about love for our brethren for quite a few verses. He indicates that this is the test of being a true believer. When we have the ability to love our brethren as we are supposed to, then we have the full assurance that “we are of the truth.” It is possessing a knowledge which assures our hearts before God.

The word “assure,” which John uses here, carries the thought of persuading or even tranquilizing our hearts. We can have completely pacified hearts when we come into God’s presence. Obviously, the opposite should be true if our motives are not genuine. We should feel convicted and uneasy about our prayers and our expectation of meeting God when we fail to love our brothers in Christ as we should. It really is a double-edged sword. We can overcome the guilt though, by simply acting in a manner which unities us in Christ.

In the book of Hebrews, we read these words –

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16

Jesus endured the same emotions and feelings that we did. Because of this, He can sympathize with us in our own weakness. If you are struggling with the love-of-the-brother issue, then go boldly to the throne of grace and ask God to help you with it. Tell Him you need a spiritual tune up and a change in heart about the brother you are at odds with. When you do this, your heart will be assured before Him – tranquilized and at complete rest in His peaceful presence.

Thank You Lord, that we can come boldly into your presence to find help in our times of need. At times, we struggle with loving some fellow Christians, and we know the wall it sets between us and You, but when we come to You for the purpose of settling these differences, the door is open, and You are there to help us. Thank You for this, Lord God. Amen.

Thursday, 30 April 2020

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18

John has been speaking of accomplishing deeds for others – laying down one’s life, sharing the world’s goods, etc. He now shares a simple instruction which goes to the heart of this type of attitude. To do so, he begins with his familiar address, “My little children.” Again, John is speaking to those who believe, as a father would speak to his young ones. This is to impress upon his reader that this is an obvious thing, but it is one which still must be taught. It is so obvious that one might trip right over it by neglecting the more important part of the matter, which begins with, “let us not love in word or in tongue.”

The Greek has no article before “word,” but there is one before “tongue.” A more precise reading would be, “let us not love in word, neither with the tongue.”

He is not saying to not do these things, but not to only do these things. To love in word is acceptable, and we do it all the time. But it is no good to love in word, even if we mean it, and to not act upon that love when it is necessary to do so. This would demonstrate a love which is unwilling to move to action because it is weak: either in the source, or toward the object of the love. In other words, the act of laying one’s life down for another may be greater than the source can muster, or the act of giving of one’s worldly goods towards another may be evaluated as too great in relation to the object of the love.

To love in tongue is to “say” there is a love, but which is hypocritical from the outset. The source of the statement bears no love for the object in the first place.

Such a feckless love is wrong. John says we are not to merely have genuine love, but we are to act upon what issues forth from the mouth by loving “in deed and in truth.” The “deed” is the laying down of one’s life. The “deed” is giving, even when what is possessed appears to be of a greater value to the person than the object of the action. It is a sacrificial giving which may actually hurt, but which is right to do. The “truth” is that if the word of love is spoken, it is to be an honest word; one without hypocrisy. If it is not an honest word, it is not to be conveyed in the first place.

Life application: In the previous verse, the words of James were cited. Again here, they are appropriate to be cited again –

“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” James 2:15, 16

In both instances, the tongue is used to “love” the brother, but nothing is done to demonstrate the love indicated. In John’s verse, he says we should not merely “love in word or tongue.” James indicates that such an attitude is completely unprofitable.

It is as if these two men were singing the same song, and echoing one another, as their voices rise above the false living around them. Further, deeds need to be backed up by real love or they are without any true value – “You look hungry, can I get you anything to eat? And is there anything else I can do to help? I’m sorry for your troubles and I’d like to pray with you if you’d like.” As Solomon noted long ago –

“Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be heard.” Proverbs 21:13

Let us then love in deed and also in truth. May our tongues not just wag at the plight of those around us. This can be applied to both the physically and the spiritually needy. Have you taken the time to tell the poor in spirit about Jesus? Eternity is waiting for them too. Where they will spend it may be up to you opening your mouth and speaking.

Lord Jesus, in relation to the time we have been given, what little time we have actually devoted to the needy around us – both those who are physically needy and those who are spiritually needy as they live without a saving knowledge of You. Turn our hearts to be those whose hearts break for the poor in body and in spirit. And, Lord, direct our steps to tend to their needs. Amen.

Wednesday, 29 April 2020

But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 1 John 3:17

In the previous verse, John spoke of us laying down our lives for one another as the greatest example of love and something we should be willing to do for one another. Today, John brings another type of person into stark contrast with a person who would lay down his life in this way – the person who won’t simply help a brother in need.

In other words, dying for one another is the high and lofty goal we should set, but simply helping those around us who are truly in need is an outward demonstration of the basic sort of faith that anyone can and should possess.

And so, John begins with, “But whoever has this world’s goods.” The Greek literally reads, “the goods of the world.” This term speaks of someone who has the personal necessities of life to sustain him. It is implied that what he has is enough to share with others, because John next says, “and sees his brother in need.”

The person obviously is fine in and of himself to the point where he can extend his hand to the brother who is in need. The words, “sees his brother,” indicate an obvious observation of the person and the dire straits he is in. He sees him and continues to see him in this situation, and yet he “shuts up his heart from him.”

The one who has the world’s goods allows his heart to harden to that person’s unhappy situation. This indicates an intentional and perverse attitude concerning his fellow man – his brother – who is in need. Such a person fails to meet the basic description of a person who is right with God. This is seen as John finishes with the question, “how does the love of God abide in him?”

The stated question then is not only rhetorical, but it demands a harsh answer –

Q: “How does the love of God abide in him?”
A: “It doesn’t. This man fails the basic test of demonstrating he is a child of the living God.”

John’s words here closely follow in thought to those of James –

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:14-17

Life application: The idea presented here is one which was spoken of by Jesus. It continues through Paul’s writings, and it is carried on by these other apostles as well. If we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for others, how much more willing should we be to extend our help to those that we should even lay down our lives for!

Search yourself carefully and see if you pass this basic and precisely worded test. If you do, then don’t forget that there truly are those in need who can use love, assistance, and prayer. Remember to tend to them and be the type of child that God has called you to be. Do this to His glory and honor and to the praise of Jesus – the ultimate example of the love of God.

Yes, O God! We will do our best at helping those around us who are truly in need. Let our hearts not be callous and cold to such people as we live our lives in the abundance You have given to us. May we be willing to share what is rightfully Yours in the first place. And this we pray to Your glory and the glory of our Savior Jesus. Amen.

Tuesday, 28 April 2020

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16

John now brings in a thought that ties in nicely with verse 3:1. Putting them side by side, this can be seen –

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”
“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.”

In his words of this verse, John includes an article before “love” to show us this. The Greek more precisely reads, “By this, we know the love.” In this, it is the state of love which is referred to. John says that we can know this perfect state of love “because He laid down His life for us.” As an important side note, the KJV erringly inserts the words “of God” after “the love” into this verse –

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.”

This insertion is inappropriate. God did not die. The human side of Jesus – the Man – died. This may be the same as “the love of God” found in the next verse, but only in the fact that God directed it, not because God “laid down His life.” The insertion produces a theological error and needs to be annotated as such in that version in order to avoid confusion.

It is Christ Jesus’ humanity that died, thus demonstrating the perfect love that should direct our own lives. This is then explained by John when he says, “And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Jesus set the example, showing us that physical death is not the end of our existence, and thus it is not something that we should shy away from when it can mean the saving of others.

Because Christ rose from the grave, and because He promises to those who believe in Him that they too will rise from the grave, there is – literally – nothing to be concerned about in giving up one’s life for another. And because this is a demonstration of “the love,” meaning the perfect love, then it is a demonstration of being a faithful follower of Christ who embodies the love of God in Himself. This is why John refers to “the love of God” in the coming verse. It is not because God gave up His life, but because Christ Jesus, in His humanity did so, thus revealing the very heart of what God intends for us to see concerning Him.

Life application: John’s words, “we know,” are in the perfect tense. In other words, he is speaking of a completed action. It is obvious what he is referring to – the cross. By this example, above all other examples, we know love. Along with this comes the explicit comment – “He laid down His life for us.” John is confirming here what he recorded in his gospel, meaning the very words of Jesus –

“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10:17, 18

Later, in John 15, Jesus tells us this is the greatest of all love – that a man would lay down his life for his brother. Thinking on Jesus’ words and processing it in light of the crucifixion, which he personally witnessed many years earlier, John stood in complete awe of the God/Man who would demonstrate such amazing love. John’s words, in all of his writings, simply exude the love of God. For this reason, he is also particularly hard on false teachings.

Such teachings attempt to undermine the heart of what his eyes had witnessed and what his mind had thought about – complete, pure, and perfect love. And now, in his old age, John repeats to us what the Lord did and asks us to act in the same manner. He tells us that we ought also “to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Our dying isn’t an act of removing their sins as Jesus’ was. Instead, it reveals a demonstration that we know our sins were removed and that we wish to fellowship with Jesus in His death if it means life for another. Simply amazing! Simply astonishing! What a path to peace!

Lord Jesus, if it will bring You glory and if we are in the right time and place to be given the honor of laying down our lives for another, may we do so without reticence or timidity. Instead, may we do so with the intent of saving that person so that he can live another day. If our lives end for such a reason, then we will consider it an honor and a reward in itself. Amen.