Notes on 1 John 3:14-4:6

See WCF - 1 John 3:14-21

See WCF 8.7; 18.1-2; 26.1-2; WLC 80, 136, 141-42; HC 54, 87, 106

Passed from death to life - 1 John 3:14

passed from death to life. One mark of eternal life is mutual love among God's children. This phrase about passing from death to life has to do with eternal life in the Fourth Gospel (see notes on Jn. 5:24; 1 Jn 5:11). For John, eternal life begins with regeneration, with faith in Christ. God is both the source and the giver of an abundant life of fellowship with himself and his people. However, if a person hates their brothers and sisters, it shows they do not know God or the life he gives

Murderer - 1 John 3:15

murderer. Pointing back to the example of Cain (v. 11), John traces the dark path from hating someone in your community to its logical end of harming or murdering them. Beyond this motivation and action is death and judgment, the opposite of eternal life.

Laid down his life - 1 John 3:16

laid down his life. John's emphasis on Jesus' incarnation and atoning death not only taught his readers how God accomplished their forgiveness (see notes on John 10:11-15), it also provided a model for their service to one another.

World's goods - 1 John 3:17-18

world's … love in action and truth. See notes on Deut. 15:7-9. Like James (see notes on James 1:27), John wrote plainly about a test of true devotion to God—costly, sacrificial sharing with those in material want. Authentic love for God will manifest in love for other believers (4:19), and motivating action on behalf of those in need (4:20).

We assure our hearts - 1 John 3:19-20

we assure <2588>our hearts… greater. Usually, God's people will be assured of their grasp on the truth and the truth's grasp on them when they love other believers. They will know they belong to the truth when their love finds expression in generosity to those who are vulnerable. There are times, however, when the emotional and practical lives of believers are not aligned. Knowing this, John assures his readers that their practical love to one another will assure their hearts, eventually

Confidence before God - 1 John 3:21-22

confidence before God…receive whatever we ask. See WLC 104. Confidence before God in prayer arises from aligning our requests with God's will and our practice with his commands (see notes on 5:14-15; Jn. 14:13-14; 16:23-24). By attending Christ's words and will, John's readers will find their prayers transformed and their experience of the Spirit's presence deepened.

Commandment - 1 John 3:23

commandment.John weaves together all three marks of Christian identity that he has articulated in his sermonic letter: 1) faith in the name, person and full identity of Jesus Christ, God's Son; 2) obedience to his commands; and 3) love for one another (see notes on Matt. 7:21; Lk. 6:46; Jn. 8:31).

Remain in him - 1 John 3:24

remain in him… the Spirit. See WCF 18.1; WLC 80; HC 76; CD 5.V. These characteristics of Christian life and fellowship, obedience to Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, provide assurance of an authentic knowledge of God. The Spirit's job is to bear witness to the truth about Jesus (4:1-6), which includes the truth about those who abide in his words, that is to say, those who keep his commands

God's Children Overcome the Spirit of Antichrist.- 1 John 4:1-6

Verses 1-6 are a self-contained unit about the importance of evaluating prophecies, because not all spirits who give utterance are holy. The verses use the word "spirit" seven times, and the subject reverts back to the theme of loving one another in v. 7. John warns his readers that they must exercise discernment.

Related Resources

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.