11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
The second half of verse 10 leads into this section where John continues the idea that no sin is of God and applies that to the Christian who does not love his brother. Love is the expression of our new birth. Love is righteousness in action. Jesus’ command to believers right before He went to the cross was that we love one another. Love is certainly not what Cain did to Abel. Cain murdered Abel because of the guilt he felt for his own unrighteousness against his brother’s righteous act. Many times our own hatred towards others is prompted by our personal guilt when we compare our lives against another’s. John reminds us not to be surprised that the world exhibits such hatred towards us, it is hatred amongst believers that is so abnormal. When John says we know “we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers,” he is not speaking about salvation but the experience of eternal life. If we hate our brother in Christ then we are a spiritual murder as Jesus explained in Matthew 5:21-22. If we hate our brothers and sisters in Christ then we do not have eternal life abiding in us—not we don’t possess eternal life but we cannot expect to abide in Christ while hating our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Love is not hatred for our fellow believer, instead, love is laying down one’s life as Christ laid His life down for us. The ultimate expression of love is to sacrifice your life for another. While we may not have the opportunity to sacrifice our life for another, we have many opportunities to lay our lives aside for the benefit of others. When it comes to our material goods we have many such opportunities. If we see a brother or sister in need and yet close our heart and do not help, how can God’s love be abiding in us? Love is not what we say (word or talk) but is what we do (deed and truth). Our love is expressed in our actions.
What can you do today to move your love from talk to action?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Jacob and Esau: Genesis 27