God is love. Be born of God. Receive His love for us. Our love for others is a response to His love for us.
Vs. 14 "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death." No one can see our born again spirit. If we are walking in love, it gives outward proof of the life and love of God within us. If we are not walking in love, we are abiding in death and darkness, even though we are born again. His life and grace is not flowing through us to others. 1 John 2:11.
Vs. 15 "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." Is this saying that if we hate our brother, we are not born again? No. It is saying that God's life, which is love, is not abiding or flowing through us to others. Remember 1 John 2:23-25. We are born of God in verse 23. Then we walk in love toward others in verse 24. When we do these two things, God has promised that His eternal life will be ours, or will be flowing through us to others.
Vs. 16 "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." Jesus acted unselfishly for us. He demonstrated His love for us with action. We should set aside our selfish desires and demonstrate our love for others also. He laid down His life to give us grace and forgiveness. We offer grace and forgiveness to others.
Vs. 17 "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?" The obvious answer is that it doesn't. Our love must be demonstrated in action, or it is not really love. When he asks, "does the love of God abide in him?" he is not asking if he is born of God. But he is questioning whether this Christian is motivated by God's love or his own selfish interests.
Vs. 18 "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth." Love must be demonstrated through action, not just words alone.
Vs. 19 "And by this (loving in deed and truth, not just words) we know that we are of the truth (we have received the Word: we are born of God) and shall assure our hearts before Him." If we walk in love, we are giving an outward demonstration of the love of God which came to us when we were born again. Our heart (the spirit and soul together) is in unison. Our conscience is clear when we walk in love.
Vs. 20 "If our heart condemns us (our conscience will condemn us when we do not walk in love), God is greater than our hearts and knows all things." Even when we fail to walk in love and our conscience condemns us, God has already forgiven us for the sins of our entire lifetime.
Vs. 21 "Beloved, if our heart (or conscience in this instance) does not condemn us, we have confidence before God." As we learn to walk in love, our conscience will not condemn us, and we will have confidence before the Lord because His love will be flowing through us to others. This is similar to 1 John 2:28 and 1 John 4:17.
Vs. 22 "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in His sight." On the surface, this verse can appear to say that God is responding to us based on our performance. But the only reason God answers prayer is because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. This verse is talking about our response of faith to His gift of grace. The key word is RECEIVE from Him. When we keep His commandments (Vs. 23 believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another), we are responding in faith to the gift of God's grace through Jesus. We are also allowing that grace to flow to others.
An answer to prayer is receiving part of the grace that He has provided for us.
Vs. 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."
Vs. 24 "Now he who keeps His commandments (both believing on Jesus, or being born again, and loving one another) abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." When we are born again, God comes to live in us, or abide in us, through His Spirit. When we walk in love, we are abiding in Him, or living in love.
Keith Oliver
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