Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
We should Love Each Other in Deed and in Truth, 1 JOIIX III. and Believe on the Name of Jesus Christ.
love;" we apprehend what true love Vs. he—CI i lis!
tlie truth ') us (it is) because God is greater than our heart and knowetli all things.'" If our heart judges us unfavourably, we may be sure that He, knowing more than our heart knows, judges us more unfavourably still. [Alford.] A similar ellipsis ("it is") occurs 1 Corinthians 14.27; 2 Corinthians 1. 6; 8. 28. The condemning testimony of our conscience is not alone, but is the echo of the voice of Him who is greater and knoweth all things. Our hypocrisy in loving by word and tongue, not in deed and truth, does not escape even our conscience, though weak and knowing but little, how much less God who knows all tilings! Still the consolatory view may lie tlie riglit one. For the Greek for " we shall assure our hearts " (see JSote,
Bnd we—on our part, if absolutely needed for tlie glory of God, the good of the Chureli, or tlie salvalion of a brother, lives-Christ alone laid down His one li/e for us all • we ought to lay down our livgi severally for the lives ol 'he bretlireii ; if not actually, at least virtually, by giving our time, care, labours, pray Vrs, substance:
iiobin, sed omnibus." Our life ougliL uol to be dearer to us than God's own Son was to Hini. The apostles and martyrs acted on this principle. 17. this woilil's goods
—HI., "livelihood" or substance. If we ouglit to lay ilown our lives for the bretliren (v. 16), how much more ought we not to withhold our sub/stance f secth—not merely casuv. 19), is gain over, persuade so as to be stilled, implying that there was a previous stale of self-condemnation by the heart {v. 21)), which, however, is got over by the consolatory thought, " God is greater than niy heart " which cotnlemns me, and " knows all things " (Greek ginoskei, " kmnrs," not kataginoskei, " condemns"), s\.r\Ci therefore knows my love and desire to serve Him, an,d knows my frame so as to pity my weakness of faith. This gaining over of t'le heart to peace is not so advanced a stage as the having confidence towards God which flows from a heart condemning ns nol. The first " because " thus applies to the tvi o alternate cases, V. 20, 21 (giving the ground of saying, that having lovewe shall gain over, or assure our minds before Him, ally, i)ut deliberately contemplates as a spectator; Greek, " beholds." shuttet h up his bowels of compassio7i— wliicli had been momentarily opened by tlie spectacle of his brother's need. "Tlu bowels" mean the heart, the seat of compassion. Uow—Ilow is it possible that "the love of
(i. e., to) God d welleth ( (J reek, abideth) in liim Our superfluities should yield to tl)e necessities: our conit'orls, and even our necessaries in some measure, should yield
Iff the extreme wants of our brethren, "l-'aitli gives Christ to me; love flowing from faith gives me to iny m ijihbour." 18. When tlie venerable Jolm could no longer walk to the meetings of the Cliurcli, but was l)orne thither by his disciples, he alwaj's uttered the same address to the Church; he reminded them of that one commandment which be had received from Christ Himself, as comprising all the rest, and forming the distin< lion of the new <',ovenant, "ily little children, love one another." When the brethren present, wearied of hearing the same
V. 19); the second " because" applies to the first alternate alone, VIZ., ?/ our heart eondomii us. When he reaches the si'cond alternate, r. 21, he states it i ndependentlji of the former " because" which had connected it with i'. 19, inasmuch as CONFIDENCE toward God is a farther stage than P'Tsunding our hearts, though always preceded by it. itl. Beloved—There is no contrasting the two cases, «.
tiling so often, asked why he always repeated the same thing, he replied, "Because it is the commandment of the Lord, and if this one thing be attained it is enougli." fjEKOME.] 18. in word Greek, "with word . . . ivilh tongue, but in deed and trutii." 19. hereby— G'vte/-, "herein;" in our loving in deed and in truth (v. IS), we know—The oldest M.ss. have " we siiall know," viz., if we
20, 21, because "Beloved" sufficiently marks the transition to the case of the brethren walking in the full ronfldence of love {v. 18). The two results of our being able tc "assure our hearts before Him " {v. 19), and of " our heart condemning us not" (of insincerity as to the truth in general, and as to love in particular) are, (1.) confidence toward God; (2.) a sure answer to our prayers. John does not mean that all whose heart does not condemn them, are therefore safe before God; for some have their conscience seared, others are ignorant of the truth, and it is not only sincerity, but sincerity in the trutli wliieh can save men. Christians are those meant here : knowing Christ's precepts and testing themselves by them, ii-i, we receive—as a matter of fact, according to His promise. Believers, as such, ask only what is in accordance with God's will; or if they ask what God wills not, they bow their will to God's will, and so God grants them either their request, or something better than it. beeatise we keep his commandments—Cf. Psalm 06. IS; 34. 15; 145.
fulfil the command (v. 18). of the truth—tliat we are real disciples of, and belonging to, the truth, as it is in Jesus: begotten of God with the word of truth. Having herein the triUh radically, we shall be sure not to love merely in word and tongue (v. 18). assure lit., persuade, viz., so as to cease to condemn us ; satisfy the questionings and doubts Of our consciences as to whether we be accepted before God or not (cf. Matthew 28. 14; Acts 12. 20, " Having made Blastus their friend," til., "persuaded"). Tlie " heart," as the seat of the feelings, is our inward judge; the conscience, as the witness, acts either as our justifying advocate, or our condemning accuser, before God even now. John 8.
9, has "conscience," but the passage is omitted in most old MSS. John nowhere else uses the term conscience. Peter and Paul alone use it. before him—as in the sigiit of Him, the omniscient Searcher of hearts. Assurance is designed to be the ordinary experience !ind privilege of the believer. 20. Luther and Benget take this verse as consoling the believer whom his heart condemns; and who, therefore, like Peter, appeals from conscience to Him who is greater than conscie Jice, *' Lord, thou knowest
IS, 19. Not as though our merits earned a hearing for our prayers, but when we are believers in Christ, all our works of faith being the fruit of His Spirit in us, are "pleasing in God's sight;" and our prayers being the voice of the same Spirit of God in us, naturally and necessarily are answered by Him. 33. Summing up of God's commandments under the Gospel dispensnlion in one commandment, this is his commanflment—singular: for faith and loveave not separate commandments, but are liidissolubly united. We cannot truly love one another witliout faith in Christ, nor can we truly believe in Him without love, believe—07ice /or aW; Greek aorlst. on the name of his Son—on all that is revealed in the Gospel concerning Him, and on Himself in respect to His person, all things: thou knowest that I love thee." Peter's conscience, though condemning him of his sin in den.ving the Lord, assured lilm of his love ; but fearing the possibility, owing to his past fall, of deceiving himself, he appeals to the all-knowing God : so Paul, 1 Corinthians -1. 8,
4. So if we be believers, even if our heart condemn us of sin in general,yet having the one sign of sonship, love, we may still assure our hearts (some oldest MS.S. read heart, v.
offices, and atoning work, as he—as Jesjis gave us commandment, a*, dwelletli In him—The believer d welleth In Christ, and he in him—Christ In the believer. Reciprocity. "Thus he returns to the great key-note of the Epistle, abide in Him, with which the former part concluded" (ch. 2. 28). hereby—" herein we (believers) know that He abideth In us, viz., from (the presence in us
19, as well as v. 20), as knowing that God is greater than our heart, and knowelh all things. But thus the same Greek is translated " because " in the beginning, and "(we know) that" in the middle of the verse, and If the verse were consolatory, It probably would have been, " Because even
If our heart condemn us," &c. Therefore translate, " Becat«e (rendering the reason why it has been stated In v. 19 to be so important to 'assure our hearts before Him ') of) the Spirit which He hath given us." Thus he prepares, hy the mention of the true Spirit, for the transition to the false "spirit," ch. 4. 1-6; after which he returns again to the subject of love.
If our heart condemn {Greek, 'know [aught] against us:' answering by contrast to ' we shall know that we are of