God's Children Love One Another.

Although the one who is often called the apostle of love expounds upon the truth of love, he was not the one who originated the message of love (1 John 1:1; 2:7; cf. John 20:2). This message is grounded in the very nature of God (1 John 4:7-8) - the one who is the author and finisher (Heb. 12:2) of the believer's new beginning - and taught by Christ himself to his followers (John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17).

John has already referred to the devil in the garden (1 John 3:8; cf. Gen. 3). The history of mankind teaches us that Eve (made from Adam's rib; Gen. 2:21-22) was the mother of the elect. Adam was commanded to be fruitful and to multiply this image of God and fill this earth (Gen. 1:28) with the elect. See "Human Beings in God's Image: Who Am I?" below.

When Adam and Eve sinned, Eve became the mother of "all living" (Gen. 3:20; cf. Matt. 13:24-29), that is, the mother of both the elect and non-elect (wheat and tares; cf. Matt 13:24-30). From her womb would come both believers and unbelievers, both saved and unsaved, and the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). See "Will all mankind eventually be saved? (Isn't election unjust?)" and "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field - Matthew 13:24-30" below. Cain came from Eve!

Now, John moves to Genesis 4 and an example of the seed of the serpent - Cain. In stark contrast to "love" (1 John 3:11), we may observe the conflict between Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:1-16). John traced Cain's hatred to the radical incompatibility of his motivations with those of Abel (John 3:19; 8:37). That incompatibility will always exist between the world and God's people (1 John 3:13), but such animosity does not belong in the fellowship of believers. Its absence is tangible evidence that believers "have passed from death to life" (1 John 3:14). But if such animosity should occur in the fellowship, it signifies a tacit rejection of the Gospel of Christ (1 John 3:11). See WLC 24, 113.

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us: his true Church (Eph. 5:25); the sheep, not the goats (Matt. 25:31-46); the wheat, not the tares (Matt. 13:24-29). See "Definite Atonement: For Whom Did Jesus Die?" below.

Jesus, the God-man (see below), loved his people so much that he gave his life for them, accepting the painful death of the Cross so that they would be saved from eternal destruction (John 10:11-15). The love of believers for one another is to be shown in similar manner, even including a willingness to die for one another (cf. John 15:13). John mentioned material assistance as a less costly example (1 John 3:17; cf. Jas. 1:27). See WCF 8.7; 18.1; 18.2; 26.1; 26.2; WLC 80, 136, 141, 142; HC 54, 87, 106.

One result of loving behavior (1 John 3:16-18) is confidence in God's presence in one's life. As Calvin points out:

If we in truth love our neighbors, we have evidence that we are born of God, who is truth, or that the truth of God lives in us. But we must always remember that it is not from love that we get the knowledge the apostle mentions, as though we were looking to it for the certainty of salvation. Doubtless there is no other way we know that we are God's children except by his sealing his free adoption in our hearts by his own Spirit and by our receiving by faith the sure pledge of it offered in Christ. Thus love is an accessory or a prop to our faith, not a foundation on which it rests.

In 1 John 3:20, John makes note of the guilty conscience of a believer. In 1 John 3:21 the use of the word "greater" suggests a real conflict in which God prevails over believers' hearts (cf. 1 John 4:4). So, the word of God that acquits believers must prevail over the word of their hearts that condemns them.

Note, the ability to be convicted of sin is evidence of one's salvation. But, true conviction leads to true repentance given by the Spirit (2 Tim. 2:24-26). However, we should not lightly dismiss the fact that there will be a holy tension in the believer. Calvin explains:

For who can be found who does not feel guilty about something? To this I answer that godly people are reproved in this way but may at the same time be absolved. It is indeed necessary for them to be seriously troubled inwardly for their sins, so that terror may lead them to humility and to a hatred of themselves; but they soon flee to the sacrifice of Christ, where they are sure of peace. Yet in another sense the apostle says they are not condemned, because however deficient they may confess themselves to be in many things, they are still relieved by this testimony of conscience, so that they truly and from the heart fear God and desire to submit to his righteousness. All who possess this godly feeling and at the same time know that all their endeavors, however far they may come short of perfection, still please God are rightly said to have a calm or a peaceful heart, because there is no inward compunction to disturb their calm cheerfulness.

Here John provides a summary of 1 John 3:10-24. The two parts of this command - believe and love - reflect the two parts of the Ten Commandments, reminding believers that their relationship with God takes precedence over their relationship with their neighbor. According to Kistemaker:

This is the first time in the epistle that John uses the verb "to believe." The verb serves as an introduction to the following chapters. John asserts that God the Father gives the command and that God unequivocally tells us to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. The command is to begin and continue to believe in the name, that is, the full revelation, of the divine Son of God. John adds the names Jesus to refer to his earthly ministry and Christ to call attention to his exalted position (refer to 1 John 1:3). No one is able to come to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6).

John moves from faith to love, for these two concepts are closely linked together. In his Gospel John reveals that Jesus repeatedly gave the command love one another (John 13:34; 15:12, 17). Believing in Jesus Christ, then, means to obey his command to love each other. John repeats this command. By using the present tense of the verb to love, he exhorts the readers to continue to love one another.

God's command is that saints believe in Jesus Christ and that they love one another. If they do this, they have fellowship with God and through the Holy Spirit and they will know that God lives in them. Thus, one aspect of the Holy Spirit's work in believers' hearts is to assure them that they are in Christ. Yet their sense of his assurance must not be divorced from his more objective work of empowering them to obey the truth. See WCF 18.1; WLC 80; HC 76; CD 5.V. As Smalley says:

The possession of the Spirit, as a mark of the new life in Christ, forms part of the primitive gospel preached by the apostles (Acts 2:32-38); and in Paul the Spirit is presented as the means whereby the Father of Jesus indwells the Church (Rom 5:5; Gal 3:2-5). Like Paul, John here regards the witness of the Spirit as a source of confidence, when this is required (Rom 8:14-16; cf. 1 John 3:19-20).

From this point forward, the reader will see an emphasis on the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:2, 13; 5:6, 8; cf. 1 John 4:6). See "The Holy Spirit: Do All Believers Have the Holy Spirit?" below.