We Should Love One Another

1 John 3:11-16 ESV

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 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. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

The love that we are to have for one another comes from God who is love. It is a love that is centered in moral preference and which prefers what God prefers, which is everything that is holy, righteous, godly, honest, morally pure, upright, and faithful. And when we love God in this way or when we are loving other people in this way, we are preferring to live through Christ and to embrace God’s will and to choose his choices, obeying them through his power (source: biblehub.com interlinear).

Therefore, when we are loving others with this kind of love, we are going to choose to say to them and do to them and for them what we believe is ultimately for their good, as God defines good. And we will not deliberately, habitually, nor premeditatedly do what is evil or sinful against them. This, however, is not a claim to sinless perfection. But it does have to do with the choice of our wills to do what we believe and know is right and to not do evil to other people. So, we may not love perfectly, but we should love sincerely.

And we have a good example given to us here of what this kind of love should not look like. We have the example of Cain. And Cain was the firstborn son of Adam and Eve who were the first humans God created. Their second born son was Abel. Abel was a keeper of the sheep and Cain was a worker of the ground. In the course of time they each brought an offering to the Lord. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering, but he rejected Cain’s, so Cain was very angry with God.

“The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.’ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” (Genesis 4:6-8 ESV).

And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. So, how do the Scriptures differentiate between those who are evil and those who are righteous? It all comes down to what we practice, i.e. our lifestyles. For if sin is what we practice (deliberately and habitually), and if righteousness, godliness, and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we are not of God. And it is those who practice righteousness (of God) who are righteous in the sight of God.

So, when this says here that we are not to be surprised if the world hates us, and this comes right on the heels of the example of Cain, what I believe this is saying is not only should we not be like Cain, but we should not be surprised if other people treat us like Cain treated his brother. And we should not be surprised even if other professing Christians treat us like Cain treated his brother, and that they may turn against us because their deeds are evil and because we are walking in holiness and in righteousness, in practice.

For Jesus told us that if we follow him with our lives that we will be hated and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted. And who were those who hated and persecuted him? They were rulers and people of influence in the temple of God, many of whom were also teachers of the law and of the prophets, and who professed faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And that God, the only true God, is Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit – one God with three distinct personalities and functions.

So, our persecutors, as well, could be those professing faith in Jesus Christ but who are walking in sin and not in righteousness and holiness. And so they won’t like it if what we are sharing is the truth of the gospel of our salvation, for many of them are buying into a diluted and altered gospel message which is placating them in their sins and which appeals to human flesh, and so they don’t accept that they must die with Christ to sin and walk in his holiness and righteousness, in his power and strength.

Now, going back to the subject of agape love, we who are genuine followers of Jesus Christ are to be those who abide in love and who love each other with this love which comes from God. And if we do not love with this kind of love, then we abide in death, not in eternal life with God. And again, this kind of love being spoken of here gives preference to God and to what he prefers, i.e. to what is holy, righteous, and godly. And we are not to be like Cain who murdered his brother because his brother’s deeds were righteous and his own deeds were evil. 

But we who are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in practice, must be willing to lay down our lives for others to see them be free from their slavery to sin and to walk with God in holiness and in righteousness, in his power and strength and wisdom. But when we are sharing the truth of the gospel, as Jesus and his NT apostles taught it, we are going to have enemies, and not just those making no profession of faith in Christ, but also some who profess to believe in Jesus but who are not living the faith they profess.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

Give Them All to Jesus   

Phil Johnson / Bob Benson Sr. 1975

He never said you'd only see sunshine.

He never said there'd be no rain.

He only promised a heart full of singing

About the very things that once brought pain..

Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys.

Give them all, give them all,

Give them all to Jesus,

And He will turn your sorrows into joy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsOnwWsHnIw 

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