Verses 11-12: For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
This is the 8th and final time in his epistle that John uses this phrase from the beginning. It is a phrase he uses variously fourteen times in his writings. Here he is reminding us of a particular message that we have heard from the beginning of our Christian experience.1
Love One Another
John indicates that they cannot deny the fact that they indeed have heard this message, and it was supplied to them at the very beginning of their Christian lives. It is instructive to note that in the early days of the Apostolic Church, the apostles had accurately spread the gospel that men should believe in Jesus Christ for salvation (Acts 16:31). And in the training of new converts, they emphasized the commands of Our Lord’s as the guidelines for believers to live a productive life of righteousness.
In this instance, what we have heard is a command that comes directly from Our Lord Himself:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)
There are two lessons to learn from this command. First, believers do not live in a vacuum. It was Shakespeare who wrote: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women [are] merely players.”2 The Christian’s life is on full display for all to see. Therefore, we must fully realize that we are on God’s stage and we are not autonomous players. How we interact with each other will determine if we are glorifying God. Paul explained this concept to the Corinthians:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19–20—emphasis added)
Second, Our Lord’s command to love one another is reciprocal. This means that it requires active cooperation amongst all believers. Beginning with each one of us individually, we are to demonstrate an observable love for each other. John is restating Our Lord’s command in order to emphasize the importance for believers to achieve this challenge. And in doing so it allows all men the right to determine if we are indeed obedient disciples of Christ’s. Believers who fail at this principle of love for fellow believers have tarnished the Christian witness before the world and have provided the world a reason to reject the reality of this life of faith in Christ.
Since it is virtually impossible to personally love everyone, John must be indicating that our reciprocal love is impersonal—an unconditional relaxed mental attitude towards others. This was explained in previous studies: 1 John 2:7 and 1 John 2:9-11. The following by R.B. Thieme, Jr. develops this concept further:
God does not command His children to have personal agreement or admiration for all people (an impossible task among imperfect creatures), but He does command them to demonstrate virtue toward all, believer and unbeliever, known and unknown. Impersonal love in the soul is the only way to fulfill the divine mandates to “love one another” (John 13:34–35), “love your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14), and even to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43–46).3
Cain of the Evil One
Next, to demonstrate the contrast of reciprocal love towards fellow believers, John draws upon the historical tragedy of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16). In the Genesis account we find the origin of the conflict between these two brothers that resulted in the murder of Abel.
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. (Genesis 4:3–5)
We are not told the specific details of these offerings, but it may be that since God must have slain animals in order to provide garments for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21) that animal sacrifice was the approved offering. Additionally to be noted, Abel appeared to be going about with man’s original purpose of having dominion over life (Genesis 1:28); while Cain engaged himself with the curse of working the soil (Gen. 4:2; cf. 3:17).4
However, the author of Hebrews by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit provided the definitive reason why God regarded Abel’s offering. For Abel by faith had offered “a better sacrifice”:
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. (Hebrews 11:4)
This is the evidence by which John is able to assess that Abel’s deeds were righteous—his production of righteousness.
Then what John tells us about Cain is that his beliefs and attitudes had their source from the evil one, the devil. And it wasn’t just that he slew his brother, but that all his deeds were based upon the evil influence of the devil. This is borne out by his reaction to the Lord’s rejection of his offering: “he became very angry” (Genesis 4:6). And since he could not strike out at the invisible God, he slew the one who bore His image—his brother Abel.
The Legacy of Cain and Abel
Just as Cain rejected God’s required mode of sacrifice, Jude states that the false teachers also “have gone the way of Cain” (Jude 11). They like the antichrists of John’s day have rejected God’s acceptable directives of faith and practice, therefore demonstrating their hatred for His righteousness. It is regrettable that there are many included in this category today.
But for Abel, Our Lord commemorated his righteous character, when He charged the Jewish leaders:
“So that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” (Matthew 23:35; cf. Luke 11:51)
The writer of Hebrews provides a stark contrast between the deaths of Abel and the Lord Jesus Christ. That Christ as the mediator of a new covenant, His shed blood “speaks better than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). Both Abel and Our Lord died being innocent, but the difference is pointed out by W.E. Vine:
The blood of Christ was shed on earth as Abel’s had been, but instead of crying out for vengeance it cries with the voice of mercy, for pardon even for the murderers.5
Concluding Thought
A paramount command from Our Lord Himself is for brothers in Christ to love one another. It establishes proof to a watching world that obedient Christians are truly His disciples (John 13:35).
We need to examine ourselves to determine if we actively endeavor to display the opposite example of Cain’s hatred for his brother.
[1] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 13.118.
[2] Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). As You like It (B. A. Mowat & P. Werstine, Eds.). Folger Shakespeare Library, p. 83.
[4] Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck Eds.). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1.34.
[5] Vine, W. E. (1996). Collected Writings of W.E. Vine. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Hebrews 12:24.
© David M. Rossi
No comments:
Post a Comment