CERTAIN TO BE OF THE TRUTH - 1 JOHN 3:19-20

Verses 19-20: We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

 

Of The Truth

Just as in verse 16, John uses the same word know, meaning a knowledge learned by experience. But this time it is a future tense indicating that we have something to continually know and retain for reference in our days ahead, provided that we love “in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). By this (love that we exhibit in deed and truth) we demonstrate that our absolute state of being and the content of our thinking is derived from the source “of the truth.” This phrase, of the truth, identifies that this specific truth has its source from the Word of God, the embodiment of absolute truth (John 17:17). But we should realize that God’s truth is universal truth and remains absolute truth regardless if fallen mankind refuses and rejects His truth.

Self-Condemnation

What follows is an unfortunate verse division separating verses 19 and 20, interrupting the logical progression of what John is teaching. To retain the unity of thought, we should read the phrase in this manner: “...and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us.” Not only is the verse division disruptive but this passage is very complicated and analyzing it thoroughly is necessary to understand how it pertains to us. The key words that will be considered are assure, heart and condemn.

The word assure means to persuade or to convince and therefore “to be confident.”1 Dr. Marvin Vincent explains the believers’ need for assurance:

John knew the misgivings of the Christian heart; and he knew, moreover, how they would be awakened by the high standard of Christian character which he set up in this chapter.2

Note the “high standard of Christian character” that Dr. Vincent is referring to: “Everyone that has this hope fixed in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (3:3); “No one who abides in Him sins. No one who sins has seen Him or knows Him” (3:6); “The one who practices sin is of the devil” (3:8); “No one who is born of God practices sin” (3:9).

Thus, Dr. Vincent concludes that “It is not difficult to conceive the effect of such statements upon a sensitive conscience,”3 one that needs assurance.

Next is the word heart. John uses this Greek word (kardia) only 4 times in this epistle and all in this passage, 3:19-21. The English word heart in verse 17 comes from a different Greek word (splagchnon) referring to a persons’ “center of loving action”4 pertaining to the core of emotions, ranging from anger to compassion.

Here the word heart John uses refers to the “center and source of the whole inner life, with its thinking, feeling, and volition, in the case of the natural man as well as the redeemed man.”5 Thus, John is asserting that at times believers may need to reassure themselves when conflicted by trying circumstances; when determining by self-examination if they obediently do love in deed and truth. They can obtain that assurance of their faithfulness “before Him” (since we are always in His presence) in order to “satisfy the questionings and doubts of our consciences as to whether we [are] accepted before God or not.”6 Dr. Ryrie provides the reason why the believer’s conscience may create doubts: “We may be either too strict or too lenient in examining our lives.”7

For this reason, the Apostle Paul maintains that there is a place for believers’ self-examination:

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5; cf. 1 Corinthians 11:28, at the communion table; Galatians 6:4, of our own works.)

Now this brings us to the final word to be considered: condemn. This word denotes to blame and to “find fault with”8 or to pass judgment upon oneself. The point that John is attempting to make is that the believer may wrongly develop self-doubts within their thinking and find fault in their walk of faith. They may condemn themselves when examining their thoughts and actions and determine that the content of Divine truth is lacking in their heart and that they are not living up to established high standards of Christian character. This may be a result of over-thinking that the work they do for the Lord is not enough or their outreach of love for other believers is deficient—this is the implication of the word whatever in our passage.

God Is Greater

Not only must we contend with an unfortunate verse division, but now in the middle of verse 20 we have what is known in grammar as an ellipsis: “the omission of a word or phrase”9 needed to complete the writers thoughts and to clarify the meaning of the context   So what word or words is missing that can make sense of the final phrase of verse 20 with the prior phrase, “whatever our heart condemns us”?

Dr. Vincent maintains that the solution hinges on the meaning of greater. 10 Does it indicate that His judgement or His compassion is greater than our condemning heart? Since the chapter begins with the affectionate enthusiastic “how great a love the Father has bestowed on us” (3:1), it follows that John is implying here that God’s compassion and not His condemnation is greater than our condemning heart; for God is our supreme and final evaluator because He knows all things.

This leads to the matter of how we receive His evaluation. Does He speak to us orally or by emotional feelings or sensation? These would be special revelations and there is no Scriptural support for individual disclosures from God. Note what the author of Hebrews wrote:

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

God no longer speaks to men as in the past. Personal, special revelation ended with the completion of the Canon of Scripture—the book of Revelation. He does not speak orally, in visions or tiny voices in our head. He communicates to us through His written Word, from which we learn by assistance of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). This is substantiated by the author of Hebrews, which is pertinent to our passage under consideration:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

It is God’s Word that is the decisive judge of the thoughts and intents of our heart. Therefore, it is imperative for us to know and understand His Word in order to determine whether our self-judgement aligns with His evaluation of our heart, as aptly summarized by Dr. Vincent:

We must look outside of self for the highest tests of self. It is not before ourselves that we are either to assure or to condemn ourselves...We need, not to be self-assured, but to be assured by Him. [his emphasis]11

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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G3982.

[2] Vincent, Marvin R. (n/d). Word Studies in the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2.381-382.

[3] Vincent, 2.382.

[4] Esser, H.-H. (1986). In The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Brown, Colin, Ed.), Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2.600.

[5] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1979). In A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 403.

[6] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2.533.

[7] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 1995 note.

[8] Strong, J. (1996). In The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, G2607.

[9] The American Heritage College Dictionary, 4^th Ed. (2007). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., p. 483.

[10] Vincent, 2.380.

[11] Vincent, 2.383.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi

 

WE ARE DUTY-BOUND TO LOVE - 1 JOHN 3:16-18

Verses 16-18: We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

 John begins verse 16 with the declarative statement that we know love. In each of the previous two verses he stated that we know about death and murder by our learning and understanding of the Biblical doctrines. But now he uses a different Greek word for know that refers to a knowledge gained by experience.

W.E. Vine declared that this means “we have come to know love in its greatest and highest expression,”1 as it was exhibited by Our Lord when He laid down His life on our behalf. We know this love not only by our understanding of the facts surrounding His work of atonement—His suffering and death on the cross—but we continue to know His love being recipients of the eternal salvation that He secured for us. And we continue to experience His perfect love throughout our time on earth and into the eternal state. Just as salvation is provided by grace, the attributes of His love are implemented by His grace provision for every believer. Therefore, Our Lord remains as our ultimate example of how we should express His sacrificial love to others.

Duty-Bound

Next John emphatically states that we ought to be continually motivated to lay down our lives for the brethren. The Greek word ought indicates a moral obligation that we are compelled to carry out. Thus we are duty-bound to demonstrate the same type of love which Our Lord demonstrated, to lay down our lives for other believers. This is not an isolated requirement, for John has previously stated that “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). By doing so we observe the supreme characteristic of His sacrificial love: “for even Christ did not please Himself” (Romans 15:3a). Even the Apostle Peter proclaimed likewise,

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps. (1 Peter 2:21)

It is important that we understand that our life in Christ is not all about ourselves. Yet, we must endeavor to advance in our own relationship with the Lord, just as the Apostle Paul instructed us to be renovating (renewing) our minds with Biblical principles for Spirit-led living and then presenting our bodies for His “service of worship” (Romans 12:1-2). By this, we are to strive to do our part within the Body of Christ, assuring that it will function in order to glorify Christ—even if necessary to lay down our lives for our fellow believers and be able to rejoice as well (cf. Philippians 2:17-18).

Practical Application

In verse 17, John provides a realistic example of how to demonstrate genuine love for the brethren, not merely by words, but by actions. When we have what others are in need of we are not to “close our heart” and lock them out—we are duty-bound to help them. James made issue of this same point:

If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? (James 2:15–16)

This would be an absurdity. And as John rightly asks “how does the love of God abide in him?” It would be equally ludicrous to stumble upon a beaten and bloodied believer (similar to the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30ff) and believe to be showing love and compassion by saying “God bless you, I’ll pray that you find your way to better health,” and then go on your merry way. How would this conform to laying down ones’ life for the brethren? This may be an extreme example, but laying down one’s life refers to practical things also, like the little inconveniences imposed upon us that take time out of our busy day. And if this does not constitute love for my brother, it’s not difficult to conclude that John is correct, that I do not have the same love that God has abiding in me.

Love in Action

Now in verse 18, John urges us not to demonstrate love in word or with tongue. We may question what he means by word and tongue. Word infers to the content of what is spoken which originates from a persons’ thoughts. The effectiveness of words will be determined if they are grounded in Biblical truth (Proverbs 23:7). They may be warm and comforting, but if they are not accompanied by kindhearted and caring actions, then that type of love is irrelevant and obnoxious like “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).  

He indicates the tongue because it is the organ that delivers those thoughts. If the intention behind the words is to shut out compassionate love to the one in need, then what James stated about the tongue fittingly applies: “It is a restless evil and full of deadly poison,” out of which can issue forth blessings and cursing (James 3:8-10; cf. Psalm 140:3). However, James asserts that a perfect man, one who is controlled by the Holy Spirit, is able to control his tongue as well as his whole body (James 1:26; 3:2).

John would be remiss if he neglected to give us the Biblical approach on how we are to love. But he did, instructing us on how we are to love: “in deed and truth.” Here is a case where actions will speak louder than mere words.2 Our actions of compassion are to emanate from genuine truth, not from false, self-serving motivations. Genuine truth can only be learned from the Word of God—the only source of absolute truth (John 17:17).

Those who fail to heed John’s exhortation to actively love the brethren in truth demonstrate what the Apostle Paul accurately stated:

But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus (Ephesians 4:20–21)

To be taught in Him means we have learned His commands:

“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; cf. Matthew 19:19b)

 Our Challenge

We need to examine ourselves to determine if we are genuinely willing to "lay down our lives for the brethren" and to actively obey His command to love in deed and in truth.

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[1] Vine, W. E. (1996). Collected Writings of W.E. Vine. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1 John 3:15.

[2] Robertson, A.T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1 John 3:18.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi
 

THE HATER IS A MURDERER? - 1 JOHN 3:15

Verse 15: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

At the outset, as John develops further the issue of the believer’s love for fellow believers, it is best to explain what John is not implying: that it is impossible for a Christian to hate his brother. Some have claimed that a “true” Christian1 cannot hate his brother and conclude that John is referring to someone unsaved. However, the word brother indicates that the one who hates is a fellow believer.

Hate is a mental attitude sin, so the moment a believer expresses hatred openly or mentally towards a fellow believer, he has committed sin, just like any other sin, and “is in the darkness” (2:9)—out of fellowship with God.

Really, A Murderer?

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer may seem rather harsh. But John’s statement draws upon the context of this passage, that of Cain’s hatred towards his brother which drove him to murder Abel (v.12). And remember, Our Lord Himself equated the anger of hatred towards one’s brother with the sin of murder during His Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5-7):

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Matthew 5:21–22)

 The implication is that the person one hates, they wish for them to be dead.2 Therefore, based on Our Lord’s pronouncement, John rightly asserts that everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. The Greek word for murderer is literally man-slayer, and it occurs only 3 times in the New Testament, all by John. If we follow John’s logic, he declared in verse 13 that the spirit of the world hates us and in this verse “the spirit of hate is the spirit of murder.”3 We should not wonder how this can be true, since Our Lord stated that Satan, the ruler of this world (John 12:31), is the spirit of hate and murder, having described Satan as “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44).

Eternal Life

This last phrase has troubled many believers leading some to erroneously believe that a murderer can never be saved. This would contradict what John has previously stated that Our Lord satisfied the Father by His death on the cross, not just for our sins, “but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf. Hebrews 2:17). For there is no sin that Christ did not die for, and therefore, any sinner can be saved and gain eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ.

Two points should also clear up another misconception derived from this passage. First, we noted that the one who hates a brother is guilty of murder, even though they did not physically murder the one they hate. Murder is a horrendous sin, it is an attack upon the very image of the Creator, which all mankind possess (Genesis 1:27). Accordingly, hate is a mental attitude sin, equally as sinful as physical murder. This is the same as the mental attitude sin of adultery that Our Lord proclaimed:

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)

Therefore, even if a person does not perform the physical act of murder or adultery but they mentally contemplate hate and sexual lust, they are guilty of these sins.

Secondly, “no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” is a general statement of fact. The Greek word for abiding means to continue, endure or remain.4 John is addressing a disobedient believer who hates his brother and has disrupted their continuous fellowship with God. We must always remember that the eternal life we received by faith in Christ begins immediately, and is designed to be lived in a special, intimate relationship with our Savior. Here, John is equating the continuous and abiding aspect of the believers’ eternal life with their sinless fellowship of walking in the Light. This he stated earlier in reverse:

The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. (1 John 2:10)

The committing of any sin is tantamount to walking in darkness (1:6). Causing them to stumble is not as some have supposed the loss of their salvation, which is an impossibility (cf. Romans 8:38-39). But instead the vital fellowship with the Lord, their power source for stability in this life of faith, has been interrupted. In order to get back in fellowship, they need to confess their sin (1 John 1:9) and be restored to the joy of their salvation (Psalm 51:12).

Something to Ponder

Therefore, we have been commanded by Our Lord to demonstrate love for our fellow brothers in Christ:

“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; cf. Romans 12:10; Hebrews 13:1; 1 Peter 1:22)

In reality there may be Christians who are obnoxious and unpleasant, yet we are still to love them. But note that we are not commanded to have close and intimate relations with them. So in order to fulfill this command we must display impersonal love towards them. This has been previously defined in the discussions of 1 John 2:75; 1 John 2:9-116.

Ask yourself this question: If I hate my brother in Christ, am I truly desirous of obeying the Lord? Or, am I an intentionally disobedient believer hindering the witness to the world that I am His disciple? And by my hating, am I willing to disrupt the unity of believers and impede the gospel? For this unity of believers based upon mutual love is so intended "that the world might believe" that Christ was sent to procure eternal life (John 17:21). 

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[1] The concept of a “true” or “false” Christian is misleading. In reality, there are only obedient or disobedient Christians.

[2] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 2.532.

[3] Van Ryn, August (1948). The Epistles of John, New York, NY: Loizeaux Brothers, p. 110.

[4] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1.299.

[5] https://dashrossi.blogspot.com/2024/08/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html

[6] https://dashrossi.blogspot.com/2024/09/love-abides-in-light-1-john-29-11.html

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi 

 

OUR OBSERVABLE LOVE - 1 JOHN 3:14

Verse 14: We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

John continues his thought from verse 13 with the emphatic we know, meaning that he presumes that his readers have been following the concepts he has taught thus far in this epistle.

The implication of what we know is that regardless of the world’s hatred for us, we know something that is of eternal significance in distinct contrast to what the unbelieving world knows. For when we believed in Jesus Christ we passed from a state of certain eternal death to the secured state of eternal life, destined to reside in that status permanently. This verse does not say that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren, but that the fact that we do love the brethren is the unmistakable evidence of our salvation.

The Mark of the Christian

This verse has an inherent connection with the content of Our Lord’s Upper Room Discourse (John 14-16) and His intercessory prayer for believers (John 17) immediately prior to His death, from which there are two issues that the believer in Jesus Christ ought to consider. First, observable love for one another gives all men (saved and unsaved) the right to evaluate if we are indeed Christ’s disciples. That is precisely what Our Lord stated:

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

The type of love which Our Lord advocated was not merely a warm, cozy emotion of mutual affection. The late Chester McCalley (1935-2000) explained it concisely: “Love directed towards man is the mental attitude that demands that we do what is best for another in the light of eternity no matter what it costs us.”1 This is the same sacrificial love Our Lord displayed on behalf of His disciples and all mankind.

Second, that the demonstration of oneness within the community of believers will provide convincing evidence for the world (all mankind and the evil cosmic forces) to believe that the Father indeed sent the Son:

 “That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21)

Dr. Francis Schaeffer in his book, The Mark of the Christian, maintains what Our Lord intended by this directive:

It is a universal mark that is to last through all the ages of the church until Jesus comes back...The point is that it is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark; but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark.2

He goes on to proclaim that this true mark of the believer is the final apologetic—the definitive evidence that confirms the truth and genuineness of the Christians’ faith. He asserts that:

We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus’ claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.3

Consequently, love for the brethren and the clear demonstration of unity are essential indicators of the faithful believers’ witness within the Body of Christ and of the gospel before a watching world. This is precisely what the Apostle Paul specified when he wrote to the Colossians:

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Colossians 3:12–15 [emphasis added])

Abiding in Death

In order to understand the next phrase, we need to recognize that the word he is not intended to refer to a believer in Jesus Christ—he represents the unbeliever. What John is attempting to establish is that the believer who fails to love the brethren is acting in the same manner as the unbeliever.

To be clear, John’s use of the term death in this verse signifies being separated from God as the present condition or the eternal destiny of anyone who rejects Christ as Savior. He uses this concept only five times in his gospel account and epistles—twice here and in John 5:24; 8:51, 52. The fact that this individual abides in death does not typify John’s usual description of the believer who is out of fellowship with the Lord; they are characterized as walking in the sphere of darkness (1:6; 2:9, 11).

Also, it is worthwhile to note that he who does not love continually abides (remains) in spiritual death—separated from the God, dead in in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), children of the devil (1 John 3:10). Yet there is hope for him, for the Greek tense implies that even while they are alive and continue to remain in this present status, they could still reverse their course if they were to respond positively to the gospel and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

For the Lord, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), leaves open the potentiality of salvation for all His creatures. The Apostle Peter explains His divine disposition:

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

Challenging Questions

Are we demonstrating the mark of a faithful believer? Do we have “sincere love of the brethren” (1 Peter 1:22) in our thoughts, words and deeds? In our relationship with other believers in the Body of Christ, are we “of the same mind, maintain the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Philippians 2:2)?

If the answer is “no” or “not sure” then it is time to reconsider our objective as a believer in Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ was undeniably sent into the world by the Father to provide salvation for all mankind. And while the witness of the gospel message will indeed be able to lead a person to faith in Jesus Christ, it is just as crucial for the watching world to envision the authenticity of the Father’s work of salvation by the observable love and unity among all believers.

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[1] McCalley, Chester. http://wordoftruthkc.org/sites/default/files/file Philippians%20Commentary.pdf, p. 4.  [Retrieved May 1, 2025]

[2] Schaeffer, Francis A. (1985). The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 4.183-184.

[3] Schaeffer, 4.189.

© 2025 David M. Rossi