GET REAL
Chapter 9
Our Focus
“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”—1 John 3:16, NKJV
In this verse, “know” is used in the perfect verb tense, meaning not just knowledge, but knowledge gained by experience. The saints have experienced God’s love in that he laid down his life for them.
The word translated “life” is the Greek word psuche, which is translated soul in many other places in scripture. Christ’s death on the cross involved not only his physical death but abandonment by God because of human sin laid on him. This reality is what caused Him to cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”—Matthew 27:46, NKJV
Because of this, says John, we should also lay down our lives or souls for the brethren. The ego must be crucified; the self must be denied for the benefit of the brethren. We are to walk in agape love toward one another.
“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”—1 John 3:17
“Goods” here is the Greek word bios, meaning “the necessities of life.” “Has this world’s goods” refers to the person who is in constant, habitual possession of these goods, and “sees” is from the Greek word meaning “to continually look with interest and purpose, to deliberately contemplate.”
This is not speaking of a hasty glance but one who sees a Christian in need over a protracted period of time.
The reference to “shuts up his heart” can be used for slamming a door or snapping a lock. This person has shut the door of his heart to the needs of a fellow Christian with no thought of mercy. How, then, is it possible, John asks, that God’s love dwells in you?
John is saying that love must be practical. The challenge of Christian love lies in doing the little things, the daily petty sacrifices and self-denials that no one will notice or applaud.
“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18, NKJV
Here, John reminds us that actions speak louder than words!
“And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things.”—1 John 3:19-20, NKJV
John is anticipating that the last verse might lead his readers to self-condemnation, realizing how far short of these ideals we all fall. So, he says, “If your heart begins to condemn you for not rising to the standard you think you should, you can assure your heart with the knowledge that God is greater than your heart and has provided for your forgiveness and cleansing.”
The word “assure” means “to persuade” or “to tranquilize.” We are told that we can soothe any alarm in our hearts by remembering and applying the power of Jesus’s shed blood!
Also, we must always remember the difference between positional truth and experiential truth. Positionally, we are seated in heavenly places with Christ and are sinless, faultless, and spotless in the eyes of God.
However, our daily experience is that we are living on earth, imperfect and flawed, and in the process of continual restoration and transformation, becoming ever more like our Lord. Whenever we fall short experientially, we lean on the blood that cleanses us from all sin, receive God’s forgiveness, and continue in the spiritual growth process.
When our heart condemns us, we should quiet it with the assurance that we are in the hands of a God greater than our heart—who surpasses man in love and compassion no less than in knowledge.
“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”—1 John 3:21-22, NKJV
The phrase, “if our heart does not condemn us” is not speaking of sinless perfection, but of the child of God who, as best he or she knows, has no unconfessed sin in their life.
“Confidence” refers to “freedom in speaking, free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance in our relationship with God.”
“Toward” simply means “facing God.”
The verb “ask” is in the verb tense which means “whatever we keep on asking for”, speaking of continual and repeated prayer, day after day.
John is telling us that the requirements for answered prayer are an uncondemning heart, the habitual keeping of God’s commandments, and creating a habit of doing those things that please him.
“And this is his command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”—1 John 3:23, NIV
John now provides a wide-angle, panoramic view of the Christian life. The believer’s whole focus should be on Christ. The word “name” stands for all that the Son of God is in his person; all that the Bible says is true of Jesus Christ.
The believer’s heart must be submitted to all that Jesus is. Love, as we’ve seen before, refers to God’s divine, supernatural, and sacrificial agape love toward one another. Jesus said that the greatest commandment was:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.”—Mark 12:30-31, NKJV
“Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”—1 John 3:24, NKJV
He who obeys the Lord will also continually abide in him. One commentator wrote, “Therefore let God be a home to you, and you be the home of God.”
Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”—Ephesians 3:16-17, NLT
And in Romans we are told: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”—Romans 8:16, ESV