By This Truth We Know Love

[Christsfreeservant]

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16-18 ESV).​

Jesus Christ set the example for us who profess to be his followers in what it means to lay down our lives for others. Now obviously we could never do what he did because we are not God, and because he already took the penalty on himself for the sins of the entire world, so no other sacrifice is required. But when we share the truth of the gospel, like he did, and we speak truth into people’s lives, and not the lies that so many are spreading, we will be treated like he was. We will be hated and we will have opposition.

So, this is love, to follow Jesus’ example in the kinds of things he did and said for the good of humanity. But Jesus was also generous, not just of his time, but in what he gave to others in the way of healing and compassion and caring about them and their needs. And we should also be people of compassion who care about the legitimate needs of others, in particular those of our fellow Christians. But we also have to be discerning in determining real needs, for there are so many con artists out there.

So, these are things we need to pray about. We need to ask the Lord to show us ways in which we can lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for the people of this world. And we need to ask him to make us sensitive to the legitimate needs of others and to show us where the real needs are and to direct us in the ways that we can help others who are in need. For obviously we can’t help everyone, not unless we are very wealthy, which probably most of us are not. We just need the Lord to lead us in this.

“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” (1 John 3:19-24 ESV).​

Now, this is one of those passages of Scripture which definitely needs to be read in the whole of the context of the book it is written in. For there are several things in this passage that could be distorted and taken in a different direction from what is intended here. So context is very important! And we just finished reading about what love is, that it is self-sacrificial and that it is considerate of and willing and ready to meet the legitimate needs of others, as one is able, and as one is being led by the Holy Spirit.

So it is “by this,” i.e. by the fact that we are people of God who do lay down our lives for others for their salvation, and who do reach out to others who are in need to help to meet their true needs, as we are able, and as we are being led of the Holy Spirit in exactly how he wants us to meet those needs. “By this” we will know that we are of the truth and will be able to reassure our hearts before the Lord whenever our hearts condemn us, for God knows what is truly in our hearts, and so should we if we are honest with ourselves.

So, this is the tricky one we must watch out for. For, just because our hearts do not condemn us at any given moment or circumstance, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are in the right and that we have confidence before God that whatever we ask we will receive from him. For sometimes we may rationalize and justify what is not of God, and what is not according to his will, and we may take a course that is not of him because we decided for ourselves the way that we should go, and not God.

And even if we are those who are keeping his commandments and who are doing what pleases the Lord, in practice, we are still human beings, and we may still get some things wrong, at times. And I am not speaking here of deliberate and habitual and premeditated sin against the Lord. I am just saying that we may not always hear the Lord correctly or we may sometimes respond with our emotions before praying for his guidance, so it is good always to make sure that we are following his lead.

And this is yet another possible one for misinterpreting: “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another.” I have heard many people say that if they believe in Jesus, usually defined by the flesh, and not by God’s word, and if they are nice to people, therefore they have obeyed the Lord’s commands. But “love” is not human love. It means to prefer what God prefers, to live through Christ, to choose God’s choices, and to obey them in his power.

And what God prefers is what is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, faithful, honest, above board, and obedient to him and to his commands. So if we are truly loving God and other human beings, we will not sin against them, not in practice, not habitually and deliberately. We will not be those who are living in sexual immorality, lying, cheating, falsifying information, twisting the truth, playing mind games, deliberately doing what is evil to others knowing that what we are doing is causing them harm.

And believing in Jesus Christ is not lip service. It is not words we speak or a mere acknowledgement of him and of what he did for us on that cross. For the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God (Hebrews 12:1-2), and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13). And it is God-persuaded (John 6:44), which is what the word “faith” means. So this faith comes from God, it is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God.

So, what does that faith look like? Like what the Scriptures teach that it looks like. For example, Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if sin is what we practice, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and walk in obedience to our Lord, in practice, then we have the hope of eternal life. But if we deny Jesus in this life, he will deny us when he returns for his bride (see Luke 9:23-26).

So, when we read, “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him,” he is speaking of all his commandments to us under the New Covenant which we are given to the church all throughout the New Testament. And he summarized all the law and the prophets into two commands which are to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as we would ourselves. But this love prefers what God prefers which is what is honest, faithful, morally pure, and obedient to our Lord.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

Caution: This link may contain ads