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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>F I R S T J O H N.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The apostle here magnifies the love of God in our adoption,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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He thereupon argues for holiness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:3">ver. 3</A>),
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and against sin,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:4-19">ver. 4-19</A>.
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He presses brotherly love,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:11-18">ver. 11-18</A>.
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How to assure our hearts before God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:19-22">ver. 19-22</A>.
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The precept of faith,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:23">ver. 23</A>.
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And the good of obedience,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:24">ver. 24</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Adoption.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 80.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
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that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world
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knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
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2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
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appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,
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we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
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3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself,
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even as he is pure.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The apostle, having shown the dignity of Christ's faithful followers,
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that they are born of him and thereby nearly allied to God, now
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here,</P>
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<P>
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I. Breaks forth into the admiration of that grace that is the spring of
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such a wonderful vouchsafement: <I>Behold</I> (see you, observe)
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<I>what manner of love,</I> or how great love, <I>the Father hath
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bestowed upon us, that we should be called,</I> effectually called (he
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who calls things that are not makes them to be what they were not)
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<I>the sons of God!</I> The Father adopts all the children of the Son.
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The Son indeed calls them, and makes them his brethren; and thereby he
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confers upon them the power and dignity of the sons of God. It is
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wonderful condescending love of the eternal Father, that such as we
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should be made and called his sons--we who by nature are heirs of sin,
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and guilt, and the curse of God--we who by practice are children of
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corruption, disobedience, and ingratitude! Strange, that the holy God
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is not ashamed to be called our Father, and to call us his sons! Thence
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the apostle,</P>
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<P>
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II. Infers the honour of believers above the cognizance of the world.
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Unbelievers know little of them. <I>Therefore</I> (or wherefore, upon
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this score) <I>the world knoweth us not,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Little does the world perceive the advancement and happiness of the
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genuine followers of Christ. They are here exposed to the common
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calamities of earth and time; all things fall alike to them as to
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others, or rather they are subject to the greater sorrow, for they have
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often reason to say, <I>If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we
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are of all men most miserable,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+15:19">1 Cor. xv. 19</A>.
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The unchristian world, therefore, that walks by sight, knows not their
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dignity, their privileges, the enjoyments they have in hand, nor what
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they are entitled to. Little does the world think that these poor,
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humble, contemned ones are the favourites of heaven, and will be
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inhabitants there ere long. And they may bear their case the better
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since their Lord was here unknown as well as they: <I>Because it knew
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him not,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Little did the world think how great a person was once sojourning here,
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that the Maker of it was once an inhabitant of it. Little did the
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Jewish world think that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was one
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of their blood, and dwelt in their land; he came to his own, and his
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own received him not. He came to his own, and his own crucified him;
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but surely, <I>had they known him, they would not have crucified the
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Lord of glory,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+2:8">1 Cor. ii. 8</A>.
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Let the followers of Christ be content with hard fare here, since they
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are in a land of strangers, among those who little know them, and their
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Lord was so treated before them. Then the apostle,</P>
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<P>
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III. Exalts these persevering disciples in the prospect of the certain
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revelation of their state and dignity. Here,
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1. Their present honourable relation is asserted: <I>Beloved</I> (you
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may well be our beloved, for you are beloved of God), <I>now are we the
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sons of God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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We have the nature of sons by regeneration: we have the title, and
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spirit, and right to the inheritance of sons by adoption. <I>This
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honour have all the saints.</I>
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2. The discovery of the bliss belonging and suitable to this relation
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is denied: <I>And it doth not yet appear what we shall be,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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The glory pertaining to the sonship and adoption is adjourned and
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reserved for another world. The discovery of it here would put a stop
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to the current of affairs that must now proceed. The sons of God must
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walk by faith, and live by hope.
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3. The time of the revelation of the sons of God in their proper state
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and glory is determined; and that is when their elder brother comes to
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call and collect them all together: <I>But we know that when he shall
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appear we shall be like him.</I> The particle, <B><I>ean,</I></B>
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usually translated <I>if,</I> is here well rendered <I>when;</I> for
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the Hebrew particle <B><I>am</I></B> (to which this is thought to
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correspond) is observed so to signify, as Dr. Whitby has here noted;
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and not only is <B><I>ean</I></B> sometimes used for
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<B><I>hotan,</I></B> but some copies even here read
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<B><I>hotan,</I></B> <I>when.</I> And accordingly it seems proper so to
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render it in
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+14:3">John xiv. 3</A>,
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where we read it, <I>And if I go, and prepare a place;</I> but more
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naturally and properly, <I>When I shall have gone, and shall have
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prepared the place, I will come again, and receive you unto myself,</I>
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or <B><I>paralepsomai</I></B>--<I>I will take you along with myself,
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that where I am there you may be also.</I> When the head of the church,
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the only-begotten of the Father, shall appear, his members, the adopted
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of God, shall appear and be manifested together with him. They may then
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well wait in faith, hope, and earnest desire, for the revelation of the
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Lord Jesus; as even the creation itself waiteth for their perfection,
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<I>and the public manifestation of the sons of God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:19">Rom. viii. 19</A>.
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The sons of God will be known and be made manifest by their likeness to
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their head: <I>They shall be like him</I>--like him in honour, and
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power, and glory. Their vile bodies shall be made like his glorious
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body; they shall be filled with life, light, and bliss from him.
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<I>When he, who is their life, shall appear, they also shall appear
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with him in glory,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+3:4">Col. iii. 4</A>.
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Then,
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4. Their likeness to him is argued from the sight they shall have of
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him: <I>We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.</I> Their
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likeness will be the cause of that sight which they shall have of him.
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Indeed, all shall see him, but not as they do; not as <I>he is,</I>
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namely, to those in heaven. The wicked shall see him in his frowns, in
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the terror of his majesty, and the splendour of his avenging
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perfections; but these shall see him in the smiles and beauty of his
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face, in the correspondence and amiableness of his glory, in the
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harmony and agreeableness of his beatific perfections. Their likeness
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shall enable them to see him as the blessed do in heaven. Or the sight
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of him shall be the cause of their likeness; it shall be a
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transformative sight: they shall be transformed into the same image by
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the beatific view that they shall have of him. Then the apostle,</P>
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<P>
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IV. Urges the engagement of these sons of God to the prosecution of
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holiness: <I>And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself
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even as he is pure,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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The sons of God know that their Lord is holy and pure; he is of purer
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heart and eyes than to admit any pollution or impurity to dwell with
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him. Those then who hope to live with him must study the utmost purity
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from the world, and flesh, and sin; they must grow in grace and
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holiness. Not only does their Lord command them to do so, but their new
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nature inclines them so to do; yea, their hope of heaven will dictate
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and constrain them so to do. They know that their high priest is holy,
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harmless, and undefiled. They know that their Go and Father is the high
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and holy one, that all the society is pure and holy, that their
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inheritance is an inheritance of saints in light. It is a contradiction
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to such hope to indulge sin and impurity. And therefore, as we are
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sanctified by faith, we must be sanctified by hope. That we may be
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saved by hope we must be purified by hope. It is the hope of
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hypocrites, and not of the sons of God, that makes an allowance for the
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gratification of impure desires and lusts.</P>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Jo3_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Mark of God's Children.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 80.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin
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is the transgression of the law.
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5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and
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in him is no sin.
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6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath
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not seen him, neither known him.
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7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth
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righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
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8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth
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from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was
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manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
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9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed
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remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
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10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children
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of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God,
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neither he that loveth not his brother.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The apostle, having alleged the believer's obligation to purity from
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his hope of heaven, and of communion with Christ in glory at the day of
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his appearance, now proceeds to fill his own mouth and the believer's
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mind with multiplied arguments against sin, and all communion with the
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impure unfruitful works of darkness. And so he reasons and argues,</P>
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<P>
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I. From the nature of sin and the intrinsic evil of it. It is a
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contrariety to the divine law: <I>Whosoever committeth sin
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transgresseth also (or even) the law</I> (or, whosoever committeth sin
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even committeth enormity, or aberration from law, or from the law);
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<I>for sin is the transgression of the law,</I> or is lawlessness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Sin is the destitution or privation of correspondence and agreement
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with the divine law, that law which is the transcript of the divine
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nature and purity, which contains his will for the government of the
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world, which is suitable to the rational nature, and enacted for the
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good of the world, which shows man the way of felicity and peace, and
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conducts him to the author of his nature and of the law. The current
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commission of sin now is the rejection of the divine law, and this is
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the rejection of the divine authority, and consequently of God
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himself.</P>
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<P>
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II. From the design and errand of the Lord Jesus in and to this world,
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which was to remove sin: <I>And you know that he was manifested to take
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away our sins, and in him is no sin,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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The Son of God appeared, and was known, in our nature; and he came to
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vindicate and exalt the divine law, and that by obedience to the
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precept, and by subjection and suffering under the penal sanction,
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under the curse of it. <I>He came therefore to take away our sins,</I>
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to take away the guilt of them by the sacrifice of himself, to take
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away the commission of them by implanting a new nature in us (for we
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are sanctifies by virtue of his death), and to dissuade and save from
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it by his own example, <I>and</I> (or <I>for) in him was no sin;</I>
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or, he takes sin away, that he may conform us to himself, <I>and in him
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is no sin.</I> Those that expect communion with Christ above should
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study communion with him here in the utmost purity. And the Christian
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world should know and consider the great end of the Son of God's coming
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hither: it was to take away our sin: <I>And you know</I> (and this
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knowledge should be deep and effectual) <I>that he was manifested to
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take away our sins.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. From the opposition between sin and a real union with or adhesion
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to the Lord Christ: <I>Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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To sin here is the same as to commit sin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>),
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and to commit sin is to practise sin. He that abideth in Christ
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continues not in the practice of sin. As vital union with the Lord
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Jesus broke the power of sin in the heart and nature, so continuance
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therein prevents the regency and prevalence thereof in the life and
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conduct. Or the negative expression here is put for the positive: <I>He
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sinneth not,</I> that is, he is obedient, <I>he keeps the
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commandments</I> (in sincerity, and in the ordinary course of life)
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<I>and does those things that are pleasing in his sight,</I> as is said
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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Those that abide in Christ abide in their covenant with him, and
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consequently watch against the sin that is contrary thereto. They abide
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in the potent light and knowledge of him; and therefore it may be
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concluded <I>that he that sinneth</I> (abideth in the predominant
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practice of sin) <I>hath not seen him</I> (hath not his mind impressed
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with a sound evangelical discerning of him), <I>neither known him,</I>
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hath no experimental acquaintance with him. Practical renunciation of
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sin is the great evidence of spiritual union with, continuance in, and
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saving knowledge of, the Lord Christ.</P>
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<P>
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IV. From the connection between the practice of righteousness and a
|
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state of righteousness, intimating withal that the practice of sin and
|
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a justified state are inconsistent; and this is introduced with a
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supposition that a surmise to the contrary is a gross deceit:
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|
"<I>Little children,</I> dear children, and as much children as you
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are, herein <I>let no man deceive you.</I> There will be those who will
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|
magnify your new light and entertainment of Christianity, who will make
|
|
you believe that your knowledge, profession, and baptism, will excuse
|
|
you from the care and accuracy of the Christian life. But beware of
|
|
such self-deceit. <I>He that doeth righteousness in righteous.</I>" It
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|
may appear that righteousness may in several places of scripture be
|
|
justly rendered <I>religion,</I> as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:10">Matt. v. 10</A>,
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<I>Blessed are those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake,</I>
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that is, for religion's sake;
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+3:14">1 Pet. iii. 14</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>But if you suffer for righteousness' sake</I> (religion's sake)
|
|
<I>happy are you;</I> and
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+3:16">2 Tim. iii. 16</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>All scripture,</I> or the whole scripture, <I>is given by
|
|
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine--and for instruction
|
|
in righteousness,</I> that is, in the nature and branches of religion.
|
|
To do righteousness then, especially being set in opposition to the
|
|
doing, committing, or practising, of sin, is to practise religion. Now
|
|
he who practiseth religion is righteous; he is the righteous person on
|
|
all accounts; he is sincere and upright before God. The practice of
|
|
religion cannot subsist without a principle of integrity and
|
|
conscience. He has that righteousness which consists in pardon of sin
|
|
and right to life, founded upon the imputation of the Mediator's
|
|
righteousness. He has a title <I>to the crown of righteousness, which
|
|
the righteous Judge will give,</I> according to his covenant and
|
|
promise, <I>to those that love his appearing,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+4:8">2 Tim. iv. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
He has communion with Christ, in conformity to the divine law, being in
|
|
some measure practically righteous as he; and he has communion with him
|
|
in the justified state, being now relatively righteous together with
|
|
him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. From the relation between the sinner and the devil, and thereupon
|
|
from the design and office of the Lord Christ against the devil.
|
|
|
|
1. From the relation between the sinner and the devil. As elsewhere
|
|
sinners and saints are distinguished (though even saints are sinners
|
|
largely so called), <I>so to commit sin</I> is here so to practise it
|
|
as sinners do, that are distinguished from saints, to live under the
|
|
power and dominion of it; and he who does so <I>is of the devil;</I>
|
|
his sinful nature is inspired by, and agreeable and pleasing to, the
|
|
devil; and he belongs to the party, and interest, and kingdom of the
|
|
devil. It is he that is the author and patron of sin, and has been a
|
|
practitioner of it, a tempter and instigator to it, even from the
|
|
beginning of the world. And thereupon we must see how he argues.
|
|
|
|
2. From the design and office of the Lord Christ against the devil:
|
|
<I>For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
|
|
destroy the works of the devil,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
The devil has designed and endeavoured to ruin the work of God in this
|
|
world. The Son of God has undertaken the holy war against him. He came
|
|
into our world, and was manifested in our flesh, that he might conquer
|
|
him and dissolve his works. Sin will he loosen and dissolve more and
|
|
more, till he has quite destroyed it. Let not us serve or indulge what
|
|
the Son of God came to destroy.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. From the connection between regeneration and the relinquishment of
|
|
sin: <I>Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.</I> To be born of
|
|
God is to be inwardly renewed, and restored to a holy integrity or
|
|
rectitude of nature by the power of the Spirit of God. <I>Such a one
|
|
committeth not sin,</I> does not work iniquity nor practise
|
|
disobedience, which is contrary to his new nature and the regenerate
|
|
complexion of his spirit; for, as the apostle adds, <I>his seed
|
|
remaineth in him,</I> either the word of God in its light and power
|
|
<I>remaineth in him</I> (as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:23">1 Pet. i. 23</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by
|
|
the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever</I>), or, <I>that
|
|
which is born of the Spirit is spirit;</I> the spiritual seminal
|
|
principle of holiness remaineth in him. Renewing grace is an abiding
|
|
principle. Religion, in the spring of it, is not an art, an acquired
|
|
dexterity and skill, but a new nature. And thereupon the consequence is
|
|
the regenerate person <I>cannot sin.</I> That he cannot commit an act
|
|
of sin, I suppose no judicious interpreter understands. This would be
|
|
contrary to
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+1:9"><I>ch.</I> i. 9</A>,
|
|
|
|
where it is made our duty to confess our sins, and supposed that our
|
|
privilege thereupon is to have our sins forgiven. <I>He therefore
|
|
cannot sin,</I> in the sense in which the apostle says, <I>he cannot
|
|
commit sin.</I> He cannot continue in the course and practice of sin.
|
|
He cannot so sin as to denominate him a sinner in opposition to a saint
|
|
or servant of God. Again, he cannot sin comparatively, as he did
|
|
before he was born of God, and as others do that are not so. And the
|
|
reason is <I>because he is born of God,</I> which will amount to all
|
|
this inhibition and impediment.
|
|
|
|
1. There is a light in his mind which shows him the evil and malignity
|
|
of sin.
|
|
|
|
2. There is that bias upon his heart which disposes him to loathe and
|
|
hate sin.
|
|
|
|
3. There is the spiritual seminal principle or disposition, that breaks
|
|
the force and fulness of the sinful acts. They proceed not from such
|
|
plenary power of corruption as they do in others, nor obtain that
|
|
plenitude of heart, spirit, and consent, which they do in others.
|
|
<I>The spirit lusteth against the flesh.</I> And therefore in respect
|
|
to such sin it may be said, <I>It is no more I that do it, but sin that
|
|
dwelleth in me.</I> It is not reckoned the person's sin, in the gospel
|
|
account, where the bent and frame of the mind and spirit are against
|
|
it. Then,
|
|
|
|
4. There is a disposition for humiliation and repentance for sin, when
|
|
it has been committed. <I>He that is born of God cannot sin.</I> Here
|
|
we may call to mind the usual distinction of natural and moral
|
|
impotency. The unregenerate person is morally unable for what is
|
|
religiously good. The regenerate person is happily disabled for sin.
|
|
There is a restraint, an embargo (as we may say), laid upon his sinning
|
|
powers. It goes against him sedately and deliberately to sin. We
|
|
usually say of a person of known integrity, "He cannot lie, he cannot
|
|
cheat, and commit other enormities." <I>How can I commit this great
|
|
wickedness, and sin against God!</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:9">Gen. xxxix. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
And so those who persist in a sinful life sufficiently demonstrate that
|
|
they are not born of God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VII. From the discrimination between the children of God and the
|
|
children of the devil. They have their distinct characters. <I>In this
|
|
the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
In the world (according to the old distinction) there are the seed of
|
|
God and the seed of the serpent. Now the seed of the serpent is known
|
|
by these two signatures:--
|
|
|
|
1. By neglect of religion: <I>Whosoever doeth not righteously</I>
|
|
(omits and disregards the rights and dues of God; for religion is but
|
|
our righteousness towards God, or giving him his due, and whosoever
|
|
does not conscientiously do this) <I>is not of God,</I> but, on the
|
|
contrary, of the devil. The devil is the father of unrighteous or
|
|
irreligious souls. And,
|
|
|
|
2. By hatred of fellow-christians: <I>Neither he that loveth not his
|
|
brother,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
True Christians are to be loved for God's and Christ's sake. Those who
|
|
so love them not, but despise, and hate, and persecute them, have the
|
|
serpentine nature still abiding in them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_13"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Brotherly Love.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 80.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning,
|
|
that we should love one another.
|
|
12 Not as Cain, <I>who</I> was of that wicked one, and slew his
|
|
brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were
|
|
evil, and his brother's righteous.
|
|
13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The apostle, having intimated that one mark of the devil's children is
|
|
hatred of the brethren, takes occasion thence,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. To recommend fraternal Christian love, and that from the excellence,
|
|
or antiquity, or primariness of the injunction relating thereto: <I>And
|
|
this is the message</I> (the errand or charge) <I>which you heard from
|
|
the beginning</I> (this came among the principal parts of practical
|
|
Christianity), <I>that we should love one another,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
We should love the Lord Jesus, and value his love, and consequently
|
|
love all the objects of it, and thereupon all our brethren in
|
|
Christ.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. To dissuade from what is contrary thereto, all ill-will towards the
|
|
brethren, and that by the example of Cain. His envy and malignity
|
|
should deter us from harbouring the like passion, and that upon these
|
|
accounts:--
|
|
|
|
1. It showed that he was as the first-born of the serpent's seed; even
|
|
he, the eldest son of the first man, was of <I>the wicked one.</I> He
|
|
imitated and resembled the first wicked one, the devil.
|
|
|
|
2. His ill-will had no restraint; it proceeded so far as to contrive
|
|
and accomplish murder, and that of a near relation, and that in the
|
|
beginning of the world, when there were but few to replenish it. <I>He
|
|
slew his brother,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Sin, indulged, knows no bound. And,
|
|
|
|
3. It proceeded so far, and had in it so much of the devil, that he
|
|
murdered his brother for religion's sake. He was vexed with the
|
|
superiority of Abel's service, and envied him the favour and acceptance
|
|
he had with God. And for these he martyred his brother. <I>And
|
|
wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his
|
|
brother's righteous,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Ill-will will teach us to hate and revenge what we should admire and
|
|
imitate. And then,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. To infer that it is no wonder that good men are so served now:
|
|
<I>Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
The serpentine nature still continues in the world. The great serpent
|
|
himself reigns as the God of this world. Wonder not then that the
|
|
serpentine world hates and hisses at you who belong to that seed of the
|
|
woman that is to bruise the serpent's head.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_19"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Brotherly Love.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 80.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we
|
|
love the brethren. He that loveth not <I>his</I> brother abideth in
|
|
death.
|
|
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that
|
|
no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
|
|
16 Hereby perceive we the love <I>of God,</I> because he laid down
|
|
his life for us: and we ought to lay down <I>our</I> lives for the
|
|
brethren.
|
|
17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have
|
|
need, and shutteth up his bowels <I>of compassion</I> from him, how
|
|
dwelleth the love of God in him?
|
|
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in
|
|
tongue; but in deed and in truth.
|
|
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall
|
|
assure our hearts before him.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The beloved apostle can scarcely touch upon the mention of sacred love,
|
|
but he must enlarge upon the enforcement of it, as here he does by
|
|
divers arguments and incentives thereto; as,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. That it is a mark of our evangelical justification, of our
|
|
transition into a state of life: <I>We know that we have passed from
|
|
death to life, because we love the brethren,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
We are by nature children of wrath and heirs of death. By the gospel
|
|
(the gospel-covenant or promise) our state towards another world is
|
|
altered and changed. We pass from death to life, from the guilt of
|
|
death to the right of life; and this transition is made upon our
|
|
believing in the Lord Jesus: <I>He that believeth on the Son hath
|
|
everlasting life,</I> and he that believeth not <I>hath the wrath of
|
|
God abiding on him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:36">John iii. 36</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now this happy change of state we may come to be assured of: <I>We know
|
|
that we have passed from death to life;</I> we may know it by the
|
|
evidences of our faith in Christ, of which this love to our brethren is
|
|
one, which leads us to characterize this love that is such a mark of
|
|
our justified state. It is not a zeal for a party in the common
|
|
religion, or an affection for, or an affectation of, those who are of
|
|
the same denomination and subordinate sentiments with ourselves. But
|
|
this love,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. Supposes a general love to mankind: the law of Christian love, in
|
|
the Christian community, is founded on the catholic law, in the society
|
|
of mankind, <I>Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.</I> Mankind
|
|
are to be loved principally on these two accounts:--
|
|
|
|
(1.) As the excellent work of God, made by him, and made in wonderful
|
|
resemblance of him. The reason that God assigns for the certain
|
|
punishment of a murderer is a reason against our hatred of any of the
|
|
brethren of mankind, and consequently a reason for our love to them:
|
|
<I>for in the image of God made he man,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:6">Gen. ix. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) As being, in some measure, beloved in Christ. The whole <I>race of
|
|
mankind--the gens humana,</I> should be considered as being, in
|
|
distinction from fallen angels, a redeemed nation; as having a divine
|
|
Redeemer designed, prepared, and given for them. <I>So God loved the
|
|
world,</I> even this world, <I>that he gave his only-begotten Son, that
|
|
whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting
|
|
life,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:16">John iii. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
A world so beloved of God should accordingly be loved by us. And this
|
|
love will exert itself in earnest desires, and prayers, and attempts,
|
|
for the conversion and salvation of the yet uncalled blinded world.
|
|
<I>My heart's desire and prayer for Israel are that they may be
|
|
saved.</I> And then this love will include all due love to enemies
|
|
themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. It includes a peculiar love to the Christian society, to the
|
|
catholic church, and that for the sake of her head, as being his body,
|
|
as being redeemed, justified, and sanctified in and by him; and this
|
|
love particularly acts and operates towards those of the catholic
|
|
church that we have opportunity of being personally acquainted with or
|
|
credibly informed of. They are not so much loved for their own sakes as
|
|
for the sake of God and Christ, who have loved them. And it is God and
|
|
Christ, or, if you will, the love of God and grace of Christ, that are
|
|
beloved and valued in them and towards them. And so this is the issue
|
|
of faith in Christ, and is thereupon a note of our passage from death
|
|
to life.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The hatred of our brethren is, on the contrary, a sign of our
|
|
deadly state, of our continuance under the legal sentence of death:
|
|
<I>He that loveth not his brother</I> (his brother in Christ)
|
|
<I>abideth in death,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
He yet stands under the curse and condemnation of the law. This the
|
|
apostle argues by a clear syllogism: "You know that no murderer hath
|
|
eternal life abiding in him; but he who hates his brother is a
|
|
murderer; and therefore you cannot but know that he who hates his
|
|
brother hath not eternal life abiding in him,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or, <I>he abideth in death,</I> as it is expressed,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer;</I> for hatred of the
|
|
person is, so far as it prevails, a hatred of life and welfare, and
|
|
naturally tends to desire the extinction of it. Cain hated, and then
|
|
slew, his brother. Hatred will shut up the bowels of compassion from
|
|
the poor brethren, and will thereby expose them to the sorrows of
|
|
death. And it has appeared that hatred of the brethren has in all ages
|
|
dressed them up in ill names, odious characters, and calumnies, and
|
|
exposed them to persecution and the sword. No wonder, then, that he who
|
|
has a considerable acquaintance with the heart of man, or is taught by
|
|
him who fully knows it, who knows the natural tendency and issue of
|
|
vile and violent passions, and knows withal the fulness of the divine
|
|
law, declares him who hates his brother to be <I>a murderer.</I> Now he
|
|
who by the frame and disposition of his heart is a murderer <I>cannot
|
|
have eternal life abiding in him;</I> for he who is such must needs be
|
|
carnally-minded, <I>and to be carnally-minded is death,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:6">Rom. viii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
The apostle, by the expression of <I>having eternal life abiding in
|
|
us,</I> may seem to mean the possession of an internal principle of
|
|
endless life, according to that of the Saviour, <I>Whosoever drinketh
|
|
of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst,</I> shall never
|
|
be totally destitute thereof; <I>but the water that I shall give him
|
|
shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+4:14">John iv. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
And thereupon some may be apt to surmise that the passing from death to
|
|
life
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>)
|
|
|
|
does not signify the relative change made in our justification of life,
|
|
but the real change made in the regeneration to life; and accordingly
|
|
that the abiding in death mentioned
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>
|
|
|
|
is continuance in spiritual death, as it is usually called, or abiding
|
|
in the corrupt deadly temper of nature. But as these passages more
|
|
naturally denote the state of the person, whether adjudged to life or
|
|
death, so the relative transition from death to life may well be proved
|
|
or disproved by the possession or non-possession of the inward
|
|
principle of eternal life, since washing from the guilt of sin is
|
|
inseparably united with washing from the filth and power of sin. <I>But
|
|
you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified, in the
|
|
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+6:11">1 Cor. vi. 11</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The example of God and Christ should inflame our hearts with this
|
|
holy love: <I>Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down
|
|
his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the
|
|
brethren,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
The great God has given his Son to the death for us. But since this
|
|
apostle has declared that the <I>Word was God,</I> and that <I>he
|
|
became flesh for us,</I> I see not why we may not interpret this of God
|
|
the Word. Here is the love of God himself, of him who in his own person
|
|
is God, though not the Father, that he assumed a life, that he might
|
|
lay it down for us! Here is the condescension, the miracle, the mystery
|
|
of divine love, that God would redeem the church with his own blood!
|
|
Surely we should love those whom God hath loved, and so loved; and we
|
|
shall certainly do so if we have any love for God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The apostle, having proposed this flaming constraining example of
|
|
love, and motive to it, proceeds to show us what should be the temper
|
|
and effect of this our Christian love. And,
|
|
|
|
1. It must be, in the highest degree, so fervent as to make us willing
|
|
to suffer even to death for the good of the church, for the safety and
|
|
salvation of the dear brethren: <I>And we ought to lay down our lives
|
|
for the brethren</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
either in our ministrations and services to them (<I>yea, and if I be
|
|
offered upon the service and sacrifice of your faith, I joy and rejoice
|
|
with you all</I>--I shall congratulate your felicity,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+2:17">Phil. ii. 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
or in exposing ourselves to hazards, when called thereto, for the
|
|
safety and preservation of those that are more serviceable to the glory
|
|
of God and the edification of the church than we can be. <I>Who have
|
|
for my life laid down their own necks; unto whom not only I give
|
|
thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+16:4">Rom. xvi. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
How mortified should the Christian be to this life! How prepared to
|
|
part with it! And how well assured of a better!
|
|
|
|
2. It must be, in the next degree, compassionate, liberal, and
|
|
communicative to the necessities of the brethren: <I>For whoso hath
|
|
this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his
|
|
bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
It pleases God that some of the Christian brethren should be poor, for
|
|
the exercise of the charity and love of those that are rich. And it
|
|
pleases the same God to give to some of the Christian brethren this
|
|
world's good, that they may exercise their grace in communicating to
|
|
the poor saints. And those who have this world's good must love a good
|
|
God more, and their good brethren more, and be ready to distribute it
|
|
for their sakes. It appears here that this love to the brethren is
|
|
founded upon love to God, in that it is here called so by the apostle:
|
|
<I>How dwelleth the love of God in him?</I> This love to the brethren
|
|
is love to God in them; and where there is none of this love to them
|
|
there is no true love to God at all.
|
|
|
|
3. I was going to intimate the third and lowest degree in the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:18">next verse</A>;
|
|
|
|
but the apostle has prevented me, by intimating that this last
|
|
charitable communicative love, in persons of ability, is the lowest
|
|
that can consist with the love of God. But there may be other fruits of
|
|
this love; and therefore the apostle desires that in all it should be
|
|
unfeigned and operative, as circumstances will allow: <I>My little
|
|
children</I> (my dear children in Christ), <I>let us not love in word,
|
|
neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Compliments and flatteries become not Christians; but the sincere
|
|
expressions of sacred affection, and the services or labours of love,
|
|
do. Then,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. This love will evince our sincerity in religion, and give us hope
|
|
towards God: <I>And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall
|
|
assure our hearts before him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is a great happiness to be assured of our integrity in religion.
|
|
Those that are so assured may have holy boldness or confidence towards
|
|
God; they may appeal to him from the censures and condemnation of the
|
|
world. The way to arrive at the knowledge of our own truth and
|
|
uprightness in Christianity, and to secure our inward peace, is to
|
|
abound in love and in the works of love towards the Christian
|
|
brethren.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Testimony of Conscience.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 80.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart,
|
|
and knoweth all things.
|
|
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, <I>then</I> have we
|
|
confidence toward God.
|
|
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep
|
|
his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his
|
|
sight.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The apostle, having intimated that there may be, even among us, such a
|
|
privilege as an assurance or sound persuasion of heart towards God,
|
|
proceeds here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. To establish the court of conscience, and to assert the authority of
|
|
it: <I>For, if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and
|
|
knoweth all things,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Our heart here is our self-reflecting judicial power, that noble
|
|
excellent ability whereby we can take cognizance of ourselves, of our
|
|
spirits, our dispositions, and actions, and accordingly pass a judgment
|
|
upon our state towards God; and so it is the same with conscience, or
|
|
the power of moral self-consciousness. This power can act as witness,
|
|
judge, and executioner of judgment; it either accuses or excuses,
|
|
condemns or justifies; it is set and placed in this office by God
|
|
himself: <I>the spirit of man,</I> thus capacitated and empowered,
|
|
<I>is the candle of the Lord,</I> a luminary lighted and set up by the
|
|
Lord, <I>searching all the inward parts of the belly,</I> taking into
|
|
scrutiny and viewing the <I>penetralia--the private recesses</I> and
|
|
secret transactions of the inner man,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+20:27">Prov. xx. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Conscience is God's vicegerent, calls the court in his name, and acts
|
|
for him. <I>The answer of a good conscience towards God,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+3:21">1 Pet. iii. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
God is chief Judge of the court: <I>If our heart condemn us God is
|
|
greater than our heart,</I> superior to our heart and conscience in
|
|
power and judgment; hence the act and judgment of the court are the act
|
|
and judgment of God; as,
|
|
|
|
1. If conscience condemn us, God does so too: <I>For, if our heart
|
|
condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
God is a greater witness than our conscience, and knoweth more against
|
|
us than it does: <I>he knoweth all things;</I> he is a greater Judge
|
|
than conscience; for, as he is supreme, so his judgment shall stand,
|
|
and shall be fully and finally executed. This seems to be the design of
|
|
another apostle when he says, <I>For I know nothing by myself,</I> that
|
|
is, in the case wherein I am censured by some. "I am not conscious of
|
|
any guile, or allowed unfaithfulness, in my stewardship and ministry.
|
|
<I>Yet I am hereby justified;</I> it is not by my own conscience that I
|
|
must ultimately stand or fall; the justification or justifying sentence
|
|
of my conscience, or self-consciousness, will not determine the
|
|
controversy between you and me; as you do not appeal to its sentence,
|
|
so neither will you be determined by its decision; <I>but he that
|
|
judgeth me</I> (supremely and finally judgeth me), and by whose
|
|
judgment you and I must be determined, <I>is the Lord,</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+4:4">1 Cor. iv. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or,
|
|
|
|
2. If conscience acquit us, God does so too: <I>Beloved, if our heart
|
|
condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
then have we assurance that he accepts us now, and will acquit us in
|
|
the great day of account. But, possibly, some presumptuous soul may
|
|
here say, "I am glad of this; my heart does not condemn me, and
|
|
therefore I may conclude God does not." As, on the contrary, upon the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:20">foregoing verse</A>,
|
|
|
|
some pious trembling soul will be ready to cry out, "God forbid! My
|
|
heart or conscience condemns me, and must I then infallibly expect the
|
|
condemnation of God?" But let such know that the errors of the witness
|
|
are not here reckoned as the acts of the court; ignorance, error,
|
|
prejudice, partiality, and presumption, may be said to be faults of the
|
|
officers of the court, or of the attendants of the judge (as the mind,
|
|
the will, appetite, passion, sensual disposition, or disordered brain),
|
|
or of the jury, who give a false verdict, not of the judge itself;
|
|
<I>conscience</I>--<B><I>syneidesis,</I></B> is properly
|
|
<I>self-consciousness.</I> Acts of ignorance and error are not acts of
|
|
self-consciousness, but of some mistaken power; and the court of
|
|
conscience is here described in its process, according to the original
|
|
constitution of it by God himself, according to which process what is
|
|
bound in conscience is bound in heaven; let conscience therefore be
|
|
heard, be well-informed, and diligently attended to.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. To indicate the privilege of those who have a good conscience
|
|
towards God. They have interest in heaven and in the court above; their
|
|
suits are heard there: <I>And whatsoever we ask we receive of him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is supposed that the petitioners do not desire, or do not intend to
|
|
desire, any thing that is contrary to the honour and glory of the court
|
|
or to their own intended spiritual good, and then they may depend upon
|
|
receiving the good things they ask for; and this supposition may well
|
|
be made concerning the petitioners, or they may well be supposed to
|
|
receive the good things they ask for, considering their qualification
|
|
and practice: <I>Because we keep his commandments, and do those things
|
|
that are pleasing in his sight,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Obedient souls are prepared for blessings, and they have promise of
|
|
audience; those who commit things displeasing to God cannot expect that
|
|
he should please them in hearing and answering their prayers,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:18,Pr+28:9">Ps. lxvi. 18; Prov. xxviii. 9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Jo3_24"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec6"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>God's Commandments.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 80.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the
|
|
name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us
|
|
commandment.
|
|
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he
|
|
in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit
|
|
which he hath given us.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The apostle, having mentioned keeping the commandments, and pleasing
|
|
God, as the qualification of effectual petitioners in and with Heaven,
|
|
here suitably proceeds,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. To represent to us what those commandments primarily and summarily
|
|
are; they are comprehended in this double one: <I>And this is his
|
|
commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus
|
|
Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
To believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ is,
|
|
|
|
1. To discern what he is, according to his name, to have an
|
|
intellectual view of his person and office, as the Son of God, and the
|
|
anointed Saviour of the world. <I>That every one that seeth the Son,
|
|
and believeth on him, may have everlasting life,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+6:40">John vi. 40</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. To approve him in judgment and conscience, in conviction and
|
|
consciousness of our case, as one wisely and wonderfully prepared and
|
|
adapted for the whole work of eternal salvation.
|
|
|
|
3. To consent to him, and acquiesce in him, as our Redeemer and
|
|
recoverer unto God.
|
|
|
|
4. To trust to him, and rely upon him, for the full and final discharge
|
|
of his saving office. <I>Those that know thy name will put their trust
|
|
in thee,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+9:10">Ps. ix. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to
|
|
keep that which I have committed unto him against that day,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+1:12">2 Tim. i. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
This faith is a needful requisite to those who would be prevalent
|
|
petitioners with God, because it is by the Son that we must come to the
|
|
Father; through his grace and righteousness our persons must be
|
|
accepted or ingratiated with the Father
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:6">Eph. i. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
through his purchase all our desired blessings must come, and through
|
|
his intercession our prayers must be heard and answered. This is the
|
|
first part of the commandment that must be observed by acceptable
|
|
worshippers; the second is that we <I>love one another, as he gave us
|
|
commandment,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
The command of Christ should be continually before our eyes. Christian
|
|
love must possess our soul when we go to God in prayer. To this end we
|
|
must remember that our Lord obliges us,
|
|
|
|
(1.) To forgive those who offend us
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:14">Matt. vi. 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
and,
|
|
|
|
(2.) To reconcile ourselves to those whom we have offended,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:23,24">Matt. v. 23, 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
As good-will to men was proclaimed from heaven, so good-will to men,
|
|
and particularly to the brethren, must be carried in the hearts of
|
|
those who go to God and heaven.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. To represent to us the blessedness of obedience to these commands.
|
|
The obedient enjoy communion with God: <I>And he that keepeth his
|
|
commandments,</I> and particularly those of faith and love, <I>dwelleth
|
|
in him, and he in him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
We dwell in God by a happy relation to him, and spiritual union with
|
|
him, through his Son, and by a holy converse with him; and God dwells
|
|
in us by his word, and our faith fixed on him, and by the operations of
|
|
his Spirit. Then there occurs the trial of his divine inhabitation:
|
|
<I>And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he
|
|
hath given us</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
by the sacred disposition and frame of soul that he hath conferred upon
|
|
us, which being a spirit of faith in God and Christ, and of love to God
|
|
and man, appears to be of God.</P>
|
|
|
|
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