1 John 3:10-15 (NKJV) In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
V10 “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” Children, in this sense, means followers, practitioners, believers, and strong adherents of a leader’s policies and platforms. There are only 2 choices to follow. It is either God or the devil. One is God and the other a wannabe god. A small contrast between the two can be found in Galatians 5:19-23. Flesh refers to the devil’s policy, and Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit and God’s policy. John’s words here is one test to help diagnose which one we follow. Brother is a fellow believer in Jesus. Christians are to love our enemies, not kill them (Luke 6:27-36). We are to be kind and helpful to all (Luke 10:27-37). This is to be done with our eyes and ears open for dangers from being used, abused, corrupted, etc.
There are many wolves. Jesus highlights the difference between a shepherd and a hireling be they church leaders or everyday Christians living their lives in society. The hireling sees error, lies, false teachings, wrong lifestyle, etc. but does not warn anyone. They run from the issue or excuse it. A true shepherd sees, warns, and acts against these things.
V11 “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another…” As noted in V10.
V12 “…not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” Cain and Abel are examples. Cain sought to destroy and kill Abel, and he was successful. He had no love for God (obedience) nor for his brother (kindness). Cain murderer Abel because of envy. Cain said in effect, “You made me look bad, so I will kill you for causing it.” The problem was with Cain, not Abel. Humans in our natural sin nature have a tendency to not accept responsibility for our actions. We make excuses of all types. We need to face the truth. The Bible is 100% truth.
V13 “Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.” Cain was of the devil’s system so hates God and God’s ways. Since we trust in Jesus and the devil hates Jesus, he hates those who believe in Him. See Proverbs 29:27, John 7:7, John 15:19, and Romans 8:7.
V14 “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” If we are real believers in Jesus Christ, then we will love as Jesus showed us by His treatment and interactions with the Jews who respected Him (Matthew 4:24) and did not (Luke 22:59-61), Samaritans (Luke 17:11-19), and to Gentiles (Matthew 15:21-28).
V15 “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” Even hating and wishing harm, revenge, and death without a Scriptural reason is considered murder. Consider Leviticus 19:16-18, Proverbs 26:24-26, and Matthew 5:21-22.
We learn:
- Some differences between those who follow God and His ways and those who follow the devil’s ways.
- We see the difference is actions that God is pleased with or displeased with.