John sums up his teaching on sacrificial love with the four common aspects of assurance of salvation discussed in his epistle.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study Podcast. This is Part 2 of Episode 6 in our 123 John Bible Study Podcast entitled Love one Another Sacrificially where we’ll finish our discussion of 1 John 3:11-24. I’m Wes Treadway and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
love our brothers sacrificially …this is one of the central assurances that Christians could have that they’re born again
Well, Wes, I’m really excited to be able to walk through this passage with you today. What a great epistle 1 John really is. It’s an epistle of assurance whereby genuine Christians can know how, they can assure themselves that they are Christians, that they’ve crossed over from death to life, that they’re going to heaven when they die. And in this section, he’s going to zero in specifically on this test, the love test. That we love our brothers sacrificially, not in words or with tongue, but in actions and in truth- imitating Jesus the way he laid down his life for us. And this is one of the central assurances that Christians could have that they’re born again if they see that pattern of sacrificial love for other brothers and sisters in Christ. Conversely, if that pattern’s not there, that person’s self-deceived and they need to repent and become a genuine Christian and start living that life of self-denial. We’ll also see at the end of this section a very efficient couple of verses that summarize the way by which John says every Christian can assure him or herself of their saving faith. We’re going to walk through those four aspects of assurance that are common throughout the entire epistle.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read verses 11-24 in 1 John 3.
For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 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. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our hearts 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.
Now, Andy verse 16 essentially tells us how we can know what love is. How is Jesus’ death on the cross, a perfect display of love? And how does this relate to what Jesus says in John 15:13?
Andy
Yeah, it’s a beautiful question. First of all, I just love that “this is how we know, this is how we know” pattern. So, the first overall question is, “John, how can I know if I’m a Christian?” And one of his answers is, “Love your brothers.” “But John, how can I know what love is?” You see how there’s a sequence of questions. It’s almost like a little child. I’ve had five kids, and you’ve got kids and they’re going to ask these questions. It’s like, but how do I know? And it’s like, good. And John is speaking in a very simple and clear way. All right, you want to know what love is? Look at Jesus,
And this is what we say, “A new commandment that I give you: love one another as I have loved you. I’m the pattern.” Jesus is the paradigm. He is the standard of love. And not just that he died for us, but that’s the highest example that there ever was. But he was loving people before he died. He was laying down his life every day. If we look at the healing ministry he did and how demanding that was. The huge crowds that pressed around him when he was on his way to Jairus’s home, it says in Luke’s gospel that they were depriving him of air they were crushing in against him so closely. And then the woman with the bleeding problem came and touched him. And he said, who touched me and all that, it’s just amazing. He was laying down his life in terms of living for others.
And that’s I think how we need to understand this because it’s going to be very, very rare. Paul says in Romans 5:7, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man, someone might possibly dare to die.” So, it’s pretty rare. And so therefore it’s going to be very, very rare that we would literally die to save another person, though it could happen. We’ve heard stories, the proverbial soldier that dives on the live grenade kind of thing. He’s willing to lay down his life for his friends. And so that is John 15:13, the verse you quoted, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” And Jesus has meant literally- he’s going to literally die for them. And not just die just any death, but die under the wrath of God, an infinite death for them to save them from eternal death in hell.
You can measure love by sacrifice.
And so that’s the example. We look at Jesus being willing to drink your cup and mine, being willing to go to death instead of us in our place. And we lay down our lives or he lay down his life for us. And then if we’re going to imitate him, John’s calling us to lay down our lives for others. And he’s going to unfold what that means. And it’s very practical, it’s very physical, it’s caring for physical needs and all that, but it’s a self-denial. And so, the overall title of this study is sacrifice. Being willing to sacrifice something that’s hard for you, something that’s difficult. You can measure love by sacrifice. And Jesus does that. Greater love has no one than this, that he dies, he lays down his life. So, there’s lowest level of love all the way up on a scale like a dimmer switch up to the maximum level of love. The highest level for a human is you died for someone. But below that it’s sacrifice. You’re willing to give of yourself in some way.
Wes
And it stands in such stark contrast to what we talked about in the last section with the pride that wells up in our own hearts leading us to these murderous hate-filled intentions towards others when we’re just looking out for ourselves. And I think that’s why Paul reaches for the same thing when he is talking in Philippians 2 about how we ought to conduct ourselves, that we would look to Christ and see his humbling, his laying down his life even to the point of death as picture of what it means to truly love.
Andy
So, I want to say something. We’re about to go into a very practical statement here about physical material possessions. We’re going to talk about that and it’s vital. We need, and John’s going to say it just as James says, it’s partly James 2 and 1 John 3 teach about the same thing, which is works. God says it’s got to be lived out. It’s got to be very, very practical. And so fundamentally we can measure love in part by practical sacrifice done for others, but that’s only half the equation. The other half is covered in 1 Corinthians 13 which says, if I give all that I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, in other words, I die painfully, but I have not love, I gain nothing. It’s like, well, wait a minute, Paul, you just described the highest level of giving that could ever be. That’s exactly what John’s telling us right here. You’re giving material possessions to meet actual needs, and you’re willing to die for someone, but you weren’t loving. So, there’s something missing. And what is it? It’s a heart state. I think this may actually be part of what’s explained in verse 15. No murderer has eternal life in him. So, there is a heart state that results in these actions.
It’s eternal life within, or Paul will call it in 1 Corinthians 13, love from the heart. So, a heart attraction, something where I deeply from the core of my being want to bless you. I want to give to you, I want you to be happy, I want you to be blessed. Therefore, I’ll give possessions, therefore I’ll give my life. So, it’s a combination. It’s a heart attraction that results in sacrificial action.
Wes
Now, Andy, I think you’ve demonstrated it here as we’ve been talking, how sacrifice relates to love and this powerful example of Jesus. But how might we think about practically what it means for us to lay down our lives as Christians for others?
Andy
I just think this is a vital theme in the Old Testament, one of the most significant when it comes to worship, the issue of sacrifice. And what is sacrifice? Well, David settled it when he was wanting to offer a sacrifice to God to end a plague that had come on because of one of his sins. And so, there was this man Araunah the Jebusite that offered his threshing floor free, free of charge, just let me give it to the king. He said, no, I will not offer to the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing (2 Samuel 24:18-25). So, it has to do with what does it cost you? So, we can measure love by what it cost you. Was it hard? Was it valuable? Did it cost something? Was it something that was difficult for you to do? Then that’s a measure of love. If on the other hand, it costs you very little time or energy or money, if it costs you very little mental effort or whatever, it really isn’t a display of love. It doesn’t mean you didn’t love him. It’s just, I don’t know. I can’t prove it by that because it didn’t cost you anything.
And so fundamentally, that’s where sacrifice comes in.
Wes
He talks about that in verse 17, right? He gives this very real-world illustration, says, if we have the world’s goods, see a brother in need, yet close our heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
Andy
Yeah, I think what we need to recognize here is we’re living in a real-world environment. We have bodies. Our bodies have needs: food, clothing, shelter. Maybe because of the possibility of injury or disease, we may need to do something to rescue someone from imminent death. Like the parable of the good Samaritan. Here’s a guy who’s bleeding by this side of the road and if he doesn’t get medical attention, may well die even today. And so, the Good Samaritan took care of him and saved his life. And so the idea is you can’t say I love you if there’s a clear physical need and you’re not meeting it. That’s not love. And so fundamentally, he’s saying, you’ve got to actually meet the need. And so, what we’re going to is the issue of Jesus’ statement, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but those who do the will of God.”
So not those who say, but those who do. James says the same thing in James 2. We talk about the connection between faith and works, and he’s going to give an almost exactly parallel example. Alright, suppose you see your brother in need, and you can meet that need, but instead of helping you say, go, I wish you well, keep warm and be well fed, but you do nothing to meet his needs. How is that loving? How is that faith? Faith without works is dead. Well, John would say similarly, love without works is not love. It’s dead. They’re teaching the same thing. So, we got to have those works. You’ve got to actually meet the need.
Wes
Yeah, he says, little children, let us not love in word or talk. Basically, if we’re going to talk about loving someone, if we’re going to say, I love you, there’s some action or deeds and in truth that are connected with that. The way that you’ve defined love here, then as a heart attraction that results in cheerful, sacrificial action makes perfect sense. It’s not just that we are drawn towards suffering, but that we seek to do something to alleviate that suffering.
Andy
And I want to say something I had just saw for the first time, the doctrine I’ve been teaching for years. It came from a meditation on 1 Corinthians 13 but look at verse 17. Can you read it in your version?
Wes
It says, “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?”
Andy
So, there it is. My translation says, has no pity on him. So, the action has to flow from a heart. Attraction has to flow from the heart. So, it’s beautiful how you can see that right there in verse 17. If there’s no pity, but there is the action, there’s no love. That’s what 1 Corinthians 13:3 is teaching. If you do the action, but there’s no heart in it. I don’t get any feeling out of it. It doesn’t move me at all. I really frankly don’t care whether you live or die, whether you’re hungry or empty, whatever, but I’m going to do this. Paul’s saying, look, that’s not love. That’s what 1 Corinthians 13:3 was written to address. But James 2 and 1 John 3 are working the other side of the equation. It’s like, oh, I feel these feelings for you and I just really, really do. So, I hope it works out for you. It’s like, yeah, that’s nothing. Don’t do that. So, it’s a combination. It’s got to be both.
Wes
John speaks of setting our hearts at rest in God’s presence. In other words, of a Christian’s assurance. How does a life of cheerful, sacrificial actions like we’ve been talking about for others, help us to have a healthy Christian assurance?
Andy
Yeah, I think we look at the way we’re living our lives, and we can get assurance from that. And this is the three levels of assurance that I saw a long time ago in Romans 5. And since then, I’ve seen it and we’re going to see it even toward the end of this very same chapter. We’re studying in 1 John 3, okay? There are three levels of assurance. The first is assurance that’s reasoned out in the mind based on doctrine. Basically, it works like this. God said it, I believe it, that settles it. Alright? So, he said, if I repent of my sins and believe in Jesus and call on the name of the Lord, I will be saved. I’ve done that. Therefore, I believe it. The second level is assurance. It’s worked out in the life. You’re seeing actual things happening in your life of various types.
Now I think in Romans it has to do with suffering, alright? The way you respond to suffering, suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character, and character, hope. But hope is assurance, and hope does not disappoint us because God has, et cetera. He says that. So, you’ve got that. You look at your life and in Romans 5, it’s a matter of suffering. Well, so you’re not a stony ground here that as soon as there was affliction or trouble because of the word, you quickly fall away. No, you’ve been willing to suffer. You’re going through this, and you are the genuine deal. You’re a real Christian. But that’s not the only type of thing you can see in the life here. It’s like I see a pattern of sacrificial love for the brothers and sisters in my life. And I know that’s not me. That’s something God has worked in me; therefore, I know I’m a Christian.
So, this is how we set our hearts at rest and his presence, because seeing a lifestyle, a lifestyle of sacrificial service to the brothers, the highest level is assurance that’s poured out into the heart by the Holy Spirit. And that’s Romans 5:5, “Because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” John’s going to mention that at the end of this. This is how we know that he lives in us. We know it by the Spirit that he gave us. That’s the Spirit’s testimony. So those are the three levels. You read God’s word and believe it. You believe the doctrine about Jesus, about yourself, about your sin, and therefore you’re a Christian. Secondly, you see the kind of life you’re living. It’s a life of holiness. It’s a life of love, a life of sacrificial service to others. It’s a life of willingness to suffer for the gospel. There’s many of them. Here in 1 John 3 similar to James 2, it’s a life of sacrificial service to the brothers and sisters. That’s how you can know.
Wes
Now wrapped up in these verses in verse 19 and 20, we get this sense of our hearts condemning us or not condemning us. How does this relate to our conscience, and what does it mean that God is greater than our hearts?
Andy
Right? Well, the issue, and Paul talks about this in Romans 2 about the Gentiles, their conscience is now accusing, now defending. Well, that’s true of Christians too. Paul’s going to cover that in Romans 7. The very thing I hate I do, and the thing I want to do, I don’t do. Well, do you think his conscience is bothering him about all that? I guarantee it is! When he does the very thing he hates, do you think his conscience doesn’t smite him, and say, “How could you do that? That’s the very thing you said you never wanted to do again. And now here you’ve done it.” And so, your conscience is afflicting you. The conscience is bothering you; you feel guilty. What is it that detracts from our assurance? What is it that assaults, even threatens to assassinate our assurance but our own sinfulness, our ongoing pattern of sin.
And so, our conscience is going to accuse us, our hearts are going to attack us. How can we set our hearts at rest in his presence? And that’s what John’s addressing here. The way that we set our hearts at rest in his presence is fundamentally that God is saving us. He’s worked salvation in us, and our trust is in Christ. We go back to chapter 2 of this very epistle, “Dear children, I write these things to you so that you will not sin, but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one.”
And he is our propitiation. He’s the one who shed his blood for that sin. So that’s how you set your heart at rest in his presence. It’s like I am a sinner, I know that. But Jesus is advocating he died for me. He’s the righteous one. I’m not the righteous one, he is, and his righteousness is mine. That’s how you set your heart at rest in his presence. Let me say a little more about the end of verse 20, “For God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything.” So, let’s take the second part. First of all, God knows your sin. He knows it better than you do.
the work of God through Christ is greater than any sin you’ve ever committed.
He knew that you would do that the moment you became a Christian and frankly, before the foundation of the earth. There’s no surprises here. He already knows. Furthermore, God is greater than our hearts. I think there’s a lot of way to hear that, ways to hear that. But one of them is our hearts are smiting and attacking us and accusing us. And they’re not wrong. Neither is Satan for that matter. Frankly, Satan is accurately accusing us of our sin. We did do those things. That is true. But the work of God through Christ is greater than any sin you’ve ever committed. That’s the way I read that verse. God’s work in Christ is greater than our heart’s attack, accurate attack against us for the sins we’ve committed. And God isn’t surprised. He knows everything. He knows that you’ve sinned.
Wes
Yeah. How does a healthy Christian assurance relate to confidence and fruitfulness in prayer before God? And is it true that our obedience or disobedience to God will actually affect our prayer life?
Andy
Yeah. So that’s a great question about our sense of confidence in prayer being connected to our sense of our own righteous living. I think there is a definite connection in many places in scripture, alright? The clearest for me by far is in the Book of Isaiah. It says in Isaiah 59, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear to dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.” Well, that pretty much says it, doesn’t it?
Wes
Yeah.
Andy
It’s like, there’s nothing wrong with God. God can hear you. God’s powerful. But your problem is you’re a sinner. And so, there’s that sense of sinfulness. We also have 1 Peter 4:7. It says, “The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” In other words, if you lack self-control and you’re violating your conscience, it’s going to hinder your prayer life. You’re going to feel guilty. You’re going to feel that God won’t hear you. Why would he listen to you? He may do the very thing that you want, but it has nothing to do with your prayers. He’ll get someone else to pray. Not you. You’re left out and so you have nothing. Your prayers are hindered. And then again, in marriage, we’re told in one, in 1 Peter 3:7, “Husbands in the same way live with your wives in an understanding way so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” And so, I think it really does matter how we live. If we have a sense that God will hear us, but we can go too far with that. We can never say, well, now I’ve had about eight really good days, very righteous days. And therefore, now I know you’ll hear me in my prayers. It’s not quite like that. We need to understand all of our prayers are by the cleansing, atoning work of Jesus that even listens to us at all.
And so fundamentally, we need to draw near to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So fundamentally, anything that would cause you to not want to pray and to feel so guilty so I can’t pray, I’m going to stay out, so I won’t pray. That’s all Satan. What you need to do if you’ve sinned and violated your conscience is deal with that first, confess your sin. Let him be faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And then draw near, closer and closer to the throne of grace and then start asking for those things. But I do think it’s true that the more faithfully and uprightly we live, the more confidence and boldness we’re going to have in prayer.
Wes
I wonder if there’s even some similarities here between the idea of delighting ourselves in the Lord and receiving the desires of our heart. Here it says that whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. The things that we’re asking are aligned with a life filled with joy because we’re walking in the path of God’s commands.
Andy
Yeah, there’s so many evidences of this. We have a sense of Moses and his intimate prayer with God up on Mount Sinai and it says, I will do the very thing you ask because I’m delighted with you, et cetera. There’s that sense of, I’m pleased with you, I’ll do what you’ve asked. And Daniel the same thing in Daniel 9, because he was one highly esteemed and so God was hearing him. So that’s what the verse says, “If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and we receive the things that we ask because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.”
Wes
And what are the two basic commands that John says God has given us in verse 23? And how does our obedience to God’s commands combine with the work of the Holy Spirit to give us Christian assurance? We talked about these last verses being kind of the book in miniature. How do these help us?
Andy
Yeah. So, the basic command that God has given to the human race is believe in the name of his Son Jesus. That’s it. Fundamentally, believe in Jesus. I mean, if you think about the work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus talked about in John’s gospel before he went to the cross, he said, when the counselor will come, he’ll convict the world of guilt in regard to sin. He said, because they do not believe in me. So that’s the first highest level of sin. They don’t believe in me. So, you think about Saul of Tarsus, and he’s converted on the road to Damascus, and he was so filled with self-righteousness and thought he was so great and all that, so pure and righteous. And then he’s knocked to the ground by this blinding light. Light brighter than the sun. He hears a voice from heaven, a booming, powerful voice, which John said sounded like the roar of rushing waters like a waterfall.
I don’t know what it sounded to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. It must’ve been a mighty voice. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus the one you’re persecuting.” So, you get a sense there at that point he understood. Now he was a sinner, and the center of his sin is he didn’t believe in Jesus, this very one. He had resisted all the evidence, all the biblical proofs. He had had a witness. Steven had told him he could have searched the Scriptures. He did. He knew the history of Jesus. He rejected it. Well, that’s a great sin.
The first and greatest commandment that God has given is to believe in the name of his Son. And that’s what it says in verse 23 here. And this is his command to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. And then the second command is to love one another as he has commanded us. And so, you get that vertical horizontal again to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength equals to believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. And then horizontally that we should love one another as he has commanded.
Wes
Andy, what can we take from verse 24 and what final thoughts do you have for us on the entirety of these verses that we’ve been looking at?
Andy
Alright. And you also asked this question about how this is the book in miniature. So, let’s talk about it. The book is about assurance. How can we know that we’re born again? Alright, start with this. Do you believe in the name of Jesus Christ as the Son of God? Do you believe that he is the Son of God? Start there. That’s the first. Secondly, are you obedient to his commands? Are you living a life of obedience? Which in this chapter very much is a life of practical love for the brothers. And so that’s thirdly, do you love the brothers? Alright, so you love one another. So first, believe in his Son. Second, love one another. is his command and going in the order here. And then third, generally obey him. So that’s all of his commands. Fundamentally, just walk in a righteous pattern as defined by the laws of God. And then finally, the testimony of the Spirit that we are children of God. These are the four levels or proofs of assurance that are here in this epistle. And so, for me, I think what we need to do is apply these things to ourselves. Do you see this in your life? Do you know that you’re a child of God based on those four tests?
Wes
This has been Part 2 of Episode 6 in our 123 John Bible study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for Episode 7 entitled, The Spirit of Truth and the God of Love, where we’ll discuss 1 John 4:1-21. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study Podcast. This is Part 2 of Episode 6 in our 123 John Bible Study Podcast entitled Love one Another Sacrificially where we’ll finish our discussion of 1 John 3:11-24. I’m Wes Treadway and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
love our brothers sacrificially …this is one of the central assurances that Christians could have that they’re born again
Well, Wes, I’m really excited to be able to walk through this passage with you today. What a great epistle 1 John really is. It’s an epistle of assurance whereby genuine Christians can know how, they can assure themselves that they are Christians, that they’ve crossed over from death to life, that they’re going to heaven when they die. And in this section, he’s going to zero in specifically on this test, the love test. That we love our brothers sacrificially, not in words or with tongue, but in actions and in truth- imitating Jesus the way he laid down his life for us. And this is one of the central assurances that Christians could have that they’re born again if they see that pattern of sacrificial love for other brothers and sisters in Christ. Conversely, if that pattern’s not there, that person’s self-deceived and they need to repent and become a genuine Christian and start living that life of self-denial. We’ll also see at the end of this section a very efficient couple of verses that summarize the way by which John says every Christian can assure him or herself of their saving faith. We’re going to walk through those four aspects of assurance that are common throughout the entire epistle.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read verses 11-24 in 1 John 3.
For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 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. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our hearts 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.
Now, Andy verse 16 essentially tells us how we can know what love is. How is Jesus’ death on the cross, a perfect display of love? And how does this relate to what Jesus says in John 15:13?
Andy
Yeah, it’s a beautiful question. First of all, I just love that “this is how we know, this is how we know” pattern. So, the first overall question is, “John, how can I know if I’m a Christian?” And one of his answers is, “Love your brothers.” “But John, how can I know what love is?” You see how there’s a sequence of questions. It’s almost like a little child. I’ve had five kids, and you’ve got kids and they’re going to ask these questions. It’s like, but how do I know? And it’s like, good. And John is speaking in a very simple and clear way. All right, you want to know what love is? Look at Jesus,
And this is what we say, “A new commandment that I give you: love one another as I have loved you. I’m the pattern.” Jesus is the paradigm. He is the standard of love. And not just that he died for us, but that’s the highest example that there ever was. But he was loving people before he died. He was laying down his life every day. If we look at the healing ministry he did and how demanding that was. The huge crowds that pressed around him when he was on his way to Jairus’s home, it says in Luke’s gospel that they were depriving him of air they were crushing in against him so closely. And then the woman with the bleeding problem came and touched him. And he said, who touched me and all that, it’s just amazing. He was laying down his life in terms of living for others.
And that’s I think how we need to understand this because it’s going to be very, very rare. Paul says in Romans 5:7, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man, someone might possibly dare to die.” So, it’s pretty rare. And so therefore it’s going to be very, very rare that we would literally die to save another person, though it could happen. We’ve heard stories, the proverbial soldier that dives on the live grenade kind of thing. He’s willing to lay down his life for his friends. And so that is John 15:13, the verse you quoted, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” And Jesus has meant literally- he’s going to literally die for them. And not just die just any death, but die under the wrath of God, an infinite death for them to save them from eternal death in hell.
You can measure love by sacrifice.
And so that’s the example. We look at Jesus being willing to drink your cup and mine, being willing to go to death instead of us in our place. And we lay down our lives or he lay down his life for us. And then if we’re going to imitate him, John’s calling us to lay down our lives for others. And he’s going to unfold what that means. And it’s very practical, it’s very physical, it’s caring for physical needs and all that, but it’s a self-denial. And so, the overall title of this study is sacrifice. Being willing to sacrifice something that’s hard for you, something that’s difficult. You can measure love by sacrifice. And Jesus does that. Greater love has no one than this, that he dies, he lays down his life. So, there’s lowest level of love all the way up on a scale like a dimmer switch up to the maximum level of love. The highest level for a human is you died for someone. But below that it’s sacrifice. You’re willing to give of yourself in some way.
Wes
And it stands in such stark contrast to what we talked about in the last section with the pride that wells up in our own hearts leading us to these murderous hate-filled intentions towards others when we’re just looking out for ourselves. And I think that’s why Paul reaches for the same thing when he is talking in Philippians 2 about how we ought to conduct ourselves, that we would look to Christ and see his humbling, his laying down his life even to the point of death as picture of what it means to truly love.
Andy
So, I want to say something. We’re about to go into a very practical statement here about physical material possessions. We’re going to talk about that and it’s vital. We need, and John’s going to say it just as James says, it’s partly James 2 and 1 John 3 teach about the same thing, which is works. God says it’s got to be lived out. It’s got to be very, very practical. And so fundamentally we can measure love in part by practical sacrifice done for others, but that’s only half the equation. The other half is covered in 1 Corinthians 13 which says, if I give all that I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, in other words, I die painfully, but I have not love, I gain nothing. It’s like, well, wait a minute, Paul, you just described the highest level of giving that could ever be. That’s exactly what John’s telling us right here. You’re giving material possessions to meet actual needs, and you’re willing to die for someone, but you weren’t loving. So, there’s something missing. And what is it? It’s a heart state. I think this may actually be part of what’s explained in verse 15. No murderer has eternal life in him. So, there is a heart state that results in these actions.
It’s eternal life within, or Paul will call it in 1 Corinthians 13, love from the heart. So, a heart attraction, something where I deeply from the core of my being want to bless you. I want to give to you, I want you to be happy, I want you to be blessed. Therefore, I’ll give possessions, therefore I’ll give my life. So, it’s a combination. It’s a heart attraction that results in sacrificial action.
Wes
Now, Andy, I think you’ve demonstrated it here as we’ve been talking, how sacrifice relates to love and this powerful example of Jesus. But how might we think about practically what it means for us to lay down our lives as Christians for others?
Andy
I just think this is a vital theme in the Old Testament, one of the most significant when it comes to worship, the issue of sacrifice. And what is sacrifice? Well, David settled it when he was wanting to offer a sacrifice to God to end a plague that had come on because of one of his sins. And so, there was this man Araunah the Jebusite that offered his threshing floor free, free of charge, just let me give it to the king. He said, no, I will not offer to the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing (2 Samuel 24:18-25). So, it has to do with what does it cost you? So, we can measure love by what it cost you. Was it hard? Was it valuable? Did it cost something? Was it something that was difficult for you to do? Then that’s a measure of love. If on the other hand, it costs you very little time or energy or money, if it costs you very little mental effort or whatever, it really isn’t a display of love. It doesn’t mean you didn’t love him. It’s just, I don’t know. I can’t prove it by that because it didn’t cost you anything.
And so fundamentally, that’s where sacrifice comes in.
Wes
He talks about that in verse 17, right? He gives this very real-world illustration, says, if we have the world’s goods, see a brother in need, yet close our heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
Andy
Yeah, I think what we need to recognize here is we’re living in a real-world environment. We have bodies. Our bodies have needs: food, clothing, shelter. Maybe because of the possibility of injury or disease, we may need to do something to rescue someone from imminent death. Like the parable of the good Samaritan. Here’s a guy who’s bleeding by this side of the road and if he doesn’t get medical attention, may well die even today. And so, the Good Samaritan took care of him and saved his life. And so the idea is you can’t say I love you if there’s a clear physical need and you’re not meeting it. That’s not love. And so fundamentally, he’s saying, you’ve got to actually meet the need. And so, what we’re going to is the issue of Jesus’ statement, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but those who do the will of God.”
So not those who say, but those who do. James says the same thing in James 2. We talk about the connection between faith and works, and he’s going to give an almost exactly parallel example. Alright, suppose you see your brother in need, and you can meet that need, but instead of helping you say, go, I wish you well, keep warm and be well fed, but you do nothing to meet his needs. How is that loving? How is that faith? Faith without works is dead. Well, John would say similarly, love without works is not love. It’s dead. They’re teaching the same thing. So, we got to have those works. You’ve got to actually meet the need.
Wes
Yeah, he says, little children, let us not love in word or talk. Basically, if we’re going to talk about loving someone, if we’re going to say, I love you, there’s some action or deeds and in truth that are connected with that. The way that you’ve defined love here, then as a heart attraction that results in cheerful, sacrificial action makes perfect sense. It’s not just that we are drawn towards suffering, but that we seek to do something to alleviate that suffering.
Andy
And I want to say something I had just saw for the first time, the doctrine I’ve been teaching for years. It came from a meditation on 1 Corinthians 13 but look at verse 17. Can you read it in your version?
Wes
It says, “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?”
Andy
So, there it is. My translation says, has no pity on him. So, the action has to flow from a heart. Attraction has to flow from the heart. So, it’s beautiful how you can see that right there in verse 17. If there’s no pity, but there is the action, there’s no love. That’s what 1 Corinthians 13:3 is teaching. If you do the action, but there’s no heart in it. I don’t get any feeling out of it. It doesn’t move me at all. I really frankly don’t care whether you live or die, whether you’re hungry or empty, whatever, but I’m going to do this. Paul’s saying, look, that’s not love. That’s what 1 Corinthians 13:3 was written to address. But James 2 and 1 John 3 are working the other side of the equation. It’s like, oh, I feel these feelings for you and I just really, really do. So, I hope it works out for you. It’s like, yeah, that’s nothing. Don’t do that. So, it’s a combination. It’s got to be both.
Wes
John speaks of setting our hearts at rest in God’s presence. In other words, of a Christian’s assurance. How does a life of cheerful, sacrificial actions like we’ve been talking about for others, help us to have a healthy Christian assurance?
Andy
Yeah, I think we look at the way we’re living our lives, and we can get assurance from that. And this is the three levels of assurance that I saw a long time ago in Romans 5. And since then, I’ve seen it and we’re going to see it even toward the end of this very same chapter. We’re studying in 1 John 3, okay? There are three levels of assurance. The first is assurance that’s reasoned out in the mind based on doctrine. Basically, it works like this. God said it, I believe it, that settles it. Alright? So, he said, if I repent of my sins and believe in Jesus and call on the name of the Lord, I will be saved. I’ve done that. Therefore, I believe it. The second level is assurance. It’s worked out in the life. You’re seeing actual things happening in your life of various types.
Now I think in Romans it has to do with suffering, alright? The way you respond to suffering, suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character, and character, hope. But hope is assurance, and hope does not disappoint us because God has, et cetera. He says that. So, you’ve got that. You look at your life and in Romans 5, it’s a matter of suffering. Well, so you’re not a stony ground here that as soon as there was affliction or trouble because of the word, you quickly fall away. No, you’ve been willing to suffer. You’re going through this, and you are the genuine deal. You’re a real Christian. But that’s not the only type of thing you can see in the life here. It’s like I see a pattern of sacrificial love for the brothers and sisters in my life. And I know that’s not me. That’s something God has worked in me; therefore, I know I’m a Christian.
So, this is how we set our hearts at rest and his presence, because seeing a lifestyle, a lifestyle of sacrificial service to the brothers, the highest level is assurance that’s poured out into the heart by the Holy Spirit. And that’s Romans 5:5, “Because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” John’s going to mention that at the end of this. This is how we know that he lives in us. We know it by the Spirit that he gave us. That’s the Spirit’s testimony. So those are the three levels. You read God’s word and believe it. You believe the doctrine about Jesus, about yourself, about your sin, and therefore you’re a Christian. Secondly, you see the kind of life you’re living. It’s a life of holiness. It’s a life of love, a life of sacrificial service to others. It’s a life of willingness to suffer for the gospel. There’s many of them. Here in 1 John 3 similar to James 2, it’s a life of sacrificial service to the brothers and sisters. That’s how you can know.
Wes
Now wrapped up in these verses in verse 19 and 20, we get this sense of our hearts condemning us or not condemning us. How does this relate to our conscience, and what does it mean that God is greater than our hearts?
Andy
Right? Well, the issue, and Paul talks about this in Romans 2 about the Gentiles, their conscience is now accusing, now defending. Well, that’s true of Christians too. Paul’s going to cover that in Romans 7. The very thing I hate I do, and the thing I want to do, I don’t do. Well, do you think his conscience is bothering him about all that? I guarantee it is! When he does the very thing he hates, do you think his conscience doesn’t smite him, and say, “How could you do that? That’s the very thing you said you never wanted to do again. And now here you’ve done it.” And so, your conscience is afflicting you. The conscience is bothering you; you feel guilty. What is it that detracts from our assurance? What is it that assaults, even threatens to assassinate our assurance but our own sinfulness, our ongoing pattern of sin.
And so, our conscience is going to accuse us, our hearts are going to attack us. How can we set our hearts at rest in his presence? And that’s what John’s addressing here. The way that we set our hearts at rest in his presence is fundamentally that God is saving us. He’s worked salvation in us, and our trust is in Christ. We go back to chapter 2 of this very epistle, “Dear children, I write these things to you so that you will not sin, but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one.”
And he is our propitiation. He’s the one who shed his blood for that sin. So that’s how you set your heart at rest in his presence. It’s like I am a sinner, I know that. But Jesus is advocating he died for me. He’s the righteous one. I’m not the righteous one, he is, and his righteousness is mine. That’s how you set your heart at rest in his presence. Let me say a little more about the end of verse 20, “For God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything.” So, let’s take the second part. First of all, God knows your sin. He knows it better than you do.
the work of God through Christ is greater than any sin you’ve ever committed.
He knew that you would do that the moment you became a Christian and frankly, before the foundation of the earth. There’s no surprises here. He already knows. Furthermore, God is greater than our hearts. I think there’s a lot of way to hear that, ways to hear that. But one of them is our hearts are smiting and attacking us and accusing us. And they’re not wrong. Neither is Satan for that matter. Frankly, Satan is accurately accusing us of our sin. We did do those things. That is true. But the work of God through Christ is greater than any sin you’ve ever committed. That’s the way I read that verse. God’s work in Christ is greater than our heart’s attack, accurate attack against us for the sins we’ve committed. And God isn’t surprised. He knows everything. He knows that you’ve sinned.
Wes
Yeah. How does a healthy Christian assurance relate to confidence and fruitfulness in prayer before God? And is it true that our obedience or disobedience to God will actually affect our prayer life?
Andy
Yeah. So that’s a great question about our sense of confidence in prayer being connected to our sense of our own righteous living. I think there is a definite connection in many places in scripture, alright? The clearest for me by far is in the Book of Isaiah. It says in Isaiah 59, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear to dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.” Well, that pretty much says it, doesn’t it?
Wes
Yeah.
Andy
It’s like, there’s nothing wrong with God. God can hear you. God’s powerful. But your problem is you’re a sinner. And so, there’s that sense of sinfulness. We also have 1 Peter 4:7. It says, “The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” In other words, if you lack self-control and you’re violating your conscience, it’s going to hinder your prayer life. You’re going to feel guilty. You’re going to feel that God won’t hear you. Why would he listen to you? He may do the very thing that you want, but it has nothing to do with your prayers. He’ll get someone else to pray. Not you. You’re left out and so you have nothing. Your prayers are hindered. And then again, in marriage, we’re told in one, in 1 Peter 3:7, “Husbands in the same way live with your wives in an understanding way so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” And so, I think it really does matter how we live. If we have a sense that God will hear us, but we can go too far with that. We can never say, well, now I’ve had about eight really good days, very righteous days. And therefore, now I know you’ll hear me in my prayers. It’s not quite like that. We need to understand all of our prayers are by the cleansing, atoning work of Jesus that even listens to us at all.
And so fundamentally, we need to draw near to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So fundamentally, anything that would cause you to not want to pray and to feel so guilty so I can’t pray, I’m going to stay out, so I won’t pray. That’s all Satan. What you need to do if you’ve sinned and violated your conscience is deal with that first, confess your sin. Let him be faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And then draw near, closer and closer to the throne of grace and then start asking for those things. But I do think it’s true that the more faithfully and uprightly we live, the more confidence and boldness we’re going to have in prayer.
Wes
I wonder if there’s even some similarities here between the idea of delighting ourselves in the Lord and receiving the desires of our heart. Here it says that whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. The things that we’re asking are aligned with a life filled with joy because we’re walking in the path of God’s commands.
Andy
Yeah, there’s so many evidences of this. We have a sense of Moses and his intimate prayer with God up on Mount Sinai and it says, I will do the very thing you ask because I’m delighted with you, et cetera. There’s that sense of, I’m pleased with you, I’ll do what you’ve asked. And Daniel the same thing in Daniel 9, because he was one highly esteemed and so God was hearing him. So that’s what the verse says, “If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and we receive the things that we ask because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.”
Wes
And what are the two basic commands that John says God has given us in verse 23? And how does our obedience to God’s commands combine with the work of the Holy Spirit to give us Christian assurance? We talked about these last verses being kind of the book in miniature. How do these help us?
Andy
Yeah. So, the basic command that God has given to the human race is believe in the name of his Son Jesus. That’s it. Fundamentally, believe in Jesus. I mean, if you think about the work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus talked about in John’s gospel before he went to the cross, he said, when the counselor will come, he’ll convict the world of guilt in regard to sin. He said, because they do not believe in me. So that’s the first highest level of sin. They don’t believe in me. So, you think about Saul of Tarsus, and he’s converted on the road to Damascus, and he was so filled with self-righteousness and thought he was so great and all that, so pure and righteous. And then he’s knocked to the ground by this blinding light. Light brighter than the sun. He hears a voice from heaven, a booming, powerful voice, which John said sounded like the roar of rushing waters like a waterfall.
I don’t know what it sounded to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. It must’ve been a mighty voice. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus the one you’re persecuting.” So, you get a sense there at that point he understood. Now he was a sinner, and the center of his sin is he didn’t believe in Jesus, this very one. He had resisted all the evidence, all the biblical proofs. He had had a witness. Steven had told him he could have searched the Scriptures. He did. He knew the history of Jesus. He rejected it. Well, that’s a great sin.
The first and greatest commandment that God has given is to believe in the name of his Son. And that’s what it says in verse 23 here. And this is his command to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. And then the second command is to love one another as he has commanded us. And so, you get that vertical horizontal again to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength equals to believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. And then horizontally that we should love one another as he has commanded.
Wes
Andy, what can we take from verse 24 and what final thoughts do you have for us on the entirety of these verses that we’ve been looking at?
Andy
Alright. And you also asked this question about how this is the book in miniature. So, let’s talk about it. The book is about assurance. How can we know that we’re born again? Alright, start with this. Do you believe in the name of Jesus Christ as the Son of God? Do you believe that he is the Son of God? Start there. That’s the first. Secondly, are you obedient to his commands? Are you living a life of obedience? Which in this chapter very much is a life of practical love for the brothers. And so that’s thirdly, do you love the brothers? Alright, so you love one another. So first, believe in his Son. Second, love one another. is his command and going in the order here. And then third, generally obey him. So that’s all of his commands. Fundamentally, just walk in a righteous pattern as defined by the laws of God. And then finally, the testimony of the Spirit that we are children of God. These are the four levels or proofs of assurance that are here in this epistle. And so, for me, I think what we need to do is apply these things to ourselves. Do you see this in your life? Do you know that you’re a child of God based on those four tests?
Wes
This has been Part 2 of Episode 6 in our 123 John Bible study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for Episode 7 entitled, The Spirit of Truth and the God of Love, where we’ll discuss 1 John 4:1-21. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
