Love Each Other 1 John 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? If verse 16 suggests the most we can do for our brethren, verse 17 suggests the least. John distinctly says that a man is not a Christian who sees his brother in need and yet withholds from him what is necessary to satisfy that need. What are your thoughts? This does not justify indiscriminate giving to everyone, because it is possible to harm a man by giving him money with which to buy what would not be good for him. However, the verse does raise very disturbing questions concerning the accumulation of wealth by Christians. Let's talk about it – 1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. We should not love in word or in tongue, but rather in deed and in truth. In other words, it should not be a matter of affectionate terms only, neither should it be an expression of what is not true. But it should be manifested in actual deeds of kindness and should be genuine instead of false. 1 John 3:19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. By the exercise of this real and active love to our brethren, we shall know that we are of the truth, and this will assure our hearts as we come before Him in prayer. 1 John 3:20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. The subject here is the attitude with which we come before God in prayer. This verse may be understood in two ways. First of all, if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart in the sense that He is greater in compassion. While we may have intense feelings of unworthiness, yet God knows that basically we love Him and we love His people. He knows that we are His in spite of all our failures and sins. The other view is that if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart in the matter of judgment. Whereas we only know our sins in a very limited way, God knows them fully and absolutely. He knows all that there is to blame in us, whereas we only know it in part. We lean to this latter viewpoint, although both are true and therefore possible. 1 John 3:21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. Here is the attitude of one who has a clear conscience before God. It is not that this person has been living sinlessly, but rather that he has been quick to confess and forsake his sins. By doing this, he has confidence before God and boldness in prayer. Thus, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 1 John 3:22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. To keep His commandments is to abide in Him. It is to live in close, vital intimacy with the Savior. When we are thus in fellowship with Him, we make His will our own will. Give examples: By the Holy Spirit, He fills us with the knowledge of His will. In such a condition, we would not ask for anything outside the will of God. When we ask according to His will, we receive from Him the things we ask for. 1 John 3:23 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. God’s commandment is that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. This seems to summarize all the commandments of the NT. It speaks of our duty to God and to our fellow Christians. Our first duty is to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then because true faith is expressed in right conduct, we should love one another. This is an evidence of saving faith. Notice in this and other verses that John uses the personal pronouns He and Him to refer to both God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ without stopping to explain which one is intended. He dares to do this because the Son is as truly God as the Father, and it is no presumption to speak of Them in the same breath. 1 John 3:24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. *** MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) . Nashville: Thomas Nelson.***