LOVE ONE ANOTHER

1 John 3:11-24 / Keywords 3:23

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

 

3:11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[b] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Footnotes

b. 1 John 3:13 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 16.

 

1. We should love one another, or we are no better than Cain who killed his brother Abel, because Abel was righteous. Likewise, when we love God, we should not expect to be loved by unbelievers but hated. We know we have been born again when we love others, even our enemies. When we don’t love one another, murder grows in our hearts, and we do the devil’s work.

 

2. How can we love others? We must start with coming to Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for us on the cross. When we remember Jesus’ infinite grace, we can lay down our lives for others. This love should be practical. When we see others in need, we help them purely out of sacrificial love.

 

3. When our hearts condemn us, we need to come to God for his mercy and to repent. Then we can have confidence before God, and he hears our prayers and grants our requests. To obey God is to believe in Jesus and to love others, and then his Spirit testifies that we love him. May we be a godly, loving community so that God may hear our prayers for campus ministry and world mission.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for Jesus who laid down his life for me. Help me to believe in Jesus and have your grace to love others.

One Word Believe in Jesus and love others