Biblical Characteristics of Love; 1 John 3:18-20

1 John 3:18 ^NASB “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” The point is basically, don’t just give love lip service. “Let us not love” is a hortatory subjunctive, first person plural. A first person plural subjunctive functions like a first person imperative. In English there is no such thing, but a hortatory subjunctive is like a first person imperative—“Let us do this”—and the author is including himself in that. The subjunctive mood here does not indicate so much of a potentiality as it does an imperatival force. This is a mandate. He is challenging every believer who reads this to apply the commandment to love one another as Christ loved the church. Then he uses two words, logos [logoj] and glosse [glossh], both in the instrumental dative case, i.e. “Let us not love by means of words or by means of the tongue [speech].” In other words, don’t just talk about it; don’t just give it lip service, acknowledge it with your words, but apply it. Then, the word “but” is a strong adversative and a contrast between the person who gives love lip service and the person who actually applies. It is a basic reminder of James chapter two, i.e. that doctrine that is heard only and not applied is useless. It is what James refers to as a dead faith. The word for “deed” is ergon [e)rgon] which is the same word used for works or application in James. So John is saying the same thing: that we are to love by means of application and by means of truth. In other words, this love is not a love that is some kind of uncontrolled emotional love for everybody but it is controlled in terms of application of doctrine. “By means of truth,” the Word of God; so there is a control factor on this love. The Word of God tells us how and under what circumstances we are to execute this kind of love. It is a love which has an objective standard in the revealed Word of God. That objective standard is first of all demonstrated at the cross where Jesus Christ died as a substitute for our sins and, secondly, through the direct teaching of God’s Word related to the subject of love.

1 John 3:19 ^NASB “We will know by this that we are of the truth…” In other words, by looking at your application of love based on doctrine you can know something. “…and will assure our heart before Him.” We run into a problem time and time again, and that is that people want to take this as a sign of salvation. But as we have seen he is addressing people who are already saved. Their salvation is not questioned, their fellowship and their spiritual growth is the issue. So being “of the truth” has to do with growing believers who are applying doctrine in their life. If they are walking in the light—that is our experience of spiritual growth—then they are of the truth because they are applying the truth in their life. If we are loving in truth then we know that we are operating in the realm of truth, walking in the light; but if we are not doing this we are out of fellowship, the love of God is not abiding, and we are walking in darkness.

This brings us to a key word, peitho [peiqw], the word for assurance here. It has to do with confidence and conviction, and that we have been convinced of something. So all of this has to do with some level of certainty in terms of our relationship with God. That is important because it takes us right back to 1 John 2:28: “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” What John is developing here is the idea that in order to have confidence and a level of certainty at His coming, and not to be ashamed, then we should be applying the principle of impersonal love in all of our relationships. That is a sign of growth, a sign of fellowship, and a sign that we have reached a level of maturity so that we will not be ashamed at the judgment seat of Christ, the evaluation judgment for all believers.

In contrast: 1 John 3:20 ^NASB “in whatever our heart [thinking] condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” If we look at this standard, in other words, and realise we are not applying it then John reminds us that God is greater than our thinking, He knows all things. That is a reminder that there is still grace, there is still the opportunity to grow, and God is going to provide the doctrine and the growth mechanism through the Holy Spirit so that we can advance. Then, in contrast, 1 John 3:21 ^NASB “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” If we are still alive God has a plan for our life, no matter how we have screwed up. Our bad decisions are not greater than God’s plan. We cannot definitely and finally screw up God’s plan. We can recover. If we keep taking in the Word then recovery is possible and God’s plan can be back in effect for our life as we begin to advance and to grow. That is the principle behind verse 20.

Some characteristics of impersonal love: Impersonal love emphasises the fact that you do not have to have personal knowledge of the object of love or personal relationship with the object of love, there fore your personal involvement with that person is not the issue.

1. Impersonal love is impossible but God doesn’t mandate the impossible without providing the means of accomplishing it.

2. Impersonal love is the hallmark of the disciple, the growing believer. It is what distinguishes him.

3. Impersonal love is the basis for problem-solving in all human relations.

4. Impersonal love is the ability to accept people as they are, warts and all. It is not only the absence of mental attitude sins, the absence of prejudice, but it is also positively the presence of a genuine concern, regard and solicitousness for even those who may be treating us the worse.

5. Impersonal love will have no stability or strength without grace orientation and doctrinal orientation. Cf. Luke 10:25ff, the parable of the good Samaritan.

6. Biblical characteristics of love, 1 Corinthians 13. In the first three verses Paul sets up certain hypothetical situations. He is not saying that these things are possible, he is saying is that if you don’t have love with these spiritual gifts, then it is irrelevant. Then he gives some attributes of love, vv. 4-6.

Now John is going to change the subject. 1 John 3:22 ^NASB “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” He is going to address the issue of prayer.