The world means those who live in pleasure.

God shows us the necessary patience because of the inheritance which he has given us. Here the world refers to wicked people.

The grace of our Creator is so great that he has allowed us both to know him and to love him, and moreover, to love him as children love a wonderful father. It would be no small thing if we were able to love God in the way that a servant loves his master or a worker his employer. But loving God as father is much greater still.

John is telling us that we know from all that has been said above that we have been taken up by God as his children. Even if that is not immediately apparent, we should not be disturbed, for it will be fully revealed when he comes again.

By writing these things John is exhorting his readers to recognize what it means to be born again of God. He tells them that they are now worthy to be loved as children of God, even in this world, and that the adoption of sons is a reality here and now. For since we now know in part and have the first fruits of the Spirit, we already have something of the adoption of sons and can see what the fullness of it will be like when it arrives.

Despite the measure of likeness which we find in God’s Word, we also recognize a great unlikeness to God and his Word in this enigma. We must admit that even when we are like him and shall see him as he is (words which clearly imply an awareness of our present unlikeness), we shall still have no natural equality with him. For the created nature must always be less than the Creator.

Therefore we live as children of God even in this present life, sanctifying ourselves by virtue and striving toward the likeness of something even better. Encouraged by this, we shall be fashioned according to the brightness of the resurrection, when we shall see him, insofar as that is possible, as he is.

The believer in Christ has already died to his old life and has been born again by faith, but it is not yet clear what the full extent of that new life will be. However, we do at least know that we shall be immortal and unchanging, because we shall enjoy the contemplation of God’s eternity. Because we shall be blessed we shall be like Christ, yet at the same time we shall be unlike him because he is our Creator and we are only creatures. It seems that this verse applies most obviously to our resurrection body, which will be immortal. In that case we shall be like God after the likeness of his Son, who alone among the persons of the Trinity took a human body in which he died and rose again and which he then took with him into heaven. We shall see God as he is, but this does not mean that we shall fully understand him. For it is one thing to see and another thing to see in such a way as to understand everything.

Is there any connection between what John says here and what Paul says when he writes: God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God?^[1] What then shall we be like? The answer is that here John says that he does not know what form the coming deification through the virtues of faith will take for those who are children of God here on earth now. The independently existing nature of the good things to come has not yet been revealed in detail. Here on earth we walk by faith, not by sight. Paul on the other hand says that through revelation we have received the divine promise concerning the good things which are to come but does not claim to know what these are in any detail. Thus he says quite clearly that he examines himself and pursues the higher calling as far as he understands what it is.^[2] Any contradiction between the two apostles is merely apparent, not real, because they are both inspired by the same Spirit.

We shall see him as he is because we shall be like him. This is our hope for the future, our love in the present and our faith in both the past and the present.

Some people argue from this that God made man according to his image but not according to his likeness, which he will give us later on. We have supposedly believed in him according to the likeness which we have, and if that is worthy enough, then we shall receive God’s likeness as well. But if you have believed according to the likeness and then turn away from it and destroy it, who will give you what belongs to the likeness? You will not be able to acquire the likeness unless you have fully perfected the image first. This is supposed to be why John adds the words: Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself, as he is pure. But my bishop, in his letter to Conon, has shown on the basis of the recognized Fathers of the church that the image and the likeness are one and the same thing and that John was speaking here of something which has already taken place.

There are many who say they have faith in Christ but somehow seem to forget about this pure aspect of it. It is clear that anyone who has real faith will demonstrate that fact by living a life of good works . . . by rejecting ungodliness and worldly desires and by imitating Christ’s sober, righteous and godly life. We are commanded to imitate the purity of God’s holiness to the extent that we are capable of doing so, just as we are taught to hope for the glory of the divine likeness according to our capacity for receiving it.

Note that John uses the present tense when he talks about our need to purify ourselves. The practice of virtue is an ongoing thing and has its own inner dynamic. If we stop living this way or put it off until some future time, there is nothing virtuous about that at all.

John says that sin and iniquity are the same thing, though there were heretics who denied this. According to some of them, iniquity was a crime deliberately committed, but sin was a fact of nature and therefore not a crime.

Let no one say that sin is one thing and wickedness another. Let no one claim to be a sinner but not wicked. Sin and wickedness are the same thing. Actually, the true meaning of this verse is clearer when we look at the Greek, because the word which in Latin is rendered wickedness (iniquitas) in Greek is lawlessness (anomia). So what John really means is that sin is lawlessness.

John’s message is that those of us who have been adopted into Christ must do the works of righteousness and not show ourselves to be lazy in that respect. However, the person who has sinned or will sin is not called wicked or a sinner merely on that account. What John is talking about here is the person who clings to evil and becomes a worker of evil on an ongoing basis.

Sin is a falling away from what is good, whereas iniquity is transgression of the law. The first is a rejection of good as a general principle, the second is a particular violation of a law. The sinner therefore is someone who goes against nature, and it is the nature of human beings to live rationally. Sin is therefore something which must be regarded as absurd.

There is no sin in Christ because he was not conceived in sin as we are.

John the Baptist testified of Jesus that he was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.^[1] He could do this because there was no sin in him. There are many great people in the world who are respected as if they were perfect, but none of them could take away the sins of the world because none of them could live in the world entirely free of sin. For there is no one who can take away sin apart from the One who has no sin at all himself.

Since Christ, in whom there was no sin, came to take away your sins, now you have no excuse to go on sinning.

Just as the person who dwells in virtue and true doctrine does not sin and is not ignorant, so the one who remains in Christ, who is his righteousness and sanctification, does not sin. For how can someone act unrighteously when he is in the company of righteousness, and how can he be content to place corruption alongside holiness? Therefore anyone who sins is outside Christ and has no part or fellowship in him.

Sinners have not seen Christ with the eye of faith, nor have they known him by putting that faith into practice in the right way.

How can someone sin if he is not cut off from God in any way?

We cannot sin to the extent that we remain in Christ. John is speaking here about the vision and knowledge by which the righteous are able to enjoy God in this life, until they come to that perfect vision of him which will be revealed to them at the end of time.

Let no one deceive you by saying that there is nothing wrong with sin. The devil has sinned all along because there is no truth in him. He is the ultimate deceiver.INTRODUCTORY

It goes without saying that we can never be righteous in the same full way that God is righteous. The difference between God’s righteousness and ours is the difference between the face of a man and its image in a mirror. There is a certain resemblance, but the two substances are completely different. The comparison is not at all the same as the vague resemblance between the Father and the Son, because they share a common substance.

Do not be confused about this. The person who does what is right is righteous, and the person who does what is wrong is wicked. It is as simple as that.

Insofar as we commit sins, we have not yet put off the generation of the devil, even if we are thought to believe in Jesus. Everyone who is not of the devil does not commit sin.

Since the devil was first and foremost sent into the world in order to lead people astray, that is where his name comes from.^[1] Thus anyone who sins can be called a devil. Sin is not inherent in the human race, since if it were it could not have been eradicated by a sinless human being. But this is exactly what happened when the Son of God appeared in human flesh, and so sin must be regarded as accidental to human nature, not as intrinsic to human nature.

Because the devil was the first to be locked into sin, everyone who now sins acts according to his bidding. For the devil rules in the sinner by a mass of evil thoughts, as in the case of Judas. Someone might say that the devil is present in sinners even before they sin because they have made room for him. The answer to this is that committing sin and making room for the devil amount to one and the same thing—sin.

As often as we sin, we are born of the devil. But we are of God once again, as often as we pursue virtue.

We do not resemble the devil because of the way we were created, as the Manichaeans blasphemously assert, but because we have followed him into his sinful ways. . . . John describes the devil’s sinfulness in the present tense, because he is just the same now as he was in the beginning, when he first fell into sin. This verse also implies that the devil was created before anything else. There is no reason to doubt that the angels were made before any of the other creatures or that the one who was the highest among them became proud and rebelled against his Maker. It was by pride that he sinned from the beginning and was transformed from being an archangel into being a devil.

When we are persuaded by the devil to sin, we receive his seed. But when we go on to complete the work which he urged, then he has begotten us, for through sin we are born to him as children.

Heretics,^[1] who are deceived in everything by everything, like to object that any birth which is produced by the creator of this world is automatically sinful, whereas any birth which comes from the God of the New Testament is not so. They base this idea on the supposition that sinners and the righteous must have different creators, but this notion is based on a misunderstanding of the teaching of Scripture. The Bible does not say that whoever is born of God is sinless but that such a person will not sin as long as he walks according to the way of righteousness. If he turns aside from that he will sin, and indeed those who do sin have turned away from their Creator. The ability not to sin is guaranteed by the presence of God’s seed in us. This seed is either his power or the spirit of adoption, which cannot sin.

If our circumstances are such that we make some progress in this life by the grace of the Savior, when lust declines and love increases, it is in the next life that we reach perfection, when lust is finally extinguished and love is made perfect. That saying, that whoever is born of God does not sin, is undoubtedly meant to apply to that pure love which alone does not sin. The love in us which is increasing and being perfected also belongs to the new birth from God, but as long as lust continues to exist in us it fights against the law of our mind. As a result, the one who is born of God and who does not obey his own lusts can say that it is no longer he who sins but the sin which dwells in him.^[1]

How can we avoid sin? By keeping the commandment of Christ. And what is that commandment? It is that we should love. Love, and sin is undone.

John did not say this with respect to the existence of sin in our lives, as if our nature were covered with impassibility. Rather he means that insofar as someone who is born of God retains the grace of his new birth he cannot sin in the way he behaves. And the reason for this is that God’s seed dwells in him. What is this seed of God which dwells in believers? What else but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, by which we have been born again? This presence never leaves us.

If someone who is born of God does not sin, how is it that we who have been born of water and the Spirit, and thus of God, do in fact commit sins? The answer is that the phrase born of God has two different meanings. According to the first of these, God has given the grace of sonship with all power to those who have been born again. According to the second, the God who has thus given birth is working in us to bring us to perfection. By faith we are born again in principle, but God still has to get to work on us in order to refashion us according to his likeness.

The divine seed is Christ, who dwells in believers and makes them become sons of God. Likewise, when it is said that in Abraham’s seed all the nations will be blessed, this too is a reference to Christ. John says that the Spirit is the seed which we receive through the blessing of our mind. For he dwells in us, making the mind of sin no longer welcome.

This does not mean that there is no sin in us at all, since John has already said that that is not the case. Rather what he is saying here is that if we have God’s nature, that is, his Word, in us we shall not go against the law of love. ^[1] THE SEED OF GOD REMAINS. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: The person who has once denied Satan and confessed God, and who has been born again and discarded all the oldness of Adam, is not guilty of sin, because he is the seed of God. The teaching of God remains in him, for he calls this teaching seed. COMMENTARIES.^[1]

Since a person who walks in righteousness is born of God, it follows that someone who is so born will love his brothers. Someone who lacks righteousness because he does not practice it, but instead hates his brother, is not born of God.

The chief author of sin is the devil, the begetter of all sin. Before him, no one sinned. Nor did he sin because he was by nature prone to sin (since in that case the responsibility for his sin would lie with his Creator). Rather, being created good he became a devil by his own free choice, receiving that name from his willed action. Though he was originally an archangel, he became a slanderer (diabolos), because of his slandering.

Love is the mark of sinlessness, and hate is the mark of sin. Since the person who walks in righteousness is born of God, it follows that someone who is so born will love the brothers, whereas someone who does not have this new birth will not do so. Rather he who hates his brother is not of God.

Love is the great divide between the children of God and the children of the devil. Those who have love are children of God, and those who do not are children of the devil. Have anything else you like, but if you lack this one thing, then all the rest is of no use to you whatsoever. On the other hand, you may lack almost anything else, but if you have this one thing, you have fulfilled the law.

Our love must always be demonstrated both in respectful speech and in generous service to others.

John is just repeating what Jesus said: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.^[1]

We have had the commandment to love one another from the beginning, so that we should not fall into evil as Cain did, who murdered his brother.

Cain became unrighteous and turned into the very first person who killed a member of his family, thereby teaching human nature the way of murder.

John explains in what way Cain was of the evil one. Wherever there is jealousy, brotherly love is impossible. Rather the sin of the evil one, that is, the devil, is in that man’s heart, because the devil also rejected man because of his envy. The works of righteous Abel are works of love, whereas the works of Cain amount to hatred for his brother. It is only to be expected that someone who hates his brother will envy his works.

If we have passed from death to life by passing from unbelief to faith, let us not be surprised if the world hates us. For no one who has failed to pass from death to life, but has remained in death, can love those who have left the darkened house of death.

It is not to be wondered at if evil people, who are here called the world, hate those who live godly lives according to the commands of Christ. It would be much more surprising if such people loved us instead!

How often do you have to be told what the world is? John is not referring to the heavens or the earth or to anything which God has made but to the lovers of the world.

By world John means those who love the world. It is hardly surprising that those who love the world will be incapable of loving a brother who has separated himself from the world and whose only concern is to acquire heavenly things. Religion is an abomination to the sinner, as Scripture testifies.

Whoever loves his brothers in God’s way has passed from death to life, but whoever does not have this love remains in death. In the same way the widow who enjoyed herself was dead, even if technically she was alive.^[1] For anyone who lives like that has obviously forgotten God.

God says: He who hears my words and does them will not see death but will be changed from death into life.^[1]

Let no one who is preparing death traps for the members of Christ, no one who is still abiding in death, presume to approach the holy mysteries^[1] of life, as if prepared to receive them.

By death, John means the death of the soul, for the soul which sins will surely die. The soul is the life of the flesh, but the life of the soul is God. Therefore when the body dies, the soul leaves it, but when the soul dies, it is God who abandons it. Thus we can say that all of us who are born into this world are dead in soul, since we have inherited original sin from Adam, but the grace of Christ works in believers by giving a new life, so that our souls may live once again.

Christ lives in a believing mind.

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. But this text of Scripture does not apply to males only; it is equally valid for females. Any woman who has injured someone else must make amends as quickly as possible, and the injured sister must forgive without reserve.

Whoever hates is a murderer. You may not have prepared any poison or committed a crime. You have only hated, and in doing so, you have killed yourself first of all.

In this passage, every person should be regarded as a brother, for we are all brothers in Christ.

If someone has failed to take fraternal hatred seriously, will he not also disregard murder in his heart? His hand does not move to kill anyone, but he is already regarded by God as a murderer. The victim is alive, but the slayer has already been judged a murderer.

John tells us that we must be ready to lay down our lives for our friends. If that is true, how much more should we be ready to lay them down for Christ?

We have been given the privilege of being able to lay down our lives for our brothers. But are you prepared to die for Christ?

Christ has taught us by the example of his own passion what kind of love we ought to have in us. For greater love has no man than this, than a man should lay down his life for his friends.^[1]

If alms given to the least are given to Christ, there is no reason for anyone to prefer earthly things to heavenly ones or to place human things before divine ones.

When you see someone in need, do not run away, but think to yourself, if that were you, would you want to be treated like that?

If you are not yet able to die for your brother, at least show him your ability to give him of your goods. Let love be stirring your inmost heart to do it, not for display but out of the very marrow of compassion, thinking only of the brother and his need.

Look where charity begins. If you are not yet ready to die for your brother, at least you should be ready to share some of your wealth with him. For if you are not prepared to show sympathy for your brother’s plight, then the love of the Father, who has given birth to both of you, is not in you.

It is not enough to have good intentions. You must also put them into effect with genuine willingness and a happy heart.

Actions speak louder than words.

If a brother or sister has nothing and cannot even find enough to eat, we ought to give them the basic necessities of life. Likewise if we notice that they are deficient in spiritual things, we ought to guide them in whatever way we can. Of course we must be sincere in doing this, not looking for praise from other people, not boasting, and not pointing out that others who are richer than we are have not done nearly as much. For someone who thinks like that is full of wickedness, and the gift of truth does not dwell in him, even if it appears on the surface that he is showing love to others.

We know that we belong to the truth if we love in deed as well as in word. Anyone who says one thing but does another is a liar and a stranger to the truth.

When we do the works of godliness, it becomes apparent that we are of the truth which is God, because we are copying his perfect love to the best of our ability. When we love our neighbors in deed and in truth, we see clearly that we are reassuring our hearts in the light of the supreme truth. For whenever we want to do something, we think it over long enough to persuade ourselves to do it. Those who want to do something wicked also want to hide it from God as much as they can, but those who want to do good have no hesitation about reassuring themselves that they want to do this good in the sight of God.

This means that God’s power is greater than the conscience which belongs to the soul, because God’s love knows everything.

If we practice what we preach, we shall persuade our hearts, that is to say, our consciences, that we are on the right track. For then God will bear witness that we have listened to what he says.

If our conscience accuses us inside because it does not see the good works which we ought to be doing, how can we set aside the knowledge of him to whom is sung: Even the darkness is not dark to you . . . for darkness is as light with you.^[1]

Our conscience gives us a true answer, that we love and that genuine love is in us, not feigned but sincere, seeking our brother’s salvation and expecting nothing from him except his salvation.

As long as you are in this life (for this life is nothing other than the way which we all take), do not ignore or reject the warnings of your conscience. For if you do so, when you have run your course, your conscience will rise up against you and accuse you before your judge, and thrust you in front of the judge’s sentence and turn you over to eternal punishment. You will not have to endure this if along the way you show yourself kind toward this adversary and accept his well-intended rebukes with gratitude.

If the truth is that we love, and love is second nature to us, not feigned but sincere, seeking the welfare of others and asking for nothing in return except the salvation of a brother, we haveconfidence. If, in other words, our heart does not condemn us, then we have confidence toward God, not in the sight of other people but where God alone can see it—in our hearts.

It must be understood that if we are to get what we ask for from God we have to obey his commands. The two things go indissolubly together.

This is a great promise to believers, and one which is highly desirable. For if someone is so stupid and absurd that he does not rejoice in the heavenly promises, he ought to listen to what wisdom says: If one turns away from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.^[1]

If we obey God’s commands, then our obedience will bear fruit, for we shall receive whatever we ask for.

Note that here John gives us only one commandment, though he goes on in the next verse to speak about commandments in the plural, adding love to faith, since these can hardly be separated from each other. For in truth it is impossible to love one another in the right way if we do not have faith in Christ, just as it is impossible to believe in the name of Christ if we do not love one another.

The first point to be made here is that we must love one another according to the faith which we have in the name of Jesus Christ, for it is by this that we know that the grace of the Holy Spirit given to us will be firmly planted in us. The second thing to notice is the use of the word name, which is quite frequent in Scripture. It includes the will, the glory and the honor of the one who bears it, and his will is that everyone everywhere should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.^[1]

Our assurance comes from his care for us and his provision for the future.

Let God become a home to you, and he will dwell in you. Remain in him, and he will remain in you. God remains in you in order to hold you up. You remain in God in order not to fall. . . . In earlier times the Holy Spirit fell on believers, and they spoke in tongues which they had not learned. But nowadays the church has no lack of external signs, and anyone who believes in the name of Jesus Christ can have brotherly love, which John holds out to us as the sign that the Holy Spirit is dwelling in us. For the Spirit works in us to give us love.

What does John mean by this? It is exactly what Jesus said: Whatever you want others to do to you, do the same to them.^[1] Therefore if we want our neighbors to be well-disposed toward us, we must be equally well-disposed toward them. If this is God’s command, how much more ought we to obey it if we dwell in him and are sealed by him? He cannot deny himself, and it must surely be the case that whatever he has asked us to do he has already done or become in himself. Therefore if we do what he says, we know that he will give us whatever we ask and that his gift will be sealed in us.