1 John 3:11-24, Part 2

Gideon Levytam: Shalom. Holy scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.
Gideon Levytam: the study of First John chapter three. In scripture we find many times this expression, that wicked one. He is that wicked one, this evil one, the murderer that murdered from the beginning. And so he's saying, "Don't love one another the way Cain did towards his brother," because what happened? He ended up slaying his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his own works were evil and his brother was righteous. In other words, let me just say that, that exist often time in my heart and in yours is the thought of envy and jealousy. In Hebrew, we call it kina. Kina. When someone is envious over one another. This is jealousy and envy. So really, what happened? If you remember, both of them were approaching God. Both of them, you might say, were religious people. The one came to God on a basis of the offering of the sacrifice and the blood was shed. The other one came to God on his own merit. You see, beloved brothers and sisters, Cain was not an atheist. He believed that there is a God existing. He was a religious man, but he was coming to God on his own terms and not on God's terms. And we read this in Genesis chapter four just earlier, that both of them approached God because they were instructed by their parent. The one came to God on a basis of the instruction that God gave to Adam and Eve. The other one came to God on his own merit. And when God accepted Abel and rejected the offering of Cain, Cain was mad. Cain was angry. And Cain actually was envious and jealous over the fact that his brother was accepted and he was rejected. If you look in a dictionary, the word for envy or jealousy is really the same in the Hebrew, it simply mean kina. What is a kina? What is jealousy? What is envy? Envy is a feeling of discontentment and covetousness over another advantage and success. When we see somebody who is being successful and we are not, and someone else an advantage that we don't have, and we began to desire that and seek for that by all means, it leads often time to a terrible thing to be done. In a case of Cain, it's led to a murder. The only thing that he could have done, beloved brothers and sisters, when God said to him, "Cain, why are you angry?" And Cain's face were fallen. He was angry with God because God had accepted Abel and rejected him because he didn't bring a blood sacrifice. So he was angry with God. So he couldn't take his anger upon God because God is greater than him. So he took his anger upon his brother. And he ended up killing his brother, murdering his brother. And when God asked him, "Cain, where is your brother?" You know, he lied. And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And God had to tell Cain in chapter four, he said to him, "Why you are angry, Cain? Why is your countenance fallen, verse six of Genesis chapter four? If you do well, shall thou not be accepted? If thou doest not well, sin laying at the door and unto thee shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him." And Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and he slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, "Cain, where is your brother?" And he said, "I know not. Am I my brother's keeper?" And he said, "What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood cries out from the ground. And now thou art cursed from this earth which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thine hand." And ultimately, God judged Cain. And you know, beloved brothers and sisters, we read in Genesis chapter four and verse sixteen, Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and the Bible never ever showed that Cain ever returned to the presence of the Lord. He turned his back on God. So now John is writing to the family. And he's saying to the brothers and sisters of the family, to the children of God, and he's saying, "Listen, brothers and sisters, you are to love one another because you have heard this from the beginning, from Yeshua the Messiah, and don't live this kind of lifestyle to end up hating your own brothers and sisters." And that's why he's saying in these verses, "Don't be like Cain." You see, he's writing it to believers. And it is possible for a believer who is not judging himself or herself, to come to the extent that when we allow the flesh to take its course, that hatred, envy and jealousy coming against believers that produce divisions and friction among the people of God. And this is the lowest level of living here in this world. It's really a murderous type of living, hating everyone on every hand. And that's why Yohanan is saying, "Listen, this kind of lifestyle ought not to be found in you. Don't be like this man by the name of Cain." You know, I want to read another verse in Proverbs chapter 27 and verse four. King Solomon said about envy, he says, "Wrath is cruel. Anger is outrageous. But who is able to stand before envy? Who is able to stand before envy?" This is the lowest way of living here in this world. It's really an influence of Satan. In First John chapter three and verse 12, he's saying that the one that is living like this is influenced by Satan himself. And I read again this verse 12, "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one," namely Satan himself. So that's the lowest way in which a person can live here in this world: hateful, resentful, dissatisfied, constantly fighting and hating others, and so on. This is a terrible condition to be in. Believers in Yeshua the Messiah, who are part of the family of God, ought to never arrive to such a state. Here now, let's move on then in verse 13, 14 and 15. Here's another, you might say, low level of living here in this world, which is a bit higher than the lowest one, but it's still a sad condition to find a person living in such a way. This is verse 13, 14 and 15. It's not so much one that had been leading physically to kill someone, like Cain have done so. But here is another who are doing that, but he does it in his or her heart. They might have not done it physically, but they have done it in our hearts. This is a danger that we are finding ourselves as well. Look at this, verse 13, 14 and 15. It says in verse 13, "Do not marvel, brethren, when the world hate you." Don't marvel when the world hate you. Why? Because the world hated Yeshua the Messiah. That word for world is cosmos. And in this context, it has to do with the evil system in this world. He says, "Brothers and sisters, don't be surprised when the world, this evil system here in this world, hate the believers." They have hated the Messiah, they will hate those who follow the Messiah. This is verse 13. But then he's saying in verse 14, "We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren." I'm reading verse 14, "And we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death." Now, if I would have write this verse, I would write, "We know that we passed from death unto life because we have done many good works, or we have achieved a lot as believers, or maybe because I am a good preacher, or I am a good Bible teacher, or I am a good Sunday school teacher, or Shabbat school teacher. I passed from death unto life because I go to church meeting. I passed from death unto life because I have attended a meeting, a congregational meeting. I sing to the Lord." He doesn't say those things. He says, "The evident that we passed from death unto life is because we love the brethren." See, how do we test? How do we show that we have really passed from death unto life because we now become children of God? The proof of it, according to this text, is not what we have achieved, not how many times we go to a church or congregational meeting, not how many times we read our Bible, not how many verses we know from the word of God, and not how I sing, or how I play, or how I preach, but the evident that we passed from death unto life is because we love the Achim, the brothers and the sisters in Yeshua the Messiah. This is how John looks at this. When the believers love one another sacrificially, it's an evident that a change happened here, that they have accepted Yeshua the Messiah. They have been born from above. There's a new life in them. And then he said, "He that loves not his brother, abides in death." So here we see when believers do not practice love one towards another, they really abide or remain in the way they used to be before they became believers in Yeshua the Messiah, remaining in death. This is not that they are not born again, but that means that they allow their old nature to take his or its course instead of allowing the new man, the new life in the Messiah, the Holy Spirit of God to lead them. Brothers and sisters, passing from death unto life, the evident of this is when we love the brothers and sisters. The one that does not love a brother or sister, he is really remaining in death. And then verse 15, he says, "Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer." Now, this is such a strong word John is telling these family of God. He's saying, "Really, if you don't love your brothers and your sisters, it's very similar to what Cain have done to Abel." Even though Cain have done it physically, but here he's speaking mentally, emotionally, spiritually. If your heart, the thoughts and the desires of your heart is enmity towards our brothers and sisters, it's like murdering someone. You may have not done it actually, but you have done it in your own heart. You have done it in your own heart. Look how Yeshua pointed to this in Matthew chapter five and verse 21. Look what Yeshua said in chapter five of the Gospel of Matthew. This is the Sermon on the Mount. Yeshua said in verse 21, "You have heard that it was said by them of old time, 'Thou shall not kill.'" And whosoever shall kill or murder, shall be in danger of the judgment. Now, verse 22. "But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, 'Raka,' or 'Rake' in Hebrew, shall be in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say, 'Thou fool,' shall be in danger of hell fire." "Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother has something against you, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer thy gift." You see, Yeshua now took this the law that God had given to our people of old Israel, "Thou shall not murder," and he went and he took it another step forward. It's not only that one ought not to murder, literally murdering someone, but hateful and hatefulness that come from the heart against another, is actually according to these verses, a sin against the Lord and it is dishonoring to the Lord. Even calling someone 'Raka', one is in danger of the council. That word 'Raka' means empty, to say to someone, "You're empty, you have, you're good for nothing. There's no value in you." As far as Jesus concerned, this is really thinking negative to such an extent about someone that is endangering one of judgment. And so, back to First John chapter three, verse 15. A believer that hates his brother is actually a murderer. A murderer can be saved as Paul. Remember he was accused of murder of Stephen and he got saved later on. But a believer now ought not to live this kind of a lifestyle. A saved person cannot continue on in this type of lifestyle of hate and cause of friction among the people of God. We might do so a time and confess our sins before the Lord and repent and change our way. But if a person carry on with this kind of lifestyle all the time, repetition, ongoing kind of hateful attitude in his life or her life, this is only a proof that this person may really never ever came to know Yeshua the Messiah in the first place. A believer should love the brothers and sisters and change his or her way not to continue in the old way of life, but in the new way of living, following Yeshua the Messiah. Paul said this to Titus in chapter three and verse three. "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceiving or deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasure, living in malice, and listen, and envy, and hateful, and hating one another." That's the way that we were, Paul said to Titus in chapter three and verse three. But after the kindness and the love of God our Savior towards men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he had saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. And now he's saying, "Change have happened in our lives. We are no longer living the way we used to live before we became believers in Yeshua the Messiah." Well, verses 11 and 12 of First John chapter three is the lowest type of living, the lowest way of life here in this world, which lead to a murder. Then verses 13, 14 and 15 is also a way, a low way of living here in this world, which really speaks of hatefulness that comes out of the heart and a believer ought not to live this kind of lifestyle. And he's leading on now to the next verses where he's moving on to the way that a believer ought to live like. Now verse 16 and verse 17. Yohanan is pointing to the danger of living a life of indifference without concern for one another. And he says in verse 16, First John chapter three and verse 16, he's saying now those words, "Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us. And we are to lay down our lives for the brethren." You notice that he says here, "Hereby perceive we the love of God." Really the word 'of God' is in italic and it really shouldn't be there. Someone places this to help us to understand what Yohanan is saying. But it really should say like this, "Hereby perceive we love." How do we perceive love? Because, verse 16 B, because he, this is Yeshua the Messiah, laid down his life for each and every one of us. And if he laid down his life for each and every one of us, we also are to lay down our life for the brethren. Now look at the standard. Not of us can say that we are able or willing to lay down our life for another brother, for another sister. In the history of the church age, perhaps there were few that were willing to lay down their life. But it's not natural for us. Paul said to the Lord in prayer. He actually was writing this to the Romans and he said to the brethren, he said, "I'm willing to be cut off from the Lord for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." He was willing to give his life over just that the brethren, the Jewish people, the people of Israel will come to faith in the Messiah. Moshe, Moses said those words in the book of Exodus. He said to the Lord in Exodus chapter 32, 33, 34, those three chapters there. He said to the God of Israel, "Blot up my name from the book which you are writing. Just do not blot out the names of the people of Israel out of this world." In other word, "I'm willing to lay down my life for my people, the people of Israel." And where do you think they have learned this from? These two towering personality. Both of them are Hebrew, speaking about the Hebrew people, the people of Israel. One of them before the coming of the Messiah, the other one after the coming of the Messiah. They have learned it from Yeshua. From the Son of God who laid down his life for us. He was judged that we will not be judged. He was punished that you and I will never need to be punished. And that's why he says, "How do we know love?" The only way that we know love in its full sense of its meaning is when the Messiah laid down his life for us. No religion produce such a thing. No group of people in the world can offer such a thing. No humanity can offer such a thing here in this world. Only God can provide such a love because God is love. God is light, but also God is love. There's no darkness in him. But God is love and he was willing to send his Son to this world in order that the world will be redeemed and saved through his Son. He laid down his life for us. Now imagine if he laid down his life for us, ought we as believers to treat each other in such a way as we just read in the previous verses, hatred that come from the heart, coming to the extent that we hate so much as the Apostle John said, "the one who hate another, it's like a murder," similar to what Cain have done to his own brother. He says, "That's not the way at all. Brethren," he says, "how do we know love? We know it when we look at Yeshua and we see what he have done for us. If he have done this for us, can one harbor hatred in his own heart or her own heart to the extent that they are willing all sort of evil to happen to their own brothers and sisters who have wronged them, perhaps?" You see, he says, "No. If we learn what love is all about from Yeshua the Messiah, who laid down his life for us, we also have to look at his example and be willing to offer us in some measure. We ought to be willing to lay down our lives for the brethren." And then he says in verse 17, "The proof that we have love one towards another is by meeting the needs of each other." And that's why he's very practical. You notice when he used the word brethren in plural in verse 16, he is narrowing it down to a brother singular or a sister singular. And he says in verse 17, "Whosoever has this world's good and sees his brother or his sister have need and shut up his bowels of compassion from him or from her, how dwells the love of God in him?" Here is the proof that we really learn some lessons from the love of our Lord Jesus, of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, is by how we treat our brothers and sisters. And this is very important. This is very practical. You see, it's not theory, it's not merely word of mouth like we often like to say things, but this is very practical. The time that we failed the Lord, practically acting upon what he expect from his own people to do. I have a couple of verses I want to link with these passage. And turn back to the book of Yaakov, to the book of James. James chapter two, verse 14. James, Yaakov saying this, "What does it profit, my brethren? Though a man say that he has faith and have not works. Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily goods or daily food, and one of you say unto them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' nevertheless, or notwithstanding, ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what does it profit?" You see what he's saying? He's saying, "You say that you have faith." John speaking about love. James speaking about faith. "You say that you believe in God. How is it manifest in a practical way in the life of the believer?" While in James, in Yaakov, Yaakov wrote in connection with faith, Yohanan is connecting it with love. If you say that you really love the Lord and you love the people of God, well, how is it evident in the life of the believer? And so if someone come, if a brother have a need and then you shut your bowels of compassion from him, how the love of God dwells in you, dwells in me, dwells in us? You know how many times we had opportunities to meet a need, and we failed the Lord and we fail our brothers and sisters by not acting upon it. And you see how John is very practical, there is a danger of living without concern or indifferent, carelessness. You know, I don't care, I am a child of God, I belong to the body of Messiah, I am going to heaven, I am saved, but not to practically be a blessing to each other. How do you say that the love of God is dwelling in you, John is saying in First John chapter three and verse 17. This is so practical. John is emphasizing this today. Look at another verse in Hebrews again, chapter 13 this time, just before Yaakov, if you go James, Hebrews chapter 13 and verses one, two and three. The writer who wrote to Hebrew believers said, "Let brotherly love continue." In other word, it began, let it continue on. And then he said, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. And then he says, "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity as being yourself also in the body." In other word, "Don't be indifferent. Don't be as it says here in our text, don't have this kind of attitude that is without concern for others." And how we can be like that? How we are always in danger of being like that, not concerned about the needs of others, not meeting the need of the brothers and sisters. And though we love the Lord, and yet there's this danger of having a lack of care for the people of God. This is practical Christianity, practical walk with the Lord. So we have the lowest way of living, this is lead men to murder. We have then that which is, you might say, a bit higher, and that lead men to just have an internal hatred rather than love, but this hatred among the people of God. Then we have the danger of being so careless. So we are not the worst of the worst, and we are not worse, but we are careless. But then the last verses, brothers and sisters, of this chapter, John is leading these brothers and sisters to the highest form of love in which we ought to live. And this is something we all need help with, and this is the believers' true way of living here in this world. This is what you call practical walk with the Lord in relationship to our brothers and sisters. And here it is, verses 18 to 24. In verse 18, first of all, notice it called them my little children. You see, he used the word little children before, but now he add something that he also said before, "My little children." You notice this expression, "My." They were not only that they were children of God, they were believers, they were part of the family of God, but he felt this sense of responsibility, of ownership. And that's why he's saying to them in verse 18, "My little children." He used this expression already in chapter two and verse one, where he says, "My little children." Now he uses this expression again because John felt an ownership over the people to whom he wrote to. What does that mean? He felt that perhaps he was used by the Lord, by the Spirit of God to lead many of those to the Messiah. He had been sharing the Gospel, teaching the word of God. And so he had as a father had concern for them. And that's why he's adding the word not only little children, but he says, "You are my little children. I love you." You know, Paul used this very same expression also in Galatian, Galatian four and verse 19. Paul also used this expression, "My little children." He was laboring and laboring and laboring and ministering the word, sharing the Gospel. And then the believers there became like his own born ones.
Gideon Levytam: You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0. Or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM, and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.