"We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."
1 John 3:14
Part 2
Yesterday:
“We know that we have passed from death unto life,”
What a blessing it is to know that we are saved, no doubts or fears, but peace with our Lord.
Note what shows “that we have passed from death unto life…”
Today:
“Because we love the brethren.”
Loving our brothers in Christ is not the grounds of our salvation, but it is an action that shows we have already passed from death and into life and are now among the saved. We can’t start trying to love Christians for the purpose of getting saved, but we begin to love them after God saves us. He changes our hearts, and then our motives and tastes for spiritual things appear. We now start to love the Word of God, and other believers.
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God,” (1 John 4:7).
Today’s verse is the only place in the Bible this phrase, “we love the brethren” is used. In other places in the Bible, we find “love one another,” or “love his brother.” All of these are reminders that there is this difference in our relationship with other believers after the Lord saves us.
“He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
Where there is not God’s kind of love in life, that sinner still abides in death. There is no evidence in his life that he knows the Lord or has anything to do with Christ’s salvation. In fact, the evidence points in the other direction.
“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now,” (1 John 2:9).
“We know, therefore, says the apostle, that we are passed over from the territory of death to the kingdom of life, because we love the brethren, which those who continue in the old kingdom – under the old covenant, can never do; for he that loveth not his brother abideth in death. He has never changed his original residence. He is still an unconverted, unrenewed sinner,”1 (Clarke).
Believer, how is your love towards other believers coming? Are you growing in your Biblical love for others? Does your love pass the “loving the brethren” test?
1. Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.