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4:1 Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the
world.
4:2 Hereby know ye the
Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 4:3 And every spirit
that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of
God: and this is that spirit of
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that
it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4:4 Ye are of God, little
children, and have overcome them: because
greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the
world, and the
world heareth them.
4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of
God heareth not us. Hereby know we the
spirit of truth, and the spirit
of error.
4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every
one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth
God.
4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for
God is love.
4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God
sent his
only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through
him.
4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
4:12
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God
dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he
hath given us of his Spirit.
4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to
be the
Saviour of the world.
4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God,
God
dwelleth in him, and he in God.
4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God
is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
4:17 Herein is our love made
perfect, that we may have boldness in the
day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
4:18 There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casteth out fear:
because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in
love.
4:19
We love him, because he first loved us.
4:20 If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his
brother, he is a liar:
for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love
God whom he hath not seen? 4:21 And this commandment have we from
him, That he who
loveth
God love his brother also.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
1 John
Book: 1 John
Chapter: 4
Overview:
Believers cautioned against giving heed to every one that
pretends to the
Spirit.
(1-6) Brotherly
Love enforced.
(7-21)
1-6 Christians who are
Well acquainted with the Scriptures,
may, in humble dependence
On Divine teaching, discern those who
set forth doctrines according to the apostles, and those who
contradict them. The sum of revealed religion is in the doctrine
concerning
Christ, his person and office. The false teachers
spake of the world according to its maxims and tastes,
So as not
to offend
Carnal men. The world approved them, they made rapid
progress, and had many followers such as themselves; the world
will
Love its own, and its own will
Love it. The true doctrine
as to the
Saviour's person, as leading men from the world to
God, is a
Mark of the
Spirit of
Truth in opposition to the
Spirit of error. The more pure and holy any doctrine is, the
more likely to be of
God; nor can we
By any other rules try the
spirits whether they are of
God or not. And what wonder is it,
that people of a worldly
Spirit should cleave to those who are
like themselves, and suit their schemes and discourses to their
corrupt taste?
7-13 The
Spirit of
God is the
Spirit of
Love. He that does not
Love the image of
God in his people, has
No saving knowledge of
God. For it is
God's nature to be kind, and to give happiness.
The
Law of
God is
Love; and all would have been perfectly happy,
had all obeyed it. The provision of the
Gospel, for the
forgiveness of
Sin, and the
Salvation of sinners, consistently
with
God's
Glory and
Justice, shows that
God is
Love.
Mystery
and
Darkness Rest upon many things yet.
God has
So shown himself
to be
Love, that we cannot come short of eternal happiness,
unless through unbelief and impenitence, although strict
Justice
would condemn us to hopeless misery, because we break our
Creator's laws. None of our words or thoughts can do
Justice to
the free, astonishing
Love of a holy
God towards sinners, who
could not profit or harm him, whom he might justly crush in a
moment, and whose deserving of his vengeance was shown in the
method
By which they were saved, though he could
By his almighty
Word have created other worlds, with more perfect beings, if he
had seen fit. Search we the whole universe for
Love in its most
glorious displays? It is to be found in the person and the
Cross
of
Christ. Does
Love exist between
God and sinners? Here was the
origin, not that we loved
God, but that he freely loved us. His
Love could not be designed to be fruitless upon us, and when its
proper
End and issue are gained and produced, it may be said to
be perfected.
So Faith is perfected
By its
Works. Thus it will
appear that
God dwells in us
By his new-creating
Spirit. A
loving
Christian is a perfect
Christian; set him to any good
duty, and he is perfect to it, he is expert at it.
Love oils the
wheels of his affections, and sets him
On that which is helpful
to his brethren. A
Man that goes about a business with ill will,
always does it badly. That
God dwells in us and we in him, were
words too high for mortals to use, had not
God Put them before
us. But how may it be known whether the
Testimony to this does
proceed from the
Holy Ghost? Those who are truly persuaded that
they are the sons of
God, cannot but
Call him
Abba,
Father. From
Love to him, they hate
Sin, and whatever disagrees with his
will, and they have a sound and hearty desire to do his will.
Such
Testimony is the
Testimony of the
Holy Ghost.
14-21 The
Father sent the Son, he willed his coming into this
world. The
Apostle attests this. And whosoever shall confess
that
Jesus is the
Son of God,
God dwelleth in him, and he in
God. This
Confession includes
Faith in the
Heart as the
foundation; makes acknowledgment with the mouth to the
Glory of
God and
Christ, and profession in the
Life and conduct, against
the flatteries and frowns of the world. There must be a
Day of
universal
Judgment. Happy those who shall have holy boldness
before the
Judge at that
Day; knowing he is their Friend and
Advocate! Happy those who have holy boldness in the prospect of
that
Day, who look and wait for it, and for the
Judge's
appearance! True
Love to
God assures believers of
God's
Love to
them.
Love teaches us to suffer for him and with him; therefore
we may trust that we shall also be glorified with him, 2Ti
2:12. We must distinguish between the fear of
God and being
afraid of him; the fear of
God imports high regard and
veneration for
God. Obedience and good
Works, done from the
principle of
Love, are not like the servile toil of one who
unwillingly labours from dread of a master's
Anger. They are
like that of a dutiful
Child, who does services to a beloved
Father, which benefit his brethren, and are done willingly. It
is a sign that our
Love is far from perfect, when our doubts,
fears, and apprehensions of
God, are many. Let
Heaven and
Earth
stand amazed at his
Love. He sent his
Word to invite sinners to
partake of this great
Salvation. Let them take the comfort of
the happy change wrought in them, while they give him the
Glory.
The
Love of
God in
Christ, in the hearts of Christians from the
Spirit of
Adoption, is the great proof of
Conversion. This must
be tried
By its effects
On their temper, and their conduct to
their brethren. If a
Man professes to
Love God, and yet indulges
Anger or revenge, or shows a selfish disposition, he gives his
profession the
Lie. But if it is
Plain that our natural
Enmity
is changed into
Affection and gratitude, let us
Bless the name
of our
God for this
Seal and
Earnest of eternal happiness. Then
we differ from the false professors, who pretend to
Love God,
whom they have not seen, yet hate their brethren, whom they have
seen.