FollowA Letter to the Children (Part 9)
1st John 3:17-24
© 2025 C. O. Bishop
Agapé Love is an Action Word
17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but [in contrast] in deed and in truth.
The agapé love is a practical matter. It is not a matter of “how we feel” or “what we say,” although those ideas can be involved. It is a matter of what we choose to actually do to benefit another.
God described His own Love, in the Gospel of John 3:16…He said “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It is interesting to note that the phrase “God so loved…” means “in this manner, God loved…” In the Spanish Bible this is translated, “Por que de tal manera amo Dios al mundo…” in this way, God loved the world… He Gave His own life for ours.
Compare Two Similar Passages
Last week we saw (in 1st John 3:16) that the Creator God, Himself laid down His life for His Creation. If we fail to understand the Deity of Christ: that He Himself is the Creator, then we have a problem. That verse sounds like a contradiction of the passage in The Gospel of John 3:16. But it is the same writer (The Apostle John) and the same Author (the Holy Spirit.) So, evidently The Lord gave this to us, just to underscore the Unity of the Trinity.
We saw something similar in Acts 20:28. Paul stated that God purchased the Church with His own Blood. (Some translations balk at that idea. They insert the words “the blood of His Son.”)
But Paul called the elders to shepherd “the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
God teaches the Deity of Christ throughout the Old and New Testaments. He truly is God in the Flesh!
So, What Action Did Jesus Take as a Result of Agapé Love?
He willingly sacrificed Himself to serve as a substitute for us…Jesus became our sin! He took the place of the vile mess of the sins of all humanity. In this way, God the Father could pour out His wrath on our sins without destroying us all.
The Lord gave every believer, a new nature, and He provided us with a guaranteed entry into His eternal presence. He placed His Spirit within us, and promised never to leave us. Jesus pleads continually on our behalf, and He promises He will never lose a single one of His “Born-again” children. He says, “I give unto them Eternal Life and they Shall Never Perish!
And What Does He Require Of Us?
The Bible tells what He asks of us on the basis of the Agapé Love which He implanted in us. Wouldn’t you agree that the things He asks are very fair, and reasonable requests? All He asks us to do is to reflect the light of His Love. We don’t even have to “produce it!”
We reflect His Love by offering it to those around us in practical ways. He says in verse 17, that if we see a need in a brother or sister’s life and if we close our hearts against them, ignoring their need, that is the opposite of Agapé. We are choosing to not meet their need.
John goes on to say, “let us not Love in word or in tongue, but in deed, and in truth!” This is a very practical matter! It is not just Theory!
James Agrees!
James 2:14-18 confirms this concept:
“14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
People often quote this passage in James in an attempt to teach that salvation is by works. But notice, in verse 18, that the challenger is a fellow human: “A Man may say ‘Show me your faith without works: I will show you my faith by my works.’” Humans cannot “see faith” without the “object lesson” of works.
Paul Agrees, Too!
God sees the heart. He justifies the sinner By Grace through Faith, alone. But Humans only agree that a person is righteous if they can see the accompanying works that should follow.
God reminds us of that in Ephesians 2:10, saying that as believers (saved by Grace through Faith) God has “Created us in Christ Jesus unto Good Works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.”
So, James and John and Paul all agree that “works should follow faith”…But, if NO change is happening in your life, especially in terms of how you view the brothers and sisters in Christ, and how you reach out to meet their needs, then you do have serious cause to question what sort of relationship you really have with Jesus.
So, How Can I Examine My Own Walk With God?
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
There are two possibilities here: one is that we feel “convicted” about something, and John’s comment would mean, “If you think it is a bad thing, how do you suppose God feels about it?” So, if we are living with Him in such a way that our life is marked by the joy of the Lord, then we have confidence before Him.
Another Way to Understand this Verse
But, the other possibility is that, as Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us, our heart is deceitful, and it may condemn us needlessly. If we are “feeling guilty,” when God’s Word does not condemn us, then the “accuser of the brethren” may be the true source of the self-condemnation.
In that case, John’s comment may be to assure us that God is the final judge of all things. He is the one who, by Grace, has declared you righteous on the basis of faith alone. (See Revelation 12:10, and remember who the accuser of the brethren is!)
Romans 8:31-34 echoes this idea, saying “31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
God is Backing His People!
So, following that idea, we can see that from God’s perspective we are already “home free” with Him. Ephesians 2:6 says that we are already seated in the Heavenlies in Christ. This is absolutely beyond my comprehension if I try to “Think in terms of my new location.” All I can do is accept it by faith, and rejoice in humble thanksgiving, that He has declared me to be already Accepted in the Beloved…already Redeemed…already Forgiven!
Are there times when we have sinned, and our heart is condemning the sin? Yes! And, rest assured: God hates sin far more than we ever can. But He has already made you clean, through His Word. So, all He asks now, is that we go back to 1st John 1:9, and confess: agree with Him concerning that sin. Then He calls us to return to obedience by faith.
What about Answered Prayer?
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Notice, here, that “answered prayer” is a “conditional promise.” If you are walking with Him and doing what He asks, then there is an increased chance that you will also be praying according to His will. Here, too, John reminds us of what the primary commands are: Faith in Christ, and Agapé love for the brethren.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
If we are ignoring those two conditions, then we have no reason to expect Him to answer our prayers with what we requested. (Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me,”)
The Indwelling Holy Spirit
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
According to Ephesians 1:13-14, the Indwelling Holy Spirit is the “Earnest of our inheritance.” In real estate sales, the buyer may make a money deposit to assure the seller that his or her intent is serious, and that he or she fully intends to complete the transaction. This deposit is called the “earnest.” In similar fashion, in traditional American culture a suitor will provide an engagement ring, as a guarantee that he intends to follow through with the pending marriage.
The Engagement Ring of the Bride of Christ
A young fiancée may spend a lot of private moments looking at her engagement ring, and thinking of the changed future she now faces. Her constant assurance is in her future husband, but the ring is the constant reminder that he is hers and she is his. We find that same assurance in the indwelling Holy Spirit. He is the “Engagement Ring” for all members of the Bride of Christ!
In Genesis 24, we see a very tender story of the Servant of the Father, travelling to find a Bride for the Son. After the Servant had presented the offer, and once the Bride had agreed to go, nothing on earth could separate her from that Servant whose only task, from that moment forward, was to Bring Home the Bride! And, when the Servant returned home, He reported to the Son, not the Father. Interesting, isn’t it?
Bringing Home the Bride
The Holy Spirit is not going to allow you to “get lost again” by any means. He will deliver you to the Son, without fail!
So, when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are “looking at our wedding ring,” and declaring the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus, as well as His Second Coming. By the Holy Spirit, we have been given the confidence to say, “Yes! The Bride-Price has been paid, at the Cross!
Jesus, the Messiah, died, fulfilling the promises of God, and satisfying the Justice of God. He was buried, demonstrating the absolute fact of His death. He was resurrected on the third day, fulfilling the Promises of God, and demonstrating that God was absolutely satisfied with His sacrifice. Finally, the human witnesses all testified to the truth of the resurrection, even though it cost many of them their lives.
The entire concept of the Bride of Christ is founded upon those historical facts, but the facts are continually affirmed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. He seeks to build our confidence in His Grace, and to confirm us in His Love.
Lord Jesus, we pray that Your Love will be continually before our eyes, and that Your Holy Spirit will find freedom to direct our ways, as we look to You in faith.