First John/Chapter 3:17-24/Commentary

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First John Chapter 3:17-24

Outline I. Love Expresses Itself in Deeds: 3:17-18 II. The Confidence Available to the Christian: 3:19-21 III. Such Confidence is Rooted in Loving Obedience: 3:22-24 IV. Testing False Teachers: 4:1-3 V. Why Such Teachers Gain a Following: 4:4-6 “But true love is not only revealed in the supreme sacrifice; it is expressed in all lesser givings. Not many of us are called to lay down our lives in some deed of heroism, but we constantly have the much more prosaic opportunity to share our possessions with those in need (cf. James 2:15,16). Love is ‘the willingness to surrender that which has value for our own life, to enrich the life of another’ (Dodd). The transition from the plural ( ‘the brethren’, verse 16) to the singular (‘his brother’, verse 17) is deliberate and significant. ‘It is easier to be enthusiastic about Humanity with a capital "H" that it is to love individual men and women, especially those who are uninteresting, exasperating, depraved, or otherwise unattractive. Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular’ (Lewis)” (Stott p. 143).

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