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Text -- 1 John 3:14 (NET)

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Context
3:14 We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death.
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Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Robertson , Vincent , Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , PBC , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Barclay , Constable , College , Lapide

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We know ( hēmeis oidamen ). Emphatic expression of hēmeis (we) in contrast to the unregenerate world, the Christian consciousness shared by wri...

We know ( hēmeis oidamen ).

Emphatic expression of hēmeis (we) in contrast to the unregenerate world, the Christian consciousness shared by writer and readers.

Robertson: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We have passed ( metabebēkamen ). Perfect active indicative of metabainō , old compound to pass over from one place to another (Joh 7:3), to migr...

We have passed ( metabebēkamen ).

Perfect active indicative of metabainō , old compound to pass over from one place to another (Joh 7:3), to migrate, out of death into life. We have already done it while here on earth.

Robertson: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Because ( hoti ). Proof of this transition, not the ground of it.

Because ( hoti ).

Proof of this transition, not the ground of it.

Robertson: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We love the brethren ( agapōmen tous adelphous ). Just this phrase (plural) here alone, but see 1Jo 2:9 for the singular.

We love the brethren ( agapōmen tous adelphous ).

Just this phrase (plural) here alone, but see 1Jo 2:9 for the singular.

Robertson: 1Jo 3:14 - -- He that loveth not ( ho mē agapōn ). "The not loving man,"general picture and picture of spiritual death.

He that loveth not ( ho mē agapōn ).

"The not loving man,"general picture and picture of spiritual death.

Vincent: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We know Emphatic; we as distinguished from the world.

We know

Emphatic; we as distinguished from the world.

Vincent: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Have passed ( μεατβεβήκαμεν ) Lit., have passed over .

Have passed ( μεατβεβήκαμεν )

Lit., have passed over .

Vincent: 1Jo 3:14 - -- From death ( ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου ) Lit., out of the death . The article marks it as one of the two spheres in which men must ...

From death ( ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου )

Lit., out of the death . The article marks it as one of the two spheres in which men must be; death or life . The death , the life , present one of those sharp oppositions which are characteristic of the Epistle; as love , hatred; darkness , light; truth , a lie . Ὁ θάνατος the death , occurs in John's Epistles only here and in the next clause. In the Gospel, only Joh 5:24. Personified in Rev 1:18; Rev 6:8; Rev 9:6; Rev 20:13.

Vincent: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Unto life ( εἰς τὴν ζωήν ) Rev., better, into . Compare enter into the life , Mat 28:8; Mat 19:17.

Unto life ( εἰς τὴν ζωήν )

Rev., better, into . Compare enter into the life , Mat 28:8; Mat 19:17.

Vincent: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Because The sign of having passed into life; not the ground .

Because

The sign of having passed into life; not the ground .

Vincent: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We love the brethren ( ἀγαπῶμεν του,ς ἀδελφούς ) The only occurrence of the phrase. Elsewhere, love one another ...

We love the brethren ( ἀγαπῶμεν του,ς ἀδελφούς )

The only occurrence of the phrase. Elsewhere, love one another , or love his brother . See on 1Jo 2:9.

Vincent: 1Jo 3:14 - -- His brother Omit.

His brother

Omit.

Wesley: 1Jo 3:14 - -- As if he had said, We ourselves could not love our brethren, unless we were passed from spiritual death to life, that is, born of God.

As if he had said, We ourselves could not love our brethren, unless we were passed from spiritual death to life, that is, born of God.

Wesley: 1Jo 3:14 - -- That is, is not born of God. And he that is not born of God, cannot love his brother.

That is, is not born of God. And he that is not born of God, cannot love his brother.

JFB: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Emphatical; hated though we be by the world, we know what the world knows not.

Emphatical; hated though we be by the world, we know what the world knows not.

JFB: 1Jo 3:14 - -- As an assured fact.

As an assured fact.

JFB: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Changed our state. Col 1:13, "from the power of darkness . . . translated into the kingdom of His dear Son."

Changed our state. Col 1:13, "from the power of darkness . . . translated into the kingdom of His dear Son."

JFB: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Literally, "out of the death (which enthrals the unregenerate) into the life (of the regenerate)." A palpable coincidence of language and thought, the...

Literally, "out of the death (which enthrals the unregenerate) into the life (of the regenerate)." A palpable coincidence of language and thought, the beloved disciple adopting his Lord's words.

JFB: 1Jo 3:14 - -- The ground, not of our passing over out of death into life, but of our knowing that we have so. Love, on our part, is the evidence of our justificatio...

The ground, not of our passing over out of death into life, but of our knowing that we have so. Love, on our part, is the evidence of our justification and regeneration, not the cause of them. "Let each go to his own heart; if he find there love to the brethren, let him feel assured that he has passed from death unto life. Let him not mind that his glory is only hidden; when the Lord shall come, then shall he appear in glory. For he has vital energy, but it is still wintertime; the root has vigor, but the branches are as it were dry; within there is marrow which is vigorous, within are leaves, within fruits, but they must wait for summer" [AUGUSTINE].

JFB: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Most of the oldest manuscripts omit "his brother," which makes the statement more general.

Most of the oldest manuscripts omit "his brother," which makes the statement more general.

JFB: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Still.

Still.

JFB: 1Jo 3:14 - -- "in the (spiritual) death" (ending in eternal death) which is the state of all by nature. His want of love evidences that no saving change has passed ...

"in the (spiritual) death" (ending in eternal death) which is the state of all by nature. His want of love evidences that no saving change has passed over him.

Clarke: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We know that we have passed from death unto life - Death and life are represented here as two distinct territories, states, or kingdoms, to either o...

We know that we have passed from death unto life - Death and life are represented here as two distinct territories, states, or kingdoms, to either of which the inhabitants of either may be removed. This is implied in the term μεταβεβηκαμεν, from μετα, denoting change of place, and βαινω, I go. It is the same figure which St. Paul uses, Col 1:13 : Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. The believers to whom St. John writes had been once in the region and shadow of death, in the place where sin and death reigned, whose subjects they were; but they had left that kingdom of oppression, wretchedness, and wo, and had come over to the kingdom of life, whose king was the Prince and Author of life; where all was liberty, prosperity, and happiness; where life and love were universally prevalent, and death and hatred could not enter. 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.

Calvin: 1Jo 3:14 - -- 14.We know He commends love to us by a remarkable eulogy, because it is an evidence of a transition from death to life. It hence follows that if we l...

14.We know He commends love to us by a remarkable eulogy, because it is an evidence of a transition from death to life. It hence follows that if we love the brethren we are blessed, but that we are miserable if we hate them. There is no one who does not wish to be freed and delivered from death. Those then who by cherishing hatred willingly give themselves up to death, must be extremely stupid and senseless. But when the Apostle says, that it is known by love that we have passed into life, he does not mean that man is his own deliverer, as though he could by loving the brethren rescue himself from death, and procure life for himself; for he does not here treat of the cause of salvation, but as love is the special fruit of the Spirit, it is also a sure symbol of regeneration. Then the Apostle draws an argument from the sign, and not from the cause. For as no one sincerely loves his brethren, except he is regenerated by the Spirit of God, he hence rightly concludes that the Spirit of God, who is life, dwells in all who love the brethren. But it would be preposterous for any one to infer hence, that life is obtained by love, since love is in order of time posterior to it.

The argument would be more plausible, were it said that love makes us more certain of life: then confidence as to salvation would recumb on works. But the answer to this is obvious; for though faith is confirmed by all the graces of God as aids, yet it ceases not to have its foundation in the mercy of God only. As for instance, when we enjoy the light, we are certain that the sun shines; if the sun shines on the place in which we are, we have a clearer view of it; but yet when the visible rays do not come to us, we are satisfied that the sun diffuses its brightness for our benefit. So when faith is founded on Christ, some things may happen to assist it, still it rests on Christ’s grace alone.

Defender: 1Jo 3:14 - -- Here is another test for knowing whether we are truly saved and have "passed from death unto life" (Joh 5:24; 1Jo 2:3, 1Jo 2:5; 1Jo 3:24; 1Jo 5:2, 1Jo...

Here is another test for knowing whether we are truly saved and have "passed from death unto life" (Joh 5:24; 1Jo 2:3, 1Jo 2:5; 1Jo 3:24; 1Jo 5:2, 1Jo 5:13).

Defender: 1Jo 3:14 - -- John gives three characteristics of true love for our brethren: doing righteousness (1Jo 3:10); willingness to die for them (1Jo 3:16); willingness to...

John gives three characteristics of true love for our brethren: doing righteousness (1Jo 3:10); willingness to die for them (1Jo 3:16); willingness to share our possessions with them" (1Jo 3:17)."

TSK: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We know : 1Jo 2:3, 1Jo 5:2, 1Jo 5:13, 1Jo 5:19, 1Jo 5:20; 2Co 5:1 we have : Luk 15:24, Luk 15:32; Joh 5:24; Eph 2:1, Eph 2:5 because : 1Jo 2:10, 1Jo 3...

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We know that we have passed from death unto life - From spiritual death (Notes, Eph 2:1) to spiritual life; that is, that we are true Christian...

We know that we have passed from death unto life - From spiritual death (Notes, Eph 2:1) to spiritual life; that is, that we are true Christians.

Because we love the brethren - The sentiment here is, that it is an infallible evidence of true piety if we love the followers of Christ as such. See this sentiment illustrated in the notes at Joh 13:35. But how easy it would seem to be to apply such a test of piety as this! Who cannot judge accurately of his own feelings, and determine whether he loves a Christian because he bears the name and image of the Saviour - loves him the more just in proportion as he bears that image? Who cannot, if he chooses, look beyond the narrow bounds of his own sect, and determine whether he is pleased with the true Christian character wherever it may be found, and whether he would prefer to find his friends among those who bear the name and the image of the Son of God, than among the people of the world? The Saviour meant that his followers should be known by this badge of discipleship all over the world, Joh 13:34-35. John says, in carrying out the sentiment, that Christians, by this test, may know "among themselves"whether they have any true religion.

He that loveth not his brother abideth in death - He remains dead in sins; that is, he has never been converted. Compare the notes at 1Jo 3:6. As love to the Christian brotherhood is essential to true piety, it follows that he who has not that remains unconverted, or is in a state of spiritual death. He is by nature dead in sin, and unless he has evidence that he is brought out of that state, he "remains"or "abides"in it.

Poole: 1Jo 3:14 - -- The notion of brother must not be understood so narrowly, as only to signify such as we have particular inclination to, as being of our own party a...

The notion of brother must not be understood so narrowly, as only to signify such as we have particular inclination to, as being of our own party and opinion, or kindred, or who have obliged us by special kindness; for to confine our love within such limits, were no argument of our having

passed from death unto life or more than is to be found with the worst of men, Mat 5:46,47 . Nor must it be understood exclusively, of the regenerateonly; but must be taken, first, more generally, in the natural sense, for all mankind, in the same latitude as neighbour in that summary of the second table: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; originally intended not to Jews, as such, but men; and therefore excludes not our enemies, by our Saviour’ s interpretation, Mat 5:43,44 . Secondly, in a more special (viz. the spiritual) sense, for such as are our brethren by regeneration, so the children with us of the same Father; i.e. whereas the blessed God himself is the primum amabile, the first object of love, all others (persons or things) ought to be loved proportionably to what prints or characters of the Divine excellency we find impressed upon them. Human nature hath resemblances in it of his spiritual, intelligent, immortal nature; regeneracy, of his holiness. And so he loves his creatures himself, severing their malignity, (where that is to be found), that is of themselves, from what of real good there is in them, which is from him. When therefore a correspondent frame of love is impressed upon us, and inwrought into our temper, his image, who is love, is renewed in us, which, in this noble part of it, the devil had so eminently defaced in the world, possessing the souls of men with mutual animosities and enmities against one another, but especially such as should be found to have upon them any impress of the most excellent kind of goodness, i.e. of true piety and holiness. And by this renovation of his image in us, whereby we are enabled to love others for his sake, and proportionably to what characters of him are upon them, we appear to be his children, Mat 5:45 , begotten of him into a state of life, out of that death which is upon the rest of the world, Eph 2:1 , and wherein every one still abides that thus loves not his brother.

PBC: 1Jo 3:14 - -- See PB: Job 8:13 See Philpot: WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE...

See PB: Job 8:13

See Philpot: WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE...

Haydock: 1Jo 3:14-15 - -- We know that we have passed from death to life; i.e. from the death of sin to the life of grace: we know it by a moral certainty, when we experience ...

We know that we have passed from death to life; i.e. from the death of sin to the life of grace: we know it by a moral certainty, when we experience in our heart a love of our neighbour. ---

He that loveth not God and his neighbour, abideth in death. He that hateth his brother with a mortal hatred, or to a considerable degree, is a murderer. (Witham)

Gill: 1Jo 3:14 - -- We know that we have passed from death to life,.... From a death in sin, a moral or spiritual death; which lies in a separation from God, Father, Son,...

We know that we have passed from death to life,.... From a death in sin, a moral or spiritual death; which lies in a separation from God, Father, Son, and Spirit; in an alienation from the life of God; in a loss of the image of God, of righteousness, holiness, and knowledge, in which man was created; in a privation of all true sense of sin, and in a servitude to it, which is unto death, and is no other than death: and from a legal death, or death in a legal sense, under the sentence of which all men are, as considered in Adam; and which God's elect are sensible of, when convinced by the Spirit of God, and are in their own apprehension as dead men. Now in regeneration, which is a quickening of sinners dead in sin, a resurrection of them from the dead, the people of God pass from this death of sin, and the law, to a life of sanctification, having principles of grace and life implanted in them; and to a life of justification, and of faith on Christ, as the Lord their righteousness; and to a life of communion with Christ; and to such a life as is to the glory of Christ; and to a right to eternal life. And this passing from the one to the other is not of themselves, it is not their own act; no man can quicken himself, or raise himself from the dead; in this men are passive: and so the words are rendered in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, "we know that we are translated"; that is, by God the Father, who delivers from the power of darkness, and death, and translates into the kingdom of his dear Son, which is a state of light and life; or by Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, who is the author of the resurrection from the death of sin to a life of grace; or by the Spirit of life from Christ, by whom souls are quickened, and of whom they are born again: and this passage from death to life, or regeneration, is a thing that may be, and is known by the regenerate man; who, as he knows surely, that whereas he was blind he now sees, so that whereas he was dead in sin, he is now alive; and among other things it may be known by this,

because we love the brethren: this is not the cause of passing from death to life, but the effect of it, and so an evidence of it, or that by which it is known; brotherly love being what the saints are taught of God in regeneration, and is a fruit of the Spirit of God, and is what true faith works by, and is what shows itself as soon as anything in a regenerate man; nor can anyone love the saints, as such, as brethren in Christ, unless he is born again; a man may indeed love a saint, as a natural relative, as a good neighbour, and because he has done him some good offices, and because of some excellent qualities in him, as a man of learning, sense, candour, civility, &c. though he has not the grace of God; but to love him as a child of God, a member of Christ, and because he has his image stamped on him, no man can do this, unless he has received the grace of God; so that this is a certain evidence of it:

he that loveth not his brother, abideth in death; in the death of sin, in a state of nature and unregeneracy; under the sentence of condemnation and death; and he is liable to eternal death, which is the wages of sin, under the power of which such a manifestly is. This is said to deter from hatred, as also what follows.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Jo 3:14 The one who does not love remains in death. Again, the author has the secessionist opponents in view. Their refusal to show love for the brothers demo...

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 3:14 ( 14 ) We ( o ) know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not [his] brother abideth in death. ( 14 ...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Jo 3:1-24 - --1 He declares the singular love of God towards us, in making us his sons;3 who therefore ought obediently to keep his commandments;11 as also to love ...

MHCC: 1Jo 3:11-15 - --We should love the Lord Jesus, value his love, and therefore love all our brethren in Christ. This love is the special fruit of our faith, and a certa...

Matthew Henry: 1Jo 3:14-19 - -- The beloved apostle can scarcely touch upon the mention of sacred love, but he must enlarge upon the enforcement of it, as here he does by divers ar...

Barclay: 1Jo 3:10-18 - --This is a passage with a closely-knit argument and a kind of parenthesis in the middle. As Westcott has it: "Life reveals the children of God." Ther...

Barclay: 1Jo 3:10-18 - --In this passage there is a parenthesis; we return to it now. The parenthesis is 1Jo 3:11and the conclusion drawn from it is in 1Jo 3:12. The Christi...

Constable: 1Jo 3:1--5:14 - --III. Living as children of God 3:1--5:13 "In the second division of this document (3:1-5:13) John concentrates o...

Constable: 1Jo 3:4--5:14 - --B. Conditions for Living as God's Children 3:4-5:13 Having stated the theme of this section of the epist...

Constable: 1Jo 3:10-24 - --2. Obeying God reaffirmed 3:10-24 This second condition for living as children of God reemphasiz...

Constable: 1Jo 3:12-15 - --Disobedience and obedience contrasted 3:12-15 3:12 Cain's murder of Abel evidenced control by Satan rather than by God. Cain was jealous because of Ab...

College: 1Jo 3:1-24 - --1 JOHN 3 B. GOD'S LOVE FOR HIS CHILDREN (3:1-3) 1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And...

Lapide: 1Jo 3:1-24 - --CHAPTER 3 Ver. 1 . — Behold what great love the Father hath bestowed on us (unworthy, enemies and sinners as we are), that we should be called, ...

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Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 1 John (Book Introduction) THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN ABOUT a.d. 85 TO 90 By Way of Introduction Relation to the Fourth Gospel There are few scholars who deny that the Ep...

JFB: 1 John (Book Introduction) AUTHORSHIP.--POLYCARP, the disciple of John [Epistle to the Philippians, 7], quotes 1Jo 4:3. EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.39] says of PAPIAS, a...

JFB: 1 John (Outline) THE WRITER'S AUTHORITY AS AN EYEWITNESS TO THE GOSPEL FACTS, HAVING SEEN, HEARD, AND HANDLED HIM WHO WAS FROM THE BEGINNING: HIS OBJECT IN WRITING: H...

TSK: 1 John 3 (Chapter Introduction) Overview 1Jo 3:1, He declares the singular love of God towards us, in making us his sons; 1Jo 3:3, who therefore ought obediently to keep his comm...

Poole: 1 John 3 (Chapter Introduction) JOHN CHAPTER 3

MHCC: 1 John (Book Introduction) This epistle is a discourse upon the principles of Christianity, in doctrine and practice. The design appears to be, to refute and guard against erron...

MHCC: 1 John 3 (Chapter Introduction) (1Jo 3:1, 1Jo 3:2) The apostle admires the love of God in making believers his children. (1Jo 3:3-10) The purifying influence of the hope of seeing C...

Matthew Henry: 1 John (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Epistle General of John Though the continued tradition of the church attests that this epistl...

Matthew Henry: 1 John 3 (Chapter Introduction) The apostle here magnifies the love of God in our adoption (1Jo 3:1, 1Jo 3:2). He thereupon argues for holiness (1Jo 3:3), and against sin (v. 4-19...

Barclay: 1 John (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN A Personal Letter And Its Background First John is entitled a letter but it has no opening address nor c...

Barclay: 1 John 3 (Chapter Introduction) Remember The Privileges Of The Christian Life (2Jo_3:1-2) Remember The Possibilities Of The Christian Life (2Jo_3:1-2 Continued) The Obligation Of...

Constable: 1 John (Book Introduction) Introduction Historical Background This epistle does not contain the name of its write...

Constable: 1 John (Outline) Outline I. Introduction: the purpose of the epistle 1:1-4 II. Living in the light 1:5-2:29 ...

Constable: 1 John 1 John Bibliography Bailey, Mark L., and Thomas L. Constable. The New Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publi...

Haydock: 1 John (Book Introduction) THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN, THE APOSTLE. INTRODUCTION. This epistle was always acknowledged for canonical, and written by St. John, the apo...

Gill: 1 John (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN The author of this epistle was John, the son of Zebedee, the disciple whom Jesus loved: he was the youngest of the apostles,...

Gill: 1 John 3 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN 3 In this chapter the apostle exhorts to a holy life and conversation in general, and to the exercise of brotherly love in p...

College: 1 John (Book Introduction) FOREWORD It has been my pleasure to have been associated with Professor Morris Womack since the middle 1960s when we both accepted positions in the L...

College: 1 John (Outline) OUTLINE I. THE WORD OF LIFE - 1:1-4 II. LIFE WITH GOD AND THE WORLD - 1:5-2:27 A. The Way of Light and Darkness - 1:5-7 B. Admitting Our ...

Lapide: 1 John (Book Introduction) PREFACE TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF S. JOHN. ——o—— I mention three things by way of preface. First, concerning the authority of the Epistle. Se...

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