Again the readers are called little children: this letter is addressed to those who are God's children (verse 1 and 2). Verses 7 and first part of 8, according to Young's Literal Translation say: Little children, let no one lead you astray; he who is doing the righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous, he who is doing the sin, of the devil he is, because from the beginning the devil doth sin.
The word righteousness here means the righteous life under grace, which is the result of salvation through a new birth in Christ: he does the righteousness because he has been made righteous. The righteousness of God is given to and applied on all who believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22). Because the Lord Jesus is righteous, those who trust Him are made righteous like Him, for He died as a sin offering, paying the penalty for their sin, taking away the sins of all believers (verse 5).
No one is made righteous by obeying the law of Moses, nor by maintaining a good behaviour, nor by professing to be a Christian, nor by being a church member, nor by simply being baptised without ever having received Christ as Lord and Saviour, nor by going through a ritual nor by belonging to some system. He who has not been made righteous through faith in Christ is doing the sin, and is of the devil who sinned from the beginning: he is the devil's spiritual child because of his likeness in sin. The Son of God came to break up this relationship, and has made the break real to those who trust in Him.
A great deal of false theology has grown out of a misunderstanding of the literal translation Whoever has been born of God does not sin, in verse 9: the original Greek has really the meaning Whoever has been born of God cannot go on sinning, as explained in Romans 6. It is not a question of just one act of sin, but of actually living in the habit of sinning. In chapter 2 we learn that it is God's will that we should live without sinning, but if any believer happens to sin, we have an advocate with the Father. In chapter 1 we read that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (verse 9). A child of God has a divine nature, being born of God. He longs after the things of God and hates disobeying Him, therefore does not practice sin.
There are two families in the world: the children of God and the children of the Devil. The idea of a universal Fatherhood of God and a universal brotherhood of man is heresy: the Bible doesn't teach that God looks upon all people as His children. The Lord Jesus said to the religious rulers of His time, "You are of your father the devil…" (John 8:44). Someone has said that the reason a believer ought not to marry a nonbeliever is that if you marry in the family of the Devil, you are going to have trouble with your father-in-law! How true that is.
God knows our hearts and knows whether or not we have really been born again and are His children. However, those who are not children of God are manifested to us, not necessarily by lip and language, but by the absence of two things: the practice of righteousness and the love for the children of God.
A life of sin is proof that one is a child of the devil and not of God. This is evidence that is obvious to all. The religious Pharisees claimed to be the children of Abraham, whereas their conduct showed them to be children of the devil (John 8:33-39). " …by their fruits you will know them," said the Lord Jesus (Matthew 7:20). We ought to be able to find a little good fruit on our fellow believers.
It does not matter who he is or what profession he makes, or how active he is - he may be a deacon in the church, he may be as busy as a termite - if a person does not produce the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, etc.) he is not a child of God.
The second mark of identification is lack of love for the other members of God's family: fellow believers. A child of God loves others who are believers like him. The word love, much used in this epistle, is a translation of the word agapao, which is also used for God's love (John 3:16), not the word phileo, used for a brother sort of love.
It does not mean that a child of God must necessarily care for all the ways, conversation, or things that interest other believers, but he must certainly be concerned for them and act doing something beneficial as occasions arise, and never harbour hatred in his heart against another believer. He who has no concern for his brother in Christ is not a child of God - he still belongs to the family of Satan
The message of love for the brotherhood comes from the beginning of the gospel: the Lord Jesus taught it to His disciples, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another," (John 13:35) and all the apostles have taught this. It goes back to the time of blood brothers Cain and Abel, where Cain, who was of that wicked one (son of the devil), and slew his brother… because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Jealousy, envy led to murder.
Someone has said, "The most destructive force in the world is jealousy and envy." An envious person is jealously pained by the excellence or good fortune of another. Envy and jealousy among professing Christians in the church hurt the cause of Christ today probably more than anything else. How many soloists are jealous of another soloist? How many preachers are jealous of another preacher? A great deal of backbiting that goes on in the church has its root in one thing: jealousy. And jealousy is the reason that Cain killed Abel: God had accepted his brother's works and not his own.
As it is to be expected, the world hates, or doesn't accept, God's children, and we are not to be surprised at this. The Lord Jesus had already made this clear "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 15:18-19).
The child of God needs to recognise that the world will hate him. We should, however, guard against adopting such a manner as to be rejected, not because of our allegiance to Christ, but because we make ourselves obnoxious. Let's make sure that Christ's rejection and our rejection are for the same reason.
Each of us can know if we are a child of God or not. The idea that we cannot know is a big mistake because the Word of God says that we can know that we have passed from death unto life. The proof is in the fact that we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, which is the opposite of what the sons of the devil, the world, do, and they abide in death.
To hate one's brother is to be a murderer, quoting again what the Lord said "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder', and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matthew 5:21-22) When a person is saved, he will no longer live in hatred.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous.
8 He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
9 No one born of God commits sin; for God's nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.
10 By this it may be seen who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not do right is not of God, nor he who does not love his brother.
11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
12 and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.
13 Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
15 Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But if any one has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?