1 John 3:16-20

¹⁶ By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

¹⁷ But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

¹⁹ And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

²⁰ For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

By this (v.16) — by what John next wrote.

Love in its essence scarcely seems to be the thought, as the concrete act of Christ’s laying down His life is immediately stated (v.16), and that act is the acme, the outstanding exhibition, the greatest expression of love. — Vine, page 62.

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The pronoun “He” (v.16) bears emphasis, and points to the special character, the uniqueness, of the One who laid down His life. The order in the original is “He for us His life laid down,” and thus by setting “for us” immediately after “He,” the contrast between the One who laid down His life and those for whom He did so, is the more strikingly expressed. The phrase “to lay down the life,” with reference to the death of Christ, is confined in the New Testament to the writings of John. Matthew uses the verb “to give.” Hatred found its expression in Cain’s act of the murder of his brother; love found its expression in the act of Christ on our behalf in laying down His life for us. — Vine, pages 62-63.

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We (2nd usage, v.16) also bears stress. … Christ’s act is here set before us as the standard for the believer in the manifestation of love. — Vine, page 63.

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The test of true love lies not so much in heroic actions as in matters of daily experience and in communicating to the needs of others (v.17). — Vine, page 63.

goods (v.17) = lit. “means of living” — resources for the maintenance of life.

Here (v.17) John gave a concrete example of showing the love of God to a brother. James also gave a similar example in James 2:14-16 for a related virtue — faith. Those under persecution [as the Jews in John’s audience were/will be] need the faith, love, and aid of fellow believers (Matthew 25:31-41) — Grace, page 2222.

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The verb rendered “love” (v.18), is in the present continuous tense, indicating what is characteristic. … One may love in word, with a changing love to a certain extent, but it does not go far enough, it merely expresses itself in affectionate terms; but, worse still, he who loves with the tongue merely professes what he does not feel and is thus a hypocrite. That that is the difference is borne out in the phrase which follows. To love in deed is set in contrast to loving with word: it shows how what was to some extent genuine, but did not go far enough, is to be carried out in fullness. “And truth” is set in contrast with “the tongue”; it speaks of what is genuine instead of what is false. — Vine, page 64.

By this (v.19) — what was just said

By exercising love in deed and truth, we shall know by experience that was are of the truth (v.19) … The heart here stands, not for the seat of affection, but for the conscience. … The word rendered “assure” is, literally, “persuade” [with the sense of] convincing. — Vine, page 65.

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John’s thought (v.19) is that we can assure our hearts of eternal live b the evidence of loving in deed and in truth. But if our hearts condemn us in this, how much more will God who is greater than our heart and knows all things. — Grace, page 2222.

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By showing practical love we know that we are of the truth, and, further, in the presence of God we are confirmed and assured. Having nothing on our conscience we have confidence before Him. Even if we, like Peter, may think that others may perceive but little love, it is a mercy to realize the Lord’s omniscience. Whether we are conscious of failure or not, God is greater than our heart (v.20) and knows all things. … That God is greater than our heart probably means that He is greater in the matter of judgment, and that He knows the character of our sin absolutely. It may mean also that He is greater in the matter of compassion, as so we have the assurance that we are in the hands of One who deals with man in compassion as well as in His absolute knowledge. — Vine, page 66.