Yesterday, we pointed out that there are two kinds of men, and considered the first category. This is the man who claims to know God but who does not keep His commandments. Today we continue with a description of the second category of men.
The second type is the man who obeyed God. He is not making great statements of how much he knows God, as the Gnostics did. At least John is not saying that he is making such statements. Nevertheless, he does know God, as his conduct indicates.
Two points are made about this man. First, in this man, rather than the other, love for God is perfected. In Greek the phrase “love for God” contains a genitive (“love of God”), which may be taken in one of three ways. It may be a subjective genitive. If this is the case, God is the subject, and the reference is to God’s love for us. It may be an objective genitive. In this case, God is the object, and the reference is to our love for God. Finally, it can be a qualitative genitive, in which case the reference would be to divine love; that is, to love that is of the nature of God. The second meaning is best, hence the RSV translation. The meaning is that if a man loves God, he will seek to please Him and keep His commandments. Anything else is hypocrisy.
A number of years ago when the so-called “new morality” was at the peak of its popularity, a number of theologians met to discuss it. Most were in favor. So the discussion centered on the value of being free of all rules and regulations. “But there must be some guidelines,” someone said. This was discussed. At length it was decided that the only acceptable guideline was love. Anything that flowed from love was permissible. Anything was allowed so long as it did not hurt anybody. While the discussion was proceeding along these lines a Roman Catholic priest, who had been invited to the discussion and was in the room, became very quiet. At length his silence became noticeable. The others turned to him and asked what he thought. “Don’t you agree that the only limiting factor in any ethical decision is love?” they asked him.
The priest replied, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
The second statement made about the man who obeys God is that he has confidence spiritually. For, says John, “By this know we that we are in him.” It is uncertain whether the phrase “in this” or “by this” refers to what has gone before or to what follows. The sentence contains no connecting particles, nor does the one following. So the passage itself does not determine it. Besides, to make the matter more confusing, John apparently uses the phrase “in this” or “by this” in both ways. Most often it refers to what follows, but sometimes, as at 4:6, it clearly refers to the preceding. The Authorized Version takes it in the latter sense; that is, as referring to the man who obeys God and who therefore has assurance that he is a Christian.
Most modern versions view it as an introduction to the concluding verse of this section, finding support in the resulting parallelism between verses 3 and 4, on the one hand, and verses 5 and 6, on the other. Thus, the Revised Standard Version and the New International Version, which reads, “This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
Despite the weight of opinion on the other side, the present author feels that in this instance the Authorized Version is right. For verse 6 is not so much a restatement of the test by which we may know that we know Him as it is a conclusion or exhortation addressed to those who do.
If this is so, verse 6 is an independent wrap-up of the entire section, and the phrase “by this know we that we are in him” rightly belongs with the preceding as a second consequence in the life of the man who does obey God. The flow of thought is, therefore: 1) the man who obeys God can know: a) that his love for God is being perfected, and b) that he is “in” God. Therefore, 2) everyone who says that he abides in God ought to reassure his own heart and others by obeying Him.