The passage
      v10. John says that it is easy to assure ourselves that we are children of God and not children of the evil one. Those who are not God's children do not act rightly, they do not love. The child of God acts lovingly, since love is a fruit of faith. John uses the word love in an active sense. Love is not just a feeling, rather it is compassion, in particular, compassion toward a brother or sister in Christ. Of course, John is not talking about perfect compassion, he is talking about an orientation toward Christ-likeness. A believer cares, although never perfectly.
      v11. The fruit of love is an integral element of Christ's teachings. From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus spoke of the responsive fruit of brotherly love. Those who believe will love.
      v12-13. "We should love one another, unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother", NAB. The reason why Cain hated his brother and ended up murdering him, says John, is that Cain's evil was exposed by Abel's goodness. We children of love must always remember that those who live in darkness will react defensively when confronted by the light of love.
      v14-15. Great assurance is to be found in our tendency to act with brotherly love. Such is an evidence that we have passed from death to life - an evidence that we are a child of God. A murderous hatred toward other believers is an evidence of the opposite.
      v16-18. What is this love like? The perfect example of compassion is found in the life of Jesus. He lay down his life for his brothers - such is love. Compassion is certainly not evident in a person who cares little for the plight of others. "Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it", CEV.
      v19-22. Great assurance lies in our natural concern for the brotherhood. Such is an evidence that we belong to Christ. This evidence reminds us of our standing in the sight of God, even when our many failings make us feel guilty. In this standing, by grace through faith, we can confidently access the presence of God, relying on his complete forgiveness and acceptance.
      v23-24. God's demands be summarized as follows: that we put our faith in Christ and express this faith in love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. Those who obey this command live in him, that is, they possess life eternal. And we know and have assurance that we live in him, through the evidence of our compassion toward our brothers and sisters, an evidence made real to us by the indwelling compelling of the Holy Spirit.

Obedience and love
      A number of issues present themselves in our passage for study and it is well worth our time considering some of them:
      1. What is the content of Christian love and to whom should it be directed? Our passage reminds us of the exclusive nature of Christian compassion, an exclusiveness often denied by many believers. Christ's sacrifice is the perfect example of love and love's focus is primarily upon Christ's little ones, the brotherhood, believers. Our response of faith in Christ should be expressed in caring, self-giving, compassionate relationships with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
      2. If love is an evidence of our having passed from death to life, is there some measure of love that can assure us that we have passed from death to life? John says that "we know that we have passed form death to life, because we love our brothers." The crossing of some particular line is not the issue here, it is not quantity, but quality. John is speaking about an orientation toward love that serves to assure us of our standing in Christ. I may be angry with my brother through a hurt of some kind, yet I can still be assured of my standing in the sight of God as long as my life is not lived in a constant cycle of hate. The issue here is orientation, not some particular standard of behavior.
      3. Can we be sure that we have passed from death unto life on the evidence of our Christian compassion? Sadly, our compassion is flawed and often more an evidence of sin than salvation. The truth is that when we give our lives to Jesus we stand eternally approved before God, despite the fact that we constantly fail to love as Christ loved. Yet, it is also true that as a consequence of our faith, the Holy Spirit progresses his work of renewal such that we are at least orientated toward love.
      4. Is it true to say that obedience will be rewarded by answered prayer? The issue of prayer in verse 22 is not part of John's central argument, but is interesting, none-the-less. Consider three different ways of handling the "ask and you will receive" proposition in this verse:
        i] Ask, in the sense of ask according to the will of God. If it is within God's intentions then we will receive what we ask.
        ii] We can ask for what we need and we can be assured that we will get what we need, although we may not always get what we ask.
        iii] Ask and we will get what we ask, as long as we live a perfectly obedient life, Spirit-filled life, a life of faith, etc.
      I hope you ruled out options [ii] and [iii]! Our God gives us all that he has promised. In the context of our passage, our inner being may sense God's condemnation, and this for our imperfect love, yet the knowledge of God's forgiveness is ever present - forgiveness just for the asking. "God will answer our prayers whenever we ask him (according to his will)."

v11
      hJ aggelia (h) "the message" - the report, record, message.
      archV (h) "beginning" - Here obviously Jesus' ministry, the beginning of the Christian faith.
      iJna + subj. "-" - that. Here the hina clause is explanatory in that it exegetes the content of the message.
      agapwmen (agapaw) pres. subj. "we should love" - we may love. The present tense expressing continued action.

v12
      ou kaqwV Kain "do not be like Cain" - not as Cain. There is no verb, and so an imperative is often supplied, "we must never be like Cain", Barclay. Yet, does John intend an imperative, or is he making a statement, establishing a contrast between those who love and those who don't, and then noting the resulting hatred of those who don't toward we who do? It's a sad fact, but we do love the pious imperative and happily supply it whenever God forgets!!!! "We should love one another, unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one", NAB.
      esfaxen (sfazw) aor. "murder" - slay, kill. As in sacrificing animals, but also murder. By implication, John identifies guilt as the cause of Cain's murderous hatred. Another's goodness can expose our sin and prompt a defensive reaction. Reducing or deriding the other's goodness is one way to lighten our guilt, although Cain chose to remove the problem completely. The old saying "he who has done you wrong will never forgive you" exposes the same problem, but from a different angle. Someone who has hurt us and feels the guilt of their wrong, will often lighten (dissipate) their sense of guilt by transferring a creative sense of wrong back onto us. In church circles we sometimes label this identification of the evil in others as "righteous indignation", although Jesus called it pulling specks out of the eyes of others while ignoring the log in our own. "And murdered his brother, Abel."
      carin "why [did he murder him?]" - grace, favour / because. In the accusative, expressing purpose: "for the sake of / on account of / by reason of." "And for what reason did he slaughter him?", "why did he murder him", CEV.
      dikaia adj. "righteous" - Often used of the "right standing" of a person in the sight of God, although here it may well be referring to behavior. "Because his own conduct was bad, and his brother's was good", Barclay.

v13
      mh qaumazete (qaumazw) pres. imp. "do not be surprised" - do not marvel at, be amazed, be filled with wonder. The present tense, being durative, indicates that we should not be surprised continually, given that opposition to the faith will continue.
      ei + ind. "if" - Here forming a conditional sentence, 1st class, expressing a condition that is fulfilled or being fulfilled, "if as is the case", ie. the world does/will hate the disciple of Christ, therefore "that / when"; "do not wonder, brothers, that the world hates you", Moffatt.
      misei (misew) "hates" - hates, detests. A very strong word expressing hatred to the point of violence.

v14
      oidamen (oida) perf. "we know" - comprehend the meaning of / possess the necessary information about. The second meaning fits best. Bultmann says of this statement that it is a "strong - one may say arrogant - expression." All John is saying is that salvation is evidenced ("we know") by a love of the brotherhood and so it is therefore, possible for us confirm our salvation by examining the evidence of love in our lives. Of course, we should not push this argument too far. John is not suggesting we start assessing the Christian standing of our fellow church members. The test of love is for ourselves, not others. Nor should we conclude that if we find ourselves lacking in love that we are therefore not saved. It is quite possible to rest on Christ in faith and fail to exhibit the loving character of Christ. A believer will find the evidence of love in their life, and where it is lacking, and to some degree it will always be lacking, we are able to look to the renewing work of Christ. "Our love for each other confirms that we are saved."
      metabebhkamen (metabainw) perf. "we have passed [from]" - transfer from one place to another. The perfect tense expressing salvation as a past action with a continuing result. "We have crossed the boundary between death and life", Barclay.
      oJti agapwmen touV adelfouV "because we love our brothers" - The hoti here is causal. The evidence of the contention that "we know." The love of the brotherhood serves as a confirmation of our standing in Christ.
      "Anyone who does not love [his/their brother] remains in death." A number of texts add the "his brother." Certainly, given the context, "a brother" is the goal of the love. "If you don't love each other", CEV.
      en "in [death]" - [continues] in [death]. Either instrumental, "is ensnared/ruled by death"; or spatial, "entrapped in the power/domain of death."

v15
      paV oJ miswn (misew) "anyone who hates" - the everyone hating. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus links hate and murder and tells us that both are equally under the judgment of God. John is most likely making the point that habitual hatred, in the terms of a lack of care, consideration, acceptance, forgiveness, .... toward our brothers, serves as evidence that we do not possess eternal life. Murder, in the sense of extreme hate, does the same. Such evidence should throw us back onto the mercy of God.
      anqrwpoktonoV (oV) "murderer" - a person who kills another human, man-killer. This verse seems to state that salvation is not possible for a murderer. This idea has particular reference to King David. Issues canvassed by commentators include the need for repentance, habitual sin rather than a one off act, etc. Given the context, John simply observes that people who go around murdering others are likely not to be followers of Christ. Yet, could a believer murder another human being? We are capable of any sin, yes even after conversion, yet God's mercy in Christ is capable of covering even the most heinous crime.
      oidate (oida) perf. "you know" - Best treated as a subordinate verb, "murderers, as you know, do not have eternal life", REB.
      en autw/ "in him" - [abiding] in him. Probably expressing possession, so "with him"; "we know that murderers do not have eternal life", CEV.

v16
      en toutw/ "this is how" - in/by this. "By the example of Jesus we know what love is."
      egnwkamen (ginwskw) perf. "we know" - impersonal: discern, understand, recognize. In the sense of understanding something. "The action of Christ in laying down his life has shown us what love is", Barclay.
      ekeinoV "Jesus Christ" - that one. In this letter the term refers to Jesus.
      yuchn (h) "life" - soul, being, inner life. Here in the sense of existence; "he was willing to die for us", TH.
      eqhken (tiqhmi) aor. "laid down" - place, put, set forth. Often used in the New Testament in the sense of "give up my life", "offer up my life", as here. John uses the example of Christ's sacrifice to explain what he means by the word love.
      ofeilomen (ofeilw) pres. "ought" - [we] ought [to lay down]. With the complementary infinitive. "Ought", in the sense of being morally obligated.

v17
      de "-" - but, and. Here probably continuative; "indeed".
      oJV an ech/ "if anyone has" - The relative pronoun with the particle an followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood, forms a clause expressing a generally occurring circumstance rather than a conditional clause: "when someone has", "whoever has."
      ech (ecw) "has" - has, possess.
      ton bion tou kosmou "material possessions" - material life, livelihood of the world. The word "life" means the stuff of life, having all that this world can offer, particularly referring to those who have it abundantly, ie. have this worlds goods. "The well-to-do man", Phillips.
      kleish/ (klew) aor. subj. "no pity on" - shuts [the bowels, inner parts]. We might say "close the heart." The Greek "bowels" reflects the Aramaic notion that the stomach is the seat of emotions. So, here it is shut up, lock out, pity/compassion. "Shuts out any compassion towards him", Brown.
      hJ agaph tou qeou "the love of God" - Here again we have trouble determining the function of the genitive, "of God." It may be a subjective genitive, a love that comes from God, but of course, are we speaking of God's active love toward the believer, but now withheld, or God's loving character resident in the believer, but now removed or suppressed? Lenski is strongly opposed to the notion that a believer could be devoid of either. It may be an objective genitive, the sinners love for God. This is the preferred view of most commentators, although do well to remember Moule's warning that the intended meaning is often both subjective and objective. Of course, there are those who think the objective gentive is the figment of an over active mind. Schnackenburg opts for a qualitative genitive, describing the type of love, "divine love", a love exhibited in Christ's sacrifice for us; "the divine life-style of love expresses itself in human beings as a love for God and for brothers and sisters", Schnackenurg. This last option seems best. "How can Christlike compassion be in him"
      menei (menw) pres. ind. or fut. subj. "be [in him]" - remain, abide. If a future tense is intended the "how" question produces the sense of something unthinkable; "how is it possible for Christ-like compassion to abide in / to exist in the heart of such a person?"

v18
      mh agapwmen (agapaw) pres. subj. act. "let us not love" - Possibly a subjunctive of prohibition, forbidding the initiation of an action and therefore in the positive, durative (continued action); "let us go on loving with practical compassion"; ie. our love should not be a "thing of words and of fine talk, (but) a thing of action and sincerity", Barclay. Of course, an imperative may not be intended, rather the subjunctive may form a comparative clause; "children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it", CEV.

v19
      Verses 19 and 20 are most likely a single sentence, with the two dependent clauses of verse 20 controlled by the verb "set at rest" ("assure", but also with the meaning "persuade"). Westcott translates the verses as follows, "In this we shall know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him, whereinsoever our heart may condemn us; because God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things." The meaning of these verses is quite a tease. According to our old friend Westcott, we assure/still our heart before God "in whatsoever it may condemn us because we are in fellowship with God, and this fact assures us of his sovereign mercy." Gordon Clark makes a better fist of it when he suggests the following, "By loving in deed and truth we shall know that we are of the truth and before him we shall persuade our heart that if it condemn us, God is greater than our heart." It is likely that this is the point John is making, cf. also, Schnackenburg . Our graciousness toward the brotherhood, flawed as it always is, is a fruit of God's sovereign grace operative in our lives, and this evidence can help bolster up our sense of assurance.
      en toutw/ "this then" - in/by this. The "this" refers to loving in deeds and truth, v18b. It is by this evidence that we shall be assured that we belong to the truth. Some commentators argue that the "this" is what follows.
      gnwsomeqa (ginwskw) fut. "we know" - we shall know. Know in the sense of be assured.
      oJti ek thV alhqeiaV esmen "that we belong to the truth" - that of the truth we are. There are numerous possible meanings: "belong to the truth", "belong to the realm of truth", REB; "from the truth", "our life has its source in the truth", Barclay; "that we are loyal to the truth", Weymouth; "we are on the side of the truth", Williams. The idea of belonging to God in Christ, by his sovereign grace, seems a better understanding of this phrase. It is loving "with actions and in truth" that evidences this standing. "That we draw the power of our being from the Truth as its source", Westcott.
      peisomen (peiqw) fut. "we set [our hearts] at rest" - assure, convince, reassure, persuade / set at rest, appease, quieten. Both meanings work in the passage. The evidence of love in action stills our heart, sets it at rest, "we feel at ease", CEV, but also "will reassure", NRSV, when we are undermined by guilt, etc. The evidence of love in action persuades our heart against a sense of guilt. "Assures" seems best.
      emprosqen + gen. "in [his] presence" - before [him]. It is under God's sovereign grace that we stand, therefore "under him" may be a better translation.
      v20 oJti ean... (oJ ti) "whenever" - that if / because if. Possible intended reading, bracketed, forming an indefinite relative pronoun, "in whatever matter our hearts condemn us", TH. With ean + subj. forming a conditional sentence, 3rd. class. When our heart condemns us, when we are affected by guilt, love in action can serve to remind us that we stand under God's sovereign grace, that we are a new creature in Christ and are daily being shaped into that new creature. "Whereinsoever", Westcott; "where conscience condemns us", REB; "(We) shall assure our hearts before Him, in whatever our heart condemns us", NASB.
      kataginwskh/ (kataginwskw) "condemn" - blame, condemn, declare guilty. "Even if our hearts make us feel guilty", Phillips.
      oJti "for" - that, because. Here expressing cause/reason.
      meizwn "greater" - Our guilty conscience my serve to weaken our assurance, but God's gracious intentions stand over and above; "God is greater than our feelings", NJB.

v21
      parrhsian (a) "confidence" - confidence, assurance. "The thought here is of the boldness with which the son (the believer) appears before the Father, and not that with which the accused appears before the Judge", Westcott.
      proV + acc. "before [God]" - to, toward. The meaning "direction toward" probably gives the sense of "approach to God"; "we can come to God with confidence", Barclay.

v22
      oJ ean + subj. "anything [we ask]" - Again, the relative pronoun with the particle, ean can produce a meaning like "whatever", but "whenever" is more likely. See above.
      aitwmen (aitew) subj. "ask" - request. "We are on such terms with God that he will deny us nothing - that is the plain and unequivocal meaning of what John says. And it is not to be modified or explained away by any supposed exceptions or reservations. It must be taken in all its breadth as literally true, in connection with the practice on which it is dependent. That practice is obedience", A.W. Pink. Experience denies Pink's interpretation as does scripture. God will give us all that he has promised, not all that we ask, and the promise is dependent on the obedience of faith, not on an obedience of the law. When it comes to the New Testament's seemingly open-ended promises of answered prayer, we find that they are restricted by the context. In v20 John raises the issue of the condemning heart which can undermine our assurance. It is likely that forgiveness (possibly renewal through the Holy Spirit) is the promise that lies behind John's words. Our heart need not condemn us for forgiveness is ours for the asking. Every sin is forgivable, such is God's promise to all who obey his command to believe in Christ. Before we get carried away with the "anything/whatever" we need to consider that John probably intends "whenever" and so the sense of the clause is "he will answer our prayers whenever we ask him (according to his will)"
      lambanomen (lambanw) pres. "receive" - take, receive. The clause works better with God answering our prayers, "he will give us", CEV.
      oJti "because" - because, since, in view of the fact that. Here expressing cause/reason.
      taV entolaV outou throumen (threw) "we obey his commands" - the commands of him we keep, guard, obey. The commands are God's commands and they are summarized in v23. The substance of God's command is faith in Christ, a faith worked out in the love of the brotherhood.
      ta aresta adj. "what pleases" - [we practice] the things pleasing / desirable, right and proper [before him]. Acting in a way that is "pleasing to God" is a motive for behavior entrenched in both the Old and New Testaments. The problem lies with the actual meaning of "God's good pleasure." We can't help thinking that it means "happy", yet to assume that our compromised behavior would make a perfect God happy is a rather dangerous assumption. We could opt for the meaning "joy", although heavenly joy is probably confined to the salvation of a sinner, Lk.15:7. We are best to adopt the sense "proper": "following his plans", Phillips; "do what is acceptable to him", NJB

v23
      iJna + subj. "to [believe]" - The hina clause is epexegetical: it serves to exegete the content of the command, rather than state the purpose of the command, "in order that ...." The content of the command is "that we believe ......"
      hJ entolh (h) "command" - commandment. The "commandment", "instruction", is spelled out in the terms of believe and love. It is likely "believe" is the substance of the command, and that "love" is the outworking of belief. Of course, this is the very point John has been making; our love affirms our faith. John Stott argues that the content of the command is "the confession of Jesus as the Son of God come in the flesh, and a consistent life of holiness and love." Dear me! "a consistent life of holiness and love", that's it for me, I'm done for!!!!
      pisteuswmen (pisteuw) aor. subj. "believe" - Stott argues that the belief here is a single event, a believing at conversion (based on the verb being aorist). Of course, in English the tense of a verb is time related, but in Greek aspect is more dominant, ie. the aorist expresses punctiliar action, usually constative where the action is viewed in its entirety with no reference to its beginning or end - I believe: yesterday, today and tomorrow. "Believe as true the message which the name conveys", Westcott.
      tw/ onomati "in the name" - The "name" of a person represents that person, so "the name of his Son" simply means "Jesus"; "God wants us to have faith in his Son Jesus Christ", CEV. Much can be made of the different constructions used for believing - believe in (dative), believe into (accusative). When it comes to believing, there is probably little difference between the two. Believing in/into someone involves trusting/relying on what the person stands for, their words and actions.