Those Who Hate their Brother
Those Who Hate their Brother Excerpt This warning is clearly intended for Christ ians as the words “his brother” plainly show. An unsaved person can indeed hate a brother of physical kin, but since he has no spiritual kin he cannot really hate his (spiritual) brother. If John thought that no Christ ian could hate another Christ ian , there was no need to personalize the relationship with the word “his.” But the opinion, held by some, that a true Christ ian could never hate another Christ ian is naive and contrary to the Bible and experience. Even so great a man as King David was guilty of murder, which is the final expression of hate. John was warning his readers against a spiritual danger that is all too real ( cf . 1:8 , 10 ). And he was affirming that a Christ ian who can hate his fellow Christ ian has not genuinely escaped from the darkness of this present passing Age. To put it another way, he has much to learn about God and cannot legitimately claim an intima...