1 JOH. 3. 18. […]
THe Apostle John in this Epistle doth much presse the Grace and Duty of Love, as the fire that ought to be on the Altar of our hearts, for every Sacrifice towards God or man; not onely the Holy of Holies, and the most inward parts of the Temple were covered with gold, but the Pavements and Outworks also. Thus all our actions whether towards God or man ought to be done in love.
At the 11th verse of this Chapter, he commends this duty from the Antiquity of it, it’s the Commandment they heard from the beginning; which is illustrated from a contrary example of Cain, described from his original, He was of that wicked one; and from his actuals, He slew his brother; and this is amplified from the impulsive cause or motive of this his horrid wickednesse, He slew him, because his own works were evil, and his brothers righteous. Semper aliena virtus formidolosa est, said Tacitus. In Gen. 4. we have the occasion of Cains envy, God had respect to Abel and not to Cain, which as most judge, was by some extraordinary testimony that God gave to Abels Sacrifice, as the Apostle emphatically expresseth it with an Article Heb. 11. 4. […], it’s generally judged by fire suddenly falling from heaven (as God did at other times) therefore the word to have respect is translated by Theodotion, […], Inflammavit Deus super Abel; but why Abels Sacrifice was better then Cains is also questioned; Paul Heb. 11. saith, Abel offered by faith, […] a better Sacrifice, which some referre to the Quantity, as if Cain took the refuse, and Abel offered the best. Some to the Quality, He offered in faith, and the other not. A learned man Clop. de Sacrific. thinks that Cain offered onely an Eucharistical Sacrifice of fruit of the ground, and so did not beg for pardon of sin; but Abel offered an Hilastical Sacrifice by way of expiation, whereby through Christ he praied for pardon, and therefore was accepted, so that he resembleth Cain to the Pharisee, that only gave thanks to God, and Abel to the Publican, who humbled himself, supplicating for pardon, And so went away justified rather then the other.
Hereupon because every Abel will have a Cain (as the Fathers proverbial speech is) vers. 13. he comforts the godly against their afflicted condition. It is no wonder if the world hate that which is of heaven; and ver. 14. he returneth to another argument for this gracious Love, and that is from the profitable effect, it is a sign we have passed from death to life.
In the words, you have two Propositions;
First, That the godly even in this life are already passed from death to life. Some render the Greek word translated, and thereupon Estius observes, because we are passive in this priviledge, that it is not to be attributed to our merits, but to the grace of God: Now the Apostle useth the Preterperfect tense, and not the Present, because of the certainty of it, and his right to it, Qui jus ad rem habet, rem ipsam habere videtur, saith the Lawyer; you have the like expression John 5. 24. By this life some understand the life of grace, and by death, the death of sinne, as if the love of the Brethren were a sign of our being in the state of grace, and then there is good reason for using the Preterperfect tense. But although this may be part, yet it doth not comprehend all, for eternal life, and glory is also included herein.
The second Proposition is, That Love of the Brethren is that sign and mark whereby we know assuredly, that we are in this happy estate; so that our love is no merit or cause, but a sign only; hence it is good to observe, that this very self-same priviledge of passing from death to life, is attributed to faith, Joh. 5. 24. but in a different sense to faith, as that instrumental cause, which puts us into such a condition, to love as an effect or sign only; for though love uniteth us to Christ as well as faith, yet faith doth it Intus recipiendo, by inward receiving of Christ to us, love extra agendo, by going out in our works for him; Hence the union by love is posterior to that of faith; Hence also it is that if love should justifie, the dignity of it would arise from the act of love, because it’s union consists in doing something out of us, but in faiths union, the dignity is wholly from the object, viz. Christ imbraced, because this union is by inward reception and application.
Observ. That love of the brethren is a sign of true grace.