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"Whoever has this world's goods..."

Text: 1 John 3:17

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Concern for the application of truth in real life was the concern of all the Apostles of Christ. Faith without works was never considered true faith. The Apostle John sought to apply this principle in very real and practical terms.

“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?”
1 John 3:17

1. “But whoever has this world’s goods”

a) John puts forth a hypothetical situation.

b) There is a believer who has this world’s goods.

i) He has worked hard.

ii) He has become “wealthy”.

iii) He possesses “the world’s goods”.

2. “And sees his brother in need”

a) He continues with his hypothesis.

b) The believer sees his brother.

i) A sibling

ii) A fellow believer

c) This brother is in need.

i) He may have fallen on hard times.

ii) In any case he is in need of help.

3. “And shuts up his heart from him”

a) The hypothetical illustration continues.

b) The believer shuts up his heart.

i) The word “heart” here is a reference to compassion.

ii) He has no compassionate feeling at all for his brother.

4. “How does the love of God abide in him?”

a) Can the believer claim that he knows the love of God and that it abides in him?

b) This is written as rhetorical question.

This question was raised to cause the reader to reflect honestly the true state of his faith in God!