In 3:14 John says, “He who does not love abides in death.” If we do not love others, this is an evidence that we still remain in death. In other words, it is a sign that we have not yet passed out of death into life.
In verse 15a John goes on to say, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.” To the divine attributes, hatred is versus love, death versus life, darkness versus light, and lie (falsehood) versus truth. All the opposites of these divine virtues are of the evil one, the Devil.
In verse 15 murderer does not denote an actual murderer, but indicates that in spiritual ethics hating equals murdering. No actual murderer, an unsaved person, as Cain was (v. 12), has eternal life abiding in him. Since we know this, we, who have passed out of death into life and have eternal life abiding in us, should not behave as an unsaved murderer by hating our brothers in the Lord.
This section concerns the life that abides in the Lord. A believer who has eternal life, but does not abide in the Lord and let the Lord who is the eternal life abide and work in him, may hate a brother and commit other sins occasionally, but this should not be habitual.
Someone may not be an actual murderer, but he may be a murderer in principle. This means that, even though he has never murdered anyone, he may still be a murderer in principle by hating others. If we hate someone, in principle we are behaving as a murderer, even though we have not killed anyone. Therefore, we need to realize that, strictly speaking, we Christians, the children of God, should not hate anyone. On the contrary, we need to love others. The Bible even tells us to love our enemies (Matt 5:44). Because the divine life we possess is a loving life, a life that is love, we must love those who are not lovable and even those who mistreat us. There should not be anything of the element of hate in us. Love is our life and nature, and love should be our essence and living. Therefore, we must not have hatred for anyone. Today some may oppose the Lord’s recovery, but we should not hate them. Instead of hating them, we should love them. If we hate those who oppose us, then in principle we are behaving as a murderer.
In verse 15b John continues, “And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” When John says that no murderer has eternal life in him, he is not speaking of saved persons but of unsaved ones, like Cain.
After reading verse 15, some have questioned whether a believer can murder someone and still have eternal life abiding in him. When I was young in the ministry, I was asked such a question at least a few times. Some have asked if it is possible for a real believer to murder someone and, if he did, would he still have eternal life abiding in him. It is difficult to give a definite answer to such a question. It is not safe to say that it is absolutely impossible for a real believer to actually murder someone. On the other hand, it is not safe to say that it is possible for a saved person to commit murder. It is better for us to leave this matter to the Lord and not try to explain it.
In matters like this, we should not be distracted by the lust for knowledge. Someone may say, “First John 3:15 tells us that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. I would like to know what would happen if a real believer committed murder. Would this one still have eternal life?” This kind of question is injected into our mind by the Devil. If such a thought comes to you, you should say, “Devil, don’t ask me this. I am not the one to answer this question. If you want an answer to this question, ask my God. I don’t know these things, and I don’t want to be bothered by them. However, I do know, Devil, that I have been regenerated and have the divine life within me. I also know that I am enjoying the divine nature and that I have the very God, as the divine Spirit, living in me. Satan, I do not want to answer your questions. Get away from me!” I can testify that the Lord has been merciful to me and has given me the wisdom to handle such questions in this way. However, some brothers are confident that they are knowledgeable and capable of giving an answer to questions concerning the possibility of a believer who has eternal life committing murder. We should not have such confidence in ourselves. It is sufficient for us to see that as children of God we should not hate others. We should not behave as if we were a murderer.
We have seen that in principle hatred equals murder. It is possible for a child of God to hate someone occasionally, but no regenerated person should do this habitually. If you hate others habitually, there is a question whether you have received the divine life. This is similar to committing sin. A believer may commit sin occasionally, but he should not do this habitually. If you sin habitually, this will also raise a question as to whether you have received the divine life.
John’s intention is to show us that, through the divine birth, the divine seed has been sown into our being. This seed is the divine life, and the divine life has the divine nature. Furthermore, we have received the divine Spirit to carry out whatever is in the divine life and the divine nature. Instead of trying to answer questions that are beyond our ability to answer, we need to know that we have received the divine life, that we are enjoying the divine nature of this life, and that the divine Person, God Himself as the Spirit, is within us carrying out whatever is in this divine nature. Therefore, we should live this life, abide in this One, and maintain unbroken fellowship with Him according to the inner anointing. This is the central point of John’s writing.