unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
Parallel Translations
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unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
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not as Cayn which was of the wicked and slewe his brother. And wherfore slewe he him? Because his awne workes were evyll and his brothers good.
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Not as Cain which was of that wicked one, and slewe his brother: and wherefore slewe he him? because his owne workes were euill, and his brothers good.
Cross-references (25)
Passages linked to 1 John 3:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Hebrews 11:4 By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.
- Genesis 4:4-15 Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering, but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? If you do well, won’t it be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.” Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him. Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground. Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth.” Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me out today from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. Whoever finds me will kill me.” Yahweh said to him, “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, so that anyone finding him would not strike him.
- Proverbs 29:27 A dishonest man detests the righteous, and the upright in their ways detest the wicked.
- Genesis 4:25 Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, saying, “for God has given me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
- Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Proverbs 29:10 The bloodthirsty hate a man of integrity; and they seek the life of the upright.
- Luke 11:51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.’ Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
- Psalms 37:12 The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.
- Psalms 38:20 They who render evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
- Matthew 23:35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
- John 15:19-25 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But they will do all these things to you for my name’s sake, because they don’t know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me, hates my Father also. If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father. But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’
- 1 John 2:13-14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
- 1 Samuel 19:4-5 Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Don’t let the king sin against his servant, against David; because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you; for he put his life in his hand, and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh worked a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”
- Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.
- Matthew 13:38 the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.
- John 10:32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
- Hebrews 12:24 to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel.
- 1 Peter 4:4 They think it is strange that you don’t run with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming.
- 1 John 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
- 1 Samuel 18:14-15 David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Yahweh was with him. When Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him.
- 1 Samuel 22:14-16 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, “Who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, captain of your body guard, and honored in your house? Have I today begun to inquire of God for him? Be it far from me! Don’t let the king impute anything to his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for your servant knows nothing of all this, less or more.” The king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you, and all your father’s house.”
- Matthew 27:23 But the governor said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, saying, “Let him be crucified!”
- Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.
- John 18:38-40 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” Then they all shouted again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
- Revelation 17:6 I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 12 Not as Cain This is another confirmation, taken…
12 Not as Cain This is another confirmation, taken from what is contrary; for in the reprobate and the children of the devil hatred reigns, and it holds, as it were, the chief place in their life; and he brings forward Cain as an instance. It served in the meantime to give them consolation, as he at length concluded by saying, Marvel not, if the world hate you.
This explanation ought to be carefully noticed, for men ever blunder as to the way of living, because they make holiness to consist of fictitious works, and while they torment themselves with trifles, they think themselves doubly acceptable to God, as the monks, who proudly call their mode of living a state of perfection; nor is there any other worship of God under the Papacy but a mass of superstitions. But the Apostle testifies that this righteousness alone is approved by God, that is, if we love one another; and further, that the devil reigns where hatred, dissimulation, envy, and enmity prevail. We ought, however, at the same time, to bear in mind what I have already touched upon, that brotherly love, as it proceeds from the love of God as an effect from a cause, is not disjoined from it, but on the contrary is commended by John on this account, because it is an evidence of our love to God.
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By saying that Cain was driven to slay his brother, because his works were evil, he intimates what I have already stated, that when impiety rules, hatred occupies the first place. He refers to Abel’s righteous works, that we may learn to endure patiently when the world hates us gratuitously, without any just provocation.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain A short digression: Let us not marvel that we…
A short digression: Let us not marvel that we are hated by the world for doing our duty, for such was the condition of Abel who was a just person: and who would not rather be like him than Cain?
An amplification, taken of the contrary example of Cain, which slew his brother.
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He bringeth forth a very fit and very old example, wherein we may behold both the nature of the sons of God, and of the sons of the devil, and what state and condition remaineth for us in this world: and what shall be the end of both at length.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked…
12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
Ver. 12. Who was of that wicked one] Tertullian calleth Cain the devil’s patriarch. Cain is dead, saith another, but I could wish that he did not still live in his heirs and executors, Qui clavam eius sanguine Abelis rubentem, ut rem sacram circumferunt, adorant et venerantur, who bear about and make use of Cain’s club, to knock on the head God’s righteous Abels. (Bucholcer.)
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And slew his brother] Gr. εσφαξε cut his throat. Acerbissima sunt odia (ut ita nominem) Theologica, saith one. These divinity hatreds are most deadly. Such fratricides were Alphonsus Diazius, and Charles, king of France, stirred up by Pope Urban to kill his brother Manford, king of Sicily.
Because his own works, &c.] The old enmity, Gen 3:15. So Num 22:3-4. Moab was irked because of Israel, or did fret and vex at them, as Exo 1:12, yet they were allied, and passed by them in peace, and, by the slaughter of the Amorites, freed them from evil neighbours which had taken away part of their land, and might do more, as one hath well observed.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And what again, on the other hand, (q.d.) can…
And what again, on the other hand, (q.d.) can be more devil-like, than such a temper as Cain’s was, whose hatred of his brother brake out into actual murder, upon no other account but because his brother was better than he? Which showed him to be
of that wicked one, of the serpent’s seed: so early was such seed sown, and so ancient the enmity between seed and seed.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Not as Cain,.... That is, let us not be…
Not as Cain,.... That is, let us not be like him, or do as he did, hate the brethren. The apostle illustrates brotherly love by its contrary, in the instance of Cain, who was the first instance and example of hatred of the brethren, and of fratricide, and a very detestable one, by which he would dissuade from so vile and abominable a practice:
who was of that wicked one; Satan, a child of his, an imitator of him, one that appeared to be under his influence, and to belong unto him. So the Jews say of Cain (n), that
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"he was of the side of the serpent (the old serpent the devil); and as the way of the serpent is to slay and to kill, so Cain immediately became a murderer.''
And again,
"because Cain came from the side of the angel of death, he slew his brother (o);''
though they say that he afterwards repented, and became worthy of paradise (p).
And slew his brother; see Gen 4:8. According to the tradition of the Jews (q) he struck a stone into his forehead, and killed him:
and wherefore slew he him? what was the cause and occasion of it? what moved him to it?
because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous; or "his work", as the Ethiopic version reads: the sacrifice which he offered up, which, though it was not evil as to the matter and substance of it, yet was so, being offered with an evil mind, and with an hypocritical heart, and without faith in the sacrifice of Christ, and so was unacceptable to God; whereas, on the other hand, the sacrifice his brother brought was offered up in the faith of Christ, by which he obtained a testimony that he was righteous, and that the work he did was a righteous work, being done in faith, and so was acceptable to God; which Cain perceiving, was filled with envy, and this put him upon killing him. The Jews (r) relate the occasion of it after this manner;
"Cain said to Abel his brother, come, and let us go out into the open field; and when they were both out in the open field, Cain answered and said to Abel his brother, there is no judgment, nor Judge, nor another world; neither will a good reward be given to the righteous, nor vengeance be taken on the wicked; neither was the world created in mercy, nor is it governed in mercy; or why is thy offering kindly accepted, and mine is not kindly accepted? Abel answered and said to Cain, there is judgment, and there is a Judge, and there is another world; and there are gifts of a good reward to the righteous, and vengeance will be taken on the wicked; and the world was created in mercy, and in mercy it is governed, for according to the fruit of good works it is governed; because that my works are better than thine, my offering is kindly accepted, and thine is not kindly accepted; and they both strove together in the field, and Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.''
In the Hebrew text in Gen 4:8; there is an extraordinary large pause, as if a discourse of this kind, which passeth between the two brothers, was to be inserted. Philo the Jew says (s), that in the contention or dispute between Cain and Abel, Abel attributed all things to God, and Cain ascribed everything to himself; so that the controversy was about grace and works, as now; and as then Cain hated his brother upon this account, so now carnal men hate and persecute the saints, because they will not allow their works to be the cause of justification and salvation: and from hence also it may be observed, that a work may be, as to the matter of it, good, and yet as to its circumstances, and the end and view of it, evil.
(n) Midrash Ruth in Zohar in Gen. fol. 42. 4. (o) Zohar in ib. fol. 43. 1. (p) Ib. fol. 41. 1, 2. (q) Targum Jon. in Gen. iv. 8. Pirke Eliezer, c. 21. (r) Targum Hieros. & Jon. in Gen. iv. 8. (s) Quod Det. Potior. p. 161.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Who was of the wicked one - Who showed…
Who was of the wicked one - Who showed he was a child of the devil by killing his brother. And wherefore slew he him - For any fault? No, but just the reverse; for his goodness.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. Not as Cain] Men should not act…
Verse 12. Not as Cain] Men should not act to each other as Cain did to his brother Abel. He murdered him because he was better than himself. But who was Cain? εκτουπονηρουην, he was of the devil. And who are they who, through pride, lust of power, ambition, gain, c., murder each other in wars and political contentions? εκτουπονηρουεισι. To attempt to justify the principle, and excuse the instigators, authors, abettors, &c., of such wars, is as vain as it is wicked. They are opposed to the nature of God, and to that message which he has sent to man from the beginning: Love one another. Love your enemies. Surely this does not mean, Blow out their brains, or, Cut their throats. O, how much of the spirit, temper, and letter of the Gospel have the nations of the world, and particularly the nations of Europe, to learn!
And wherefore slew he him?] What could induce a brother to imbrue his hands in a brother's blood? Why, his brother was righteous, and he was wicked and the seed of the wicked one which was in him induced him to destroy his brother, because the seed of God-the Divine nature, was found in him.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Not as Cain - Not manifesting the spirit which…
Not as Cain - Not manifesting the spirit which Cain did. His was a most remarkable and striking instance of a want of love to a brother, and the case was well adapted to illustrate the propriety of the duty which the apostle is enjoining. See Gen 4:4-8.
Who was of that wicked one - Of the devil; that is, he was under his influence, and acted from his instigation.
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And wherefore slew he him? - Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” He acted under the influence of envy. He was dissatisfied that his own offering was not accepted, and that his brother’s was. The apostle seems desirous to guard those to whom he wrote against the indulgence of any feelings that were the opposite of love; from anything like envy toward more highly favored brethren, by showing to what this would lead if fairly acted out, as in the case of Cain. A large part of the crimes of the earth have been caused, as in the murder of Abel, by the want of brotherly love. Nothing but love would be necessary to put an end to the crimes, and consequently to a large part of the misery, of the world.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain who--not in the Greek.
who--not in the Greek.
of that wicked one--Translate, "evil one," to accord with "Because his own works were evil." Compare Jo1 3:8, "of the devil," in contrast to "of God," Jo1 3:10.
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slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous--through envy and hatred of his brother's piety, owing to which God accepted Abel's, but rejected Cain's offering. Enmity from the first existed between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. Not as Cain—Who is a model to avoid.…
12. Not as Cain—Who is a model to avoid. And Cain and Abel are types of the world and the brethren through 12-16. Cain is selected, apparently, from association of the idea, moral and bodily, of the word brother; and the first two brothers of mankind are presented as types of the two classes of mankind. 1Jn_3:10 says, Love your brother; this verse says, Not as Cain who slew his brother, being a son of the devil and brother to the devil’s children; 1Jn_3:14 quotes love of the brethren as token of our sonship; and so the further verses. Of, or from that wicked one. But was Cain born of the devil? It must be remembered that regeneration is a figurative term. When the power of the Spirit conforms us more or less to the image of God, we are said to be born of God, children of God; while conformed to the image of Satan, we are called children of the devil. The old Jewish legends fabled that Cain was the physical son of Satan by Eve. But his sonship, like our divine sonship, was in fact spiritual. Slew his natural, not moral, brother.
Evil… righteous—The antagonism of sons of God and children of the devil was the dividing line between them.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. A brother’s love suggests its opposite, a brother’s…
12. A brother’s love suggests its opposite, a brother’s hate, and that in the typical instance of it, the fratricide Cain.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one] Better, as R.V., Not as Cain was of the evil one: there is no ‘who’ in the Greek, nor any pronoun before ‘the evil one.’ Here as in Joh_1:21; Joh_1:25; Joh_6:14; Joh_6:48; Joh_6:69; Joh_7:40, the definite article has been turned into a demonstrative pronoun in A. V. See on 1Jn_1:2. In ‘from the beginning’ (1Jn_3:8) S. John has gone back to the earliest point in the history of sin. The instance of Cain shewed how very soon sin took the form of hate, and fratricidal hate. It is better not to supply any verb with ‘not’: although the sentence is grammatically incomplete, it is quite intelligible. ‘We are not, and ought not to be, of the evil one, as Cain was.’ Commentators quote the “strange Rabbinical view” that while Abel was the son of Adam, Cain was the son of the tempter. Of course S. John is not thinking of such wild imaginations: Cain is only morally ‘of the evil one’. Here, as elsewhere in the Epistle (1Jn_2:13-14, 1Jn_5:18-19), S. John uses ‘the evil one’ as a term with which his readers are quite familiar. He gives no explanation.
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and slew his brother] This was evidence of his devilish nature. The word for ‘slay’ (σφάζειν) is a link between this Epistle and Revelation (Rev_6:4, &c.; see below), occurring nowhere else in N. T. Its original meaning was ‘to cut the throat’ (σφαγή), especially of a victim for sacrifice. In later Greek it means simply to slay, especially with violence. But perhaps something of the notion of slaying a victim clings to it here, as in most passages in Revelation (Rev_5:6; Rev_5:9; Rev_5:12, Rev_6:9, Rev_13:3; Rev_13:8, Rev_18:24).
And wherefore slew he him?] S. John puts this question to bring out still more strongly the diabolical nature of the act and the agent. Was Abel at all to blame? On the contrary, it was his righteousness which excited the murderous hate of Cain. Cain was jealous of the acceptance which Abel’s righteous offering found, and which his own evil offering did not find: and ‘who is able to stand before envy?’ (Pro_27:4). Cain’s offering was evil, (1) because it ‘cost him nothing’ (2Sa_24:24); (2) because of the spirit in which it was offered.
and his brother’s righteous] The last mention of the subject of righteousness with which this section opened (1Jn_2:29; comp. 1Jn_3:7; 1Jn_3:10). Neither ‘righteousness’ nor ‘righteous’ occur again in the Epistle; righteousness being merged in the warmer and more definite aspect of it, love. This is a reason for including from 1Jn_2:29 to 1Jn_3:12 in one section, treating of the righteousness of the children of God. Comp. ‘By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous’ (Heb_11:4).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The sentence is of an elliptical form, common in…
The sentence is of an elliptical form, common in language. The full sense is, "Not that we should do even as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother." Cain"s conduct typifies the attitude of the world towards Christians. Sfazein in the New Testament occurs only here and in Revelation. In the LXX and the New Testament it seems to mean "slay" without necessarily implying the cutting the throat of a victim. That Cain"s works were evil is not stated in Genesis, but is inferred from God"s rejection of him. Compare carefully the remarkably parallel passage, Heb_11:4. The wicked envy the good the blessedness of their goodness, and try to destroy what they cannot share. The war between good and evil is one of extermination; but the wicked would destroy the righteous, while the righteous would destroy wickedness by converting the wicked.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one,…
1Jn_3:12
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother
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The worlds hatred of the godly
I.
A reference to the example of Cain.
1. His character--he was of that wicked one. He inherited his disposition. He was under his influence. He did his will. Had anyone warned Cain of the danger to which he was exposed, there is no doubt he would have treated it as the grossest insult. The fact proves there is no iniquity to which Satan will not prompt, and which he may not one day induce us to perpetrate. We are, therefore, farther warned to resist his encroaches upon our minds. They are deceitful and gradual. We need to be ever watchful against his devices. Let us remember the counsel of the apostle (1Pe_5:8).
2. The conduct of Cain--he slew his brother. How shall the deed be designated?
(1) It was unnatural. Nature was outraged by the force of violent temptation.
(2) It was irremediable. Satan will ever endeavour to plunge us into some iniquity that cannot be recalled.
(3) It was extreme in its enormity. We cannot give life, and without a Divine permission we should not take it away.
(4) It was a sin which once committed ensures the bitterness of the offenders future life. Cain soon found reason to cry, My punishment is greater than I can bear. No doubt Satan sought to persuade him repentance was vain, and forgiveness impossible.
3. But how are we to account for it? Wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brothers righteous. It was envy that first moved him to the unparalleled iniquity. His offering was rejected, while Abels was accepted. He was mortified by the distinction, and would be avenged. It is very instructive to mark the progress of his mind under the influence of his envious feelings. The first notice is, He was wroth. It is then added, His countenance fell. So he rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. What an instructive history! It is the progress of envy till it ended in fratricide. We need to be watchful over the movements of our own minds. Impressions may be guided or removed if early dealt with, but if they are allowed to strengthen, it is impossible to restrain them. We may be borne away by them as by a resistless torrent.
II. A reflection founded upon it--Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. The world, of which Cain was a type, hates the godly, who are represented by Abel.
1. Surely, then, they who know the history of the world and the Church should not marvel. It begins with Cain and Abel. The same spirit has appeared in all ages, in all places, and under all circumstances. It has been carried on upon the wide theatre of nations, the narrower scene of communities, within the circle of friends, and in the bosom of families.
2. The causes of the enmity of the world to the Church remain as they were at the beginning, and therefore we should not wonder at it.
(1) One is the exclusive claim of truth. It asserts its own supremacy. He that is not with Me, says Christ, is against Me. This is intolerable to the world, and it hates the assertion of it.
(2) Another cause is the nature of the truth asserted. The gospel offers a way of salvation that gives no credit to man.
(3) We must add the life which the gospel requires is still more offensive than the ground on which it offers salvation (see 1Pe_4:4).
3. Important purposes are served by the hatred of the world, and therefore we need not wonder at it. It belongs to God to make the wrath of man to praise Him. He brings good out of evil, light out of darkness, and joy out of sorrow. It shows what man is. His mind is enmity against God. Thus the grace of God is exalted. That alone can change the human heart. At the same time the believer is thus subjected to a wholesome influence. As he is useful and holy so does the world watch him with a malignant eye. He needs to remember the injunction watch unto prayer.
(1) Do not fear the world. With Cain it may persecute the righteous Abel. But the God of Abel lives and has prepared mansions of rest and glory above.
(2) Do not provoke the world. Give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. With well-doing put him to silence. (J. Morgan, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 12. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked…
12. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one. Cain, who hated and slew his brother, is an extreme type of children of the devil. This hater and murderer is condemned far more severely in the Scriptures than the disobedient Adam.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:12-13 Cain had been doing what was evil: Cain…
3:12-13 Cain had been doing what was evil: Cain was jealous that Abel received approval from God; this jealousy led to murder (Gen 4:8). Hatred is judged, just as the outward act that results from it (see Matt 5:21-22).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.