1 John 3:18-20 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Love in action John encouraged his readers, his little children, to put love into action. The gnostics, who believed that salvation came through the knowledge of spiritual truth, didn’t believe their deeds were of any significance because their deeds were done in the body, which in their minds, was of the material world and therefore evil. In stark contrast, the true children of God, in whom the Son of God dwelled, are known by their deeds done in the body. When John used the word “truth” he was referring to reality. So as Jesus loves through us, it will be more than just words, loving deeds flow out of the reality of the living, indwelling Son of God. John had just mentioned that the love of God is revealed through believers laying down their lives in this world and meeting one another’s needs through His supply (v. 17). God is glorified as we express His love in tangible, real generosity and hospitality. God’s love is illustrated in His word to His people in Isaiah 43:4-5 “Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you.” Yes, God spoke to them in words, “I love you,” but they needed Him to be with them and help them. So God didn’t just love them in words, he loved in deed and in truth. He came to be with them and to manifest His presence and power. A quiet heart When we put action with our words, the words have meaning and testify to the reality of the truth that Jesus lives in us. Love is the evidence that Jesus lives in us, which means God, who knows every single sin of our entire lives, has totally forgiven every one of them! Living to love with Jesus is the key to a quiet heart. When John wrote in 1 John 3:19-20, “We will know by this that we are of the truth,” what was the “this”? It’s clear in verse 18: loving in deed and truth. In verse 16, John wrote, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us,” so we conclude that God’s love dwells in us if we love one another as He loved us. In this verse, he wrote that we will know that we are of the truth by two things. First, by the acts of love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Second, by how we respond to our sin, namely, we trust that there’s no sin that God didn’t know when He justified us through the death and resurrection of His Son. We practice applying the truth we believe about Jesus to our lives daily. In other words, we abide in God’s love.
