Questions

1. In verse 11, what "beginning" is John referring to?

A couple of thoughts come to mind.....

Who is John's audience in this letter?

Because it is the word of God isn't it intended for all of us?

Either way, I think that my answer is, "The beginning" is our beginning with Jesus Christ.  Jesus said it and modeled it.  We are to love one another.

2. Do you see any tie-ins between verse 12 and verses 4 & 8 (we looked at those in our last study)?

1 John 3:4 reads,  Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

1 John 3:8 reads, He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

1 John 3:12 reads, Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.

It seems that John is setting the standard in verse 4, sinning breaks the law.  So I ask which law?  Is law code word for commandment?  I think so.  I think the the 6th commandment is "You shall not murder", which seems to fit with the rest of the passage.  There is also the new commandment that Jesus gives, to Love One Another.  that too seems to fit.

In verse 8 it seems that John is explaining where sin comes from; the devil.  He is also stating the remedy for sin, the reason why the Son of God appeared = to destroy the devil's work.

In verse 12,  John is giving us a real life example of the power of sin.  Cain killed his brother out of jealousy and anger.  Cain got called out for giving less than he should.  (Genesis 4:3 -12).  He knew that he was't giving it all.  Rather than owning his sin he decided to take out what he thought was his competition or the person who made him look bad.  He killed Abel thinking that would change the standard.  The interesting thing here, I don't think that God ever compared Cain to Abel but Cain compared himself to Abel.  How often do we do that?  Instead of giving to God what we have and working with him when we need correction, how often do we take matters into our own hands viewing the situation through our faulty lenses?  Johns next big concept is "hate".  What does it mean to hate?

Okay, I need to visit with Jesse and it will give me time to ponder this change in pace that Verse 13 brings.

3. Verse 13 seems to kind of stand out on its own - he suddenly talks about the world hating us in the middle of talking about the importance of love. Why do you think John interjected this?

vs. 13 "Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you".

John told us what we should do (vs 11), told us that we shouldn't be like Cain (vs 12) and why now I think that he is setting the stage for reality. 

4. There is an interesting bit of word play going on in verses 14 & 15 - Its the murders who are dead. How does hate = murder = death?

5. Ponder a bit what is really encapsulated in that little phrase "Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." (v. 16). What all did that encompass (cf Philippians 2)

6. Compare verses 17-18 with James 2:5-18. Do you suppose John and James had a few personal discussions about this stuff? Where do you see God calling you to put this kind of love into action?

7. John finishes with some comments about how to deal with a self-condemning heart. What do you make of that?