1 John 3:13 Commentary

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FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND HIS CHILDREN
Click chart to enlarge
Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission
Another Overview Chart - 1 John - Charles Swindoll

BASIS OF FELLOWSHIP			BEHAVIOR OF FELLOWSHIP
Conditions of Fellowship		Cautions of Fellowship	Fellowship Characteristics		Fellowship  Consequences
Meaning of  Fellowship 1 Jn 1:1-2:27			Manifestations of Fellowship 1 Jn 2:28-5:21
Abiding in God's Light			Abiding in  God's Love
Written in Ephesus
circa 90 AD
From Talk Thru the Bible

STUDY GUIDE
1 JOHN 3

What is this? On the photograph of the Observation Worksheet for this chapter you will find handwritten 5W/H questions (Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?) on each verse to help you either personally study or lead a discussion on this chapter. The questions are generally very simple and are stated in such a way as to stimulate you to observe the text to discern the answer. As a reminder, given the truth that your ultimate Teacher is the Holy Spirit, begin your time with God with prayer such as Psalm 119:12+ "Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes." (you can vary it with similar prayers - Ps 119:18, 26, 33, 64, 66, 68, 108, 124, 135, 171, etc) The questions are generally highlighted in yellow and the answers in green. Some questions have no answers and are left to your observations and the illuminating/teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. Some qualifying thoughts - (1) Use "As is" - these are handwritten and will include mistakes I made, etc. (2) They may not be the best question for a given verse and my guess is that on some verses you will think of a far superior 5W/H question and/or many other questions. 

Dr Howard Hendricks once gave an assignment to his seminary students to list as many observations as they could from Acts 1:8. He said "So far they’ve come up with more than 600 different ones! Imagine what fun you could have with 600 observations on this passage. Would you like to see Scripture with eyes like that?" (P. 63 Living by the Book - borrow) With practice you can! And needless to say, you will likely make many more observations and related questions than I recorded on the pages below and in fact I pray that the Spirit would indeed lead you to discover a veritable treasure chest of observations and questions! In Jesus' Name. Amen

Why am I doing this? Mortimer Adler among others helped me develop a questioning mindset as I read, seeking to read actively rather than passively. Over the years I have discovered that as I have practiced reading with a 5W/H questioning mindset, it has yielded more accurate interpretation and the good fruit of meditation. In other words, consciously interacting with the inspired Holy Word of God and the illuminating Holy Spirit has honed my ability to meditate on the Scripture, and my prayer is that this tool will have the same impact in your spiritual life. The benefits of meditation are literally priceless in regard to their value in this life and in the life to come (cf discipline yourself for godliness in 1Ti 4:8+.) For some of the benefits - see Joshua 1:8+ and Psalm 1:2-3+. It will take diligence and mental effort to develop an "inductive" (especially an "observational"), interrogative mindset as you read God's Word, but it bears repeating that the benefits in this life and the rewards in the next will make it more than worth the effort you invest! Dear Christian reader let me encourage you to strongly consider learning the skills of inductive Bible study and spending the rest of your life practicing them on the Scriptures and living them out in your daily walk with Christ.

Although Mortimer Adler's advice is from a secular perspective, his words are worth pondering...

Strictly, all reading is active. What we call passive is simply less active. Reading is better or worse according as it is more or less active. And one reader is better than another in proportion as he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading. (Adler's classic book How to Read a Book is free online)

John Piper adds that "Insight or understanding is the product of intensive, headache-producing meditation on two or three verses and how they fit together. This kind of reflection and rumination is provoked by asking questions of the text. And you cannot do it if you hurry. Therefore, we must resist the deceptive urge to carve notches in our bibliographic gun. Take two hours to ask ten questions of Galatians 2:20+ and you will gain one hundred times the insight you would have attained by reading thirty pages of the New Testament or any other book. Slow down. Query. Ponder. Chew.... (John Dewey rightly said) "People only truly think when they are confronted with a problem. Without some kind of dilemma to stimulate thought, behavior becomes habitual rather than thoughtful.” 

“Asking questions is the key to understanding.”
--Jonathan Edwards

That said, below are the 5W/H questions for each verse in this chapter (click page to enlarge). This is not neatly typed but is handwritten and was used for leading a class discussion on this chapter, so you are welcome to use it in this "as is" condition...

1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you:

Greek: kai me thaumazete (2PPAM) adelphoi ei misei (3SPAI) humas o kosmos

KJV  1 John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

BGT  1 John 3:13 [Καὶ] μὴ θαυμάζετε, ἀδελφοί, εἰ μισεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κόσμος.

NET  1 John 3:13 Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

CSB  1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

ESV  1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

NIV  1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

NLT  1 John 3:13 So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

NRS  1 John 3:13 Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you.

NJB  1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

NAB  1 John 3:13 Do not be amazed, (then,) brothers, if the world hates you.

YLT  1 John 3:13 Do not wonder, my brethren, if the world doth hate you;

MIT  1 John 3:13 Stop being perplexed, brothers, if the world detests you.

GWN  1 John 3:13 Brothers and sisters, don't be surprised if the world hates you.

BBE  1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world has no love for you.

RSV  1 John 3:13 Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates you.

NKJ  1 John 3:13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

ASV  1 John 3:13 Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you.

Wuest - Stop marveling, brethren, if, as is the case, the world hates you. (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) 

• Do not be surprised - Ec 5:8 John 3:7 Ac 3:12 Rev 17:7
• if: Mt 10:22 Mt 24:9 Mk 13:13 Lu 6:22, Lk 21:17 John 7:7 Jn 15:18,19 Jn 16:2,33 John 17:14 Ro 8:7 2 Ti 3:12 Jas 4:4
• 1 John Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Related Passages: 

2 Timothy 3:12+ And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Philippians 1:29+   For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

Matthew 5:10-11+ Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.

Matthew 10:22+   “And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

John 15:18-19+ “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

John 16:2+ “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.

John 16:33+ “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 17:14+ “I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

1 Peter 4:3-4+ For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. 4 And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you;

1 Peter 4:12-13+  Beloved, do not be surprised (xenizo present imperative with a negative) at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.

EVIDENCE OF ETERNAL LIFE:
HATRED BY THE WORLD

Do not be surprised (thaumazo present imperative with a negative) brethren (adelphos) , if the world (kosmos)  hates (miseo - present tense - continually hates) you - The KJV says "marvel not" to which Jamieson quips "The marvel would be if the world loved you!" John gives a command to either stop this reaction which was already ongoing or not to begin this action. This is John's only use of the term brethren to directly address his readers. More often he uses the term little children (1 Jn 2:1, 12, 28, 3:7, 3:18, 4:4, 5:21). The world (kosmos - God hating world) continually hates believers because it hates the God of believers.  Hates in the present tense indicates that the godless world's attitude toward followers of Jesus is continual, so don't expect a reprieve! This truth is difficult to accept for most of us, as we are continually in a struggle with our old flesh which urges us to please men so we will be accepted by them (cf James 4:4+)! Is this not another reason believers should be strongly cautioned against entering the marriage covenant with unbelievers? (cf 2 Cor 6:15+)

The world is Cain's posterity, so we
are not to be surprised if the world hates us.
--John Stott

Why does John warn believers not to be surprised at the world's hatred? What event from Genesis has he just described? Abel was probably surprised! Is not Cain a representative of the fallen, God hating world system and Abel the perfect representative of a child of God? So just as Cain murdered Abel, the world hates (~murders) Christ followers. Thus we should not be surprised at their intractable hatred!

THOUGHT - Have you ever shared the Gospel with someone who was smiling until they heard what you were saying, only to have the smile turn to a sneer or a scornful look? If you have shared the Gospel, then you know the answer! If you haven't had this experience, then beloved, I beg you to share the Gospel! Not to invoke their hatred but to throw them a "life preserver" lest they enter into a tormented, Christ-less eternity!

Lehman Strauss - The verb marvel means to wonder at, to be astonished at. This is exactly how some Christians react when told that the world hates them. They are astonished at the fact that men of the world should hate the children of God. The Holy Spirit says, “Stop marveling.” (Borrow The Epistles of John page 86)

Daniel Akin gives us an exhortation based on John's command - Do not be surprised or caught off guard when people of this world, people like Cain, hate you. It is their nature. However, don’t you be like Cain. Don’t descend to their level. Resist that primal urge to return hate with hate, murder with murder. The gospel has changed you, and love is at the heart of the gospel message. Where the gospel has taken root, love will be the natural fruit. (Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John - Page 76)

John MacArthur - An ancient proverb states that you can judge a man’s character by who his enemies are. That is also true in the spiritual realm. The world loves its own, but since Christ chose believers out of the world, the world hates them (John 15:19). (Strength for Today)

John Piper explains Cain's hatred was a picture of the world's hatred of believers - The devil inspired jealousy within his heart; his jealousy gave rise to hatred; and his hatred issued forth in murder. And John presents Cain to us as the model of the world. The "world," that is, humanity aligned in rebellion against God, is Cain's posterity and it will continue to respond to righteousness in the same way he did. Therefore, says John in 1 Jn 3:13, "Do not wonder that the world hates you." We should not be surprised if the world hates us as Christians. After all, the same devil who inspired Cain to hate and ultimately murder Abel has the world in his grip (1Jn 5:19, Jn 8:44). (Love: A Matter of Life and Death)

Henry Mahan - Therefore, do not be amazed and surprised if the world (especially the religious world, as most men are) detest you and persecute you. Your faith in Christ condemns their self-righteousness and exposes their false hope!’ How often we have heard this claim: ‘If what you preach (meaning sovereign grace in Christ) is true, then I’m not saved!’ Yes, if what Abel believed and did is true and the only way to God, then Cain came the wrong way and was rejected. This was the cause of his hatred. (1 John 3 Commentary)

Another "proof that we are Christians is that the world hates us...
The world does not hate good people; the world only hates Christian people

Martyn Lloyd-Jones observes that another "proof that we are Christians is that the world hates us… Neither does the world hate us because we are good. Let us be quite clear about that. The world does not hate good people; the world only hates Christian people; that is the subtle, vital distinction. If you are just a good person, the world, far from hating you, will admire you; it will cheer you. And what is true of the individual is true of the whole Church. The psychological explanation is quite simple. The world likes good people because it feels that they are a compliment to itself. So the world applauds them. But the world, we are told, hates Christians, not because they are hateful, not because they are good, not because they do good, but specifically because they are Christians, because they are of God, because they have Christ within them." (Children of God)  Walking with God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotional Selections

THOUGHT - This hatred by the world begs the question - have you ever experienced the world's hatred? If not, why not? Remember that this is another proof of authenticity. 

Wonder not then that the serpentine world hates and hisses at you
who belong to that seed of the woman that is to bruise the serpent's head'

Matthew Henry - The great serpent himself reigns as the god of this world (2Co 4:4, 1Jn 5:19). Wonder not then that the serpentine world hates and hisses at you who belong to that seed of the woman that is to bruise the serpent's head'. Does the world hate you? I don't mean everybody in the world, but is there a general principle, because of the life that you live and the stand that you take as one of Christ's children, it hates you - that's a sign that you've got God's life in you! But a sure sign that you haven't is that you're going the whole way of the world, and they think you're it's best friend (cp James 4:4+, 1 Jn 2:15-17+).

The world feels its bad works tacitly
reproved by your good works.
-- Jamieson

David Smith - It is natural that the world (cf 1 Jn 2:15+, 1 Jn 3:1+) should hate those whose lives contradict its maxims and condemn its practices. Nevertheless our business is not to be hated by the world, but to commend Jesus to it and win it. We must not impute to the world’s hostility to goodness the consequences of our own unamiability or tactlessness. (Expositor's Greek Testament)

Hatred from the outside world should serve
to increase the believers’ love for one another

Hawley makes a good point that "Hatred from the outside world should serve to increase the believers’ love for one another…The world hates us because it can see the difference between our godly lives and its own evil… Any professing Christian who is warmly embraced by the world at large should reexamine the reality of his claim to discipleship (1 Jn 2:15-17; 3:1; 4:5-6; 2 Ti 3:10-12; Jas 4:4)." (Emphasis added) (See The Gospel of John, 1-3 John - Page 353)

W E Vine - Since the spirit of Cain still characterizes his moral descendants, believers are not to be surprised if the hatred that was exhibited in the murder of Abel is still manifested.

Hostility not as a potential or foreseeable threat but
rather as a present reality, a reality that is to be expected
--Daniel Akin

If the world (kosmos) hates (miseo) you (people like Cain) - There is nothing "iffy" about it (first class condition = assumed true) - the world will hate us! In 1 Jn 3:1+ John had explained to his readers that "the world (kosmos) does not know (ginosko) us, because it did not know (ginosko) Him." Now John describes the world's hatred which is a certainty for us as believers for we are aliens and strangers and belong to another world, another King, another Kingdom.

The child of God … must be prepared for the enmity of the ‘world.’
For the fact is that those who belong to the world recognize neither God, nor those who belong to him.
-- Stephen Smalley

In His great prayer in John 17 Jesus said "I have given them (His disciples) Thy word; and the world (kosmos) has hated them, because (term of explanation) they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (Jn 17:14+) Note how "Thy word" is juxtaposed to "the world has hated them?" Why does the world hate us? Because we have received and believed God's Word (Jn 17:8+)!

Any professing Christian who is warmly embraced by the world at large
should reexamine the reality of his or her claim to discipleship.
-- Bruce Barton

John alludes to this contrast between believers and the world in chapter 4 writing…

They (context - 1Jn 4:1-4) are from the world; therefore they speak [as] from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 Jn 4:5-6)

And not only do the unregenerate of this world hate us, they do not even know us and John explains why they do not know us!

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (1 Jn 3:1+)

F F Bruce - The world, orientated against God, is, as John has indicated already (1 John 2:15-17+), inherently inimical to the cause of God. Manifestations of its hostility, therefore, should not take the children of God by surprise. The warfare between the two sides continues, although the decisive victory has been won; this gives the children of God confidence that they can overcome the world by faith in Him who has already overcome it (1 John 4:4, 5:4-5.; cf. John 16:33)." (Borrow The Gospel and epistles of John page 94)

W E Vine observes John has contrasted "God and the Evil One, righteousness and unrighteousness, the children of God and the children of the devil, and now the last contrast is continued in the mention of the hatred of the world to God’s children. Since the spirit of Cain still characterizes his moral descendants, believers are not to be surprised if the hatred that was exhibited in the murder of Abel is still manifested.  (Collected Writings)

W Hall Harris comments that "The secessionist opponents (Ed: cp 1 Jn 2:19+), who have departed from the community (OF BELIEVERS) to which the author is writing and have “gone out into the world” (1 Jn 4:1), are now showing hatred for their former associates (cf. 1 Jn 3:17) by refusing to assist them materially, a violation of the commandment to love one another." (Ref)

William Barclay - In ancient Athens, the noble Aristides was unjustly banished; and, when one member of the jury was asked how he could have cast his vote against such a man, his answer was that he was tired of hearing Aristides called ‘the Just’. The hatred of the world for Christians is a phenomenon that is always with us, and it is due to the fact that in Christians people with worldly values see themselves condemned; they see in Christians what they are not and what deep down they know they ought to be; and, because they will not change, they seek to eliminate those who remind them of the lost goodness. (1 John 3 Commentary - Daily Study Bible)

Bridges on the moral world -  The moral world includes people indifferent or hostile to God, the God-hostile environment generally, and in the widest sense, corruption and evil summed up under the general term "the world." If the people of the world can be spoken of as "the world" in a neutral sense, "the world" can also refer to the subclass of indifferent and hostile people who reject God and his ways. Before the flood nearly all the people of the world became corrupt (Genesis 6:11). In Jesus' time the world hated him (John 7:7) and will hate his followers (John 15:18-19). The world, ungodly people, cannot receive the things of God (John 14:17,22; 16:8-9 ; cf. 1 John 3:1) and is not even worthy of the people of faith who live among them (Hebrews 11:38). In the New Testament the world also appears as a hostile environment. Because of the hatred of the world's people, the Son asks the Father to protect his followers rather than remove them from their alien surroundings (John 17:14-16 ). Paul expresses his indifference to the world by saying he "is crucified" as far as the world is concerned (Galatians 6:14). Seven times in 1Corinthians 1-3 Paul refers to the world's ignorance of God and its powerlessness to find him without the cross of Christ. Because of the world's hostility to God, it is full of corruption (2 Peter 1:4) and stands as a symbol of corruption. One cannot be friendly with the evil world and love God at the same time (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17+). Believers by their faith must "overcome the world" (1 John 5:4-5), killing whatever belongs to their "earthly nature" (Colossians 3:5) and denying "worldly passions" (Titus 2:12 ). (World)

Related Resources:

• What does it mean that we are not to love the world?
• How can believers be in the world, but not of the world?
• Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible World
• Hastings' Dictionary of the NT World  World
• What is Christianophobia?

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Surprised (2296) thaumazo from thauma [from thaomai = to wonder] = wonder, admiration) means to wonder, marvel, be struck with admiration or astonishment. Thaumazo means surprise at the unexpected, whether regretful, or pleasurable. Thaumazo describes the human response when confronted by divine revelation in some form (Mt 9.33). Be surprised (Gal 1:6). It denotes incredulous surprise. Thaumazo was a rhetorical device used in law courts and politics to attack things done by the opposition party.

THAUMAZO - 43V - Matt. 8:10; Matt. 8:27; Matt. 9:33; Matt. 15:31; Matt. 21:20; Matt. 22:22; Matt. 27:14; Mk. 5:20; Mk. 6:6; Mk. 15:5; Mk. 15:44; Lk. 1:21; Lk. 1:63; Lk. 2:18; Lk. 2:33; Lk. 4:22; Lk. 7:9; Lk. 8:25; Lk. 9:43; Lk. 11:14; Lk. 11:38; Lk. 20:26; Lk. 24:12; Lk. 24:41; Jn. 3:7; Jn. 4:27; Jn. 5:20; Jn. 5:28; Jn. 7:15; Jn. 7:21; Acts 2:7; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:13; Acts 7:31; Acts 13:41; Gal. 1:6; 2 Thess. 1:10; 1 Jn. 3:13; Jude 1:16; Rev. 13:3; Rev. 17:6; Rev. 17:7; Rev. 17:8

Brothers (80)(adelphos from a = denotes unity + delphus = a womb) is literally those from the same womb and means brother or near kinsman. Adelphós generally denotes a fellowship of life based on identity of origin and of course in this passage describes members of the same family with God as their father (cf Jn 1:12+) and thus brothers and sisters in Christ. (Ro 8.29). 

ADELPHOS IN FIRST JOHN -  1 Jn. 2:9; 1 Jn. 2:10; 1 Jn. 2:11; 1 Jn. 3:10; 1 Jn. 3:12; 1 Jn. 3:13; 1 Jn. 3:14; 1 Jn. 3:15; 1 Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 3:17; 1 Jn. 4:20; 1 Jn. 4:21; 1 Jn. 5:16

Hates (3404)(miseo from misos = hatred) means to have a strong dislike, a deep enmity (implying hostility and even persecution - cp Mt 5:43-44+). Miseo means to dislike strongly, to have a strong aversion to or to detest, all of these representing expressions of hostility of one person (or group) toward another (Mt 5:43, Lk 6:27, et al). Specifically the hatred can be directed toward God (Lk 1:71). Good hatred in Heb 1:9 (cf use of miseo in Lxx of Ps 101:3, Ps 119:104, 113, 128, 163, Ps 139:21-22). The majority of the NT uses of miseo convey the literal meaning of animosity towards God, people or particular attitudes. It is notable that except for Lk 1:71, miseo is always used by Jesus in the Gospels. The literal meaning of bearing ill will towards another person or persons is found in the majority of texts (e.g., Mt 5:43, 44; 6:24; Lk 1:71; Jn 7: 7; 17:14; Titus 3: 3; 1Jo. 2: 9 ff.; Rev. 17:16). The world’s hatred for the people of God is expressed in Lk 1:71; Jn 7: 7; 15:18; 17:14; 1Jo. 3:13. Mt 10:22; 24:9; Mk 13:13; Lk 21:17 describe suffering hatred for the cause of the Gospel.

MISEO IN FIRST JOHN -  1 Jn. 2:9; 1 Jn. 2:11; 1 Jn. 3:13; 1 Jn. 3:15; 1 Jn. 4:20;

World (2889)(kosmos) describes the godless world system and its evil, inveterate, incorrigible, intractable, intransigent, irrevocable enmity toward God and every one of His children. Trench has a famous definition of the anti-God world system as "All that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, which it may be impossible to seize and accurately define, but which constitutes a most real and effective power, being the moral, or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale."

KOSMOS IN FIRST JOHN -  1 Jn. 2:2; 1 Jn. 2:15; 1 Jn. 2:16; 1 Jn. 2:17; 1 Jn. 3:1; 1 Jn. 3:13; 1 Jn. 3:17; 1 Jn. 4:1; 1 Jn. 4:3; 1 Jn. 4:4; 1 Jn. 4:5; 1 Jn. 4:9; 1 Jn. 4:14; 1 Jn. 4:17; 1 Jn. 5:4; 1 Jn. 5:5; 1 Jn. 5:19

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Greg Laurie - IS THERE A CATFISH IN YOUR TANK? (GREAT ILLUSTRATION)

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. (1 John 3:13)

I heard a story about some fish suppliers who were having problems shipping codfish from the East Coast. By the time the fish reached the West coast, they were spoiled. They froze them, but by the time the fish arrived, they were mushy. So the seafood company decided to send them alive…but the fish arrived dead. On their third try, they once more shipped the fish alive, but with one difference. They included a catfish in each tank. You see, the catfish is the natural enemy of the codfish. By the time the codfish arrived, they were alive and well, because they had spent their trip fleeing the catfish.

Could it be that God in His wisdom has put a catfish in your tank to keep you alive and well spiritually? Maybe there’s a person at work who always has eight hardball questions for you every Monday morning regarding spiritual things. Maybe it’s that neighbor who constantly gives you a hard time about your faith in Jesus. Maybe it’s a spouse or family member who doesn’t believe. And you begin to wonder, “Why is this happening to me?”
It’s just that catfish in your life…keeping you spiritually alert and on your toes.

Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19).

God will allow persecution in the life of the believer. If you’re experiencing persecution—whether subtle or out front and in the open—here are two things to remember:
    1.     Persecution confirms that you are a child of God.
    2.     Persecution causes you to cling closer to Jesus.
When you endure persecution for your faith, remember that this world is not your home.
As far as I know, there are no catfish in heaven.

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Martyn Lloyd-Jones -  HATED BY THE WORLD 1 JOHN 3:13  Walking with God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotional Selections

 Let me put this as a historical fact. This is one of the great principles   that we find in the Bible from the beginning. There are many people who   have difficulty with this verse. If this is true of you, you have   somehow failed to understand the first great essential divisions of the   Bible. The difference between Cain and Abel was in Cain, not in Abel.   Cain (the world) hates Abel (the Christian). Look at Joseph and his   brethren. Look at David and Saul; read the story of how King Saul   treated David and tried to get rid of him—the jealousy, envy, and   malice. Look at the treatment that was meted out to the prophets, those   men of God who were trying to save the nation. It is there everywhere. 

 Look   at the supreme example of our Lord Himself. Here is the Son of God   incarnate; here is the eternal life in the flesh. Look at the world   sneering at Him, how they picked up stones to cast at Him, how they   shouted, “Crucify Him, away with Him!” The world crucified the very Son   of God who had come to save it! “Marvel not, my friends, if the world   hate you.” The world does not hate you because you are hateful people;   the case of Cain and Abel proves that. Cain did not hate his brother   because there was something hateful about him. There was nothing hateful   in Abel, but Cain hated him in spite of that. 

 Neither does the world hate us because we are good. Let us be quite clear about that. The world does not hate good people; the world only hates Christian people.   That is the subtle, vital distinction. If you are just a good person,   the world, far from hating you, will admire you; it will cheer you. And   what is true of the individual is true of the whole Church. The world,   we are told, hates Christians, not because they are hateful, not because   they are good, not because they do good, but specifically because they   are Christians, because they are of God, because they have Christ within   them.

The world does not hate good people; the world only hates Christian people.

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John Butler - HATE 1 John 3:13 “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13).

The legislatures of our land and of some other countries are engaged in composing, passing, and enforcing anti-hate laws. These laws are supposedly designed to stop hate. But these laws are hypocritical, for hatred of anything that has to do with God is not prosecuted. Homosexuals are especially interested in these “hate” laws and will use them to attack anyone who speaks out against their vile conduct. These “hate” laws will not condemn the homosexuals when they spit on church doors and throw urine and human excrement on church furniture, but let someone preach against homosexual conduct, and the “hate” laws will go after the preacher. So the “hate” laws are a bunch of political-correctness garbage that will only encourage evil and prosecute righteousness. Our text speaks of hated that is real and that no law in any land will be made to counter the problem in our text.

FIRST—THE SAINTS

“My brethren.” These are the redeemed, the ones who live a holy life. They are the ones who are hated. The hatred of the world has always been primarily at those who walk uprightly and are godly. You would think when a person gets saved and cleans up his lifestyle that the world would appreciate the improvement. But alas, they do not. They “hate” the way the man was cleaned up, namely, through Jesus Christ. They also hate righteousness. The world is no friend of holiness. Given the right circumstances they will do violence to those whom they hate. The word translated “hate” in our text involves doing harm to the one who is hated. Persecution of the saints is guaranteed by the attitude of the world towards Christ and righteousness.

SECOND—THE SINNERS

“The world.” These are the haters. The world in which we live is not a friend of Jesus Christ. I have seen at shopping malls some of the vilest T-shirts worn by young people which are strongly anti-Christ. Interestingly, these T-shirts have fire printed on them as well as the anti-Christ slogan. Fire will indeed be the destiny of all those who hate Christ. The fires of hell will bring great misery to those who hated God’s people. “The world” does not have a good future. Those who hated God’s people are doomed, and will not be so anxious to hate the things of God when they enter their eternal home of fire.

THIRD—THE SURPRISE

“Marvel not.” It may surprise you that goodness is hated. But our text tells God’s people not to be surprised at this hated. We are not to let it cause us to throw in the towel and quit. If you continue to act surprised, you will be tempted to change your conduct to gain the favor of the world. If you walk a holy life, you can expect more brickbats than bouquets. If the world hated Jesus Christ, the personification of goodness, how much more will they hate us who do not have the character of the Savior. Embrace Christ and the world will be your enemy.

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Vance Havner - Known and Unknown

The world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. I John 3:1.

I never knew you. Matthew 7:23.

This world knew not our Lord. "There standeth one among you whom ye know not." So said John the Baptist. "If thou hadst known... If thou knewest... If ye had known"—so runs Jesus' constant refrain while He was among us.

Because the world knew Him not it knows us not. "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you" (1 Jn. 3:13). It not only does not know us, it hates us. "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them" (Jn. 17:14). We cannot love the Word and be loved by the world.

But what matters the hatred of this world if He knows and loves us? Most fearful of all pronouncements ever to fall on human ears is that word to those who profess to know Him but whose works deny Him: "I never knew you."

"The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 Tim. 2:19). This world makes much of "knowing the right people." What matters is to know God.

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H A Ironside —1 John 3:13, 14.

All who are bom of God partake of His nature. Hence, as He is love, so they are loving. Hatred is incompatible with the new life imparted to all who believe in the Lord Jesus. Nor is this love merely a matter of sentiment or of lip-service. It is a very real experience and marks out the believer as one who like his Master loves on in spite of the world’s attitude, whether of hate or of cold unconcern. God’s perfect love apprehended by faith frees the soul from fear and fills the heart with love toward others.

    “Happy the heart where grace doth reign
      Where love inspires the breast;
    Love is the brightest of the train,
      And perfects all the rest.

    Knowledge, alas, ‘tis all in vain,
      And all in vain our fear;
    Our stubborn sins will fight and reign,
      If love be absent there.

    ‘Tis love that makes our cheerful feet
      In swift obedience move:
    The devils know, and tremble too;
      But Satan cannot love.
—Isaac Watts.

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James Smith - "Do not be surprised, my brothers—if the world hates you!" 1 John 3:13

And yet, like Israel in Egypt, the more they were persecuted, the more they multiplied and grew; until at length they spread not only over the Roman empire—but nearly over the world. And, had they retained . . .
  the simplicity of their lives,
  the spirituality of their minds, and
  the correctness of their creed—
they would no doubt have encircled the globe!
But at length they were . . . 
  courted by royalty,
  loaded with wealth, 
  became intoxicated with worldly honors,
and then their glory departed!
They drank into the spirit of the world, 
conformed to its maxims and customs, 
sought its approbation and applause—and 
so fell from their exalted station, and lost their real dignity. The 'sect' that had been spoken against everywhere, with the exception of a few—was swallowed up in a worldly church!  

There are still some, who, like the ancient sect of the Nazarenes, are spoken against everywhere. They will not swim with the stream. They will not compromise their Master's honor, or give up their Master's truth. According to the light they have—they walk; and they rejoice to exalt the Savior, humble the sinner, and proclaim salvation, all of grace. They rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer shame, for His dear name.

Reader! Do you belong to this sect? Is there anything in your religion that is distasteful to the world, anything that draws forth its opposition, or excites its contempt? The carnal mind is still enmity against God, and if we are godlike—that enmity will manifest itself against us!

If we copy Christ's example, as set before us in the gospel; if we testify against the world, that its works are evil, and call upon it to repent, as Christ did—we shall soon be hated by the world!

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BLOOD BROTHERS The Christian History Devotional: 365 Readings & Prayers to ...

Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 1 JOHN 3:13

2008: On this date Pastor Samuel Nayak stood at the entrance of his church in Orissa state, India, attempting to block the path of several hundred Hindu radicals. They slit his throat, left him for dead, and destroyed the church. This was one of several horrors occurring between August 25 and 28, 2008, a bloody wave of anti-Christian violence. Thirty-eight Indian Christians were killed, forty-one churches of different denominations destroyed, hundreds of houses and vehicles destroyed, and an orphanage burned. A few weeks later the radicals announced a large bounty for the killing of Christian pastors.

The rampage left fifty thousand Christians fleeing for their lives into nearby forests. A year after the carnage, many of these were still afraid to return to their home villages, having been warned by the radicals that if they came home, they would be forced to convert back to Hinduism—or die. For many of the refugees there were no homes to return to.

What prompted such hatred and violence? The short answer is: hatred of minorities and nonconformists, something found across the globe in all periods of history. The long answer: a noted Hindu swami was murdered on August 23, 2008, probably by Indian Communists, but many Hindus blamed his death on Christians and thus began the wave of violence. Christian and human rights groups worldwide condemned the violence, but those who closely monitor the world scene knew there was nothing new about anti-Christian violence in India. Though in the past Hindus were relatively tolerant of Christians—even though few Hindus actually converted—the twenty-first century has seen countless atrocities perpetrated, particularly aimed at Hindus who convert to the “alien” religion of Christianity.

The sad news is that, as Jesus foretold, his followers will suffer for his sake. The good news is that the gospel of love continues to spread in a world saturated with hatred.

 Prayer: Lord, be with your children in their suffering. Arm them with love in the war against blind hate. Amen.