“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” (1. Jn 3:10-11). This Word clearly states whereby the children of God and the children of the devil (Mt 13:38) are recognized, namely in particular by the brotherly love. We have also heard the original message, which was from the beginning. Where does the Word place us? During his life on earth, the messenger was once transferred into paradise, and there he heard the all-penetrating words: “Only perfect love will enter here!”

Indeed, it is very serious: “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1. Jn 3:9-15). “Whosoever hateth his brother …” is considered to be equal to a murderer; this goes all the way back to Cain (Gen 4). Hatred is the opposite of love; hatred rejects; love accepts. Yes, the LORD stated even more urgently: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1. Jn 4:20). The elect take such statements to heart, and they examine themselves. All of the others think it does not pertain to them. They will continue to love in the way of Cain (1. Jn 3:12). Cain and Abel were in the same womb – just as Esau and Jacob: one was accepted, the other one rejected. At the Rapture, two will be on one bed; one will be taken, the other one will be left behind (Lk 17:34).

With the example of Esau and Jacob, God showed us what acceptance and rejection, what love and hatred mean from His point of view. “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau …” (Mal 1:1-3; Rom 9:13).

Jacob wanted to have the birthright which had the blessing of God from the beginning (Gen 25:29-34). To Esau it meant nothing, but Jacob wanted it at any cost. God is love. HIS hatred toward Esau was in the rejection. HE Himself said, “I loved – accepted Jacob, and I hated – rejected Esau.” First Esau rejected God by not valuing his birthright. Then he began persecuting Jacob. That is how it is even today: Whosoever has relinquished or has not yet received the birthright persecutes the one who has received it by grace, never the other way around.

God does not act arbitrarily, but He also does not force anyone to accept His blessing of the birthright, which we can only have in Jesus Christ, the first-born among many brethren (Rom 8:28-30). Jacob wrestled with God and cried out: “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” (Gen 32:22-32). The supplanter changed into Israel – a prince with God. Whosoever is born of God has the birthright and is a new creation in Christ (2. Cor 5:17).

It remains forever true: Whoever is born of God believes God and His Word and cannot sin by unbelief “… for he is begotten of God.” (1. Jn 3:9). The original sin of unbelief and the disobedience connected to it is once and for all dealt with by the true faith and obedience. Abraham believed (Gen 15:6), and Abraham obeyed God (Gen 22:16); in the same manner, the seed of Abraham now believes and obeys God (Gal 3:6-20; Jas 2:21-26). As sure as the head of the serpent was bruised (Gen 3:15) and our faith, which has overcome the world, has become our victory (1. Jn 5:4), we certainly have received the divine nature and the character of Jesus Christ through the new birth, and “… His seed remaineth in us.”

What is the divine seed? The seed is the Word of God, in which is the germ of life (Lk 8:11). True children of God abide in the Word; the Word sown in the good field (Mk 4:26-29) comes up, brings forth fruit, and abides in them (Jn 15:5-7). “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (Jas 1:18). The written Word became the revealed Word (Rom 10:16-17) through which we were born again unto a living hope (1. Pt 1:3+23). “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected …” (1. Jn 2:5), and: “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” (1. Jn 4:12) – in us until the completion! Amen.

Oh, such words move us to the very core! Only in the love of God shall all those who are part of the Bride Church experience their completion, because the prophet of our time was told that only perfect love will enter there.

The divine message – the evangelistic, the teaching, and the prophetic part – as well as the experiences of salvation are the same today as they were in the days of the apostles. The first and the last sermon, the first and the last baptism must be the same (Acts 2:37-42). “One LORD, one faith, one baptism…” (Eph 4). The main commandment for all children of God is still the love that is actually put into practice, as the identifying mark that God forever abides in us. Everything else can be empty claims, religious presumption, and self-deception. There are always both: the theory and the reality. There is, for instance, the doctrine of the conversion and the new birth, and there is one’s personal experience of a conversion and new birth. A truly born-again child of God will have the life and nature of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” (1. Jn 3:10-11). This Word clearly states whereby the children of God and the children of the devil (Mt 13:38) are recognized, namely in particular by the brotherly love. We have also heard the original message, which was from the beginning. Where does the Word place us? During his life on earth, the messenger was once transferred into paradise, and there he heard the all-penetrating words: “Only perfect love will enter here!” 

Indeed, it is very serious: “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1. Jn 3:9-15). “Whosoever hateth his brother …” is considered to be equal to a murderer; this goes all the way back to Cain (Gen 4). Hatred is the opposite of love; hatred rejects; love accepts. Yes, the LORD stated even more urgently: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1. Jn 4:20). The elect take such statements to heart, and they examine themselves. All of the others think it does not pertain to them. They will continue to love in the way of Cain (1. Jn 3:12). Cain and Abel were in the same womb – just as Esau and Jacob: one was accepted, the other one rejected. At the Rapture, two will be on one bed; one will be taken, the other one will be left behind (Lk 17:34). 

With the example of Esau and Jacob, God showed us what acceptance and rejection, what love and hatred mean from His point of view. “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau …” (Mal 1:1-3; Rom 9:13). 

Jacob wanted to have the birthright which had the blessing of God from the beginning (Gen 25:29-34). To Esau it meant nothing, but Jacob wanted it at any cost. God is love. HIS hatred toward Esau was in the rejection. HE Himself said, “I loved – accepted Jacob, and I hated – rejected Esau.” First Esau rejected God by not valuing his birthright. Then he began persecuting Jacob. That is how it is even today: Whosoever has relinquished or has not yet received the birthright persecutes the one who has received it by grace, never the other way around. 

God does not act arbitrarily, but He also does not force anyone to accept His blessing of the birthright, which we can only have in Jesus Christ, the first-born among many brethren (Rom 8:28-30). Jacob wrestled with God and cried out: “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” (Gen 32:22-32). The supplanter changed into Israel – a prince with God. Whosoever is born of God has the birthright and is a new creation in Christ (2. Cor 5:17). 

It remains forever true: Whoever is born of God believes God and His Word and cannot sin by unbelief “… for he is begotten of God.” (1. Jn 3:9). The original sin of unbelief and the disobedience connected to it is once and for all dealt with by the true faith and obedience. Abraham believed (Gen 15:6), and Abraham obeyed God (Gen 22:16); in the same manner, the seed of Abraham now believes and obeys God (Gal 3:6-20; Jas 2:21-26). As sure as the head of the serpent was bruised (Gen 3:15) and our faith, which has overcome the world, has become our victory (1. Jn 5:4), we certainly have received the divine nature and the character of Jesus Christ through the new birth, and “… His seed remaineth in us.”

What is the divine seed? The seed is the Word of God, in which is the germ of life (Lk 8:11). True children of God abide in the Word; the Word sown in the good field (Mk 4:26-29) comes up, brings forth fruit, and abides in them (Jn 15:5-7). “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (Jas 1:18). The written Word became the revealed Word (Rom 10:16-17) through which we were born again unto a living hope (1. Pt 1:3+23). “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected …” (1. Jn 2:5), and: “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” (1. Jn 4:12) – in us until the completion! Amen. 

Oh, such words move us to the very core! Only in the love of God shall all those who are part of the Bride Church experience their completion, because the prophet of our time was told that only perfect love will enter there. 

The divine message – the evangelistic, the teaching, and the prophetic part – as well as the experiences of salvation are the same today as they were in the days of the apostles. The first and the last sermon, the first and the last baptism must be the same (Acts 2:37-42). “One LORD, one faith, one baptism…” (Eph 4). The main commandment for all children of God is still the love that is actually put into practice, as the identifying mark that God forever abides in us. Everything else can be empty claims, religious presumption, and self-deception. There are always both: the theory and the reality. There is, for instance, the doctrine of the conversion and the new birth, and there is one’s personal experience of a conversion and new birth. A truly born-again child of God will have the life and nature of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit.