1 John 4:20 Commentary and Bible Study

The apostle brings this immensely-down-to-earth and practical challenge which sweeps aside all pretended piety. How can we claim to do the greater thing when we cannot do the lesser thing, the more difficult when we cannot do the easier? How can we love God who is invisible, when we hate our brother who lives right next to us? Again, this claim is not just mistaken; it is deceitful. It attempts to deceive others, and it may well deceive the speaker also. Such a man is a liar, for he does not really love God at all. Love is like a flood which surges forward: if it is able to cover some great mountain, it certainly also reaches the lesser hills below. We are quite capable of convincing ourselves that we love God when there is nothing to measure our love by. It may be no more than words, emotion, wishful thinking, romanticism. We may try to take ourselves out of the sphere of human scrutiny and claim that we have something that others cannot see – a love that is fixed on the Lord directly. It is easier to say we love God and not mean it, than to say we love our brother and not mean it, for brotherly love is expressed in very obvious ways. John wants to bring our love back to something that can be tested in a very practical way; he cannot bear empty and false claims.