Lesson 96 - 1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother...

(Photo by VIJENDRA SINGH on Unsplash. Berean Standard Bible.)Welcome to the Hope Bible School verse-by-verse Bible study of 1 John. This is Jeff M Newman. Get a new lesson every other week on Mondays at 12:00 PM Pacific.In Lesson 96, we are going to study the first part of 1 John 3:12.Let’s read this part of the verse:1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother...Let’s start with the definitions of the words.Do not be (3756. ou, ouk, ouch) like (2531. kathos) — means do not conduct yourself in the manner of.Cain (2535. Kain) — This is the first son of Adam and Eve and brother of Abel.Who belonged to (1510. eimi) the (3588. ho, hé, to) evil one (4190. ponéros) — means “was of the evil one,” referring to Satan. Cain's actions showed that he was aligned with the evil one.And murdered (4969. sphazó) — means “to slaughter,” “to kill,” or “to slay violently.” In this context, it refers to Cain’s deliberate and violent murder of Abel.His (846. autos) brother (80. adelphos) — means “his male sibling.” Here it refers to Abel, Cain’s brother.In other words, do not conduct yourself in the manner of Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve and brother of Abel, who was of the wicked one, or Satan, and whose character and conduct were aligned with the evil one as he violently killed his brother Abel.In context, John makes a clear distinction between the children of God and the children of the devil. He explains that this distinction is seen in a person’s practice of righteousness and love for fellow believers.In 1 John 3:11, the previous verse John says, “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”Then in 1 John 3:12, John gives us the opposite example. He tells us not to be like Cain, who did not love his brother but hated him, and that hatred ultimately led to murder.Therefore, Cain is a negative example of what John has just told us to do. Instead of loving his brother, Cain hated him, and that hatred ultimately led to murder.Cain’s actions demonstrated a pattern of sin and rebellion against God that ultimately led to murder. His example is a serious warning to us not to allow sinful attitudes and behaviors to take root in our lives.John tells us that Cain belonged to the evil one, or was of the evil one, referring to the devil or Satan.Being “of the evil one” means that Cain’s character and conduct were aligned with the evil one. His actions reflected the character of Satan. It does not mean that Cain was literally Satan’s son.This connects directly to what John said earlier in 1 John 3:8.1 John 3:8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.John is not saying that every time a Christian commits a sin, that person becomes “of the devil.” The context is speaking about a person whose life is characterized by the habitual practice of sin.Cain acted in a manner that was aligned with the devil's character. He allowed his sinful anger and hatred toward his brother to lead him to murder Abel.In John 8:44, Jesus told the religious leaders who were rejecting Him that they were “of your father the devil” and that they wanted to carry out their father’s desires. He then told them that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning.”This helps us understand the connection John is making between Cain and the evil one or the devil. Cain acted in a manner that was aligned with the devil’s character. He allowed his sinful anger and hatred toward his