Loving discernment, discerning love

Commentators sometimes suggest that 1 John 4:1-6 marks a rupture in John’s argument. 3:23 speaks of love as a commandment of God, but there is no mention of love in 4:1-6, which discusses testing the spirits and the warfare between the Spirit of God and the spirits of the world. John resumes the discussion of love in v. 7. Some have gone so far as to say that 4:1-6 is a later interpolation. If we take the text as it stands, however, it suggests that the exhortation to test the spirits is connected with the commandment to love one another.

How is discernment related to love? One connection is that John teaches that discernment is possible because of “He who is in you” (4:4), the “spirit of truth” (4:6). This Spirit is the one through whom God abides in us and we in Him, and by whom love abides in us (4:12-13). In short, discernment and love both have the same source – the abiding spirit.

Further, testing and judging the spirits ought to be an act of love. Of course, everyone knows judgmental, “discerning” theological bullies who simply want to display their superiority and cuts others down. Properly exercised, judgment/testing is an act of love, intended to prevent others from falling into deadly errors. Just as there is no conflict between the gift of teaching and the gift of service in the church, so there is no conflict between the gift of discernment and the gift of love. The Spirit is one, and His gifts are harmonious.

There may be something of an “epistemological” point here. It is not simply that we ought to exercise discernment out of love for one another. It’s also the case that we cannot exercise proper discernment well without love. Richard Neuhaus is fond of quoting Martin Luther King Jr.’s claim that anyone who brings a message of prophetic condemnation must first love those to whom he prophesies (yes, Neuhaus says it better!). John would agree. Without love, we cannot test spirits rightly. Hatred clouds judgment.

Finally, 4:1-6 indicates one dimension of John’s understanding of love. John has been interpreted as an apostle of sentimental affection. He is definitely an apostle of love (so is Paul, of course). John inserts an exhortation to agnosticism and unbelief (“do not believe,” 4:1), a command to discern, examine, and judge into a passage dealing with love. This shows that for John love is not absolute toleration, unconditional welcome, boundary-less hospitality. Discernment should be loving, but at the same time love must be discerning.