Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.
— 1 John 3:13
John’s reminder to the church not to be surprised when the world hates them comes as a sobering word about the reality of life as a believer in this world.
Designed for Community
As people, we want to be liked. It is in our nature. We are designed for society and for community — one of the most fundamental realities of human existence is that we are made to live together. And in order to live well in community, we need to like one another, love one another, and get along in the various aspects of our lives. Being liked is something we naturally and deeply desire.
It is therefore quite striking that the apostle John, just two verses earlier in 1 John 3:11, commands believers to love one another — declaring that this is the message they have heard from the beginning. And then, almost immediately, he turns and tells those same believers that while he has called them to love, they should expect that the world will not return that love. In fact, the world will hate them.
What Does John Mean by “The World”?
It is important to understand that when John uses the word world, he uses it in three distinct senses depending on the context.
First, he uses it to refer to the created order — the heavens and the earth that God made. Second, he uses it to refer to the human race, as in John 3:16 — for God so loved the world. Third, and most significantly, John uses the word world to refer to the world’s systems, values, lusts, and the realm that the devil controls. It is in this third sense that he writes elsewhere in 1 John — do not love the world or the things of the world, because all that is in the world is not from the Father.
This third sense is precisely what John has in mind when he tells believers not to be surprised if the world hates them. It is not the trees and mountains of the created order that will hate them. Nor is it a sweeping generalisation that every single human being will hate every believer. Rather, it is a specific reference to that realm operating under the sway of the enemy. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that the god of this world has blinded the eyes of unbelievers. And John himself states in 1 John 5 that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
The believer must understand this carefully. It is that specific realm — the one under the sway of the devil — that will inevitably hate them, precisely because they are born of God.
Do Not Be Surprised
With this in mind, John’s exhortation becomes clear. While it is inevitable that believers will face a lack of appreciation, acknowledgement, and acceptance from this realm, they are not to be surprised by it. The word surprise speaks to being caught off guard — taken aback by something one did not see coming. John, being the faithful shepherd that he is, warns believers ahead of time so that when these things happen, they are not thrown off course.
In many ways, John is echoing what Jesus had already forewarned. In John 15, Jesus tells His disciples that a servant is not greater than his master — if they hated Him, they will hate His followers also. And in John 16:1-2, Jesus warns that a time will come when people will persecute believers and think they are actually doing God a service in doing so.
These are words that today’s believers need to carry with them. The devil is not pleased with us being called children of God, being under the protection of God, and refusing the things that the devil would have us pursue. He will send his emissaries — false prophets, false teachers, and all manner of opposition — specifically to ensure that we do not live in peace, but instead in constant fear, loneliness, rejection, and discouragement.
We Have Passed from Death to Life
This is why the encouragement that follows immediately after this verse is so important. John reminds believers that they have passed from death into life. Even in the face of hatred and opposition from the enemy’s realm, there is something far more precious to celebrate — a reality that outweighs all the attacks of the enemy.
Paul captures this in Romans 8:18:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
— Romans 8:18
And Peter writes:
Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing.
— 1 Peter 4:12-13
Not Alone in a Hostile World
May we be a people who are not caught off guard or thrown into despair when we discover that the world — that realm under the enemy’s control — hates us and does not regard us. Instead, may we continue to lean upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, knowing that He has made His dwelling in us by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the will of the Father — so that we are never truly alone, because He has promised to be with us to the end of the age.
Grace and peace.
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