A Word of Encouragement
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Intro:
If you’ve been walking with us through 1 John, you’ve probably noticed that John doesn’t sugarcoat the Christian life.
In chapter 2, he laid out what authentic Christianity looks like, and he does it with the kind of honesty that meets us where we actually live.
He talks about obeying God’s commands, not just claiming to know Him.
He calls us to walk in the light,
to love our brothers and sisters,
and to stop letting the world squeeze us into its mold.
He then warns about false teaching,
spiritual confusion,
and the subtle pull of a culture that often runs in the opposite direction of Christ.
It’s almost as if, 2,000 years ago, someone knew exactly what we would need to hear today…
The reality is, if we’re honest, living the authentic Christian life isn’t always easy.
Sometimes you’re trying to walk in the light, but the world around just continues to celebrate the shadows.
Sometimes you’re trying to love people, but the people in front of you are hard to love.
Sometimes you want to obey God, but temptation hits at the worst possible moment, and you feel the tug of old habits trying to drag you backward.
Sometimes you really do want to set your heart on eternal things, but your phone, your schedule, your bills, and the noise of the world make eternity feel a million miles away.
And sometimes, in the middle of the struggle, what we need most is a reminder.
- A reminder of who we are.
- A reminder of where we’re headed.
- A reminder of what God is doing in us right now.
That’s exactly what John gives us in the passage we’re looking at today.
After all the challenges of chapter 2, he pauses… he lifts our eyes… and he gives us a breath of encouragement.
He says, in effect, “Let me remind you of something that changes everything.”
And that reminder is found in…
1 John 3:1–3 (Read)
Meat:
Throughout the first couple of chapters, John has been hammering, pretty hard, on…
obedience
warning us about the pull of the world
calling out the spiritual pretenders
and urging us to stay rooted in the truth
Which is great! It is all absolutely necessary… But if that is all that you hear, it can be a bit overwhelming…
And so before he goes any further, because he will… next week we get right back into the Sin vs Righteousness teachings…
But first… John takes a moment to give a word of encouragement to lift the spirits of his readers…
And right off the bat, John says…
You Need To...
1. Remember Who You Are
1. Remember Who You Are
John knows believers can get worn down. He knows that spiritual pressure, temptation, fear, and daily responsibilities can make us forget the most basic reality of our faith.
Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly calls His people to remember.
He tells the nation of Israel in…
15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm…
David says in…
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
and also in Psalm 77:11
11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed…
19 ...took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
We are to…
Remember what He’s done.
Remember His promises.
Remember where you belong.
Remember Who you are…
and John says… you are…
1.1 You are Loved
1.1 You are Loved
1 John 3:1 “1 Behold - (that means- To take it in. To let it settle into our bones.) - Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us...”
That word bestowed means “given freely,” “poured out,” “lavished,” “placed upon.”… It’s not love that we discovered. But rather, it’s love that found us. It’s not love we achieved. It’s love God initiated.
We we will talk about that more when we get to chapter 4 v.19… Where John says… “We love Him because He first loved us.”
This is one of the truths that separates Christianity from every man-made religion…
Across the world’s religions, love, forgiveness, and acceptance have to be earned.
Islam ties acceptance to obedience.
Hinduism and Buddhism hinge everything on personal effort and karma.
Groups like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses mix grace with performance, making God’s love something you achieve.
But the gospel is different. In Christ, love is bestowed, not earned… John wants to make sure that we understand this…
And just in case that’s not clear enough… the Apostle Paul spells it out pretty clear in…
4 … He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
Jeremiah records God making the statement…
3 … “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love…
He loved you before the world was ever created and He will continue to love you throughout eternity…
He loves us so much that He adopted us into His Family…
1.2 You are Adopted
1.2 You are Adopted
1 John 3:1 “1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!… ”
When John says we are “called children of God,” he’s not using a metaphor. He’s talking about a legal and relational reality that Scripture calls adoption.
And adoption in the Bible isn’t second-tier sonship; it is one of the highest expressions of God’s grace toward His people.
Again in Ephesians 1:5 Paul says that God…
5 …predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
That means long before you ever thought about God, God planned to bring you into His family. Adoption isn’t God’s response to your spiritual improvement… It’s been part of His eternal plan all along...
A pastor once told the story of officiating an adoption ceremony at a county courthouse. The couple sat on one side, the little boy between them, swinging his legs nervously. Across the room sat the judge, shuffling papers with a seriousness that made the whole moment feel heavy.
The judge looked at the child and asked, “Do you understand what is happening today?”
The boy nodded.
“And do you want these two people to be your parents?”
His voice was quiet but clear. “Yes, sir.”
Then the judge turned to the couple. “Do you understand that from this day forward, this child will be legally yours? He will inherit your name, your care, your home. He will be treated as your own.”
They both answered, “We do.”
The gavel struck, and the judge said, “Then by the authority given to me, I declare that this child now belongs to this family.”
The boy didn’t clap. He didn’t run around the room. He simply leaned into his new father’s side with a quiet sense of security, as if something deep inside finally clicked into place: “I belong here.”
That’s adoption. That’s what God has done for us. He didn’t just forgive our record.
Through Christ,
He brings us home.
He puts His Spirit inside us.
He gives us a name, a place, and a future.
And nothing can remove us from His family…
As we remember just who we really are… Loved and adopted by God… John also reminds us that we are misunderstood…
1.3 You are Misunderstood
1.3 You are Misunderstood
And right beside that you can put a note… “by the world”. You are misunderstood by the world…
John says…
1 John 3:1 “… Therefore
(remember what I said last week? when ever you see the word therefore, you should ask what is it there for?…
and to get your answer, you just have to look at what comes before it… in this case… We are loved by God and we have been adopted by God and are called the Children of God…)
Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”
In other words, when you truly belong to God, don’t expect the world to fully understand you. They didn’t understand Jesus, so it stands to reason that they won’t fully understand those who follow Him.
This doesn’t mean Christians act strange on purpose. It means our values, our priorities, our convictions, and our joy are shaped by a different King and a different kingdom.
When the world operates on self-advancement, and you choose humility, it won’t make sense.
When the world celebrates moral freedom, and you pursue holiness, they will see you as old fashioned.
When the world feeds on outrage, and you offer forgiveness, people will probably scratch their heads.
Jesus told us this would happen…
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
Paul, when writing to the Corinthians… 1 Corinthians 2:14
14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.
Martin Lloyd-Jones once observed that the more clearly a believer reflects the life of Christ, the more out of place they will feel in the world. Not because they’re doing something wrong, but because they’re becoming what God intends them to be.
John isn’t trying to discourage us; he’s explaining why the Christian life sometimes feels like swimming upstream. You’re going one direction while the current of the world goes the other…
And that being misunderstood is often a sign that you’re actually walking in line with the way Jesus would want...
We must remember who we are…
Secondly… You need to…
2. Rest In Who You Are Becoming
2. Rest In Who You Are Becoming
Look at v.2…
1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be… ”
I believe that John intentionally uses the word “Now”… “Beloved, now we are children of God”… Not someday. Not after enough spiritual growth. Not once you’ve overcome every weakness. Right now.
Yet at the same time, there is a future version of you… “and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be…”
That very simply means…
2.1 God Is Still Working On You
2.1 God Is Still Working On You
God isn’t finished with you. What you see in the mirror today is not the final version of who you will be in Christ.
There is a song that came out in 1980… the first verse says…
There really ought to be a sign upon my heart
Don't judge him yet, there's still an unfinished part
But I'll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master's loving hands
Verse 2
In the mirror of His word
Reflections that I see
Makes me wonder why He never gave up on me
But He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray
Remember He's the potter, and I am the clay
and then the chorus really drives home the point…
He's still working on me
To make me what I ought to be
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be
'Cause He's still workin' on me
God is actively shaping you, even in moments when you feel stuck or discouraged.
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
God is more committed to your growth than you are. He sees the places you struggle, the habits you’re fighting, the areas where maturity is slow… and even though He sees it all, He doesn’t throw up His hands, He doesn’t give up… He keeps shaping, pruning, strengthening, and renewing.
I believe it was R.C Sproul who used to say “We are not yet what we will be, but we’re not what we were.”
God is taking imperfect people and making them look more like His Son.
Sometimes that shaping happens through Scripture.
Sometimes through correction.
Sometimes through trials.
Sometimes through quiet, daily faithfulness that seems small but adds up over the years.
John is reminding us that we need to patient with the process. To trust that God is at work even when we don’t feel it.
You are a work in the hands of a faithful God.
2.2 To Be More Like Christ
2.2 To Be More Like Christ
1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
That’s the destination of every Christian. Not just a little spiritual improvement. Not passing away and earning a set of angel wings… But we are on our way to be just like Christ… unhindered by sin and no longer weighed down by weakness, doubt, or the battle with our flesh.
Paul describes it in Romans 8:29
29 ... to be conformed to the image of His Son...
Meaning that God is actively shaping believers so that their character, their desires, their reactions, and ultimately their whole being will reflect the likeness of Christ.
God is doing a supernatural work by His Holy Spirit, sculpting us so deeply that Christlikeness becomes part of who we are, not merely what we do.
This also means that your story doesn’t end with struggle. It doesn’t end with the habits you’re still fighting. It doesn’t end with the limitations you feel today… …
God’s final word over your life is clearly explained in Philippians 3:21
21 He will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body…
And when does that full and final transformation take pace??… When we meet Him face to face…
When we see Him, every trace of sin will fall away, and everything God intended for us will be complete. The Christian life is not drifting toward uncertainty. It is moving toward the ultimate glory of God.
So you may feel unfinished now. There will be days when you will see more flaws than fruit.
But John says, Remember who you are, and rest in who you are becoming… And when your mind is anchored in those truths—when you remember that you are in fact a child of God, who is being conformed into the image of Christ… — our response becomes clear.
Really there is only one way to respond…
You need to…
3. Respond With Purity
3. Respond With Purity
Now, I know this sounds like the title of message given to teens at a weekend retreat… but this goes deeper than talking teens about their relationships…
Look at what John says in v.3
1 John 3:3 “And everyone who has this hope in Him (what hope? the hope of being a Child of God and becoming like Christ)
(Everyone who is a child of God) purifies himself, just as He (God) is pure.”
Notice the flow: identity leads to hope, and hope leads to purity. This is not about earning God’s love or proving yourself worthy. It’s about aligning your life with the future God has guaranteed.
Basically, John is saying, “If you truly belong to God, your life should begin to reflect it.” Not in a proud, performative way. Not in a legalistic way. But in a way that shows the family resemblance.
Those who have been born of God will start to resemble the character of God.
If God calls you His child… if He’s working in you… if He’s shaping you into Christ’s likeness… then your life will, over time, begin to show it. Not perfectly. Not instantly. But genuinely.
Closing:
I guess the question for today is…
Knowing that you are a child of God…
Knowing that He is conforming you into the image of His Son, Jesus...
How will you choose to respond?
In reality, the way that you answer that question will determine if the first two statements are, in fact, true… Because John, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit said… “(Everyone who is a child of God) purifies himself, just as He (God) is pure.”
So when
you remember who you are…
When you rest in who you are becoming
Then the most natural thing in the world…
is to live like a child of God.
May that be true of every one of us—not just this week… but every moment until we see Him face to face…
Prayer:
