It’s All About Sonship (v3)
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Children’s Question: How does God show us His love?
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 Behold what exotic [foreign to the human heart] love the Father has permanently bestowed upon us, to the end that we may be named children [born-ones, bairns] of God. And we are. On this account the world does not have an experiential knowledge of us, because it has not come into an experiential knowledge of Him. Divinely loved ones, now born-ones of God we are. And not yet has it been made visible what we shall be. We know absolutely that whenever it is made visible, like ones to Him we shall be, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope continually set on Him is constantly purifying himself just as that One is pure.
(NIV)
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, r we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
INTRODUCTION
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
INTRODUCTION
We move now into the second half of the letter, which deals with sonship. The word “fellowship” is not found in this section at all. Instead, John emphasizes being love and being “born of God.”
REVIEW: You may recall for the last few weeks we have focused on FELLOWSHIP and the importance of hanging out with Jesus so we can distinguish His voice from all the others voices we hear around us.
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Jn 10:
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,
NOTE: Jesus is NOT talking abstractly—He is saying His sheep hear and follow the VOICE of God as God speaks from above!
As John begins this section, he highlights the fact that a true child of God proves their spiritual birth by being obedient to God’s Word.
John highlights the fact that a true child of God proves their spiritual birth by being obedient to God’s Word.
He gives five motives for obedience:
1. The great love of God v1
2. The promise of Christ’s return vs2-3
3. Jesus death on the cross vs4-8
4. Our New Nature within vs9-18
5. The witness of the Holy Spirit vs19-24
We will look at the first three todat=y, and the other two next week, let’s begin by looking at the unique way in which God loves us...
I. God’s Great Love (3:1)
I. God’s Great Love (3:1)
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Another translation that more closely expresses the original says:
“Behold what exotic [foreign to the human heart] love the Father has permanently bestowed upon us, to the end that we may be named children [born-ones] of God.” ( Wuest)
“Behold, what foreign-kind of love” better portrays what John wrote.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
“Behold, what foreign-kind of love” is literally what John writes. Paul had this idea in mind when he wrote . Love is the greatest motive in the world, and if we understand God’s love, we will obey His Word. “If you love me, keep My commandments” (). Of course, the world has no understanding of this love, and the world hates us. But the world does not know Christ, so it cannot really know us.
Love is the greatest motivation in the world—but John tells us the world has no understanding of God, who is the source of all love! And The unbelieving person CANNOT know or understand the intricate details of God’s love because they are separated from Him.
Love is the greatest motivation in the world—but John tells us the world has no understanding of God, who is the source of all love! And The unbelieving person CANNOT know or understand the intricate details of God’s love because they are separated from Him.
Paul had this idea in mind when he wrote . Love is the greatest motive in the world, and if we understand God’s love, we will obey His Word. “If you love me, keep My commandments” (). Of course, the world has no understanding of this love, and the world hates us. But the world does not know Christ, so it cannot really know us.
ove is the greatest motive in the world, and if we understand God’s love, we will obey His Word. “If you love me, keep My commandments” (). Of course, the world has no understanding of this love, and the world hates us. But the world does not know Christ, so it cannot really know us.
And The unbelieving person CANNOT know or understand God’s love because they are separated from Him.
The world defines love from a foundation of affection and feeling—they are incapable of knowing real love because they do not know or experience the source of genuine love!
OUR PROBLEM IS: We often forget this fact and expect the world to play by our rules!
The PROBLEM IS: We often forget this fact and expect the world to play by our rules!
ILLUSTRATION
Rarely does a month go by and I find myself reminding someone to stop expecting unbelieving people to act like Christian people.
But I am NOT talking about judgmental, vicious, so-called Christians! When I say “CHRISTIAN” I am talking about those who claim the name of Christ and truly love others and are kind to others. They really try to love other people like Jesus would, and they really are tolerant and respectful of others.
I am talking about those who claim the name of Christ and truly love others and are kind to others. They really try to love other people like Jesus would, and they really are tolerant and respectful of others.
Too often we forget those who are lost (separated from God because they have never surrendered to Him), do not have an internal moral compass to guide them to truth.
Face it: Unbelieving [lost] people are simply acting upon their true nature. And “Christians” who are not loving are acting upon their OLD nature (we’ll talk about that next week).
John reminds us the Father has LAVISHED His great love upon us...
John reminds us the Father has LAVISHED His great love upon us...
A wonderful and incredible love that surpasses human comprehension! A love so unusual, it defies human explanation and REQUIRED a physical demonstration! [Jesus had to come before we began to comprehend it!]
John is referring to an incredible love that surpasses human comprehension!
A love so unusual, it defies human explanation and REQUIRED a physical demonstration!
John is referring to an incredible love that surpasses our comprehension!“Behold what exotic [foreign to the human heart] love the Father has permanently bestowed upon us” (Wuest)
v1 “Behold what exotic [foreign to the human heart] love the Father has permanently bestowed upon us” (Wuest)
When John says, “Behold, what foreign-kind of love God has lavished on us...” He is referring to a deep and incompressible love! A love that had to be demonstrated to be understood!
1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.
Love: to have love for someone or something, based on sincere appreciation and high regard (Louw & Nida, 1996)
“Behold what exotic [foreign to the human heart] love the Father has permanently bestowed upon us” (Wuest)
Biblical love is much deeper than mere affections and feelings. In fact, God’s love to us IS foreign, in the sense that it a love based on sincere appreciation and high regard (Louw & Nida, 1996).
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Three
The love of God is foreign to the human race. It is not found naturally in humanity. When it exists there, it is in a saved individual, and by reason of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Smith suggests, “from what far realm? What unearthly love, … how other-worldly.”
“Hath bestowed” is from dedōken (δεδωκεν), the perfect tense form of didōmi (διδωμι), “to give something to some one.” The perfect tense is used here to indicate that the gift becomes a permanent possession of the recipient. God has placed His love upon the saints in the sense that they have become the permanent objects of His love.
The love of God is foreign to the human race. It is not found naturally in humanity. When it exists among us, it is in a saved individual, and exercised THROUGH us our new nature, planted within us by the Holy Spirit. ALL TRUE LOVE has its source in God!
Kenneth Wuest called it an, “EXOTIC [foreign to the human heart] love!” (Wuest Word Pictures)
v1 John says God, “Lavished it upon us” —The tense indicates the gift becomes a permanent possession of the recipient.
“Hath bestowed” is from dedōken (δεδωκεν), the perfect tense form of didōmi (διδωμι), “to give something to some one.” The perfect tense is used here to indicate that the gift becomes a permanent possession of the recipient. God has placed His love upon the saints in the sense that they have become the permanent objects of His love.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.43 ἀγαπάω; ἀγάπη, ης
sincere appreciation and high regard—‘to love, to regard with affection, loving concern,
“Hath bestowed” is from dedōken (δεδωκεν), the perfect tense form of didōmi (διδωμι), “to give something to some one.” The perfect tense is used here to indicate that the gift becomes a permanent possession of the recipient. God has placed His love upon the saints in the sense that they have become the permanent objects of His love.” is from dedōken (δεδωκεν), the perfect tense form of didōmi (διδωμι), “to give something to some one.” The perfect tense is used here to indicate that the gift becomes a permanent possession of the recipient. God has placed His love upon the saints in the sense that they have become the permanent objects of His love.
“Hath bestowed” is from dedōken (δεδωκεν), the perfect tense form of didōmi (διδωμι), “to give something to some one.” The perfect tense is used here to indicate that the gift becomes a permanent possession of the recipient. God has placed His love upon the saints in the sense that they have become the permanent objects of His love.” is from dedōken (δεδωκεν), the perfect tense form of didōmi (διδωμι), “to give something to some one.” The perfect tense is used here to indicate that the gift becomes a permanent possession of the recipient. God has placed His love upon the saints in the sense that they have become the permanent objects of His love.
God has placed His love upon His Children in the sense that they have become the PERMANENT OBJECTS of His love.
John reveals God always has sincere appreciation, high regard, loving concern for us—AND He requires us to have the same for one another!
The world will NEVER understand or comprehend the love of God with words—LOVE REQUIRES ACTION—the world NEEDS Jesus, but they CANNOT experience His love, so God COMMANDS US to demonstrate it to them!
They begin to comprehend true love when they see how we love one another!
When we love others as Jesus loves, holding one another in high regard, having sincere appreciation and loving concern for one another, the world is not only amazed, but our love for one another pulls them closer to the Savior!
II. Christ’s Promised Return (3:2–3)
II. Christ’s Promised Return (3:2–3)
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 john 3L2-3
What we are now is wonderful; but what we shall be is even more wonderful! “We shall be like Him.”
This means inheriting a glorified body like His body and sharing in His eternal glory (). But the saint who really expects Christ to return will obey His Word and keep his life clean.
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
Ph 3:20-21
SOMEDAY we shall see Him “as He is,” but until then, John calls us to “walk as He walked” (see 2:6) and “be righteous even as He is” (3:7).
As God’s children, we are expected to purify ourselves by keep their hearts clean ().
And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians...
1 John
1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
John echoes that in verse 3
All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
John calls us to PARTICIPATE in the process of cleansing—there is a part God does when He forgives and restore us, and there is a part we do as we cooperate with His work on our behalf!
John now shifts to the ATONEMENT of Christ—he provides several reasons Jesus had to come in person...
III. Christ’s Death on the Cross (3:4–8)
III. Christ’s Death on the Cross (3:4–8)
Behold what exotic [foreign to the human heart] love the Father has permanently bestowed upon us, to the end that we may be named children [born-ones, bairns] of God. And we are. On this account the world does not have an experiential knowledge of us, because it has not come into an experiential knowledge of Him. Divinely loved ones, now born-ones of God we are. And not yet has it been made visible what we shall be. We know absolutely that whenever it is made visible, like ones to Him we shall be, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope continually set on Him is constantly purifying himself just as that One is pure.
Everyone who habitually commits sin, also habitually commits lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know absolutely that that One was manifested in order that He might take away our sins; and sin in Him does not exist. Everyone who in Him is constantly abiding is not habitually sinning. Everyone who is constantly sinning has not with discernment seen Him, nor has he known Him, with the result that that condition is true of him at present. Little born-ones, stop allowing anyone to be leading you astray. The one who habitually does righteousness is righteous, just as that One is righteous. The one who is habitually committing sin is out of the devil as a source, because from the beginning the devil has been sinning. For this purpose there was manifested the Son of God, in order that He might bring to naught the works of the devil.
Everyone who has been born out of God with the present result that he is a born-one of God does not habitually commit sin because His seed remains in him. And he is not able habitually to sin, because out of God he has been born with the present result that he is a born-one of God. In this is apparent who are the born-ones of God and the born-ones of the devil. Everyone who is not habitually doing righteousness is not of God, also the one who is not habitually loving his brother [Christian] with a divine and self-sacrificial love.
Because this is the message which you heard from the beginning, namely, We should habitually be loving one another with a divine and self-sacrificial love; not even as Cain [who] was out of the Pernicious One, and killed his brother by severing his jugular vein. And on what account did he kill him? Because his works were pernicious and those of his brother righteous. Stop marveling, brethren, if, as is the case, the world hates you. As for us, we know absolutely that we have passed over permanently out of the death into the life, because we are habitually loving the brethren with a divine and self-sacrificial love. The one who is not habitually loving in this manner is abiding in the sphere of the death. Everyone who habitually is hating his brother [Christian] is a manslayer. And you know absolutely that no manslayer has life eternal abiding in him.
In this we have come to know by experience the aforementioned love, because that One on behalf of us laid down His soul. And, as for us, we have a moral obligation on behalf of our brethren to lay down our souls. But whoever has as a constant possession the necessities of life, and deliberately keeps on contemplating his brother constantly having need, and snaps shut his heart from him, how is it possible that the love of God is abiding in him? Little born-ones, let us not be loving in the sphere of word, nor even in the sphere of the tongue, but in the sphere of deed and truth. In this we shall know experientially that we are out of the truth, and in His presence shall tranquilize our hearts in whatever our hearts condemn us, because greater is God than our hearts and knows all things. Divinely loved ones, if our hearts are not condemning us, a fearless confidence we constantly have facing God the Father, and whatever we are habitually asking we keep on receiving from Him, because His commandments we are habitually keeping with solicitous care, and the things which are pleasing in His penetrating gaze we are habitually doing.
And this is His commandment, namely, We should believe the Name of His Son Jesus Christ, and be habitually loving one another even as He gave a commandment to us. And the one who as a habit of life exercises a solicitous care in keeping His commandments, in Him is abiding, and He himself is abiding in him. And in this we know experientially that He is abiding in us, from the Spirit as a source whom He gave to us.
John gives several reasons why Jesus came to earth:
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
1 jn 3:
Verses 4 and 6 deal with the idea that sin is incompatible with the child of God. The words: “breaking God’s law” are one word, literally meaning “no law.” The original language makes sin and lawlessness identical.
We are FROM God—we have a new nature planted within, changed by the new birth…therefore we overcome!
Don’t expect the world to agree with you! Worldly people have their viewpoint, we have ours.
1.
In verse 5, John says, “Jesus came to take away our sins...”
The Greek construction makes sin and lawlessness identical
Worldly people have their voiewpoint, we have ours
“Take away” is airō (αἰρω), to lift up and carry away; referring to Christ atoning for sins of the past and preventing sins of the future.
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Three
“Take away” is airō (αἰρω), to lift up and carry away.” Smith comments: “atone for sins of the past and prevent sins of the future.Airō (Ἀιρω), properly ‘to lift up and carry away’
[Habitual] Sin is lawlessness and Jesus delivers His people from sin…
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Three
The tense of the verbs is present, the kind of action, continuous, habitual. Thus, “every one who habitually is abiding in Him,” is a saved person, and, “every one who habitually is sinning,” an unsaved person. A Christian as a habit of life is abiding in fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Sin may at times enter his life. But sin is the exception, not the rule. The unsaved person as a habit of life sins continually.
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Three
John does not teach that believers do not sin, but is speaking of a character, a habit. Throughout the Epistle, he deals with the ideal reality of life in God, in which the love of God and sin exclude each other as light and darkness.
V7-8
The idea is, God has taken away the sin of His children at the Cross, and HE will prevent CONTINUAL future sin! GOD will NOT tolerate our sinful acts and EVENTUALLY pulls us back in line.
John does not teach that believers do not sin, but is speaking of a character, a habit. Throughout the Epistle, he deals with the ideal reality of life in God, in which the love of God and sin exclude each other as light and darkness.
ILLUSTRATION: Paul Rutledge
Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 13, pp. 147–148). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.The idea is God has taken away the sin of His children at the Cross, and will prevent CONTINUAL future sin. He will not tolerate our sinful acts and EVENTUALLY pulls us back in line.
A Christian may fall in the mud, but they eventually long to be clean—a pig wallows in the mud and when cleaned, can’t wait to wallow again!
WE ARE NOT PIGS; WE ARE CHILDREN OF THE KING!
V7-8
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Three
Smith comments: “An affectionate warning against Nicolaitan Antinomianism. The apostle cuts away vain pretences by a sharp principle: a righteous character expresses itself in righteous conduct. Christ (ekeinos (ἐκεινος) “that One”) is the type. He was ‘the Son of God,’ and if we are ‘children of God,’ we must be like Him.” “Deceive” is planaō (πλαναω), “to lead astray.” “Little children” is teknia (τεκνια). The verbal form tiktō (τικτω) means “to give birth to,” thus the noun is “little born ones,” “bairns” (Scotch).
The apostle gets very blunt by expressing a well-known principle: do not be deceived, righteous character expresses itself in righteous conduct!
Character: Character is shown by one’s habitual actions, not the extraordinary ones!
vs 8 Jesus came to save us from our sins, and He did that by destroying the devil’s work. Literally: He made the devil’s work NULL, NO LONGER EFFECTIVE.
He planted in us a new nature; the people of God are people of character.
Are you a person of character?
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
You may recall, when Jesus was talking to the Teachers of Law, He called them the “children of the devil” because they did not know God and did not follow Him.
One of the reasons Jesus came was to reveal the truth about God and remind us that what a person habitually does reveals the heart. We can know a person by their fruit!
(3) to destroy (annul) the works of the devil, 3:8; and (4) to reveal God’s love and bestow God’s life, 4:9.
The fact that sin resulted in Christ’s suffering and death ought to be reason enough for the Christian to hate sin and flee from it. John defines sin as transgressing the law. The Christian who abides in Christ will not deliberately break God’s law.
Every Christian sins, perhaps without knowing it (); but no true Christian will deliberately and repeatedly defy God’s Word and disobey Him. John makes it clear that the unsaved sin constantly because they live in the flesh and for the devil. But the Christian has a new nature within and is no longer Satan’s slave.
PART 2
PART 2
IV. The New Nature Within (3:9–18)
IV. The New Nature Within (3:9–18)
The key thought of chapters 3–5 is “sonship,” which results in a new nature within the believer. God does not destroy or eradicate the old nature; rather, He implants a new nature that gives the believer a desire for spiritual things.
Verse 9 should say,”Whosoever is born of God does not habitually, deliberately sin; for he has the seed of the new nature within.”
Let’s understand a key difference which has caused confusion among Christians for centuries:
We possess a NEW nature, implanted by God the moment He regenerated us and placed His Holy Spirit with us—THAT NEW NATURE CANNOT SIN!
HOWEVER, God DID NOT eradicate or destroy the the OLD NATURE. The OLD NATURE is also within us, and it DEMANDS to sin.
WE SIN because we yield to the OLD nature!
John illustrates this by contrasting Cain and Abel as examples of the old and new nature:
ohn contrasts the children of God and the children of the devil, using Cain and Abel as examples. Abel had faith and was accepted; Cain tried to be saved by works but was not accepted (). Cain was a liar and a murderer, like the devil (); he murdered his brother, then lied about it to God. states that Satan’s seed (children) will oppose God’s seed. This will finally culminate in Christ’s battle with the Antichrist in the last days. BUT NOTE that Satan’s children are “religious!” Cain worshiped at an altar, and the Pharisees were the most religious people of their day. The test to determine who are God’s children IS NOT RELIGION; but, a true love for God and God’s children.True Christians do not hate and murder; instead, they show love and try to help others. The new nature that is implanted at the new birth is responsible for this change.
Abel had faith and was accepted;
Cain tried to be saved by works but was not accepted ().
Cain was a liar and a murderer, like the devil (); he murdered his brother, then lied about it to God. states that Satan’s seed (children) will oppose God’s seed. This will finally culminate in Christ’s battle with the Antichrist in the last days.
BUT NOTE that Satan’s children are “religious!”
Cain worshiped at an altar, and the Pharisees were the most religious people of their day.
The test to determine who are God’s children IS NOT RELIGION; but, a true love for God and God’s children.
True Christians do not hate and murder; instead, they show love and try to help others.
The new nature that is implanted at the new birth is responsible for this change.
V. The Witness of the Spirit (3:19–24)
V. The Witness of the Spirit (3:19–24)
True Christianity is a matter of the heart, not the tongue.
We have the witness of the Spirit in our hearts that we are God’s children ().
Christians need to cultivate assurance. Pater called it, “Make[ing] your calling and election sure…” ().
Verses 19-21 assures us that as we sincerely love the brethren, we belong to the truth and are saved.
19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.
Unsaved people may like some Christians because of their personable qualities, but only a born-again Christian loves even a total stranger when they discover the stranger is a Christian.
Verse 21 promises that the Christian with an assured heart can pray with boldness (confidence). If there is sin in our hearts, then we cannot pray with confidence (). But the Holy Spirit within convicts us of sin, so we may confess it and get back into fellowship with the Father.
What a tremendous revelation: whenever a Christian is out of fellowship with another Christian, he or she cannot pray as one should. The secret of answered prayer is obeying God and seeking to please Him. By doing so we abide in Him, and when we abide in Him, we may pray with power.
22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.
23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.
v22 Obedience and answered prayer are joined together
1 jn 3:
v23-24
Belief, love, and answered prayer go together (v. 22-23). If we trust God, we love one another. We love the saints because we are all one in Christ and because we seek to please the Father. How blessed it is when God’s people dwell together in unity. The indwelling Holy Spirit yearns to unite all believers in a wonderful fellowship of love, the kind of spiritual unity Christ prayed for in .
Faith and love go together (v. 23). If we trust God, we love one another. We love the saints because we are all one in Christ and because we seek to please the Father. How blessed it is when God’s people dwell together in unity. The indwelling Holy Spirit yearns to unite all believers in a wonderful fellowship of love, the kind of spiritual unity Christ prayed for in .
Sadly, our hearts (consciences) do condemn us because we know we have not always loved one another and God as we should. But John helps us by pointing away from our feelings to the God who knows us. John points to the indwelling Holy Spirit as the proof that we belong to God.
God abides in us by His Spirit; we ought to abide in Him by yielding to the Spirit and obeying the Word. People who claim to be born of God, but who repeatedly disobey the Word and have no desire to please God, ought to examine themselves to see if they are really born of God.
Sadly, our hearts (consciences) do condemn us because we know we have not always loved one another and God as we should. But John helps us by pointing away from our feelings to the God who knows us. John points to the indwelling Holy Spirit as the proof that we belong to God.
Fortunately, salvation does not depend on feelings; however, unfortunately, we often let our feelings provide our assurance of salvation.
The Holy Spirit ensures dialogue and relationship with a believer, and as such is a key to knowing if God is authentically involved in a person’s life
1john 3
CLOSING PRAYER: Lord, make us into the people You want us to be. Amen!