Children of God

1 John 3:1 KJV 1900

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (3:1a–b). Here is a love beyond all human comprehension.

Love is not a mere emotion that God feels, nor is it simply something God thinks about and then does.

Adopted

Most days, children don’t think about adoption. But when they do, they know it means they are different.

It means a parent had to create an adoption plan for you before you could be with your forever family.

While most Birth Parents make an adoption plan to provide a better life for a child, some children are removed from their parents due to abuse or neglect.

Adopted my early life was different -

As adopted kids mature and try to fit in, they may try to blend their identity to include Birth and Adoptive Families. They may try out various groups of friends—dressing, emulating and dating those of the same racial, ethnic or religious background—and watching to see how their Adoptive Parents react.

Foster child - remove by the state to protect the health and welfare of the child.

As they think about having children, they may become more interested in their birth and medical history. They are excited about having a blood relative, but have concerns over hereditary illnesses.

Being adopted means your early life was different,.

However, adopted children are ambassadors of adoption, whether they like it or not.

From an early age, they are asked questions and hear comments from peers and adults.

Wow - God saved me!

Child of God

It is thus that He reveals Himself in both Old and New Testaments.

The first mention of love in the Bible is in Genesis, where God said to Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering” ().

The word used for “manner” in the passage at hand is potapos, a word primarily meaning “from what country,” then “of what sort.”[23] Truly there is no country on earth characterized by such love as that which God embodies and displays in heaven and throughout His vast creation. God’s love is thus unique, there being nothing like it, nothing to which it can be compared. One rendering of this passage is “Consider the incredible[1]

1 John 3:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

vs 1 The phrase “born of him [God]” (2:29) leads the author to marvel at the wonder of God’s redemptive activity.

See how great the gift of his love really is!

Why he has identified us as being his very own children!

And this is exactly what we have become through his acts.

Because the believers are the children of God, the author warns them that the world is unable to recognize them or relate to them. That should not surprise them because neither did the world recognize God. The failure of the world to know God is one of the basic themes of the Gospel of John (5:37; 7:28; 16:3). Those who belong to the world live in darkness. They cannot come to the light but must inevitably hate it. This “belonging to the world” becomes also a matter of their choice; i.e., they refuse to acknowledge God in their hearts.

The author wants his readers to know that approval by the world is to be feared, not desired.

The majority will not understand.....

Adopted kids explaining the loneliness prior to adoption ....

To be hated by the world may be unpleasant, but ultimately it should reassure the members of the community of faith that they are loved by God, which is far more important than the world’s hatred.

The future reality is that we will be with him....

Illustration looking forward to vacation

Rough week at work vacation coming

Health is bad little sleep - vacation coming

I am so looking forward to this the present is not that bad

Auburn 1982

Classes were awful ---- so much studying, little sleep and no money

But just around the corner - I had a great Job, getting married and normal hours ...

That future helped me get through he last year of college ....

Since the world … did not know Him (God or Christ), it can hardly be expected to recognize believers as His children. This kind of discernment about others is a distinctively Christian perception.[1]

Now as we walk about from day to day, the world does not recognize us as children of God. The people of the world do not understand us nor the way we behave. Indeed, the world did not understand the Lord Jesus when He was here on earth. “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” Since we have the same characteristics as the Lord Jesus, we cannot expect the world to understand us, either.[2]

[1] Walvoord, J. F., & Zuck, R. B., Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 893). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Its a future thing - but a present possession

vs 2 2 Though they are now God’s children, the unveiling of their identity or the complete revelation of their nature still lies in the future. Moreover, “has not yet been made known” probably means that it is a “mystery” to be revealed only at the last time.

We have seen the future and it looks good....

Jeremiah 29:11 KJV 1900

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

1 Peter 1:3–4 KJV 1900

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

1 john 1,

II The Present Reality

1 John 3:3–5 KJV 1900

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Wow we have God’s protection to keep us from sinning......

John 14:15–18 KJV 1900

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

The present reality is that he has and is purifying us

we are on guard to protect ourselves and our heart ....

vs 3 Everyone who has this hope of seeing Christ and of being like Him, purifies himself, just as He is pure.

It has long been recognized by Christians that the hope of the imminent return of Christ has a sanctifying influence in the life of the believer. He does not want to be doing anything that he would not want to be doing when Christ returns.

The boss is coming - clean and ready

Notice that it says “purifies himself, just as He (Christ) is pure.”

Notice that it says “purifies himself, just as He (Christ) is pure.” It does not say “just as He (Christ) purifies Himself.” The Lord Jesus never had to purify Himself; He is pure. With us, it is a gradual process; with Him, it is a fact.[1]

All who have their hope in Jesus, i.e., their hope of being like him (3:2) when he appears (2:28), will also be committed to keeping themselves from sin.

3) We will keep ourselves from sin .....

3 All who have their hope in Jesus, i.e., their hope of being like him (3:2) when he appears (2:28), will also be committed to keeping themselves from sin.

They will put away every defilement; they will aim to be like him in purity and righteousness. Once more we have the pattern of the incarnate Jesus being held up as an example to believers (cf. 2:6; 3:7, 16; 4:17).

4 The opposite of purifying oneself is found in verse four:

“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

The word commits is literally does (Gk., poieō).

It is a matter of continual behavior, expressed by the present, continuous tense. It is possible to have sin even if there is no law.

It is insubordination to God, wanting one’s own way, and refusing to acknowledge the Lord as rightful Sovereign. In essence it is placing one’s own will above the will of God. It is opposition to a Living Person who has the right to be obeyed.[1]

vs 5 - A Christian cannot go on practicing sin, because that would be a complete denial of the purpose for which the Lord Jesus came into the world.

He was manifested to take away our sins. To go on in sin, therefore, is to live in utter disregard of the reason for His Incarnation.

The present reality is that we want to and are the give the edibility to live holy righteous lives.

John decries such a dichotomy. That his opponents hate their brothers (2:11) shows that their claim to sinlessness is a lie, which along with their failure to love stems from one source, their lawlessness. And their lawlessness shows that they do not belong to God but to the devil (3:10). They are part of the evil soon to be revealed (2:18).

[1] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 2316). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

But in addition, Jesus’ sinlessness reveals what kind of lifestyle is proper for those who abide in him. John uses the present tense (“in him is no sin”) to emphasize that sinlessness is characteristic of Jesus’ eternal nature. He was sinless in his preexistence in his life in the flesh, and in his eternal position as Son.

1 john 3.3-

1 John 3:6–8 KJV 1900

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:6–10 KJV 1900

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

1 John 3.6-

This where you are now !

1 john 3.

In opposition to the latter opponents, the author states that those who “live” in the “sinless one” will, like him, live a life of righteousness. They commit themselves not to sin. And if they sin, they will confess it as lawlessness and abandon it.

John acknowledges the life of righteousness, or sinlessness, as being possible only in Christ. By “living” in him, in his “sinlessness,” one can expect conformity to his righteousness. On the other hand, those who continue to sin make it certain that they have never had their eyes opened spiritually to see him, nor have they ever known him (cf. ; ; , ; ).

7 The warning “do not let anyone lead you astray” appears to have been directed against the false teachers in the community. The author, by using the address “dear children” (cf. 2:1), places his own position in the community on the line.

8 There is clearly a progression in the author’s thought on sin in this section. He begins with the “sinfulness” of sin—viz., “it is lawlessness,” rebellion against God (v. 4). Next he shows its incompatibility with Christ: “He appeared so that he might take away our sins” (v. 5). Then he shows its incompatibility for anyone who lives in Christ: “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning” (v. 6). Now he shows the diabolic nature of sin—its source is the devil who “has been sinning from the beginning” (v. 8).

The statement that the Son of God appeared “to destroy the devil’s work” is an elaboration of what John said in v. 5.

John sees the enmity of God against the devil as absolute. It lies at the heart of God’s commitment to rescue man from the devil’s clutches. It is a battle without quarter. God will destroy the devil and all his works, including those children of the devil who accept sinning as a way of life. The statement “the devil has been sinning from the beginning” probably refers to the Genesis account of the Fall and includes an identification of the devil with the serpent. He was, from the beginning, evil. “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth” ). The force of the statement is that the character, the very being of those like the false teachers, derives from the devil. His desires become their desires ). Like him they become liars and seducers. Those who continue in sin prove themselves to be the children of sin and the children of the devil (3:10).

9 John summarizes what he has said. In v. 6 he stated that no one who “lives in him” can practice a life of sin. Here he adds that “no one who is born of God” or has “God’s seed” in him can “continue to sin.” Both elements are necessary for understanding John’s theology of community. The believers must abide or “live” in him. The Father in turn must dwell in the believers (3:24; 4:12; cf. ; ). If we live in him, “we are removed” from “life in the world,” or life under the dominion of Satan. If he lives in us, then our life will be his life in us and we will live even as he lived.

10 This verse reveals the heart of the entire section and furnishes a transition to the next one. It is not a theoretical consideration of the nature of sinfulness or the possibility of sinlessness that occupies the author but the issue of the community. How are the children (community) of God to be recognized and how are the children (community) of the devil to be discerned?

“Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God.” And what is the “right” he does not do’? He “does not love his brother.” “Love for one’s brother” is the true test of righteous behavior. This requirement of love helps explain the absolute requirement that those who are born of God “cannot go on sinning” (vv. 6, 9). For if God is love, and if God lives in us and we in him, then love for the brethren will occur as an expression of righteousness without exception. Bruce (p. 93) comments on this connecting of love with righteousness: “For him, righteousness and love are inseparable; since they are inseparable in the character of God and in His revelation in Christ, so they must be inseparable in the lives of His people.”

“Righteousness involves the fulfillment of all law, of relation to God and to man, both personally and socially. The love of Christian for Christian, resting on the sense of a divine fellowship (cf. 1:3) carries forward to its loftiest embodiment the righteousness which man can reach” (Westcott, p. 106).

The author, then, is not stressing absolute moral conformity or “sinless perfection” but the one requirement by which all other requirements are measured—love for one’s brother. For this there is no substitute, its violation allows for no excuse, its application permits no compromise. Here there are no gray areas, no third possibilities. One either loves his brother and proves he is God’s child or does not love his brother and proves he belongs to the devil.[1]

What a contrast the past sinning and not know it

Doomed and does not care

Hurting and no pain

Lost but does not know

3:6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him, nor known Him. This verse contrasts the true believer with one who has never been born again. It can definitely be said of the true believer that he does not go on sinning.

1 John 3:6 KJV 1900

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

3:6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him, nor known Him. This verse contrasts the true believer with one who has never been born again. It can definitely be said of the true believer that he does not go on sinning.

John is not here speaking about isolated acts of sin, but rather continued, habitual, characteristic behavior. This verse does not imply that when a Christian commits an act of sin, he loses his salvation. Rather it says that when a person sins habitually, it is conclusive that he was never regenerated.

The question naturally arises, “When does sin become habitual? How often does a person have to commit it for it to become characteristic behavior?”

Philippians 2:12 KJV 1900

12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Because the believers are the children of God, the author warns them that the world is unable to recognize them or relate to them. That should not surprise them because neither did the world recognize God. The failure of the world to know God is one of the basic themes of the Gospel of John (5:37; 7:28; 16:3). Those who belong to the world live in darkness. They cannot come to the light but must inevitably hate it. This “belonging to the world” becomes also a matter of their choice; i.e., they refuse to acknowledge God in their hearts.

work out your salvation with fear and trembling; (2:12e)

Although God is loving, merciful, and forgiving,

He nevertheless holds believers accountable for disobedience. Like John, Paul understood well that “if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” ()

Knowing that he serves a holy and just God, the faithful believer will always live with fear and trembling.

Fear translates phobos, which describes fright or terror (cf. ; ; ) as well as reverential awe (cf. ; ; ; ).

Trembling is from tromos, which refers to shaking and is the word from which the English word tremor derives.

Both of those are proper reactions to the awareness of one’s own spiritual weakness and the power of temptation.

3:7 Now while the Gnostics made great pretensions as to their knowledge, they were very careless about their personal lives. Therefore, John adds, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”

1 John 3:7 KJV 1900

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

3:7 Now while the Gnostics made great pretensions as to their knowledge, they were very careless about their personal lives. Therefore, John adds, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”

3:7 Now while the Gnostics made great pretensions as to their knowledge, they were very careless about their personal lives. Therefore, John adds, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” There should be no confusion on this point—a man cannot have spiritual life and go on living in sin. On the other hand, a man can only practice righteousness through having the nature of Him who is righteous.

The author wants his readers to know that approval by the world is to be feared, not desired. To be hated by the world may be unpleasant, but ultimately it should reassure the members of the community of faith that they are loved by God, which is far more important than the world’s hatred.

Key - There should be no confusion on this point—a man cannot have spiritual life and go on living in sin. On the other hand, a man can only practice righteousness through having the nature of Him who is righteous.

1 John 3:8 KJV 1900

8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

3:8

All his children follow him in this broad way. It should be added here that men become children of God through the new birth, but there is no birth in connection with the children of the devil.

A man becomes a child of the devil simply by imitating his behavior, but no one is begotten as a child of the devil.

In contrast, the coming of the Lord Jesus was in order to destroy (or annul) the works of the devil. The Lord could have destroyed the devil with a single word, but instead of that, He came down to this world to suffer, bleed, and die that He might annul the works of the devil.

key - If it cost the Savior so much to put away sin, what should be the attitude of those who have trusted Him as Savior?

1 John 3:9 KJV 1900

9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

3:9 Verse nine repeats the impossibility of one who has been born of God going on in sin.

4 Here John uses two words to describe sin: hamartian and anomian (translated here “lawlessness”). In the OT as well as the NT, these two words are used frequently as synonyms (cf. ; ; ; ). In John’s community, however, they were used apparently with different meanings. “Sin” (hamartian) was used to describe the transgression of the law, the breaking of the commandments of God. “Lawlessness” (anomian) defined sin as rebellion against God and was connected with Satan’s rebellion against God. This latter concept had its origin early in the teaching of the church (; ; ; ). Apparently the false teachers and John agreed that “lawlessness” was incompatible with being born of God. What they did not agree on was that sin, defined as transgression of the moral law, was “lawlessness.” Indeed, as those “born of God” they claimed themselves “morally” to be sinless, or guiltless. Either they believed that they were by nature incapable of violating the law or that sinful deeds done in the flesh were of no concern to God, and they were therefore “sinless” in his sight.

Some Bible students think that this verse refers to the believer’s new nature, and that while the old nature can and does sin, the new nature cannot sin. However, we believe that here again the apostle is contrasting the regenerate man with the unregenerate, and is speaking of constant or habitual behavior. The believer does not have the sin habit. He does not defiantly continue in sin.

The reason is that His seed remains in him. There is considerable disagreement among

John decries such a dichotomy. That his opponents hate their brothers (2:11) shows that their claim to sinlessness is a lie, which along with their failure to love stems from one source, their lawlessness. And their lawlessness shows that they do not belong to God but to the devil (3:10). They are part of the evil soon to be revealed (2:18).

1 John 3:10 KJV 1900

10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

3:10a Here then is the fourth distinction of the children of God and the children of the devil. Those who do not practice righteousness are not of God. There is no in-between ground. There are none who are half-and-half. God’s children are known by their righteous lives.

5 In this verse John turns again to the teaching received “from the beginning” in order to raise two additional arguments against sin as a principle of life. First, not only is sin lawlessness (v. 4), but Jesus appeared in history in order to remove it (cf. ; ). Second, Jesus lived a sinless life (cf. 2:1; 3:3; ). In this latter statement the author probably is looking in two directions. Because Jesus was sinless, the devil had no hold on him (cf. ). Therefore Jesus was able to destroy the works of the devil, one of which is sinning (3:8).

3:10b, 11 In this section we have a continuation of the second test of those who are in the family of God—the test of love. This is continued from 2:7–17. From the beginning of the Christian dispensation, it has been taught that love to one’s brothers is a divine obligation. Love here is not used in the sense of friendliness or mere human affection, but it is divine love. It is loving others as Christ loved us. Actually, this cannot be done in one’s own personal strength, but only as empowered by the Holy Spirit.[1]

But in addition, Jesus’ sinlessness reveals what kind of lifestyle is proper for those who abide in him. John uses the present tense (“in him is no sin”) to emphasize that sinlessness is characteristic of Jesus’ eternal nature. He was sinless in his preexistence in his life in the flesh, and in his eternal position as Son.

So we have our:

In opposition to the latter opponents, the author states that those who “live” in the “sinless one” will, like him, live a life of righteousness. They commit themselves not to sin. And if they sin, they will confess it as lawlessness and abandon it.

Future

John acknowledges the life of righteousness, or sinlessness, as being possible only in Christ. By “living” in him, in his “sinlessness,” one can expect conformity to his righteousness. On the other hand, those who continue to sin make it certain that they have never had their eyes opened spiritually to see him, nor have they ever known him (cf. ; ; , ; ).

We we have our present

7 The warning “do not let anyone lead you astray” appears to have been directed against the false teachers in the community. The author, by using the address “dear children” (cf. 2:1), places his own position in the community on the line.

We have our past