1 John 2:28-3:10

Who’s Your Father: Part 1

Raechel and I purchased some new furniture. It is a sectional and it will be delivered tomorrow. When we saw it we both liked the style but it was kind of green. I called it green but Raechel had some different descriptors for it like sage or something. Either way we made the purchase. But to make it look its best we had to paint the walls in the living room of the parsonage. Raechel began looking at those paint chips at Sherwin Williams and she settled on about four different colors. She then asked me which one I liked. I told her the green one would look the best with the new furniture. She said that there wasn’t a green one so I pointed to the one I thought was best and she said “that’s not green its relaxed khaki”. Either way we painted the walls green. If you ask her today what color we painted them she will say relaxed khaki but that does not change the fact that the walls are green. We could discuss the variation of greens and the hues and overtones and undertones but it is still green. We could even discuss preferences or opinions but after the discussion is over the walls are still green until someone paints over them.

We live in a world that likes to discount truth with relativism. “What is true for you may not be true for me.” But just like those walls are green there are some things that are just true and they can be observed to be true. Today we will be looking at and see that there is the truth that people are either children of God or children of the devil and there are observations that can be made to know which is which. Let’s go ahead and pray then we will look into .

28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. Chapter 3 1Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 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. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.[1]

We are going to have to work at this a little bit backwards because in verse 10 John makes it clear that there is a definite delineation between the children of God and the children of the devil. So what we are going to do is look at some of the privileges and characteristics of being children of God and then the characteristics of being a child of the devil. The reason I think we need to do this is because in our day and age, the age of relativism, people really do not like the idea that someone is a child of the devil. They may not be a true child of God but they are good people. We need to make sure we understand that an individual is either a child of God or a child of the devil rather than just looking at is like they are a child of God or they are not. Do you see the difference? When we leave out the fact that a person who is not a child of God is a child of the devil we do not make it clear that they are an enemy of God. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. A child of the devil is an enemy of God and though I wouldn’t lead with that when I am sharing the gospel WE need to understand it to see the urgency of our task of being witnesses and making disciples.

So let’s look at some of the privileges of being a child of God before we look at the characteristics. First, and we find this in verse 28, we are confident and unashamed when He appears. We talked last week a little about the fact that Jesus is going to return and the last days are here. One of the greatest truths that the child of God can count on is the fact that Christ will return for His own and when He does we can be confident that He is coming for us and we need not be ashamed because we are clothed in His righteousness and will stand before Him pure and clean based on what He did not on what we did.

The second privilege we see here is found in verse 29. We are born of God. 5Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” If you are a child of God you are born of God and in verse 9 of we see that we who are born of God are always and forever born of God because His seed remains in us. We will see this again when we talk about the characteristics of the child of God but the truth is if we are born of God then we are forever born of God and it does not change with His whim or fancy because our God is immutable, He never changes.

The third privilege is that the child of God knows he is loved by God and that it is because God bestowed that love on him and calls him His child. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! The Creator of the universe loved us when we were unlovable, sinful, unrighteous and gave us the title child of God; what a grand and great privilege.

The next privilege we find in verse 2 of chapter 3. We will be transformed. We are now children of God but the best is yet to come. Right now in this earthly body we still struggle with sin and pain and all that goes with life in this fallen world. Again in this is how Paul puts it: 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. We cannot comprehend the glory though that is coming our way when He, the risen Christ, is revealed in all of His glory. We just don’t know what we will be but we know it will be like Him, we will be transformed into His glorious image at last.

Finally the last and I will say the greatest privilege or benefit of being a child of God is found the second part of verse 8 let me read all of that verse to you: 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. (Now get this part) For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. How did the Son of God destroy the works of the devil? First let’s make sure we understand what the works of the devil are. First he sinned from the beginning and led people to do the same. records very well how the devil sinned from the beginning by tempting Eve to sin. We also know that he is a liar and the father of lies as Jesus stated it and Jesus said in that Satan, the devil, was a murderer from the beginning leading man to sin which brought about death. Jesus came; He was manifest, to destroy all of those works, to destroy sin eventually in all of His creation but also the effect of sin in the life of those who are children of God. How did He do that? Verse 5 says that He was manifest to take our sin away. says: 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. He is our atoning sacrifice. Not only does He take our sins and not only is He the sacrifice in place of our sin but He also cleanses us of our sin just as if we had never sinned in the eyes of God the Father: 7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil in our lives.

As children of God (1) we will be confident and unashamed at His appearing, (2) we are born of God and remain His children because His seed abides in us, (3) God has bestowed His love on us and given us the title “children of God”, (4) we will be transformed to be like Him and (5) He has destroyed the works of the devil in our lives. Those are the privileges or the benefits of being children of God. And because of all of that we have certain characteristics or perhaps I should say certain responsibilities. First off we see in verse 28 that we are to abide or remain in Him. To be honest that is what defines whether or not we are indeed children of God because in verse 6 John makes it clear that those who do not abide in Him has never seen Him nor know Him. Jesus tells us in that we are to abide in the vine describing Himself as the vine and us as the branches of the vine and if we do not abide we can do nothing and the rest of our passage this morning definitely gives us responsibilities of what we are to do. Because we are loved, because we are called children of God, because we are being transformed and will be transformed to be like Him we are to practice righteousness just as He is righteous verse 29 says. Because of the privilege we have of being children of God everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself because He is pure. Because He took away our sin in His own sinlessness we do not continue in sin according to the first part of verse 6 and verse 9. That does not mean that we do not sin it simply means that we do not continue to live our lives like children of the devil; we do not continue in a lifestyle of sin. Don’t get confused by the phrases in verses 6 and 9 that say: whoever abides in Him “does not sin” and verse 9 “cannot sin”. Both of those phrases are in the present tense and simply means that we do not continue in a lifestyle of sin and when we do sin we confess and repent of that sin and practice righteousness and purity as verses 3 and 7 says.

As children of God we will be confident and unashamed at His appearing, we are born of God and remain His children because His seed abides in us, God has bestowed His love on us and given us the title “children of God”, we will be transformed to be like Him and He has destroyed the works of the devil in our lives. Because of all of that we abide in Him and abiding in Him we will practice righteousness, purifying our lives removing all that does not bring God glory, and we will not live a lifestyle of sin.

Those are the privileges and the characteristics or responsibilities of being a child of God and there is so much more I just gave you a running tally so to speak without too much explanation. Just like we painted that wall green God has made you a child of God. So it is now time to tell you the privileges or benefits and characteristics of being a child of the devil. I have to admit I tried real hard to find some privileges or benefits to being a child of the devil and I am kind of at a loss. Wait a minute there may be one benefit. You don’t have to work very hard to be a child of the devil because you are already under his sway, Jesus said that the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. All you have to do is what comes natural, live your life the way you want or the way you think you want with no regard to God and His holiness. John is pretty clear that those who sin, who live a lifestyle of sin lives a lifestyle of lawlessness in constant rebellion against God and verse 8 is very clear that those who practice a sinful lifestyle are of the devil and that the Son of God came to destroy your father’s work. The devil is a liar, a thief, a murderer, a gossip, a slanderer, an abuser of others and if you are not a child of God you are a child of the devil and you look just like him. We all look somewhat like our fathers, to some degree our physical fathers but spiritually speaking we either look like the devil as children of the devil or we are being transformed to look like or to reflect the glory of God as children of God.

John kind of summed this all up in verse 10: In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. If you are a child of God you will abide in Him and abiding in Him you will practice righteousness, you will purify your life, you will live a life that is not dominated by sin and lawlessness, you will love your brother. But if you are a child of the devil you will have no confidence to stand before Christ at His coming and you will be ashamed. You will not practice righteousness, you will not be given the title child of God and you will not desire to purify yourself of sin because you do not even know Him who is pure. You will do what comes natural because you will be under the sway of the evil one, the devil and he has sinned from the beginning. You will retain your sin and you will be judged for that sin because the Son of God has not taken your sin away.

I guess it kind of boils down to this: Whose child are you because you are going to look like whomever your father is and you will be spending eternity with him either way. If you are a child of God then you will spend eternity with Him. But if you are a child of the devil you will spend eternity with him.

The wall in our living room is green, you can call it anything you want but it is green. It used to be white but it was changed and white and green are not the same, it must be either green or some other color. You are either a child of God or you are a child of the devil. There is a clear difference between the two. Can I tell the difference? It doesn’t matter whether I can or not because your father knows you. If you are a child of God you are being changed, transformed. But if you are a child of the devil you will just keep doing what you’re doing being just like him. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.