“Who’s Your Daddy?”
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One day, a first-grade student named Taylor, asked his grandmother if he was a child of God. "Why, of course you are, Taylor," she replied. He looked puzzled, then responded, "Well I better get home and tell Mom and Dad--they think I'm theirs!" Ahhh… a humorous illustration of mistaken identity.
A real problem today…you betcha. But today its not really a problem with the young boy’s reaction. Today the problem is his grandmothers assumption. The question is… are we children of God? Oh but Shane there is so many things that we need to hear about today that us more useful… Do we really need to have another sermon about children of God and children of the Devil. Is this really that important?
J.I. Packer wrote in his book Knowing God… "You sum up the whole of New Testament teaching in a single phrase, if you speak of it as a revelation of the Fatherhood of the holy Creator. In the same way, you sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one's holy Father. "If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all."
"If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God's child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all."
So I would say that the question of who’s your daddy is mighty important. Mighty important indeed. The deceptions of this world that come like a fierce wave continue to confuse our whole perspective on life. Having a clear view of things will help us brace ourselves and not be washed away in confusion. As we have seen with all the new data that has been collected over the recent years, we are in bad shape. Our culture is falling into one of the worse categories to be in according to the scriptures… the Horrible Woe. The mother of all Woes.
Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
This is an awful place to be. The sinful essence of a severely skewed perception and world view that it becomes a moral tragedy. Did you know that this is in essence the “unforgivable sin” the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? The shipwrecked reprobation of the unrepentant sinful man who wont repent because he or she does not believe what they are doing is wrong. The many in our churches today who believe that they are children of God when in all actuality they are children of the Devil. This is the reasons for the many many warnings in the scriptures. But we tend to look at them more as potential outcomes. This is the reasons for the many many urgings in the scriptures. But we tend to look at them theoretical considerations. This is the reason for the 10 commandments in the scriptures. But we tend to look at them as the 10 suggestions. Woe to them who call good evil and evil good.
The apostle John does not want us to be deceived. He gives us a stern warning in the form of a informal logic syllogism. There is to be no misunderstanding this. Lets take a look at this passage today.
Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.
Do Not Be Deceived
2. Of the Devil
3. Of God
Of
4. The Conclusion
The first thing we will look at today is the pastoral tone of John and his desire for the church to not be deceived by false teaching. The second consideration is the characteristics of children of the devil and the origin of sin. Third, we will look at characteristics of children of God and what it looks like to be born again. Finally we will look at the final conclusion
Thesis: Though the reality of sin and its origins with the Devil and his family continue to bring confusion and despair intensified by false teachers to the world, it is the reality of the Gospel that through Christ we can have life and through the adoption of the Spirit we find entrance into the family of God.
I. Do Not Be Deceived
- Not just themselves, but always desire to take others with them.
A. The apostle was making clear that the false teachers at the time were not only living sinful lives themselves, but they were teaching others to do the same.
Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.
Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John (p. 121). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
B. The first warning in chapter 2 was a serious theological error and now we find the false teachers dealing in practical errors as well.
- John Stott - The false teachers, tools of Satan the arch-deceiver, were seeking to lead them astray, not only theologically but morally as well. So let them be on their guard.
C. John makes it very clear that he wants them to know the difference between truth and falsehood. Better yet we need to know the difference between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the devil and the pattern of this world.
The false teachers, tools of Satan the arch-deceiver, were seeking to lead them astray, not only theologically (2:26) but morally as well. So let them be on their guard.
D. John sees right through the influence of the false teachers who seek to lead God’s children astray, and he wants to alert the church members to the lie that belief in God and a sinful life are compatible. False teachers are behind the notion that one can be born again and yet practice a sinful lifestyle.
Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, p. 127). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
He wants them to know the difference between truth and falsehood, that is, between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the devil. He realizes the pernicious influence of teachers who seek to lead God’s children astray, and he wishes to alert the church members to the lie that belief in God and a sinful life are compatible.
John exposes this lie and warns his readers to watch out for these false teachers.
E. False teachers are behind the notion that one can be born again and yet practice a sinful lifestyle.
John Stott - The heretics appear to have indulged in the subtly perverse reasoning that somehow you could ‘be’ righteous without necessarily bothering to ‘practise’ righteousness. John roundly denies the possibility.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 301). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 301). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
False teachers are behind the notion that one can be born again and yet practice a sinful lifestyle.
The heretics appear to have indulged in the subtly perverse reasoning that somehow you could ‘be’ righteous without necessarily bothering to ‘practise’ righteousness. John roundly denies the possibility.
E. But as we approach this scripture lets keep a couple things in mind. We do not become united with Christ by our own righteous acts; but because we are united with Christ we are able to perform righteous acts. In other words, We do not make ourselves God’s children because we are good; but because we are God’s children, we are.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 147). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
F. Imagine a professional football player who is an all-pro and master of his position. He knows what his responsibilities are and how to carry out his assignments. Normally he performs his tasks as he should. But occasionally he misses an assignment. He may miss a block or a tackle. But that is not the norm for him. Rather it is the exception. That is the way it is in our Christian life. Sin is the exception, not the rule. If sin is the rule rather than the exception, you have not been born of God.
We do not become united with Christ by our own righteous acts; but because we are united with Christ we are able to perform righteous acts. In other words, We do not make ourselves God’s children because we are good; but because we are God’s children, we are.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 147). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
Imagine a professional football player who is an all-pro and master of his position. He knows what his responsibilities are and how to carry out his assignments. Normally he performs his tasks as he should. But occasionally he misses an assignment. He may miss a block or a tackle. But that is not the norm for him. Rather it is the exception. That is the way it is in our Christian life. Sin is the exception, not the rule. If sin is the rule rather than the exception, you have not been born of God.
II. Of the Devil
- The Origin of Sin.
A. This verse we find his emphasis is on the origin of sin rather than on the nature of sin. John is making it clear that if you are a christian the practice of sin is is not just incompatible, but impossible.
But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
But this time his emphasis is rather on the origin than on the nature of sin, and he insists that for the Christian its practice is not merely incompatible, but impossible (9).
Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, p. 127). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
B. If we continue to make a practice of sinning it is showing that our daddy is really not God but the Devil. Again if the norm for you is sinning and not the exception, then the Devil is your daddy.
For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
C. Righteousness is the characteristic of Christ, but sin is characteristic of the Devil.
D. The name “devil” means “slanderer; accuser.” The devil’s lifestyle of sin has been so “from the beginning.” This probably refers to the beginning of Satan’s rebellion against God. John’s point of emphasis… If the characteristic work of the devil is to sin, the characteristic work of the Son of God is to save.
E. To further reinforce the exhortation not to allow themselves to be deceived about the importance of doing what is right and avoiding sinful behaviour. Jesus came to save us from the power of sin.
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
To further reinforce the exhortation not to allow themselves to be deceived about the importance of doing what is right and avoiding sinful behaviour, the author adds:
1 John 3:
He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John (p. 123). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
F. The Greek text has ‘works’ in the plural, for the devil’s activity is manifold. His works include all those things which he has insinuated into the perfect creation of God, in order to spoil it. Morally, his work is enticement to sin; physically, the infliction of disease; intellectually, seduction into error. He still assaults our soul, body and mind in three ways; and Christ came to destroy his works. The destruction was a ‘loosing’ (lysē), as if these diabolical works were chains which bound us. Of course we know from experience that they are not in an absolute sense ‘destroyed’ (cf. ; ; , where the verb katargeō evidently does not mean to liquidate or annihilate, but rather to deprive of force, render inoperative, conquer and overthrow). The devil is still busy doing his wicked works, but he has been defeated, and in Christ we can escape from his tyranny
The name “devil” means “slanderer; accuser.” The devil’s lifestyle of sin has been so “from the beginning.” This probably refers to the beginning of Satan’s rebellion against God. John
If the characteristic work of the devil is to sin, the characteristic work of the Son of God is to save.
The Greek text has ‘works’ in the plural, for the devil’s activity is manifold. His works include all those things which he has insinuated into the perfect creation of God, in order to spoil it. Morally, his work is enticement to sin; physically, the infliction of disease; intellectually, seduction into error. He still assaults our soul, body and mind in three ways; and Christ came to destroy his works. The destruction was a ‘loosing’ (lysē), as if these diabolical works were chains which bound us. Of course we know from experience that they are not in an absolute sense ‘destroyed’ (cf. ; ; , where the verb katargeō evidently does not mean to liquidate or annihilate, but rather to deprive of force, render inoperative, conquer and overthrow). The devil is still busy doing his wicked works, but he has been defeated, and in Christ we can escape from his tyranny.
Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, pp. 127–128). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 148). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
G. If, then, the whole purpose of Christ’s first appearing was to remove sins and to undo the works of the devil, Christians must not compromise with either sin or the devil, or they will find themselves fighting against Christ. If the first step to holiness is to recognize the sinfulness of sin, both in its essence as lawlessness and in its diabolical origin, the second step is to see its absolute incompatibility with Christ in his sinless person and saving work. The more clearly we grasp these facts, the more incongruous will sin appear and the more determined we shall be to be rid of it.
If, then, the whole purpose of Christ’s first appearing was to remove sins and to undo the works of the devil, Christians must not compromise with either sin or the devil, or they will find themselves fighting against Christ. If the first step to holiness is to recognize the sinfulness of sin, both in its essence as lawlessness and in its diabolical origin, the second step is to see its absolute incompatibility with Christ in his sinless person and saving work. The more clearly we grasp these facts, the more incongruous will sin appear and the more determined we shall be to be rid of it.
III. Of God
- Characteristics of those born again.
A. The phrase born of God is characteristic of John, for he uses it repeatedly (2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18). It signifies that a person has been born spiritually in the past and continues in the present as God’s child. That is, he finds his origin and existence in God. Whereas the person who practices sin has Satan as his father, the born-again believer knows that God is his Father. The words of Jesus are relevant: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” ().
The phrase born of God is characteristic of John, for he uses it repeatedly (2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18). It signifies that a person has been born spiritually in the past and continues in the present as God’s child. That is, he finds his origin and existence in God. Whereas the person who practices sin has Satan as his father, the born-again believer knows that God is his Father. The words of Jesus are relevant: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” ().
B. “God’s seed remains in him.” The word seed has a figurative connotation: “God’s nature” or “God’s principle of life.” God guards the new life he planted in the heart of the believer and causes it to develop. The Christian, then, will not and cannot yield to sin because of that divine principle in his heart.
C. These expressions (especially because of their av rendering ‘doth not commit sin’ and ‘cannot sin’) have sometimes been taken to teach that a true Christian, one who has been born of God, is constitutionally incapable of sinning. But such an interpretation cannot be maintained, unless we are prepared to say that John contradicts himself.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 303). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
But such an interpretation cannot be maintained, unless we are prepared to say that John contradicts himself.
These expressions (especially because of their av rendering ‘doth not commit sin’ and ‘cannot sin’) have sometimes been taken to teach that a true Christian, one who has been born of God, is constitutionally incapable of sinning.
D. The way to reconcile his teaching in chapters 1 and 3 is to recognize that in each he is opposing a different error. Gnosticism led its adherents to different conclusions. Some supposed that their possession of gnōsis had made them perfect; others maintained that sin did not matter because it could not harm the enlightened. Both positions are morally perverse. The first is blind to sin and denies its existence; the second is indifferent to sin and denies its gravity. To the first John declares the universality of sin, even in the Christian; to deny sin is to be a liar. To the second he declares the incompatibility of sin in the Christian; to commit sin is to be of the devil. It is in order to confound these particular views of his opponents that John states the Christian position in such categorical terms.
Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, p. 128). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, p. 128). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
The way to reconcile his teaching in chapters 1 and 3 is to recognize that in each he is opposing a different error. Gnosticism led its adherents to different conclusions. Some supposed that their possession of gnōsis had made them perfect; others maintained that sin did not matter because it could not harm the enlightened. Both positions are morally perverse. The first is blind to sin and denies its existence; the second is indifferent to sin and denies its gravity. To the first John declares the universality of sin, even in the Christian; to deny sin is to be a liar. To the second he declares the incompatibility of sin in the Christian; to commit sin is to be of the devil. It is in order to confound these particular views of his opponents that John states the Christian position in such categorical terms.
E. What, then, does he mean in verse 9 when he writes that a Christian does not and cannot sin? An examination of his expressions will tell us. He uses three. First, he says that the Christian who lives in Christ does not continue to sin (6a and 5:18, hamartanei); this is a present tense, indicating a settled character like that of ‘the devil’ who ‘has been sinning from the beginning’ (8). Cf. hamartanōn, a present participle, in verse 6b, whereas the verbs in 2:1 are both aorists. The second statement is that he who has been born of God will not continue to sin (hamartian ou poiei, 9a). Again, it is not the isolated act of sin which is envisaged, but the settled habit of it, indicated by the verb poiein, to do or to practise, which is used of ‘doing’ sin in verses 4a, 8 and 9, of ‘doing’ lawlessness in verse 4b, and of ‘doing’ righteousness in 2:29; 3:7, 10a. The third expression is that the Christian ‘cannot go on sinning’ (ou dynatai hamartanein, 9), where ‘to sin’ is a present, not an aorist, infinitive. If the infinitive had been an aorist it would have meant ‘he is not able to commit a sin’; the present infinitive, however, signifies ‘he is not able to sin habitually’. In this whole section John is arguing rather the incongruity than the impossibility of sin in the Christian. If even isolated sins are incongruous, what is utterly impossible is persistence in sin, ‘a character, a prevailing habit, and not primarily an act’ (Westcott).
What, then, does he mean in verse 9 when he writes that a Christian does not and cannot sin? An examination of his expressions will tell us. He uses three. First, he says that the Christian who lives in Christ does not continue to sin (6a and 5:18, hamartanei); this is a present tense, indicating a settled character like that of ‘the devil’ who ‘has been sinning from the beginning’ (8). Cf. hamartanōn, a present participle, in verse 6b, whereas the verbs in 2:1 are both aorists. The second statement is that he who has been born of God will not continue to sin (hamartian ou poiei, 9a). Again, it is not the isolated act of sin which is envisaged, but the settled habit of it, indicated by the verb poiein, to do or to practise, which is used of ‘doing’ sin in verses 4a, 8 and 9, of ‘doing’ lawlessness in verse 4b, and of ‘doing’ righteousness in 2:29; 3:7, 10a. The third expression is that the Christian ‘cannot go on sinning’ (ou dynatai hamartanein, 9), where ‘to sin’ is a present, not an aorist, infinitive. If the infinitive had been an aorist it would have meant ‘he is not able to commit a sin’; the present infinitive, however, signifies ‘he is not able to sin habitually’. In this whole section John is arguing rather the incongruity than the impossibility of sin in the Christian. If even isolated sins are incongruous, what is utterly impossible is persistence in sin, ‘a character, a prevailing habit, and not primarily an act’ (Westcott).
F. Wherein lies this ‘impossibility’? John’s answer is given in two phrases in verse 9: because God’s seed remains in him and because he has been born of God. God’s seed could be a collective noun for the children of God (cf. ; ), and in him could mean ‘in God’. The whole phrase would then be translated ‘the offspring of God abide in him, and they cannot sin because they are born of God’ (rsv mg. and cf. Moffatt. The sense is parallel to v. 6). It is more probable, however, that God’s seed is accurately rendered in the rsv text ‘God’s nature’, or ‘the divine seed’ (neb), and that in him refers to the child of God. In this way the two parts of verse 9 become exactly parallel, each part consisting of a statement that the Christian does not or cannot sin, to which is added the reason for such an assertion. The implication of both is this: the new birth involves the acquisition of a new nature through the implanting within us of the very seed or lifegiving power of God. Birth of God is a deep, radical, inward transformation. Moreover, the new nature received at the new birth remains. It exerts a strong internal pressure towards holiness. It is the abiding influence of God’s seed within everyone who is born of God, which enables John to affirm without fear of contradiction that he cannot go on sinning (cf. ; ). Indeed, if he should continue to sin, it would indicate that he has never been born again. It was this conviction which enabled John to assert that the heretics, who not only persisted in sin but had seceded from the Christian fellowship altogether, were not true Christians at all (2:19).
IV. The Conclusion
- Simple deduction: If not A and not B then not C.
A. In this entire letter John presents our existence in terms of two categories: you are either a child of God or you are a child of the devil. John sees only absolutes: light or darkness, truth or the lie, God or the devil, life or death. For him there is no middle ground. There are no alternatives.
So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
In this entire letter John presents our existence in terms of two categories: you are either a child of God or you are a child of the devil. John sees only absolutes: light or darkness, truth or the lie, God or the devil, life or death. For him there is no middle ground. There are no alternatives.
1 John
B. How do we know to which category we belong? John says that the proof is in our conduct: the child of God does what is right and loves his brother, but the child of the devil fails to do these things. John puts the criterion in negative form—“anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God”—so that the Christian takes note and applies himself actively to do God’s will.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 304). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
C. So again, God and Satan are the heads of two families. You are either a child of God or of Satan. Every person who has not been born into the family of God is a member of the family of Satan. The new birth determines what family you are in today. If you have not repented of your sin and believed on Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are still in the family of Satan. Again in essence John is asking us a crucial question: “Who’s your daddy?”
D. And again, it is not the righteous acts that bring you into the family of God, they are evidences that you are in the family of God.
In essence God and Satan are the heads of two families. You are either a child of God or of Satan. Every person who has not been born into the family of God is a member of the family of Satan. The new birth determines what family you are in today. If you have not repented of your sin and believed on Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are still in the family of Satan. At the risk of being too culturally colloquial, in essence John is asking us a crucial question: “Who’s your daddy?”
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 149). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.