1 John 3:1-7, 16-24
Prayers & Announcements:
Last week: In 1 John 1:1-2:2, the apostle John gave us some of the most illustrative verses of the NT about the person of Jesus Christ and what it means to have a relationship with Him. We took away four major points of application from the lesson: 1. Like John, we can attest to what we have seen and heard. We have seen the changes in the lives of others who have believed this message and we have seen and heard the changes in our own lives as we have walked with God. 2. While we cannot claim to have physically touched Jesus (as john did), we truly can say that we have experienced His "touch" in our lives. We are certain of this because we know Jesus' presence has come into us and changed us from the inside out-we are a new creation. 3. Walking in the light is the opposite of walking in the darkness. It means seeing reality for what it is and being controlled by desires that are in harmony with God's light. It's natural that those who walk in the light should fellowship (Gr. koinonia) with one another, and we see this at work in our church and other churches. 4. God's desire is that we not sin; however, because we are incapable of being sinlessly perfect, He has made a provision for us, with Jesus Christ Himself as our advocate (Gr. parakletos). As our advocate, Jesus admits our guilt and enters a plea on our behalf, as the one who made the atoning sacrifice for our sinful guilt. He qualifies because, unlike us, He is sinlessly perfect.
This Week: We move to 1 John 3:1-7, 16-24, which comes as a pastoral letter to churches in conflict, written by John to neutralize the turmoil it caused and prevent it from spreading. The conflict in the churches was caused by false teachers who had come and gone, leaving many churches in disarray. These false teachers-most likely Gnostic heretics-denied the incarnation and deity of Christ and claimed not to be sinners themselves. John's chief concern was the danger that they would mislead and corrupt new believers by persuading them to accept their profane teachings.
Read 1 John 3:1-3 - We Are Children of God
1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
v. 1a: "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are" - John speaks with amazing wonder and awe of the true and deep love that the Father has given us. The Greek word for "bestowed," (didÅmi) could be translated as gift showered or lavished upon the recipient, and it imparts the idea of being freely given rather than something earned or deserved. God has not only saved us from eternal death but has gone much further by adopting us into His family as His children. We can picture a situation where someone reaches out to help another person or even save their life but doesn't go so far as to make them a part of the family. But this is exactly what God has done for us.
v. 1b: "For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him" - The "children of God" and the children of the world aren't the same people. These two groups have a vastly different view of the world, and it leads to tension between those who know Christ and those who don't. Bro. Justin mentioned some time back that hardly anybody has a problem if you say, " I follow god," but when you add Christian beliefs or Jesus Christ to the equation, you immediately run into conflict.
v. 2: "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is - Here John draws a line between the present and the future. We're God's children but still have much to learn about the life to come-our future in eternity. We know we will have glorified bodies that will never be sick, grow old, or die. In eternity, we will be morally without sin, intellectually without falsehood or error, and physically without imperfections or weakness. We will be "like him," but not identical; and we won't be omniscient or omnipotent in power like Christ, who is both human and God.
v. 3: "And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" - This hope we Christians have fixed on Jesus Christ is not just wishful thinking but immovable confidence in our future. This hope motivates us to be more and more like Him-to purify ourselves to the extent that we reflect His image to those who see us. In our earthly journey, this will be only a partial transformation, but Christ will complete the purification process when He comes again.
Read 1 John 3:4-6 - Sin Is Lawlessness
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
v. 4: "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness" - To fully appreciate the significance of this statement, we must understand that any sin, no matter how small, amounts to a disregard for the law of God, and thus a disregard for God Himself, who made the law. At the same time, however, John isn't saying occasional or accidental sin make one lawless (we all fall short sometimes, don't we?), but a person who deliberately lives a sinful lifestyle is termed as one who "practices lawlessness." This is an intentional rebellion against God's will.
v. 5: "You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin" - John defines the mission of Jesus Christ at its most basic root: to take away our sins. Jesus not only did this so our sins would be forgiven but also so sin would cease to hold us in its bondage. This is His work in us, and we respond to that work by striving not to sin; while we cannot completely remove the presence of sin in our lives, it will ultimately be accomplished when we are glorified with Him.
v. 6: "No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him" - The word "abides" is a present tense verb that denotes ongoing, deliberate sin-rebellion. A person who lives this type of lifestyle has not "seen" and does "know" Jesus Christ.
Read 1 John 3:7 - Let No One Lead You Astray
7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;
v. 7a "Little children, make sure no one deceives you" - John goes on the attack against false teachers who would prey on new believers and lead them down the wrong path. The problem is discerning false teachers from those who lead and teach rightly-this is true today. In order to know what is false, you must first know what is true-God's truth as expressed in His Word.
v. 7b: "the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous" - The false teachers had been teaching that doing what is right wasn't necessary, but John tells us that to be worthy of fellowship with Christ, we need to practice righteousness-not just give it lip service.
Note: We are going to skip the next eight verses and move to a new topic.
Read 1 John 3:16-18 - By This We Know Love
16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
v. 16: " We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" - How we define love is important. If we define it the wrong way, anything passes. The word use here is agapé, the self-sacrificial type of love demonstrated by Jesus when He gave his life for us on the cross. For us, it means selfless acts of love done for others which are given without any expectation of love or even appreciation in return. It's a love that loves without changing. As for laying down our lives for fellow believers, it's usually not one dramatic life or death gesture but laying down our lives piece-by-piece, a little at a time, in ways that serve and help others.
vv. 17-18: "But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth' - v.17 gives us additional insight into the meaning of v.16. John equates love with giving material help to a fellow believer in need. He asks the question: How can we claim to love a brother or sister with agapé love while having no concern for their clear need of food, clothing, shelter, medical care, etc. It applies to any of us who have the means to help-most of us. In v. 18 John is telling us that agapé love translates to action-meeting needs rather than just talking about them.
Read 1 John 3:19-22 - Love in Deed and Truth
19 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
vv. 19-20: "We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things" - This asks the question: When the crisis hits, how will we know we are "of the truth." v.18 just us told that agapé love requires taking action. This is one way to evaluate a false teacher: someone who's all talk but never takes action. God knows our hearts, so when we love one another in word and deed, He will assure our hearts. In v. 20, our heart "condemns us" when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin in our life, but God, who is "greater than our heart," can grant assurance of forgiveness when we confess. God knows we aren't perfect, but He likewise knows whether our hearts are with Him or against Him.
vv. 21-22: "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight" - When we are in fellowship with God, and "our heart does not condemn us," we know our standing with God-feel it inside us-and can approach His throne with confidence. In v. 22, we experience answered prayer when we walk in the kind of obedience-i.e., "keep His commandments"-and love-i.e., "do things that are pleasing in His sight"-that John spoke of in the previous verses. Truth: Love and fellowship are the key to answered prayer.
Read 1 John 3:23-24 - This Is His Commandment
23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
v. 23: Pronouns used: "His commandment" refers the God the Father, while "He commanded" refers to Jesus. While the verse expresses two commands, (1) that we believe in the name of His Son and (2) that we love one another, it actually binds two ideas of obedience together to form one intrinsic commandment. When you believe in Jesus, Love for one another is embedded with it. For John's audience, this highlighted two major flaws of false teachers: (1) they didn't believe that the Son was God incarnate-God in the flesh and (2) out of their arrogance, they tended not to love anyone but themselves. Believing in "the name of His Son" echoes Jesus' words in Jn. 8:28: "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me."
v. 24: The Greek for "abides," meno, means a certain dwelling place. It suggests a place of peace and stability that we would associate when we are with our families and most-trusted friends. So, abiding in Jesus by keeping His commandments is the most stable and peaceful place we can be. In the last phrase of v.24, John makes the first explicit mention in this letter of the "Spirit," the third person of the Trinity. John apparently meant this as a test that would enable new believers to confirm their good standing. How do we know the Spirit abides is us? John doesn't go into detail but in Gal. 5:19-23, Paul contrast the fruits of the flesh-sexual immorality, idolatry, hatred, strife, drunkenness, etc.-with the fruits of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. Big difference, agree?
APPLICATION:
1. God has not only saved us from eternal death but has gone much further by adopting us into His family as His children. We've seen or heard of situations where somebody reached out to help another person or even saved their life but didn't go so far as to make them a part of the family. But this is exactly what God has done for us.
2. When Jesus came to take away our sins, He not only did it so our sins would be forgiven, but also so that sin would cease to hold us in its bondage. This is His work in us, and we respond to that work by striving not to sin.
3. In order to show the agapé love demonstrated by Jesus on the cross, we should be willing to lay down our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. This is usually not one dramatic life or death gesture but laying down our lives piece-by-piece, a little at a time, in ways that serve and help others.
4. John tells us that we must love one another not only in word but in deed. Agapé love, as John explains it, means taking action, not just giving lip service. God knows our hearts, so when we love one another in word and deed, He will assure our hearts.
5. When we are in fellowship with God, and "our heart does not condemn us," we know our standing with God and can approach His throne with confidence. We experience answered prayer when we walk in the kind of obedience-i.e., "keep His commandments"-and love-i.e., "do things that are pleasing in His sight"-that John spoke of in the previous verses. Truth: Love and fellowship are the key to answered prayer.
