1 João 3
John Phillips · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 3:1
Phillips: Consider the incredible love that the Father has shown us in allowing us to be called "children of God" - and that is not just what we are called, but what we are. Our heredity on the Godward side is no mere figure of speech - which explains why the world will no more recognize us than it recognized Christ. ( Phillips: Touchstone) TEV: See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children—and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God. TLB: See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children—think of it—and we really are! But since most people don’t know God, naturally they don’t understand that we are his children. Weymouth: See what marvelous love the Father has bestowed upon us—that we should be called God's children: and that is what we are. For this reason the world does not recognize us—because it has not known Him.
1 João 3:2
Phillips: Oh, dear children of mine (forgive the affection of an old man!), have you realized it? Here and now we are God's children. We don't know what we shall become in the future. We only know that, if reality were to break through, we should reflect his likeness, for we should see him as he really is! ( Phillips: Touchstone) TEV: My dear friends, we are now God's children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is. TLB: Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, right now, and we can’t even imagine what it is going to be like later on. But we do know this, that when he comes we will be like him, as a result of seeing him as he really is. Weymouth: Dear friends, we are now God's children, but what we are to be in the future has not yet been fully revealed. We know that if Christ reappears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.
1 João 3:3
Phillips: Everyone who has at heart a hope like that keeps himself pure, for he knows how pure Christ is. ( Phillips: Touchstone) TEV: Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure. TLB: And everyone who really believes this will try to stay pure because Christ is pure Weymouth: And every man who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself so as to be as pure as He is
1 João 3:4
Phillips says it this way in his commentary of First John: “The flow of a true believer’s life is toward obedience and faith. Occasional lapses may occur; some of them may even be prolonged. But that is not the main trend. The occasional stretches of misdirected (sinful) behavior represent an interruption of the general trend toward Christ-likeness.” In other words, the prevailing trend of a Christian’s life will not be sinful behavior but Christ-like behavior. Johnny Sanders - (ED COMMENT - This poem by Johnny Sanders is one we should all strive to emulate dear follower of Jesus. It is a tad bit convicting to me!) MY LIFE My life is an open book, Open wide for all may see. Each day it must be a little better, For someone may follow me. My life is an open book, Open wide that you may know, With but one quick look, What kind of seed I sow. The print is large, the type is bold, And easy for you to see. So, when my life you behold I ask your prayer before you judge me. --Johnny Sanders Let me share with you a poem I copied - as I recall - from a wall in the main lobby of camp 4 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman some 40 years ago: NO TIME FOR GOD You’ve time to build houses and in them dwell, And time to do business - to buy and to sell, But none for repentance, for deep earnest prayer, To seek your salvation you’ve no time to spare. You’ve time for earth’s pleasures, for frolic and fun, For her glittering treasures how quickly you run, But care not to seek the fair mansions above, The favor of God, or the gift of His love. You’ve time to take voyages over the deep sea, And take in the gay world’s jubilee; But soon our hopes will be lost in the gloom Of the cold, dark river of death and the tomb. You’ve time to resort to woods, mountains, and glen, And time to gain knowledge from the books of men, Yet no time to search for the wisdom of God; but what of your soul when you are under the sod? For time will not linger when helpless you lie; Staring death in the face, you will take time to die! Then, what of the judgment? Paul, think, I implore! For time will be lost on eternity’s shore. Phil Newton - So the aim is not sin as an act but rather sin as a practice. Persistent sin is rooted in a lawless disposition (1 John 3:4) The translation brings out the verb tense by the use of “practices.” The ESV translates it, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness.” “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” So the aim is not sin as an act but rather sin as a practice. What’s the difference? Some have construed John’s meaning as some type of sinless perfection required of Christians. We certainly want to aim for perfection! But we don’t arrive until we “see Him just as He is.” The Bible is filled with exhortations for God’s people to fight against sin and to pursue holiness. Yet some have been deceived into thinking that they’ve reached perfection. However, John has already declared, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1:8). He’s reminded us that when we sin “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1Jn 2:1). So what is his point? The use of “lawlessness” is critical for understanding what he means. We know that the basic meaning of lawless (anomia) means “without law.” Consider the last clause. “And sin is lawlessness.” What is sin? It is the transgression of the law of God. Sin disregards the law of God; sin feels no constraints by the law of God. If there’s no constraint by God’s law then there’s no consideration of the God whose character is reflected in the law. So the practice of sin, John says, is the ongoing practice of lawlessness or disregarding the law of God, having no sense of restraint by the law of God. In that case, “lawlessness” is a disposition of the heart. That’s why he writes, “anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God.” In other words, the reason that they do not practice righteousness but practice sin instead, is the disposition of the heart. They are not of God so they have a lawless heart.... Let no one deceive you about why Jesus Christ came into the world or what He makes us to be through His redeeming work or what clarifies us as genuine Christians. Gil McKee - Sin Is Lawlessness 1 John 3:4 Experiencing God Day by Day: Daily Devotional - Page 45 It is a dangerous thing to live your life without a spiritual “plumb line,” or standard, by which you determine right from wrong. God's Word is that plumb line. Spiritual laws, like physical laws, are meant to protect you, not restrict you. You may exercise your freedom to challenge the laws of electricity, but to do so can bring you death. Likewise, you will not break God's laws, they will break you. God established absolute moral and spiritual laws that we are free to ignore, but we do so at our own peril. These laws are timeless. Culture does not supersede them. Circumstances do not abrogate them. God's laws are eternal, and they will save you from death if you follow them. You may feel that God's laws restrict and bind you. On the contrary, God's Word protects you from death (Rom. 6:23). For example, when God said that you are not to commit adultery He wanted to free you to experience the fullest pleasure of a marriage relationship. Furthermore, He knew the devastating heartache that would come to you, your spouse, your children, your relatives, your friends, and your church family if you broke this law. How important the laws of God are for your life! Without them, you would be robbed of the delights God has in store for you. Sin is choosing a standard other than God's law on which to base your life. If you are measuring your life by that of your neighbors, or society at large, then you are basing your life on lawlessness, and lawlessness is sin. What is the main flow and trend of your life? Is your life characterized by continual and habitual patterns of sin? Or is your life more characterized by faith and obedience to Christ? Does the main flow and trend of your life produce fruit of righteousness or fruit of unrighteousness? Who do you really belong to today? Are you a child of God or a child of the Devil? Those are the only two kinds of people here this morning. We are all one or the other. Which are you? The Bible says you can know for sure. If you’ve been born of God, that is, if you’ve been born again, then you are a child of God. If not, you can be. Arthur
1 João 3:15
Phillips - hatred—which is the root of the sin of murder—likewise proves that the person who entertains this murderous spirit is devoid of eternal life. Both the fruit and the root reveal the unregenerate nature of such a person. (See Exploring the Epistles of John: An Expository Commentary - Page 109) Kenneth