1 João 3
Steven Cole · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 3:1
Cole comments that "John adds, “and such we are” (the KJV and New KJV omit these words, but there is solid manuscript support for them). The idea is that we not only have the name or title, “children of God,” but that that title reflects our true condition. Through His power, God causes us to be born again through His Holy Spirit (see John 3:1-8; Jas 1:18+; ; 1Pet. 1:3+; 1John 2:29; 3:9, 10; 5:1, 18). He imparts new life to us, so that we are raised from spiritual death to spiritual life. We actually become partakers of the divine nature (2Pe 1:4+), although we never become “gods” in any sense. But, we share His very life. (The Father's Great Love) ILLUSTRATION - A group of teenagers were enjoying a party, and someone suggested that they go to a certain restaurant for a good time. "I'd rather you took me home," Jan said to her date. "My parents don't approve of that place." "Afraid your father will hurt you?" one of the girls asked sarcastically. "No," Jan replied, "I'm not afraid my father will hurt me, but I am afraid I might hurt him." She understood the principle that a true child of God, who has experienced the love of God, has no desire to sin against that love. (Bible Exposition Commentary) David Allen (SEE 1–3 John: Fellowship in God's Family) - ILLUSTRATION - E. V. Hill, the great African-American preacher, once hired a young girl to be his secretary. He did not know who she was other than her name. One day one of his friends came by and said, “Do you know who your secretary is?” Hill responded, “Of course. That’s Natalie Cole.” He said, “But do you know who Natalie Cole is?” Hill said, “Of course. She’s a very nice young lady who works very well, and I pay her $2 an hour.” The friend said, “That’s Nat King Cole’s daughter.” Hill was stunned. He asked Natalie to come into his office and asked her if she was indeed Nat King Cole’s daughter. “Yes,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Hill. She said, “I didn’t know it was required. I just wanted a job. My daddy left me something, but I haven’t come into it yet. It won’t be mine until I am twenty-one.”12 That is the way it is with all of us who are Christians. We are children of King Jesus, but we have not yet come into our full inheritance. It is ours now, but we don’t come into it until we get to Heaven! To the world we Christians are an odd lot of people from many different walks of life. Our earthly vocations may be humble, but we are children of the King! Harriett Buell wrote the words for “I’m A Child of the King” as she walked home from church one Sunday: My Father is rich in houses and lands; He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands! Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold, His coffers are full—He has riches untold. My Father’s own Son, the Savior of men, Once wandered o’er earth as the poorest of them; But now He is reigning forever on high, And will give me a home in heav’n by and by. I once was an outcast stranger on earth, A sinner by choice and an alien by birth; But I’ve been adopted; my name’s written down— An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown. A tent or a cottage, why should I care? They’re building a palace for me over there! Though exiled from home, yet still I may sing: All glory to God, I’m a child of the King. Chorus: I’m a child of the King, a child of the King! With Jesus my Savior, I’m a child of the King! C H Spurgeon (Morning and Evening) exhorts us to… Consider who we were, and what we feel ourselves to be even now when corruption is powerful in us (Like the hymn "prone to wander, Lord I feel it… "), and you will wonder at our adoption (ED: Amen to that!). Yet we are called "the sons of God." (Ro 8:14+, Ro 8:19+, Gal 3:26+). What a high relationship is that of a son, and what privileges it brings! What care and tenderness the son expects from his father, and what love the father feels towards the son! But all that, and more than that, we now have through Christ. As for the temporary drawback of suffering with the elder brother, this we accept as an honour: "Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." We are content to be unknown with Him in His humiliation, for we are to be exalted with Him. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." That is easy to read, but it is not so easy to feel. How is it with your heart this morning? Are you in the lowest depths of sorrow? Does corruption rise within your spirit, and grace seem like a poor spark trampled under foot? Does your faith almost fail you? Fear not, it is neither your graces nor feelings on which you are to live: you must live simply by faith on Christ. With all these things against us, now-in the very depths of our sorrow, wherever we may be-now, as much in the valley as on the mountain, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." "Ah, but," you say, "see how I am arrayed! my graces are not bright; my righteousness does not shine with apparent glory. " But read the next: "It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him. " The Holy Spirit shall purify our minds, and divine power shall refine our bodies, then shall we see Him as He is. 1 John 3:1a Octavius Winslow (Daily Walking with God - SEPTEMBER 13) IT is not strange that the fact of his adoption should meet with much misgiving in the Christian's mind, seeing that it is a truth so spiritual, flows from a source so concealed, and has its seat in the profound recesses of the soul. The very stupendousness of the relationship staggers our belief. To be fully assured of our divine adoption demands other than the testimony either of our own feelings, or the opinion of men. Our feelings—sometimes excited and visionary—may mislead; the opinion of others—often fond and partial—may deceive us. The grand, the divine, and only safe testimony is "the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit." (Ro 8:16+) There exists a strong combination of evil, tending to shake the Christian's confidence in the belief of his sonship. SATAN Satan is ever on the watch to insinuate the doubt. He tried the experiment with our Lord: "If You be the Son of God." In no instance would it appear that he actually denied the truth of Christ's Divine Sonship; the utmost that his temerity permitted was the suggestion to the mind of a doubt; leaving it there to its own working. Our blessed Lord thus assailed, it is no marvel that His disciples should be exposed to a like assault. THE WORLD The world, too, presumes to call it in question. "The world knows us not, because it knew Him not." Ignorant of the Divine Original, how can it recognize the Divine lineaments in the faint and imperfect copy? It has no vocabulary by which it can decipher the "new name written in the white stone." (Re 2:17) The sons of God are in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (Php 2:15), illumining it with their light, and preserving it by their grace, yet disguised from its knowledge, and hidden from its view. SELF But the strongest doubts touching the validity of his adoption are those engender in the believer's own mind. Oh! there is much there to generate and foster the painful misgiving. We have said that the very greatness of the favor, the stupendousness of the relationship, startles the mind, and staggers our faith. "What! to be a child of God! God my Father! can I be the subject of a change so great, of a relationship so exalted? Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You should exalt me to be a King's son? (cp 2Sa 9:1-13, 8, 11 - see Mephibosheth and also see discussion of Mephibosheth in connection with Covenant: Withholding Nothing from God) Is this the manner of men, O Lord God?" And then, there crowd upon the believer's mind thoughts of his own sinfulness and unworthiness of so distinguished a blessing. "Can it be? with such a depravity of heart, such carnality of mind, such rebellion of will, such a propensity to evil each moment, and in everything such backslidings and flaws, does there yet exist within me a nature that links me with the Divine? It seems impossible!" And when to all this are added the varied dispensations of his Heavenly Father, often wearing a rough garb, assuming an aspect somber, threatening, and crushing, oh, it is no marvel that, staggered by a discipline so severe, the fact of God's love to him, and of his close and tender relation to God, should sometimes be a matter of painful doubt; that thus he should reason—"If His child, reposing in His heart, and sealed upon His arm, why is it thus? Would He not have spared me this heavy stroke? Would not this cup have passed my lips? Would He have asked me to slay my Isaac, to resign my Benjamin? All these things are against me." And thus are the children of God constantly tempted to question the fact of their adoption. (Octavius Winslow. Daily Walking with God) On the chapel wall at Eagle Village, a residential treatment center for boys near Hersey, Michigan, hang the portraits of two twelve-year-old boys—Rick and Rosy. The pictures bring to mind a tragedy that happened several years ago. Boys from Eagle Village were on a canoe expedition on Lake Superior when they pulled ashore to make camp. Rosy spotted something floating in the water, so he pushed off in a canoe to retrieve it. Strong winds quickly blew him offshore. The staff recognized his peril and started off in two canoes to rescue him. When Rick saw that his best friend was in danger, he insisted on going along. The wind tossed all three canoes until finally they capsized. The staff members all made it to shore. But Rick and Rosy were both lost in the depths of Lake Superior. A plaque between the pictures is inscribed: Rick, who loved enough to give his life for another. Rosy, who was loved enough to have another pay that price. This story calls to mind "what manner of love the Father has be-stowed on us." (1Jn 3:1) He loved us enough to give His Son to die as payment for our sin. And we were loved enough that He would willingly make that sacrifice. Our salvation is the best demonstration of the power of love. —D. C. Egner Warren
1 João 3:1
Cole - It’s as if John thinks about the Father’s great love and says, “Where does this come from? It must be from heaven, because there’s nothing like it in this world!” (The Father's Great Love) Potapos - 7x in 6v - Matt 8:27; Mark 13:1; Luke 1:29; 7:39; 2 Pet 3:11; 1 John 3:1. NAS = how great(1), what kind of(2), what sort of(1), what sort of person(1), what wonderful (2). Potapos is not found in the non-apocryphal Septuagint. Wuest… comments on how great (KJV renders it "what manner of") - “What manner of” is potapēn, “from what country, race or tribe?” The word speaks of something foreign. The translation could read, “Behold, what foreign kind of love the Father has bestowed upon us.” The love of God is foreign to the human race. It is not found naturally in humanity. When it exists there, it is in a saved individual, and by reason of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Smith suggests, “from what far realm? What unearthly love,… how other-worldly.” (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) Hiebert notes that potapos "implies a reaction of astonishment, and usually of admiration, upon viewing some person or thing. The expression conveys both a qualitative and quantitative force, "what glorious, measureless love!" This love, originating with God, ever seeks the true welfare of those being loved; it is amazing in-deed when we remember the personal destitution of those He loves. God's is a love that works visible, transforming results in the lives of its recipients.(1 John 2:29-3:12) The Father’s love is so unearthly, so foreign to this world, that [John] wonders from what country it may come. -- John Stott THOUGHT - Given that this Greek word (potapos) depicts a sense of awe, amazement and admiration, does this truth that you are actually a children of the eternal God and He is truly your Father "sink in" and grip your heart and stir a desire to obey Him that you might please Him? Challenge: Spend a morning meditating on the wonder of God as your Father and you as His child and see if that does not impact the rest of your day! Love (26) (agape) is unconditional, sacrificial love and Biblically refers to a love that God is (1Jn 4:8,16), that God demonstrates (Ro 5:8+, Jn 3:16, 1Jn 4:9) and that God enables in His children (see note on fruit of the Spirit - Gal 5:22+). It is a love that only has its origin in the Father. Agape may involve emotion, but it must always involve action. Agape is unrestricted, unrestrained, and unconditional. Agape love is the virtue that surpasses all others and in fact is the prerequisite for all the others. Jesus when asked "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” replied ”‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment." (Mt 22:36, 37, 38+) Love is the family resemblance the world should see in followers of Christ. D Edmond Hiebert states: “This love, originating with God, ever seeks the true welfare of those being loved; it is amazing indeed when we remember the personal destitution of those He loves. God’s is a love that works visible, transforming results in the lives of its recipients.” (1 John 2:29-3:12) God sets His mind and will on seeking man’s highest good. This is what is amazing about God’s love Donald Burdick adds: “God loves the sinner, not because He is drawn to him by his lovableness, but because, in spite of man’s unloveliness, God sets His mind and will on seeking man’s highest good. This is what is amazing about God’s love.” (Borrow The letters of John the Apostle : an in-depth commentary page 230) John explains love in this letter noting that "by this (by what? read on) the love of God was manifested (phaneroo = made visible) in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son (Jesus is the exact representation of God's nature [Heb 1:3+] and He as the very personification of divine love shows us the Father's love) into the world so that we might live through Him (He is our life - Col 3:3+? Who is living your life today beloved?) The only way to live an "other worldly", supernatural, Christian life is to surrender your rights each day and allow Him to live through you! cp Ro 12:1+). In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us (Note that agape love is not manifest by gushy feelings, but an "action" verb, which gives without expectation of return or even of reception!) and sent His Son to be the propitiation (fully satisfactory sacrifice - the justice of the Father has been satisfied by the perfect sinless sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jn 1:29, 36) for our sins. (1Jn 4:9, 10+) Steven Cole offers the following practical applications of this section… The Father’s great love should instruct us about our relationships with one another. This is the apostle Paul’s thought in Ephesians 5:1, 2 (notes), Therefore be (present imperative = command for this to be our lifestyle, our general pattern - our direction not perfection) imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Imitate God by walking in love, with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as your great example! If you need more specifics about what walking in love really looks like, go to Paul’s great chapter on love (1Cor 13:4-8a - see notes 1Co 13:4 v5-6 v7-8). He writes, Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (Ed: Notice that love is defined by verbs not adjectives!)…. Can you substitute your name in place of “love”? (“Steve is patient,” etc.) Those qualities should increasingly describe your relationships with others, beginning with those that you live with. We’re all prone to excuse our lack of love by blaming those that we are supposed to love. We say, “I am usually a very loving person, but if you knew how unloving my husband is, you’d understand why I treat him as I do.” Or, “I work long hours to provide for my wife, but all she does is gripe and criticize me. Sure, I’m mean and angry sometimes, but who wouldn’t be?” But such excuses don’t hold up because such unloving behavior does not in any way resemble God’s great love for you. Where would you be if God made up excuses for why He should withhold His love from you? He doesn’t need to make up excuses—He has legitimate reasons why you do not deserve His love! He would have been completely justified to leave you in your sins, with no remedy. But, instead, He so loved you that He sent His only begotten Son to bear the penalty that you justly deserved. Now He says, “Imitate My love by loving those who are insensitive, mean, and unloving toward you.” John’s words here also apply to how we as earthly fathers relate to our children. All of biblical parenting can be summed up in one sentence: Love your children as the heavenly Father loves you. Such love involves proper correction and discipline, of course. But, I think that most Christian parents fall short primarily in the realm of love, not discipline. God lavished His love and grace on us in Jesus Christ. As Christian parents—especially as fathers—we need to lavish grace and love on our children. It will motivate them to follow Christ far more than strict rules ever will. I’m not saying that there is no need for rules. I am saying that if your children feel your love for them, the need for rules is greatly diminished. So John shows us that the Father’s great love should both amaze and instruct us. Stop and behold it often! (Bolding and Links added) (The Father's Great Love) Alexander Maclaren has these devotional thoughts on the love that is bestowed… We are called upon to come with our little vessels to measure the contents of the great ocean, to plumb with our short lines the infinite abyss, and not only to estimate the quantity but the quality of that love, which, in both respects, surpasses all our means of comparison and conception. Properly speaking, we can do neither the one nor the other, for we have no line long enough to sound its depths, and no experience which will give us a standard with which to compare its quality. But all that we can do, John would have us do—that is, look and ever look at the working of that love till we form some not wholly inadequate idea of it. We can no more ‘behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us’ than we can look with undimmed eyes right into the middle of the sun. But we can in some measure imagine the tremendous and beneficent forces that ride forth horsed on his beams to distances which the imagination faints in trying to grasp, and reach their journey’s end unwearied and ready for their task as when it began. Here are we, ninety odd millions of miles from the centre of the system, yet warmed by its heat, lighted by its beams, and touched for good by its power in a thousand ways. All that has been going on for no one knows how many aeons. How mighty the Power which produces these effects! In like manner, who can gaze into the fiery depths of that infinite Godhead, into the ardours of that immeasurable, incomparable, inconceivable love? But we can look at and measure its activities. We can see what it does, and so can, in some degree, understand it, and feel that after all we have a measure for the Immeasurable, a comparison for the Incomparable, and can thus ‘behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us.’ So we have to turn to the work of Christ, and especially to His death, if we would estimate the love of God. According to John’s constant teaching, that is the great proof that God loves us. The most wonderful revelation to every heart of man of the depths of that Divine heart lies in the gift of Jesus Christ. The Apostle bids me ‘behold what manner of love.’ I turn to the Cross, and I see there a love which shrinks from no sacrifice, but gives ‘Him up to death for us all.’ I turn to the Cross, and I see there a love which is evoked by no lovableness on my part, but comes from the depth of His own Infinite Being, who loves because He must, and who must because He is God. I turn to the Cross, and I see there manifested a love which sighs for recognition, which desires nothing of me but the repayment of my poor affection, and longs to see its own likeness in me. And I see there a love that will not be put away by sinfulness, and shortcomings, and evil, but pours its treasures on the unworthy, like sunshine on a dunghill. So, streaming through the darkness of eclipse, and speaking to me even in the awful silence in which the Son of Man died there for sin, I ‘behold,’ and I hear, the ‘manner of love that the Father hath bestowed upon us,’ stronger than death and sin, armed with all power, gentler than the fall of the dew, boundless and endless, in its measure measureless, in its quality transcendent—the love of God to me in Jesus Christ my Saviour. In like manner we have to think,, if we would estimate the ‘manner of this love,’ that through and in the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ there comes to us the gift of a divine life like His own. Perhaps it may be too great a refinement of interpretation; but it certainly does seem to me that that expression ‘to bestow His love upon’ us, is not altogether the same as ‘to love us,’ but that there is a greater depth in it. There may be some idea of that love itself being as it were infused into us, and not merely of its consequences or tokens being given to us; as Paul speaks of ‘the love of God shed abroad in our hearts’ by the spirit which is given to us. At all events this communication of divine life, which is at bottom divine love—for God’s life is God’s love—is His great gift to men. Be that as it may, these two are the great tokens, conequences, and measures of God’s love to us—the gift of Christ, and that which is the sequel and outcome thereof, the gift of the Spirit which is breathed into Christian spirits. These two gifts, which are one gift, embrace all that the world needs. Christ for us and Christ in us must both be taken into account if you would estimate the manner of the love that God has bestowed upon us. We may gain another measure of the greatness of this love if we put an emphasis—which I dare say the writer did not intend—on one word of this text, and think of the love given to ‘us,’ such creatures as we are. Out of the depths we cry to Him. Not only by the voice of our supplications, but even when we raise no call of entreaty, our misery pleads with His merciful heart, and from the heights there comes upon our wretchedness and sin the rush of this great love, like a cataract, which sweeps away all our sins, and floods us with its own blessedness and joy. The more we know ourselves, the more wonderingly and thankfully shall we bow down our hearts before Him, as we measure His mercy by our unworthiness. From all His works the same summons echoes. They all call us to see mirrored in them His loving care. But the Cross of Christ and the gift of a Divine Spirit cry aloud to every ear in tones of more beseeching entreaty and of more imperative command to ‘behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.’ (The Love That Calls Us Sons ) BESTOWAL OF THE FATHER'S LOVE The Father (pater) - John's use of Father rather than God emphasizes the familial relationship believers have with Him. This description is at the end of the Greek phrase which gives emphasis to God as a Giver Who is also a Father. This emphasizes the intimate relation He has with His sons and daughters, a relationship which is so profound and deep and undeserved that it simply causes one to fall down and worship! In 2 Corinthians 6:18+ Paul writes of all believers “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty." (See Abba, the name of God = "Dear Father" or Abba, Father - Much Shorter Summary Page). THOUGHT - This truth of God as our Father is very meaningful to me as my real father left my mother when I was 1 year old and my step father abused me for over 10 years. So for the first 39 years of my life I had no concept of a father or even an understanding that a father could love me. That changed when I met Jesus at age 40 and He introduced me to His Father, my Father in heaven and I have never been the same since (See My Testimony to God's Grace). Perhaps you have been abused or abandoned by a father or a father figure. If you know Jesus as your Savior, you have God as your perfect loving Father forever and ever. Amen. Bestowed (NIV "has lavished on us") (1325) (didomi) means to give, to bestow, to confer, to make a present of, to put something into another's possession. Didomi also conveys the added sense that the granting is based on a decision of the will of the Giver (in this case our Father) and not on any merit of the recipient (saved sinners). This love is a gift and which cannot be earned or purchased (it is priceless)! Beloved, don't fall into the trap even after salvation of trying to earn the Father's love! You can't do it! God bestows it upon those who do not deserve it (which sounds a lot like grace!) The 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary has an excellent definition of give as "to pass or transfer the title or property of a thing to another person without an equivalent or compensation". What a great description of the Father's gracious love. And notice that this love is not bestowed on you but us reflecting John's humility ("the disciple whom Jesus loved" - Jn 21:20+) to include himself among the recipients of this amazing divine love. It is a gift from God the Father that cannot be earned or bought; it is given freely and cannot be withdrawn. -- Daniel Akin Paul describes us in Romans 5 as those who were helpless, ungodly (Ro 5:6+), sinners (Ro 5:8+), and enemies (of God - Ro 5:10+), toward whom He choose to demonstrate "His own love" (Ro 5:8+) and within whose hearts His love was "poured out… through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Ro 5:5+) And this great love is not just for time but for eternity as indicated by bestowed in the perfect tense, which signifies past completed action with ongoing effect/result! It speaks of permanence of this bestowal. It speaks of assurance and eternal security for God is not a man that He should lie. His love lavished upon saved sinners (cf Eph 1:8+) will endure throughout the ages. God has placed His love upon the saints in the sense that they have become the permanent objects of His love. Wuest agrees that bestowed in "The perfect tense is used here to indicate that the gift becomes a permanent possession of the recipient. God has placed His love upon the saints in the sense that they have become the permanent objects of His love. One of the results of this love in action is that we are called sons of God. Smith says: “The purpose of this amazing gift; a wise, holy love, concerned for our highest good, ‘not simply that we may be saved from suffering and loss, but in order that we may be styled children of God.’ And we have not only the name but the character: ‘so we are.’ (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) What is it that makes us slow to believe the love of God? David
1 João 3:2
Cole explains that "Biblical hope (Ed: elpis [word study]) is not a good guess about the future. It is not, “There is a 50 percent chance that this will happen.” It is 100 percent certain because it is based on the sure promises of God and on the testimony of His Son as relayed to us by the apostles in the New Testament. As Francis Schaeffer so helpfully pointed out, one of the errors of our times is to relegate faith to the “upper story,” rather than to recognize that the Christian faith is rooted in true historical facts. In other words, the modern way of thinking is, “Your faith is your own subjective reality. It may be true for you personally, but it is not absolutely true for everyone.” But, the Bible is clear that God’s truth about Jesus Christ is what Schaeffer called “true truth.” It is supremely revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all of which are historically validated. He fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. His word about the future is not uncertain speculation. It is absolutely certain, but just not yet realized. We know certainly that He will appear and in that instant, we will be instantly transformed. (The Purifying Hope) The psalmist seems to allude to this future event writing.... As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake. (Psalm 17:15)
1 João 3:2
Cole adds that "Since sin now dwells in our earthly bodies (Ro 7:18, 23, 24; 8:10, 13), we have to do battle against it until we die or Jesus returns. But when He returns, instantly we will receive our new resurrection bodies (1Co 15:52+). At that moment, we will be freed from all sin. (Ed: In this present age believers are free from sin's penalty and power [domination - Ro 6:11+] and in the future age will be free from sin's presence and pleasure!) (The Purifying Hope) James Smith - Every Christian expects to have a sight of Jesus—to see Him as He really is. He will gaze with rapture and delight on His glorified body, tracing the thorn-prints on His brow, and the nail-prints on His hands! He will realize with ecstatic delight that Jesus is his own Savior, his glorious Redeemer, his ever-living and ever-loving Lord. The sight of Christ will eclipse the glory of everything visible, and will leave impressions on the soul which will never be erased. It will exceed all that ever was seen, conceived, or anticipated. It will fire the soul with unutterable love, and fill it with inexpressible joy! John
1 João 3:3
Cole writes that... The holiness of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ is a frequent theme in 1John. In 1Jn 1:5, he told us, “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” In 1Jn 2:1, he refers to Jesus as “Jesus Christ the righteous.” In 1Jn 2:20, he refers to Jesus as “the Holy One.” In 1Jn 2:29, he again affirms that “He is righteous.” Here, he says, “He is pure.” The word originally referred to ceremonial purity, but it came to mean that which is “pure in the highest sense” (R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament). It refers to freedom from all defilement of sin, especially moral sin. As we’ve seen, in that glorious future day when we see Jesus, that vision will transform us. But I also believe that to the extent that we presently see Jesus in His holiness with the eyes of faith, to that same extent He will transform us into His glory. Paul says essentially the same thing (2Co 3:18+) "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." There is a similar thought in John 14:21+, where Jesus says, "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." If we want Jesus to disclose or reveal Himself to us, we must obey Him. It becomes, not a vicious cycle, but a victorious cycle, where when we obey, we see more of Jesus; this in turn makes us more like Him, which means that we see even more of Him. There is a transformational power in seeing Jesus for Who He is, the Holy One. Of course, our only source for this knowledge is His Word. Thus we must fix our hope on Him and we must come to know Him in His holiness. We must purify ourselves now so that we will grow to be like Him. - John says (1Jn 3:3),"Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself." We need to maintain the biblical balance here. In Romans 8:29, Paul says that God has predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son. In that sense, it’s a done deal and clearly, God does it. Yet at the same time, John says that we must purify ourselves. Paul says (2Co 7:1), “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” He commands Timothy to keep himself pure [lit.] from sin (1Ti 5:22). James 4:8 commands, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” 1 Peter 1:22 says that believers have purified their souls. So, there is a definite sense in which we must be active in the process of purification from sin. The other side is that only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us (1Jn 1:7, 9). We are clean through the washing of water with the Word (Ep 5:26). So God’s Word and His Holy Spirit are like the soap and water. But we’ve got to apply it to the dirt of our sin. The Word is also like a mirror, revealing to us the dirt on our faces. When it does that, rather than ignoring it, we must confess our sins to the Lord, apply His shed blood as our source of cleansing, and take the necessary steps to avoid that sin in the future. In brief, if you can’t imagine Jesus Christ, the righteous one, doing something, then you shouldn’t do it either. Clean the filth out of your life, be-ginning on the thought level. Conclusion - Maybe you’re thinking, “But it’s hard to let go of my sins!” If we’re honest, we sin because we enjoy sinning, at least for the moment. We don’t consider the long-term consequences. So we need motivation for purity. John says that our motivation should be that we are God’s beloved children and that Jesus is coming to make us pure. These facts should motivate us to purify our lives now. ILLUSTRATION When Jimmy Carter was President, to promote his populist image, on several occasions he spent the night in the homes of common people. Of course, he didn’t drop in unannounced! Those people had fair warning that he was coming on a particular date, and I’m sure that they had to agree to the visit. But, if you knew that the President would come at some unknown date to stay in your home, and that the news cameras would be there to broadcast the state of your living room to the entire world, I’ll bet that you’d be motivated to clean house! Jesus is coming. When you see Him in His glory, you will be like Him. If you have your hope fixed on Him, you’ll start cleaning house now! You don’t want the Lord who is pure to come to a filthy house! (The Purifying Hope) Just as He is Pure (hagnos) - Christ is our pattern for purity, our example of excellence. As John said "He must increase and we must decrease" (Jn 3:30) Just as (kathos) is used in the sense of comparison, meaning in this way Christ walked while on earth. See article on Walking Like Jesus Walked!. Prophetic truth calls us not only to preparation and expectation but also to purification. -- Vance Havner Peter alludes to Christ pattern of purity in the way He responded to suffering, writing that... For you have been called for this purpose (to suffer) , since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, (1Pe 2:21+) Earlier in first John, the apostle had emphasized the importance of a walk that corresponds to one's talk (profession) writing that... the one who says he abides in Him ought (Not a suggestion but an obligation, we in a sense owe this to Him, however not in any meritorious sense) himself to walk in the same manner as He (Christ) walked. (1Jn 2:6+) He is (2076) (estin) is the present tense indicates Jesus' immutable (unchanging) holy nature. In other words His unchanging nature guarantees his eternal purity. He is the eternally pure one! One of the very names given to Jesus is "Holy One" speaks of His uncompromising surpassing holiness. He was pure on earth and will remain pure throughout eternity! Note that John does not say “just as He (Christ) purifies Himself” because our Lord never had to purify Himself. For believers purification it is a gradual process (cp progressive sanctification) but with Jesus, it is a fact. Purity is His inherent quality. -- R C H Lenski D Edmond Hiebert writes that "The added words "even as he is pure" set before the believer the pattern for his self-purification. "Even as He" makes clear that "we are not to judge our lives by other peoples', but by Christ's, who is the standard or goal toward which we are to move.''"He" renders the demonstrative pronoun "that one" (ekeinos), which in this epistle seems always to refer to Christ (1Jn 2:6; 3:3, 5, 7, 16; 4:17; 5:16), and sets Him apart from other individuals. As a man among men, Jesus was "pure" (hagnos), morally blameless, uncontaminated and sinless in character and conduct.John does not say "even as that one purified himself" but rather "is pure," thus asserting His unchanging nature. The incarnate and glorified Christ ever remains "pure" and "sinless." As such He is the perfect model, challenging believers constantly to purify themselves. Culpepper comments, "Those who hope for heavenly rewards but do not pursue righteousness have pipe dreams, not hope." Pure (hagnos) means freedom from defilements or impurities and figuratively as used in this verse describes what is morally undefiled and when used ceremonially describes that which has been so cleansed that it is fit to be brought into the presence of God and used in His service. Although hagnos refers primarily to that which is inwardly pure, this purity also affects a person’s conduct. The word pure means “free from contamination” and is used of ceremonial cleansings (John 11:55), cleansing of the heart (Jas 4:8), and even cleansing of the soul (1 Pet 1:22). Here it is used in reference to one’s total life. The template for pure conduct is the Lord Jesus Christ, as summarized by the writer of Hebrews... For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. (He 7:26, 27+) The root word hagnos describes what is morally undefiled and when used ceremonially describes that which has been so cleansed that it is fit to be brought into the presence of God and used in His service. James uses this root word hagnos in his list of characteristics of heavenly wisdom (Jas 3:17). Hagnos describes a purity which affects a not only a person’s motives but also their conduct. Hagnos is always with a moral sense but is not limited to sins of the flesh, but covering purity in motives as well as in acts. In 2Co 11:2, of virgin purity. In James 3:17, as a characteristic of heavenly wisdom. Hagnos means free from admixture of evil, and is once applied to God, John writing that "just as He is pure (hagnos) (1Jn 3:3) William Barclay (critique) emphasizing the secular origin and use of the root word hagnos writes that "hagnos and its root meaning is pure enough to approach the gods. At first it had only a ceremonial meaning and meant nothing more than that a man had gone through the right ritual cleansings. So, for instance, Euripides can make one of his characters say, “My hands are pure, but my heart is not.” At this stage hagnos describes ritual, but not necessarily moral, purity. But as time went on the word came to describe the moral purity which alone can approach the gods. On the Temple of Aesculapius at Epidaurus there was the inscription at the entrance: “He who would enter the divine temple must be pure (hagnos); and purity is to have a mind which thinks holy thoughts." NIDNTT has this note on the classic use in Greek...hagnos, adj. from the verb. hazomai which is in turn derived from hagiomai, to stand in awe of someone, originally meant that which inspires (religious) awe, tabu (Godliness, art. sebomai). In secular Gk. usage hagnos is found from Homer onwards. In religious language it is primarily an attribute of deity; then it refers to things having some relation to the deity. It thus comes to mean holy, in the sense of pure. Ritual purity is in mind here, e.g. avoidance of blood-guilt, touching corpses. Since to the primitive mind sexual intercourse also makes a person ritually unclean, hagnos came to mean chaste. The originally cultic, religious term was then transferred to the sphere of morality, and is frequently used in the Hellenistic period in the sense of innocent, morally faultless. It is also used as a compliment for faultless execution of office. From hagnos are derived the verb hagnizo, to purify (by means of expiatory rites), first found in Soph., and the cognate noun hagnismos, purification. Both terms are limited to the cultic sphere. hagneia, a noun derived from hagnos, is likewise found first in Soph., and is used of cultic purity, chastity, purity of mind. Another noun derived from hagnos is hagnotes, which is unknown outside the NT and means purity, moral blamelessness. More common in the LXX is the verb hagnizo, which describes the measures taken to achieve eligibility for the cult. Whereas hagios (holy) always includes the thought of the power and might of that which is holy, hagnizo expresses consistently the removal of what is not seemly (e.g. Ex 19:10, washing of garments; Nu 6:3, abstinence from alcohol [Nazirites]), especially in the sense, to purify oneself from sin or uncleanness (hith. of chata', e.g. Nu 8:21; 19:12). hagneia also refers in the OT (Nu 6:2-21, law of the Nazirite; 2Chr 30:19, sanctuary) and Apocrypha (1Macc. 14:36, temple) to ritual purity. (Online New International Dictionary of NT Theology) TODAY ALONG THE WAY - Consider parallels between physical and spiritual birth. We’ve listed a few in today’s study, but you’ll no doubt come up with several more. For example, just as we are born into a certain physical family, so too we are forever born again into the family of God. Just as physical families have certain family resemblances, so too members of God’s family resemble each other to the extent that they resemble their Father. What are some other ways in which physical birth and childhood illustrate being a child of God? MORE PURITY GIVE TO ME THE "MEASURING DAY" Till we all come . . . unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:13 - God wants us to grow in grace and advance in spiritual knowledge. Therefore, along with His Word, He gives us Christian leaders who, because of their maturity, can act as ministers and teachers to edify us (Eph. 4:11), give us a broader insight into the deeper life of consecration, and instill in our hearts a better understanding of the true wisdom which is from above. As we thus mellow and mature through grace we shall grow "unto .. . the measure of the stature . . . of Christ!" Peloubet's Notes relates in substance the following incident: It is said that those who .wished to qualify for positions in the elite guard of King Frederick of Prussia were required to measure up to a certain commanding stature. A Christian lady thought so much about this annual "Measuring Day" ceremony that when she went to bed one evening she had a dream in which she imagined there was a day when everyone's growth in grace was similarly computed. An angel stood with a tall, golden rod in his hand over which was fastened a scroll on which appeared these words: "The measure of the stature of the perfect man." The angel inscribed in a large book all the important statistics as the people came up one at a time in response to the calling of their names. The instant anyone touched the rod an astounding thing happened — each shrank or increased in size to his or her true spiritual dimensions! Everyone, including the recording angel, could thus miraculously see what otherwise would have been perceived only by the eye of God. If today were the "Measuring Day" (and it may well be if Jesus suddenly returns), would you be ashamed of your spiritual stature? Take inventory; is your soul shrinking from "malnutrition," or are you feeding on the Living Bread, and thus daily attaining a little more of the "stature of the fullness of Christ"? More purity give me, more strength to o'ercome; More freedom from earth-stains, more longing for Home; More fit for Thy kingdom, more used would I be; More blessed and holy, more, Saviour, like Thee. —P. P. Bliss Thomas Watson warns of the deceptive danger of a false hope for "A false hope is an UNCLEAN hope. A man hopes—but continues in his sins. It is vain to speak of hopes of salvation—and have the marks of damnation. True hope is a helmet made of pure metal. 1John 3:3: "He who has this hope purifies himself." (The Fight of Faith Crowned) J C Ryle speaking of the great worth of assurance of our salvation (this is point #4 of 4) writes that... Assurance is to be desired because it tends to make the holiest Christians. This, too, sounds incredible and strange, and yet it is true. It is one of the paradoxes of the gospel, contrary at first sight to reason and common sense, and yet it is a fact. Cardinal Bellarmine was seldom more wide of the truth than when he said, "Assurance tends to carelessness and sloth." He who is freely forgiven by Christ will always do much for Christ’s glory, and he who enjoys the fullest assurance of this forgiveness will ordinarily keep up the closest walk with God. It is a faithful saying and worthy to be remembered by all believers: "He who has hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure" (1 John 3:3). A hope that does not purify is a mockery, a delusion, and a snare. None are so likely to maintain a watchful guard over their own hearts and lives as those who know the comfort of living in close communion with God. They feel their privilege and will fear losing it. They will dread falling from the high estate, and marring their own comforts, by bringing clouds between themselves and Christ. He who goes on a journey with little money about him takes little thought of danger and cares little how late he travels. He, on the contrary, that carries gold and jewels will be a cautious traveler. He will look well to his roads, his lodgings and his company and run no risks. It is an old saying, however unscientific it may be, that the fixed stars are those which tremble most. The man that most fully enjoys the light of God’s reconciled countenance will be a man tremblingly afraid of losing its blessed consolations and jealously fearful of doing anything to grieve the Holy Spirit. (Assurance) Alleine writes that "If your hope is worth anything, it will purify you from your sins (1 John 3:3)—but cursed is that hope which cherishes men in their sins. (Alarm to the Unconverted) Thomas Brooks speaks of the purification that hope provokes writing that "The assured Christian knows, that it is dangerous to sin against light, that it is more dangerous to sin against love, that it is most dangerous to sin against love revealed and manifested to the soul. To sin under assurance, is to sin against the great mercies of God, it is to sin against the highest hopes of glory; and this will certainly provoke God to be angry. God may well say to such a Christian, "Is this your kindness to your best friend?" (HEAVEN ON EARTH) Bishop J C
1 João 3:3
Cole notes that "Hope is one of the three cardinal virtues that Paul mentions in 1Cor 13:13, faith, hope, and love. Christians should be people of hope, because we fix our hope on Jesus, Who never disappoints... God promises hope to His people. Memorize some verses on hope, such as Ro 15:13 (+) Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound (perisseuo - present tense = continually superabound) in hope by the power (dunamis) of the Holy Spirit. Our God is the God of hope, and the hope that He gives centers on the Lord Jesus Christ.(The Purifying Hope) Fixed on Him - Literally the Greek reads "who has this hope upon Him", fixed having been added by the translators. The NET Bible utilizes the verb "focused" to add clarity. Moffatt renders it as "everyone who rests this hope on Him". Sam Storms “Just as the vision of Christ in the future will sanctify us wholly, the vision of Christ in the present (in Scripture) sanctifies us progressively. It is our experience of Christ that sanctifies” (1 John 2:28-3:3) On Him (ep' auto) This phrase pictures the sure, unchanging foundation of a believer's hope. It pictures the believer's hope "resting" on Him, grounded on His promises, which are "yea and amen" (2Co 1:20KJV). And so this hope not upon a generality or even a truth (which it is in one sense) but better yet rests upon a the Person, Christ Jesus. John has just explained that the believer's hope is based upon the truth that Christ has promised to return. I WILL RETURN From 1942 to 1945, General Douglas MacArthur served as the commander of Allied forces in the Pacific. When it became clear in 1942 that Bataan, the last American foothold in the Philippines, would fall to the Japanese, President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to leave. As he left on March 11 MacArthur uttered his famous promise, “I shall return. Don’t give in." And a little Pilipino answered "I will not give in...I will fight until you return." General MacArthur kept his promise and did return in October of 1944. When Jesus left His disciples, He promised He would return (Jn 14:2, 3) and when He did return He would take His own to be with Him (1Th 4:16+, 1Th 4:17+). As Jesus ascended from the mount of Olives two angelic beings encouraged the forlorn disciples... Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11) Jesus had ascended but the battle was still raging and in fact would get worse. But He promised to return again. How will believers today survive? Jesus Christ is coming again and He is our Blessed Hope. Note how the truth of our Blessed Hope motivates us to holy living... For the grace of God has appeared (= incarnation of Christ), bringing (making available) salvation (justification = past tense salvation) to all men ("all" who believe), 11 instructing (paideuo = in the present tense = continually rearing us up like a parent does his children! What is "child rearing" us? In context the "Grace of God"! How else could we "deny ungodliness" except by the transforming power of amazing grace?!) us to deny (arneomai) ungodliness (asebeia) and worldly desires (epithumia) and to live sensibly (sophronos), righteously (dikaios) and godly (eusebos) in the present age (cp Gal 1:4) (= progressive sanctification - present tense salvation - This parallels the one who continually "purifies himself just as He is pure"), 12 looking for (prosdechomai - present tense = looking expectantly for Jesus' return as the habit of one's life) the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus (glorification = future tense salvation. This parallels the time "when we see Him we shall be like Him" 1Jn 3:2). (Titus 2:11+, Titus 2:12+, Titus 2:13+) Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest: Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. -- Fanny Crosby Fanny Crosby was blind but was “watching and waiting” by faith, and we too must set our eyes on the hope we have, that we will one day see His face and be like Him. Beloved child of God, you can mark down this maxim -- What you are looking for will determine What you are living for Either... TIME or ETERNITY! See related discussion Redeem the Time and my youtube video on Redeeming the Time. Purifies himself - Note that John does not say everyone ought to purify himself. Instead he flatly states that purification is what a believer does, and therefore this passage becomes a stringent test of what/who we really are! John's point is that everyone who genuinely possesses the objective hope of the Lord's promised return purifies himself. The verb hagnizo (see below) is in the present tense which calls for an ongoing practice of purification - we are to make and keep ourselves pure. It describes a process and hopefully progress but not an "arrival" in this life, and yet a goal we can run toward as we contemplate His appearing when we will "arrive" (glorification). The active voice indicates that this purification of calls for a volitional choice. The one who possesses the hope of Christ's return and of being like Him, is the one who willingly and repeatedly exercises self-purification. Living He loved me; dying He saved me; Buried, He carried my sins far away; Rising He justified freely forever; One day He’s coming—Oh glorious day! (Play this Hymn) That glorious day is indeed coming and John sees it as an awesome hope for the future and a powerful motivation for the present. Daniel Akin - That glorious day is indeed coming and the apostle John sees it as an awesome hope for the future and a powerful motivation for the present. Because I am going to be like Him in the future and for all eternity, such a promise has a wonderful transforming power in the present. My future impacts my life today! It is important to emphasize that on one hand believers are responsible for carrying out their own (self) purification, but on the other hand, this supernatural work necessitates continual dependence on the power of the indwelling Spirit (cp Ro 8:13+; Gal 5:16+). Paul outlines the two aspects of our present walk and work of purification (God's sovereignty, Man's responsibility) in his letter to the saints at Philippi commanding them to... work out (present imperative = calls for a lifelong pursuit of purity and holiness, continually striving to be like Christ, realizing in this life we will continually fall short) your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God Who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Php 2:12+, Php 2:13+) Arnold adds "The hope of the coming of Christ produces a desire to live for Jesus Christ right now. We know we may meet him face to face at any given moment and we want to be ready and meet him with boldness and confidence. The Apostle John is stressing man’s responsibility to exercise his will in living the Christian life. The real sanctifier is God, the Holy Spirit, but we must, by an act of our wills, appropriate the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the means God has provided for the Christian to progressively purify himself in this life. A supernatural power is given to live the supernatural Christian life." The hope of being like Christ in the future expresses itself in an effort to purify oneself to be like him in the present. -- Colin Kruse John
1 João 3:4
Cole on lawlessness - John is saying that the one who practices sin is “in revolt against God” and that “sin is nothing but rebellion against God." In other words, John is hitting at the truth that sin, at its core, is much worse than an outward breaking of a commandment. To practice sin is to be in open rebellion against God Himself. We may ask, “Why does John begin with this?” The answer is, as J. C.
1 João 3:5
Cole - In 1Jn 2:28+ and 1Jn 3:2+, John used the word “appears” to refer to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Here, he uses it twice (1Jn 3:5, 8) to refer to His first coming. Jesus Christ did not come to this earth primarily to give us moral teaching or an example, although He did those things. His main reason for coming was to take away sins by bearing the penalty that we deserved in His own body on the cross. Sin may rebel, it cannot reign in a saint. John
1 João 3:5
Cole - Jesus’ virgin birth through the Holy Spirit preserved Him from original sin (Luke 1:35). He lived in complete obedience to God, so that even His enemies could not convict Him of sin (John 8:46). He offered Himself as a lamb unblemished and spotless (1Pet 1:19+), the final and complete sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 10:10+, Heb 10:14+, Heb 10:18+). If you know these truths, then John’s conclusion is inescapable: true Christians do not live in sin (see 1Jn 3:6-7).
1 João 3:7
Cole - Whenever the Bible warns us not to be deceived, we need to perk up and pay attention. (ILLUSTRATION) Deception is like a fisherman’s bait: we think we’re going to get what we want (a juicy meal), but we end up getting hooked and becoming the meal! John plainly spells out the truth: “the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”John Stott observes (p. 124), “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.” The error that John here warns against is rampant in our day. (ED: THIS IS INTERESTING AS PASTOR COLE GRADUATED FROM A SEMINARY WHERE THIS ERROR WAS TAUGHT! AT LEAST HE DID NOT GET HOOKED!) In part, it is the fruit of those that teach that you may accept Christ as Savior without submitting to Him as Lord. Several years ago, I saw a tragic example of how this bad theology works out in people’s lives. We were in a motel (which is the only time I watch such TV shows) and there was a show about an up and coming actress. It clearly portrayed her as a sex symbol. Since then, I have seen her picture in sensual poses on many of the supermarket tabloids and the headlines have told about her marital breakup. But in spite of the overtly sensual portrayal in that program, the actress’ father assured the interviewer that she was a devout Christian! (1 John 3:4-10 The Believer and Sin) A RIGHTEOUS LIFE BEARS THE MARK OF THE RIGHTEOUS ONE The one who practices (poieo - present tense as the general direction of his life) righteousness (dikaiosune) is righteous (dikaios), just as (kathos) He is (present tense - continuously) righteous (dikaios) - Practice does not make perfect but practice does proof one is the "real deal!" Or stated another way, righteous acts do not make one righteous, but do prove one is righteous before God, "being justified (declared righteous) as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." (Ro 3:24+). Just as (kathos) is a term of comparison. The of God Who Himself is perfect righteousness will naturally (actually supernaturally) practice righteousness. Just as Jesus walked, so too will His sons and daughters (cp 1Jn 2:6+, 1Pe 2:21+). Peter had a similar thought in his exhortation to the saints (1Pe 1:1+) exhorting them… Like (cp just as) the Holy One who called you, be (aorist imperative) holy yourselves also in all [your] behavior; because (term of explanation) it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” (1Pe 1:15-16+). Comment: And so just as He is righteous, so too we should be righteous! Doing is the test of Being. --Robert Law Practices righteousness (present tense = as the general direction of one's life) - As reflected in his good (God) works. Such a practice does not make one righteous but shows that one is "in" the Righteous One, in Christ Jesus, and His Spirit in in them giving them the desire and power (Php 2:13NLT+) to accomplish (supernatural) good works (one of the believer's purposes in Christ - Eph 2:10+, cf Titus 2:14+). John is saying in essence that if one is declared righteous by faith in Jesus Christ (Ro 3:22+, cf Eph 2:8-9+), this root of righteousness will be seen by the fruit righteousness in our lives. Remember the present tense of practices is not speaking of perfection but of direction. THOUGHT - This truth begs the question of us all -- "Do my daily thoughts, words and deeds reflect a life headed generally in the direction of righteousness or unrighteousness?" "The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul." --Charles Spurgeon Sam Storms - 1Jn 3:7 simply restates the basic idea of 1Jn 2:29+ with an added refutation of the claim of the false teachers that somehow you could "be" righteous without necessarily "practicing" righteousness. (Sermon Notes) A righteous character expresses itself in righteous conduct. -- David Smith Daniel Akin writes "John provides a counter-argument to such deception that is quite simple and to the point: "The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous." Deception is defeated by a righteous life that gives tangible, visible evidence that we have been born again through faith in Christ. We will live out who we are. It is inevitable. Now, doing what is right is not what enables us to be righteous, but again, it is proof that we are righteous, just as Jesus, in whom we now abide, is righteous. Christ is my righteousness positionally and experientially—determining what I am in the eyes of God and directing how I act here on earth. He is my redemption and my sanctification. Christ is my pattern (1Jn 2:6) and my power (1Jn 4:4) for righteous living. Galatians 2:19-20-+ provides a very helpful insight on this truth: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Do not be deceived into thinking you can practice sin and be righteous before God. That is a great, big, satanic lie!" (See Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John - Page 68) Practices means to do something and in the present tense expresses an action that continues. To reiterate, John is not saying we are "made righteous" by our own righteous acts. When we were saved by grace through faith in Christ, we were justified at that point and declared positionally righteous. Righteous acts have no effect on our justification which is a once for all time event. However, now our righteous acts deeds (enabled by the Spirit) are the fruit of His righteous root! Practically one who practices righteousness does what is right, in relation to both God and man. Righteous acts initiated and carried out in our own fleshly energy and calculated to impress others, do not impress God! Righteousness before men to be noticed by them is self righteousness. Righteousness that God accepts is His character reproduced in and through us by His Holy Spirit for His good pleasure and His glory (Mt 5:16+). In sum, righteousness of God could be succinctly stated as all that God is, all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, all that He provides through Christ (Click Ray Pritchard's interesting analysis of righteousness in Matthew). Works are the fruits of grace. Spurgeon on the one who practices righteousness - That is the sign of it. Works are the fruits of grace. “He is righteous,”- not in himself; for mark how graces come in here-”He is righteous, even as HE is righteous.” It will not allow our righteousness to be our own, but it brings us to Christ again. “He that doeth righteousness is righteous,” not according to his own works, but “even as HE is righteous.” Good works prove that; have perfect righteousness in Christ; they do not help the righteousness of Christ, nor yet in any way make me righteous. Good works are of no use whatever in the matter of justification: the only use they are, is, that they are for our comfort, for the benefit of others, and for the glory of God. “He that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that commits sin is of the devil.”… He is practically righteous, he is truly righteous; but let no man talk about being righteous before God while he is willfully indulging in sin. This cannot be; thou must be divorced from sin, or thou canst not be married to Christ. The gospel demands and also creates holiness of character; and wherever it works effectively upon the heart and conscience, it produces purity in the life… You must judge a tree by its fruit; if it brings forth good fruit, it is a good tree, and if it brings forth evil fruit, it is an evil tree. Do not be deceived about that matter, for there have been some, who have dreamed of being righteous, and of being the children of God, yet they have lived in sin as others do. They have been self-deceived; it has been a mere dream on which they have relied. Practical godliness is absolutely needful to a true Christian character, and a man is not righteous unless he does that which is righteous. (Exposition of 1 John 3) Conduct is the result of what a person is. What one is, his conduct shows, and vice versa. -- R C H Lenski Henry Mahan - Do not be deceived by false prophets and wicked persons who preach that it does not matter how a person lives, provided he believes the gospel, or that knowledge of theology is sufficient without obedience to the lordship of Christ in conduct. This is not true. One cannot separate faith and conduct. As Christ our Lord showed himself to be a righteous man by doing good, obeying the Father and demonstrating love and compassion, so those who are united to him by faith, justified by his grace and regenerated by his spirit will seek to imitate their Lord. As a tree is know by its fruit, so a righteous man is known by his works. Good fruit does not make a tree good, but shows it to be good; so good works do not make us righteous (only Christ can do that), but show us to be so (James 2:14-20; James 2:26). (1 John 3 Commentary) The individual’s conduct is certain evidence of his nature. The one who practices righteousness does so because he has been granted the righteousness of God Daniel Akin comments on John's uses of the definite article ("the" = Greek "ten") - “the righteousness” (tēn dikaiosunēn) indicates that a particular righteousness is in view. It emphasizes the completeness and unity of this righteous quality. Obviously the reference is to that righteousness that is characteristic of Christ. It is a distinguishing trait of God’s family and is a product of regeneration. Notice that the practice of righteousness is not what makes the individual “righteous”(dikaios), but it reveals the inner nature of the one who is practicing righteousness. One practices righteousness because of his righteous character. “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Mt 7:16+). The individual’s conduct is certain evidence of his nature. The one who practices righteousness does so because he has been granted the righteousness of God… John warns against the deception of the false teachers, who claim to be righteous based on some avowed esoteric knowledge but whose lives are marked by continual sin. (Ed comment: Which is exactly what some so-called "evangelical" commentators of our day say -- they claim that a "professed" believer can live habitually in sin and still be saved! Do not be deceived! Instead be a Berean! See comment by Scofield below as an example of the necessity to always be a Berean. See The Unusual Teachings of Zane Hodges) (See 1,2,3 John: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition) As an aside let me make a comment on C I Scofield's comment (Scofield's Study Notes) on 1Jn 3:7. Scofield wrote "Righteousness here, and in the passages having marginal references to this, means the righteous life which is the result of salvation through Christ. The righteous man under law became righteous by doing righteously; under grace he does righteously because he has been made righteous Rom 3:22." THOUGHT - HERE IS MY QUESTION DEAR BEREAN -- Is what Scofield said true? Did a righteous man under law become righteous by doing righteously? Clearly this statement is erroneous, for the ONLY way a sinner ever became righteous is by grace through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Scofield's statement is clearly in opposition to Paul's statement that "by the works of the Law no (absolute negation) flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." This example is given only to remind the reader to always maintain a Berean mindset (Acts 17:11+), even in the notes that you are currently reading. Only God's Word is inerrant! John
1 João 3:7
Cole notes that "There should be a period at the end of verse 7, because verse 8 is parallel to verse 4. It begins the second section. Related Resources: What does it mean to pursue righteousness? What is righteousness? Why does Christ's righteousness need to be imputed to us? Torrey Topical Textbook Righteousness of God, the Righteousness Imputed Righteousness American Tract Society Righteousness Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Righteousness Baker Evangelical Dictionary Righteousness Charles Buck Dictionary Righteousness Easton's Bible Dictionary Righteousness Holman Bible Dictionary Righteousness Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Righteousness Hastings' Dictionary of the NT Righteousness Righteous, Righteousness Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary Righteousness Vines' Expository Dictionary Righteousness Watson's Theological Dictionary Imputed Righteousness Righteousness International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Righteousness McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia Righteousness The Jewish Encyclopedia Crowns of the Righteous Right and Righteousness Little children (5040)(teknion diminutive of teknon) is literally My "born ones", the diminutive expresses affection ("my dear children"). Teknion is used by John to address true followers of Jesus. From John's repetitive use of teknion in this epistle, one might say it is an epistle for little children! Clearly the subjects with which John deals are not "child's play," but have serious implications regarding one's spiritual life, now and in eternity future! Teknion is John's way of lovingly appealing to his readers as a spiritual father would do as he sought to encourage his children to give an authentic expression of the love of God. Harris on little children - It indicates the warmth of affection the author feels for the recipients of the letter—he is genuinely concerned for their spiritual welfare. (Exegetical Commentary on 1 John 3:11-24) Little children (8x only by John - John 13:33; 1Jn 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21) - John is fondly addressing the believers as a father would his children. Deceives (leads astray, misleads) (4105)(planao) from plane which describes "a wandering" and gives us our English word "planet") means literally made to wander and so to go (active sense) or be led (passive sense as of sheep in Mt 18:12-13) astray. Note that John is not saying the readers have already fallen prey to these predators. The purpose of these things written to the readers is to buttress them with Truth, the Word of God, always the best antidote for counterfeits. Remember Paul's clear warning - "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life." (Gal 6:7-8+) Deceive in 1Jn 2:26 is present tense indicating this is the continual goal of these men, and the active voice indicates they are consciously choosing to mislead the readers of this letter. In John 7:12 some of the unbelieving Jews actually accused Jesus of leading "the multitude astray (planao)!" Woe! It will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah in the judgment then it will be for these souls! (Mt 11:23-24+) Planao - 39x in 37v - Matt. 18:12; Matt. 18:13; Matt. 22:29; Matt. 24:4; Matt. 24:5; Matt. 24:11; Matt. 24:24; Mk. 12:24; Mk. 12:27; Mk. 13:5; Mk. 13:6; Lk. 21:8; Jn. 7:12; Jn. 7:47; 1 Co. 6:9; 1 Co. 15:33; Gal. 6:7; 2 Tim. 3:13; Tit. 3:3; Heb. 3:10; Heb. 5:2; Heb. 11:38; Jas. 1:16; Jas. 5:19; 1 Pet. 2:25; 2 Pet. 2:15; 1 Jn. 1:8; 1 Jn. 2:26; 1 Jn. 3:7; Rev. 2:20; Rev. 12:9; Rev. 13:14; Rev. 18:23; Rev. 19:20; Rev. 20:3; Rev. 20:8; Rev. 20:10 Righteousness (1343)(dikaiosune from dikaios = being proper or right in the sense of being fully justified being or in accordance with what God requires) is the quality of being upright. In its simplest sense dikaiosune conveys the idea of conformity to a standard or norm and in Biblical terms the "standard" is God and His perfect, holy character. In this sense righteousness is the opposite of hamartia (sin), which is defined as missing of the mark set by God. Dikaiosune is rightness of character before God and rightness of actions before men. Righteousness of God could be succinctly stated as all that God is, all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, all that He provides through Christ (Click here to read Pastor Ray Pritchard's interesting analysis of righteousness in the Gospel of Matthew). In Biblical terms righteousness is that which is determined not by man or external standards but only by God and as such is that which is acceptable to God and in keeping with what God is in His holy character. Righteousness is in general use represents conformity to a standard, Thayer adds that righteousness is "the state of him who is such as he ought to be". Righteousness in simple terms is God’s uprightness or standard, without reference to any particular form of its embodiment, to which man is expected to conform. Practically righteousness means to do what is right, in relation to both God and man. Righteousness is attitude and action which conforms to a standard and can be either man's imperfect standard (as exemplified by the self-righteous Pharisees) or God's standard of perfect holiness. Righteous acts initiated and carried out in our own fleshly energy and calculated to impress others, do not impress God! Righteousness before men to be noticed by them is self righteousness. Righteousness that God accepts is His character reproduced in and through us for His good pleasure. Jesus Thy Blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; ’Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head. (Play) DIKAIOSUNE USES BY JOHN - Jn. 16:8; Jn. 16:10; 1 Jn. 2:29; 1 Jn. 3:7; 1 Jn. 3:10; Rev. 19:11; Rev. 22:11 Righteous (1342) dikaios from dike = right, just) defines that which is in accordance with high standards of rectitude. It is that which is in right relation to another and so in reference to persons defines the one who is morally and ethically righteous, upright or just. Dikaios pertains to to being in accordance with high standards of rectitude, and so describes one who is upright or fair. The meaning of the root word dike is based on the assumption that men expect a certain standard of behavior and if this is not attained judgment may result. It follows that the basic meaning of the adjective dikaios describes that which is proper, right, fitting, fair, righteous, just (acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good). From a forensic or legal viewpoint dikaios refers to one who is law-abiding (doing all that law or justice requires), honest and good in behavior and from a religious viewpoint one who is rightly related to God. Those who are truly righteous have God’s verdict in their favor; they are acquitted and pronounced just. In simple terms this trait describes being in accordance with what God requires. The righteous man does what he ought. He is the person who conforms to the standard, will or character of God. For example, Luke describes Zacharias and Elizabeth (John the Baptist's parents) as "both righteous (dikaios) in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. (Lk 1:6+, see Luke 2:25+ "Simeon… was righteous") They were rightly related to God and because of that right relationship, they walked accordingly. Again we see righteous character is associated with righteous conduct. That's what Paul is calling for in those men who would lead God's church. Ligon Duncan - In 1Jn 3:7-9 John is saying, ‘You do what you are. Your deeds reveal your heart. Your actions reveal your character. It’s the same thing that Jesus said to His disciples in the presence of the Pharisees in Matthew 15:11, 18. Do you remember when the Pharisees were arguing about the disciples’ obedience of the ceremonial law? They were questioning issues about unclean food and various other ceremonial observances, and in Matthew 15:11, Jesus says to His disciples, “It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; it’s what comes out of your mouth that defiles you.” Now, later on, He explains that in verse 18. He says, ‘What comes out of the mouth has come out of the heart.’ In other words, in this case the things that a person says are a reflection of what is already in the heart, and that is what makes you unclean. Jesus is saying that our actions are a public display of what we are like on the inside. And so, He says, you do what you are. And John is saying the same thing, “The one who practices righteousness is righteous.” John is not saying that we are saved by being righteous. He’s not saying, ‘If you practice righteousness, God will accept you as righteous.’ He’s not saying that ‘if you practice righteousness, you will be saved.’ Nor is he saying, ‘You must both believe and practice righteousness, and then you will be saved.’ No, what he is saying is this: if God has done a work of grace in your heart, if you have truly believed on Christ alone for salvation as He is offered in the gospel, if by faith alone you have rested in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins—then this is the way you will live. The evidence of God’s grace working in your heart will be seen in your life. Your righteousness wrought by the Holy Spirit will be evidenced in what you do, in how you talk, in how you live. “The one who practices righteousness is righteous.” So it’s not that God will accept us as righteous as long as we make ourselves to be righteous, nor that God will accept us as righteous if we will both believe and do works, but that when we believe on Christ and are accepted by God, declared right because of what Christ has done, then it ushers forth into a life of righteousness.’ (1 John 2:29 - 3:10 The Test of Righteousness) Oswald Chambers -Signs of the New Birth You must be born again. — John 3:7 How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked. . . . Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit’” (John 3:4–5). When someone dies to every self-righteous impulse, to their religion and their virtues and everything they’ve been leaning on apart from Jesus Christ, then they may be born of the Spirit and receive into themselves a life that was never there before. This new life manifests itself in conscious repentance and unconscious holiness. “To all who did receive him . . . he gave the right to become children of God” (1:12). Is my knowledge of Jesus based on personal spiritual perception or on what I’ve heard others say? Do I have something in my life that connects me to Jesus Christ as my savior? The bedrock of any spiritual history must be personal knowledge. To be born again means that I see Jesus with my own eyes. “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (3:3). The new birth brings with it a new power of vision that enables me to discern God’s rule. Am I discerning it? Or am I merely hunting for miraculous signs of his kingdom? When I am born again, I see that his rule was there all along. “No one who is born of God will continue to sin” (1 John 3:9). Have I stopped sinning, or am I merely trying to stop sinning? To be born of God means that I have received from him the supernatural power to stop sinning. The Bible never asks, “Should a Christian sin?” It says emphatically that no one born of God will continue to sin. The effect of the new birth in us isn’t simply that we receive the power to stop sinning; it’s that we actually stop sinning. First John 3:9 doesn’t mean that we can’t sin; it means that if we obey the life of God in us, we needn’t sin. (See My Utmost for His Highest) Plumer - Whatever does not lead to a holy life is worthless in the sight of God. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. All religious profession which ends in mere show, is at the best Pharisaism dressed up in evangelical attire—the heart remains unchanged. All pretenses to piety which do not lead to a godly life—are utterly vain. Men people do not obey God—because they do not love God. There is no folly greater than double-dealing with God. "A hypocrite is hated by the world for pretending to be a Christian; and hated of God for not being one." Daily Light on the Daily Path - “You will recognize them by their fruits.” Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.—Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.—Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.”—“The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.”—What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Matt. 7:20; 1 John 3:7; James 3:11–13; 1 Pet. 2:12; Matt. 12:33; Matt. 12:35; Isa. 5:4 Johnny Hunt - Lord, I thank You for a new week and a new day. As I begin, I pray that You will speak to my heart in new ways. Reveal to me the areas of my life that are out of sync with You. Give me the courage to be quiet and listen, and then to obey what You reveal to me. I know there are areas of my life that need a course correction. Change me, oh God, from the inside out. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.1 JOHN 3:7 Have you ever been deceived? Have you ever discovered that you didn’t have all the facts in a situation or that you were missing the big-picture perspective? The word deceive means “to lead astray or to seduce.” We can deceive ourselves by entertaining fantasies, ignoring truth, or bypassing common sense. We can also be deceived by others—people who flatter us or twist words to their own advantage. Either way, deception leads to betrayal and hurt. The road to healing and wholeness is often a long road. So how do we protect ourselves from deceit? The Bible tells us to pursue righteousness. A righteous person is one who conforms to the character of God. By pursuing Christ and emulating His character, we become righteous. He is the standard. We are the students. This pursuit of Christ and His standard for truth builds safeguards against deception. As you begin this week, consider this: are you actively pursuing Christ and His righteousness and truth? What are the characteristics of Christ that need to be emulated in your life? EVENING Lord, I want to live in a right relationship with You. Open my eyes to see the areas of my life where I have deceived myself. Open my eyes to see the conversations, relationships, and practices in which I have been deceived. Help me to respond to truth with obedience. Give me the strength to forgive others because You have forgiven me. Help me to keep my eyes fixed on You and live in complete surrender to Your will and Your way. I long to be like You in both my thoughts and my actions. Amen. Marks/Tests of a true Christian, from 1 John 1 John 5:13 THESE THINGS I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. THESE THINGS: This phrase has reference to all that John has written in his letter. (The MacArthur Bible Commentary) Practical Righteousness Alexander Maclaren 1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. The popular idea of the Apostle John is strangely unlike the real man. He is supposed to be the gentle Apostle of Love, the mystic amongst the Twelve. He is that, but he was the 'son of thunder' before he was the Apostle of Love, and he did not drop the first character when he attained the second. No doubt his central thought was, 'God is Love'; no doubt that thought had refined and assimilated his character, but the love which he believed and the love which he exercised were neither of them facile feebleness, but strong and radiant with an awful purity. None of the New Testament writers proclaims a more austere morality than does John. And just because he loved the Love and the Light, he hated and loathed the darkness. He can thunder and lighten when needful, and he shows us that the true divine love in a man recoils from its opposite as passionately as it cleaves to God and good. Again, John is, par excellence, the mystic of the New Testament, always insisting on the direct communion which every soul may have with God, which is the essence of wholesome mysticism. Now that type of thinking has often in its raptures forgotten plain, pedestrian morality; but John never commits that error. He never soars so high as to lose sight of the flat earth below; and whilst he is always inviting us and enjoining us to dwell in God and abide in Christ, with equal persistence and force he is preaching to us the plainest duties of elementary morality. He illustrates this moral earnestness in my text. The 'little children' for whom he was so affectionately solicitous were in danger, either from teachers or from the tendencies native in us all, to substitute something else for plain, righteous conduct; and the Apostle lovingly appeals to them with his urgent declaration, that the only thing which shows a man to be righteous -- that is to say, a disciple of Christ -- is his daily life, in conformity with Christ's commands. The errors of these ancient Asiatics live to-day in new forms, but still substantially the same. And they are as hard to kill amongst English Nonconformists like us as they were amongst Asiatic Christians nineteen centuries ago. I. So let me try just to insist, first of all, on that thought that doing righteousness is the one test of being a Christian. Now that word 'righteousness' is a theological word, and by much usage the lettering has got to be all but obliterated upon it; and it is worn smooth like sixpences that go from pocket to pocket. Therefore I want, before I go further, to make this one distinct point, that the New Testament righteousness is no theological, cloistered, peculiar kind of excellence, but embraces within its scope, 'whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are fair, whatsoever things are of good report'; all that the world calls virtue, all which the world has combined to praise. There are countries on the earth which are known by different names to their inhabitants and to foreigners. The 'righteousness' of the New Testament, though it embraces a great deal more, includes within its map all the territories which belong to morality or to virtue. The three words cover the same ground, though one of them covers more than the other two. The New Testament 'righteousness' differs from the moralist's morality, or the world's virtue, in its scope, inasmuch as it includes our relations to God as well as to men; it differs in its perspective, inasmuch as it exalts some types of excellence that the world pooh-poohs, and pulls down some that the world hallelujahs and adulates; it strips the fine feathers of approving words off some vices which masquerade as virtues. It casts round the notion of duty, of morality, of virtue, a halo, and it touches it with emotion. Christianity does with the dictates of the natural conscience what we might figure as being the leading out of some captive virgin in white, from the darkness into the sunshine, and the turning of her face up to heaven, which illuminates it with a new splendour, and invests her with a new attractiveness. But all that any man rightly includes in his notion of the things that are 'of good report' is included in this theological word, righteousness, which to some of you seems so wrapped in mists, and so far away from daily life. I freely confess that in very many instances the morality of the moralist has outshone the righteousness of the Christian. Yes! and I have seen canoe-paddles carved by South Sea Islanders with no better tools than an oyster-shell and a sharp fish-bone, which in the minuteness and delicacy of their work, as well as in the truth and taste of their pattern, might put to shame the work of carvers with better tools. But that is not the fault of the tools; it is the fault of the carvers. And so, whilst we acknowledge that Christian people have but poorly represented to the world what Christ and Christ's apostles meant by righteousness, I reiterate that the righteousness of the gospel is the morality of the world plus a great deal more. That being understood, let me remind you of two or three ways in which this great truth of the text is obscured to us, and in some respects contradicted, in the practice of many professing Christians. First, let me say my text insists upon this, that the conduct, not the creed, makes the Christian. There is a continual tendency on our part, as there was with these believers in Asia Minor long ago, to substitute the mere acceptance, especially the orthodox acceptance, of certain great fundamental Christian truths for Christianity. A man may believe thirty-nine or thirty-nine thousand Articles without the smallest intellectual drawback, and not be one whit nearer being a Christian than if he did not believe one of them. For faith, which is the thing that makes a man a Christian to begin with, is not assent, but trust. And there is a whole gulf, wide enough to drown a world in, between the two attitudes of mind. On the one side of the gulf is salvation, on the other side of the gulf there may be loss. Of course, I know that it is hard, though I do not believe it is impossible, to erect the structure of a saving faith on a very, very imperfect intellectual apprehension of Scripture truth. That has nothing to do with my present point. What I am saying is that, unless you erect that structure of a faith which is an act of your will and of your whole nature, and not the mere assent of your understanding, upon your belief, your belief is impotent, and is of no use at all, and you might as well not have it. What is the office of our creed in regard to our conduct? To give us principles, to give us motives, to give us guidance, to give us weapons. If it does these things then it does its work. If it lies in our heads a mere acceptance of certain propositions, it is just as useless and as dead as the withered seeds that rattle inside a dried poppy-head in the autumn winds. You are meant to begin with accepting truth, and then you are meant to take that truth as being a power in your lives that shall shape your conduct. To know, and there an end, is enough in matters of mere science, but in matters of religion and in matters of morality or righteousness knowing is only the first step in the process, and we are made to know in order that, knowing, we may do. But some professing Christians seem to have their natures built, like ocean-going steamers, with water-tight compartments, on the one side of which they keep their creed, and there is no kind of communication between that and the other side where their conduct is originated. 'Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous.' Again, my text suggests conduct and not emotion. Now there is a type of Christian life which is more attractive in appearance than that of the hard, fossilised, orthodox believer -- viz., the warmly emotional and fervent Christian. But that type, all experience shows, has a pit dug close beside it into which it is apt to fall. For there is a strange connection between emotional Christianity and a want of straightforwardness in daily business life, and of self-control and government of the appetites and the senses. That has been sadly shown, over and again, and if we had time one could easily point to the reasons in human nature, and its strange contexture, why it should be so. Now I am not disparaging emotion -- God forbid -- for I believe that to a very large extent the peculiarity of Christian teaching is just this, that it does bring emotion to bear upon the hard grind of daily duty. But for all that, I am bound to say that this is a danger which, in this day, by reason of certain tendencies in our popular Christianity, is a very real one, and that you will find people gushing in religious enthusiasm, and then going away to live very questionable, and sometimes very mean, and sometimes even very gross and sensual lives. The emotion is meant to spring from the creed, and it is meant to be the middle term between the creed and the conduct. Why, we have learnt to harness electricity to our tramcars, and to make it run our messages, and light our homes, and that is like what we have to do with the emotion without which a man's Christianity will be a poor, scraggy thing. It is a good servant; it is a bad master. You do not show yourselves to be Christians because you gush. You do not show yourselves to be Christians because you can talk fervidly and feel deeply. Raptures are all very well, but what we want is the grind of daily righteousness, and doing little things because of the fear and the love of the Lord. May I say again, my text suggests conduct, and not verbal worship. You and I, in our adherence to a simpler, less ornate and aesthetic form of devotion than prevails in the great Episcopal churches, are by no means free from the danger which, in a more acute form, besets them, of substituting participation in external acts of worship for daily righteousness of life Laborare est orare -- to work is to pray. That is true with explanations, commentaries, and limitations. But I wonder how many people there are who sing hymns which breathe aspirations and wishes that their whole daily life contradicts. And I wonder how many of us there are who seem to be joining in prayers that we never expect to have answered, and would be very much astonished if the answers came, and should not know what to do with if they did come. We live in one line, and worship in exactly the opposite. Brethren, creed is necessary; emotion is necessary; worship is necessary! But that on which these three all converge, and for which they are, is daily life, plain, practical righteousness. II. Now let me say, secondly, that being righteous is the way to do righteousness. One of the great characteristics of New Testament teaching of morality, or rather let me say of Christ's teaching of morality, is that it shifts, if I may so put it, the centre of gravity from acts to being, that instead of repeating the parrot-cry, 'Do, do, do' or 'Do not, do not, do not,' it says, 'Be, and the doing will take care of itself. Be; do not trouble so much about outward acts, look after the inward nature.' Character makes conduct, though, of course, conduct reacts upon character. 'As a man thinketh in his heart so is he,' and the way to set actions right is to set the heart right. Some of us are trying to purify the stream by putting in disinfectants half-way down, instead of going up to the source and dealing with the fountain. And the weakness of all the ordinary, commonplace morality of the world is that it puts its stress upon the deeds, and leaves comparatively uncared for the condition of the person, the inward self, from whom the deeds come. And so it is all superficial, and of small account. If that be so, then we are met by this experience: that when we honestly try to make the tree good that its fruit may be good we come full front up to this, that there is a streak in us, a stain, a twist -- call it anything you like -- like a black vein through a piece of Parian marble, or a scratch upon a mirror, which streak or twist baffles our effort to make ourselves righteous. I am not going, if I can help it, to exaggerate the facts of the case. The Christian teaching of what is unfortunately called total depravity is not that there is no good in anybody, but that there is a diffused evil in everybody which affects in different degrees and in different ways all a man's nature. And that is no mere doctrine of the New Testament, but it is a transcript from the experience of every one of us. What then? If I must be righteous in order that I may do righteousness, and if, as I have found out by experience (for the only way to know myself is to reflect upon what I have done) -- if I have found out that I am not righteous, what then? You may say to me, 'Have you led me into a blind alley, out of which I cannot get? Here you are, insisting on an imperative necessity, and in the same breath saying that it is impossible. What is left for me?' I go on to tell you what is left. III. Union with Jesus Christ by faith makes us 'righteous even as He is righteous.' There is the pledge, there is the prophecy, there is the pattern; and there is the power to redeem the pledge, to fulfil the prophecy, to make the pattern copyable and copied by every one of us. Brethren, this is the very heart of John's teaching, that if we will, not by the mere assent of our intellect, but by the casting of ourselves on Jesus Christ, trust in Him, there comes about a union between us and Him so real, so deep, so vital, so energetic, that by the touch of His life we live, and by His righteousness breathed into us, we, too, may become righteous. The great vessel and the tiny pot by its side may have a connecting pipe, and from the great one there shall flow over into the little one as much as will fill it brim full. In Him we too may be righteous. My friend, there are men and women who are ready to set to their seals that that is true, and who can say, 'I have found it so. By union with Jesus Christ in faith, I have received new tastes, new inclinations, a new set to my whole life, and I have been able to overcome unrighteousnesses which were too many and too mighty for myself.' It is so; and some of us to our own consciences and consciousness are witnesses to it, however imperfectly. God forgive us! We may have manifested the renewing power of union with Christ in our daily lives. 'Even as He is righteous' -- the water in the great vessel and the little one are the same, but the vase is not the cistern. The beam comes from the sun, but the beam is not the sun. 'Even as' does not mean equality, but it does mean similarity. Christ is righteous, eternally, essentially, completely; we may be 'even as He is' derivatively, partially, and if we put our trust in Him we shall be so, and that growingly through our daily lives. And then, after earth is done with, 'we know that, when He shall be manifested, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.' May we each, dear brethren, 'be found in Him, not having our own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.' TRUE CHRISTIAN I. DOCTRINAL TESTS 1. Scriptural views of SIN Confesses sin. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 2. Scriptural views of JESUS Believes Jesus is man. 1 John 4:2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God Believes Jesus is God. 1 John 4:15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. Believes Jesus is the Messiah. 1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God II. ETHICAL/MORAL TESTS 1. Obeys God Obeys/Keeps God's commands. 1 John 2:3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 1 John 3:24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. Does God's will. 1 John 2:17 the one who does the will of God lives forever. 2. Lives a righteous life (a life of holiness) Walks in the light. 1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. Walks as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did. Practices righteousness. 1 John 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. 1 John 3:7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous Purifies himself. 1 John 3:3 And every one who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Does not practice sin. 1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him 1 John 5:18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin 3. Loves the brethren Loves the brethren. 1 John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light 1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:12 if we love one another, God abides in us Meets his brother's needs. 1 John 3:17 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? Loves with actions and truth. 1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 4. Does not love the world Does not love the world. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Overcomes the world. 1 John 5:4 every one born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5. Perseveres Remains with us. 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. Overcomes false teachers/teaching. 1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Listens to God's people. 1 John 4:6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 6. Has the Holy Spirit 1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 1 John 3:24 And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us. 1 John 3:24 And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us. FALSE CHRISTIAN/PROFESSOR I. DOCTRINAL TESTS 1. Unscriptural views of SIN Claims to be without sin. 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 2. Unscriptural views of JESUS Denies that Jesus is the Messiah. 1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? Denies Jesus. 1 John 2:23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. Does not believe testimony about Jesus. 1 John 4:3 every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God 1 John 5:10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. II. ETHICAL/MORAL TESTS 1. Does not obey God Does not do what Jesus commands. 1 John 2:4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 2. Lives a sinful life. Walks in the darkness. 1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth Practices sin. 1 John 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. 1 John 3:8 the one who practices sin is of the devil Does not practice righteousness. 1 John 3:10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. 3. Does not love the brethren Hates the brethren. 1 John 2:9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 1 John 2:11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness 1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 4:20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. Does not love the brethren. 1 John 3:10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Shows no mercy to needy brethren. 1 John 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 4. Loves the world Loves the world. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Has worldly values. 1 John 4:5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 5. Does not persevere Abandons the brethren. 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. Does not listen to God's people. 1 John 4:6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. 6. Does not have the Holy Spirit 1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 1 John 3:24 And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us. 1 John 3:24 And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us
1 João 3:8
Cole - Truth of 1Jn 3:8b parallels 1Jn 3:5+, where John said that Christ appeared to take away sins. Here the focus is on Christ’s coming to destroy Satan’s works. This refers mainly to the devil’s work of promoting sin in the human race. The word destroy is the Greek word, “to loose.” It’s as if we were bound by sin’s chains, but Jesus freed us. He came to pay the penalty for sin that we justly deserved. By so doing, He broke Satan’s power to accuse us before God (Rev. 12:10+), and He broke sin’s power in the lives of believers (Ro 6:10-13+). Thus John is making the point that if we tolerate sin in our lives, we are siding with the devil and against Jesus Christ, who came to destroy the devil’s works. H A
1 João 3:8
Cole - John divides all people into two camps: those who practice righteousness (1Jn 3:7) and those who practice sin (1Jn 3:8). There is no third camp for those who do not believe in Jesus, but are decent, good people who never hurt anyone. You may protest, “Surely, my grandmother who was sweet towards everyone and who believed in the basic goodness of human nature, was not of the devil!” Charles Ryrie on "practices sin" = "continually practices. I.e., sins as a regular way of life." Disciple's Study Bible - Habitual sinners are under Satan's control and are his children. Satan's existence is and always has been characterized by sin, rebellion against God. Who practices sins - present tense = as the general direction of their life. Notice that John contrasts children of the Devil with the children of God by their actions (practicing or not practicing sin). What they do, how they behave, reflect to "whom" they belong. There is no "middle ground"- one is either safe in Christ or in the family of the Devil and under his (or his minions') diabolic influence. Paul summarizes the estate of every unregenerate man or woman… And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (the Devil), of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Eph 2:1-3+) (Note the evil triumvirate arrayed against us = the world, the flesh and the devil). Vine on practices sin - John’s use of the present tense of the verb poieo, “to do,” expresses the meaning of the alternative verb prasso, “to practice.” The manner of life which is marked by continuing to do sin is described by the phrase “doeth (practices) lawlessness,” which is constant disregard of the law of God. As, then, doing righteousness is an evidence of the new birth, so doing lawlessness is an evidence of not being born of God....Again, the apostle does not give the exact contrasting parallel with what he has just stated, which would have been “he that doeth sin is unrighteous even as the devil is unrighteous.” He goes further and expresses definitely the evil spiritual relationship, in contrast to the divine relationship of his readers. Not that the devil is the source of anyone’s existence, for, as Augustine says, “The Devil made no man, begat no man, created no man.” The devil is the source of sin, and therefore the one who leads a sinful life is spiritually connected with him. Not that man is helpless in his continuance of evil, as if he were void of responsibility in the matter, but that, inasmuch as the habit of his life is the same as that which characterizes the devil, a spiritual relationship exists between them. (Collected Writings) Is (continually) of the devil (diabolos) - The idea is not that one is "born" of the devil (he never gave birth to anyone), but that this individual draws from him the ruling principle and power of his life much like a son does from his father. Jesus so accused the hypocritical Jews - "You are of you] father the devil" (Jn 8:44). When one habitually acts like the devil he shows who is "father" really is. At the same time he also shows that he is not a true child of God. Augustine put it this way - The devil made no one, he begot no one, he created no one; but whosoever imitates the devil, is, as it were, a child of the devil, through imitating, not through being born of him. How unbecoming it is for them that profess themselves Christians to have the gospel in their mouths and the devil in their hearts. -- Thomas Manton
1 João 3:8
Cole comments on Isaiah 14:12-14 - Notice that five times the devil said, “I will,” in opposition to God. He was not content with where God had created him. He wanted his own way. As we saw in verse 4, which is parallel to verse 8, the essence of sin is rebellion against God. The sinner says, “I will! I want my way! I will not submit to the Most High God.” So whenever a person acts in line with his own will, without submitting to God’s will, he is committing the original sin of the devil. Whether it manifests itself as the humanly respectable, “I will be nice to others, so that people will think highly of me,” or as the reprehensible, “I will kill others to get what I want,” it all comes from the same source: the devil. Any action that originates in the human will that is not in submission to God is devilish, even if outwardly it is a nice, humanitarian, seemingly “good” action. Jesus described the Jews who had professed belief in Him (Jn 8:30) but who by their actions (e.g., Jn 8:37-38, Jn 8:58-59) proved they were not genuine believers -- “You are of [your] father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning (this would refer to the Garden of Eden), and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [nature;] for he is a liar, and the father of lies." (Jn 8:44) A SECOND REASON FOR THE FIRST APPEARING The Son of God (same phrase 7x in this epistle - 1Jn 3:8, 4:15, 5:5, 5:10, 12, 13, 20) - Notice that this title emphasizes Christ's deity. In 1John 3:5+ He appeared in order to take away sins and John says He appeared to destroy the works of the devil. In a word, the Son crushed the power of sin (1Jn 3:5) and Satan (1Jn 3:8). John
1 João 3:9
Cole - 1Jn 3:9 has generated a lot of confusion and controversy. It’s one thing to say that no one who is born of God practices sin, but then John goes farther and states that he is not able to sin! I’m sure that my experience is like yours: I feel quite capable of sinning and years of walking with the Lord have not lessened my ability! So what does John mean? Here are some principles to guide us. (1) we must assume that John did not contradict himself or any other New Testament writer. He has said (1Jn 1:8), “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” He said that he is writing so that we may not sin, but then he adds (1Jn 2:1), “and if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” He would not have written those words if believers were incapable of sinning. (2) John’s main concern is not to delve into some deep theological discourse, but rather to be pastorally practical. He does not want his flock to be deceived by the heretics, whose errors lie behind the apostle’s words. 1Jn 3:10 is crucial to understanding the entire passage: John wants us to be able to identify the children of God and the children of the devil by observing their behavior. To do that, he again paints in black and white, with no gray areas. His point is that those who are truly born of God practice righteousness; those who are of the devil (the only other category) do not practice righteousness. There have been many different attempts to explain 1Jn 3:9 (John Stott in The Letters of John lists seven; these are a few from his list. - ED: See also 1 John 3:9 Special Study on Ways it Has Been Interpreted) (a) Some have said that John means that believers cannot commit terrible sins, such as murder or what the Catholic Church labels “mortal” sins. But, clearly, John does not specify sins, and besides, believers are capable of committing such sins. (b) Others draw a distinction between the old and new natures of the believer, and argue that the new nature is incapable of sinning. While this may be true, it clearly is not John’s meaning here. The heretics could have used this to argue, “I’m not sinning; only my old nature is!” But in 1Jn 3:10 John says that by observing the person’s behavior, we can tell whether he is a child of God or of the devil. He is talking about a whole person sinning, not just his nature. (c) Some holiness teachers think that the verse is teaching the possibility of attaining sinless perfection. They say that if you learn the secret of abiding in Christ, you will live without sin. While that may be so, John does not attribute the believer’s not sinning to the abiding life, but to the fact that he has been born of God. This is true of every believer, not just those who have attained it. (d) Some say that John means that believers cannot sin willfully or deliberately. But, both experience and Scripture show that believers are quite capable of willful, deliberate sin! The key question in interpreting this verse is whether John is speaking about committing individual acts of sin, or is he talking about sin as a way of life? John uses the present tense throughout this section, and while the Greek present tense does not necessarily emphasize continuous action, it certainly allows for it. In 1Jn 3:8, when John says, “the devil has sinned from the beginning,” the verb is present tense. Clearly he means, “From day one and persisting ever since, the devil is characterized by sinning.” Thus when John says that those born of God do not practice sin and that they cannot sin, he means that it is impossible for a child of God to persist in a lifestyle marked by sin. The reason for this is not only that he has been born of God, but also that God’s seed abides in him. This refers to the new life that God imparts to those He begets as His children. That word picture is helpful in understanding John’s meaning. When you plant a seed in the ground, it does not sprout, grow and bear fruit in a day. It takes time, cultivation, water, and sunshine. Or, to use the human analogy, when a husband’s sperm unites with his wife’s ovum, new life begins. But it takes nine months before birth, and after that it takes years to grow to maturity. But, if life is present, it affects everything. It is impossible for a normal child not to grow. So John is not talking about sinless perfection, but rather about the direction of the life of a believer. If God has imparted new life to you, so that you have become His child, you cannot go on living in sin. (Ed: But I don't recommend you test the veracity of this immutable principle!) When you do fall into sin, you will recognize that you cannot go on in it. God will convict you of it and you will repent and walk in righteousness. (ED: ILLUSTRATION) A pig and a sheep may fall into the same mud hole, but there is a difference. The pig will love it and wallow in it, because that’s its nature. The sheep will want to get out and avoid that mud hole the next time, because it has a different nature. If God’s seed abides in you, you cannot wallow in the mud. If you like it in the mud and don’t want to get out, you may need to ask whether you truly have been born of God. (The Believer and Sin 1 John 3:4-10) In this text, the key which unlocks the door of difficulty is discovered in the meaning of the Greek tenses. Believer's Study Bible on 1Jn 3:6 and 1Jn 3:9 - Together with 1Jn 3:9 and 1Jn 5:18 (also cf. 1Jn 1:8-2:21), this verse constitutes a most difficult assignment for the reader in English. In this text, the key which unlocks the door of difficulty is discovered in the meaning of the Greek tenses. This verse does not teach that a Christian will never commit an act of sin. The verb employed in the Greek is in the present tense, which indicates continual action. These verses, therefore, do not claim that a Christian never sins after conversion, nor, for that matter, that a believer ever reaches perfection in his life. The present tense, in this context, indicates the breaking of the perpetual hold of sin in the life of the disciple. Thus the verse can be understood to mean, "Whoever abides in Him does not continually and habitually sin." The power to overcome habitual sin is based on the invulnerability of the believer to the ravages of satanic influence (1Jn 5:18), and on "His seed" remaining in him (1Jn 3:9). The expression "His seed" is a reference to the divine principle of life that abides in a man after regeneration in Christ. This principle prevents slavery to Satan and sin. The idea is not just one act of sin; the idea is that he does not live in sin. J
1 João 3:10
Cole - John’s last verse in this section explains and clinches his point: “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” This verse is parallel to John’s warning about deception in 1Jn 3:7. Don’t be fooled. It’s easy to say, “I believe in Jesus.” But John says, “Look at his life. If he doesn’t practice righteousness, if he doesn’t live in obedience to God’s Word, especially with regard to love, his claim is false.” John’s final comment shows that true righteousness includes love for your brother and it introduces the relational test (1Jn 3:11-18). (The Believer and Sin - 1 John 3:4-10) The modern American church has fallen into serious deception on this crucial matter of sin. Steven Cole concludes his sermon on this section - The modern American church has fallen into serious deception on this crucial matter of sin. The popular view is that there are two options for the Christian life. “Plan A” is for the really committed: you trust Jesus as Savior and Lord. This is tough. You have to obey Jesus totally, repenting of all your sins. It means giving up the right to spend your money as you choose, because you yield it to Jesus and manage it as His steward. It means following Jesus as His servant. He may call you to go to the mission field or even die as a martyr. But, you will have rewards in heaven. If that’s too difficult, you may want to try “Plan B.” In this option, you accept Jesus as Savior, but you don’t need to follow Him as Lord. With this plan, you will go to heaven when you die, but you just don’t get as many rewards. But, you can enjoy the pleasures of sin now and at least get in the door of heaven later. But the truth of the Bible, the truth that John emphasizes here is, “There is no Plan B!” Plan A is the only plan for eternal life. Christ calls you to follow Him as Savior and Lord. You cannot do this by your own strength or willpower, but only if He imparts new life to you, causing you to be born of God. If you have been born of God, it will be obvious. The new life in you will produce a life of righteousness. “Little children, make sure no one deceives you!” (The Believer and Sin - 1 John 3:4-10) (Bolding added) Sam Storms - 1Jn 3:10 is perhaps the most explicit statement in the epistle concerning the irreconcilable contrast between Christian and non-Christian. Christians are designated as children of God (note the immediately preceding emphasis on their being begotten of God) who may be recognized as such because they practice righteousness and love the brethren. Non-Christians are called children of the devil because they do not practice righteousness and care nothing for the brethren. It is to this latter notion of brotherly love as a criterion for determining one's filial status that John now devotes his attention. Simply put: whoever persistently hates the brethren is spiritually dead. Conversely, the genuine believer may know himself to be alive if he loves the brethren. (1 John 3:4-10a) John Stott summarizes John's teaching in 1Jn 2:28-3:10 - "We are in a position now to look back over the foregoing twelve verses… in which the moral test has been elaborated, and feel the compulsion of its argument. If Christ appeared first both 'to take away our sins' and 'to destroy the works of the devil', and if, when he appears a second time, 'we shall see him' and, in consequence, 'we shall be like him,' how can we go on living in sin? To do so is to deny the purpose of his two appearings. If we would be loyal to his first coming and ready for his second, we must purify ourselves, as he is pure. By so doing we shall give evidence of our birth of God" (BORROW The Letters of John page 132) A true believer does not practice sin; a counterfeit believer cannot help but practice sin Warren
1 João 3:15
Cole - A person whose life is marked by selfish hatred of others shows no evidence of new life in Christ. That is the meaning of John’s words in verses 14 & 15. He is not saying that no murderer may be saved. Paul was a murderer before he was saved, and both David and Moses murdered men after they were saved. As in 1Jn 3:9, here John uses present tense verbs that point to the overall direction of a person’s life. A person whose life is marked by a pattern of selfishness, envy, jealousy, strife, and hatred gives evidence that he remains in spiritual death. While John’s words are an evidential test of a person’s spiritual condition, they are also an exhortation to those that profess to believe in Christ. As believers, we have to battle the hatred that stems from our own selfishness. While on the one hand, spiritual growth results inevitably from spiritual life, on the other hand it does not happen without our constant effort. Whenever the deeds of the flesh rear their ugly heads, we must put them to death and replace them with the fruit of the Spirit (Ro. 8:13; Gal. 5:19-23). (1 John 3:11-18 Hatred or Love?)
1 João 3:16
Cole - John will state this directly in 1Jn 4:7, but it is implicit in our text. Love in the believer comes from God. In 3:10b, John said that the one who does not love is not of God, implying that the one who loves is of God. In 3:17, he says that if we do not demonstrate practical love for those in need, the love of God does not abide in us. If you lack love for someone, first make sure that you are born of God. Then, ask Him for it. (1 John 3:11-18 Hatred or Love?) Warren
1 João 3:16
Cole - If you’re running short on love, stop and meditate on what Jesus did for you. If the servant who had been forgiven the huge debt had stopped to think about it, he would have forgiven his fellow servant the lesser debt (Mt. 18:23-35). Or, as John states (1Jn 4:11), “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 3:11-18 Hatred or Love?) Hiebert adds this comment on the perfect tense of ginosko - The perfect-tense verb “we perceive” (egnōkamen) indicates a knowledge that has been gained through diligent contemplation of the significance of that historical event. Having come to know this love through our past encounter with it, we now know the true nature of this love. In 1Jn 2:3+ John used ginosko in perfect tense - "And by this we know (ginosko - present tense) that we have come to know (ginosko - perfect tense) Him, if we keep (present tense - as the general direction of our life - in short not lawless but law abiding) His commandments." If we claim to know Jesus and do not keep His commandments, we are lying (to ourselves and everyone around us and will be exposed as a fraud and hypocrite on the day of judgment!). Christ sacrificial death thus distinguishes agapē love from all other loves by its costliness, its unconditional acceptance of another, and its “accomplishment.” Love (26)(agape) is the selfless, supernatural love that God is and God gives us via His indwelling Spirit (Ro 5:5+, Gal 5:22+). In context Christ's love is clearly demonstrated by the costliness of His sacrifice. His love was costly and so should our love be for the brethren. This Christ-like love is not love that is felt as much as it is a love that is demonstrated, the ultimate demonstration being by what He did = He laid down His life for us! Love is in a sense saying "No" to our life that others may live. The kind of love John is talking about is not native to the human heart. -- Hiebert Love is literally "the love" which David Smith terms "the thing called love. The love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord is the perfect type. Till the world saw that, it never knew what love is!" (Expositor's Greek Testament) Steven Cole makes an interesting statement - There is hardly a passage in the New Testament that speaks of God’s love that does not also speak of the cross. (1 John 3:11-18 Hatred or Love?) Love is denial of self for another’s gain. It is doing what Jesus himself would do -- Glenn Barker
1 João 3:19
Cole - John’s point is that self-sacrificing love (Ed: Discussed in the entire preceding section - 1Jn 3:11-18) is the mark of the Christian, whereas self-centered hatred is the mark of the world. Thus in 1Jn 3:19 John is saying, “When you are troubled by doubts and self-condemnation, don’t focus on your failures. (After all, what Christian hasn’t failed at times?) Rather, focus on the many times that God’s love has flowed through you since you became a believer. Let these acts of self-sacrifice be your evidence that you are of the truth, and cease doubting. (1 John 3:19-24 Blessed Assurance) That blessed assurance would seem to be John's intent in 1Jn 3:19-20 is supported by his clear statement of purpose for writing this letter… These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that (purpose clause) you may know that you have eternal life. (1Jn 5:13+) Warren
1 João 3:20
Cole - On the subject of assurance of salvation, R. C. Sproul (Essential Truths of the Christian Faith [borrow], pp. 201-202) points out four possibilities. First, there are those who are unsaved and they know that they are unsaved. They don’t make any claim of salvation. Second, there are people who are saved but do not know they are saved. They doubt their salvation, perhaps due to a troubled conscience. Third, there are people who are saved and know that they are saved. Fourth, there are those who are not saved but confidently believe that they are saved. They have false assurance. As I understand our text, John is mainly addressing the second group—those who are saved, but they’re having doubts because of their awareness of falling short of God’s commandments. John wants them to know the basis and the blessings of true assurance. (Blessed Assurance) Related Resource - Borrow R C Sproul's Essential Truths of the Christian Faith see page 200 for chapter entitled Assurance of Salvation - Here is an excerpt from this chapter: Can anyone know for sure that he is saved? For someone to declare that he is certain of his salvation may seem to be an act of unspeakable arrogance. Yet the Bible calls us to make our salvation a matter of certainty. Peter commands, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). It is our duty to seek assurance of our salvation with diligence. This is not done out of idle curiosity about the state of our soul, but to enhance our growth in sanctification. Christians who remain uncertain about the state of their salvation are subject to all sorts of questions that paralyze their walk with Christ. They stumble in doubt and are vulnerable to the assaults of Satan. So we must seek to be assured of our salvation. There are four possible positions with respect to one’s assurance of salvation. Position One: There are people who are unsaved and know that they are unsaved. These people are aware of the enmity they have in their hearts toward God and clearly want nothing to do with Christ as their Savior. They are bold to proclaim that they do not need Christ. Such people are often openly hostile to the gospel. Position Two: There are people who are saved but do not know they are saved. These people are actually in a state of grace but are uncertain of it. Perhaps they are wrestling with sin in their lives and doubt their own salvation because of a troubled conscience. In this group are those who have not yet made certain that they are among the elect. Position Three: There are people who are saved and know that they are saved. This is the group who are certain of their election and calling. They have a clear and sound understanding of what salvation requires and know they have met the requirements. They have believed the testimony of the Holy Spirit when He witnessed to their spirits that they are the children of God (Romans 8:16). Position Four: There are people who are not saved but confidently believe that they are saved. These people have assurance of salvation without salvation. Their assurance is a false assurance. Because it is possible to have a false assurance of salvation, how do we know if we are in group three or group four? To answer that we must look more closely at group four and ask how it is possible to have a false sense of assurance. The easiest way to have a false assurance of salvation is to have a false doctrine of salvation. Condemns (2607)(kataginosko from katá = against + ginosko = know) literally means to know against (to know something against one) and then to find fault with, to blame, to condemn (to determine or judge to be utterly wrong or guilty). Kataginosko is used only 3 times in Scripture - 1Jn 3:20-21 and Gal 2:11 "But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned." Kataginosko is used twice in the Septuagint - Dt 25:1 and Pr 28:11 where "sees through him" is translated in the Septuagint as "will condemn him." GOD IS GREATER James Bryan Smith God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.1 JOHN 3:20 NRSV God has chosen to accept what we deem unacceptable. The parts of us that cause us shame do not shame God. Here is the good news: even if we feel condemned by our own hearts, God is greater than our hearts. We may feel deep shame, and we may condemn ourselves unmercifully, but God does not. And if God does not condemn us, then who are we to condemn ourselves? Are we greater than God? Is our insight greater than God’s? God’s acceptance should lead us to self-acceptance. Grace heals our shame not by trying to find something good and lovely within us that is worth loving but by looking at us as we are, the good and the bad, the lovely and the unlovely, and simply accepting us. God accepts us with the promise that we will never be unacceptable to him. It is ours to do the same for ourselves. Do you accept that you’re accepted—by the God of the universe, the one who made and saved you? Receive this truth this day, rest in it, and live in it. Lord, if my heart condemns me, remind me that I am accepted—by you. Amen. VAIN REGRETS CATHERINE BOOTH If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.1 JOHN 3:20 I DO INDEED SYMPATHIZE WITH you and I think I can divine a little as to the nature of your trials. I wish I were near to comfort and help you - such help as it is I have to offer. The only way of comfort I see for you is to try and walk alone, shutting your eyes to what you cannot help. It is useless to harrow ourselves up about the past, or to waste time in vain regrets. It is past now, and can never be altered. But we can cast it under the blood, and go on praying Him to avert the consequences, and maybe He will stoop to answer us. Do your own part in witnessing for God and truth, and hope that at some future time it will produce its effect. Comfort yourself in the Lord. He is very pitiful and of tender mercy, and when He sees us truly penitent for our mistakes and failures He delights to pardon us. Do not perplex yourself about the experiences of others. I am more than ever satisfied that God looks more propitiously on those who are striving and struggling to do right and to please Him, even in fear and despondency, than on those who make light of sin and yet make their boast in Him. I fear there are sadly too many who can rejoice when they ought to weep, while some who can never forgive themselves, weep when they ought to rejoice. Perhaps these latter are amongst those who, though they mourn now, "shall be comforted" hereafter. Not a burden we bear, Not a sorrow we share, But our toil He doth richly repay: Not a grief nor a loss, Not a frown nor a cross, But is blest if we trust and obey. Greg Laurie - KEEPING YOUR CONSCIENCE PURE For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God. (2 Corinthians 1:12) The question arises, “How can I keep a pure conscience?” Here are four principles that can help: First, confess and forsake all known sin. Examine your feelings of guilt in light of God’s Word. Is there anything you are doing that Scripture warns about? Martin Luther said, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God.” The Bible says, “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20). We need to educate our conscience so that it is acting on the right information. Second, ask forgiveness and be reconciled to anyone you have wronged, if possible. Jesus said, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, … first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:23–24). Seek reconciliation. It is not always possible, but you need to make the effort. Third, make restitution, if possible. Try to undo the wrong you have done. Saying you are sorry is enough to be forgiven by God, but you also should try and undo any damage you have done. This is part of what it means to repent. Fourth, don’t procrastinate in clearing your conscience. Some people think they can put off dealing with their guilt, believing their conscience will somehow clear itself in time. It won’t. Maybe your conscience has been troubling you lately. If there is something that you have done, God is only awakening you to it so that you can acknowledge your sin and turn from it. Steve McVey - “Even if our hearts condemn us…God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20 NLT). This verse reminds us that we sometimes can’t trust our emotions, but we can trust God. He knows that we are totally forgiven. The shame game is over—finished. It’s a silly game we don’t ever have to play again. WHO KNOWS BEST? Isaiah 40:12–17 Reflections on the Names of God: 180 Devotions to Know God ... God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.1 John 3:20 NIV God doesn’t know everything. Few people would be brave enough—or foolish enough—to say these words to the Lord. Still, although we don’t say the actual words, our actions broadcast this message almost every day. Every time we choose what God has forbidden, or choose not to do what God has commanded, we are telling Him, in effect, that we know more than He does. We are saying that His rules might be okay for everyone else, but extenuating circumstances require different standards for us. Do we really think we need to educate God about what is best for us? The prophet Isaiah asked several questions to make it clear that God’s omniscience does not need our help. Do we know how much the mountains weigh? Have we measured the earth’s dust? Does God consult with anyone to add to His knowledge or to teach Him justice? No! The next time we are inclined to choose our own way, let’s remember the message we send by our actions. Obedience declares that our heavenly Father always knows best. Omniscient Lord, forgive me for the times my disobedience proclaims that I know better than You about what is best for me. In what area have I been reluctant to obey what God has determined is best for me? Not Feeling Forgiving - Nancy Leigh DeMoss The Quiet Place: Daily Devotional Readings - Page 2 Whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.—1 John 3:20 MANY PEOPLE who sincerely want to find themselves on the other side of forgiveness have bought into myths and misconceptions that have defeated their best attempts at following through. For the next few days, I’d like to help dismantle four common barriers that can easily keep us frustrated on our journey to relational freedom. First is the assumption that forgiveness and good feelings should always go hand in hand. You may have genuinely trusted God to help you forgive your offender. But then the phone rings. Their birthday rolls around. A situation flares up where they handle a similar circumstance in the same insensitive way, and you feel your emotions start to heat up again. That’s when you might conclude, “I guess I haven’t really forgiven because if I had, I wouldn’t still feel this way.” But forgiveness cannot be proven by our feelings, any more than it can be motivated or empowered by them. Forgiveness is a choice. And feelings often aren’t. So it’s quite possible to forgive someone the right way—God’s way—and still have thoughts flash across your mind that seem to contradict the decision you made. Forgiveness is not like planting tulip bulbs, where you never have to think about it again, and everything just naturally comes up nice and pretty in the spring. No, life goes on. Sometimes old feelings turn up when you’re not expecting them, needing to be handled and replanted. But that doesn’t negate what you’ve done. It simply gives you a new opportunity to let the Lord reign over your emotions. When you don’t feel forgiving, that’s when you just keep forgiving—by faith. What can enable you to keep forgiving when your emotions are resisting the choice? The Telltale Heart - David C. McCasland - If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. —1 John 3:20 Recently I read about a private investigator in the US who would knock on a door, show his badge to whoever answered, and say, “I guess we don’t have to tell you why we’re here.” Many times, the person would look stunned and say, “How did you find out?” then go on to describe an undiscovered criminal act committed long ago. Writing in Smithsonian magazine, Ron Rosenbaum described the reaction as “an opening for the primal force of conscience, the telltale heart’s internal monologue.” We all know things about ourselves that no one else knows—failures, faults, sins—that although confessed to God and forgiven by Him may come back to accuse us again and again. John, one of Jesus’ close followers, wrote about God’s love for us and the call to follow His commands, saying: “By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:19-20). God, who knows everything about us, is greater than our self-condemnation. No condemnation now I dread, I am my Lord’s and He is mine; Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine. —Wesley The one who receives Christ will never receive God’s condemnation. Insight - Today’s reading establishes the benchmark for loving others by looking at what Jesus did for us on the cross (1Jn 3:16). We know love because of the willingness of Jesus to die for us, and the necessary response to this love is that we be willing to give of ourselves for others. The context implies that this does not require a physical dying on another’s behalf. It does, however, challenge us to sacrifice our own interests for the welfare of others as evidence that we have received God’s love (1Jn 3:17).