1 João 3
F.B. Meyer · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 3:2
Meyer - 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we children of God. (R.V.) IT is our privilege, not only to be children, but to know that we are such. “Such we are” (1 John 3:1, R.V.). The world knows us not; but God knows us, and we know Him, and we know that we are his sons and daughters, through regeneration and faith. How do we know? We believe his Word (John 1:12). — By faith we have received Him, we do trust in his name; then, by the authority of that text, if there were no other, we may claim to have been born into the Divine household. We have the witness of the Spirit (Galatians 4:6). — The fact that our hearts look to God as Father, and appeal to Him with the infant’s cry, Abba, is a proof that we are born again. Do not look for an audible voice in your heart, but notice whether the thought of the fatherly love of God towards you is not becoming more familiar and precious. It is not the perception of your childship, but of his fatherhood, which will reassure you. We are led by the Spirit. — If we are led by the Spirit, we shall love the things we once hated, and hate those we once loved. Our choices, tastes, methods of life, habits, and companionships, will undergo a radical alteration. We love the people of God (1 John 4:7, R.V.). — The converse is also true, that he who is begotten of God loveth. We do not presumptuously and habitually yield to known sin (1 John 3:9, R.V.). — The apostle is not speaking of some isolated act into which a man may fall under unexpected temptation, but of habitual courses of inconsistency and wrong-doing. Test yourselves, therefore, whether ye are indeed born again. End Of Construction He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. — Philippians 1:6 Today's Scripture : Philippians 1:1-7 One day Billy and Ruth Graham were driving through a long stretch of road construction. They had numerous slowdowns, detours, and stops along the way. Finally they reached the end of all that difficulty, and smooth pavement stretched out before them. This sign caught Ruth’s attention: “End of construction. Thanks for your patience.” She commented that those words would be a fitting inscription on her tombstone someday. As a matter of fact, those words fit all of us as believers, because in this life we are “under construction.” When we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we begin the lifelong process of spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit works in us to remove our selfishness (Philippians 2:4), to renew our thinking (Romans 12:2), and to develop qualities in us that are more and more Christlike (Colossians 3:5-14). Paul described this process as a work of God. He said, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern; Spirit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me. —Hewitt God loves us too much to let us stay as we are. The Best Is Yet To Be He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” — Revelation 21:5 Today's Scripture : Revelation 21:1-8 Before Jesus left this earth, He promised to prepare a special place for those who love Him (John 14:2-3). Years later He spoke to His disciple John in a vision, giving him as much detail as man’s finite mind could grasp. Since then, God’s people have pondered with eager anticipation “a new heaven and a new earth,” where there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain (Rev. 21:1,4). When we are released from sin’s curse, we will serve God without weariness (22:3-4). We will see Jesus and be like Him (1 John 3:2). Thinking about these joys moved the renowned English physician Thomas Browne (1605-1682) to write, “When we begin to talk about life after death, we’re like two infants in a womb discussing the nature of their future life. The difference between our present knowledge and understanding of what it will be to share God’s glory is no less great than what exists between unborn babes and a man in the strength of his days. . . . As Christians, we know it is indescribable and thus we can rejoice, but it will be even greater than our wildest imagination.” Heaven: no pain, no night, no death, no tears. Joe Stowell - Dirty Windows - A friend of mine, Bud Wood, founded Shepherds Home in Wisconsin for boys and girls with developmental disabilities. The original ministry opened its doors in 1964 to 36 children, providing them a loving residential environment and a school that would focus on their unique needs, helping them to reach their potential. Most importantly, this ministry started with a primary goal of sharing God’s love with the residents and encouraging them toward a personal and growing walk with Jesus. Many of those original residents, now adults, still reside at Shepherds. The home, now known as Shepherds Ministries, has grown to include vocational training and a variety of other ministries all clustered around that central passion for delivering and living out the gospel. I remember Bud asking me one time, “Hey, Joe, do you know what our biggest maintenance problem at Shepherds is?” “I have no idea,” I replied. “Dirty windows. Our kids press their hands and faces against the windows because they’re looking to the sky to see if today might be the day that Jesus will return for them and take them to His home where they will be healed and complete.” I love that! Talk about having your priorities in the right place. One of the hallmarks of a committed follower of Jesus is a longing for His return. That’s what Paul anticipates as he writes to Timothy in the waning days of his earthly ministry. He acknowledges that he is “being poured out like a drink offering” and humbly states, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6-7). But rather than spending his last days looking in the rearview mirror, Paul continues to look forward to the “crown of righteousness, which the Lord . . . will award to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:8). Notice that the crown isn’t some merit award for Paul’s years of distinguished service. It isn’t the “Church Planter of the Year” trophy. And it isn’t exclusive to Paul. He makes that plainly clear when he adds, “and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” The “crown of righteousness” is available to all followers of Christ who live righteously because they have organized their lives around longing for Him to return—with the expectation that it could be any minute now! That longing and expectation will change our priorities as well. It will make us think a whole lot less about how to build our kingdom and a whole lot more about His. It will pull our attention away from materialism and the accumulation of earthbound possessions and point us toward investment in that which is eternally significant. It will lift us from our anxieties and even the weight of this life’s difficulties, reminding us each day that something better awaits us. And 1 John 3:2-3 reminds us that our hope in the Lord’s return will motivate us toward purity, so that we want to be righteously pure and ready when Jesus comes for us. You may have decorated your windows for Christmas, but have you gone to them recently to see if the Jesus of Christmas is coming back again for you? Go ahead, smudge up a window or two! Life will be wonderfully different if you keep your eyes to the sky! YOUR JOURNEY… How often do you spend time thinking about the return of Jesus? How would it change your plans for the next 24 hours if you genuinely believed that Jesus could arrive at any moment? How about the next week? What about the next year? What steps can you take to regularly remind yourself that Jesus could be returning at any moment? What would it look like to “smudge up some windows” as you watch for Christ’s return in your home? Jon Courson - I John 3:2 - Borrow Day's Journey: 365 Meditations from the New Testament page 401 We don’t always act like sons of God or look likes sons of God, but John says when He shall appear, we shall be like Him. Do I like that? Yes, because I like Him! After all, Jesus Christ is the Man everyone desires to be like... So gentle was He that little children flocked to Him (Matthew 19:14). Yet so commanding was He that a single look from Him parted the angry crowd intent to do Him in (Luke 4:29–30). So authoritative was He that fierce storms would be quieted by His word (Mark 4:39). Yet so tender was He that He stilled the storm of criticism which swirled around the adulterous woman (John 8:11). So embracive was He that sinners called Him friend (Matthew 11:19). Yet so righteous was He that His blood could wash away the sin of the entire world (I John 2:2). Jesus is indeed the Perfect Man. He’s everything every one of us innately wants to be. The more you read the Gospels carefully and thoughtfully, prayerfully and contemplatively, the more you will develop a profound appreciation of His personality, character, integrity, wisdom, and strength. When I didn’t know as much about Jesus as I know now, I wasn’t as impressed with Him as I am today. And this is amazing, because in every other case, the better you know someone, the more disillusioned you become as you begin to see their cracks and flaws. Not so with Jesus. The longer you walk with Him and the more you learn about Him, the more you will be impressed by Him, and the more you will long to see Him. Even though now I only see Him through a glass darkly (I Corinthians 13:12), I like what I see! David Jeremiah - SEE GOD AS HE REALLY IS - Borrow Sanctuary page 120 1 JOHN 3:2 When He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. When you see God as He really is, you will worship Him as He desires to be worshiped. When Moses saw God and worshiped Him, he ended up giving us the law. When Job saw God and worshiped Him, his whole family was restored to him and he got his second start. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he was inducted into the role of a prophet. When Saul was struck by the holiness of God, he became Paul, the greatest missionary evangelist who ever lived. And when John saw God and fell down before him as dead, he got up and wrote the Book of Revelation, the great apocalyptic story of the New Testament. Worship is not a noun; it’s a verb. Worship is your whole life dedicated back to God. Finally, when you see God as He really is, you will look forward to the day when you will be like Him. In the New Testament we are told that someday we shall be like Him because we will see Him as He is. On that day we will be holy in perfection. We will be changed and the sin of our lives will be taken away. We’re going to be beautiful, because God is beautiful in His holiness. Hymns Related to 1 John 3:2 Advent Glory And Is It So Beloved, Now Are We I Shall Be Like Him (Lincoln) I Shall Be Like Him (Spencer) O I Want to See Him To Be Like Him We Shall Be Like Him We Shall Meet We’ll Be Like Him When He Cometh in His Glory When He Shall Appear Max Lucado - God’s Magnum Opus 1 JOHN 3:2 Just Like Jesus: A Heart Like His - Page 132 When you arrive [in heaven] … something wonderful will happen. A final transformation will occur. You will be just like Jesus.… Of all the blessings of heaven, one of the greatest will be you! You will be God’s magnum opus, his work of art. The angels will gasp. God’s work will be completed. At last, you will have a heart like his. You will love with a perfect love. You will worship with a radiant face. You’ll hear each word God speaks. Your heart will be pure, your words will be like jewels, your thoughts will be like treasures. You will be just like Jesus. You will, at long last, have a heart like his. Alexander Maclaren 1 John 3:2 “Now are we the sons of God.” That is the pier upon one side of the gulf. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but when he shall appear we shall be like him.” That is the pier on the other. How are the two to be connected? There is only one way by which the present sonship will blossom and fruit into the future perfect likeness, and that is, if we throw across the gulf, by God’s help day by day, the bridge of growing likeness to Himself, and purity there from. D L Moody -1 John 3:2. THE reason why there are so many in the churches who will not go out and help others, is that they are not sure they have been saved themselves. If I thought I was dying myself, I would be in a poor condition to save anyone else. Before I can pull anyone else out of the water, I must have a firm footing on shore myself.We can have this complete assurance if we will. It does not do to feel we are all right, we must know it. We must read our titles clear to mansions in the skies. The Apostle John says: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” He does not say we are going to be. Oswald Chambers - The graciousness of uncertainty It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 1 John 3:2. Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We imagine that we have to reach some end, but that is not the nature of spiritual life. The nature of spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty, consequently we do not make our nests anywhere. Common sense says—‘Well, supposing I were in that condition …’ We cannot suppose ourselves in any condition we have never been in. Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life: gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God, and do the duty that lies nearest, He packs our life with surprises all the time. When we become advocates of a creed, something dies; we do not believe God, we only believe our belief about Him. Jesus said “Except ye … become as little children.” Spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, but uncertain of what He is going to do next. If we are only certain in our beliefs, we get dignified and severe and have the ban of finality about our views; but when we are rightly related to God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. “Believe also in Me,” said Jesus, not—‘Believe certain things about Me.’ Leave the whole thing to Him, it is gloriously uncertain how He will come in, but He will come. Remain loyal to Him. Lehman Strauss - The Potential in the Prospect 1 John 3:2 - Borrow The Epistles of John page 138 First, “we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2). This means we shall have a body like His. Paul wrote about this great potential. He said, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself” (Philippians 3:20–21). The word vile (Greek, tapeinōsis) is rendered “humiliation.” Man’s present body is a humiliated body, humiliated by sin, sickness, and death. The most powerful and robust bodies are eventually brought low with the passing of time. But when Christ appears for His own, our bodies will be fashioned like unto His. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52). Twice here the Holy Spirit reminds us that “we shall be changed.” God’s great plan of salvation for man is complete and perfect. It provides for the sinner’s justification, that act of God whereby He declares righteous the believing sinner, having Himself removed the guilt and penalty of sin by laying it on His Son at Calvary, and bestowing a perfect and positive righteousness in which the believing one stands uncondemned in Jesus Christ. It provides for the believer’s sanctification, that act of God whereby He breaks the power of sin in His children, making it possible for them to be victorious over sin by means of His own nature dwelling in them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. It provides for the Christian’s glorification, that act of God whereby He transforms the humiliated body into a glorified body, adapting it to its eternal abode. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified” (Romans 8:29–30). It is the final act of glorification for which the believer waits, referred to in the Bible as “the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). Our humiliated body will be conformed, as to its outward expression, to the body of Christ’s glory. Thus, declares our text in First John, “we shall be like Him.” The Bible describes this body. “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:42). Keep in mind that the contrast here is between two living bodies, not between a dead body and a living one. While it is true that the dead body in the grave is characterized by corruption, this is so only because this is the characteristic operating in the body while it lives. Corruption is characteristic of my body now, even at its best. Corruption is liable to disease, death, and decay. Such a body will not do for a resurrection body since the resurrection body must be adapted to eternity. The body of our risen Lord will never know sickness, pain, old age, or death. “We shall be like Him.” This is the glorious potential in the prospect of His appearing. The resurrection body is described further with the words, “It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:43). It necessarily follows that that which is corrupt is dishonorable. The corruptible body has in it that quality of vileness, humiliation, and shame. The most glowing display of feminine loveliness or masculine vigor is devoid of the imperishable element, thus if you insist upon attaching honor to your body, it is a perishable and perishing honor, and that is no honor at all. But, thank God, the new body will be a body of glory, glorious and glorified. “We shall be like Him.” This is the potential in the prospect of His appearing. Of the resurrection body the Scripture adds, “It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power” (1 Corinthians 15:43). How impotent is the strongest human body against the forces of nature! Caught in a swift ocean current or a whirling tornado, trapped in a collapsed mine, struck by a bolt of lightning, the body lies weak and often lifeless. But the resurrection body will never be subject to weariness and weakness. It shall never become tired, never need rest nor replenishing. God will see to that. He will give to us a body suited to endless existence, a body like that of our blessed Lord. “We shall be like Him.” This is the potential in the prospect of His appearing. Finally, “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44). The natural body is characterized by corruptibility, dishonor, and weakness, and it is fitted for life on this earth. But God has fitted His children for a higher life, and therefore He will give to them a body that will not be subject to the laws of nature as our bodies are today. This present body, being a natural or soulish body, is not always subject to the spirit. “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). But in my resurrection body there will be nothing to hinder me from living in the spirit world, nor can any power in that day hinder my new body from yielding fully to the mind of the Spirit. One of the outstanding marvels of the appearance of Christ is that we, in a moment, shall be changed into His perfect likeness. There are many things about the future we do not know. But there are two things of which we are certain—“He shall appear” and “we shall be like Him.” This is the consummation of our redemption. The old man will be done with forever and we will be transformed into the perfect image and likeness of Him who created and redeemed us. What is now a process (2 Corinthians 3:18) will be instantaneously perfected when we see Jesus. This is the potential in the prospect of His appearing.
1 João 3:3
Meyer - OUR SHEET ANCHOR! "That we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things."-- Eph 4:14, 15. "'Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."-- 1Jn 3:3. OUR DESTINY is the highest possible--"We shall be like Him." For this we were created, redeemed, and sanctified, that we should be conformed to the image of God's Son, that He might be the First Born among many brethren (Ro 8:29). The Apostle says that those who have this Hope will purify themselves. A young friend of mine once asked me if I would try to see her lover, as my train stopped at a wayside station in a far-distant western State. It was a dark night when we arrived, and a hurried conversation took place on the steps of the great Pullman car. I found that amid the many temptations of a rancher's life, this young fellow was holding on to purity and truth. He said that he had very infrequent opportunities of attending any religious services, but that the letters which came from the old country had been his sheet anchor. I understood what he meant. He realized the strong drift of circumstances, but to be loved by a sweet pure girl, who made him the object of her incessant prayer, and to receive her inspiring letters, kept him from yielding to the evil which enveloped him as an atmosphere; the thought that before long he might claim her as his bride helped to purify and steady his life. So the expectation of being with, and like Christ, should be to us as a sheet-anchor, who bear His Name. To see Christ face to face, to be with Him in unbroken fellowship, and to be like Him--this is the threefold destiny of every Christian soul. But how little can we imagine our future life! We strive to penetrate the dense veil of mist in vain--what the resurrection body will be like; what the converse with holy beings will amount to; what ministry may be assigned to us--we know not what we shall be, but "we know that we shall be like Him"--and it is enough! All that we have ever dreamed and hoped for will find its flower and fruitage in that glad summer time. PRAYER O God, it is my earnest desire that I may not only live, but grow: grow in grace, and in the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May I grow in patience and fortitude of soul, in humility and zeal, in spirituality and a heavenly disposition of mind. AMEN. Vance Havner - The early Christians looked for His return. Preparation was accompanied by expectation. It is true that Jesus did not return during their lifetime, but no one is mistaken when he lives as though He might come anytime. It is always proper to live, looking for that blessed hope, and remembering that unto them that look for him, He shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation. These believers lived in the light of the Lord's return. What good does it do to speak much of His appearing? Well, for one thing, "... every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:3), and we are sadly in need of cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. That is what revival means and surely we need revival. Also, when men love His appearing and look for Him, they make good witnesses, missionaries, and evangelists. All one needs to do to prove that is to check the list of God's servants who have been most greatly used as ambassadors of Christ and fishers of men. It is indeed a strange and sinister silence that has fallen over so much of the church today, that so many who name the name of Christ speak not a word of His return. We can understand why the world is dumb because it is also blind—blinded by the gods of this age to all the Revelation of God; but remember that David's greatest worry, in the passage with which we started, was that his own kinsmen of Judah should be the last to welcome him. Have you noticed the words he used? "Ye are my brethren, my bones and my flesh" (2 Samuel 19:10). Does not that remind you of another verse, "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones" (Ephesians 5:30). If it grieved David that his kinsmen in the flesh should be so slow to speak of his return, what must our Lord think of us, the members of His body the church, when we speak not a word to welcome Him again? May God loosen the strings of our tongues and make us all members of His reception committee! Why say ye not a word of bringing back the King? Why speak ye not of Jesus and His reign? Why tell ye of His Kingdom and of its glorious reign But nothing of His coming back again? Dost thou not want to look upon His loving face? Dost thou not want to see Him glorified? Wouldst thou not hear His welcome and in that very place Where years ago we saw Him crucified? O hark! Creations' groans, how can they be assuaged? How can our bodies know redemptive joy? How can the war be ended in which we are engaged Until He come the lawless to destroy? "Why speak ye not a word of bringing back the King?" Anne Ortlund - Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself (1 John 3:3). (Borrow Fix your eyes on Jesus) Let's pray together: O Lord God, we have all eternity to enjoy our rewards, as Amy Carmichael said, and only a few short years to win them. Lord, write eternity on my eyes. May I see all things from Your perspective -- and most of all, may I see You Yourself. O Lord, I want to live at this moment, and the rest of this day, and the rest of my life, so that I can continually say, "Come, Lord Jesus! Come soon! Come now!" Fix my eyes on You. In Your precious name, amen. Lord of the cloud and fire, I am a stranger, with a stranger's indifference; My hands hold a pilgrim's staff, My march is Zionward, My eyes are toward the coming of the Lord. --Old Puritan prayer. James Smith - THE LORD IS AT HAND. Philippians 4:5. Therefore— 1. Be diligent, 2 Peter 3:14 2. Be prayerful, Mark 13:33; Luke 21:36 3. Be patient, James 5:8 4. Be pure, 1 John 3:3 5. Be watchful, Mark 13:36, 37 6. Be hopeful, Luke 21:28; Rom. 8:19-23 7. Be ready, Matt. 24:44 8. Be comforted 1 Thess. 4:18 ILLUSTRATION - Martha Snell Nicholson, who, for more than thirty-five years was an invalid, bound to her bed, and yet whose spirit was triumphant in Christ said: “The best part is the blessed hope of his soon coming. How I ever lived before I grasped that wonderful truth, I do not know. How anyone lives without it these trying days I cannot imagine. Each morning I think, with a leap of the heart, ‘He may come today.’ And each evening, ‘When I awake I may be in glory.’ Each day must be lived as though it were to be my last, and there is so much to be done to purify myself and to set my house in order. I am on tiptoe with expectancy (ED: REMEMBER SHE IS CONFINED TO HER BED! ARE YOU AS CONVICTED AS I AM?). There are no more grey days—for they’re all touched with color; no more dark days—for the radiance of His coming is on the horizon; no more lonely days, with His footstep coming ever nearer, and the thought that soon, soon, I shall see His blessed face and be forever through with pain and tears.” Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Luke 12:37+ Dean Frederic Farrar was a personal friend of Queen Victoria of England. On one occasion he told of a conversation he had with Her Majesty after she had heard one of her chaplains preach a message on Christ's return. She said, "Oh, Dean Farrar, how I wish the Lord would come during my lifetime!" When he asked why she desired this, her countenance brightened, and with deep emotion she replied, "Because I would love to lay my crown at His blessed feet in reverent adoration!" WILL CHRIST'S RETURN FIND US ANXIOUS OR ANTICIPATING (see 1 John 2:28+) Robert Neighbour - The Purifying Hope "And every one that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (I John 3:3). There is no doctrine that holds a stronger incentive to purity of living, than does the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ. It was the evil servant who said, "My Lord delayeth His coming," and who began to eat and to drink with the drunken. Illustration: Dr. A. J. Gordon of Boston used to tell how, once, when he was about to make a preaching tour his two little girls asked him the day of his return, desiring to meet him at the train. He told them that he would return the next week, on a certain train, on either Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday. When the stated Tuesday arrived the children dressed in their best Sunday white and went down to meet their father. But Dr. Gordon did not arrive. Wednesday and Thursday was just as disappointing to the children. Friday came, and, as the girls, clothed with the same white dresses, knew that papa must come, their hearts were filled with joy. After the happy greeting was over, Dr. Gordon said his wife remarked: "The next time you leave the city, tell the children that you will come home Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday — it was never so easy to keep the children's dresses white." And what manner of persons ought we to be, seeing that we are looking for Christ's return? Certainly we should give ourselves over to holy behavior and to Godliness. Christians who are of the day, anticipating the coming of the Lord, should watch and be sober, "putting on the breastplate of faith and love and for an helmet, the hope of salvation" (I Thess. 5:1-9). It is in view of the coming of Christ that believers are admonished to give all diligence, and to add to their faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, Godliness; and to Godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love (II Peter 1:5-8). These are the graces which accompany the life gripped by the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus, and the one who lacks these graces, is blind and cannot see afar off. In Colossians 3:4 we read that "when Christ Who is our Life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory." It is the next verse that adds: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth." Surely Christ's coming is a purifying hope. James Smith - OUR FELLOWSHIP IS WITH HIS SON. 1 John 1:3. 1. With His death, Gal. 2:20. 2. With His life, Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:1-3. 3. With His nature, 2 Peter 1:4. 4. With His Name, Eph. 3:14, 15. 5. With His service, John 17:18. 6. With His sufferings, 1 Peter 4:13. 7. With His glory, Rom. 8:17; John 17:24; Rev. 20:4. 1 John 3:1-3 Unprepared A small boy, Paul Haley lived in Denver, suffering from terminal cancer. President Dwight Eisenhower often vacationed in Denver and learned of this boy’s illness. One day he drove up to the lad’s house in the presidential limousine. His father came to the door, unshaven, hair uncombed, blue jeans, dirty T-shirt. The President gave Paul a gift, picked him up, and took him out to see the limousine. Within 20 minutes the President was gone, and all the neighborhood was abuzz with the excitement of the visit. World Aflame, Billy Graham, 1966 Robert Neighbour - Second Coming Instils Sanctification "And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (I John 3:3). God wants us to be preserved blameless unto the Coming of the Lord. As we consider the thought of Christ's imminent Return, we are led to separate ourselves from the world. If Christ may appear at any moment, we should at every moment be living soberly, righteously and Godly in this present world. When the Coming of Christ grips the heart and the life, it purifies the heart and the life. Illustration: Brother Dowkont, of New York city, told us that his little boy one day said: "Papa, may Jesus come again at any moment?" The father answered, "Yes." Then after a few moments of reflection, the young lad said:—"Then, papa, we'll have to be on the job all the time." In Colossians 3:4 we read of Christ's Appearing in glory and of our appearing with Him. Then in verse 5 we get the aftermath: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth". Sanctification and the separated, cleansed, and dedicated life is all intimately connected with the Second Coming of Christ. When Christ's Second Coming Grips firmly the heart, From sin and all evil We surely will part; The Hope will correct us, Our hearts sanctify, And we will rejoice that His Coming is nigh. C H
1 João 3:9
Meyer - We do not presumptuously and habitually yield to known sin (1 John 3:9, R.V.).—The apostle is not speaking of some isolated act into which a man may fall under unexpected temptation, but of habitual courses of inconsistency and wrong-doing. Test yourselves, therefore, whether ye are indeed born again. Stephen Smalley on he cannot sin - John concludes this section by reminding his readers that the true child of God is (like the Father himself) opposed to sin. Whereas the determined sinner (the heretic in John's church, perhaps, as opposed to the orthodox Christian) belongs to the devil (1Jn 3:8), the spiritually reborn believer, being a member of God's family, cannot as a settled policy act lawlessly (cf. 1Jn 3:4). In other words, we reproduce in our lives a "family" likeness depending upon our spiritual parentage; and those who are "born of God" do not sin (cf. 1Jn 3:7, 8, 10). (BORROW 1, 2, 3 John) Christians don't go on sinning without conflict and confession. Christians see it, hate it, confess it and fight it. And they do so with increasing vigilance as they grow up into Christ. John