1 João 3
Ray Stedman · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 3:4
Stedman - He says that the secret of doing right is to possess and experience within yourself the life of the Righteous One. There is only One Who is righteous, or Who ever has been righteous, the Lord Jesus Himself. His life must be lived again in you in order for you to be righteous (ED: SEE Walking Like Jesus Walked!). There is no other basis (ED: Of course he is alluding to the Spirit of Jesus - Ro 8:9 - Who now lives in every believer -- He is holy and He energizes a holy walk in those He indwells. See Php 2:13NLT+ where "at work" = energeo in present tense = continually supernaturally "energizes" us! Note we are not talking about "perfection" but about the general "direction" of one's life). No flabby substitutes, no sleazy imitations, no cocky parodies, no grim copies, no slimy counterfeit, will be accepted. There is only one basis for righteousness and that is to reproduce, in the plan and purpose of God and by means of the Holy Spirit, the life of the Son of God in you (ED: cf Gal 2:20+). Nothing else than that is righteousness. (One or the Other - 1 John 3:10) 1Jn 3:4-8 John states or implies several things about sin. He tells us what sin is, what sin does, why sin is, from where sin comes, and how sin is conquered David Allen - John further develops his point from 1Jn 3:3+ in 1Jn 3:4-10. This passage has caused confusion because it seems that verses 6 and 9 imply that a Christian cannot sin. At first blush it might appear John has contradicted himself based on what he has already said in 1Jn 1:8-10 and 1Jn 2:1+. However, a closer inspection reveals that is not what John means. Both grammar and context provide the interpretive key to solve the problem. Notice how many times phrases such as “practice of sinning,” “keep on sinning,” and “practice righteousness” occur here. The use of “practice” and “keep on” in the ESV translators clearly renders the present tense aspect in these verbs. This is the key to a proper understanding of what John is saying. Our attitude to sin as Christians is of vital importance to John. Apparently the false teachers John is combating were indifferent to sin. This is something that should never be true of a Christian. You can be no more indifferent to sin than you could be indifferent to a rattlesnake in your house. There is an important distinction to be made between a state of purity and a maintained condition of purity. (ILLUSTRATION) Suppose you walked through a dark room with a lighted candle, and upon exiting the room, the room remained lighted because the candle had passed through it. Such a condition is impossible! If this were possible, the room would no longer be dependent upon the candle for its light. It would only be indebted to the candle for its introduction of light into the room. Sin is darkness, and Christ is the light (Jn 8:12, Jn 1:4, Job 33:30, Acts 26:18). What the candle is to the dark room, Christ is to our hearts. By the light of His indwelling presence He keeps sin away. The cleansing we experience is not a state but a maintained condition; a condition that can only exist because of Christ’s presence in our life. Light dispels darkness, but the tendency to darkness remains. A room can only be maintained in a condition of illumination by the continual counteraction of that tendency. When we are saved, we do not possess a state of purity. We are constantly dependent upon Christ’s presence in our lives to counteract the constant tendency to sin (ED: SEE Walking Like Jesus Walked!). In 1Jn 3:4-8 John states or implies several things about sin. He tells us what sin is, what sin does, why sin is, from where sin comes, and how sin is conquered. (See 1–3 John: Fellowship in God's Family) George Findlay introduces this section with comments related to the previous passages - THE Church of the first age lived in expectation of the return of the Lord Jesus from heaven. At any hour He might “be manifested” (1Jn 2:28+, 1Jn 3:2+), to the shame or glory of His servants. This apokaradokia as the Apostle Paul called it (Ro 8:19+)—the uplifted head and the wistful look of the Bride waiting for her Lord—was the attitude still maintained by the Christian communities amongst which St John labored, toward the close of the first century. The expectation was less vivid and absorbing than it had been at an earlier time—the strain was too intense for continuance—but it remained, and supplied the motives for fidelity and aspiration to which the Apostle John appealed in the previous paragraph of the Epistle. For one who believes in Jesus Christ the Lord of glory, the hope of acceptance at His coming (1Jn 2:28, 1Jn 3:2) furnishes an incentive as powerful and honourable as any that the mind can entertain. This motive St John regarded as well-grounded, and as indispensable for his “little children,” though he seldom appeals to it. (1 John 3:4-9 Commentary - scroll down to page 252 ) John MacArthur gives an overview of 1Jn 3:4-24 - The primary aim of this section is to combat false teachers who are corrupting the fundamentals of the faith. These verses further amplify, reiterate, and emphasize the moral test already presented by John (see 1Jn 2:3-6, 7-11). 1Jn 3:4-10 teach that genuine believers practice righteousness, while 1Jn 3:11-24 relate that genuine believers practice love toward fellow believers. (See MacArthur Study Bible 2nd Edition: Unleashing God's Truth) Jamieson rightly observes that "Sin is incompatible with birth from God (1 John 3:1-3). John often sets forth the same truth negatively, which he had before set forth positively. He had shown, birth from God involves self-purification; he now shows where sin, that is, the want of self-purification, is, there is no birth from God." Daniel Akin - Thabiti Anyabwile points out that the apostle John addresses basically four different groups of people in his letters. They are: (1) fully assured Christians; (2) Christians struggling with assurance; (3) falsely assured non-Christians; and (4) known non-Christians (unpublished sermon notes). These verses are, of course, for all of us. But John especially has the third group in his sights here. His goal is to shock them and wake them up to their true spiritual status. (See Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John - Page 65) Polls consistently indicate that there is virtually no difference in America between those who claim to be born again Christians and the population at large when it comes to sexual morality, materialism, hedonism, and worldview. Steven Cole introduces this section with a sad observation - As I said last week, polls consistently indicate that there is virtually no difference in America between those who claim to be born again Christians and the population at large when it comes to sexual morality, materialism, hedonism, and worldview. Those claiming to be Christians think and act just as the world does. We may claim to believe in Jesus and the Bible, but our lives don’t back up the claims. First John is a much-needed antidote to this current form of Christianity. In combating certain heretics who had left the church and who were recruiting others to join them, John gives three tests of authentic Christianity: the moral test (obedience to Christ); the relational test (love for others); and, the doctrinal test (believing the truth about Christ). From 1Jn 2:28-3:10, John gives the second application of the moral test. A righteous life is a distinguishing mark of one that truly has been born of God He makes it clear that a righteous life is a distinguishing mark of one that truly has been born of God. John’s overall theme in 1Jn 3:4-10 is: Because sin is serious and it is opposed to the reasons why Christ came, Christians do not and cannot live in sin. Verses 4-10 fall into two sections: 3:4-7 is parallel to 3:8-10 (adapted from The Letters of John by John R. W. Stott - BORROW). (See table below) (The Believer and Sin 1 John 3-4-10) 1 John 3:4-7 1 John 3:8-10 1Jn 3:4: Sin is serious because it is rebellion against God. 1Jn 3:8a: Sin is serious because it originates with the devil. 1Jn 3:5: Sin is opposed to Christ’s appearing to take away sins. 1Jn 3:8b: Sin is opposed to Christ’s appearing to destroy the works of the devil. 1Jn 3:6: A true Christian does not live in sin. 1Jn 3:9: A true Christian cannot live in sin. 1Jn 3:7: A true Christian practices righteousness. 1Jn 3:10: A true Christian practices righteousness and love. In the preceding context John has just stated that "everyone who has this hope (What hope? 1Jn 3:2) [fixed] on Him purifies (present tense) himself, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:3). Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones observes that John "does not say, he ought to purify himself, he says that he does, and therefore it becomes a very thorough test of what we truly are." (Children of God- Studies in First John) Then in the next sentence John again identifies the group as "everyone" but now introduces a striking contrast. In 1Jn 3:3 the habitual practice was to (continually) purify themselves, but in 1Jn 3:4 both uses of practices are in the present tense. We could argue about many things, but if we come to this passage as a little child, it seems quite plain that this latter group is continually (as a lifestyle) practicing sin and lawlessness. One group pursuing holiness and another group pursuing lawlessness. What does this sound like, just taking it on the plain reading? John surely is describing believers and non-believers. Note that he is not saying believers never sin (as some have falsely interpreted this passage), but just that this is not the direction of their life. Nor is he saying that their pursuit of holiness results in perfection, but that it does demonstrate the general "direction" of their life ("a very thorough test of what we truly are" as Lloyd-Jones phrased it above). As Pastor Robert Rayburn emphasizes John is speaking "not of a sin here or there, one sin or another (Ed: Of which believers are clearly guilty), but a life which is habitually, continuously sinful, a life which is dominated and characterized by sin." (Sermon - 'Christians cannot sin?') Genuine believers are not "sinless," but they should "sin less!" THOUGHT- So these contrasting pictures beg a crucial question for all of us -- Is my life generally headed "toward Heaven" or "toward Hell," as shown by my habitual behavior? Don't misunderstand and claim "This is teaching works based salvation." Our behavior per se neither saves or condemns. We are saved by grace through faith alone in Christ Alone or we are condemned because we refuse to believe in Jesus (Paul is very clear men are judged because of unbelief in 2Th 2:12+, 2Th 1:8-9+ [note critical verbs "know" and "obey"], cp Jesus' words in Jn 3:18+, Jn 5:38+, Jn 10:25-26+, Lk 8:12+). John Piper (see sermon) adds that genuine "Christians see it (sin in their life), hate it, confess it and fight it. And they do so with increasing vigilance as they grow up into Christ." As someone once well said, genuine believers are not "sinless," but they should "sin less!" I am not your judge, nor you mine. We are judged by God's Word and John seems to be quite clear. David Smith entitles 1Jn 3:4-8 "The Incompatibility of Sonship with Continuance in Sin." Johann Bengel - There is an antithesis to this in, he that doeth righteousness, 1 John 3:7+. Practices sin in 1Jn 3:4 presents a striking contrast with practices righteousness in 1Jn 2:29+ where one's righteous lifestyle was a marker of one "born of Him." (A genuine believer). Both uses of practices are in the present tense. Jamieson on practices sin - (This stands) in contrast to 1 John 3:3+, “Every man that hath this hope in Him (present tense - continuously) purifies himself”; and 1 John 3:7, “He that does righteousness.” Henry Alford - (In 1Jn 3:3+) God’s essential purity formed a law, according to which the child of God, having hope of ultimate complete likeness to Him, purifies himself. Here we have it declared that the sinner goes counter to (this and all other) law. John Gill on practices sin - This, in connection with what follows, is true of any sin, great or small, but here designs a course of sinning, a wilful, obstinate, persisting in sin Practices (4160)(poieo) is primarily translated with the idea of to DO (to bring to pass, to carry out, to bring about, to accomplish), to MAKE (to construct or fashion something out of existing material) to PERFORM. Here in the present tense practices expresses an action that continues or is habitual. This stands in striking contrast to the continual purification (1Jn 3:3+) and the continual practice of righteousness (1Jn 3:7+). John shows the incompatibility of being a child of God and yet continuing in sin. -- Kenneth Wuest Thabiti Anyabwile suggests that the apostle John addresses basically four different groups of people in his letters. They are: (1) fully assured Christians; (2) Christians struggling with assurance; (3) falsely assured non-Christians; and (4) known non-Christians (unpublished sermon notes). As John
1 João 3:10
Stedman - I do not think anything could be put plainer than that (1Jn 3:10). It is crystal clear from this verse that all humanity, in the sight of God, is divided into two classes. Someone has said that people may be divided into two classes, the righteous and the unrighteous; and the classifying is always done by the righteous! Unfortunately, that may be true. Certainly it is true that humanity is divided into two classes -- not three, as we often fondly imagine. We would like to think there are the children of the devil, and the children of God, and then there is a vast group in between who are morally neutral, neither devilish nor angelic. Perhaps, if pressed on the point, most people would classify themselves in the middle somewhere. But God says "No." Characteristically throughout this letter, John draws the extremes of black and white, but these are not simply his ideas. These reflect the actual situation. Truth is truth and error is error. We have seen this before. John says there is no fellowship between them, no possible blending. There are no gray areas of truth -- it is either white or its opposite, black. There are no shades or degrees of truth. So it is in this matter of mankind -- we either belong to the children of God, or we are children of the devil, one or the other. There are not three classes… As we view humanity from the Biblical point of view we see that, without exception, every one of us were born into the family of the devil. We were born children of the devil because we are part of the fallen race of Adam. We are children of Adam who sold himself to the devil, and all his children are like him in that respect. The tendency and proclivity toward sin, that twisted perversion, is passed along to us from our forefathers along with the color of our eyes, the eventual height of our bodies and all other physical features. We are born with a bent toward evil. You only need to live with a few babies to see this demonstrated. How utterly self-centered a baby is! There is nothing more self-centered in the world. Everything exists for him, in his thinking. The whole world is there but to serve his particular need, and that, in essence, is the expression of the life of the devil. It is only by new birth that we become members of the family of God, children of God. (One or the Other - 1 John 3:10 - Read this entire sermon!)
1 João 3:10
Stedman - Now as we have also seen in this passage, and others, once we become a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ and are really born of God, it is an irreversible process. We cannot be unborn. God, having "begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ," (Philippians 1:6 KJV). Once that wonderful change has taken place, God himself undertakes to bring us along, and he will do his job. We cannot lose this new life. Ah, but there is the rub! This is what John is pointing out. There are many people who sincerely think they are children of God because they have repeated a certain set of words, or prayed a certain prayer, or gone forward in a meeting, or performed some other activity or ritual, when actually they are not and never have been born again. They are self-deceived. What has happened is that the flesh, which is subtle, and, as Jeremiah put it, "irreversibly wicked" Jeremiah 17:9), i.e., unspeakably bad, has determined to remain in the seat of power (as it always does), and has simply turned religious or moral; perhaps it has cleaned up a few unsavory aspects of life and thus deceived the heart of the individual so that he thinks he is a Christian because he has done certain things. Now what happens in this case is that such people have been content with a surface change, or with a mere relief of feelings. Perhaps they were greatly distressed about some condition in their life, and someone talked to them about Christ. It looked like a way out, so they said, "Well, yes," they would receive Christ, and they went through the performance of asking him to come into their life. But all they were really looking for was relief from the conditions they were under. They got relief, there was a temporary betterment of the problem, and they thought this was conversion, this was regeneration. But they never came to the place where, absolutely helpless, sensing that they could do nothing in themselves any more, they cast themselves upon the sustaining grace of God. That is what conversion is. It is a feeling of: "I can't do anything to help myself. There's no improvement that I can bring about. I'm licked. I've got this problem within me, with which I've come face to face, and which I can do nothing to solve." Then the eye of faith sees the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross as doing for them what they could never do for themselves, and, casting themselves upon the grace of God in helpless, lack of self-trust, they are born again. God's Spirit regenerates them and they move into the kingdom of God. "Well," you say, "how do you know that you've been born again? How can you really tell that this has happened?" This is what Verse 10 is all about. All the apostles tell us this, but no one puts it any clearer than John. In the latter part of the tenth verse he says, "whoever does not do right is not of God, nor he who does not love his brother." (1 John 3:10b RSV) In other words, the unmistakable sign, the "unimitatable" sign, is a two-fold mark. He puts it negatively. If he has not begun to turn from evil, from wrong, and if he has not begun to love his brother, then he is only deceiving himself. As we have just seen in the passage before this, John says that he who is born of God cannot continue to sin (see 1 John 3:9a RSV). He just cannot do it. If you can go on living as you have always lived before you professed belief in Christ, then you have not been born again. You have only experienced a surface psychological reaction that is not the new birth at all. And this is quite possible. John does not say that he who is born of God should not continue to sin, he says he cannot do so, because the life in him says "No" to these things that are wrong, and he cannot go on in them. John will also go on to show us, this life in him will inevitably cause a person to begin to love his brother, to love those around him with a new kind of love (Ed: Supernaturally enabled love - Gal 5:22+). That is the subject of the next theme he will develop and this verse introduces it to us. I shall leave that till we come to it, but here is the two-fold mark: righteousness, and love, and these two are interwoven, intertwined together. You cannot have the one without the other. As we saw in an earlier message, righteousness is love so behaving as to satisfy justice. Righteousness and love are thus intertwined together. (One or the Other - 1 John 3:10 - Read this entire sermon!) THE SECOND TEST BROTHERLY LOVE The one who does not love (agapao - present tense) his brother (adelphos) - This serves to introduce the next section (1Jn 3:11-24). John had spoken earlier of the importance of love of one's brother (in Christ). (1Jn 2:7-11). This will be discussed in more detail in the notes on 1Jn 3:11-24. Brian Bell - The radical distinction between these 2 groups consists in 2 great facts: doing righteousness & loving your brother. 1. The 1st test is towards God; The 2nd test is towards man. Children of the devil are easy to spot, for they act like their father; in the same way it should be easy to identify the Children of God for they practice the righteousness of their Father! John
1 João 3:20
Stedman addresses "the problem of an accusing heart, i.e., a condemning conscience. What do you do as a Christian when your heart condemns you? As we saw, the usual result of a condemning conscience is a tendency to ignore God, to keep in the shadows and to distrust his love, to criticize his people and in many ways to manifest the fact that we have lost contact with the God who indwells us. The answer, as we saw in 1John 3:19, was to reassure our hearts by a deed of self-giving love: 'Little children, let us not love in word or speech,' says John, 'but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us,' {1 Jn 3:18-19RSV}.We are to give ourselves to someone who is in need or help another in his problem, repay good for evil, or give back kind words instead of caustic, sharp ones. The result, John says, will be a sense of reassurance. If we are really in Christ, rivers of love and peace will begin to flow out from our hearts again, and it will be impossible to remain condemned" David Legge on doubting our salvation - It may be that we are His, we are child of God, but we have failed Him. Whilst it may not be a lifestyle of constant failure and habitual sin, there has been a blip and a blot on our testimony. Because of that, whether we consider it to be a small hiccup or a large fall, we have a bad conscience toward God - and it causes us from time to time, or maybe constantly, to doubt our salvation. I would have to say after our study last week in verses 10 to 18, reading and studying in depth that portion, it would be easy to come away and say: 'Am I saved at all? How guilty I have been of being an unloving Christian, an uncaring Christian! I have not laid my life down for the brethren the way that John is exhorting us to do. I have shut up my emotions when I have been faced with the needs of others, my brothers and sisters in Christ and those outside the church. I have been guilty of loving in word, loving in language, but not loving in deed and in truth'. Now, let's be honest with one another, and honest with God: all of us, at some time or another, have been guilty of these things. Whilst we agree that these ought to be exceptions rather than the rule in the Christian life, we are all guilty of being unloving towards our brethren in Christ. But here's where the problem arises: if you have an oversensitive conscience, you can read passages of Scripture like this and listen to preaching that we've been hearing week after week, biblically based, and you can begin to say to yourself, 'I'm not truly saved', or 'There's a cause for doubt' - when there is no cause for doubt because you're a child of God. Your sensitive conscience can actually begin to do the devil's work for him. Some of you, perhaps, are having self-incriminating doubts, and it makes you feel condemned in your heart. It's wrong, because God has not condemned you if you're one of His children! Maybe even that bad conscience, that condemning heart is preventing you from approaching God. You feel unworthy to such an extent that you feel that you can't come into God's presence, even though it is not God who has condemned you, God has not barred you from approaching Him, but it's your own heart that makes you feel that way. Whilst there are those, as we've said, who have well-grounded doubts, and their heart condemns them for good reason, I believe that John here now in these verses - 1Jn 3:19-24 - is speaking to those who have ill-founded doubts. This is the problem he's addressing… John has not only been exposing false teachers whose salvation should be doubted, but he's seeking to bring assurance to the true sheep of God in these churches who have been influenced by the false teaching of the false teachers and are beginning to doubt their salvation because of what they have been saying… Now John is wanting to guard against this (those who profess Christ but don't truly know Him): yes, he wants to uncover, in the hearts of men, false assurance; the false assurance that these false teachers had, spreading their lies; the false assurance that some of these believers may have, if they believed their lies - but what he does not want to do is create a bad conscience in a true child of God. (Confident Christianity) David
1 João 3:22
Stedman: "What John is saying is, the condition by which prayer is answered, and answered abundantly (cf Eph 3:20), is that we make repeated decisive acts of fulfilling the demands of love toward another, depending upon the power of Jesus Christ (HIS SPIRIT) within us to perform it. That is 'believing on the Name of the Son of God,' counting on His authority, on His power."… "Part of the reason why so many are finding Christianity to be boring and mediocre and often sterile is because they are not experiencing this kind of Christian living. Many young people have almost lost all hope that Christianity can ever do or be what its glowing terms describe. The reason is that they have not entered into this kind of relationship, where each day, every day, they experience the glorious adventure of seeing a living God at work, answering prayer and giving to them things that they ask. But in this passage we have a beautiful picture of the normal life of a Christian. It is all centered in prayer, because prayer is the most characteristic and the most fundamental relationship that a Christian can experience. Prayer is the expression of dependence on a loving God, and the whole Christian life, as we have learned in many other passages, is to be characterized by a continuous attitude and spirit of prayer. 'Pray without ceasing' {1 Th 5:17 KJV}, says the Apostle Paul. This is what exciting Christian living demands." (Power in Prayer) CONDITIONS FOR ANSWERED PRAYER Because (hoti) is a term of explanation. What is John explaining? How believers can be assured to receive what they ask from God. He goes on to explain that it is when they obey (keep… do), then they receive when they ask. We keep (tereo - present tense) His commandments (entole) and do (poieo - present tense) the things that are pleasing (arestos) in His sight (enopion) - John explains why one can receive what he asks of God. In a few words, the conditions to be met to assure receipt of divine answers are (1) obedience and (2) walking/living in a manner pleasing to the Lord. In fact do what is pleasing to Him is simply another way of expressing obedience. God is pleased when we obey him. Clearly obedience is the path to pleasing God. We keep (tereo) in the present tense means we observe, keep watch over, heed, guard His commandments as our habit practice. John is not saying that keeping commandments earns God's answers to prayer, but keeping God's commandments does show we are saved. Why does this show one is saved? Because there is no way we could "keep" the commands in our own, natural strength, the strength of the flesh. What we could not do, God did in the New Covenant declaring "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes (GOD'S PART), and you will be careful to observe (OUR PART) My ordinances." (Ezekiel 36:27+) In short, the fact that an individual can habitually keep God's commands is clear evidence of that such a person has passed out of death into life (1Jn 3:14), is of the truth (1Jn 3:19), is born again and can expect his/her prayers to be answered. Obedience is the indispensable condition, not the meritorious cause, of answered prayer. John Stott - John does not mean to imply that God hears and answers our prayers merely for the subjective reason that we have a clear conscience and an uncondemning heart. There is an objective, moral reason, namely because we keep his commandments, and, more generally, do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Obedience is the indispensable condition, not the meritorious cause, of answered prayer. Whatever we ask, we receive describes the Christian’s habitual experience (the verbs are in the present tense), and Candlish (1 John 3:22, 23 Righteousness Essential to our Pleasing God and to His Hearing Us) is right to point to the incarnate Son as the supreme example of pleasing God and so being heard by God (Jn. 8:29+, Jn 11:41-42+). The statement echoes our Lord’s promise, where the same two verbs occur: “Ask, (present imperative = Keep on asking) and it will be given to you…for every one who asks receives.” (Mt 7:7-8+)… Law is probably right that ‘to obey His commands’ is the condition of being heard, simply because such obedience is the evidence that ‘our will is in inward harmony with God’s’. We must also pray in Christ’s name (John 16:23–24+), and for God’s glory (Jas 4:2–3+), while the petitioner must be cleansed from his sins (Ps. 66:18; Pr. 15:29; Isa. 59:1–2; Jas 5:16), forgiven and himself forgiving others (Mark 11:25+), and believing God’s promises (Mt. 21:22+; Mk 11:24+; cf. Jas 1:5–7+) as well as obeying his commands. (Borrow The Letters of John page 152) The basis for answered prayer is not blind obedience but a desire to please God with dedicated love. Simon Kistemaker makes a good point asking "Is John stating two prerequisites to answered prayer? Really not. Obeying God’s commands must never be done under compulsion or for the purpose of [selfishly] receiving [earthly] rewards (ED: THAT IS A WORK'S BASED MENTALITY - THINKING WE CAN EARN OR DESERVE GOD'S FAVOR). The Christian fulfills God’s command with a cheerful heart that expresses gratitude. John is saying that when we obey His commands, we are doing what is pleasing to God. By adding the clause and do what pleases him, John rules out any notion of merit; pleasing God flows forth from love and loyalty. Implicitly John reminds his readers of Jesus. During his earthly ministry, Jesus always sought to please the Father by doing his will (John 8:29+).The basis for answered prayer is not blind obedience but a desire to please God with dedicated love. And God fulfills our requests because of the bond of love (ED: AND I WOULD ADD HIS COVENANT WITH US) and fellowship between Father and child. (Epistles of John) Obedience is the evidence that our will is in harmony with His Sam Storms - It is important to combine this verse with the rest of Scripture on prayer. Prayer is to be "according to His will" (1 John 5:14), "in Christ's name" (John 16:23-24), "for God's glory" (James 4:2-3), etc. The meaning of 1Jn 3:22-23 in regard to prayer and its answer is best explained by Law: "The key to the interpretation of the present passage is given in John 15:17 'if ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' It is no external and arbitrary but an intrinsically necessary condition of successful prayer that is here expressed. Our prayers are answered, because our will is in inward harmony with God's, the evidence of this being that we 'keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.' In our actions we prove that God's will is our will and when we pray, our will does not change…The prayers of those who 'keep God's commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight,' are nothing else than echoes of God's own voice, impulses of the Divine Will itself, throbbing in the strivings of the human will and, in the mystical circulation of the Eternal Life, returning to their source" (Tests of Life - A Study of First Epistle of St John). Simply put, obedience is the evidence that our will is in harmony with His. (Sam Storms- First John 3:10b-24) Below are some passages on pleasing the Lord that also emphasize the role of praying for this pleasing walk. Jn 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” (Believers are called walk as He walked - 1Jn 2:6) 2 Corinthians 5:9-10+ Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (Why?) 10 (+) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Ephesians 5:10+ trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Colossians 1:10+ (A PRAYER PETITION) so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please [Him] in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; Colossians 3:20+ Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:1+ Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you received from us [instruction] as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you may excel still more. Hebrews 13:20-21+ (A PRAYER PETITION) Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, [even] Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing (GOD'S PROVISION) to do (MY RESPONSIBILITY) His will, working (GOD'S PROVISION) in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom [be] the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hiebert - Some view the further statement “and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” as simply an equivalent restatement. But in this epistle such restatements characteristically mark an advance in the thought. We accept that the two are not the same; the first calls for obedience to His commands, which may be carried out in a slavish spirit (cf. the older brother in Luke 15:28–30); the second implies a spontaneous activity motivated by love, freely undertaken because Christian love recognizes them as “those things that are pleasing in his sight.” To illustrate: A farmer’s wife and her ten-year-old daughter were just finishing their breakfast when a phone call urgently requested the mother to come to a neighbor’s home a short distance away because of an emergency. Before leaving, the mother kindly asked her daughter to wash the dishes and tidy the kitchen while she was gone. Prompted by her love, the daughter gladly consented. She washed and carefully replaced the dishes, cleared off the kitchen stove, and swept the floor. Since her mother was still not back, she went into her brother’s room and made the bed and cleaned the room. Then she took a broom and carefully swept the living room floor and the front porch because she knew it would please her mother. Her love prompted her to go beyond that which had been commanded. So the believer often faces situations in his own life which may not be covered by a specific commandment, but his love prompts him to act in ways he knows would be pleasing to the Lord. THOUGHT - This study begs several questions - How's your prayer life? Are you experiencing answers to your prayers? If not why not? Could it be that you need to meditate a while on John's explanation of how believers can be assured of having God answer their prayers? And be sure to add the passages in Related Passages to your meditation asking what each teaches about prayer? Ask (154) aiteo means to ask for something or make petition. It can mean to ask with a sense of urgency and even to the point of demanding. For example, Thayer notes that the use of aiteo in 1Cor 1:22 conveys a stronger sense of demand. One gets that same sense of aiteo in Mt 27:20 (in fact NJB translates it "demand.") Aiteo is sometimes combined with other prayer words like proseuchomai (Mt 21:22, Col 1:9), so the idea of aiteo is to be asking for something while praying (proseuchomai). Of children of God asking their Father (Mt 6:8). In Mt 7:8-11 three of the uses (Mt 7:8-9, 11) of aiteo are in the present tense picturing continued asking. Of the sons of Zebedee making request (present tense) of Jesus (Mt 20:20) In Mt 5:42 commands His readers to be generous with those asking (may allude to begging; giving alms was viewed highly in the ancient world). The derivative noun aitema (155) is used in Php 4:6 and 1Jn 5:15 of requests, in the sense of a petition of men to God, both NT uses in the plural. In Lk 23:24 aitema is used more in the sense of a demand by the Jews to Pilate. AITEO IN JOHN'S WRITINGS - Jn. 4:9; Jn. 4:10; Jn. 11:22; Jn. 14:13; Jn. 14:14; Jn. 15:7; Jn. 15:16; Jn. 16:23; Jn. 16:24; Jn. 16:26; 1 Jn. 3:22; 1 Jn. 5:14; 1 Jn. 5:15; 1 Jn. 5:16 Keep (reserve, guard, heed, kept in custody, observe, preserve) (5083) tereo from teros = a guard or warden - this should help give you an idea of the sense of the verb tero) means to keep an eye on, to keep something in view, to hold firmly, to attend carefully or to watch over (Jesus' ask His Father for His watchful care for His disciples in Jn 17:11). Tereo speaks of guarding something which is in one’s possession. It means to watch as one would some precious thing. The idea is to observe attentively, to heed, to keep watch over and to retain in custody. Tereo with the meaning of obey - Mt 19:17, Mt 23:3 (tereo = observe), Mt 28:20, Jn 8:51, 52 (one who keeps Jesus' Word = a believer = one who will never see the second death in hell), Jn 9:16 (keep = observe the Sabbath), Jn 14:15 (description of a genuine disciple - love is not just with one's lips but is validated by one's life lived in loving obedience to God), Jn 14:21, 23, 24 (no love = no obedience = not a believer - Note Jesus is not talking about legalistic obedience but Spirit enabled obedience which is the only obedience that pleases the Father!), Jn 15:10 (used twice), Jn 15:20 (used twice), Jn 17:6 (the 11 disciples), Acts 15:5, 1Ti 6:14, James 2:10, 1Jn 2:3, 4, 5, 3:22, 1Jn 3:24, 1Jn 5:2, 3, Rev 1:3 (heed), Rev 2:26, 3:3, 3:8, 3:10, 12:17, 14:12, Rev 22:7 (heeds), Rev 22:9. Tereo with meaning of keep watch or guard - Mt 27:36, 27:54, Mt 28:4 (guards = tereo), Jn 17:11, 12, Jn 17:15 (with nuance of protection from Satan), Acts 12:5, Acts 12:6 (watching), Acts 16:23, Acts 24:23, 25:4, 25:21 (held in custody), 1Jn 5:18, Jude 1:1, 6, TEREO IN JOHN'S WRITINGS - Jn. 2:10; Jn. 8:51; Jn. 8:52; Jn. 8:55; Jn. 9:16; Jn. 12:7; Jn. 14:15; Jn. 14:21; Jn. 14:23; Jn. 14:24; Jn. 15:10; Jn. 15:20; Jn. 17:6; Jn. 17:11; Jn. 17:12; Jn. 17:15 1 Jn. 2:3; 1 Jn. 2:4; 1 Jn. 2:5; 1 Jn. 3:22; 1 Jn. 3:24; 1 Jn. 5:3; 1 Jn. 5:18; Rev. 1:3; Rev. 2:26; Rev. 3:3; Rev. 3:8; Rev. 3:10; Rev. 12:17; Rev. 14:12; Rev. 16:15; Rev. 22:7; Rev. 22:9 Commandments(instruction, order, requirement)(1785)(entole from en = in, upon + téllo = accomplish, charge, command) refers to some type of demand or requirement. Entole refers to some type of demand or requirement. A general injunction, charge, precept of moral and religious nature. Commandments are those given by our Lord either personally while on earth or through His apostles in the New Testament Books. Of the 67 uses, all but three (Lk 15:29; Col 4:10; Titus 1:14) refer specifically to divine commandments. Keeping God's commandments is the way we show that we love Him (we can say it, but our actions need to authenticate our words. (Jn 14:15, 21, 1Jn 2:3). ENTOLE IN JOHN'S EPISTLES - 13x 1 Jn. 2:3; 1 Jn. 2:4; 1 Jn. 2:7; 1 Jn. 2:8; 1 Jn. 3:22; 1 Jn. 3:23; 1 Jn. 3:24; 1 Jn. 4:21; 1 Jn. 5:2; 1 Jn. 5:3; 2 Jn. 1:4; 2 Jn. 1:5; 2 Jn. 1:6 Do (4160)(poieo) means to perform and here in the present tense means to make it our habitual practice to do those things that please Him. The only way we can accomplish this is by jettisoning self-reliance and instead relying on the Holy Spirit in us to give us the desire and the power to be pleasing to God (Php 2:13NLT+). Then we can work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Php 2:12+). Good works that please God are works with an "o" knocked out of the work "good." ("God works") The Spirit must initiate and enable the works, and yet in the mysterious ways of God, the saint still must choose to walk in those good works "which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:10). I fear many saints are doing their works, not His works. And as Jesus said "apart from Me you can DO nothing." (Jn 15:5). POIEO IN JOHN'S EPISTLES - 1 Jn. 1:6; 1 Jn. 1:10; 1 Jn. 2:17; 1 Jn. 2:29; 1 Jn. 3:4; 1 Jn. 3:7; 1 Jn. 3:8; 1 Jn. 3:9; 1 Jn. 3:10; 1 Jn. 3:22; 1 Jn. 5:2; 1 Jn. 5:10; 3 Jn. 1:5; 3 Jn. 1:6; 3 Jn. 1:10 Pleasing (701)(arestos from aresko) is an adjective which describes that which is acceptable, pleasing, satisfying, agreeable, that which elicits an agreeable response, gratifying. The root verb aresko is related to another verb euaresteo which means well pleasing and is used to describe a worthy walk, a walk that pleases God in the Septuagint = Enoch (Ge 5:22, 24), Noah (Ge 6:9), Abraham (Ge 17:1). The first use in the Septuagint is Ge 3:6 where Eve says the tree was good for food and that it was a delight (Hebrew = taavah from avah - to incline or desire = a desire; Lxx = arestos) to the eyes." In Dt 6:18 (cp Dt 12:28, 13:18, 21:9) Moses writes "You shall do what is right (Hebrew = yashar - straight, upright; Lxx = arestos) and good in the sight of the LORD," whereas Dt 12:8 speaks of doing what is "right (Hebrew = yashar; Lxx = arestos) in your own eyes." It is interesting that many of the uses in Deuteronomy refer to doing what is pleasing "in the sight of the LORD." It is notable that the root verb aresko "originally meant “to set up a positive relation,” hence “to make peace,” then aesthetically “to please,” with such nuances as a. “to be well disposed,” b. “to take a pleasant attitude,” and c. “to please.”" (TDNT) Arestos - 4x - Usage: desirable(1), pleased(1), pleasing(1), things that are pleasing(1). John 8:29 "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." Acts 6:2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Acts 12:3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 1 John 3:22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. Arestos - 35 verses in the Septuagint - Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 16:6 But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight." So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence. Exodus 15:26 And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer." Leviticus 10:19 But Aaron spoke to Moses, "Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of the LORD?" Deuteronomy 6:18 "You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, Deuteronomy 12:8 "You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; 25 "You shall not eat it, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the LORD. 28 "Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 13:18 if you will listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 21:9 "So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the LORD. Ezra 7:18 "Whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. Ezra 10:11 "Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives." Nehemiah 9:24 "So their sons entered and possessed the land. And You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, And You gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, To do with them as they desired. 37 "Its abundant produce is for the kings Whom You have set over us because of our sins; They also rule over our bodies And over our cattle as they please, So we are in great distress. Proverbs 21:3 To do righteousness and justice Is desired by the LORD more than sacrifice. Isaiah 38:3 and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Jeremiah 9:14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them," Jeremiah 16:12 'You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. Jeremiah 18:12 "But they will say, 'It's hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' Daniel 4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: "May your peace abound! R. A. Torrey in The Power Of Prayer wrote this comment on 1Jn 3:22 - "There are two parts to John's description of those whose prayers God always answers. The first part of the description is, We keep His commandments. God hears the prayers of those who keep His commandments, that is, those who study His Word each day to find out what His will is, and who, when they discover what His will is, do it every time they find it. God demands reciprocity: He demands that we shall listen to His Word before He listens to our prayers. If we have a sharp ear for God's commandments, then God will have a sharp ear for our petitions; but if we turn a deaf ear to one of God's commandments, God will turn a deaf ear to every one of our petitions. If we do the things that God bids us to do, then God will do the things that we ask Him to do; but if we do not pay close attention to God's Word, God will pay no attention whatever to our prayers. To put it all in a single sentence: If we wish God to answer our prayers, we must study God's Word diligently each day, to find out what the will of God is, and do that will every time we find it." C H