1 João 3
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 3:1
Wiersbe - The United States Treasury Department has a special group of men whose job it is to track down counterfeiters. Naturally, these men need to know a counterfeit bill when they see it. How do they learn to identify fake bills? Oddly enough, they are not trained by spending hours examining counterfeit money. Rather, they study the real thing. They become so familiar with authentic bills that they can spot a counterfeit by looking at it or, often, simply by feeling it. This is the approach in 1 John 3, which warns us that in today's world there are counterfeit Christians—"children of the devil" (1 John 3:10). But instead of listing the evil characteristics of Satan's children, the Scripture gives us a clear description of God's children. The contrast between the two is obvious. The key verse of this chapter is 1 John 3:10: a true child of God practices righteousness and loves other Christians despite differences. (Bible Exposition Commentary) MOTIVATING LOVE - (From The Father's Great Love - Steven Cole) Love is one of the greatest motivators in the world. When someone loves you, it gives you hope and strength. When you feel unloved or rejected by someone you love, it can be devastating. George Matheson was a 19th century Scottish pastor. He was born with an eye defect that left him totally blind by age 18. Shortly after this, his fiancée left him, deciding she would not be content to be married to a blind preacher. Years later, at age 40, Matheson was alone on the night of his sister’s wedding. Something happened, perhaps the memory of being rejected by his own fiancée years before, that caused him severe mental suffering. Suddenly, the words of a hymn came to him as if dictated by some inward voice. The whole thing was done in five minutes and he never had to edit or correct it O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be. O light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee; My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day May brighter, fairer be. O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain, That morn shall tearless be. O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from thee; I lay in dust life’s glory dead, And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be. In his blindness and loneliness, perhaps feeling forsaken by the love of a woman, Matheson sought and found comfort in the unchanging love of God. Here are Matheson's own words… My hymn was composed in the manse of Innelan [Argyleshire, Scotland] on the evening of the 6th of June, 1882, when I was 40 years of age. I was alone in the manse at that time. It was the night of my sister’s marriage, and the rest of the family were staying overnight in Glasgow. Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, and which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering. It was the quickest bit of work I ever did in my life. I had the impression of having it dictated to me by some inward voice rather than of working it out myself. I am quite sure that the whole work was completed in five minutes, and equally sure that it never received at my hands any retouching or correction. I have no natural gift of rhythm. All the other verses I have ever written are manufactured articles; this came like a dayspring from on high. (from Kenneth Osbeck, BORROW Amazing Grace). Alexander Maclaren has the following practical application from 1John 3:1… We Have Here, Finally, The Loving And Devout Gaze Upon This Wonderful Love. ‘Behold,’ (See!) at the beginning of my text, is not the mere exclamation which you often find both in the Old and in the New Testaments, which is simply intended to emphasize the importance of what follows, but it is a distinct command to do the thing, to look, and ever to look, and to look again, and live in the habitual and devout contemplation of that infinite and wondrous love of God. (See also Biblical Meditation) I have but two remarks to make about that, and the one is this, that such a habit of devout and thankful meditation upon the love of God, as manifested in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the consequent gift of the Divine Spirit, joined with the humble, thankful conviction that I am a child of God thereby, lies at the foundation of all vigorous and happy Christian life. How can a thing which you do not touch with your hands and see with your eyes produce any effect upon you, unless you think about it? How can a religion which can only influence through thought and emotion do anything in you, or for you, unless you occupy your thoughts and your feelings with it? It is sheer nonsense to suppose it possible. Things which do not appeal to sense are real to us, and indeed we may say, are at all for us, only as we think about them. If you had a dear friend in Australia, and never thought about him, he would even cease to be dear, and it would be all one to you as if he were dead. If he were really dear to you, you would think about him. We may say (though, of course, there are other ways of looking at the matter) that, in a very intelligible sense, the degree in which we think about Christ, and in Him behold the love of God, is a fairly accurate measure of our Christianity. Now will you apply that sharp test to yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, and decide how much of your life was pagan, and how much of it was Christian? You will never make anything of your professed Christianity, you will never get a drop of happiness or any kind of good out of it; it will neither be a strength nor a joy nor a defence to you unless you make it your habitual occupation to ‘behold the manner of love’; and look and look and look until it warms and fills your heart. The second remark is that we cannot keep that great sight before the eye of our minds without effort. You will have very resolutely to look away from something else if, amid all the dazzling trinkets of earth, you are to see the far-off lustre of that heavenly love. Just as timorous people in a thunderstorm will light a candle that they may not see the lightning, so many Christians have their hearts filled with the twinkling light of some miserable tapers of earthly care and pursuits, which, though they be dim and smoky, are bright enough to make it hard to see the silent depths of Heaven, though it blaze with a myriad stars. If you hold a sixpence close enough up to the pupil of your eye, it will keep you from seeing the sun. And if you hold the world close to mind and heart, as many of you do, you will only see, round the rim of it, the least tiny ring of the overlapping love of God. What the world lets you see you will see, and the world will take care that it will let you see very little —not enough to do you any good, not enough to deliver you from its chains. Wrench yourselves away, my brethren, from the absorbing contemplation of Birmingham jewellery and paste, and look at the true riches. If you have ever had some glimpses of that wondrous love, and have ever been drawn by it to cry, ‘Abba, Father,’ do not let the trifles which belong not to your true inheritance fill your thoughts, but renew the vision, and by determined turning away of your eyes from beholding vanity, look off from the things that are seen, that you may gaze upon the things that are not seen (2Co 4:18+), and chiefest among them, upon the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you have never looked on that love, I beseech you now to turn aside and see this great sight. Do not let that brightness burn unnoticed while your eyes are fixed on the ground, like the gaze of men absorbed in gold digging, while a glorious sunshine is flushing the eastern sky. Look to the unspeakable, incomparable, immeasurable love of God, in giving up His Son to death for us all. Look and be saved. Look and live. ‘Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on you,’ and, beholding, you will become the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. QUESTION - Are we all God's children, or only Christians? from Gotquestions ANSWER - The Bible is clear that all people are God’s creation (Colossians 1:16), and that God loves the entire world (John 3:16), but only those who are born again are children of God (John 1:12; John 11:52; Romans 8:16; 1 John 3:1-10). In Scripture, the lost are never referred to as God’s children. Ephesians 2:3 tells us that before we were saved we were “by nature objects of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3). Romans 9:8 says that “it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” Instead of being born as God’s children, we are born in sin, which separates us from God and aligns us with Satan as God’s enemy (James 4:4; 1 John 3:8). Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me” (John 8:42). Then a few verses later in John 8:44, Jesus told the Pharisees that they “belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.” The fact that those who are not saved are not children of God is also seen in 1 John 3:10: “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” We become God’s children when we are saved because we are adopted into God’s family through our relationship with Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:5-6; Ephesians 1:5). This can be clearly seen in verses like Romans 8:14-17: “…because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Those who are saved are children “of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26) because God has “predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:5). QUESTION - What does it mean to be a part of the family of God? from Gotquestions ANSWER - The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ and the Father are One (John 1:1-4), and that He is also the only begotten Son of God (Hebrews 1:1-4). This familial term indicates God regards Jesus as a family member. Born-again believers are told that we, too, are members of this family (Romans 9:8; 1 John 3:1-2). How do we become a part of this family of God? When we hear the gospel, confess our sins, and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we are at that moment born into God’s kingdom as His children and become heirs with Him for eternity (Romans 8:14-17). While Jesus Christ is referred to as the only begotten Son of God, believers are referred to as children born into God’s family who need to grow and mature in our faith (Ephesians 4:11-16), and as sons and heirs adopted into His family (Galatians 4:4-7). God’s infinite grace and mercy are revealed in Ephesians 1:5-6, which says He redeems sinners, whom He has “adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” As children of God, what do we inherit? Nothing less than the kingdom of God (Matthew 25:34; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; Hebrews 12:28)! Ephesians 1:3 tells us that believers are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. These spiritual blessings are infinite, eternal, and reside in Christ, and by God’s grace we are given these blessings as His children. As earthly children we eventually inherit what our parents leave behind for us after their death. But in God’s case believers are already reaping the rewards of our inheritance by having peace with Him through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. Other rewards of our inheritance include the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the moment we believe in Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14), which empowers us to live for Him in the present, and the knowledge that our salvation is secure for eternity (Hebrews 7:24-25). Being a part of the family of God is the greatest blessing bestowed upon believers and one that should drive us to our knees in humble adoration. We can never do anything to deserve it for it is His gift of love, mercy, and grace to us, yet, we are called to become sons and daughters of the Living God (Romans 9:25-26). May we all respond in faith to His invitation! QUESTION: What does it mean that we are children of God (1 John 3:1)? ANSWER - It is God’s great love that takes the initiative to make us the children of God. This extravagant outpouring of our heavenly Father’s love made the apostle John marvel: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). Being children of God means we have been born into God’s family. We become God’s children through faith in Jesus Christ, which results in spiritual rebirth: “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:12–13, NLT; see also Galatians 3:26; 1 John 5:1). Jesus taught that only the children of God experience new birth and the opportunity to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). When we hear the gospel message, repent and confess our sins, and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, at that moment we are born into God’s family. We become a child of God and co-heir with Christ of everything in God’s kingdom for all eternity (Ephesians 1:13–14; Romans 8:14–17). All that God has given to His Son in the kingdom belongs to us as His children, as well. Presently, we have only limited knowledge of what it means to be children of God: “We are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:2–3, NLT). When we see Jesus face to face, our understanding of what it means to be children of God will be expanded (2 Corinthians 3:18). Yet, John explained, even a partial grasp of our status as children of God will make us want to live pure and holy lives. John continued with a challenging teaching about sin, concluding with these statements: “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God” (1 John 3:9–10, NLT). As children of God, we have a new nature “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). Contemplating who we are as the children of God will cause us to think seriously about how we live and whom we serve. Will we pursue a life of holiness and obedience to God and His Word, or will we take on a lackadaisical attitude toward sin? Will we serve our heavenly Father or our sinful nature, “which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires” (verse 22)? Children of the devil (see John 8:44) make a practice of sinning, but Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil in the lives of God’s children (1 John 3:8). As the children of God, we are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), led by the Holy Spirit: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8:14, NLT). Although at times we still sin, a child of God has “an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous” (1 John 2:1, NLT). Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and restored us to a right relationship with God (2 Corinthians 5:21). We prove ourselves to be children of God by living to please and obey our heavenly Father (practicing righteousness) and by loving our brothers and sisters in the family of God (1 John 3:10). Salvation in Christ is pictured not only as a rebirth but also as an adoption: “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son” (Ephesians 1:5–6, NLT; cf. Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5). It’s difficult to fully comprehend the love of our heavenly Father—a love that delights in transforming rebellious, undeserving sinners into the children of God. At times, like John, we can only marvel at being adopted into God’s family. Our security in God’s household does not depend on our behavior or performance. We owe our position as His sons and daughters all to our Father’s gracious love that purchased our salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. Our identity as children of God is hidden in Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:3; Galatians 3:26). We are no longer orphans or slaves, but sons and daughters (Galatians 4:4–7). We have a good father who loves us and will care for us and supply our needs for all eternity. Our purpose now, as the children of God, is to develop into our full stature and unique potential by becoming like Jesus: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29NLT). ILLUSTRATION - The Glory Christian (sent to me from Arpu a follower of Christ in India) - A poor, ignorant, illiterate Hindu, who could neither read nor write heard of Christ as a Saviour. For long had he been searching for God: now he had found Him (cf Lk 19:10+). He begged for more teaching, so they began reading to him the Gospel of John. When the 12th verse (Jn 1:12+) was read, the Hindu manifested the greatest excitement. “Stop!” he cried. “If a man believes on Jesus Christ as his Saviour does he become a son of God?” “That is just what the verse teaches,” they replied. “But I believe on him: Am I indeed a son of God?” said he. “Yes— that is so.” “Well, that is the most wonderful and glorious news I have ever heard! Read no more. I cannot stay. Truly I must get back to my people and proclaim this amazing fact.” With his face radiant with the new found joy he hurried away (Gal 5:22+). Many scores of miles had to be traversed before he could reach home. But all along his way people turned to wonder at his joyous look. And to all who accosted him he cried, “I am a son of God!” “Well, you look it” many replied. “Tell us—how can we become sons of God?” And he told the story of the Saviour. His village was at length reached, and they welcomed him back. “I am a son of God!” he exclaimed. “We know something has happened,” was the answer. “Your face is radiant and your every gesture tells of joy of heart! Tell us how may we become sons of God?” I am told that this poor illiterate man won the whole village for Christ, and many hundreds from the surrounding country, because he knew he was a son of God. Others saw the glory given him and desired to have it too. (Written by An Unknown Christian) A GOOD FATHER - Where do kids get the stuff they come up with? One evening as I was getting 8-year-old Steven settled in for the night, he looked at me and said, "You're my second favorite dad." Whoa, I thought. Am I missing something here? But then Steve quickly filled me in. "First, God. He's my number one Father. Then you." I'm glad Steven is able to transfer his feelings of love for his earthly father to his heavenly Father. But some people have a tough time accepting that "other Father." All they know of a father on earth is desertion, abuse, neglect, hatred, and pain. To those who have seen nothing but bad from an earthly dad, turning their life over to another Father—even one who is God—is not easy But it is not impossible. Play Chris Tomlin's Good, Good Father Related Passages: John 16:2-3+ “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. And these things (What things?) they will do, because they have (ou = absolutely) not known (ginosko - intimately, personally) the Father, or Me. 1 John 3:13,14+ Do not be surprised, (present imperative = command to either stop this or forbids the continuance of an action already going on) brethren, if the world (kosmos - anti-God world) hates (present tense - continually) you. We know (eido/oida in perfect tense - speaks of permanence of this knowledge) that we have passed (metabaino in perfect tense = permanent passage) out of death into life, because we love (present tense) the brethren (EVIDENCE ONE HAS PASSED INTO ETERNAL LIFE). He who does not love (present tense) abides (present tense) in death. John 15:18, 19+ If the world (kosmos) hates you (present tense = this is the continual attitude/action of those in spiritual darkness and under the power of Satan [1Jn 5:19+] toward those who manifest the life and light of Christ, cp 2Ti 3:12+, Php 1:29+, Mt 5:10, 11, 12+), you know (ginosko) that it has hated Me (Why? Jn 7:7+) before it hated you. If you were of the world (kosmos) , the world would (kosmos) love its own; but because you are not of the world (kosmos) , but I chose you out of the world (kosmos), therefore the world(kosmos) hates (present tense) you. THE REASON THE WORLD DOES NOT KNOW US For this reason the world does (absolutely) not know (ginosko - intimately) us, because (term of explanation - why world does not know us) it (absolutely) did not know (ginosko - intimate, personal relation with) Him - The fact that we are children of God and as family members of this divine family are called to be imitators of Christ and to manifest His light and life to "a crooked and perverse generation" (Php 2:15+). And as we do that is the very reason they do not know us. The idea then is that the world absolutely does not know we are children of God. THOUGHT: Are you surprised (like I am) when someone finds out you are a believer and their entire affect and relationship with you changes from that day forward? If you have walked with Jesus for a few years, you have undoubtedly experienced this subtle but surprisingly painful form of "hatred", but John says don't marvel when this occurs. Stand fast in grace and in faith based on the Truth, for our redemption is drawing nigh, beloved! Not (3756) (ou) is the stronger word for negation and here signifies the unredeemed of humanity absolutely don't know us because they absolutely don't know Jesus. Sure, many in America and in the world have heard the Name of Jesus (Acts 4:12) and all mankind one day will hear His Name (Php 2:9, 10, 11+). The problem is knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him personally by faith. The truth is that they have no intimate knowledge of Him or personal relationship with Him by grace through faith (cf Eph 2:8, 9+). And furthermore because of their unregenerate heart they even use the Name of Jesus as profanity because He is the Light that exposes their sin (Jn 3:19, 20+) One distinguishing mark of God’s children is that they know Him for in His priestly prayer Jesus prayed This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3+, see believers and unbelievers contrasted - 1Jn 3:10 = note all mankind belong to one of these groups!) There is built-in friction between those who know and serve Christ and those who do not. --ESV Study Bible Know (1097) (ginosko) means to know by experience and thus speaks of knowledge that goes beyond the mere facts. By extension, the term frequently was used of a special relationship between the person who knows and the object of the knowledge. It was often used of the intimate relationship between husband and wife and between God and His people, an intimacy that believers cannot experience with unbelievers because sadly they hate Jesus and they hate us. The fact that the world hates us and rejects us in a sense is evidence that we are not children of the world but to children of God. Glenn Barker - "The author wants his readers to know that approval by the world is to be feared, not desired. To be hated by the world may be unpleasant, but ultimately it should reassure the members of the community of faith that they are loved by God, which is far more important than the world's hatred." (See The Expositor's Bible Commentary - Abridged Edition) I Howard Marshall has a similar thought writing that "the world hates the children of God (1Jn 3:13), just as it hated Jesus (Jn. 15:18f+), since they do not belong to the world. This very fact is a further proof that the readers are children of God: the way in which the world does not recognize them as being on its side is proof that they belong to God." (Borrow The Epistles of John page 170) Paul adds that another reason the world does not really know who we are in Christ (see in Christ) is because in this present evil age (Gal 1:4+) our "life is hidden (perfect tense = emphasizes the believer's permanent condition - another truth affirming the doctrine of eternal security - genuine salvation cannot be lost!) with Christ in God" (Col 3:3+) The mystery of the new birth is foolishness to the proud heart (1Cor 2:14), which considers the children of God at the very least as "deluded" and even a bit "off" mentally! Even Nicodemus, "the teacher of Israel", did not initially grasp the profound truth of the new birth in his nighttime encounter with the Master Teacher, Jesus (Jn 3:1-12+) The child of God is unknown by the world because they have different fathers (i.e., God and Satan). -- Daniel Akin It (the anti-God world) did not know (ginosko) Him - Notice the aorist tense which defines this as a historical fact - the world failed to understand Jesus' Mission. In short, they had no personal relation with the Messiah Christ Jesus, which is tantamount to the fact that they were not born again, not regenerated by the Holy Spirit and were still dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1+). In one of the most frightening (my opinion) statements Jesus ever made He spoke these "frightening" words (especially if they are the last words a person will ever hear from Jesus!) to those who did not know Him… "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven (I.e., they are unsaved); but he who does (present tense = their lifestyle, it does not mean "perfection" but "direction" of one's life - toward heaven rather than toward hell! Note carefully - Their "works" do not save them but only serve as a clear demonstration that their faith is genuine - see exposition of Jas 2:14-26 [notes] for much more detail on this critically important topic) the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many (How does He quantify? Contrast the numerical evaluation in Mt 7:14+) will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' (Notice He does not dispute their claim. Implication? They carried out these "deeds"!) "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART (present imperative) FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE (present tense = their lifestyle, their continual attitude/action) LAWLESSNESS (anomia = sin in 1Jn 3:4).' (Mt 7:21+, Mt 7:22, 23+)
1 João 3:2
Wiersbe - New Testament Words for Today: 100 Devotional Reflections Beloved, now are we children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 JOHN 3:2 John began with a marvel, that people like you and me should not only be called children of God (1 John 3:1) but actually be the children of God. What grace! The children of notorious criminals have sometimes changed their names and moved to other cities because they didn’t want to be branded as criminals themselves. But here we have the Lord taking us into his family in spite of the reputation we have as sinners. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). If we have experienced a new birth through faith in Jesus Christ, then we should be growing in grace and pleasing the Lord in our character and conduct. If we ever lose the wonder of this miracle, we will grieve our Father in heaven and disgrace the family name here on earth. The early church magnified the name of Jesus in the way they lived and the message they preached, and they were told to stop (Acts 4:17–20) but they kept right on glorifying his name. How many family names have been disgraced by the conduct of its members? May the Lord help us honor the name of Jesus! John continued by discussing a mystery: “and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be” (1 John 3:2). When John wrote the book of Revelation, the Lord showed him some of the glories of the new Jerusalem, but we do not know what life will be like in the Father’s house (John 14:1–6). To be like Jesus means to have the kind of body he had after his resurrection and now has in heaven. When Jesus returns, he will “transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21). Our Lord lives “according to the power of an endless life” (Heb. 7:16). In heaven, the glorified body will feel no pain, sickness, or death, nor will it shed tears, which is good news for all of us but especially for the many who live with physical suffering or who fight painful emotional battles. The best is yet to come! Then John used the marvel of what we are and the mystery of what we shall be to generate a motive in our hearts to become more like Jesus today. “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). If a holy city is our eternal destination, then we ought to become holy people while we are waiting. We don’t know when Jesus will return. His return will be “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). How much we enjoy the glories of heaven when we arrive will depend on the preparation we made while on earth. Every vessel will be filled in heaven, but some vessels will be larger than others. If today we are growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ and his Word, we will appreciate our new home much more. When you plan to visit a different city or country, you wisely study up on the places you will see so that you will be better prepared to enjoy them. A holy life today will help prepare us to enjoy our heavenly home, and by living a holy life on earth we will help others go to heaven with us. All who have trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior have a home in heaven, but those who are surrendered to the Holy Spirit and are becoming more and more like Jesus will have “larger vessels” and will enjoy more of heaven’s blessings. Does that motivate you today to be like him? How large is your vessel? Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:4 When He is revealed, we shall be like Him. — 1 John 3:2 Sculptors have a term for the artist’s ability to look at a rough piece of stone and see it in its final, perfected form. It is called “hyperseeing.” Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941) is the sculptor who created many well-known public works of art. Probably the most famous is Mt. Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. Borglum’s housekeeper captured the concept of hyperseeing when she gazed up at the massive faces of the four US presidents on Mt. Rushmore for the first time. “Mr. Borglum,” she gasped, “how did you know Mr. Lincoln was in that rock?” Hyperseeing is also a good description of our all-seeing God. He sees all that we are and more. He sees what we shall be when He has completed His work and we stand before Him, holy and without blemish: the exact likeness, the very image of Jesus. The God who started this great work in you will keep at it until He completes it on the very day Jesus Christ appears (see Phil. 1:6). God will not be denied! He has such a longing for our perfection that nothing can or will remain an obstacle until He has finished the work He began so long ago. Doubt whispers, “Thou art such a blot; He cannot love poor thee.” If what I am He lovest not, He loves what I shall be. — MacDonald God works in us to grow us into what He wants us to be. James Smith - THE PURIFYING HOPE. 1 John 3:2, 3. 1. What is this hope? It is the hope of— 1. HIS APPEARING. "We know that when He shall appear." He will come again according to His promise (John 14:3). "Christ, who is our life, shall appear" (Col. 3:4). 2. BEING LIKE HIM. "We shall be like Him." This mortal shall put on immortality. "Our vile body shall be fashioned like unto His glorious body" (Phil. 3:21). 3. SEEING HIM. "We shall see Him as He is." "I will behold Thy face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I awake in Thy likeness" (Psa. 17:15). "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face" (1 Cor. 13:12). What a bright and glorious prospect! 2. What is the effect of this hope? "He that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself even as He is pure." There is— 1. PERSONAL PURITY. "Purifieth himself." This sure and blessed hope constrains to voluntary purity. It is intensely practical (1 John 3:5), as all real faith is. 2. PURITY AFTER HIS EXAMPLE. "As He is pure." He willingly separated Himself unto God for the joy that was set before Him. Be ye holy, for I am holy. I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Those who look for His coming will long to live like Him, that there be no shame before Him at His appearing (1 John 2:28). 3. PURITY AS AN EVIDENCE OF FAITH. Every man that hath this hope purifieth himself. If a man is not seeking to purify himself, it is clear that this hope is not in him, there is no faith in the coming Saviour. "Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves" (2 Cor. 7:1). As Charles Simeon, the great nineteenth century English preacher, lay mortally ill in his Cambridge home, he realized that his time on earth was fast slipping away. He turned to those at his bedside and asked, "Do you know what comforts me just now? I find infinite consolation in the fact that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." His friends asked how that thought could give solace as he faced death. He answered with the confidence of one about to meet the Lord, "Why, if God can bring all the wonder of the worlds out of nothing, He may still make something out of me!" To think of the glory that awaits God's children—to have a spirit perfectly pure and a resurrected body that will enable us to enjoy eternity to its fullest—staggers the imagination. The great changes we will experience in glory are beyond our understanding. Even now God's transforming power is at work in us. At conversion we became children of God and were made "alive together with Christ" (Eph 2:5). But that is not all. Paul said that in the future God will "show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:7). No wonder the apostle John exclaimed with astonishment, "It has not yet been revealed what we shall be." While you prepare a place for us, Lord, prepare us for that place. Or as martyred missionary Jim Elliot once said… When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die. MOTIVATION TO OBEY - A SCHOOL janitor posted a sign in front of the school that read: Keep Off the Grass. But the children still trampled the turf. Then a fourth-grade class had an idea. That fall they gave each child a crocus bulb to plant along the edge of the sidewalk. As winter drew to a close and the snow receded from the sidewalk, the children watched for signs of spring. Instead of running across the lawn, they huddled over it looking for the first crocus. What a power those hidden bulbs had. Before they had even poked their heads out, they kept dozens of little feet on the right path. Prohibitions against bad behavior rarely motivate anyone to do good. Some even stir up the desire to disobey. Tell kids not to do something and that's the one thing they'll want to do. The strongest motivators of good conduct are those in which we have a personal investment. J R Miller writes that… No sooner do we begin to behold the lovely face of Christ, which which looks out at us from the gospel chapters, than a great hope springs up in our hearts. We can become like Jesus! Indeed, if we are God's children, we shall become like him. We are foreordained to be conformed to his image. It matters not how faintly the divine beauty glimmers now in our soiled and imperfect lives--some day we shall be like him! As we struggle here with imperfections and infirmities, with scarcely one trace of Christlikeness yet apparent in our life, we still may say, when we catch glimpses of the glorious loveliness of Christ, "Some day I shall be like that!" (Transformed by Beholding) Thomas Watson speaks of the consolation inherent in the great truth that we shall be like Him writing that… Here is comfort to those who are by faith, married to Christ. This is their glorious privilege: Christ's beauty and loveliness shall be put upon them; they shall shine by His beams. This is the apex and crown of honor: the saints shall not only behold Christ's glory—but be transformed into it. 1Jn 3:2, "We shall be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is!" That is, we shall be irradiated and enameled with His glory. Christ is compared to the beautiful lily in Song 2:1. His lily-whiteness shall be put upon His saints. A glorified soul shall be a perfect mirror or crystal, where the beauty of Christ shall be transparent. Moses married a black woman—but he could not make her complexion white; but whoever Christ marries, He alters their complexion. He makes them altogether lovely. Other beauty causes pride; but no such worm breeds in heaven. The saints in glory shall admire their own beauty—but not grow proud of it. Other beauty is soon lost. The eye weeps to see its furrowed brows, and the cheeks blush at their own paleness; but this is a never-fading beauty. Age cannot wither it; it retains its glossiness, the white and vermillion mixed together to all eternity! Think of this, O you saints, who mourn now for your sins and bewail your spiritual deformities! Remember, by virtue of your union with Christ, you shall be glorious creatures; then shall your clothing be of wrought gold; then shall you be brought unto the King in glorious raiment—and you shall hear Christ pronounce that blessed word from Song 4:7: "You are all beautiful, My love—there is no spot in you!" (The Loveliness of Christ) QUESTION - What is glorification? | GotQuestions.org ANSWER - The short answer is that “glorification” is God’s final removal of sin from the life of the saints (i.e., everyone who is saved) in the eternal state (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17). At Christ’s coming, the glory of God (Romans 5:2)—His honor, praise, majesty, and holiness—will be realized in us; instead of being mortals burdened with sin nature, we will be changed into holy immortals with direct and unhindered access to God’s presence, and we will enjoy holy communion with Him throughout eternity. In considering glorification, we should focus on Christ, for He is every Christian’s “blessed hope”; also, we may consider final glorification as the culmination of sanctification. Final glorification must await the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13; 1 Timothy 6:14). Until He returns, we are burdened with sin, and our spiritual vision is distorted because of the curse. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Every day, we should be diligent by the Spirit to put to death what is “fleshly” (sinful) in us (Romans 8:13). How and when will we be finally glorified? At the last trumpet, when Jesus comes, the saints will undergo a fundamental, instant transformation (“we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” – 1 Corinthians 15:51); then the “perishable” will put on the “imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:53). Yet 2 Corinthians 3:18 clearly indicates that, in a mysterious sense, “we all,” in the present, “with unveiled face” are “beholding the glory of the Lord” and are being transformed into His image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Lest anyone imagine that this beholding and transformation (as part of sanctification) is the work of especially saintly people, the Scripture adds the following bit of information: “For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” In other words, it is a blessing bestowed on every believer. This does not refer to our final glorification but to an aspect of sanctification by which the Spirit is transfiguring us right now. To Him be the praise for His work in sanctifying us in the Spirit and in truth (Jude 24-25; John 17:17; 4:23). We should understand what Scripture teaches about the nature of glory—both God’s unsurpassed glory and our share in it at His coming. God’s glory refers not merely to the unapproachable light that the Lord inhabits (1 Timothy 6:15-16), but also to His honor (Luke 2:13) and holiness. The “You” referred to in Psalm 104:2 is the same God referenced in 1 Timothy 6:15-16; He is “clothed with splendor and majesty,” covering Himself “with light as with a garment” (Psalm 104:2; cf. 93:1; Job 37:22; 40:10). When the Lord Jesus returns in His great glory to execute judgment (Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-35), He will do so as the only Sovereign, who alone has eternal dominion (1 Timothy 6:14-16). Created beings dare not gaze upon God’s awesome glory; like Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:4-29) and Simon Peter (Luke 5:8), Isaiah was devastated by self-loathing in the presence of the all-holy God. After the seraphim proclaimed, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:4). Even the seraphim showed that they were unworthy to gaze upon the divine glory, covering their faces with their wings. God’s glory may be said to be “heavy” or “weighty”; the Hebrew word kabod literally means “heavy or burdensome”; Most often, the Scriptural usage of kabod is figurative (e.g., “heavy with sin”), from which we get the idea of the “weightiness” of a person who is honorable, impressive, or worthy of respect. When the Lord Jesus became incarnate, He revealed both the “weighty” holiness of God and the fullness of His grace and truth (“and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” [John 1:14; cf. 17:1–5]). The glory revealed by the incarnate Christ accompanies the ministry of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:7); it is unchanging and permanent (Isaiah 4:6-7; cf. Job 14:2; Psalm 102:11; 103:15; James 1:10). The previous manifestations of God’s glory were temporary, like the fading effluence of God’s glory from Moses’ face. Moses veiled his face so that the hard-hearted Israelites might not see that the glory was fading (2 Corinthians 3:12–14), but in our case the veil has been removed through Christ, and we reflect the glory of the Lord and seek by the Spirit to be like Him. In His high priestly prayer, the Lord Jesus requested that God would sanctify us by His truth (i.e., make us holy; John 17:17); sanctification is necessary if we are to see Jesus’ glory and be with Him in eternal fellowship (John 17:21-24). “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). If the glorification of the saints follows the pattern revealed in Scripture, it must entail our sharing in the glory (i.e., the holiness) of God. According to Philippians 3:20–21, our citizenship is in heaven, and when our Savior returns He will transform our lowly bodies “to be like His glorious body.” Although it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, we know that, when He returns in great glory, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). We will be perfectly conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus and be like Him in that our humanity will be free from sin and its consequences. Our blessed hope should spur us on to holiness, the Spirit enabling us. “Everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). J C Philpot speaks of the great mystery of saved sinners one day like Him writing that… Now this is a mystery which nature, sense, and reason cannot grasp; a mystery hidden from the wise and prudent, and yet revealed unto babes. Has it not struck you sometimes as an inexplicable mystery, how you could be ever holy enough for heaven, so as to find all your delight to center in looking at Jesus and being like him through the countless ages of eternity; and to have no other happiness but what consists in communion with the Three-One God? Is not this a mystery? Now you can scarcely for a quarter of an hour be spiritually-minded, scarcely now for the space of five minutes be engaged in meditating on the Person of Christ. When on your knees, vile thoughts will intrude; when at the ordinance, some wicked iniquity will suggest itself; in hearing the word, your minds cannot sometimes for a quarter of the sermon keep up their attention. Being now so earthly and sensual, is it not a mystery how you, who are God's people, shall one day be perfectly holy, perfectly pure, and perfectly conformed to the image of Christ; and that all your happiness and joy will be in being holy, and in holding communion with the Three-One God? O what a mystery is this to nature, sense, and reason. Do they not stagger and give way beneath it? When we compare the happiness and glory of the saints in heaven with what we are here on earth, how amazing the contrast. When we see our vileness, baseness, carnality, and sensuality; how our souls cleave to dust, and grovel in things evil and hateful; how dark our minds, how earthly our affections, how depraved our hearts, how strong our lusts, how raging our passions; we feel ourselves, at times, no more fit for God, in our present state, than Satan himself! What a mystery then is this, that such a wonderful change should take place as to make the saints perfectly holy in body, soul, and spirit, and fit guests to sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb! Sure I am, the more that a man becomes acquainted with the depravity of his fallen nature, and the more that he feels the workings of devilism in his heart, the more will he wonder how he can be brought into such a state as to be perfectly holy, enjoy uninterrupted communion with the Three-One God, and bask forever in the smiles of Jehovah! But though this is a mystery which nature, sense, and reason cannot comprehend, yet faith receives it as revealed by the Holy Spirit. Would it be heaven, if we could carry our present depraved nature there; our pride, our presumption, our hypocrisy, with all the abominable workings of our fallen, filthy, and groveling hearts? To carry these with us to that glorious abode of perfection, holiness, and purity would make heaven to us a hell. Therefore, though it is indeed a mystery how it can be, yet, as received by faith, the child of God is happy that it should be so; for he is certain, were it otherwise, heaven would be no heaven for him. He would not be fit for it; he could not enjoy it; no, the very thought of being there forever would be irksome and intolerable to him. No more, when the soul is tossed to and fro by exercises and perplexities, and the workings of sin in a depraved heart, and can look forward with something of gospel hope to that day when it shall feel the plague of sin no more, but be perfectly holy and perfectly pure in body and soul, it becomes commended to the conscience, and is embraced by faith as a blessed mystery suitable to us, and glorifying to God. (Spiritual Mysteries) Andrew
1 João 3:2
Wiersbe summarizes the first 3 verses of 1John 3 "First John 3:1 tells us what we are and 1 John 3:2 tells us what we shall be. The reference here, of course, is to the time of Christ’s coming for His church. This was mentioned in 1John 2:28+ as an incentive for holy living, and now it is repeated. God’s love for us does not stop with the new birth. It continues throughout our lives and takes us right up to the return of Jesus Christ! When our Lord appears, all true believers will see Him and will become like Him (Phil 3:20, 21+). This means, of course, that they will have new, glorified bodies, suited to heaven. But the apostle does not stop here! He has told us what we are and what we shall be. Now, in 1John 3:3, he tells us what we should be. In view of the return of Jesus Christ, we should keep our lives clean. (Bible Exposition Commentary) First John 3:2 at first reading seems relatively straight forward but the profound truth it teaches is so amazing that it prompted the great British expositor Dr. Martyn-Lloyd Jones to confess… I suppose we must agree that nothing more sublime than this has ever been written, and any man who has to preach upon such a text or upon such a word must be unusually conscious of his own smallness and inadequacy and unworthiness. One’s tendency with a statement like this always is just to stand in wonder and amazement at it. I have never chosen, in and of myself, to preach upon this text. I have often felt that I would like to, but there are certain great words like this in Scripture of which frankly I am, in a sense, frightened; frightened as a preacher, lest anything that I say may detract from them or may rob anyone of their greatness and their glory. That may be wrong, but this is how it always affects me… Furthermore, it is when one confronts a text like this that one realises what a privilege it is to be a Christian minister. I am rather sorry for anyone who has not had to spend a week with a verse like this! (ED: Beloved pastor, how many kingdom hours do you invest each week in the pure milk of the word to assure that you handle it rightly that you might richly feed your sheep on Sunday?) I assure you it is a very enriching experience, a humbling one and an uplifting one. There is nothing surely in life that can be more wonderful or more glorious than to have to spend a week or so with a word like this, looking at it, listening to it, and considering what others have said about it. It is indeed something for which one humbly thanks God. What we have here is one of those great New Testament descriptions of the Christian and of the Christian’s life in this world. A number of things inevitably must strike us on the very surface before we come to any detailed analysis. The first thing is how utterly inadequate are our ordinary, customary ideas of ourselves as Christian people. When you read this, and then when you think of yourself and what you generally see and observe about yourself and about your life as a Christian in this world, oh, how inadequate are all our ideas! Or take it as it was put in that hymn of the great Richard Baxter: Lord, it belongs not to my care Whether I die or live; To love and serve Thee is my share, And this Thy grace must give. If life be long, I will be glad That I may long obey; If short, yet why should I be sad To soar to endless day? Christ leads me through no darker rooms Than He went through before; He that into God’s kingdom comes Must enter by this door. Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet Thy blessed face to see; For if Thy work on earth be sweet, What will Thy glory be? Then shall I end my sad complaints And weary sinful days, And join with the triumphant saints Who sing Jehovah’s praise. My knowledge of that life is small; The eye of faith is dim: But ’tis enough that Christ knows all, And I shall be with Him. Can we really say those words from the heart? Is that our view of ourselves and of our life as Christian people in this world? Is that our view of the possibility of our life being short or of being long? Is that our view of life and of death and of eternity? Well, according to this text we are looking at in this chapter, that is the Christian view. ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.’ (Children of God: 1 John 3) Alexander Maclaren, another respected expositor from yesteryear had a similar reaction to preaching a message on 1Jn 3:2 - I have hesitated, as you may well believe, whether I should take these words for a text. They seem so far to surpass anything that can be said concerning them, and they cover such immense fields of dim thought, that one may well be afraid lest one should spoil them by even attempting to dilate on them. And yet they are so closely connected with the words of the previous verse, which formed the subject of my last sermon (1Jn 3:1 The Love That Calls Us Sons), that I felt as if my work were only half done unless I followed that sermon with this. (The Unrevealed Future Of The Sons Of God ) {Ed: Note the KJV translates the Greek tekna with the word "sons" rather than the more accurate translation as "children". The Greek has another word for sons (huios) which conveys a different sense than the word for children (tekna)} Beloved (agapetos), now (nun) we are children (teknon) of God (theos), and it has not appeared (phaneroo) as yet what we will be. We know (eido/oida - beyond a shadow of a doubt) that when (not "IF") He appears (phaneroo - aorist tense - a historical event), we will be like (homoios) Him, because we will see Him just as (kathos) He is (present tense - continually is) - The apostle launches into this great verse with beloved one of his favorite terms of endearment by which he loved to describe the saints of God - he used beloved 6 times in this short letter (1Jn 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11) and the similarly endearing phrase little children (teknion) 7 times (1Jn 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21), this latter phrase being unique to John's writings (not used by any other NT writer). One must asked the question "Beloved of whom or by whom?" To be sure we as believers are beloved of John the apostle, even though he has never seen us. And yet there is a greater love of which he speaks, the love of our Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. How easy it is to miss the depth of the richness of this brief epithet (a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing). Ponder the truth that the Holy, Holy, Holy God of eternity, has willed to call you beloved today. Perhaps you need this reminder for others have deserted you or let you down, but God has promised His beloved that He would never, ever, ever leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5-+) While paraphrase Bibles can be helpful to "flesh" out the intent of a passage, they can sometimes be misleading and in my opinion the Phillips fits the latter description on this verse, being rendered "Oh, dear children of mine (forgive the affection of an old man!)" John does not say "forgive the affection of an old man!" in the original Greek and in my opinion he does not mean to make apology for calling his readers beloved. So while I enjoy reading Phillip's thoughts on many texts, in this case, I think he has missed the mark completely! Never restrict your study to paraphrased Bibles, including dynamic paraphrases such as the NIV. (See chart comparing Bible Versions) D Edmond Hiebert comments on "beloved" writing "Of vital significance for believers is the fact of God's transforming love. In enjoining his readers to contemplate God's love-gift, John gives personal expression to that love by addressing them as "Beloved" (agapetoi). (cp 1Jn 2:7). The recipients of God's love are also loved by the writer." Dr Martyn-Lloyd Jones adds "I do feel that this is perhaps the greatest weakness of all in the Christian church, that we fail to realise what we are, or who we are. We spend our time in arguing about the implications of the Christian truth or the application of this, that and the other. But the central thing is to realise what the Christian is. We grumble and complain, and it is all due to the fact that we have not really seen ourselves in terms of this picture. Surely, as we read these words, we must of necessity be humbled, indeed in a sense humiliated, as we realise the inadequacy of our ideas and the unworthiness of our view of ourselves as Christian people. (Children of God: 1 John 3) (Ed: Beloved, are you not as convicted as I am by this gentle exhortative rebuke? Oh, how we all need to meditate on our identity in Christ, the ultimate Beloved of the Father!) Steven Cole follows up with the practical note that "Godly conduct rests on our understanding of our true, great position as children of God. If you begin to see this truth and allow it to shape your identity, it works out like this: You are tempted to engage in some sin or to join the world in some degrading form of entertainment. But you think, “I can’t do that because I’m a child of God and it would disgrace the name of my heavenly Father.” Or, you’re reading the Bible and it convicts you that some of your behavior is not godly. It may be lustful thoughts or a grumbling, ungrateful attitude or words that put down others. Perhaps you frequently bend the truth to cover up your own misdeeds. But when Scripture confronts you, you think, “I’m now a child of God. I can’t do that as a member of His family.” Your new identity motivates you to grow in holiness. John begins with the foundation of our present position. (The Purifying Hope) Beloved (verb) (27) (agapetos from agapao = to love, agape = unconditional love begotten by the Spirit in surrendered saints - Gal 5:22+) means beloved, dear, very much loved. Agapetos is love called out of one’s heart by preciousness of the object loved. Agapetos is used only of Christians, and reflects our covenant union with God or our "family union" with each other in His love. Agapetos - 61x in 60v (Take a moment and observe who is referred to as beloved in Scripture) - Mt 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mk 1:11; 9:7; 12:6; Luke 3:22; 20:13; Acts 15:25; Rom 1:7; 11:28; 12:19; 16:5, 8f, 12; 1 Cor 4:14, 17; 10:14; 15:58; 2 Cor 7:1; 12:19; Eph 5:1; 6:21; Phil 2:12; 4:1; Col 1:7; 4:7, 9, 14; 1Th 2:8; 1Ti 6:2; 2Ti 1:2; Philemon 1:1, 16; Heb 6:9; Jas 1:16, 19; 2:5; 1Pe 2:11; 4:12; 2 Pet 1:17; 3:1, 8, 14f, 17; 1Jn 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11; 3 Jn 1:1f, 5, 11; Jude 1:3, 17, 20 Although primarily spoken to Israel (the remnant), the following words are also appropriately applicable to all believers who are beloved of God for Jehovah Himself promises… To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters ("Beloved"); I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. (Isaiah 56:5) NOW… NOT… YET Now (3568) (nun) - A good reminder of our present position and the inherent privileges associated with that position. We are God's children now, not just in eternity future (which praise God we are also), and such great truth should now transform our thinking, renew our minds and radically impact our daily lives. We must ever fight to keep from forgetting that we are now His children, so that now we might conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the children of the King so that we can give a proper opinion to the lost world of our great Father Who is now in heaven (cp Mt 5:16+) Daniel Akin commenting on the juxtaposition of "now… not… yet" says here John "uncovers a stark contrast between the present and the future, the known and the unknown. On the one hand, John wants to accentuate the fact that we are the children of God here and now. At the same time, the full extent of what we will be has yet to be revealed. Although our present status as children of God is wonderful, our future state will be even more extraordinary. God has only begun a work in us that will not reach full fruition until the “not yet” has been fulfilled (cp Php 1:6+). John’s “apostolic confession of ignorance” affirms that the exact nature and state of the children of God after Christ’s return has not been revealed to him. It will be disclosed only when He appears. “What we shall be” (ti esometha) remains veiled from our sight until His coming. Wild speculation and guesswork are futile and should be avoided. (See 1,2,3 John: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition) J Vernon McGee (Borrow 1 John page 80) comments (1Jn 3:1.mp3; 1Jn 3:2.mp3) with the use of the word "now" - John is saying that we do not expect to be the sons of God, we are the sons of God. A better translation includes the words “and we are.” The child of God can say emphatically, “I am a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” We don’t hope to be, we don’t expect to be, but the thrilling fact is that every believer can exult and rejoice and constantly thank Him that he is God’s child. We are boasters not in ourselves, but we are boasting of the wonderful Shepherd that we have. John makes it perfectly clear that if you are a born again child of God, you are going to exhibit a life that conforms to the Father (Ed: Cp the old aphorisms -- "Like father, like son" or "The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree"). A child of God need not be in the false position of saying as an old hymn says: ’Tis a point I long to know, Oft it causes anxious thought, Do I love my Lord or no? Am I His, or am I not? —Author unknown A T Robertson offers an observation which should encourage all tried and weary children of the Living God "We have a present dignity and duty, though there is greater glory to come."
1 João 3:2
Wiersbe - 1 JOHN 3:2 New Testament Words for Today: 100 Devotional Reflections John began with a marvel, that people like you and me should not only be called children of God (1 John 3:1) but actually be the children of God. What grace! The children of notorious criminals have sometimes changed their names and moved to other cities because they didn’t want to be branded as criminals themselves. But here we have the Lord taking us into his family in spite of the reputation we have as sinners. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). If we have experienced a new birth through faith in Jesus Christ, then we should be growing in grace and pleasing the Lord in our character and conduct. If we ever lose the wonder of this miracle, we will grieve our Father in heaven and disgrace the family name here on earth. The early church magnified the name of Jesus in the way they lived and the message they preached, and they were told to stop (Acts 4:17–20) but they kept right on glorifying his name. How many family names have been disgraced by the conduct of its members? May the Lord help us honor the name of Jesus! John continued by discussing a mystery: “and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be” (1 John 3:2). When John wrote the book of Revelation, the Lord showed him some of the glories of the new Jerusalem, but we do not know what life will be like in the Father’s house (John 14:1–6). To be like Jesus means to have the kind of body he had after his resurrection and now has in heaven. When Jesus returns, he will “transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21). Our Lord lives “according to the power of an endless life” (Heb. 7:16). In heaven, the glorified body will feel no pain, sickness, or death, nor will it shed tears, which is good news for all of us but especially for the many who live with physical suffering or who fight painful emotional battles. The best is yet to come! Then John used the marvel of what we are and the mystery of what we shall be to generate a motive in our hearts to become more like Jesus today. “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). If a holy city is our eternal destination, then we ought to become holy people while we are waiting. We don’t know when Jesus will return. His return will be “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). How much we enjoy the glories of heaven when we arrive will depend on the preparation we made while on earth. Every vessel will be filled in heaven, but some vessels will be larger than others. If today we are growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ and his Word, we will appreciate our new home much more. When you plan to visit a different city or country, you wisely study up on the places you will see so that you will be better prepared to enjoy them. A holy life today will help prepare us to enjoy our heavenly home, and by living a holy life on earth we will help others go to heaven with us. All who have trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior have a home in heaven, but those who are surrendered to the Holy Spirit and are becoming more and more like Jesus will have “larger vessels” and will enjoy more of heaven’s blessings. Does that motivate you today to be like him? How large is your vessel? Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:42 Andrew
1 João 3:3
Wiersbe comments that John has told us what we are (1Jn 3:1+) and what we shall be (1Jn 3:2+). Now, in 1Jn 3:3, he tells us what we should be. In view of the return of Jesus Christ, we should keep our lives clean. All this is to remind us of the Father’s love. Because the Father loved us and sent His Son to die for us, we are children of God. Because God loves us, He wants us to live with Him one day. Salvation, from start to finish, is an expression of the love of God. We are saved by the grace of God (Ep 2:8, 9+; Titus 2:11+, 12+, 13+, 14, 15+), but the provision for our salvation originated in the love of God. And since we have experienced the love of the Father, we have no desire to live in sin. An unbeliever who sins is a creature sinning against his Creator. A Christian who sins is a child sinning against his Father. The unbeliever sins against law; the believer sins against love. This reminds us of the meaning of the phrase so often repeated in the Bible: the fear of the Lord (Ed: See the 25 uses = 2Chr 19:7, 9; Job 28:28; Ps 19:9; 34:11; 111:10; Pr 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:26, 27; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4; 23:17; Isa 11:2, 3; 33:6; Acts 9:31; 2Cor 5:11) This phrase does not suggest that God’s children live in an atmosphere of terror, “for God hath not given us the spirit of fear” (2Ti 1:7+). Rather, it indicates that God’s children hold their Father in reverence and will not deliberately disobey Him or try His patience (cp 1Pe 1:17+) (Bible Exposition Commentary) (Bolding and color added) And (kai) is the very first word which reminds us that the truth of this passage is intimately connected with and predicated upon the previous verse, especially His appearing and our glorification. D Edmond Hiebert - The past experience of regeneration brings with it a living hope for the future, and this hope motivates present Christian living Lloyd-Jones writes that in the previous passage (1Jn 3:2)... We have been on the mountain of God, and we were shown things unseen. We were given that glimpse of glory, of the glory that awaits us and the astounding and amazing things to which we are heirs. But here we are now, as it were, back to earth again. We are reminded that before we enter into that glory and enjoy it in all its fulness, certain things remain and abound. We are still men and women in the (physical) flesh, in this world (Jn 17:11, 15, 16, 18) which, John has already told us, does not know us (1Jn 3:1). It does not understand us and, indeed, it is opposed to us and inimical to our highest and best interests (Jn 15:18, 19, 20). Yet though we do feel that, we must be very careful—and that is the point I want to emphasize most of all here—we must be very careful lest we regard this third verse as some sort of anticlimax after the second. It is not an anticlimax, and to regard it as such is simply a manifestation of our sinful nature... There is a sense in which we can say that the whole object of 1Jn 3:2 is to lead to 1Jn 3:3, and if we fail to regard the second verse in that light, if we fail to see that its real object and purpose is to prepare the way for this third verse, then we have abused the second verse entirely, and we have failed to appreciate its true message to us... You and I, having had a vision of glory, have to come down and translate it into practice and put it into daily operation, and if it does not lead to that, then we are abusing the Scripture. Now there is a logical connection between these two verses. John does not argue about it, he just states it—‘every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.’ There is no need to discuss it; the one thing follows the other as the night follows the day. Therefore this third verse is one which comes to us as a very real and a very sure test; the extent to which I have really grasped the teaching of 1Jn 3:2 is proved by the extent to which I implement verse 3. We can put it this way: it is what we are and what we do that really proclaims our belief and our profession. That is the great theme in the epistle of James which has been so misunderstood—‘faith without works is dead’ (James 2:20)—and no one must dispute it. There is no disputation between James and John; both are saying the same thing—namely, that the profession of faith is of no avail unless it leads to this particular practice. Therefore we can put it the other way round with James and say that the real test of our profession is not so much what we are as what we do. (Children of God: 1 John 3) Everyone (3956) (pas) means all without exception who have made a point to focus their eyes on the Eastern skies, the things above, the things of eternity, the unseen over the seen, the eternal over the temporal...all of these is who John is referring to in this verse. Sadly not all believers will fix their eyes on Jesus, waiting expectantly in anticipation of His return which is imminent. Nothing is left to be fulfilled on God's prophetic timetable in order for Christ to return. He could come at any moment. He might come today! Are you ready for His appearing (cp 1Jn 2:28)? Are you living for His appearing? The purifying impact of this eschatological hope should be operative in the life of every true believer. My hope for the future enables me to pursue holiness in the present. -- Daniel Akin Who has (2192) (echo) means to have, to hold or to possess and the present tense "pictures the individual as actively possessing and treasuring this hope as a sure possession." (Hiebert) This possession is not a tangible object to be touched but a truth which transforms. R C H Lenski makes an interesting statement of having this hope worth pondering - There is no exception. He who stops purifying himself has dropped this hope from his heart....To claim that we are God’s children, who have been born of him, to claim the hope of heaven and glory and yet to stop self-purification is to be lying (1Jn 1:6).....The world is full of men who have a certain kind of hope, but see on what it rests—not on Christ, on his blood and expiation (1:7; 2:2), on his promise (2:25). They invent their own foundation for the hope they have. It is sand, is swept away when the great flood comes (Matt. 7:24–27). (Borrow The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude ) Paul explains that a Biblically based... hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Ro 5:5+) Paul encourages the saints at Colossae with the truth that there is a... hope laid up (perfect tense = has been laid away in times past with the present result that it is reserved for and awaiting you, out of reach of all enemies and sorrows) for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel (Colossians 1:5 - +) Comment: The Gospel is good news for many reasons but here we see it is such good news because it provides a sure (laid up) hope to all those outside of Christ, who are hopeless ("having no hope" Eph 2:12+).
1 João 3:4
Wiersbe - There are several definitions of sin in the Bible: "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Ro 14:23). "The thought of foolishness is sin" (Pr 24:9). "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). "All unrighteousness is sin" (1Jn 5:17). But John's epistle defines sin as lawlessness (1Jn 3:4). It views sin as defilement (1Jn 1:9-2:2), but here it views it as defiance. The emphasis here is not on sins (plural), but on sin (singular): "Whosoever practices sin." Sins are the fruit, but sin is the root… "Whosoever abides in Him does not practice sin" (1Jn 3:6). "Abide" is one of John's favorite words. To abide in Christ means to be in fellowship with Him, to allow nothing to come between ourselves and Christ. Sonship (being born of God) brings about our union with Christ; but fellowship makes possible our communion with Christ. It is this communion (abiding) with Christ that keeps us from deliberately disobeying His Word. A person who deliberately and habitually sins is proving that he does not know Christ and therefore cannot be abiding in Him. (Bolding added for emphasis) (Bible Exposition Commentary)
1 João 3:4
Wiersbe points out that "There are several definitions of sin in the Bible: “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). “The thought of foolishness is sin” (Pr. 24:9). “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17). But John’s epistle defines sin as lawlessness (1 John 3:4). It views sin as defilement (1 John 1:9–2:2), but here it views it as defiance. The emphasis here is not on sins (plural), but on sin. (Bible Exposition Commentary) Paul Apple cuts to the chase in 1 John 3:2-10 titling this section "Children of Whom? Fruit Reveals Roots" Big Idea: Our lifestyle reveals our family identity. 1Jn 3:4-7 All Men will live in one of two lifestyles. A. (1Jn 3:4) A Lifestyle of Lawlessness - "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness". B. (1Jn 3:5-6) Aside: Christ Has Conquered Sin. 1. (1Jn 3:5) The Relationship of Christ to Sin. 1a. His Mission - "And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins" 1b. His Character - "and in Him there is no sin" - Therefore, those who are in union with Him cannot be practicing sin. 2. (1Jn 3:6) (ED: COROLLARY - IF YOU ARE CONTINUOUSLY PRACTICING SIN WITHOUT ANY CONFESSION OR REPENTANCE YOUR PROFESSION OF CHRIST IS A SHAM!) The Relationship of Believers to Sin. 2a. Practicing Sin is Incompatible with Abiding in Christ "No one who abides in Him sins." 2b. Practicing Sin is Incompatible with Knowing God "no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him." C. (1Jn 3:7) A Lifestyle of Righteousness - "Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous." (1 John - Tests of Eternal Life - A Devotional Commentary) (Bolding added) No flabby substitutes, no sleazy imitations, no cocky parodies, no grim copies, no slimy counterfeit, will be accepted. Ray
1 João 3:5
Wiersbe - Sin is basically a matter of the will. For us to assert our will against God’s will is rebellion, and rebellion is the root of sin. It is not simply that sin reveals itself in lawless behavior, but that the very essence of sin is lawlessness. No matter what his outward action may be, a sinner’s inward attitude is one of rebellion. Little Judy was riding in the car with her father. She decided to stand up in the front seat. Her father commanded her to sit down and put on the seat belt, but she declined. He told her a second time, and again she refused. “If you don’t sit down immediately, I’ll pull over to the side of the road and spank you!” Dad finally said, and at this the little girl obeyed. But in a few minutes she said quietly, “Daddy, I’m still standing up inside.” Lawlessness! Rebellion! Even though there was constraint from the outside, there was still rebellion on the inside; and this attitude is the essence of sin. But after a person has become a child of God, born again by faith in Jesus Christ, he cannot practice lawlessness! (1Jn 3:4) (Bible Exposition Commentary) QUESTION - Was Jesus sinless? | GotQuestions.org ANSWER - Yes, Jesus was sinless, and it is because Jesus was sinless that we have hope of an eternity in heaven. If Jesus were not sinless, there would be no sacrifice for sin. Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden ushered sin into this world (Genesis 3:6). With their sin came death, just as God had warned (Genesis 2:17). As a result, mankind is now born with a sin nature (Romans 5:12–19), and it is with us from the time we are conceived (Psalm 51:5). The Bible makes it clear, however, that Jesus Christ, though tempted in every way just as we are (Hebrews 4:15), never committed a sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 3:5). The apostle Peter stated it clearly: “He committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Indeed, as Jesus Christ is God, He has no capacity to sin. In addition to putting a barrier between us and our Creator, our inherited sinful nature subjected all of us to physical and eternal death because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Now, to be reconciled with God there needed to be forgiveness, and “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). After Adam and Eve sinned, God clothed them with “garments of skin” (Genesis 3:21) by shedding the blood of an animal. However, the many subsequent animal sacrifices, although perfectly illustrating that sin requires death, provided only a temporary covering of sins, as the blood of those animals could never completely take away sin (Hebrews 10:4, 11). The Old Testament sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the perfect, “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:27; 10:10). The only way we could be reconciled to a holy and perfect God was with a holy and perfect offering, which we would not have had if Jesus Christ was not without sin. As Peter declared, “For you know that it is not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed . . . but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18–19). Indeed, it was the sinless blood of Christ alone that was able to bring peace between God and mankind (Colossians 1:20). And with this reconciliation, we can be “holy in [God’s] sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22). The sinless Christ’s death on the cross at Calvary paid the full penalty for the sin of all who believe in Him. Thus, what was lost at the fall was given back at the cross. Just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), God was able to redeem the world through one man—the sinless Jesus Christ. Henry Mahan - Christ was sent to take away sin and, in Christ, the believer has no sin. But the main thought of this verse is that Christ did not come to put away the penalty of sin only but also the power of sin over his sheep. Sin shall not reign over you. We are, therefore, servants of Christ and not servants of Satan or sin. EDWARD B. PUSEY. - To choose sin is to reject Christ; to be ashamed, for fear of man, to do what Christ commands, is to deny Christ; to do, for fear of man, what Christ forbids, what is it but, with Pilate, to condemn Christ? For a Christian to be guilty of willful deadly sin, what is it, but to crucify Christ afresh, and put Him to an open shame? Do what ye know to be pleasing to God, and avoid, by the grace of God, what ye know will displease Him, and God will enliven your penitence, and enlarge your faith, and brighten your hopes, and kindle your love. Only be very diligent, not knowingly to do anything, which displeases God; be very diligent not to tamper with your conscience and do what you suspect may displease God. William Aitken - We can never cling to a besetting sin with one hand, and grasp Jesus Christ with the other. Until thou art content to reckon thyself dead indeed to every known form of sin, whether thou thinkest it small or great, thou never canst follow Jesus. Daily Light on the Daily Path - “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” You know that he appeared in order to take away sins.—That we might die to sin and live to righteousness.—Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. . . . The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.—“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer . . . and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.”—He has appeared . . . to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance.”—“Through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”—Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. Matt. 1:21; 1 John 3:5; 1 Pet. 2:24; Heb. 7:25; Isa. 53:5–6; Luke 24:46–47; Heb. 9:26; Acts 5:31; Acts 13:38–39; 1 John 2:12 Daily Light on the Daily Path - The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. . . . Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. . . . Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.—So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. Gen. 3:4–5; 2 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 6:10–11, 13–17; 2 Cor. 2:11 Daily Light on the Daily Path - “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life.” “‘For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,’ declares the Lord God; ‘so turn, and live’.”—“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”—“And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.” For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.—Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?—“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” Deut. 30:19; Ezek. 18:32; John 15:22; Luke 12:47; Rom. 6:23; John 3:36; Rom. 6:16; John 12:26 John Stott - The Challenge of John YOU KNOW THAT HE APPEARED SO THAT HE MIGHT TAKE AWAY OUR SINS. 1 John 3:5 We come at the end of this week to one more response to Christmas, that is, one more reaction to the coming of Christ. It takes us back to the first letter of John and to what he wrote about the purpose of Christ’s appearing. The passage concerned is 1 John 3:4–9, in which John makes some extraordinary statements. He writes that the Christian does not sin and even cannot sin. On these words some have constructed a doctrine of sinless perfection. And all commentators have been perplexed by these statements, because they are not consistent with our experience. The fact is that we do sin, even after we have come to know Christ. A careful examination of this text, however, suggests not that Christians do not and cannot commit sin but that we do not and cannot persist in it. So, whenever we do sin, we grieve and repent, for the whole tenor of our life is against sin and toward holiness. As Alfred Plummer wrote in his commentary, “Although the believer sometimes sins, yet not sin, but opposition to sin, is the ruling principle of his life.” But what will motivate us to forsake sin and pursue righteousness? John’s answer is clear: it is to remember the purpose of Christ’s appearing. He says so twice. “You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins” (v. 5). Again, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (v. 8). If, therefore, Christ came in order to deal with our sin, it is inconceivable that we should continue to toy with it. Our response to Christmas is to live a life that is fully compatible with the reason he appeared on earth. For further reading: 1 John 3:4–9 Through the Year With John Stott: Daily Reflections from ... - Page 34 Horatius Bonar - THE TAKER AWAY OF SIN ‘And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin’—1 JOHN 3:5. THIS is one of the apostle’s many arguments in this epistle against sin, and in favour of holiness,—the great reason by which we are urged to purify ourselves, to be holy and without blame. ‘Be holy, for Christ came to take away sin; be holy, for Christ was holy.’—This is the meaning of the passage. How different this from the use which many have made of Christ’s work, and of the grace of God! They have said (some in practice, some even in words), Christ has come, we need not be so careful about shunning sin. Let us continue in sin, seeing grace is so abundant. The apostle presents to us Christ’s coming and work as the death-stroke to sin; as the consummating reason for hating it and longing to be holy. Consider, then, the following points here: (1) The manifested One; (2) the manifestation; (3) the purpose of the manifestation; (4) the knowledge of it by us. I. The manifested One.—His name is ‘the Word,’ the Son of God, the Only-begotten of the Father, the Wisdom of God, the Life, the Light, the Truth But the special character in which He is here presented to us is that of sinlessness. He is the Holy One,—‘in Him sin is not;’ He is the Holy One,—‘that holy thing;’ holy, harmless, undefiled. It is specially as the Holy One that He has been manifested. Nothing of sin was found in Him. He was the Righteous One; He who was made sin was He who knew no sin. II. The manifestation.—He who was invisible became visible; the far-off became nigh; the divine became human; the Word was made flesh; the Life was manifested; He who was rich, for our sakes became poor. It was a manifestation of God: ‘No man hath seen God at any time: the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.’ When it was said to Him, ‘Show us the Father’ the answer was, ‘He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.’ His person was a manifestation of God; His life, His words, His doings, His death, were all manifestations of God. This manifestation was something very palpable: there was something to be seen, touched, heard, and handled. It was no phantom nor idea,—all was real and true. In it there was no mistake; it was a plain revelation, such as men could at once apprehend as well as see,—‘God manifest in flesh. III. The purpose of the manifestation.—‘To take away our sins.’ It was a manifestation connected with the evil, the sin of our world, springing out of the introduction of evil and the fall of the race. It was not the like drawing to the like, but the like and the unlike coming together. It was not God coming down to our world (as shall yet be) because it is so good; it is God coming down to it because it is so evil. The expression, ‘to take away our sins,’ has a twofold meaning; as the word means either to bear sin or to take it away, though more generally the latter. In the present case both senses are included. (1.) He was manifested to bear sin.—He came as the sin-bearer, the sacrifice, the substitute He was made sin for us; the Lord laid our iniquities upon Him. For this the Father sent Him into the world; for this He lived, died, rose again. It was as the sin-bearer that He was seen on earth. He did not come merely to display the wisdom, or power, or love of Godhead,—to be the model of a noble and self-sacrificing life. He came to bear sin; and now the sin-bearing work is done. (2.) He was manifested to take away sin.—This is the complete sense of the word. Only in this does the sin-bearing find its consummation; without this it is of no avail,—it has failed in its design. He bore sin that He might bear it away from us; and this in two ways or senses: First, He takes away its guilt; secondly, He takes away its defilement and power. In both of these senses He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He takes it away from each one who believes on Him, pardoning and purifying. He takes it away from the Church; delivering, and purifying, and perfecting it, making it without spot. He will yet take it away from our earth, making all things new. He offers to take it away this hour from each one of you. Through this man is preached the forgiveness of sins; through Him also is preached deliverance from sin, and restoration to the image as well as the favour of God. IV. The knowledge of this manifestation by us.—We know that He was manifested; and in knowing this, we have life and holiness; in knowing this, we know that which cleanses from all sin. ‘By His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.’ The object of the manifestation is a great and blessed one; the means of effecting it in us personally is very simple,—THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE. This knowledge is life, light, pardon, holiness; this knowledge lets in peace and joy, nay, all heaven; ‘for this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God.’ The truths and facts that go to make up this knowledge are so gladdening, that in knowing them we rejoice; and our joy comes not from the excellency of our act of knowing, but from the preciousness of the things known. Know the Lord, and all is well; know His Christ, and all His fulness is poured into you. Don Fortner - ‘He was manifested to take away our sins’ Read Leviticus 16:1–34 The Lord Jesus Christ bore all our sin in his own body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). Whatever my sins are, that I have committed in the past, that I am committing now, or that I ever shall commit in the future, Christ bore them all in his own body on the cursed tree. The blood of Christ is infinite. It is a boundless ocean, which swallows up and drowns all our sins. Many seem to think that some of our sins are under the blood, but others must be answered for by us at some future judgment. It is not so. All our sins were judged, condemned, punished and washed away at the cross. Christ so completely bore our sins that he bore them away. He carried them up to the cross on his mighty shoulders and bore them until he bore them away. When his great work of redemption was done, our Lord had effectually put away the sins of his elect people. He annihilated them, so that they ceased to be. It is written: Christ has ‘forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of the ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross’ (Col. 2:13–14). ‘And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins: and in him is no sin’ (1 John 3:5). The Lord Jesus Christ bore our sins alone. It was Christ alone, ‘who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree’. In order to redeem his elect and make atonement for our sins, Christ took our sins upon himself and bore them until he cried with a loud voice, ‘It is finished!’ Then and there our souls were redeemed. When the Son of God had finished his work, he had put away the sins of his people by the sacrifice of himself. ‘This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified’ (Heb. 10:11–14). Our sins were put away. And Christ had done it all alone. Nothing is needed and nothing can be added to the finished work of Christ. His one sacrifice for sin is sufficient and effectual. James Smith - O sad spectacle of misery, grief, and woe! "Jesus came to take away our sins!" 1 John 3:5 Here notice the end of His coming: "To take away our sins!" Our sins were committed against Himself. They deserved His everlasting displeasure. They called aloud for His vengeance to awake and punish us. He foresaw the whole of them — in all their variety, enormity, and aggravation. He knew that they would be sins against His law, His love, and His tenderest mercy — sins against light, out of bitter enmity, and perpetrated over and over again. He knew the whole amount of our vileness — and yet (Oh, the greatness of His love!) "Jesus came to take away our sins!" Sin had . . . incensed Divine justice against us, exposed us to Jehovah's wrath, and brought us under the dreadful curse of His violated law. Therefore Jesus came and took away our sins, and at the same time . . . satisfied the claims of divine justice, appeased the Father's wrath, and bore our curse Himself! O wondrous love! O marvelous grace! O astonishing mercy! But more wondrous, more marvelous, more astonishing — is Jesus Himself — who did this for us, and did it freely, without solicitation, or anything in us to induce Him to do it! But how could Jesus take away our sins? "God made Him to be sin for us." He bore the weight of them, He endured their merited punishment, and He suffered the shame they procured. He was . . . despised by men, tormented by devils, smitten with the sword of divine justice, forsaken by His Father, mocked by His creatures, overwhelmed with grief, torn with anguish, and His heart was broken with reproach and agony — all for a poor, sinning, sorrowing, Hell-deserving creature like me! Sin lay upon Him, the wrath of God was endured by Him, the most fearful terrors surrounded Him, Heaven, earth, and Hell, appeared as though leagued against Him! Men grossly insulted Him, devils tried all in their power to destroy Him, and God was pleased to bruise Him, and then leave Him to languish in heart-breaking sorrow. John Henry Jowett - TAMPERING WITH THE LABEL 1John 3:4-10 SIN is transgression. It is the deliberate climbing of the fence. We see the trespass-board, and in spite of the warning we stride into the forbidden field. Sin is not ignorance, it is intention. We sin when we are wide-awake! There are teachers abroad who would soften words like these. They offer us terms which appear to lessen the harshness of our actions; they give our sin an aspect of innocence. But to alter the label on the bottle does not change the character of the contents. Poison is poison give it what name we please. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Let us be on our guard against the men whose pockets are filled with deceptive labels. Let us vigilantly resist all teachings which would chloroform the conscience. Let us prefer true terms to merely nice ones. Let us call sin by its right name, and let us tolerate no moral conjuring either with ourselves or with others. The first essential in all moral reformation is to call sin “sin.” “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin.” Moravian Daily Texts - You know that the Son of God was revealed to take away sins. 1 John 3:5 We who here together are assembled, joining hearts and hands in one, bind ourselves, with love that’s undissembled, Christ to love and serve alone. O may our imperfect songs and praises be well pleasing unto you, Lord Jesus. Say: “My peace I leave with you.” Amen, amen, be it so. God of shalom, may our lives be lived as a circle. Instead of “getting ahead,” may we always be concerned to walk with others. Amen. Ian Paisley - The Manifestation of the Son in Sin's Removal "And ye know that be was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin." I John 3:5 Christ's coming had to do with the SIN QUESTION. Sin is lawlessness. He came on a Law and Order mission. Sinlessness "in Him was no sin" Except a sinless man could be found then sin must continue to reign unchallenged and unchallengeable among our race. We must be forever doomed. But a sinless One has been manifested. In Him was no sin. He did no sin. He knew no sin. He is the sinless, stainless, spotless GODMAN. If he had one stain of sin He could not save me from one stain of mine, let alone all my sins. Sacrifice "manifested to take away our sins" Those words have a familiar ring, have they not? John heard them first from the lips of another John, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" John 1:29. "Taketh away" means to bear them, to cany them, expiate them, to purge them. "Who by Himself purged our sins." (Hebrews 1:3) It is knowing Him as our Sinbearer that we lose our sin burden forever Martyn Lloyd-Jones - TO TAKE AWAY OUR SINS 1 JOHN 3:5 Why did the Son of God ever come into this world? When we think about the Lord Jesus Christ and especially about His death on that cross on Calvary’s hill, what is its purpose? Is it just something about which we sentimentalize? What does it represent to us? What is the explanation of it all? That is the question that John answers here, and let me put the answer in a negative form. Our Lord did not only come to give us a revelation of God, though that is a part of the purpose. He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9), and we also read, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). But that is not all, though He indeed revealed the Father and has come to do that. In the same way, He has not only come to teach us about God. There is incomparable teaching there, such as the world had never known before and has not known since, but He did not come only to do that. There is also, of course, the example of His life, a matchless one, but He has not come only to give us an example of how we should live in this world. He is not just a teacher or a moral exemplar; He has not come merely to give us some kind of picture as to the nature and being of God. All that is there, but that is not the real reason, says John. He has really come, he says, because of our sins, because of the predicament and the position of men and women, because of this whole question of law. He has not come only to instruct us and to give us encouragement in our endeavor and a great example. No; there is a fundamental problem at the back of it all, and that is our relationship to God in the light of God’s holy law. He has not come only to instruct us and to give us encouragement in our endeavor and a great example. Walking with God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotional Selections Martyn Lloyd-Jones - NO SIN In him is no sin. 1 JOHN 3:5 There can be no true view of salvation and of the redemption that is possible for us in the Lord Jesus Christ unless we are right about the person. That is why John used such strong and striking language in 1 John 2 when he talked about those people who were leading them astray by denying the person of our Lord. “Those antichrists,” he said in essence, “are liars, and they must be called such because they are robbing us of the whole of our salvation.” If we are wrong about the person, we shall be wrong everywhere. So as we look at this person we are reminded again in this verse that here is one who has been in this world of ours with all its sin and its shame, but who was without sin. He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He remains unique and separate. He alone is the Son of God. He is not just a great moral teacher, nor just a great religious genius. He is not one who has gone a little bit further than all others in this quest for God and for truth. No; He is the Son of God incarnate—“in him is no sin.” But not only was there no sin in Him and in His birth—He committed no act of sin. He always honored God’s holy law; He obeyed it fully and carried it out perfectly. God gave His law to man. He intended that the law should be carried out, that it should be honored and obeyed. Let me go further and say this: No one can ever be with God and spend eternity with Him unless they have honored the law. God’s law must be kept, and without fulfilling it there is no fellowship with Him and no hope of spending eternity with Him. What God has demanded from man, man has failed to do; but here is One who does it. If we are wrong about the person, we shall be wrong everywhere. Martyn Lloyd-Jones - DELIVERED 1 JOHN 3:5 When John says that “he was manifested to take away our sins,” he is not stopping at the guilt of our sins, for salvation goes beyond that. We are delivered from the guilt—this first thing is essential; but thank God, the process does not stop there. He delivers us also from the power and from the pollution of sin. His work is such that He takes away our sin in a more vital sense. We are growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord; we are increasingly being made to conform to the image of His Son. We are being delivered—we have been, we are, and we shall be ultimately. The glorification is coming when He will take away our sin altogether, so that we shall be blameless and faultless and spotless and perfect in His holy presence. The hymn that tells us, “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin” also tells us this: “He died that we might be forgiven”; yes, but “He died to make us good” is equally true. The apostle Paul, writing to Titus, says: “[He] gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar [special] people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). So we must never separate sanctification from justification; we must never talk about a kind of series of separate blessings. It is all one—it all belongs together. And it is all a matter of this law that condemns us and from which Christ delivers us through the cross and by the gift of new life. He went to that cruel death on the cross not only so that you and I might have pardon. Thank God, that does come out of it, that is the first thing. But He did it really to separate, to put aside, a people for Himself as a special treasure and possession who, as Paul puts it, should be “zealous of good works,” who should live a holy life. He delivers us from the power and from the pollution of sin. Walking with God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotional Selections John Butler - CHRIST’S INCARNATION 1 John 3:5 (Sermon Starters) “Ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5). The theme of our text is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It speaks some very important truths, and truths we need to know. FIRST—THE COGNIZANCE OF THE INCARNATION “Ye know.” One of the things that is impressive about the early church is their knowledge of spiritual matters. Today, with all the knowledge helps we have, the church is more ignorant than at any other time in its history. I remember in high school, we had a foreign exchange student from Germany who was aghast that we boys could name every starter on the then 16 major league baseball teams, but could not name our senators or representatives. We knew a lot but not a lot that was essential. The church is even worst. It knows much about the world, but little about the Lord. “Ye know” could not be said of us, sorry to say. SECOND—THE CAUSE FOR THE INCARNATION “He was manifested to take away our sins.” This is the answer to the question, ‘Why did Christ come to earth the first time?’ He came to take away our sins. Many miss this primary reason for the Incarnation. The Jews, when Christ was on earth, certainly were not interested in Christ as their Savior from sin, but their chief interest was in Christ as their Savior from the rule of the Roman government. One cannot blame the Jews for being upset with the Roman rule. Wanting to be delivered from it was not wrong in itself. But political deliverance is no nearly as important as spiritual deliverance. Jesus was incarnated to do a far greater work for people than to deliver them from the tyranny of Rome. He was incarnated primarily to deliver us from the damnation of sin. Sin can condemn us to an eternity in hell fire, He came to deliver man from that terrible condemnation and give man heaven instead of hell for eternity. Christ was incarnated to meet man’s greatest need. But few concern themselves with this problem of the condemnation of sin and so tell us Christ came to teach, or do miracles etc. Our text is plain as to the primary purpose of the incarnation. It was to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). THIRD—THE CHARACTER FOR THE INCARNATION “In Him is no sin.” Christ was impeccable; He was without any sin. That was extremely important. If He had been guilty of sin, He could not take away our sin. In dying on the cross for us. Christ became our substitute. He bore the judgment for us that was due us. He took our place and paid the price we could not pay. Now if Christ was not sinless he could not have done that. He would have to die for Himself. He would be guilty of the same crime we are and would not be qualified to be our substitute. To take our place He could not be guilty of our crime. So His being sinless qualified Him to be our substitute. Thus without Christ we would have no way to escape hell fire. Andrew
1 João 3:8
Wiersbe - ILLUSTRATION - For many months after the close of World War II, Japanese troops were discovered hidden in the caves and jungles of the Pacific islands. Some of these stragglers were living like frightened savages; they didn’t know the war was over. Once they understood that it was no longer necessary for them to fight, they surrendered. Christians may rest in the truth that Satan is a defeated enemy. He may still win a few battles here and there, but he has already lost the war! Sentence has been pronounced on him, but it will be awhile before the punishment is meted out. A person who knows Christ, and who has been delivered from the bondage of sin through Christ’s death on the cross, has no desire to obey Satan and live like a rebel. (Bible Exposition Commentary) 1 John 3:8 Defeated Enemy A friend and associate of boxers, American writer Wilson Mizner was himself a talented fighter. One night Mizner and boxer “Mysterious” Billy Smith visited a San Francisco bar, where Mizner started a fight with some longshoremen. At the end only one longshoreman was left standing. Although Mizner rained punches at him, he stayed obstinately upright. Suddenly, Smith noticed what was happening. “Leave him alone, Wilson!” he shouted. “I knocked him out five minutes ago.” On investigation it turned out that a punch from Smith had indeed knocked the longshoreman out cold, but had also wedged him vertically between two pieces of furniture. Here’s an accurate picture of our already-defeated but still standing enemy Satan! Today in the Word, April 3, 1993 OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND INWARD CHARACTER. - The outward life of Christ was true to His inward character, but, alas, how many of us claim the Name of Christ while we are destitute of His Spirit. Like the peacock, which is famed for its beauty and gluttony, there be many that have an attractive appearance, but at the same time an insatiable desire for self-gratification. Self-complacent boasting is just about as equally unpleasant as the horrid scream of the peacock. "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he" (Prov. 23:7).
1 João 3:9
Wiersbe - "Whosoever is born of God does not practice sin!” Why? Because he has a new nature within him, and that new nature cannot sin. John called this new nature God’s “seed.” When a person receives Christ as his Savior, tremendous spiritual changes take place in him. He is given a new standing before God, being accepted as righteous in God’s sight. This new standing is called “justification.” It never changes and is never lost. The new Christian is also given a new position: he is set apart for God’s own purposes to live for His glory. This new position is called “sanctification,” and it has a way of changing from day to day. On some days we are much closer to Christ and obey Him much more readily. (ED: AMEN OR O MY!) ....Just as physical children bear the nature of their parents, so God’s spiritual children bear His nature. The divine “seed” is in them. A Christian has an old nature from his physical birth and a new nature from his spiritual birth. The New Testament contrasts these two natures and gives them various names (SEE CHART BELOW) (Bible Exposition Commentary ) (As an aside Wiersbe entitles 1 John 3:1-10 "THE PRETENDERS"!) (ED: See The Unusual Teachings of Zane Hodges) Old Nature New Nature “our old man” (Ro 6:6) “the new man” (Col 3:10) “the flesh” (Gal 5:24) “the Spirit” (Gal 5:17) “corruptible seed” (1Pe 1:23 “God’s seed” (1Jn 3:9)
1 João 3:10
Wiersbe - A true believer does not practice sin; a counterfeit believer cannot help but practice sin, because he does not have God’s new nature within him. The true believer also loves other Christians, which is discussed in detail in 1 John 3:11–24. But these words were not written so that you and I might check on other people. They were inspired so that we may examine ourselves. Each of us must answer honestly before God: Do I have the divine nature within me, or am I merely pretending to be a Christian? Do I cultivate this divine nature by daily Bible reading and prayer? Has any unconfessed sin defiled my inner man? Am I willing to confess and forsake it? Do I allow my old nature to control my thoughts and desires, or does the divine nature rule me? When temptation comes, do I “play with it,” or do I flee from it? Do I immediately yield to the divine nature within me? The life that is real is honest with God about these vital issues. (Commentary) The new birth is a new life, and that life conforms more and more to God’s law as displayed in Christ. Phil Newton - . Reality can be recognized (v. 10) So John concludes this paragraph with what he deems obvious: “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.” While the latter statement introduces the next section, the first conclusion makes plain what he’s stated. The new birth is a new life, and that life conforms more and more to God’s law as displayed in Christ. He doesn’t meant conformity in the way that the Pharisees rigidly held to the law without a drop of grace or humility evident. “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus declared (Matt 5:20). Instead, it’s the kind of conformity to the law that we see in Christ who found pleasure in doing the Father’s will. We can only do that if Jesus’ life dwells in us. Let no one deceive you about why Jesus Christ came into the world or what He makes us to be through His redeeming work or what clarifies us as genuine Christians. Children (5043) (teknon from tikto = to bring forth or bear children ) literally refers to those who are "born ones" and in the plural (tekna) refers to descendants, posterity or children, those viewed in relation to their parents or family. Here teknon is used figuratively to refer to those who have by grace through faith been born (by the Spirit - Jn 3:5, 6, 7, 8+, Ep 2:8, 9+) spiritually (Jn 1:12, 13+). How can we be certain we are children of the Living God? (Answer: 1Jn 5:13 What things? E.g., see 1Jn 2:29, 3:7, 9, 10, 5:2, et al - noting that all the verbs [practice, observe, love] in these passages are in the present tense = they reflect one's general lifestyle! They signify the direction of one's life, albeit not perfection in this life! cp Ro 8:14+) The Holy Spirit bears testimony to our human spirit that we are children of God, and our Spirit-energized spirit thus joins the Holy Spirit in a joint-testimony to that fact (Ro 8:16, 17+). Paul adds that now "because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son (Ro 8:9+) into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"" (Gal 4:6+) TEKNON IN JOHN'S EPISTLES - 1 Jn. 3:1; 1 Jn. 3:2; 1 Jn. 3:10; 1 Jn. 5:2; 2 Jn. 1:1; 2 Jn. 1:4; 2 Jn. 1:13; 3 Jn. 1:4 There are several other passages that speak about our status as God’s children or our membership in his family -- Matt. 5:48; 7:11; 2 Cor. 6:18; Eph. 5:1; Phil. 2:15; Heb. 2:13–14; 12:5–11; 1 Peter 1:14; 1 John 3:10 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 Sam Storms - Special Study 1 John 3:9 (1John 5:18) And the Doctrine of Perseverance One thing John emphasizes is the reality and gravity of sin. In 1John 1:8 he forcefully labels those who say they have no sin as self-deceived and void of the truth. In 1John 1:10 the claim not to have committed sin is tantamount to calling God a liar, and in 1John 2:1 John clearly implies that Christians will sin (although he writes to help them avoid it). How then do we understand the statement in 1John 3:9 that the one who is begotten of God "does not do sin" (lit.) and in fact "is not able to sin"? Following are the major interpretative options (excluding the suggestion of some that John simply contradicts himself): (1) To avoid the difficulty some have narrowed the definition of "sin" to notorious crimes or offences against love (this was the view of both Augustine and Luther). (2) It has been suggested that what John means is that a Christian cannot sin because what is sin in the life of an unbeliever is not regarded as such by God when committed by a believer. This is contrary to both John and the rest of the NT. (3) One interpretation draws a distinction between the "old" nature in the Christian and the "new" nature. The "old" nature may continue to sin but the "new" cannot. But how do we isolate a "nature" from the "individual" himself/herself? We may speak of "flesh" and "spirit" in a person, but it is always the person who sins or does not sin, not merely a "nature". (4) Others say John is speaking about the ideal and not reality. The argument is: Since all anticipate that sinlessness will be characteristic in the age to come, and since John believed that the age to come had come (1John 2:8), he naturally asserted the sinlessness of Christians! (5) Some say that John, in the heat of controversial circumstances, breaks forth in holy passion and speaks with apparent exaggeration and over-emphasis. (6) One view stresses 1John 3:6 where it is stated that the one who "abides" in him does not sin. They contend that this "abiding" in Christ is not descriptive of all Christians but is a condition which only some (those "in fellowship") believers fulfill. The degree of a believer's holiness, then, and his ability to sin or not sin are dependent on whether or not he "abides". When one is abiding in Christ he cannot sin. When one does not abide, one does sin. But 1John 3:9 makes it clear why a Christian doesn't practice sin, indeed, is unable to sin, and it has nothing to do with abiding. It is because he/she "is born of God". (7) Others say that the sin of which John speaks in 1John 3:9 is willful and deliberate sin. The Christian, so they say, cannot commit such deliberate sin in the face of the Lord. Oh, really? What of David? (8) A few take John quite literally. Hence they believe he is teaching perfectionism. 1John 3:9 proves that sinlessness is attainable in this life. The statements in 1John 1:8,10 and especially 1John 2:1 are describing the immature believer who although not yet sinless may still become such through diligent activity and love. [I personally find either of the next two options to be the most likely.] (9) Some argue that the "sin" which a believer does not and cannot commit is the "sin that leads to death" in 1 John 5:16, namely, hatred of believers and denial of Jesus. I will address this view in great detail when we come to 1John 5:16. (10) The view adopted by most commentators is that the sin a Christian does not and cannot commit is habitual, persistent, unrepentant sin. John is not concerned so much with the momentary, individual acts of sin as he is with the overall characteristic tendencies and inclinations of a person's life. John is looking at the pervasive temper of one's overall experience in life, not at the singular incidents individually. John is not taking a snapshot, but a moving picture. His repeated use of the Greek present tense appears to bear this out. He focuses on the habitual character of the activity in view. In 1John 3:6 John says that the believer who abides in Christ "sins not" (present tense). Also, the one who "does sin" (present tense) shows that he has neither seen nor known Him. John no where denies that a Christian commits acts of sin. He does deny, however, that the Christian sins persistently, habitually as a reflection of the characteristic inclination of his soul. Note that in 1John 3:9a he says the one begotten of God "does not do sin." "Again," notes Stott, "it is not the isolated act of sin which is envisaged, but the settled habit of it, indicated by the verb poiein, to do or to practice, which is used of 'doing' sin in 1John 3:4a, 1John 3:8 and 1John 3:9, of 'doing' lawlessness in 1John 3:4b, and of 'doing' righteousness in 1John 2:29, 3:7 and 3:10a" (126). John also says the one begotten of God "is not able to sin". But again notice that "to sin" is not an aorist infinitive but a present infinitive. If the infinitive had been aorist John would be contradicting what he said in 1John 2:1. The present infinitive again indicates that he has in mind the inability of the born-again believer to habitually live in sin as if it were the prevailing temper of his soul. If the Christian "does not" practice sin, indeed, "cannot" practice sin, wherein lies this "impossibility"? That is to say, how does a believer avoid the life of persistent sin so characteristic of the non-believer? Stott's answer is excellent: "Wherein lies this 'impossibility'? John's answer is given in two phrases: for his seed remaineth in him and because he is born of God… his seed is accurately rendered in the RSV text 'God's nature', or 'the divine seed' (NEB), and … in him refers to the child of God. In this way the two parts of verse 9 become exactly parallel, each part consisting of a statement that the Christian does not or cannot sin, to which is added the reason for such an assertion. The implication will then be this: the new birth involves the acquisition of a new nature through the implanting within us of the very seed or life giving power of God. Birth of God is a deep, radical, inward transformation. Moreover, the new nature received at the new birth remains. It exerts a strong internal pressure towards holiness. It is the abiding influence of his seed within everyone who is born of God, which enables John to affirm without fear of contradiction that he cannot go on living in sin… Indeed, if he should thus continue in sin, it would indicate that he has never been born again" (127). When those born of God do sin, conviction, grief, brokenness, misery, sorrow, discontent, all of which lead to repentance, will occur. ILLUSTRATION OF A CHILD OF GOD - John Chrysostom lived from c. A.D. 344 – 407. He was the bishop of Constantinople and one of the greatest preachers to ever live. So powerful was his preaching that he earned the name Chrysostomos meaning “golden mouthed.” Tradition has it that he was arrested by the Roman emperor whose wife Eudoxia despised John. The emperor sought to make John recant of alleged heresies but without success. So the emperor discussed with his advisers what could be done to the prisoner. ‘Shall I put him in a dungeon?’ the emperor asked. “ ‘No,’ one of his counselors replied, ‘for he will be glad to go. He longs for the quietness wherein he can delight in the mercies of his God.’ “ ‘Then he shall be executed!’ said the emperor. “ ‘No,’ was the answer, ‘for he will also be glad to die. He declares that in the event of death he will be in the presence of the Lord.’ “ ‘What shall we do then?’ the ruler asked. “ ‘There is only one thing that will give Chrysostom pain,’ the counselor said. ‘To cause Chrysostom to suffer, make him sin. He is afraid of nothing except sin.’” What a testimony. What a witness. He is afraid of nothing except sin. A W Tozer - IS THE CHURCH WEARY? Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings - Page 3 In this the children of God are manifest. 1 John 3:10 As Christian believers, we stand together in the evangelical faith—the historical faith of our fathers. Yet, we must confess that many congregations seem bogged down with moral boredom and life weariness. The church is tired, discouraged and unastonished—Christ seems to belong to yesterday. The prophetic teachers have projected everything into the dim future where it is beyond our reach—unavailable! They have dispensationalized us into a state of spiritual poverty—and they have left us there! But regardless of such teachers, the course of spiritual victory is clear; let us trust what the Word of God continues to say to us! The Scriptures are open and plain. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord. He is our great High Priest, alive and ministering for us today. His person, His power and His grace are the same—without change, yesterday, today and forever!
1 João 3:10
Wiersbe - Yielding to sin is the distinguishing mark of “the children of the devil” (1 John 3:10). They profess, or claim, one thing, but they practice another. Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44+, ED: Read Titus 1:16+), and his children are like their father. “He that saith, ‘I know [God],’ and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4+). The children of the devil try to deceive God’s children into thinking that a person can be a Christian and still practice sin. “Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he [God] is righteous” (1 John 3:7+). (Commentary) Ray
1 João 3:15
Wiersbe - The issue here is not whether a murderer can become a Christian, but whether a man can continue being a murderer and still be a Christian. The answer is no. “And ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). The murderer did not once have eternal life and then lose it; he never had eternal life at all. (Bible Exposition Commentary) Wycliffe Bible Commentary page 1021 - Compare the Lord's teaching in Mt 5:21, 22. "He who falls under a state, falls under the normal results of that state carried out to its issue" (Alford, The Greek Testament, IV, 474). Should the occasion arise, the person who habitually hates his fellow man would act just as Cain did. Such a person is unsaved. COMMENT - I could have added more commentaries that interpret this passage as a warning to those who profess Christ but habitually harbor hatred in their heart, but felt the preceding was sufficient to substantiate this as the true interpretation. Who hates (miseo - present tense - continually, habitually hates) his brother (adelphos) is a murderer (anthropoktonos); and you know (eido/oida - perfect tense - state of knowing which is beyond a shadow of a doubt) that no murderer (anthropoktonos only other use of devil Jn 8:44+) has (present tense) eternal (aionos) life (zoe) abiding (meno - present tense) in him - Hates (miseo) means to dislike another person strongly and in the present tense pictures this intense hatred as a way of life, an ongoing, settled heart attitude, not a passing, transient flare of one's emotions (which we all sadly can occasionally manifest)! "Hatred is the wish that the other person was not there; it is the refusal to recognize his rights as a person, the longing that he might be dead....Hatred is incompatible with spiritual life. Put otherwise, the person who hates another wants to deprive him of life; such a person clearly does not belong to the realm of life." (Borrow Marshall) Whether blood is actually shed or not makes no difference, for the motive is there and God judges the motive even though the act may not have been committed! (Mt. 5:22). John says this quality and quantity of hatred equates with murder. In short (see discussion above), such a person is not a genuine believer (does not have eternal life)! You know (eido/oida) is knowledge gained once and for all and means "I need not tell you," for you have no doubt regarding the truth that no murderer has eternal life. The test of having crossed over from spiritual death to spiritual life is love for other people. Stephen Smalley adds "John picks up the content of the preceding phrase in 1Jn 3:14 (“anyone who does not love remains in death”), and intensifies it in similarly negative terms: “whoever hates his brother is a murderer.” The test of having crossed over from spiritual death to spiritual life is love for other people. Disobedience of the love command signifies exclusion from the blessings of eternal life, and therefore from God’s family; but it also means that the person who “hates his brother” is liable to the same judgment as any murderer. The theological ideas in 1Jn 3:14 and 1Jn 3:15 are not simply placed in parallel. As Malatesta (Interiority, 260–61) points out, there is a progression of thought from 1Jn 3:14 to the present v, where the “interior” of the one who hates is penetrated. Such a person has not been changed inwardly (1Jn 3:14); and, as a result, God’s life is not present in his heart (1Jn 3:15). Where life and love are absent the salvation of God in Christ cannot be enjoyed. (1, 2, 3 John Word Biblical Commentary - Stephen S. Smalley) Daniel Akin quotes H. H. Hobbs who suggests, "“Murder is in the heart before it is in the hand” (The Epistles of John, [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983], 90). John simply does with murder what Jesus did with the Seventh Commandment: “Do not commit adultery” (Matt 5:27–28). The guilt of sin rests in the inner drive as well as in the outward performance of evil acts. Loving one another is not a trivial thing; it is not optional. Loving one another is critically important, eternally important. It is a matter of life and death. John
1 João 3:16
Wiersbe - the test of Christian love is not simply failure to do evil to others. Love also involves doing them good. Christian love is both positive and negative. “Cease to do evil; learn to do well” (Isa. 1:16–17). Cain is our example of false love; Christ is the example of true Christian love. (Bible Exposition Commentary) “Self-preservation” is the first law of physical life, but “self-sacrifice” is the first law of spiritual life. -- Warren Wiersbe He laid down His life (psuche) for us - Clearly refers to the crucifixion of Christ. Laid down is aorist tense, active voice, indicative mood indicating Jesus accomplished this act deliberately, actively and volitionally (voluntarily - a choice of His will) at a given time in history for the interest of others. His death was not passive like the thousands of sacrificial animals that had been laid on the altars, none having a choice in the matter. No, Jesus "died actively and purposefully" (Kistemaker). The verb (tithemi) is used in the sense of laying aside in the classics, as to lay aside war, shields, etc. Compare Jesus' words in Mt 20:28 (to give His life). We see this sacrificial love in many NT passages - Gal 1:4, Eph 5:2, 1Pe 2:24, 1Pe 3:18. David Allen on Christ's voluntary laying down - John essentially says three things about Jesus’ death on the cross: it was voluntary, it was vicarious, and it was victorious… Most people consider the first law of life to be self-preservation. Jesus teaches us that the first law of spiritual life is self-sacrifice… As if speaking directly to the Savior himself, Spurgeon said in his sermon on this passage, “Ah, Lord Jesus! I never knew Thy love till I understood the meaning of Thy death.” The most astounding thing in all the world is the fact that Jesus was willing, out of love for us, to die in our place as our substitute. There is a famous picture by a great artist of an angel standing by the cross of Christ. With his fingers he is feeling the sharp points of the thorns that had pierced the Savior’s brow, and on his face is a great look of wonder and astonishment. The angel cannot understand the marvel of that love. In fact, no one can fully fathom such love. During his only visit to the United States, the eminent Swiss theologian Karl Barth lectured at Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. After his formal address he engaged in some informal conversation with the students. One young man asked Barth if he could state the core of what he believed. Barth took a moment to light his pipe, and then, as the smoke drifted away, he replied, “Yes, I think I can summarize my theology in these words: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’” (See 1–3 John: Fellowship in God's Family) C H Spurgeon The Death of Christ for His People This same idiomatic description (laid down His life) was used by Jesus in the Gospel of John: I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (Jn 10:11+) For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father. (John 10:17, 18+) “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends (in context of 1John = brothers). (John 15:13+) John Piper on Three Reasons Jesus Death Is the Supreme Example of Love - Now I would like to suggest to you three reasons why Jesus' death on the cross should serve as the supreme example of love for us. 1. It Involved the Greatest Possible Sacrifice - First of all, it involved the greatest possible sacrifice. Christ gave up his very life for us. Love takes so much joy in another person's welfare that it is willing, eager, delighted to sacrifice one's own personal well-being for the good of the other person. Now a person's life is his most precious possession. To rob him of it, which is murder, is the greatest possible sin you could ever commit against him. By the same token, to give one's own life for the sake of another's is the greatest possible expression of love for him. You remember what Jesus said in John 15:13: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down hi—s life for his friends." It is a sharp contrast that John paints for us. Cain's hatred issued forth in murder. Jesus' love issued forth in self-sacrifice, even to the point of giving up his very life for us. 2. It Meets Our Deepest Needs - Second, and more importantly, Christ's death on the cross is the supreme example of love in that it meets our needs in a way that nothing else ever could. It is not only the greatest possible sacrifice, it also does the greatest possible good for us. The key words in v. 16 are "he laid down his life for us." You see, self-sacrifice in and of itself is not intrinsically valuable. Self-sacrifice becomes love only to the extent that it is positively related to human need. Only insofar as self-sacrifice works for the good of another does it have any value in the eyes of God. I think that is what Paul was getting at in 1 Corinthians 13:3, "If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned [there's self-sacrifice to be sure] but have not love [that is, the self-sacrifice is not directed to meeting the needs of anyone else], I gain nothing." But Christ's love for us is exceedingly positive. (True love always is.) It moved him to lay down his life for us. Again there is a sharp contrast. In Genesis 4:8 we read, "Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him." In 1 John 3:16 we read, "[Jesus Christ] laid down his life for us." And in those prepositions, the "against" of Genesis 4:8 as compared to the "for" of 1 John 3:16, we find the difference between love and hate, between life and death. The death of Jesus Christ is the supreme example of love because it meets our deepest needs—it brings us peace with God, forgiveness, a clear conscience, hope for the future, power to love in the present, etc., etc. It does the greatest possible good for us. 3. It Had the Greatest Possible Motive - But not only does Jesus' death embody love because it was the greatest possible sacrifice done for the greatest possible good. It was also done for the greatest possible motive. According to John 12:28 Jesus went to the cross in order to glorify the name of his heavenly Father. And the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before him" (Hebrews 12:2). These two inextricably linked goals—the glory of God and our own delight and joy in it—are to be the supreme motive for any act of love. They were for Jesus, and they are to be for us. (Love: A Matter of Life and Death) Life (5590)(psuche) is the the word for soul. Yes, the Cross cost Christ His physical life but there was also a cost to His soul, for when at the ninth hour (time of the evening offering) Jesus cried out from the Cross "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34). Here we see the Triune God speaking of being forsaken by His Father. O the depth of the mystery surrounding the profound cost of Jesus laying down His life for us! As Cain took his brother's life to benefit self, Christ laid down His life to benefit His enemies --Ro 5:10+ For (huper) us (ekeinos huper) - The idea is that He did this "in our place," or "on our behalf", His death as our example. John uses this preposition (huper) in John 10:11, 15, John 11:50. He died that we might live and love like He did in His death! Hiebert on for (huper) us - Although the preposition “for” (huper) may be used to present the message of Christ’s substitutionary atonement (cf. John 11:50; 1Cor. 15:3; 2Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13), that does not seem to be the intended message here; rather John is stressing one aspect of Christ’s death, His being an example. Since one’s own life is an individual’s most precious possession, Christ’s willingness to lay down that life on behalf of others constituted the greatest possible expression of love (Jn 15:13; Ro 5:6–10). “ ‘Self-preservation’ is the first law of physical life; but ‘self-sacrifice’ is the first law of spiritual life.” Such a love is the very opposite of hatred, which is destructive of the welfare of others. OUR PRACTICE OF LOVE: IMITATION OF CHRIST And (kai) - John clearly and quickly connects Christ's example with a call for us to imitate His example. Hiebert - In 1Jn 2:6 John has already stated the obligation of believers to follow the example of Christ; now he indicates how sweeping that obligation is. Daniel Akin - The Bible says that if you want to see love, look at the cross! The Bible says that if you want to show love, look at the cross! The Bible says that if you want to know love, look at the cross! The Bible says that if you want to live love, look at the cross! (See Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John - Page 78) We - This pronoun is emphatic emphasizing that "We on our part… " Christ's self-sacrifice is not just a revelation to be admired, but an example to be imitated (1Pe 2:21+). Notice how John does not say YOU are to do this, but as a master teacher, he places himself on the same level as his readers stating WE ought to lay down our lives! Good point for all us teachers! Smalley notes that "The idea of the “imitation of Christ,” which this verse presents, appears with some frequency in First John (cf. 1Jn 2:6+; also 1Jn 2:29+; 1Jn 3:2+, 1Jn 3:3+, 1Jn 3:7+; 1Jn 4:11, 17). The concept is also deeply embedded in the theology of the NT generally (cf. 1Cor 11:1; Phil 2:5–8+; 1Th 1:6+ “imitators… of the Lord”; 1Ti 6:13–14; Heb 12:2-3+; 1Pet 2:21+)." (Borrow 1, 2, 3 John Word Biblical Commentary page 194) Paul alluded to believers emulating Christ's example explaining… For the love of Christ (His love for us including that demonstrated at Calvary) controls (synecho) us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." (2Cor 5:14-15-+) P. M.
1 João 3:16
Wiersbe - 1 John 3:16).GOOD AND CHEAP - borrow Pause for power : a 365-day journey through the Scriptures In these days of multiplied social agencies, it is easy for Christians to forget their obligations. "Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Gal. 6:10). This "doing good" need not be in terms of money or material supplies. It may include personal service and the giving of oneself to others. There are many individuals in our churches who lack love and would welcome friendship. A young mother admitted, in a testimony meeting, that she never seemed to find time for her own personal devotions. She had several little children to care for, and the hours melted away. Imagine her surprise when two of the ladies from the church appeared at her front door. "We've come to take over," they explained. "You go into the bedroom and get started on your devotions." After several days of this kind of help, the young mother was able to develop her devotional life so that the daily demands on her time no longer upset her. If we want to experience and enjoy the love of God in our own hearts, we must love others, even to the point of sacrifice Robert Neighbour - The Proof of Christ's Love "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us" (I John 3:16). There are many ways in which Christ gives proof of His love. "All things were made by Him and for Him." These things are all given unto us. Some one wrote: "I feel as weak as a violet, Alone 'neath the deep blue sky As lone, but as trustful also, For the whole year long, I see All the wonders of faithful nature, At work for the likes of me." But Christ's love, expressed in nature's benefits, is not His chief proof of love. The Cross of Christ is the real proof of Christ's love. "Hereby perceive we the love of God because He laid down His life for us." Again, "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). No man has a greater love than this: that a man would lay down his life for his friends; but, Christ died while we were yet enemies. "Yet a great way off He saw me, Ban to kiss me as I came; As I was, my Father loved me, Loved me in my sin and shame." "To His blessed inner chamber, Ground no other foot can tread, He has brought the lost and found one, Him who liveth, and was dead." The great proof of Christ's love is twofold. 1. He died. He shed His Blood as a ransom. The hireling will leave the sheep and flee because he is an hireling and careth not for the sheep. Christ is the True Shepherd; He is the Good Shepherd. Twice in John 10, does Christ speak of "giving His life for the sheep;" twice He speaks of "laying down His life." God loved the world, and proved His love by giving His Son. Christ loved the Church and proved it by giving Himself for it. Christ loved us, individually, and proved it by laying down His life. 2. He died for sinners. A blessed verse which clearly sets forth this fact is Romans 5:6-10: This is quite a long passage, but we quote it in full: "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His Blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." In this quotation we have these statements: 1. "Christ died for the ungodly." 2. "While we were yet sinners." 3. "When we were enemies." On Calvary's Cross, Christ showed His love for sinners when He cried: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). He prayed for the very ones who wagged their heads and derided Him; for the very ones who nailed Him there. Not only did He PRAY for them, He DIED for them. It was the prodigal son, in all his sin and shame, for whom the father yearned; it was he, upon whom he planted the kiss of his love; it was he to whom he gave the ring, the robe and the shoes; it was he for whom he killed the fatted calf; it was for his return that they made merry. To be sure the prodigal son came home with tears and confession, but nevertheless he came home robbed of everything that made him, in the sight of men, worth the while. GLORYING IN THE CROSS Gal. 6:14 James Smith We glory in the Cross because in it we see— 1 The Fulfilment of Prophecy. Gen. 3:15. Isa. 55. Dan. 9:24-26. 2 The Love of God Exhibited, 1 John 3:16 3 The Love of Christ Declared, John 15:13; Gal. 2:20 4 The Removal of that which was against us, Col. 2:14 5 The Redemption price for our souls, Gal. 3:13 6 The Way of Escape from our sins, 1 Peter 2:24 7 The Foundation of our Peace established, Col. 1:20; Eph. 2:16 The Ultimate Sacrifice 1 John 3:16-23 By this we know love, because [Jesus] laid down His life for us. — 1 John 3:16 When Deng Jinjie saw people struggling in the water of the Sunshui River in the Hunan province of China, he didn’t just walk by. In an act of heroism, he jumped into the water and helped save four members of a family. Unfortunately, the family left the area while he was still in the water. Sadly, Jinjie, exhausted from his rescue efforts, was overwhelmed and swept away by the river current and drowned. When we were drowning in our sin, Jesus Christ gave His life to come to our aid. We were the ones He came to rescue. He came down from heaven above and pulled us to safety. He did this by taking the punishment for all of our wrongdoing as He died on the cross (1 Peter 2:24) and 3 days later was resurrected. The Bible says, “By this we know love, because [Jesus] laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). Jesus’ sacrificial love for us now inspires us to show genuine love “in deed and in truth” (v.18) to others with whom we have relationships. If we overlook Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on our behalf, we’ll fail to see and experience His love. Today, consider the connection between His sacrifice and His love for you. He has come for your rescue. — Jennifer Benson Schuldt Rescued: By Jesus’ love; Rescued: For life above; Rescued: To serve my King; Rescued: My praise to bring. — Verway Jesus laid down His life to show His love for us. Robert Neighbour - We Know the Love of the Son of God "Hereby we have known love, because He hath laid down His life for us" (I John 3:16). 1. An Apostle of love. Is it not remarkable that John Boanerges, the son of thunder, is John, the Apostle of love? The change wrought in John's life was wrought when he was touched with the finger of God. John loved, because he was first loved. John became the Apostle of love, because he walked in such close fellowship with Jesus Christ Who manifested perfect love. 2. A striking comparison.. It is good to compare John 3:16, with I John 3:16. The verses parallel one another in that both of them are great outstanding verses concerning love. The contrasts however are as distinct as the parallelisms. John 3:16 tells us of the love of God in giving Christ; I John 3:16 tells us of the love of Christ in laying down His life. John 3:16 has for its scope the "whole world;" and "whosoever believeth;" I John 3:16 is written exclusively to saints. In John 3:16, there is a reference to "faith," and to "perishing;" in I John 3:16, there is nothing said of either, because the ones addressed already believed and could never perish. 3. Love is a key note of the Epistle. Let us look at three passages. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us" (I John 3:1). "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (I John 4:16). "We love Him, because He first loved us" (I John 4:19). It is only necessary to read the Epistle through, to see how much there is in it of the love of God, and of the love of Christ, and of the love of saints. 4. Wherein the love of God is seen. The love of Christ is seen in His laying down His life for us (see I John 3:16). This is the statement of our key verse. The love of God is manifested, because "God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." This is the statement of I John 4:9. It is inconsistent for Christian Scientists or any one else to talk glibly about the love of God, and then to deny that His love was manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ by His coming down from Heaven and dying upon the Cross. God does not commend His love to us because of His temporal gifts, nor because of His Divine watchcare over us, nor because of His preparations for us; but — "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). 5. How we should love His love. Certainly a love so great, so full, so free, as the love of God, should find a response in the hearts of men. Let us see how this love should be loved, according to John's Epistle. (1) WE SHOULD LOVE HIM IN DEED AND IN TRUTH. "My little children, let us not love with word, nor with tongue only; but in deed and in truth" (I John 3:18, 1911 Bible). God does not desire mere expressions of love, He wants us to prove our love by our walk and our work, as well as by our word. (2) WE SHOULD LOVE HIM BY KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments" (I John 5:3). In the Gospel of John we find three statements: "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me" (John 14:21). "If a man love Me, he will keep My Words" (John 14:23). There is no better way for us to manifest our love toward God and toward His Son, our Saviour, than by keeping His commandments. Thus we abide in His love. (3) WE SHOULD LOVE ONE ANOTHER. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (I John 4:11). It is always true that he who loveth God, will love his brother also. We will love because we are loved. If we love Him Who begat us, we will also love those who are begotten of Him. There is one thing of which we may assure our hearts — love should play a great part in the believer's life; even as it has in the life of God. Charles Stanley - REJECTING ACCUSATION Pathways to His Presence: A Daily Devotional - Page 23 SCRIPTURE READING: 1 JOHN 3:16–21 KEY VERSE: 1 JOHN 3:20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. How often have you heard someone say, “I know God has forgiven me, but I will never be able to forgive myself”? Such self-condemnation can spring from several sources, but it is, in any case, an enemy God has already defeated. Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” This encouraging statement covers all condemnation, including self-recrimination. How, then, should we deal with those condemning voices? First of all, we need to distinguish between remorse and guilt. It is appropriate to feel sorrow and remorse for past deeds, but to carry guilt for them is not necessary. The Bible assures us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9). Any lingering feelings of guilt after this are enemies trying to rob us of our freedom in Christ. Sometimes these feelings of guilt stem from the mistaken notion that we still must pay for our sins, so we unconsciously embrace perpetual remorse as a way to make restitution for past wrongs. Such a practice suggests the faulty notion that Jesus did not really pay for all sin by the shedding of His precious blood. When we realize that He has stamped “paid in full” on our account, then we must never dare to side with those who would have us believe otherwise. Since God has given us His Word, we can reject all accusing voices and rest on His promise: “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20). Lord, I reject all accusing voices and rest on Your promises. You are greater than condemnation and accusation. C. H. SPURGEON, God's Love to the Saints (introductory comments) “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.”—1 John 3:16. TRUE love cannot long be dormant. It is like fire, of an active nature; it must be at work. Love longs far expression; it cannot be dumb. Command it to be without expression, and you command it not to live. And true love is not satisfied with expressing itself in words. It does use words, but it is painfully conscious of their feebleness, for the full meaning of love is not to be conveyed in any human language. It breaks the backs of words, and crushes them to atoms when it lays upon them all that it means. Love must express itself in deeds, as our old proverb says, “Actions speak more loudly than words.” Love delights, too, in sacrifices; she rejoices in self-denials; and the more costly the sacrifice, the better is love pleased to make it. She will not offer that which costs her nothing; she loves to endure pains, and losses, and crosses, and thus she expresses herself best. This is a general principle, which is not only applicable to men, but it reaches even up to God himself; for “God is love,” and being love, he must display love, nor can he rest with merely speaking of his love. His love must manifest itself in action. More than that, God could not rest until he had made the greatest sacrifice that he could make, and had given up his only-begotten Son to die in the place of sinners. When he had done that, then he could rest in his love. God does not come to us, and say, “Men and women, I love you; and you must believe that I love you although I do nothing for you to prove my love.” He does ask us to believe in his love, but he has given us abundant proofs of it; and, therefore, he has a right to claim our belief in it. The apostle of love, who wrote the chapter from which our text is taken, tells us, “Hereby we are made to know”—for that would be the real translation of the original,—“Hereby we come to know, we do know, the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.” Just as we learn the love of others by seeing what they are prepared to sacrifice for us, so is it even with God himself, we discover, discern, perceive, and are made to know, the love which he bears to us by the fact that “he laid down his life for us.”
1 João 3:17
Wiersbe - the test of Christian love is not simply failure to do evil to others. Love also involves doing them good. Christian love is both positive and negative. “Cease to do evil; learn to do well” (Isa. 1:16–17)… It is easy for us to talk about “loving the brethren” and to neglect to help a single other believer. Christian love is personal and active… In these days of multiplied social agencies, it is easy for Christians to forget their obligations. “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10). (Compare Hebrews 13:16 "And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.") Bible Exposition Commentary Harris - Note the vivid contrast with Jesus’ example in the preceding verse: he was willing to lay down his very life, but the person in view here in 1Jn 3:17 is not even willing to lay down part of his material possessions for the sake of his fellow Christian! This is the same Greek word used in 1John 2:16, where it is translated by the NET Bible as “material possessions.” (Exegetical Commentary on 1 John 3:11-24) Goods (979)(bios) refers to resources needed to maintain life, "one's means of subsistence - material goods or property" (BDAG). That by which life is sustained, resources, wealth (Vincent). John has used bios in 1Jn 2:16+ to describe "the boastful pride of life." In using this word bios, John is simply speaking of livelihood and not of someone who is rich per se. It is a description of someone who has the basics necessary for life. That is who he is saying should supply his brother's needs, which leaves almost none of us with an excuse. C H Dodd - ‘There were occasions in the life of the early church, as there are certainly tragic occasions at the present day, for a quite literal obedience to this precept, [that is, to lay down our life for the brothers]. But not all life is tragic; and yet the same principle of conduct must apply all through. Thus it may call for the simple expenditure of money we might have spent upon ourselves, to relieve the need of someone poorer. It is, after all, the same principle of action, though at a lower level of intensity: it (love) is the willingness to surrender that which has value for our own life, to enrich the life of another. If such a minimum response to the law of charity, called for by such an everyday situation, is absent, then it is idle to pretend we are within the family of God, the realm in which love is operative as the principle and the token of eternal life.’ (See The Johannine Epistles page 162) John Stott - John writes that if anyone has material possessions (Gk. bion) and sees his brother in need, he is in debt to him. (Borrow The Letters of John page 146) And sees (2334)(theoreo from theaomai = to look at closely or attentively or contemplatively - even with a sense of wonder; cp theoros = a spectator; English = theater) describes rapt contemplation of a vision (of a moving spectacle - cp Mt 27:55), calm, intent, continuous contemplation of an object which remains before the spectator. Theoreo signifies more than a casual, passing glance, but speaks of a continual (present tense), contemplative observation of the brother’s circumstances. A E Brooke says theoreo is "not merely cast a passing glance, but see, long enough to appreciate and understand the circumstances of the case." (cp theoreo in Jn. 20:6; Acts 4:13; Rev 11:11) In other words the brother who is not giving aid is not giving because he has not seen his brother's need! He has seen but fails to show compassion. To reiterate, the seeing (and thus the awareness) in the present tense adds that this is not a hasty, momentary glance, but that the brother's need has been seen over a protracted period of time! Seen but ignored! Sad commentary! B F Westcott adds that theoreo "from which we get our word theatre, connotes beholding “as a spectacle on which he allows his eyes to rest.” The word is used in John 2:23 concerning those who believed in Jesus when they “saw” the miracles he did. The word connotes attention, wonder, reflection. Liking is a matter of personal preference. Loving is a matter of obedience to Christ and the Word of God. As David Allen said "Saying we love everybody in general may become an excuse for loving nobody in particular! Like the little boy on the crowded elevator who was overheard to say, “Mommy, I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand,” many of us find clever ways to disguise our dislike or hatred of someone. “How often does polite civility disguise undisclosed feelings of antipathy and aversion?” is a question well asked by Gary Burge. If we are to love everybody, does that mean we have to like everybody? How do I go about loving people I don’t like, even in the church? I’m just asking the question I know you are asking right now in your mind! It seems to me there is a very clear, practical distinction between liking and loving. Common sense coupled with life experience makes it evident that we simply cannot and will not like everybody we meet, even in the church. Personalities being what they are, not to mention temperament, appearance, behavior, and mannerisms, make it inevitable that in life’s journey you are going to like some people more than others. Remember, not everybody likes you either! Liking is a matter of personal preference. Loving is a matter of obedience to Christ and the Word of God. Love penetrates beyond the superficial and moves to the essence of the person. It overcomes obstacles and excuses. Love sees beyond what it does not like in a person and minimizes it in order to see the person as Christ sees him. Then seeing the person in that way opens the door to acting toward that person in a Christlike way. Loving people you don’t like means treating them as if you did like them! Loving people you don’t like means treating them as if you did like them! You choose to act toward them in a way that is pleasing to Christ and that exhibits how Christ would act toward them. The nature of Christian love is that it acts, it gives, it expresses itself toward others. (1-3 John- Fellowship in God's Family Preaching the Word) Daniel Akin - “I would die for you” sounds noble and spiritual. It sounds awesome. But while you are willing to die for me, would you give me something to eat? Could you share an extra shirt or better yet, a coat? Could you let me sleep on your couch until I get back on my feet? Could you help out with my electric bill or a few meds for my sick kids? You see, I don’t need you to die for me. I just need a little help. “Talk is cheap” is a modern axiom, and I suspect that the concept originated in the Bible! In verses 17–18, John gets down where the rubber meets the road and provides some basic, real, and practical advice about love in the context of everyday living. (See Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John - Page 79) Need (5532)(chreia) describes necessities, whether it be material (Mk 2:25) or spiritual (Eph 4:29+). In the context of describing the church in Philippi supplying the needs for his missionary work, Paul wrote "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Php 4:19+) In his letter to Titus Paul exhorted him writing "let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful (Titus 3:14+. On fruit see 1Th 2:19-20+), and Pr 19:17 = "One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.") The newly born church in Acts immediately saw their brothers' needs and provided for them Luke recording that "they (brethren in the church at Jerusalem) began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need." (Acts 2:45+) "For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles' feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need." (Acts 4:34-35+) CLOSING YOUR HEART And closes (kleio - aorist tense) his heart (splagchnon - compassion, pity) ("shuts off compassion"!) - This is the opposite of Jesus' volitional choice to lay down His life for others (1Jn 3:16). Clearly heart does not refer to the physical organ but to the seat and center of one's mercy and compassion. A T
1 João 3:17
Wiersbe - A young mother admitted, in a testimony meeting, that she never seemed to find time for her own personal devotions. She had several little children to care for, and the hours melted away. Imagine her surprise when two of the ladies from the church appeared at her front door. “We’ve come to take over,” they explained. “You go into the bedroom and get started on your devotions.” After several days of this kind of help, the young mother was able to develop her devotional life so that the daily demands on her time no longer upset her. If we want to experience and enjoy the love of God in our own hearts, we must love others, even to the point of sacrifice. Being indifferent to a brother’s needs means robbing ourselves of what we need even more: the love of God in our hearts. It is a matter of love or death! Bible Exposition Commentary Again our actions reveal our father! --Bob Utley John
1 João 3:18
Wiersbe - To love “in word” means simply to talk about a need, but to love “in deed” means to do something about meeting it. You may think, because you have discussed a need, or even prayed about it, that you have done your duty, but love involves more than words—it calls for sacrificial deeds. To love “in tongue” is the opposite of to love “in truth.” It means to love insincerely. To love “in truth” means to love a person genuinely, from the heart and not just from the tongue. People are attracted by genuine love, but repelled by the artificial variety. One reason why sinners were attracted to Jesus (Luke 15:1–2) was because they were sure He loved them sincerely. “But does it not cost a great deal for the believer to exercise this kind of love?” Yes, it does. It cost Jesus Christ His life. But the wonderful benefits that come to you as by-products of this love more than compensate for any sacrifice you make. To be sure, you do not love others because you want to get something in return, but the Bible principle, “Give and it shall be given unto you” (Luke 6:38), applies to love as well as to money. (Bible Exposition Commentary) John Gill on in deed and in truth - True love is a laborious and operative grace, hence we read of the work and labor of love; it shows itself by the saints serving one another, in spiritual things by bearing one another's burdens, forbearing with, and forgiving one another, praying for each other, and building up one another on their most holy faith; encouraging each other to the duties of the faith, and not suffering sins upon one another, but admonishing in love, and restoring with meekness; and in temporal things, distributing to the necessities of the saints, ministering: to them of their worldly substance, and supplying their daily wants: and this is loving "in deed", or "in work"; this is actual love, love in fact, and what is apparent and evident: and it is "in truth", when it is in reality, and not done for show; and when it is cordially and heartily done, with cheerfulness, and not grudgingly. John Stott - It may be helpful to summarize the teaching in this passage about hatred and love. Hatred characterizes the world, whose prototype is Cain. It originates in the devil, issues in murder and is evidence of spiritual death. Love characterizes the church, whose prototype is Christ. It originates in God, issues in self-sacrifice, and is evidence of eternal life. (Borrow The Letters of John page 148) One of the distinguishing marks of the child of God is love, a love that originates in God, displays itself in actions of self-sacrifice, and is evidence of eternal life. -- Daniel Akin David Allen - ILLUSTRATION OF LOVE IN TRUTH - By some accounts William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, once sent a one-word telegraph message: “Others!” to encourage his officers around the world. Whether the story is true or not, one thing is for sure: Salvation Army workers were known for their unselfish commitment to others. On May 29, 1914 the Empress of Ireland sank with 130 Salvation Army officers on board. One hundred and nine of those officers were drowned, and not one body that was picked up had on a life belt. The few survivors told how the Salvationists, finding there were not enough life preservers for all, took off their own belts and strapped them upon even strong men, saying, “I can die better than you can.” From the deck of that sinking ship they heralded their battle-cry around the world: “Others!” May we all pray this prayer by William Sloane Coffin: “We have taken advantage of Thy great and unqualified love. We have presumed upon Thy patience to do less than we might have done, to have been timid where we should have shown courage, to have been careful where we should have been reckless, not counting the cost. We pray now, O Father, to be used roughly. Stamp on our selfishness.” (See 1–3 John: Fellowship in God's Family) John MacArthur sums up this section - For John, therefore, the differences between Satan’s children and God’s children could not be more distinct. Those who murder, habitually hate, or are chronically self-centered and indifferent to the needs of others do not have eternal life. But those who, as part of their repentance from sin and trust in Christ, have renounced murderous, hateful attitudes and all cold, selfish indifference to the needs of others give evidence that they have been born again. In place of those sinful traits, Christians manifest genuine love to others, especially fellow believers (Ro 12:10–13; Gal. 6:10), because of the love of God shed abroad in their hearts. They sincerely obey James’s injunction: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27; cf. James 2:8, 15–17). (SEE 1-3 John MacArthur New Testament Commentary - Page 136) C. Crain - The activities of love in God must necessarily characterize His children. It is not merely a question of duty or obligation, but a characteristic of their nature, which in communion with God displays itself. This is the force of 1Jn 3:17. Of course, the verse may be used as an appeal to rouse the conscience where there seems to be carelessness or indifference, but the apostle is convicting of unreality the mere profession of loving the brethren. His argument is, How can love be there if there is no activity of it? How can love that is of God be dwelling where it is not in exercise? There is danger, even in the children of God, of falling into pretension. So in 1Jn 3:18 the apostle warns against it. Clearly he is speaking here to those whom he recognizes as of God. He is exhorting them to see to it that there be no pretence; no mere loving in word or tongue, but only in deed and in truth. Unreality is a grievous sin in a child of God; it is really hypocrisy. Let us then give due heed to the apostle’s warning against it. Our Lord also speaks of this in Luke 12:1. (Readings on the First Epistle of John) Robert Rayburn illustrates this selfless, sacrificial love - You may remember that after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the protestants in France, the Huguenots, suffered terrible persecution. Some twenty years later, in the midst of that terrible danger for evangelical Christians, a young reformed minister, Antoine Court, organized a clandestine meeting of seven ministers and two elders, the first of the famous 'synods of the desert'--to organize more effectively the life and work of the now underground reformed church. By 1732, some 15 years later, all the members of that first synod, had been found and executed except Antoine Court himself and he was eventually as well. But successors were ready to take their place. In the course of those years, through Court's leadership, a seminary was established in Lausanne, Switzerland to train young Frenchmen who would then be sent back to pastor the scattered believers in France. Year after year the flower of French Christianity would graduate from that academy and sneak back into their homeland to begin their ministry and to face an almost certain death. In fact, the diploma of that seminary in those days was known, by a kind of wry and dark humor, as a Brevet de Potence--a certificate for the gallows. One after another of those young men took their diploma in hand and went back to a French gallows all for love for God and for his people. Have you such a certificate in your possession; such a Brevet de Potence? Beloved, God does not call us at this moment to the gallows; he does not even call us to give up meat! But he does call us every day, every week, to pay the price of love, to practice love, Christ like, self-denying, cheek-turning, coat-giving, extra-mile-walking love. He tells us here, through John, not to rest until our hearts are aflame with love for our brethren and until we can say plainly every day how it was that, in love, we sought after and met the needs of our brethren; until we can say plainly how we, following our Redeemer, have given up our lives for them, and can point to the weariness, and the disruption of our well-laid plans, and the emptiness of our pocket book, and to the tears of joy and or sorrow, to the completely mended friendships which sin had disrupted--all evidence that we have laid down our lives and kept nothing back when our brother's interest or our sister's interest was at stake. (What Love Is) ILLUSTRATION - Ray Stedman's great story of loving in deed and truth - Yesterday I heard a young Jewish convert give the story of his life. It is a most amazing story: His name is Arthur Katz and he is a teacher in the public schools in Berkeley. He was raised as an atheist, even though he was of Jewish descent. Early in his life he became a Marxist, a committed Communist. He was always a left-wing radical, a trouble maker, at the heart of every uprising that was going on. At the close of World War II he happened to be in Germany with the American Army and personally saw the gas chambers at Dachau and Buchenwald. He came away from them shocked and sick at heart, filled with hatred, first toward the German race, and then, realizing that this was not merely a national problem but a human problem, filled with an all-pervading sense of disgust and loathing for the whole human race. He came back to Berkeley and tried to give himself to education, but more and more he realized that education was not the answer. Education could not change hearts, education could not and did not touch the basic problems of human beings. Finally he gave it all up and resigned his position. His wife lost her mind, and was put in a mental institution. Divorced, footloose, and fancy-free, he went out to wander up and down the face of the earth, hardly knowing where he was going. One rainy wet day he was in Greece, hitchhiking, with a week's growth of beard upon his face, and a dirty rucksack on his back, standing in the wind and the rain thumbing a ride. Of course, no one wanted to pick him up. He stood there for hours when at last a big Cadillac came by, and stopped. To his amazement the man did not merely open the door and gesture for him to get in; he got out of his car, came around, and began to pump his hand and to welcome him as though he were some kind of king. He took the dirty rucksack and threw it on the clean upholstery. Art said he winced himself when he saw that. Then the man invited him to get in the car, and they drove on. The man treated him as though he were a welcome guest. Art Katz could not understand this. He was taken to a hotel and the man bought him a room and cleaned him up and gave him some food. Finally he asked him what he was doing, and where he was going. There came pouring out of this young Jewish atheist all the pent-up heartache, misery, and resentment of his life. He told him the whole thing, just pouring it all out. The man sat and listened, and when he was all through, he spoke one sentence. He said, "You know, Art, what the world needs? -- those who are willing to wash one another's feet." Art Katz said, "I never heard anything more beautiful than that. Why do you say that?" And the man said, "'Because that's what my Lord did." For the first time in this young atheist's life he heard a Christian witness. That was the beginning of the end. I do not have time to tell the whole story of how this young man came to know Jesus Christ. But the thing that arrested him and broke through all the years of hatred, all the pent-up resentment and bitterness of his heart and life was one act of kindness which manifested to an apparently undeserving young man, genuine courtesy and kindness in the name of Jesus Christ. "By this," Jesus said, "shall all men know that you are my disciples," (John 13:35 RSV). That is the path of love. If life is there, that kind of love will be there. Now, let it show, is John's exhortation. "Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth." (1 John 3 Commentary) MARKS OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN: THE BOOK OF 1 JOHN by Jim Bomkamp 1. Walks in the light - 1Jn 1:6 2. Has fellowship with other Christians who walk in the light - 1Jn 1:7 3. Believes he has a sin nature - 1Jn 1:8 4. Occasionally sins - 1Jn 1:10 5. Continually keeps His commandments - 1Jn 2:3, 3:24 6. Continually keeps His word - 1Jn 2:5 7. Walks in the same way Jesus walked - 1Jn 2:6 8. Does not hate his brother - 1Jn 2:9 9. Loves his brother - 1Jn 2:10, 3:10 10. Does not love the world ( cosmos - the world in rebellion against God ) - 1Jn 2:15 11. Does not love the things in the world - 1Jn 2:15 12. Does the will of God - 1Jn 2:17 13. Stays in the Body of Christ - 1Jn 2:19 14. Has an anointing and as a result understands the truth of the gospel - 1Jn 2:20-21 15. Believes that Jesus is the Christ (Jewish Messiah of scripture) - 1Jn 2:22, 5:1 16. Abides in Christ (as a branch in the vine: see John 15) - 1Jn 2:27-28 17. Continually practices righteousness - 1Jn 2:29, 3:10 18. Purifies himself just as He is pure - 1Jn 3:3 19. Does not continually practice sin - 1Jn 3:6, 5:18 20. Practices righteousness and is righteous, just as He is righteous - 1Jn 3:7 21. His seed abides in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God - 1Jn 3:9 22. Loves the brethren - 1Jn 3:14 23. Loves not only with word and tongue, but in deed and in truth - 1Jn 3:18-19 24. The abiding presence of the Holy Spirit gives assurance of salvation - 1Jn 3:24, 4:13 25. Confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (the eternal Son of God/Messiah) - 1Jn 4:2 26. Has overcome the false prophets and teachers (and the spirit that animates them) - 1Jn 4:4 27. Listens to, receives, and believes in the sound teaching from the apostles (the Bible) - 1Jn 4:6 28. Loves (with agape love) - 1Jn 4:7,8 29. Confesses that Jesus is the Son of God - 1Jn 4:15 30. Abides in (agape) love - 1Jn 4:16 31. Loves (agape) because He first loved him - 1Jn 4:19 32. Loves the child born of the Father (either Jesus, other Christians, or all men) - 1Jn 5:1 33. Overcomes the world - 1Jn 5:4 34. Believes that Jesus is the Son of God - 1Jn 5:5 J C Ryle on How to Know Your Religion is Real (excerpt from full sermon Reality) I will supply some tests by which we may try the reality of our religion. In approaching this part of my subject, I ask every reader of this paper to deal fairly, honestly, and reasonably with his soul. Dismiss from your mind the common idea,—that of course all is right if you go to church or to chapel. Cast away such vain notions for ever. You must look further, higher, deeper than this, if you would find out the truth. Listen to me, and I will give you a few hints. Believe me, it is no light matter. It is your life. (1) For one thing, if you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the place which it occupies in your inner man. It is not enough that it is in your head. You may know the truth, and assent to the truth, and believe the truth, and yet be wrong in God’s sight.—It is not enough that it is on your lips. You may repeat the creed daily. You may say “Amen” to public prayer in church, and yet have nothing more than an outward religion.—It is not enough that it is in your feelings. You may weep under preaching one day, and be lifted to the third heaven by joyous excitement another day, and yet be dead to God.—Your religion, if it is real, and given by the Holy Ghost, must be in your heart. It must occupy the citadel. It must hold the reins. It must sway the affections. It must lead the will. It must direct the tastes. It must influence the choices and decisions. It must fill the deepest, lowest, inmost seat in your soul. Is this your religion? If not, you may well doubt whether it is “real” and true. (Acts 8:21; Rom. 10:10.) (2) In the next place, if you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the feelings towards sin which it produces. The Christianity which is from the Holy Ghost will always have a very deep view of the sinfulness of sin. It will not merely regard sin as a blemish and misfortune, which makes men and women objects of pity and compassion. It will see in sin the abominable thing which God bates, the thing which makes man guilty and lost in his Maker’s sight, the thing which deserves God’s wrath and condemnation. It will look on sin as the cause of all sorrow and unhappiness, of strife and wars, of quarrels and contentions, of sickness and death,—the blight which has blighted God’s fair creation, the cursed thing which makes the whole earth groan and travail in pain. Above all, it will see in sin the thing which will ruin us eternally, except we can find a ransom,—lead us captive, except we can get its chains broken,—and destroy our happiness, both here and hereafter, except we fight against it, even unto death. Is this your religion? Are these your feelings about sin? If not, you may well doubt whether your religion is “real.” (3) For another thing, if you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the feelings toward Christ which it produces. Nominal religion may believe that such a person as Christ existed, and was a great benefactor to mankind. It may show Him some external respect, attend His outward ordinances, and bow the head at His name. But it will go no further. Real religion will make a man glory in Christ, as the Redeemer, the Deliverer, the Priest, the Friend, without whom he would have no hope at all. It will produce confidence in Him, love towards Him, delight in Him, comfort in Him, as the mediator, the food, the light, the life, the peace of the soul. Is this your religion? Do you know anything of feelings like these toward Jesus Christ? If not, you may well doubt whether your religion is “real.” (4) For another thing, if you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the fruit it bears in your heart and life. The Christianity which is from above will always be known by its fruits. It will produce in the man who has it repentance, faith, hope, charity, humility, spirituality, kind temper, self-denial, unselfishness, forgivingness, temperance, truthfulness, brotherly-kindness, patience, forbearance. The degree in which these various graces appear may vary in different believers. The germ and seeds of them will be found in all who are the children of God. By their fruits they may be known. Is this your religion? If not, you may well doubt whether it is “real.” (5) In the last place, if you would know whether your religion is real, try it by your feelings and habits about means of grace. Prove it by the Sunday. Is that day a season of weariness and constraint, or a delight and a refreshment, and a sweet foretaste of the rest to come in heaven?—Prove it by the public means of grace. What are your feelings about public prayer and public praise, about the public preaching of God’s Word, and the administration of the Lord’s Supper? Are they things to which you give a cold assent, and tolerate them as proper and correct? Or, are they things in which you take pleasure, and without which you could not live happy?—Prove it, finally, by your feelings about private means of grace. Do you find it essential to your comfort to read the Bible regularly in private, and to speak to God in prayer? Or, do you find these practices irksome, and either slur them over, or neglect them altogether? These questions deserve your attention. If means of grace, whether public or private, are not as necessary to your soul as meat and drink are to your body, you may well doubt whether your religion is “real.” Robert Neighbour - A love in deed and in truth. I John 3:18: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." Herein is a wealth of room for our thoughts. If we love because He loved, we should also love as He loves. God loved and gave. Christ loved and died. If we love as He loved our love will not dwell in platitudes and high sounding phrases. Our love will be in deed and in truth. (1) WE WILL LOVE THOSE HE LOVED. The lost world, the Church, the brethren. For "He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love." (2) WE WILL GIVE AS HE GAVE, even to the giving of our lives. I John 3:16: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Do we really love in this fashion? Are we willing to go even unto the death for the brethren? (3) WE WILL HAVE COMPASSION AS HE HAD COMPASSION. When Christ saw the multitudes He had compassion on them, and He said, "Give ye them to eat." James 2:15, 16: "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, * * what doth it profit?" How is it with us? I John 3:17: "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" Surely, if we love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all of our soul and with all of our might, we will also love our neighbor as ourself James Scudder - Life-Giving Love My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. Several years ago, a Dallas man named Herman Moody was diagnosed with leukemia. The experts at Baylor Hospital told this 47 year-old import/export specialist that he had only one chance to live: a bone marrow transplant. And it had to be a perfect match. So, the doctors at the cancer center entered Moody's information into their worldwide database. The computer came up with a suitable match. There was only one problem. The prospective donor lived in Belgium. The doctors at Baylor gave the Belgian a call and told him their dilemma. To their surprise he readily agreed to make the trip to Dallas and donate some of his bone marrow. He traveled across the world to save the life of a man he had never met. When asked why he made the sacrifice, the Belgian replied, "Several years ago, my brother died of cancer and I was heartbroken. After his death, I promised God that if I could, I would help someone stay alive. That's when I signed up with the bone registry." The man from Belgium continued, "When I go to church, I hear my pastor say to love my neighbor. How can I refuse to help my brother when he is in need? When they called and asked if I could travel to Dallas, as a Christian, how could I say no?"1 This man from Belgium embodied the true spirit of Jesus' command to love our neighbor. How many of us would make the same sacrifice? If you haven't love in your heart, you should throw your hope to the four winds and go and get a better one. D.L. Moody 1 JOHN 3:18 Your Daily Journey with God: 365 Daily Devotions - Page 348 The best way to have friends is to be one, and we can all do that. Fortunately, the rules for being a friend are simple enough for anyone to master. First, work on your relationship with the Lord every day. The love we need for others comes from Him, and if we walk in the light with Him, we’ll be able to have fellowship with others (1 John 1:7). And with His love comes His joy, peace, and patience. Second, avoid the use of the word I. When you’re with others, ask about their day, their health, and their burdens. Third, don’t be easily offended. A prudent person overlooks an insult (Proverbs 12:16, NIV). Good friends have thick skins. Fourth, be cheerful. No one wants to be around a grumpy, irritable, or depressed spirit. Be friendly! Fifth, drop everything to help your friend in a time of crisis or emergency. After all, you never know when you’ll be on the receiving end. Cultivate your friendships, and they will come back to bless you. A friend knows when you have a need and comes to strengthen you in the hand of God. DAVID JEREMIAH The Only Option 1 JOHN 3:18 Sometimes in a relationship the only service we can render is to love the other person. Whether it is a friend or a child in a tough circumstance, a family member in crisis or a neighbor who dislikes you, loving actions may be all we can do. I am a fix-it person. Whenever my children or friends have problems, I want to swoop in and make everything OK. Many times that is not only impossible, but it’s not wise. We may need to let our children, our friends and our family members learn hard lessons, even though it is difficult for us to stand back and watch. Those of us who have dealt with adolescents know that in their desire to be independent (a healthy quality, by the way), they often do not want help, which they view as interference. In those cases, all we can do, as parents or teachers, is stand back and find ways to love them by the things we do (or don’t do) and say (or don’t say). This is a form of godly service. Remember, in self-righteous service, we do things for others because it will make us feel better. In true service, we do things for others because it will make them feel better. Dry Sponges Celebrate Recovery Daily Devotional: 366 Devotionals “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”1 JOHN 3:18 One way to think about the recovery process is to imagine what water does to a dry sponge. We come into the process dried up and thirsting for life. We’ve tried other things, but so far nothing has helped. We have come to the realization that no one but our Creator is going to be able to provide what we so desperately need. In the same way a dry sponge soaks up all the water it is exposed to, the Celebrate Recovery process allows us to soak up God’s peace, love, grace, and forgiveness. Oh, how good that feels when our dry spirits soak up all that life-giving water! Eventually, though, we reach our saturation point. We can’t hold any more until we allow ourselves to be wrung out on those around us through our service. Then we can soak up more. This is a healthy process, because—as we all know—a waterlogged sponge left on the counter for a few days will begin to stink. The old saying “You can’t keep it unless you give it away” is right. This is why service is so important. If we come into the process, soak up God’s goodness, then fail to give back, we’ll soon be like that waterlogged sponge: we become rancid and begin to smell. God’s way is to fill us, wring us out, and fill us again. PRAYER Holy Father, I love to feel your life-giving Spirit flowing within me. Remind me to stay fresh and healthy by sharing with others what you’ve given to me. In Jesus’ name, Amen. LOVE AS AN ACT OF THE WILL Frederick Buechner Faith That Matters: 365 Devotions from Classic Christian Leaders My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 1 JOHN 3:18 NKJV In the Christian sense, love is not primarily an emotion, but an act of the will. When Jesus tells us to love our neighbors, he is not telling us to love them in the sense of responding to them with a cozy emotional feeling. You can as easily produce a cozy emotional feeling on demand as you can a yawn or a sneeze. On the contrary, he is telling us to love our neighbors in the sense of being willing to work for their well-being even if it means sacrificing our own well-being to that end, even if it means sometimes just leaving them alone. Thus in Jesus’ terms, we can love our neighbors without necessarily liking them. In fact liking them may stand in the way of loving them by making us overprotective sentimentalists instead of reasonably honest friends. This does not mean that liking may not be a part of loving, only that it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes liking follows on the heels of loving. It is hard to work for people’s well-being very long without coming in the end to rather like them too. Have you ever prayed regularly for an enemy? What happened? Did the enemy change? Did you? Father, show me how to contribute to my neighbor’s life, whether it’s by contact or peace. Amen. REACH OUT AND TOUCH by Gail and Gordon MacDonald “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”1 JOHN 3:18 Catherine Booth, cofounder of the Salvation Army, was a remarkably sensitive person. And her discernment showed best in her relationship to William, her husband. In a letter written to him, she declares her intent that their home will always be a place sensitive to his needs and concerns: “I am delighted; it makes me happy to hear you speak as you do about home. Yes, if you will seek home, love home, be happy at home, I will spend my energies in trying to make it a more than ordinary one; it shall, if my ability can do it, be a spot sunny and bright, pure and calm, refined and tender, a fit school in which to train immortal spirits for a holy and glorious heaven; a fit resting-place for a spirit pressed and anxious about public duties; but oh, I know it is easy to talk, I feel how liable I am to fall short; but it is well to purpose right, to aim high, to hope much; yes, we will make home to each other the brightest spot on earth, we will be tender, thoughtful, loving, and forbearing, will we not? Yes, we will.” These are the words of a woman who was reaching out to touch, who had looked within a man and found something to which she could minister. A W Tozer - Doctrine without Love Tozer on the Holy Spirit: A 365-Day Devotional - Page 14 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. —1 John 3:18 The blight of the Pharisee’s heart in olden times was doctrine without love. With the teachings of the Pharisees Christ had little quarrel, but with the pharisaic spirit He carried on unceasing warfare to the end. It was religion that put Christ on the cross, religion without the indwelling Spirit.… An unblessed soul filled with the letter of truth may actually be worse off than a pagan kneeling before a fetish. We are safe only when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, only when our intellects are indwelt by the loving Fire that came at Pentecost. For the Holy Spirit is not a luxury, not something added now and again to produce a deluxe type of Christian once in a generation. No, He is for every child of God a vital necessity, and that He fill and indwell His people is more than a languid hope. It is rather an inescapable imperative. They that walk in the King’s holy way must have pure hearts, gentle tongues, loving ways, happy faces and restful lives. Life-Changing Mission Let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. (1 John 3:18 MSG) Sonya was a little nervous about the week ahead. The singles pastor at church had asked her to join a mission trip to the mountains of West Virginia. They would be repairing homes of elderly people each morning and holding Bible school at a local church each afternoon. On the first afternoon in a corner of the fellowship hall, a little girl named Natalie sat by herself while the others played games. Natalie didn’t say much, so Sonya did the talking. She talked about her life, her favorite Bible stories, and how much Jesus meant to her. Then it was time to leave. The next afternoon Natalie made a beeline for Sonya and pulled her over to the same corner. She had brought a doll, which she put in Sonya’s lap. Each afternoon was the same: Sonya would sit and talk to the quiet girl, playing with the doll, and trying to make Natalie smile. At the end of the week, the church’s pastor told Sonya that Natalie had a troubled home life, and he had never seen her bond with anyone before Sonya. Sonya fought back tears when she told Natalie good-bye, and gave her a little Bible to take home. Mission trips are incredible opportunities for spiritual stretching. Not only do you experience new places, cultures, and people, but you are put in situations you have never faced before. These moments drive us to depend on God’s provision and faithfulness, and we see Him come through for us in amazing new ways. Consider taking a short-term mission trip. Check at your church or denominational website to see what mission opportunities are coming up. If you are unable to go on a trip yourself, you could support someone who is going with prayer and financial help. EMPATHY EMPIRE 1 JOHN 3:18 The Christian History Devotional: 365 Readings & Prayers 1786: America in the early 1800s had a network of charitable organizations known as the “benevolent empire,” active in such causes as Bible distribution, temperance, missions, and, last but not least, abolition of slavery. One of the prominent men in the benevolent empire was Arthur Tappan, born on this date into a devout Massachusetts family. He and his brother, Lewis, made a fortune in exporting silk, lost the fortune, made another fortune in finance, and they never forgot that God intended people of great wealth to do great things for mankind. There were few noble causes of the 1800s that the Tappan brothers were not associated with. It is said that slavery is a stain on American history, something that never should have endured in a land where people honored Thomas Jefferson’s words about all men being created equal. While this is true, it is also true that at no point did all Americans condone slavery, and many Christians opposed it on religious grounds. Both Tappans were active in the American Anti-Slavery Society, which some Americans regarded as extreme, and at one point Lewis Tappan’s home was vandalized. The Tappan brothers understood that it was inevitable that, in time, a Christian nation would abolish slavery. Sadly, it took a bloody war to bring it about, but emancipation did come, and Arthur Tappan died in July 1865, having lived to see emancipation and the end of the war. The brothers Tappan were more than social activists, for they were supporters of noted evangelist Charles Finney and helped build his enormous Broadway Tabernacle in New York. Finney shared their abolitionist views, as well as their belief that support for evangelism and missions did not exclude support for social change. While their critics sometimes mocked them as meddlesome do-gooders, the members of the “benevolent empire” deserve honor, especially those who, like the Tappan brothers, put their vast wealth to good use. Prayer: Lord, whatever we possess is from you. Give us opportunities to use it for the glory of your kingdom. Amen. Daily Light on the Daily Path - Walk in love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”—Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.—Love covers all offenses. “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”—“Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.”—Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles.—Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.—If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.—Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. Eph. 5:2; John 13:34; 1 Pet. 4:8; Prov. 10:12; Mark 11:25; Luke 6:35; Prov. 24:17; 1 Pet. 3:9; Rom. 12:18; Eph. 4:32; 1 John 3:18 The Harsh Reality Of Poverty, Just What Is My Responsibility? - Newell Hillis in Facts of the Matter Let’s pretend that you have decided to gear down to the level where hundreds of millions of people on this planet live. Here’s a starter kit on how to get there: • “First, take out the furniture: leave a few old blankets, a kitchen table, maybe a wooden chair. You’ve never had a bed, remember? • Second, throw out your clothes. Each person in the family may keep the oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. The head of the family has the only pair of shoes. • Third, all kitchen appliances have vanished. Keep a box of matches, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a handful of onions, a dish of dried beans. Rescue the moldy potatoes from the garbage can: those are tonight’s meal. • Fourth, dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, take out the wiring and the lights and everything that runs by electricity. • Fifth, take away the house and move the family into the toolshed. • Sixth, no more postman, fireman, government services. The two-classroom school is three miles away, but only two of your seven children attend anyway, and they walk • Seventh, throw out your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, insurance policies. You now have a cash hoard of $5. • Eighth, get out and start cultivating your three acres. Try hard to raise $300 in cash crops because your landlord wants one-third and your moneylender 10 percent. • Ninth, find some way for your children to bring in a little extra money so you have something to eat most days. But it won’t be enough to keep bodies healthy—so lop off 25 to 30 years of life.” As a follower of Christ, what is my responsibility? “If a man shuts his ear to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered … He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.” (Proverbs 21:13; 28:27) “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? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:17, 18) PRAYER: “Dear God, help me to see those less fortunate than myself through your eyes, and respond in a way that reflects the very heart of Jesus. Amen.” Daily Light on the Daily Path - “She has done what she could.” “This poor widow has put in more than all of them.”—“Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.”—If the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.—If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?—Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. “When you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” Mark 14:8; Luke 21:3; Mark 9:41; 2 Cor. 8:12; 1 John 3:18; James 2:15–16; 2 Cor. 9:6–7; Luke 17:10 Adrian Rogers - Christlike love is serving love. And, you know, if the members of our church all had Christlike love, we wouldn’t have to beg for people to work in the nursery. We wouldn’t have to beg for people to work on the parking lot. We wouldn’t have to beg for people to work in Vacation Bible School, or to sing in the choir. You see, that’s Christlike love. It is serving love. First John 3, verse 18: “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” When you have Christlike love, there is no job too small for you to do. Jesus, the Lord of Glory, is serving, washing dirty feet. Will you call others to live in my love? Will you lead others into a life of love? The world is crying out for the love we can show them together. My love pulverizes prejudice and builds enduring loyalty. My love moves hearts to be generous, to serve and benefit others. My love stirs hearts to pour out for the poor, the lonely, the sick. My love sets hearts free from fear, anger, anxiety. My love sets hearts free from the feverish drive to own and possess things that can never give life. In me in my love in my life you find abundant life, refreshing you with rest, permeated with profound peace, jubilant with joy. A great adventure. I love you, my child! Read the full devotional from What is the Father like by Phillip Keller - Borrow - see page 116, chapter 12 - WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE - Greg Laurie “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18) Have you ever felt like a spiritual failure? If so, then you’re in good company. Even the Apostle Peter felt that way after he denied the Lord. When Jesus told the disciples they would abandon Him in His hour of need, Peter insisted that he never would. But Jesus said that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed that day. And he did. Now Peter finds himself in an awkward moment. Jesus was crucified and had risen on the third day. He suddenly appears to them at the Sea of Galilee. Before they knew it, Jesus was cooking breakfast for everyone with the fish He had just helped them catch. Maybe as they ate, Peter was remembering when, not all that long ago, he denied the Lord by the glow of another fire. Eventually, the Lord breaks the silence. He asks Peter a series of questions, each with the same phrase: “Do you love Me?” Peter had learned his lesson. Instead of boasting of his love for the Lord, he simply answers, “Yes Lord; You know that I love you” (John 21:15–17). In the original language, the word Peter used for “love” was phileo. It could be translated, “have an affection for.” At least Peter was being honest. We can talk all day about how much we love God, but never act on it. Peter eventually proved his love for the Lord. A leader in the early church and the writer of two New Testament epistles, he reportedly was crucified upside-down as a martyr for his faith. How about you? Is your love for the Lord expressed more by your words than your actions? Adrian Rogers - The Bible says in First John chapter 3:18: “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” Do you know what could happen this morning? This morning you could get it down in your notebook. And you could say, “Hey let’s see what the pastor said. He said first of all, of yes I remember. He said that we are to have the kind of love this to be selfless love. Oh what was the second point oh yes I remember, it’s to be steadfast love. What was the third kind of love? Yeah, I’ve got it, serving love.” And, you get that in your notebook. Friend listen. Get it in your life. Don’t love in word but in deed and in truth. Jesus is literally doing something. Jesus gave His disciples what they needed at that moment. Do you know what they needed at that moment? They needed to be renewed, refreshed, restored, revived and reinvigorated. That’s what they needed. Now, let me tell you what love does. If you love me let me tell you what you are going to do for me. If you love me you are not going to give me what I want because many times what I want is not what I need and what I need is not what I want. My dad use to say, “You need a spanking.” He was right. But, I sure didn’t want one. Amen. If you love me you’re not going to give me what I want. And, you’re certainly not going to give me what I deserve if you love me. What did Judas deserve? He didn’t deserve to have his feet washed. What did those disciples deserve? They didn’t deserve to have their feet washed. They were arguing about who’s going to be the greatest. Jesus did not give them what they desired nor what they deserved but he gave them what they needed. And, that’s what love does. Love gives what is. It is serving love. Jack Hyles is one of my favorite preachers. He’s pastor of the First Baptist church of Hammond, Indiana. He is a great soul-winner. I heard Jack one time speak and he said he went into an airport restaurant there to eat breakfast. And the lady there said, “Would you like a menu?” He said, “Yes ma’am.” “You like some coffee.” “Yes ma’am.” You ready to order.” “Yes madam.” She said, “Yes ma’am, yes ma’am, yes ma’am. Is that all you can say is yes ma’am?” He said, “Yes ma’am.” And, she was very snippity to him. He went ahead and ordered and she just kind of slung the food in front of him. He ate it and she had a scowl on her face. And, when he got up to leave he put something like a 10-dollar bill, a very large bill, by the plate and walked out. She said, “Hey, you left some money on the table.” He said, “Don’t people tip around here. She said, “You mean that’s for me?” He said, “Yes ma’am.” She said, “You would give me a tip like that after the way I’ve treated you?” “Yes ma’am.” She said, “I don’t understand it. Why?” He said, “I looked at you. I could tell you were hurting.” He said, “I knew you must have some kind of problem. I just felt maybe this would make your day a little better.” She started to cry. She said, “Mister you don’t know the problems I’ve got. I got up this morning with a child that was sick and I had to go to work. This is the only joy that I have. I don’t have anybody else. I don’t have a husband. And, I couldn’t get a babysitter and I had to leave that sick child alone at home to take care of himself.” And then on the way here to work my car broke down and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t have the money to have it fixed. I was late to work and the boss chewed me out.” He said, “I knew you were hurting.” And he told her about Jesus. Right there though tears she gave her heart to Christ. And, she was wonderfully saved. Now most of us would have said, “She doesn’t deserve a tip.” And, she didn’t. He didn’t give her what she deserved. He gave her what she needed. Isn’t that right? You see, that’s what love is. Real love doesn’t give people what they deserve. Judas didn’t deserve that. The disciples didn’t deserve that. But, Jesus knew at that moment that was the thing that they needed. And that’s what Jesus did. And, it was a small thing, in a way, washing feet. It was a humble thing. An insignificant kind of a thing that only a slave would do. Do you know something folks? We’ve got a lot of those kinds of jobs around this church. We need nursery workers. It would be nice if some of you were to lay aside your Sunday finery as Jesus laid aside His garments and go work in the nursery. We need people to work on the parking lots. We need people to work in the -kitchen. We need people to do some of the jobs that are not really glamorous jobs. Not necessarily the thing that is glamorous but the thing that is needed. Real love is serving love. Not just in word but in deed and in truth. Not just giving people what they deserve or what they desire but what they need. Love is proven by action The Love Dare Day by Day: A Year of Devotions for Couples - Page 55 Little children, we must not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth. 1 John 3:18 When the Bible declares, “God is love” (1 John 4:8), that’s all we should need to hear to believe it. And yet God has chosen to put His words into action. He “proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8). He “sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). He proved it. He gave His love an understandable definition by turning it from a noun into a verb. If God Himself knows that our human minds and hearts need to see love to believe it, then your spouse is not being unreasonable to expect your love to show itself in observable actions. Love may always be somewhat hard to measure and define, but the closest we come to understanding it is by recognizing the actions it creates. Love that doesn’t identify itself through expression is meaningless to your spouse. “Better is open rebuke than hidden love” (Proverbs 27:5 NIV). Make your love obvious. Get busy! PRAYER “Heavenly Father, I pray that You would help my love to go beyond thoughts, feelings, and words, and be translated into daily actions. In Jesus’ name, amen.” DOROTHEA DIX Humanitarian, Teacher, Nurse (1802–87) - The Top 100 Devotional Collection Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth1 JOHN 3:18 NIV In 1841, Dorothea Dix volunteered to teach a women’s Sunday school class at the East Cambridge, Massachusetts, House of Correction. What she saw disturbed her. The women—many mentally ill—were confined in unheated smelly cages, closets, cellars, stalls, and pens. They were chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience. Dorothea brought the abuses to the attention of the state’s court—and in time, they were corrected. In the next four years she visited jails and almshouses in every state east of the Mississippi River and took detailed notes. Everywhere Dorothea traveled, it was the same: prisoners, the mentally ill, and disabled people were treated harshly. She pled before state legislatures, and as a result, she helped establish thirty-two mental hospitals and fifteen schools for the mentally disabled. When she was commended for her efforts, she said, “I am merely acting in obedience to the voice of God.” Dorothea Dix believed every person has value, and she worked to see that those unable to speak for themselves received fair treatment. Certain groups of people in our communities may also be neglected. We can do something. We may call their need to the attention of those who can help. And we can show God’s love to them by becoming actively involved in their lives. Evidences of Loving God - Before the Face of God Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. [1 John 3:18] The first fruit of the Spirit is love, and it is love that is the focus of Paul’s remarks in 1 Corinthians 13. What does Christian love mean? What are the signs of love? First, love disposes us to honor God. It quickens a desire in our hearts for adoration. Do you enjoy the adoration of God in prayer, or is your prayer life merely endless petitions and requests? One of the signs of growing sanctification is an increasing accent on adoration in our prayers. We want more and more to honor God, to be enthralled with his majesty, and this is not natural to us in our sinful state. In short, love inclines us to worship. Second, love gives credit to God’s Word. Love does not operate in a spirit of suspicion. When we love someone we are more prone to trust what they tell us. Also, today there is a mentality in some parts of the church that enjoys finding problems in Scripture, and this is not a manifestation of love. Third, love in the heart acknowledges the right of God to govern—not simply the universe but also me. Love melts the arrogance of our fallen nature, and delights in the authority of God. The Lordship of Christ becomes a sweet doctrine, rather than one which causes a chaffing attitude. Glad obedience quickly follows. Fourth, love inclines us to desire justice for our neighbors. It moves us away from condemning and cheating and otherwise wronging our neighbors, toward giving them what is their due. It moves us away from slander and gossip, toward mercy and charitableness. Fifth, love disposes us toward contentment in whatever situation we find ourselves. This does not mean some kind of apathy, but it does mean that we are content with our lot even as we try to improve it. We are able to rejoice in the government of God as he superintends our lives for his good. Coram Deo If an evidence of loving God is adoration in prayer, spend five minutes today exalting God for who he is. Focus strictly on adoration, resisting the temptation to lapse into petitions, supplication, or thanksgiving. Use psalms as models for adoring God in prayer. Charles Stanley - Blessed Assurance SCRIPTURE READING: 1 JOHN 3:18–24 KEY VERSE: 1 JOHN 3:23 This is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. It is easy to look across the church sanctuary and see someone whose salvation you would not question. Perhaps you also can identify someone you believe is struggling even more in his walk with Jesus than you are. One of the enemy’s traps is to get us to compare ourselves to others. It is a way that he deceives us into thinking we do not measure up. At other times he gets us to think we’re better than the next person so we become complacent in our faith. The only true measuring stick resting in a church pew is in the book rack. It is the Bible, the inerrant Word of God. Listen to what God says about assurance of salvation: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NASB); “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31 NASB); and “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 3:23 NASB). The common thread in these scriptures is that salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. There is no other itinerary or requirement, no need for comparisons: “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” (1 John 5:13 NASB). Father, thank You for the blessed assurance You have given me. Let me continually use the measuring stick of Your Word to check my spiritual growth. Examples of His Love 1 JOHN 3:18 Promises: A Daily Guide to Supernatural Living - Page 99 Bill Bright The story is told about two farmers. Every day, one of them would haul pails of water up the steep slope to his terraced field and irrigate his meager crop. The second farmer tilled the terrace just below, and he would poke a hole in the dike and let the other farmer’s water run down into his field. The first farmer was upset. Being a Christian, he went to his pastor and asked for advice. The pastor told him to keep on watering as before and to say nothing. So, the farmer returned to his fields and the watering of his crop, but the farmer below him continued to drain off his water. Nothing had changed. After a few days, the first farmer went to his pastor again. The pastor told him to go a step further—to water his neighbor’s crop! So the next day, the farmer brought water to his neighbor’s field and watered the crops. After that, he watered his own field. This went on for three days, and not a word was exchanged between the two farmers. But after the third day, the second farmer came to the first farmer. “How do I become a Christian?” he asked. “There is a saying, ‘Love your friends and hate your enemies.’ But I say: Love your enemies!...If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:43–48). The love displayed on the cross is a reminder that we aren’t meant to lead comfortable, self-focused lives. Jesus’ actions show us that love isn’t merely emotion—it’s sacrifice and self-denial. We live to love both God and others, and that’s best done with actions that serve. Are you really loving the people around you? How can you love them better? REBECCA VAN NOORD WE SETTLE FOR WORDS: DEEDS ARE TOO COSTLY Evenings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings - Page 170 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 1 JOHN 3:18 The practice of substituting words for deeds is not something new, for the Apostle John saw it in his day and warned against it. James also had something to say about the vice of words without deeds: “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?” We settle for words in religion because deeds are too costly. It is easier to pray, “Lord, help me to carry my cross daily” than to pick up the cross and carry it. But since the mere request for help to do something we do not actually intend to do has a certain degree of religious comfort, we are content with repetition of the words. What then? Shall we take a vow of silence? Shall we cease to pray and sing and write and witness until we catch up on our deeds? I say no, that would not help. While we have breath we must speak to men about God and to God about men. To escape this snare of words without deeds, let us say nothing we do not mean. Break the habit of conventional religious chatter. Speak only as we are ready to take the consequences. Believe God’s promises and obey God’s commandments. Practice the truth so that we may with propriety speak the truth. Deeds give body to words. As we do acts of power our words will take on authority and a new sense of reality will fill our hearts! A W Tozer - OUR LOVE FOR GOD Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings - Page 30 Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18 The taking over of the romantic love ideal into our relation to God has been extremely injurious to our Christian lives. The idea that we should “fall in love” with God is ignoble, unscriptural, unworthy of us and certainly does no honor to the Most High God! We do not come to love God by a sudden emotional visitation. Love for God results from repentance, amendment of life and a fixed determination to love Him. (ED: ALL ENABLED BY AND DEPENDENT ON THE HOLY SPIRIT!) Then as God moves more perfectly into the focus of our hearts, our love for Him may indeed rise and swell within us till like a flood it sweeps everything before it. But we should not wait for this intensity of feeling. We are not responsible to feel but we are responsible to love, and true spiritual love begins in the will. We should set our hearts to love God supremely, however cold or hard they may seem to be and go on to confirm our love by happy and careful obedience to His Word. Enjoyable emotions are sure to follow! Love in the Abstract … Not the Concrete 1 John 3:18 Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-13 TODAY IN THE WORD Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:18 A church in Cincinnati, Ohio, has had phenomenal growth over the last several years. Their primary means of evangelistic outreach has been to show acts of kindness to people in their community. On several occasions they have volunteered to clean restaurant bathrooms, rake the leaves of the yards of elderly residents, and provide free Sunday newspapers to community newcomers. And each time they do such things they state that they are doing so to show the love of Christ in a tangible way. How would you feel about cleaning a restaurant bathroom or clearing a neighbor’s snowy sidewalk? This might be fine for another church, but we often have our own excuses for not meeting the needs of others. We are no different from the disciples in today’s reading. For every generation, showing brotherly kindness is more difficult than it first appears. It’s important for us to realize that the two accounts of miraculous feedings in Mark 6 and 8 are recorded primarily to validate the messianic claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. But one is struck by the contrast between the way Jesus responded to needy people and the way His disciples responded. In fact, the two miracles could very well serve as a mirror for our souls. Like the disciples, we might be inclined to excuse ourselves from showing acts of brotherly kindness because we’re busy. After a hard day’s work, we want rest, not responsibility (6:30-31). At the same time, the disciples seem to have thought that if people were able to get to Jesus, they were surely able to take care of their own needs (v. 36). And then there was the issue of ability. The disciples saw the crowds and assumed that there was no way they could minister to all those hungry people. Their resources were limited and the task seemed impossible (6:37; 8:4). They had all of their excuses in place, just like us. APPLY THE WORD To counter any excuses that you might use to avoid practicing brotherly kindness, be intentional about helping someone today. You can start with a simple prayer asking God to bring someone into your life who has a need that you can meet. It might be anything from fixing someone’s flat tire to taking someone out to lunch who is discouraged with life. Brotherly kindness doesn’t become a virtue overnight. But it can become a quality in our lives when we intentionally seek to make it one. 1 John 3:17-18 – Love – Jim Wilson Sixty-five year Clive Collins was opening the trunk of his car in a parking lot when he stepped on a manhole cover, which tipped, allowing him to fall into a 5 ft hole. Collins was trapped in the manhole for 45 minutes while other shoppers passed by without helping. He said one woman parked right beside him and looked under the hood of her car. Though he asked her to call an ambulance, the woman refused to acknowledge that he was there. Another shopper acknowledged Collins, but never did anything to help. Collins said the man drove by slowly, looking straight at him. When Collins waved to get his attention, the man waved back, but never stopped. Despite his injuries, Collins was finally able to get his cell phone out of his pocket and call for help. He was treated for two broken ribs, a chipped tooth, a strained groin, and needed 47 stitches. Collins said "Probably about 15, 20 people walked by. The more I called out, the less they seemed to notice me." Local authorities said they were investigating why the manhole cover tipped, but could not explain why no one stopped to help. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/england/dorset/5345940.stm. Submitted by Jim Sandell Truthfulness Can Hurt If truth-telling springs from love, it will not only pain those who hear it, it will pain those who speak it. If telling the truth is fun, it probably doesn't come from love. Jeremiah told the truth and was called the "weeping prophet." See: Zechariah 8:16; Ephesians 4:15; 1 John 3:18 Love—With Skin On Frightened by the clamor of thunder in the night, a little child cried out. Holding her securely in his arms, her father explained that she needn't fear. God would take care of her because He loved her greatly. "I know God will take care of me and love me," she replied. "But right now, Daddy, I want someone with skin on to love me." We are to be God's love, with skin on! See: John 13:34; 1 John 3:18; 4:20 Charles Swindoll - Being unselfish in attitude strikes at the very core of our being. It means we are willing to forego our own comfort, our own preferences, our own schedule, or own desires for another’s benefit. And that brings us back to Christ. Perhaps you never realized that it was His attitude of unselfishness that launched Him from the splendor of heaven to a humble manger in Bethlehem . . . and later to the cross at Calvary. How did He accept all that? Willingly. 1 JOHN 3:18 JOHN OF THE CROSS* However high the doctrine, adorned the eloquence, sublime the style, the fruits of the sermon will be, in general, no better than the spirit of the preacher. Live a life of love Christ’s love in us is a special kind of love that is directed away from things that defeat and turned toward things that bring victory (1 John 2:15–17). A warm and responsive love for others has always been an ingredient in the victorious Christian life (1 John 3:11). Such love must have more than a verbal expression. It must express itself as naturally in deeds as an apple tree bears apples (1 John 3:18). The incentive for our loving each other is the wonderful fact that God loves us (1 John 4:11).
1 João 3:19
Wiersbe - A believer’s relationship with others affects his relationship with God. A man who is not right with his brother should go settle the matter before he offers his sacrifice on the altar (cf. Matt. 5:23–24). A Christian who practices love grows in his understanding of God’s truth and enjoys a heart filled with confidence before God. (Bible Exposition Commentary) John Stott sees by this as referring to the preceding section - Love is the final objective test of our Christian profession, for true love, in the sense of self-sacrifice, is not natural to human beings in their fallen state. Its existence in anyone is evidence of new birth and of the indwelling Spirit (1Jn 3:24; 1Jn 4:12–13), and it shows itself ‘with actions’. ‘There are actual things we can point to—not things we have professed or felt or imagined or intended, but things that we have done’ (Law). If we thus love ‘in truth’ (1Jn 3:18), we may indeed have full assurance in our hearts. ‘The fruit of love is confidence’ (Westcott). (Borrow The Letters of John page 148) David Guzik gives an illustration - When we see this love at work in our lives, we can know that we are of the truth - and this brings assurance to our hearts before God, that we are standing in Him. Gayle Erwin tells a wonderful story about a man he knew when he was a boy. The man's name was Jake, and he was the meanest, drunkest, man in town. He would come to church from time to time, but that was only to beat up the elders. One Wednesday night, Jake came to church - but not to beat anybody up. Remarkably, Jake gave his life to Jesus. He walked down the aisle of the little church and kneeled down at the altar. The next night there was another meeting at the church, and the pastor asked if anyone wanted to share what God was doing in their lives. Jake stood up, and said: "I have something to say. Last night when I came here, I hated you people." Heads nodded in agreement. "But something happened to me and I don't understand this, but tonight I love you." And even though he only had one tooth, he smiled really big. This is a wonderful assurance that we are born again. Assurance is essential - who wants to wait until it is too late to know if they are really saved or not? Steven
1 João 3:19
Wiersbe observes that in 1John 3:19-24 "John names three wonderful blessings that will come to a believer who practices Christian love… Assurance (1Jn 3:19-20)… Answered Prayer (1Jn 3:21-22)… Abiding (1Jn 3:23-24). (Bible Exposition Commentary) David Smith has some helpful comments - The foregoing exhortation (Ed: 1Jn 3:11-18, especially 1Jn 3:17-18) may have awakened a misgiving in our minds: “Am I loving as I ought?” Our failures in duty and service rise up before us, and “our heart condemns us”. So the Apostle furnishes a grand reassurance: The reassurance is two-fold: (1) The worst that is in us is known to God and still He cares for us and desires us. Our discovery has been an open secret to Him all along. (2) He “knows all things”—sees the deepest things, and these are the real things. This is the true test of a man: Is the deepest that is in him the best? Is he better than he seems? His failures lie on the surface: is there a desire for goodness deep down in his soul? Is he glad to escape from superficial judgments and be judged by God who “knows everything,” Who sees “with larger other eyes than ours, to make allowance for us all”? (1 John 3 Commentary - Expositor's Greek Testament)