1 John 3:1-18 | Children Of God

1 John 3:1-18
Children of God

I. Introduction

1. John will continue to correct the impact of the false teaching these believers have been exposed to.
2. In this chapter, John will emphasize that they are children of God and, as such, they have a special standing with God.
3. In addition, they have specific knowledge that teaches them the truth rather than the errors they were hearing from those who went out from among them.

II. vv. 1-3 The child of God is loved.

1. v. 1 Our motivation for living a holy life isn’t just to avoid shame but also because we are loved by our heavenly Father.
   
   ¹ Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.^[1]
   
   1. The motivation for children to obey is greater when they allow their parents’ love to touch their hearts.
   2. Our heavenly Father loves us so much that as John sought to express this love, words fell short and he declared, “WHAT MANNER OF LOVE.”
      1. What can compare to the love of the Father for us?
      2. That motivates me to be found pleasing so that when He issues that call for the church or my life, I will be able to stand before His Son and please Him.
   3. I am willing to sacrifice and deny myself as the love of God touches my heart.
2. vv. 2-3 This love will result in glorification.
   
   ² Beloved, now we are 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. ³ And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
   
   1. John reminds believers that not only will we be united with the Lord, but we also will be glorified with the Lord.
      
      1 Corinthians 15:47-52 ⁴⁷ The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. ⁵⁰ Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
      
      
   2. It will be amazing when we receive our new bodies that allow us to see Jesus in His full glory.
   3. Imagine the knowledge and fellowship we will have.
      
      1 Corinthians 13:8-13 ⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. ¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
      
      
   4. No experience in this life can compare with the glory that shall be revealed in us.
      
      Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

III. Ch. 3 The child of God has knowledge.

1. vv. 4-5 We know He came to take away sin.
   
   ⁴ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. ⁵ And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. ⁶ Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
   
   1. Jesus came for the very purpose of taking away both the consequences and the controlling power of sin over a person’s life.
   2. Since that is the case, why would one think that a believer living in sin is acceptable?
   3. Christ has no sin, so if we say we are one with Him, how can that be?
   4. Living in sin reveals that a person does not know the Lord.
2. vv. 7-8 We know He came to destroy the works of the devil.
   
   ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ⁸ He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
   
   1. John makes it clear that those who live in sin are disciples of Satan and that Jesus came to destroy him and all his works.
   2. This is an obvious truth that John is making to enable these believers to be able to biblically see the faultiness of such ideas that a person can claim to know Christ and live for that which He came to destroy.
3. v. 9 We know He came to give us a new nature.
   
   ⁹ Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
   
   1. The nature of the new life godly people live leads to godly lives.
   2. Jesus came to give us a new nature and destroy the works of the devil.
   3. Have you had a genuine experience with Christ or just a mere experience with religion?
   4. Church can’t change you; only Christ can do that.

IV. vv. 10-15 The child of God versus the child of the devil.

1. v. 10a A child of the devil is not holy.
   
   ¹⁰ In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
   
   1. Keep in mind that John is seeking to give the true believer a way to identify the false while finding assurance that their faith is genuine.
   2. A true Christian will not be able to hide, for they will be MANIFESTED through their righteous living—namely, loving others.
   3. Jesus said we are like a light in the darkness.
      
      Matthew 5:14-16 ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
      
      Philippians 2:14-15 ¹⁴ Do all things without complaining and disputing, ¹⁵ that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world
      
      
   4. Your life will stand out in this dark world.
      1. We should be very concerned if our life blends into the darkness of this present world.
2. v. 10b A child of the devil does not love.
   
   ¹⁰….nor is he who does not love his brother.
   
   1. The bright light that will shine from our lives will be our love for others, but specifically here, it is our love for fellow Christians.
   2. Jesus declared that our love would be the identifying characteristic of our lives.
      
      John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
      
      
   3. It is safe to conclude that these false teachers, along with their disciples, must have been very unloving and mean.
   4. If a person professes to be righteous and yet has no love for others, they really have no righteousness at all.
      1. True righteousness is measured by love, not how much minutia of the law one can keep.
      2. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees (Matt 23:23) for paying tithe on even their herbs and spices but failed to carry out obedience in the weightier matters of the law, like justice and mercy.
3. v. 11 Love is not a new idea.
   
   ¹¹ For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another
   
   1. John reminds believers that this matter of love is not a new idea, but rather a foundational truth given to all believers by Jesus.
      
      John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
      
4. v. 12 Example of hatred from the beginning.
   
   ¹² not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
   
   1. John points to Cain as an example of one who was not a believer.
   2. Cain offered God a product of the field, not a blood sacrifice, as did his brother Abel. God calls Cain to obedience, but instead hardens his heart in jealous hatred.
   3. This hatred then led the way to murder.
5. v. 13 The world will hate the believer.
   
   ¹³ Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.
   
   1. Just as Abel experienced the hatred of his brother, we should not be surprised at the world’s hatred of us.
   2. They will hate us because they hate having their deeds exposed.
   3. They will hate us because we live with the awareness that a day of accounting is coming.
   4. They will hate us because Satan will stir them up.
   5. They will hate because we preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the only way for man to be saved.
6. vv. 14-15 The believer loves his brother.
   
   ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. ¹⁵ Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
   
   1. A believer will not walk in that hatred because a believer’s life has gone through a transformation—they passed from death to life.
   2. How unfortunate it is that the church has become known by many as a place of fighting and petty division.
   3. Too often, that division is over matters of preference rather than the core truth.
   4. If a person is not doing something unethical, immoral, or outside of sound doctrine, how big a problem do we really have?

V. vv. 16-18 The child of God has an open heart.

1. v. 16 Jesus met man’s greatest need.
   
   ¹⁶ By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
   
   1. We don’t have to wonder how we are to love each other, for our Savior has given us the standard and example of how we are to love.
   2. We are to love by denying self and esteeming others.
   3. Jesus, of course, gave us the ultimate example in that He died upon the cross for our sins.
   4. Forgiveness of sin was our greatest need, and He met that need fully and completely, holding nothing back.
2. vv. 17-18 Christians meet the urgent need.
   
   ¹⁷ But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? ¹⁸My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
   
   1. John applies the example of Jesus’ act of love by declaring that we should be willing to meet the physical needs that arise in the lives of brothers and sisters.
   2. It is not enough to say “I love,” we must love in action as well.
   3. If I am unwilling to open my hand and meet a need, then it is a fair question to ask whether or not the love of God abides in us.

VII. Conclusion

1. We have been given a great standing with God as His children.
2. We need to walk in the knowledge of that relationship.
3. Our standing gives the motivation we need to live for the Lord.
4. Do you believe in Jesus?
5. Are you living in obedience to the commands of God?
6. If so, ask with assurance for those things you have need of.

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^[1] All Scripture quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

^[2] John Stott, The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 148.