1 John 3

1 John 3 is a chapter about the destiny of our relationship with God, the destiny of us as his children and how that destiny and our knowledge of it would purify our lives now.

3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

John expresses his amazement of God’s love for us humans! His greater amazement that God’s love for us is expressed from the viewpoint of a father! Having just mentioned being born of Him, John speaks in amazement about this manner of love that makes us children of God. He wants us to behold it – that is, look at it and study it intently.

John uses the word lavished here. First, it speaks of the measure of God’s love to us. Secondly, it speaks of the manner of God’s giving of love; lavished has the idea of a one-sided giving without a return. The greatness of this love is shown in that by it, we are called children of God. John is beginning to express that it is important to understand what it means to be the children of God, and that everyone is not a child of God. Therefore the world does not know us: Because of our unique parentage from God, we are strangers to this world. Ultimately, we should expect the world to treat us as it treated Him; because they do not know (understand, and therefore accept) him, they will not know (understand, and therefore accept) us.

2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

John uses Dear friends in this verse. The phrase can, again, be translated Beloved expressing a much deeper relationship to the reader. John shows us the destiny of God’s children. He tells us that our present standing is plain. Explaining to the reader that we are able to know, to understand, and that we have an assurance, that we are indeed among the children of God. In Romans 8:16 it tells us, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”. If we are a child of God, then we have an inward assurance of this, The Holy Spirit’s presence within us. He goes on to explain that though our present standing is plain, our future destiny is not. We do know that we will have a body like Christ’s (Phil. 3:21). However, we don’t know all the specifics of what we will become in the presence of Christ. In this sense, we can’t even imagine what we will be like in glory. John points out that we are not left completely in the dark about our future state. When Jesus is revealed to us, either by His coming for us or our coming to Him, we will be like Him. John says we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Perhaps this is the greatest glory of heaven; to be in the unhindered, unrestricted, presence of our Lord.

3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

John expresses to the readers what we can do right now. He says that anyone (All) who have a hope of seeing Christ and being like Christ is morally pure. He is not giving the instruction to purify ourselves here but stating that the act of having hope in Him purifies us. This understanding helps all of us with to pursue more purity. When we know our end is to be more like Jesus, it makes us want to be more like Jesus right now.

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Sin in these verses is not occasional sin but a consistent lifestyle of sin. John describes this rightly as lawlessness. Lawlessness is not the absence of law but the active rebellions against the law; a disregard of the law of God. It is very important to understand what the Bible means – and what it does not mean – when it says does not sin. According to the verb tense John uses, does not sin means does not live a life style of habitual sin.

If Christ is sinless and the purpose of His coming was to remove sin, then whoever is in Him (abides in Him) does not sin (live a lifestyle of sin). Habitually sinful conduct indicates an absence of relationship or fellowship with Christ. Therefore, if we claim to be a Christian but sin is our lifestyle, our standing as children of God can be legitimately be questioned.

To live a lifestyle of habitual sin is to demonstrate that you have not seen Him (in a present sense of the ultimate “seeing Him” mentioned in 1 John 3:2), and that you have not known Him. There are some people who come into our lives that seeing them or knowing them will changes our life forever. Jesus is that person for us.

7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

This verse tells us that John wrote against a deception threatening the Christians of his day. The antichrists who were denying the doctrine of Christ, referred to in 1 John 2, were also claiming to know God while living in unrighteousness. John did not separate religious righteousness from a life of righteousness. If we are made righteous by our faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22), it will be seen by our righteous lives. We can live lives of righteousness, not sin, because we have been given the righteousness of Jesus, and He is righteous. We have the resource we need to live righteously!

8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.

John continues to define the differences between the children of God and those who are not. He states that people who are settled in habitual sin are not the children of God – they are of the devil, satan’s sinful nature is shown through the lives of those who belong to him, just as the children of God show righteousness through their lives. John tells the reader that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and free us from our bondage to the devil. His definition also points out that a person who sins, even a believer, is of the devil in the sense that he is participating in the devil’s activity. John is indicating that it is possible for believers to do that which is of the devil. Showing the necessity of this writing.

John, in verse 9, is simply emphasizing what it means to be born again. It means that a change comes into our lives – it is a change that will be worked out in every area of our lives as we grow in Christ, but it is a real, observable change. The change from being of the devil to being children of God comes as we are born of God; when this happens, our old nature, patterned after rebellion dies – and we are given a new nature, patterned after the instinctive obedience of Jesus Christ. It is the same message Paul preached, saying that as believers we are to put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and that we are to put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22, 24). Does not sin . . . he cannot sin: Does not sin and cannot sin each has the same verb tense as does not sin in 1 John 3:6, meaning a continual practice of habitual sin. John tells us that when we are born again – born into the family of God – there is a real change in our relation to sin.

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 God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

In verse 10 John is pointing out two essential points: righteous conduct and love for brothers and sisters. He doesn’t spend time trying to prove or explain the existence of the devil. He knows the reality of the devil is a Biblical fact and uses the explanation in the verse to illustrate it. Some have thought John harsh with this example, however, one must recall that Jesus called people children of the devil also in John 8:41-45. In this passage, Jesus’ point was important, establishing the principle that our spiritual parentage determines our nature and our destiny. If we are born again, and have God as our Father, it will show in our nature and destiny. Therefore if our father is Satan, it will also show in our nature and destiny.

More on Love and Hatred
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

John had already emphasized the command to love as being the word which you heard from the beginning (1 John 2:7). In remembering this message to love one another, he remembered the command of Jesus in John 13:34. He identifies loving one another as absolutely basic to living for Christ and advancing the kingdom. The concept of Christians having a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” is not only about us and Jesus mattering in that relationship. But how we treat others – how we love others – really matters before God.

12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.

As a negative example, John presents Cain, who was not right with God (his works were evil) and who hated his brother. He identifies Cain spiritually as a child of the devil. His brother Abel is identified as a child of God. Cain’s act of murder was the epitome of hatred, and thus coming from the evil one.

When there are two children of God who are both right with God, there will be love.

13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

We shouldn’t be surprised when the world hates us; but we should be surprised when there is hatred among the body of Christ. With the phrase we know John is not only referring back to past teachings but he is insisting that the believer can come to a place of genuine assurance. A love for the people of God is a basic sign of being born again. When present, it gives us assurance. We can know we have passed from death to life by our love for other Christians. The place of hatred, of jealousy, of bitterness one finds oneself in is a place of death. You need to pass from death over to life. This means knowing two things. First, we know that we were dead. Second, we know that we have passed to life from death. To pass from death to life is the reverse of the norm. We all expect to pass from life to death; but in Jesus, we can turn it around.

To hate our brother is to murder him in our hearts. Or, by ignoring another person, we may treat them as if they were dead. Hatred can be shown passively or actively. The heart knows no difference between hate or murder, murder is the simple fulfillment of the attitude of hate. To live in the practice of hate/murder – or to have a life style of the habitual hatred of our brothers – is a demonstration that we do not have Jesus, eternal life abiding in us, showing that we are not born again.

There are in fact some who claim to be Christians who are not. They consider themselves Christians because they are not Moslems, or Jewish, or Buddhists, or atheists. But being a Christian is never a “none of the above” kind of thing. How can we know if we are one of these? John’s reply has been constant and simple. There are three tests to measure the proof of a genuine Christian: the truth test, the love test, and the moral test. If we believe in what the Bible teaches as true, if we show the love of Jesus to others, and if our conduct has been changed and is becoming more like Jesus, then our claim to be a Christian can be proven true.

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

“This is how we know what love is: …” The word love here is Agape, one of the four Greek words for love. It describes a love that loves without changing. It is a self-giving love that gives without demanding or expecting re-payment. It is love so great that it can be given to the unlovable or unappealing. It is love that loves even when it is rejected. Agape love gives and loves because it wants to; it does not demand or expect repayment from the love given – it gives because it loves, it does not love in order to receive.

“…Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” Real love isn’t merely “felt” as an inward feeling; it is also shown by demonstration – and the ultimate demonstration was the giving of Jesus on the cross. The exact same idea was expressed by Paul in Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

“And we ought…”. Since we are sent with the same mandate Jesus was sent with, we must demonstrate our love by laying down our lives for our brothers. Jesus’ words As the Father sent Me, I also send you (John 20:21) comes to mind with this verse. The focus here is loving our brothers, this is pertinent to Christianity and John continues to stress the point to his readers. If we can’t love our brothers what kind of Christian does that make us? John reminds us that love, and its demonstration, often involves sacrifice – the laying down of our lives for others. Wishing to be more loving won’t do, because it won’t sacrifice where it is necessary.

17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

John continues to stress that love is not about the words but must be shown in our actions; deeds and sacrifices. Material possessions here has the same Greek word translated life. Referring to the material goods that sustain life. The need of our sisters and brothers here is for food, clothing and shelter; the basic needs of life. John is telling them that as believers they can lay down their lives by giving some of their livelihood for those who are in need thus demonstrating love to/for that person. In giving to our brothers and sisters in this way we can demonstrate the same type of self-sacrificing love that Christ demonstrated for us on the cross. To love in word alone is to speak loving words stopping short of doing anything to prove that love. The opposite of loving in word is loving in deed and truth.

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God

John tells his readers that 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. Our assurance is two-fold. First, God already knows everything about us and He loves us, He cares for us, He desires us; second, God knows all things, and knows who we truly are in Jesus Christ. If we are born again, than the real self is the one created in the image of Jesus Christ. John assures us that God is greater than our heart, and so reminds us that we cannot base our relationship with Him purely on how we feel in His presence. Yet, when we are in fellowship with God, and our heart does not condemn us, we know that we can have confidence toward God and our standing with Him. If someone is in true fellowship with God – not deceiving oneself, as mentioned in 1 John 1:6 – then the assurance that comes to his heart while fellowshipping with God is a precious thing. It is what Paul spoke about in Romans 8:16 – The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

Relationship with God gives us the assurance of answered prayers. John seems to be quoting Jesus’ idea from John 15:7 – If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. Keeping God’s commandments is important to answered prayer. The person who is in fellowship with God will want to do those things that are pleasing in His sight. The believers should have hearts that just want to please the Lord in everything that we do.

23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

The idea of keeping His commandments in the previous verse led John to speak specifically about what His commandment is. Simply, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another. Here, John does not refer to these two aspects of obedience as two commandments, but as one commandment. When Jesus spoke of the greatest commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, He added another saying: And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Again, John seems to have quoted Jesus’ idea from John 6:29: This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent. The first commandment and the greatest work we can do, is to believe on Jesus.This is not simply believing that Jesus is, or even believing that He did certain things such as die on a cross. To believe on the name of Jesus means to put your belief on Jesus in the sense of trusting in Him, relying on Him, and clinging to Jesus. It isn’t about intellectual knowledge or understanding, it is about trust. And love one another: The second commandment is also a quoting of Jesus’ idea from John 15:12: This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. The love of the brethren is not an option for some Christians; it is a commandment for all.

Abides in Him: Those who abide in Jesus know they are abiding in Jesus, because of the presence and assurance of the Holy Spirit. John again is giving the same idea as Romans 8:16 (The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God). Romans 8:9 tells us that anyone who belongs to Jesus has the Spirit in him; that indwelling Holy Spirit gives us assurance. You can’t be abiding in Jesus and not know it, though you may have doubt from time to time.