1 John, Chapter 3
© Copyright 1998 Darroll Evans-all rights
reserved
1 John 3: 1
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth
us not, because it knew him not.
I doubt that any
person today fully understands God’s love for His chosen and redeemed!
Each day, the Holy
Spirit adds to the Church!
We do not choose
Him!
He chooses us!
John 15:16a Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,
Those who are
self-led are deceived!
Those and only those
who are led by the Spirit are sons of God!
Rom 8:14 For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
The Church is
limited to those who are led by the Spirit of God!
1 John 3: 2-3
2 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.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth
himself, even as he is pure.
Did you get that?
Do you believe that!
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God!”
We are also still in
the process of being completed!
However, as a saint
(Gr. hagios-agioV), you are now Pure, blameless, and holy before God!
We have been
baptized into Christ!
Gal 3:27 For
as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
We are pure, holy,
and blameless before God, because He is pure, holy, and blameless!
Rom 11:16
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy:
and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
1 John 3: 4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of
the law.
Here, John returns
to basics.
Simply put, sin is
the transgression, the breaking of the law.
But, is the “law”
the Ten Commandments?
We shall see!
1 John 3: 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins;
and in him is no sin.
Christians
understand that Christ Jesus came to this earth to take away sins of the world.
John 1:29b
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world.
John 3:17
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved.
1 John 3: 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth
hath not seen him, neither known him.
No one who remains
in Christ Jesus continues to live in sin.
Those outside of
Christ can only live in sin, because there is not righteousness outside of
Christ!
I know that the word
"repentance" has come into disrepute in many so-called
"Christian" circles lately.
We can only come to
Christ as we are!
1 John 3: 7-8
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that
doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the
devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose
the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Do not allow any
person or spirit cause you to go astray in this matter.
The person that does
what is righteousness is righteous.
What does it mean to
"do" righteousness?
Righteousness is
trusting in Christ!
Any person that
practices sinful conduct follows Satan.
The devil, Satan has
sinned from the beginning of human history.
Sin was not spoken
of on earth until Satan, the snake brought doubt to man.
The Son of God, Jesus
came so He might destroy the works of the devil, render them ineffective.
You are either led
by the Spirit of God, or the spirit of Satan!
There is no middle
ground!
1 John 3: 9-10
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for
his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because
he is born of God.
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and
the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God,
neither he that loveth not his brother.
No person that is
born of God continues in sin!
That means
continually sins!
Because, God's s
Spirit leads that person!
Some people think that
because they are saved they are no longer able to sin.
That position is due
to spiritual ignorance!
Christians are
forgiven, but not spiritually perfect!
We are going through
the maturing process.
Christ walked on
water, the rest of us still need boats!
Due to the
indwelling of God's Holy Spirit, a true Christian cannot be continually (or
habitually) sin, because he is begotten of God (born again).
By looking at what
is apparent the children of God and the children of the devil become
discernable.
Any person who does
not do what is righteousness is not of God!
The Godly person
will have a deep abiding concern for the general welfare of his brothers and
sisters in Christ.
John 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (NKJV)
We are to love one
another, but not be embroiled in the world!
1 John 3: 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning,
that we should love one another.
This message of
mutual love and respect for each other has been taught to us from the beginning
of our Christian walk.
The message is
simple, and not complicated!
The message is open,
and not sealed!
It is plain, and not
ambiguous.
The message is that
Christians should love one another.
1 John 3: 12 Not
as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew
he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's
righteous.
We are not to be as
Cain was.
He followed Satan!
And, in doing that
he killed his brother.
Why did Cain kill
Able?
He did it because
his deeds were evil.
Let me use an
example I heard many years ago.
To the best of my
knowledge, this example was first used by Dr. Manford
George Gutzke.
First, let me ask,
"What is a thief before he steals?"
If you reply that he
was an honest person…I will then ask, "If he was honest, why did he
steal?"
Your see, sin is a
matter of the heart perception!
Adam's gift to us is
death due to sin!
But, when were are "born again" we become inherently
righteous.
Able was righteous
before God.
His brother Cain
hated him for that reason.
Able died because he
was righteous.
Our Lord Jesus
Christ was hated because of that very same fact.
He was righteous
before God.
The unrighteous of
His day hated Him, and they will hate you if you are God's Child.
John 15:18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. (NKJV)
1 John 3: 13
Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
Do not wonder if the
world hates you.
It hated its Creator
long before it hated you.
Jesus of Nazareth is
the most polarizing figure in all of human history.
John 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world
would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose
you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (NKJV)
Do not despair
because of the world’s hatred!
Rejoice in Christ's
victory!
1 John 3: 14-15
14 We know that we have passed from death unto
life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth
not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and
ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Because we are
chosen, we have come out from under the sentence of death and now stand in the
light of life.
We know that our
change, our transformation is true when we realize that we love the brothers
and sisters in the faith.
This is a difficult teaching, however any person that does not follow Christ in
his or her love for the Children of God is not a child of God.
No matter how loudly
they proclaim they are "saved," the fact is they are "lost.”
Matthew 7:22-23
22"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done
many wonders in Your name?'
23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me,
you who practice lawlessness!' (NKJV)
Everyone who hates
his brother is a murderer!
When we respond to
Christ, we are forgiven of all sins, even the most vile
sins!
1 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.
Here is how we know
Christ loves us.
He laid down His
life, went to the cross for us.
We do not know that
we love God because of our acts!
We know the truth
because of His actions!
1 John 3: 17-19
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?
18 My little children, let us not love in word,
neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts
before him.
Again, the term
“brother” refers to fellow Christians!
Christians are not commanded
to share the blessings God has given us with those who hate our God!
We are not to cast
His pearls before swine!
Matt 7:6
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Giving God’s
blessings to the ungodly is sin!
Americans have been
conned into sharing our blessings with any old sinner that come along!
And now we are
paying the price!
1 John 3: 20-21
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than
our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have
we confidence toward God.
Sometimes we just
feel that we have done the wrong thing, acted in an inappropriate manner.
In that instance our
heart condemns us.
You are not
reconciled to God through feelings.
Whenever your
heart/conscience condemns you, remember God is greater than your
heart/conscience.
He knows that with
humans some days are better than others.
God is in to
forgiving business.
He knows all things.
God does not love us
because we are good!
He loves us because
Christ Jesus died for us.
If your
heart/conscience does not rebuke you it is because he is doing a righteous work
within you, and you may have confidence in God's love for you.
Philippians 1:6 {For I am} confident of this
very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day
of Christ Jesus. (NASB)
1 John 3: 22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep
his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
This verse is
difficult for many in the Church to grasp.
The Holy Scripture
is profound for what it says.
It is also profound
for what it does not say.
Here we have been
taught by some that the words are exact and complete.
They are exact and
complete, but not in the way some interpret this verse.
They are exact but
not complete in the way others interpret this verse.
Some will tell you
that all we need to do is love all people!
That is a lie!
We are commanded to
love other Christians, and evangelize the ungodly!
Evangelism is the
only way we can show them true love!
Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and,
lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen.
1 John 3: 23-24
23 And 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.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Here is His main
commandment.
It is that we
believe in, trust in, have faith in Jesus Christ!
The second most
important commandment is for us to love one another, other Christians!
The person that
keeps those commands lives in union with the Father.
The Holy Spirit also
lives in union with that person.
In addition, we come
to deeply understand that by this deep abiding concern that we demonstrate
toward others, that God lives in and works through us.
It is because of the
Spirit of God's grace that is within His people that we understand that we are
His.