Chapter Introduction
I saw a cartoon on Facebook that said, “I want to be so full of Christ that if a mosquito bites me, it flies away singing, 'There Is Power In the Blood.'” I think the apostle John would like that and agree. That's what John is teaching and encouraging.
As we continue on, we'll see John again call us little children, children of God. He references us as Children thirteen times. This brings to mind this vision of a child sitting on the lap of the Father. Little children need nourishment to grow, and the Father provides it. Our spiritual nourishment comes by reading God's word, spending time in prayer with the Lord, worshiping Him, walking in His ways, and trusting Him. And the Father is right there with the child during these things to provide guidance and oversee growth. In time, our growth should be evident.
While the world would distract you from the question and the false teachers would say it isn't important, John asks us, little children, are you growing? Is the evidence? Are you so full of Jesus Christ that if a mosquito were to bite you, he would fly away singing, "There is power in the blood?”
1 John 3:1
John said, behold this. That means give it a thorough examination. Check this out because it's pretty amazing. The evidence is clear. We are born in Him. That's an amazing thing. We are children of God Most High, Yahweh, creator of all that ever was or is or will be, the God of the furthest reaches of the universe. And while He did these incredibly spectacular things, He also meticulously wove you together. He made sure you're DNA was just right, your fingerprint was unique and your personality was perfect for the life He set you in. He knows the hairs on your head. He knows your heart and loves you anyway. For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. That's the manner of the Love the Father has bestowed on us.
Little children, we are part of God's family. He has gone to great lengths to reconcile you to Himself. Behold this amazing fact. Don't let anyone take it from you.
If you know Him, you know He is righteous. And if you are his child, you must also be righteous. Our righteousness is as filthy rags in God's eyes. It's only by the righteousness of Jesus bestowed on us that we can be found righteous in God's eyes. Our righteousness is an alien righteousness. It's not from us, not born of us, and it makes no sense that we possess it. Our righteousness is a free gift, a testimony of grace. It is a display of God's love for us. He bestowed this love on us and called us His children.
We can draw a conclusion from the fact that we are children of God and have this alien righteousness. John concludes, “Therefore the world does not know us because it did not know Him.” This righteousness happens to us, and we struggle to understand it. Just think how confusing it must be to the world. We are set apart from the world as Jesus was. One of the things we all struggle with is how to operate in this world without being of this world.
1 John 3:2-3
As children of God, this life is just the beginning. Our eternity started when we first believed. But we are still in this physical body of flesh. Because of that, there is this war that rages in us. It's the Holy Spirit warring with the fallen flesh, but it won't be that way long. Life is but a vapor. It passes so fast, and we will soon be free from this body when our battle ends. Remember, John is ninety-something years old or so. He knows his days are short. He wants others to know how quickly this life passes by.
If you look at verse 2 again, it says, "Now we are," and it says, “Not yet.” We are “now” established, but we do “not yet” know what that looks like. The "now we are" statement is what we trust in for the “not yet” statement in which we find our hope. So, John said it is “now, not yet.” The false teachers took the “not yet” and twisted it for their purpose. Instead of “now, not yet” they said now doesn't matter because the not yet isn't here or visible. They said the now has nothing to do with the spiritual you. They said don't worry about purity, have fun. If it feels good, do it. They promoted the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which we talked about in the last chapter.
John said, we don't really know how this works after we die, but we know we will be like Him. We will be resurrected as He has been resurrected. He was the firstborn of the dead. We will be those who come after the firstborn. What do we know about Jesus after the resurrection? First, I think we need to notice that Jesus still had a body. He's not some ghostly vapor floating around. He has a body, although it wasn't a body of flesh like we know flesh. Jesus retained the marks he received on His body from this world. We will see the scars of His crucifixion when we see Him. I don't know if I'll still have my scars in heaven. I don't know if I'll have more hair or bad knees. I tend to think that part of all those things is part of who you are, part of your character. People readily recognized Jesus after the resurrection, so He must have looked the same. We can see Jesus still has a will and personality. And He still ate and drank in His resurrected and glorified state.
Maybe all those things will be true for us also, but that wasn't John's point. The point was that the seed of God that is in you now is not yet visible, but it is growing in you now. That seed will come to completion when we meet Jesus in the air and are made like Him. We will shed this body of sin. We will be glorified and stand righteous before our God. We will no longer deal with sin and all that goes with it. The few people in the Bible who got a glimpse of this spiritual world and the glory of God found it nearly impossible to behold. They fell facedown. They had no words to describe it.
The false teachers were wrong. The seed of God was in those believers. It did matter right then and there in the present, even in this physical body. That seed is growing. We are to be growing. If we are in God's family, we are continually seeking him and motivated to be Christ-like. Our mission is not concluded until we are standing before Him.
1 John 3:4-6
Some folks within the fellowship, or had formerly been among them, were pulling away, distancing themselves. They had been deceived by false teachers who convinced them walking as a disciple wasn’t necessary. John wants to be clear. Disciples walk as disciples.
It is sin that separates the believer from the unbeliever. John doesn't offer any exceptions or justifications that allow us to say, "Yes, I know there is sin in my life, but...." But what? John said those who walk in a life of sin have neither seen Jesus nor know Him. John just keeps relentlessly hitting this separation and contrast without apology: light and darkness, good and evil, of the world and of heaven, Holy and the profane, righteous and unrighteous, lawless and obedient. If you are in Christ you are set apart as a citizen of heaven, driven by love, characterized by obedience, directed by doctrine. We walk in the light. We abide in Christ. We aren't driven or directed by lawlessness.
Those not in Christ are in the dark. They love the world and things of the world. They have tethered their life to something that is passing away, and they will pass away with it if they don't change their direction.
John isn't showing this separation to say we are better than the unbeliever or that we've risen to some higher status. That was the game of some of the false teachers. John is simply stating the spiritual facts and he's doing so because the false teachers were creating a false assurance among some people. We know sin is a big deal in the eyes of God. Sin is putting our will in front of God's will; it's lawlessness and rebellion. It's saying, I don't like your way of doing things. God, I don't like your standard. I'll do it my way.
We know from the bible that all have sinned and fallen short. We know God is just, and sin must be punished. God laid our punishment on Jesus. But if you don't agree you are a sinner, how can you come to the cross? Coming to the cross is saying, Yes, those were my sins Jesus took upon Himself. I'm in agreement with God. I've fallen short. When we take part in sin, we deny the cross. Jesus came to take away our sins.
If we are in Him, we won't continue to sin. Those who keep sinning never knew him. This is not to say we suddenly become sinless perfection. However, we no longer make a place for sin in our life. We don’t plan our sins. We aren’t committed to it in any way. We simply fall to temptations from time to time. Our response is to confess it, repent, be washed, and press on.
1 John 3:7-9
You can almost hear John’s pleading to the church and specifically to those being deceived. They were his little children, those he loved and was concerned about. There we deceivers among them – men teaching it was okay to sin since Jesus had paid for it all. They offered an unrestrained carnal life as if that was why Jesus died. John set the record straight. Jesus died to destroy the works of the devil. The work of sin is death – the work of Jesus is life, not just life in this flesh, but life eternal.
The righteous are righteous because they align themselves with their righteous Savior and King, who saved them. He who sins aligns himself with the devil. You don't have to make a conscious decision to belong to the Devil. When you aren't in God's will, you default to the Devil’s side.
The son came that all men might be saved. If every man, woman, and child repented and trusted in the shed blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, the works of the devil could be destroyed. And the world would be a very different place. It is fallen man that keeps the Devil in business. Elections would be very different because the politicians would all tell the truth. TV would be very different, there wouldn't be any Christian TV because all TV would be of Christ. Movies out of Hollywood (or maybe somewhere else) would be God-honoring. We wouldn't need a rating system. Our thoughts, words, and deeds would be different.
Those born again are born into God. A change occurs in our lives when we are born again. We are given a new heart and new desires. We are filled with the Holy Spirit, and He begins to change us and clean us up from the inside out. A life that is identified with Christ can't be a life that is lived in a constant state of sin. When John says 'does not sin' and 'cannot sin,' he is talking about someone living and practicing a life of sin. He doesn't mean that a Christian would never sin again. He's saying the practice of habitual sin is an indication that Christ is not in you. In Christ, we do have the power over sin. Yet, we fail regularly to use that power to focus on Christ. We take our eyes off of Him, and we sink into distrust and unbelief.
1 John 3:10-12
Manifest is "made evident". The presence of the seed of God clears up any confusion. Those practicing righteousness have identified themselves as being of God, of being set apart from the world and its children, which is the devil and his followers. A person can be very moral in this world and look very good to the world and the culture, but if they don’t practice righteousness as defined by God, then God isn’t in them. The false teachers wanted to define righteousness and its application and need. They wanted man’s definition to protect man’s place on his own thrown. We in Christ are distinct in that we love one another.
Cain went through the religious motions. He made an offering to God. Abel's offering was given in obedience and love. Cain was involved, and Abel was committed. Does our outward appearance indicate a life lived for God? Are you committed? Are you full of Jesus?
In John's time, some believed that since the body was sinful and that sin was acceptable, it was really not possible to keep from sinning. How do you overcome sin? We begin each day yielding to God. Daily, we commit, hourly, and minute to minute, we live in the spirit. Do I have the divine nature in me, or am I putting on a show?
1 John 3:13-15
We are not to be surprised if the world hates us. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. They become like Cain as you become like Abel. This reveals your righteousness and their unrighteousness. As believers, we are a reminder to the unbelievers of their immorality and shortcomings in the eyes of God. We, bearing the righteousness of Christ, become the light that shows the darkness for what it is.
We are also the Abel that was once a Cain. We each had murder in our hearts. Our testimony now is that murderers can be saved, but they won't go on being murderers. You can't be an Abel and act like a Cain. And a Cain who acts like an Abel is a pretender, going through the motions, just involved. But they fool no one.
Sin separates Men and women from God. Sin is what separates the counterfeit from the committed Christian. The true Christian knows God and is committed to Him. There was a time in their life when they came to understand their sin. They agreed with God that they were a lawbreaker. And they died to themself, turned from their life of sin, and trusted in Jesus. Then, as a born-again Christian, they became a new person in Christ. They were purchased by the blood of Jesus. Their life is committed to Jesus Christ.
The counterfeit Christian may talk about God and be involved in some religious activity. They may give money, go to church every time the doors open, and even carry a big fat bible, but they lack commitment. Someone once said the difference between commitment and involvement is best displayed in a ham and egg breakfast. The chicken was merely involved, but the pig was committed when he gave it all.
Are you committed? Have you laid it all down? Was there a day or a season in your life when you knew that the Lord saved you? Is there a clear distinction between the old and new, the old man of sin, and the new man with the seed of God, free from that life driven and controlled by sin?
John said, when the world hates you, you are just clearly seeing those who abide in death. They are spiritually dead. They have no capacity to love. That tool isn't in their toolbox. They can fake it sometimes and go through the motions, but sooner or later, the heart is revealed.
1 John 3:16-17
John’s readers anticipated persecution and the possibility of death, although few had actually been martyred so far (Rev 2:13). Refusal to participate in the worship of the emperor would brand them as subversives, and their enemies would be more than happy to betray them to the government as such. Since noncitizen prisoners were routinely tortured for information, especially if they were slaves, Christians might have to pay a tremendous price to avoid betraying their fellow Christians to death.
But John also demands of them a practical commitment to love in the present. Their opponents, who had withdrawn from the community, perhaps to avoid persecution, are responsible for others’ deaths as Cain was; but the true Christians are to live sacrificially on behalf of others daily. As in some Jewish thought, withholding goods from someone in need was equivalent to starving him or her (cf. Jas 2:15).
Keener, C. S. (1993).
The IVP Bible background commentary:
New Testament (1 Jn 3:16–17).
InterVarsity Press.
If someone stood right in front of you who had never been in our world before or never been exposed to our culture, like some native off of some deserted island, how would you describe love to them? Love is...
The dictionary says:
A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend; sexual passion or desire.
Each of our definitions would be different depending on the situation we would relate it to. That might be determined by what's going on in our life. We'd probably all end up trying to describe a feeling or an emotion. But that emotion or feeling is much different if you are describing the love you have for your spouse versus the love you have to eat Mexican on Sunday afternoons. Because the Greek language is so specific, they have several different words they use for the different kinds of love. The word John uses for love is agape. We know this as a love that is unchanging. It's unconditional and self-giving. Agape love gives without any thought for re-payment. This love is given to the unlovable. It is love that is given even though it is rejected. It is never given to receive anything in return.
Paul said:
Love(agape) suffers long and is kind; love (agape) does not envy; love (agape) does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love (agape) never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
This love is special. In verse 16, John says you can know agape because He laid down His life for you. His laying down of His life for us was a display of agape love.
Paul said the same thing in Romans 5:8.
But God demonstrates His own love(agape') toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Agape is pictured as a sacrifice. The death of Jesus isn't the real show of love, it's what His death accomplished on our behalf. When we understand our depravity in contrast to the perfection of Jesus, we can begin to understand that He didn’t deserve the cross; we did. He took our sins to the cross and paid our debt. He took the wrath stored up for us. That’s incredible. The knowledge of our sin and the impending doom, combined with the sacrifice to save us, brings to light the enormity of what was accomplished. The death of Jesus made it possible for us to have a new life through the forgiveness of sins. By this, we know His love.
As the recipients of this sacrificial love, the right response is to display that same love to others. We ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ. By this, they will know love.
In John 20, John records the words of Jesus sending out the apostles, saying, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” As Jesus laid down His life, we ought to also lay down our lives as we become Christ-like in our endeavors. Our lives are not spent chasing the things that please us or give us joy like Cain, who brought his own sacrifice his own way, but, our lives become a display of agape directed to the brethren. Being a new person in Christ is denying ourselves and picking up our cross to follow Him. One man put it this way, “Love means saying ‘No’ to one’s own life so that somebody else may live. (Marshall)
John doesn't allow a Christian to say they love a brother or sister and yet ignore their needs. If we are indifferent to our brothers' needs, God's love simply is not in us. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John said that love is displayed in a Christ-like sacrificial way. We see this in Christians. Christians give more to the poor; they give more to support those abroad, and they give more in every category of need in our culture and world. They adopt more children. They respond to every need. When there are hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, or forest fires, the church is always first on the scene, even before the Red Cross or FEMA. Watch the next natural disaster to see if the atheist groups are there or Islam or any other religion. Why is that? Over and over again, the men and women of God give sacrificially. In general, all children of God are called to give of their resources, time, and talents.
1John 3:18-19
We are to love not just with word and tongue but in deed and truth. John says love is another way to identify those genuine in the faith. The genuine are willing to lay down their lives for their brothers and sisters? In doing this, John is not laying some legalism on the believers. The believers aren't hearing this and saying, Yeah, now I have to give all my stuff away. It is the joy of the believer to give of themselves to meet a need. By this joy of acting out agape love into the lives of others, we can know that we are of the truth. We can see God has made this change in our lives. By this, we know we are of the truth, and our hearts are assured of our standing before God. The deed done out of love authenticates the love of God in our life.
We were once a Cain
But God made a change we can't explain.
This working of love in deed and truth
Is the assurance and evidence of Christ in you.
The assurance of our hearts is God’s work to keep us centered in Him and out of the ditches. It’s the focus of our life on our inheritance and eternal promises.
1 John 3:20-21
God gives our hearts assurance, but sometimes we pile condemnation on ourselves. And sometimes, the enemy piles condemnation on us. This condemnation confuses us and clouds that assurance we need. John said, rest assured, God sees the heart. He sees through all that junk. He knows the difference between loving in deed and truth versus word and tongue. God knows His own and is not fooled by condemnation of the heart.
God doesn't bring condemnation to a believer.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
If our heart condemns us, we can know God is greater than our hearts. The agape love banishes any condemnation we may feel. This condemnation is a baseless feeling. While love and assurance have a basis in God. This is then the first benefit of this love to the believer. We have an assurance of Salvation.
1 John 3:22
The second benefit of this love in our life is answered prayer. This isn't because we have earned it or deserve it but because we are abiding in Him.
John may have the words of Jesus on his mind here. In John 15:7, John recorded the words of Jesus:
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Now, the false teachers wear a verse like this out. They rip it out of context and teach a “name it and claim it” system of belief. They go so far as to say God has to give you anything you ask because he is bound by His promise. But God isn't some big cosmic Jeannie granting wishes. The key to prayer is being in such close fellowship with God that we ask for the things that are on His heart. We become so much like Him that we have the same desires. Then, in prayer, we take up His agenda with our requests and intercession. God is the provider for the very deeds that are done in truth and love.
John said whatever we ask we receive because we keep His commandments. Keeping the commandments isn't some secret way of getting what you want. It's just an indication that the believer is walking with the Lord in obedience. We desire to please God and be obedient. This brings us to praying the will of God.
1John 3:23
John expanded on the idea of keeping the commandments. But he took the liberty of taking the two commandments and treating them as one. These two commandments go hand in hand. You can't keep one without the other. If you believe on the name of Jesus, it’s a given that you will love one another.
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[d] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37)
The second is like the First. They are inseparable, equal in strength and authority.
1John 3:24
Here is the third benefit of that agape love residing in our lives. It's the presence of the Holy Spirit. If we love in deed and truth, then our relationship with God will not be hindered. We will have assurance. Our prayers will be in line with His will, and we will see them answered. And finally, we will have the abiding presence of God in our life by the way of the Spirit He's given us.
In verse ten, John says the presence of God and the absence of sin make the children of God and the children of the devil manifest. There's no middle ground. A person either has the heart of Cain or a heart that is born of God and chases after Jesus Christ.
©2012 Doug Ford, Revised & edited 2020, 2024
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