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| Chapter 3 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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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. 2 Beloved, now we are 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. 4 ¶ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. 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. 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 By this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither is he that loveth not his brother. 11 ¶ For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning: that we should love one another. 12 Be not as Cain, who was of that wicked one and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. 13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 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. 16 Hereby we perceive the love of God: because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world’s goods and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up the compassion of his heart 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. 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 we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatsoever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep His commandment and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 ¶ And this is His commandment: that we should believe in 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. |
v1-10 The real and the fake. The real characteristics of the Believer, - purity. John tells us that a true child of God will always try to live a life right with God and love other Christians even if they have differences in doctrine. There are two reasons for this, the past work of God and the future work of God. A believer is "born of God," sons and daughters of God because of His love for each of us and as such we should practice righteousness and love. v6 No one who abides in God will practice sin, no one who practices sin has seen Him or knows Him. It is clear that no Christian is sinless 1 John 1:8-10, we still have our old natures, but God expects a life which is as sin free as possible, not sinning at every opportunity. v1-3 God Loves us. A love which is one-off, unique. Verse 1 could be translated "Behold, what unique kind of love is given to us by the Father." We were totally against all that God is, we, mankind were evil throughout, we were His enemies, yet He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us!!! From the beginning of time it was all part of the plan of God, the way of salvation. The world just cannot understand this relationship a believer has, until you have become part of this love you cannot understand what it means. v2 This verse now tells us what is the result of verse 1, as son’s of God we are part of His family, and will be made like Him when He comes for us, Phil 3:20,21. v3 John reminds us that because of verses 1 & 2 we should be keeping our lives clean, living a purifying life with daily cleaning and confession on failure, Eph 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14 v4-8 Our Saviour. v4 John calls sin the "breaking of the law." What is sin? Disobedience of God, His Law, perfection, against God, not being right with God, un pure, evil, Gal 5:19-21; James 4:17. John now looks back at this wonderful Saviour. He came to earth as a God Man for one purpose only, v5,6 "to take away our sins" and as a result, v8, "destroyed the works of the devil." Though God is love it does not mean He has no rules and regulations for those of His family, 1 Cor 9:21. Sin is disobedience to God, rebellion against Him, no matter what is shown on a persons outside a sinner’s attitude is always against God. A believer still has this inner nature and so will still have a rebellious nature against God, only letting Christ’s control take over will prevent this attitude. "Whosoever abideth (communion) in Him sinneth not." A sinful life shows Christ is not in the person and cannot have any communion or abide in Christ. v7,8 If a person knows God he will obey God, if he is under the power of Satan then he will obey Satan. Christ came into the world to destroy the power and works of Satan. The word John used "Destroy" does not mean totally wipe out as we know Satan is still active today, "Destroy" has much reduce power, defeated and lost the war with God for mankind, today it is only a matter of time before God fully judges Satan and his followers. Counterfeit Christians were trying to teach that a believer could be "saved" and continue to practice sin. v9,10 Power of the Holy Spirit. A believer has a new nature in them, a nature which cannot sin, "God’s seed" John calls it. A believer, through Jesus, has a new relationship with God, righteousness in God’s sight, justification, which can never be changed or lost, 1 John 5:1. Spiritual life will produce a spiritual life, physical life only physical life, John 3:6; 1 Peter 1:23: Rom 13:14; Gal 5:16; Rom 12:1. Giving into sin is a mark of those who are "children of the devil," v10. A true believer also loves other Christians. See v11-24. v11-24 Believers relationship to each other. In 1 John 2:7-11 we learned of the "fellowship" between believers, now John examines the relationship between believers. v11,12 John first looks at a relationship at the lowest level between people - murder. Cain had a life of hatred Genesis 4:1-16. Cain and Abel were brothers, both offered sacrifices to God, but only Abel’s was offered in a way acceptable to God, with faith. God must have given specific instruction on acceptable worship but Cain ignored the word of God. In jealousy Cain murdered his brother. v13 The attitude to God’s Word by the world is the same as Cain, accepting or rejecting any who follow the Word of God. v14,15 The reader may be saying "I’ve never murdered anyone," then consider Matt 5:20-24. The inward desire may still be the same. A believer is in the practice of loving the brethren, it is still possible for a believer to become angry with another believer, Matt 5:22-24. It does not mean that a murderer cannot be saved, forgiven by God, Apostle Paul is an example of this grace, Acts 26:9-11. v16,17 External behaviour. Love involves doing good as well as avoiding evil. Christ gave His life for each of us, so each believer should be willing to give up all, including life, for other believers, just as Jesus willingly gave His life for us. Most believers will not be asked by God to die for another, but He does expect us to help others or individuals when in need. v18-24 "To love in tongue" means to be without sincerity, not honest, not truthful, opposite to truth. To love from the heart and not just say the words. Because of the presence of God in a believers life then they will know if their behaviour is right or wrong, a believer does all to please God, not self. v19,20 This behaviour will "assure our hearts before Him," God knows each of our hearts. v21,22 This behaviour will give "answer for prayer." v23,24 Fellowship, abide with God. Seek to obey His commands. Believe in Jesus, love one another. Consider Matt 22:35-40; John 14:23,24. This fellowship is through the presence of the Holy Spirit, Consider John 14:26; Rom 8:14-16; Rom 5:1-10 |
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