1 Living in God s Love 1 John 3:1-24
2 Living in God s Love Text: I John 3:1-24, 1. See what love the Father has given 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. 2. Beloved, we are God s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 4. Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8. Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9. Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. 10. The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters. 11. For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
3 12. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother s righteous. 13. Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. 14. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15. All who hate a brother or a sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. 16. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17. How does God s love abide in anyone who has the world s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help? 18. Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20. For if our hearts condemn us; God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22. and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. 23. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. Introduction: Chapter Outline I. The divine nature is manifested in God s children (1-18).
4 A. In their being like Christ (1-3). B. In their doing right (4-10). C. In their loving the brethren (11-18). II. Reassurance and confidence before God results from obedience (19-24). A. Our love must be genuine (19). B. Confidence before God results from a good conscience (20, 21). C. Answer to prayer depends on obedience (22). D. Three earmarks of true children of God are love, obedience and faith (23, 24). Commentary: 1 John 3:1, See what love the Father has given 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. I. It is absolutely amazing that we should be elevated to the rank of children of God. II. We become children of God by the new birth and/or adoption. III. The world did not recognize Jesus as God s Son and it does not recognize us as God s children.
5 1 John 3:2, Beloved, we are God s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. I. Christians are beloved in the sight of God and of one another. II. We are children of God now. III. We cannot imagine how wonderful our state will be in the world to come! A. The only thing we know is that we will be like Jesus when he returns in his glorified state as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! 1 John 3:3, And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. I. Those of us who have this abiding faith that we will be like Jesus must do our utmost to keep ourselves pure from sin even as Jesus is pure. II. Matthew 5:48, Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. III. 1 Peter 1:15, 16, Instead, as he called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. 1 John 3:4, Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. I. Christians, with God s help, are to live in purity and righteousness. II. Sin is lawlessness, a violation of God s law. III. Matthew 28:18-20, And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make
6 disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. IV. Any violation of the things Jesus commanded is sin. 1 John 3:5, You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. I. Jesus came to earth to take away or forgive sin. II. Christ lived sinlessly on earth. A. 1 Peter 1:19, But with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. B. 1 Peter 2:22, He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. 1 John 3:6, No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. I. Since Jesus is sinless, those who abide in him are to sin not. II. Those who live in sin have no affiliation with Jesus. III. Sinneth here means lead a life of sin. IV. To the extent that we abide in Christ and his blood cleanses us- to that extent we are free of sin. 1 John 3:7, Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
7 I. My little children may indicate that these were John s converts, loved as children, or were young in comparison with the age of John. II. False teachers may have been leading the disciples to believe they could be saved without living pure and righteous lives. III. We do not earn salvation, but receive salvation through our righteous affiliation with Christ and his cleansing blood. 1 John 3:8, Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. I. Sin is of the devil! We must avoid sin as we would avoid a deadly plague. II. Christ came to destroy Satan and sin. III. We must choose to be a child of the devil (Acts 13:10) or a child of God. Whom do you favor? A. Acts 13:10, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 1 John 3:9, Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. I. We are begotten of God, the seed being the gospel. II. To the extent the gospel dwells within us, we are able to successfully resist sin.
8 A. Colossians 3:16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. B. 1 Peter 1:23, You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 John 3:10, The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters. I. The choice is ours: (1) righteous living indicates we are of God, (2) unrighteous living indicates we are of the devil. II. One of the basic commands of God is that we love our fellow Christians. 1 John 3:11, For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. I. Christian love for one another is a basic virtue, a teaching stressed from the beginning of the gospel. II. Christians are bound together by love within God s divine family, the church. 1 John 3:12, We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother s righteous. I. Cain did not show love for his brother Abel, but murdered him. He was of the devil in this behavior. II. Cain was jealous of his brother and slew him. Genesis 4.
9 III. There is no place in the church for mistreatment of one Christian by another Christian. IV. To the contrary, we are to love, care for, and help each other so the world will recognize us as God s family, pure and holy. 1 John 3:13, Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. I. Wicked Cain oppressed righteous Abel. II. The wicked world will hate righteous Christians. A. 1 Peter 4:12, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. B. John 15:18, 19, 25, If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world- therefore the world hates you. It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. III. Wicked people hate good people because good is a rebuke of evil. 1 John 3:14, We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. I. One of the evidences of our salvation, purity and righteousness is that we love the brethren. II. If we do not love the brethren, we continue to follow the devil and walk in spiritual death.
10 III. John 5:25, Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 1 John 3:15, All who hate a brother or a sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. I. Hate leads to murder. No unrepentant murderer can be other than a lost person! II. Matthew 5:21, 22, You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, You shall not murder ; and whoever murders shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, You fool, you will be liable to the hell of fire. 1 John 3:16, We know love by this, that he laid down his life for usand we ought to lay down our lives for one another. I. We should have learned love from Jesus who laid down his life, voluntarily gave his life on the cross for us! II. If need be, we ought to love our fellow Christians enough to die for them. III. This is an extreme example of Christian love, but how do we measure up in lesser situations? 1 John 3:17, How does God s love abide in anyone who has the world s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?
11 I. Do we share our possessions with needy Christians because we love them? II. If we do not help our fellow Christians in need, we show the world that we are not all that serious about walking in the righteous steps of Jesus. III. How do we measure up on this less difficult test? 1 John 3:18, Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. I. True purity, righteousness is not saying only, but in truth performing acts of Christian benevolence. II. Loving words do not take the place of loving deeds. 1 John 3:19, 20, And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him For if our hearts condemn us; God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. I. We know we are walking in the light when our heart (conscience) approves our actions. II. If our conscience condemns us, God, who is greater than our conscience, will surely know our sins and will punish us. III. This is an awful thought for the impenitent and a wonderfully consoling thought for the righteous. IV. Conscience is not trustworthy. It is subject to teaching and reflects simply whether our conduct is in keeping with our beliefs.
12 1 John 3:21, 22, Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. I. If our conscience does not condemn us, tells us we are doing what we believe is right, we can then have boldness toward God. II. We then approach God in prayer with confidence knowing we are his faithful servants. III. Our prayers are answered because we keep God s commandments. IV. What if we don t keep God s commands? Will He then answer our prayers? 1 John 3:23, And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he commanded us. I. Loving one another and believing in the name of his Son Jesus Christ are placed in parallel positions in this verse. II. Both are of utmost importance! III. Believe and Love may mean, Trust and Obey. 1 John 3:24, All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. I. The way to abide in Jesus is to keep his commands. This also brings Jesus to abide with the obedient disciple. II. We also know that God dwells, abides with us because he has given us the Holy Spirit.
13 III. Ephesians 1:13, 14, In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God s own people, to the praise of his glory.
14 Conclusion: Song: Trust and Obey 1. When we walk with the Lord In the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. 2. Not a shadow can rise, Not a cloud in the skies, But His smile quickly drives it away; Not a doubt or a fear, Not a sigh nor a tear, Can abide while we trust and obey. 3. Not a burden we bear, Not a sorrow we share, But our toil He doth richly repay; Not a grief nor a loss, Not a frown nor a cross, But is blest if we trust and obey. 4. But we never can prove The delights of His love Until all on the altar we lay; For the favor He shows, And the joy He bestows, Are for those who will trust and obey. 5. Then in fellowship sweet We will sit at His feet, Or we ll walk by His side in the way; What He says we will do, Where He sends we will go, Never fear, only trust and obey. Chorus: Trust and obey, for there s no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
15 John H. Sammis, 1887; Daniel B. Towner, 1887 Love Lifted Me 1. I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me- Now safe am I. 2. All my heart to Him I give, Ever to Him I ll cling, In His blessed presence live, Ever His praises sing, Love so mighty and so true Merits my soul s best songs; Faithful, loving service too, To him belongs. 3. Souls in danger, look above, Jesus completely saves; He will lift you by His love Out of the angry waves. He s the Master of the sea, Billows His will obey; He your Savior wants to be- Be saved today. Chorus: Love lifted me! Love lifted me! When nothing else could help, Love lifted me. Love lifted me. James Rowe, 1912; Howard E. Smith, 1912
16 Questions 1 John 3:1-24 1. What are the characteristics of those who walk in the light? 2. What are the characteristics of those who walk in darkness? 3. Where are you walking, in the light, in darkness or in a fog? 4. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us? 5. Why does the world not recognize Christians for what they really are?
17 6. We are children of God now. What will we become? 7. Define propitiation. 8. Define expiation. 9. Does atoning sacrifice include both propitiation and expiation? Explain. 10. How does a person purify himself? See verse 3.
18 11. How does a person sin? What is sin? 12. Why did Jesus come to earth, appear? 13. If a person lives in Christ, will he keep on sinning? What about a church member who lives like the world? 14. Who is righteous?
19 15. Who is a follower of the devil? 16. Is there a danger that faithful Christians can be led astray? Who would lead us astray? 17. Why will a person who is born of God not continue to live in sin? Define the word cannot as used in verse 10. Does cannot mean impossible? 18. How can we identify the children of God and the children of the devil? 19. What is the message that has been preached from the beginning of Christianity?
20 20. What caused Cain to murder his brother? 21. How do we know we have passed from death to life? 22. What is a sure sign that we have not passed from death to life? 23. Can we be murderers without ever pulling the trigger? If so, how? 24. How do we know what love is?
21 25. How can we lay down our lives for our brethren? How willing are you to do this? 26. Does the love of God dwell in a person who has no pity for his fellow-christians? 27. Is it wrong to love with words? Is it enough to love with words? If not, what else is required? 28. How do we know we belong to the truth?
22 29. Is it possible for a person s conscience to condemn him while God approves him? If so, how? 30. If our do not us, we have before and receive from him we, because we his and what him. (NIV) 31. Does this mean that faithful Christians get everything they pray for? If not, why not? 32. What is God s command? See verse 23. 33. Those who his live in him, and he in them. Does this include all of God s commands? If not, which ones can we overlook without penalty?
23 34. How do we know that Christ lives in us? What kind of spirit do people see living in you? 35. When did you receive God s Spirit? Have you ever lost it?
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