Beginning in verse 1 John tells us that we are the children of God because of His great love for us. Then He says that we are. There is no argument in the eyes of John, and because we are the children of God the world does not know us. Have you ever wondered why we are so misunderstood by the world? It is because they do not know us. They do not understand what prompts us and encourages and gives us reason for life. They do not “know” what is on our hearts. They do not know nor understand God therefore they do not understand why we live the way we do because we live according to God and his standards which we will look at in more depth in our study today. Verse 2 says that we are children of God but what we will ultimately look like has yet to be known. When Christ returns our sanctification will be made complete. When Christ returns our inner working towards holiness will be made complete through the Spirit. Then in verse 3 he says that everyone who has the hope that they will be made like Christ will be purified, or as this verse says that they purify themselves. Not only are they made pure but they will look like Christ.
When I was looking at this passage and looking for key words, themes and any repetition throughout. I noticed and it came clear that within verses 5-10 there are three truths repeated and in the same order. In my notes for study I labeled them A, B and C. And then when they repeat it is the same order A, B and C.
The first truth we see this evening is that Christ destroys sin. Verse 4 says that everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness. Those who live in sin are those who do not live according to the laws of the land. They live according to their own laws and rules and not the laws or the law which is the true standard of action and living. Then in verse 5 we are told that Christ appeared in order to take away sins. Christ came in order to remove sin from our lives. In Him there is no sin. Therefore He was the one true and acceptable sacrifice. Then in verse 8 in the second half of the verse John tells us that the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil, Christ came in order to remove the sins of mankind through faith in Him. He came in order to make ineffective the work of the devil in this world. The one who knew no sin is the one who can destroy sin. The word for destroy is the same word that is used where John the Baptist says I am unfit to untie his sandal. Jesus unties the power of the devil and his works. Jesus is able and has removed the power of the works of the devil. What benefits do we gain by the works of the devil having been destroyed? What does it mean for us the believer that the works of the devil have been destroyed? What rights do we have over our lives if Christ destroyed sin for us?
The second truth we see this evening is that those born in Christ are made holy. As we saw last week, there is an emphasis in our need to abide in Christ. In verse 6 and verse 9 we see the word abide. The idea is that those who abide in Christ or God are holy and possess no sin. Christ is holy because he does not possess sin or a sin nature. He does not and did not sin nor did he have anything that gave him a corrupt sin nature. Verse 6, “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” Verse 9, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in Him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” There is the repeated idea of abiding or remaining in God. The idea of seeing God or knowing God. The idea of God’s seed abiding in them. If God is in you then sin cannot. What John is referring to is the idea and truth that true holiness is God abiding in you and making you new by removing and cleansing you of sin and God’s character dwelling in you. You cannot be holy apart from God making you new, You cannot be holy if your sin nature remains. You cannot be holy without God dwelling in you. According to these verses at a very literal reading says that if you sin at all then you are not saved. So if you sinned today, “Too bad. You are not saved.” In reality that is not what John is saying. One Greek word could sometimes take as many as 5 or 6 English words to translate it. What John is saying when he says, “No one who sins has seen Him or knows Him,” is that no one who has the habitual practice of sin has truly seen God. Does your life demonstrate a life of sin or a life of faithfulness? Are you 5% faithful or 55% faithful? What does your life really demonstrate? What has more control over your life, the Spirit or your natural sinful nature? Now you might be in a time of falling away and right now your life is only 5% faithful, but when you look back, at the time of your salvation did your life change and come under the control of the spirit? If yes, then you have fallen away, otherwise, you may have never been truly saved.
The third truth we see this evening is those apart from Christ are lost in sin. This may seem very simple compared to what was just said in the previous point, but it is true and needs to be reminded. In this passage John appears to be telling the believers about false teachers and ways that you can know if he is a true teacher or a false teacher. Often times a false teacher comes along and so many people would fall for his teaching. It is not that they are teaching a clear heresy but may be just leaving a little bit out or a great new twist that no one has ever thought of. He tells the believers, “The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” In other words, look at the teacher’s life. Do they proclaim righteousness? Do they live righteously? Do they treat others in a righteous way? Do they exemplify the righteousness of Christ? When you look at their lives do you see a love of the things of this world, or do you see a love of Christ? Then in verse 8, “the one who practices sin is of the devil.” And verse 10, “anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” Those who are not of God does not regularly, habitually live in righteousness. Those who are not of God practice sin and retain a sin nature. Their nature is sin. They may do good works but their lives are not in anyway pleasing to God because their lives are apart from him. Do you want to please God? Live in submission to Him. Abide in Him. Do you want to know where you stand before God? As said before, how faithful are you to God? Do you see just a little bit of righteousness regularly? We are told that those who sin are of the devil! Wow! What an insult. How terrible to say that about someone. Yet it is the truth. Those who are in sin and are still in their sin nature are of the devil because the devil has sinned from the beginning. He is a sinner. There is nothing good in him. Yet verse 10 says that the one who does not love his brother is not of God. So don’t love the sinners, those outside of the church because they are not of God therefore they are not your brother. Right? Wrong. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are told that others will know that we are of God by that we love one another. Our love is one key aspect where the outsiders will see that we are of God. What do you see in your own life that might demonstrate a separation from God? What do you see in your own life that demonstrates a love for God? What do we see in our church that might demonstrate a separation from God? What do we see in our church that demonstrates a love for God? Are the answers to the church’s separation from God, are any of those present in your life? Might it be, that the church is separated from God in those areas because we as individuals fall short in those same areas?
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