The Word: 1 John 2:28-3:10

“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.

Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 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. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

The “Now” in 2:28 signals a connecting shift from the previous discussion to this passage. From 2:28-3:10, the themes of abiding in Christ (from 2:27) will be interwoven with the theme of being born of God and children of God. This discussion seems to continue along the lines of addressing the issue of “antichrists” (2:18ff; also again in 4:1-6) which has led to the need for clarity over who is and is not a child of God with reference to salvation. John continues his usual pattern of setting up strong contrasts to strengthen his point about who is in fellowship with God, and who is not with the overall goal of providing assurance to those who are in.

Starting in 2:28, John commands believers to “abide in Him,” referring to the Son specifically. From the letter, various points provide meaning to what it means to “abide in Christ,” which is simply a way of calling believers to persevere in the faith and remain faithful to Christ’s commands with repentance (cf. 1:5-2:11; 2:18-27; also, John chapters 13-15). The purpose (“so that”) of the command is that “when Christ appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” As John speaks of Christ’s “appearing” and “coming,” both of these terms refer to judgment. John is telling the early Christians, “Christ is going to come again in judgment, and this is what you need to do to be prepared for that day.” The concepts of “have confidence” and “not shrink away” reveal that abiding in Christ – holding faithfully to the truth of Christ in word and in deed (cf. 1 John 3:18) – is the only means to stand before Christ unashamed when He comes in judgment.

Continuing in 2:29, John provides an important about abiding in Christ. He says, “If (Since) you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.” Here, he provides clarity to what “abide in Christ!” means. In short, he is using simple logic: Anyone who is in Christ will be like Christ. In this context, Christ is righteous, and those who are in Him will practice righteousness. Notice the order of thought from effect to cause. John is saying that as a person’s life is examined and Christ-like righteousness is evident (effect), then we can know that this righteousness is due to the reality that this person, literally, “has been born of” Him (cause). The new birth comes first; righteous living proceeds from this new life.

As John reflects on the reality of being born of Christ, he is moved with awe as he exclaims: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us!” (3:1) As John thinks about the new life that the Father has provided through His Son Jesus Christ, he was moved to worship and called others to join Him in witnessing and appreciating what God had done! The Father’s great love is understood as the privilege of being called His children. Yet, goes John goes on step further. He says that we are not just “called” God’s children, but we actually “are” God children. In other words, being a child of God is not just a title that Christians wear; instead, being a child of God is the essence, the definition, of being a Christian.

John reminded believers of this truth because, as he has noted already in the letter, they needed to be assured of who they were in the face of opposition. He explains, “For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” These verses recall Jesus statements in John 15:18ff. Jesus said that those who are of the world would hates His disciples just as they hated Him. The reason for this hatred is the fact that Christ, and thus His disciples, are not “of” this world (John 15:19a; 1 John 2:15-17). Certainly, Christ was “in” the world, just as His disciples then were and now are, but their source, their origin, their primary citizenship is not here, but in heaven (cf. Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 3:1-4). Using the previous language from 1 John 1:5-7, they are of the kingdom of light whereas those in the world are of the kingdom of darkness (cf. Colossians 1:13-14). This contrast between heavenly and worldly, light and darkness, and notably righteousness and sin, helps make sense of believer’s suffering in this world. As followers of Jesus live heavenly, righteous, light-filled lives, they can expect conflict with those who live worldly, sinful, darkness-filled lives.

The reality of believers not being “of” this world likely provoked John to look ahead to the future hope that believers have: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.” John is saying that the fulness of what being “children of God” entails has not yet come to pass. Although believers are currently His children, the inheritance that is in store for His children is still future and waiting to be made known. Yet, he continues, “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” So, although John (and also us) does not understand what exactly the full picture of glory will be like for us as God’s children, He knows that it has to mean being like Christ in His own glory (i.e. His resurrection). This conviction flows from the fact that God is already at work in making us like Christ, and in glory we will be fully like Christ and know Him in His fulness. This hope itself is a means of purification for God’s people (3:3).

Now, the reality of being God’s children and the future glory that is in store for His children serve the immediate issue that John must address: who is truly born of God, and who is not? In 3:4, he states, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” This statement draws a connection between sin and lawlessness, which may seem odd at first, but the point is to show that the person who is living in unrepentant sin (“practices sin;” cf. 1 John 1:8-10) is the person who abides by no greater authority than themselves. John is calling them “lawless” to highlight the fact that they do not submit to God’s will and commands; thus, they do not live as a child of God does, since John has already established that God’s children obey His commands and live righteously (see 1 John 2:3-11, 28-29).

In response to the person who practices sin, John makes two important statements about Jesus. The first has to do with Jesus’ purpose, or mission: “He came in order to take away sins” (3:5a). The purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world was to take away, or remove, sins. In 1 John 1:7-2:2, John revealed that Jesus’ death provides forgiveness and cleansing from sin’s penalty and power. Through forgiveness, the penalty of sin is removed; through cleansing, the power of sin is removed; and ultimately, as the hope just discussed reveals, the presence of sin will someday be finally removed! This was Jesus’ mission! This was why He came! Second, John discussed the person of Jesus: “and in Him there is no sin” (3:5b). This statement connects back to the discussion of 1:5-7, where John defined God as light, truth, and sinless. This connection is significant because it solidifies Jesus’ own divinity: Like the Father, He is light, He is truth, He is sinless. This is who He is!

From these truths about Jesus, John argues: “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him” (3:6). At this point, the context must be kept in mind to not confuse John’s point. He has already used the language of “practicing” (“doing”) sin, and elsewhere He has mentioned how even believers must confess sin (1:8-10). Therefore, the point of this verse is not that Christians never sin; rather, Christians do not live as those from 3:5 who are continuously walking in sin without repentance and living by no law except their own. John says that such a person has not “seen” and has not “known” Jesus. The concepts of “seeing” and “knowing” Jesus are used to refer to salvation and the reception of eternal life (1 John 1:1-4; 2:3-5). John is clear, Christians do not continue in unrepentant sin and lawlessness. Following the logic of 1 John 1:6 and 2:4: if anyone says, “I abide in Him,” and yet lives a life of sin and lawlessness, this person is a liar and has not seen Him or known Him.

This discussion brings up an important warning: “Little children, make sure no one deceives you” (3:7a). Such a warning is significant because it highlights the fact that believers can certainly be deceived in such situations! Without getting too much into application, a common pitfall of believers is to always want to assume the best of people despite the clear evidence God has given in His word. John is straightforward: If they are not living as a child of God, they are not a child of God! This observation says nothing about whether that person can become a child of God; it simply acknowledges that they presently are not. Back to the passage, John furthers his argument: “the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” At this point, John previous logic comes full circle. As noted above, those who are in Christ will live like Christ. If they live like Christ, this is evidence that they are in Christ and have been born of God! Those who belong to Jesus will be like Him (cf. Luke 6:40).

On the other hand, “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning” (3:8a). Now, the same logic is applied in the opposite way: Those who are of the devil will live like the devil! He is the original sinner, living in rebellion against God’s commands, and living by no law but his own, and so live his children! Yet again, John presents an important truth about Jesus’ mission: “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (3:8b). This statement connects to the purpose of Jesus taking away sins from 1 John 3:5a. In taking away sins, Jesus has removed devil’s power and is destroying his works. The purpose of Jesus can be stated this way: Jesus came to demonstrate His victory of sin and devil! Implied in this purpose is also the truth that in destroying the devil’s works, this must also include all those who are the devil’s children. They are the height of his work as he has lead people in rebellion against God. In the end, when Jesus appears to take away sins and destroy the devil forever, He will also bring judgment on the devil’s children.

Finally, John cycles through the argument bringing further clarity: “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” (3:9). The reason the children of God cannot live a lawless life of sin is because they have God’s “seed.” This language is similar to having God’s “anointing” from 1 John 2:20-27. Again, this language is one of the different ways that John refers to the Holy Spirit, maintaining the thoroughly Trinitarian nature of this letter. The reason God’s children do not lead lawless lives is that they cannot, and they cannot because the Holy Spirit in them will not let it happen! God’s seed protects and preserves believers from such lawless living. With this truth, John concludes in 3:10. The argument of the entire letter has come full circle at this verse, where evidence of fellowship with God, salvation, and eternal life are understood in terms of obedience to God’s commands and love for those who are also in fellowship with Him! Anyone whose life lacks either of these realities is the devil’s child.

The Confrontation

1) Rest in the evidence that you are a child of God, born of Him. As John said, those who have God’s “seed” will bear fruit in their lives of that reality. The two primary tests given in this passage are the pursuit of Christ-like righteous living and love for fellows believers. If these two point define your life, then understand that is because God’s Spirit is in you and working to bring this fruit to bear in your life!

2) Beware of being deceived about the salvation of others. Certainly we must not become arrogant and be hypocritical in our examination of others. The best way to avoid this error is to examine ourselves first, as Jesus instructed (Matthew 7:1ff). Yet, when Scripture clearly commands us to not be deceived and to practice discernment, we must not only listen but be obedient! The truth is that there are people in our families, churches, community, etc. that say, “I am a Christian,” and yet their life demonstrates none of the evidence that Scripture provides that support such a claim. They live unrepentant and unashamed of sin. They lead lawless lives under no will or command but their own. Such people we can confidently say are not Christians, and we should certainly love them enough to humbly say so! We must beware of the temptation of sympathy to blind us from the fact that these people did not just exist in Bible times; sometimes, they are people we know and love dearly!

3) Let the glorious reality of being a child of God and the hope that comes with being His child move you to worship! As we contemplate the great love that God has demonstrated toward us, we should be spurred to praise Him and spurred to obey Him! He has already given us the great blessing of new life in Christ and yet we also still have a glorious hope that lies ahead in the future when we will be as He is (1 John 3:2). We cannot fully comprehend that reality now, but we know that it will be glorious. Let this glory be motivation for faithful living in this life!

4) Perseverance in the battle is easier when we keep the end in mind. One factor of this passage is the reality of the conflict between the children of God and the children of the devil. As believers, we will face opposition in this world from those who are not Christ’s people; we will be disliked, we will be mocked, we will be slandered, we will be persecuted, we will be put to death, and all the other realities that Christ forewarned in Scripture for believers then and now. Yet, as we find ourselves in this conflict, we must keep the end in mind. Jesus will have the final victory of sin, the devil, and death! We know this is true because of the work He is already doing through us to display His victory over sin and the devil by producing righteous children of God who love one another. The reality of the ultimate victory, which is promised in Scripture and already at work in the present, is the assurance we need to be faithful in the fight!