Children of God - Part 2

This is the sixth sermon in a series of messages through the New Testament book of First John. This sermon covers the second part of chapter 3, which speaks of qualities that should be evident in a child of God. Those who are interested in viewing a video recording of the worship service in which this sermon was delivered, may do so by clicking here.

Written Excerpts:

1 John 3:10 ^(NKJV) In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Introduction:

Last time we studied 1 John 3:1-9 to learn some of the qualities of being a child of God. Just to review, these were the things we talked about:

Being a child of God is an awesome privilege.

Children of God experience rejection by the world.

Children of God have a hope for the future because we will be like Him.

Children of God pursue holiness and a life of righteousness.

Nearly everyone likes to think of themselves as a child of God. Many people give lip service to following Christ and living a life of faith, but the Bible is very clear about the fact that every true child of God exhibits certain specific qualities. In our last sermon, we learned that children of God do not commit sin. Those who are “of the Devil” do, but children of God do not. (Remember, John is speaking about deliberate, willful, intentional defiance of God’s Word and God’s will.) 3:4 “… sin is lawlessness.”

Today we will be discussing another quality of God’s children –genuine love.

I.              Personal conduct reveals spiritual relationship. (10)

1 John 3:10 ^(NKJV) In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Most commentaries and Bible translations that use a paragraph formatting style include verse 10 with the previous 9 verses as the closing thought on the issue of righteousness vs. lawlessness. I have chosen to look at verse 10 as a transitional verse and an introductory statement regarding the theme of the second half of the chapter – the theme of love.

“in this” – i.e. what follows

“manifest” – revealed, identified

John makes a clear, unqualified statement about how we can tell whether a person is a child of God or a child of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness (i.e. is rebellious, defiant, or lawless against God – as seen in the preceding verses) is a NOT a child of God. And… Whoever does not love his brother (as explained in the following verses.)

John doesn’t “mince words.” You cannot live your life in defiance against God’s Word and still claim to be a child of God. Neither can you live your life lacking in love for your fellow believers (or people in general) and still claim to be a child of God.

Luke 10:27 ^(NKJV) … "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.' "

If righteousness and love are not the characteristics of your life, then you are, in fact, a child of the devil. Verse 10 is the main reason I have chosen to think of this section of Scripture as a continuation of the theme “Children of God.”

II.             Genuine love is defended and defined. (11-15)

A. Love is defended on historical grounds. (11-12)

¹¹ For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, ¹² not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.

“from the beginning” – probably to be understood in the same way as 1:1, i.e. from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry/teaching. But could also apply to more ancient biblical commands in the OT.

“not as Cain…” – John provides an historical illustration of God’s command. Do not behave like the first hater/murderer, Cain who killed his own brother.

“works were evil” – Here John equates hatred and murder with the subject of evil, which provides a connection to the theme of the earlier verses of the chapter.

“Evil” = unrighteousness = lawlessness, rebellion and defiance

John provides a different light on the story of Cain and Abel than Hebrews 11 does. In Hebrews it says that Abel’s sacrifice was better than Cain’s because Abel’s was “by faith;” implying that Cain’s sacrifice was not accompanied by faith. However, John plainly states that Cain hated his brother because he was an evildoer, but his brother was a righteous person.

B. Love is defined by contrast with its opposite. (14-15)

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. ¹⁵ Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Love and hatred are opposites. Love is associated with life; hatred is associated with death. When one passes from death to life (spiritually speaking), then it results in a transformation from hatred to love.

¹⁵ Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

1 John 4:20 ^(NKJV)  If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

C. A logical principle related to love. (13)

¹³ Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

(right in the middle of this section) “do not marvel” – John interjects a principle related to the current explanation of love. If hatred relates to evil and love relates to righteousness, then don’t be amazed by the fact that the “world” (apart from God = evil) hates those who are righteous and loving.

Christian believers, living in righteousness and love, are the antithesis of the world and its values/practices.

III.           Love is described. (16-18)

A. Love is described by the example of Christ. (16)

¹⁶ By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Love is self-sacrificing. Real love surrenders self for the benefit of the one loved.

B. Love is described by an illustration from life. (17-18)

¹⁷ But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Love certainly includes words (John is not condemning the use of words, v. 18), but he is saying it goes beyond mere words. Real love includes action.

James 2:15-16 ^{(NKJV) 15}  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶  and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

James is teaching us that real faith involves more than mere words, and John is explaining that real love is more than mere words.

IV.           Love is related to faith. (19-24)

All commentaries I consulted agree that this is a very difficult section to understand.

I received the best insight from Dr. Vic Reasoner – “John is teaching us to believe, to love, and to obey. In this chapter he has covered obedience. Sin is the violation of the law. No one who is born of God will continue to sin. Then John deals with love. This is how we know what love is – Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. Now John deals with faith – this is how we know. Now we are dealing with the dilemma of confidence or condemnation.”

“by this” – same as in v. 10, it is referring to what is to follow, i.e. the assurance that comes from God, who is greater than our hearts/conscience (v.20b).

A. Faith motivated by love brings confidence. (19-23)

1 John 3:19-23 ^(NKJV) And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. ²⁰ For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. ²² And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

There are times when our hearts (conscience) condemns us and it is the result of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. However, there are other times our hearts condemn us, and it is an accusation from the “Adversary/Devil” – a false sense of guilt.

Vic Reasoner included this account in his commentary: “Eight months after John Wesley’s heart-warming experience at Aldersgate, in a moment of depression he wrote in his journal, ‘I am not a Christian now.’ Six days later in his journal, we find him preaching again; and he did for the next sixty years.”

Every true child of God has those moments when we feel God has departed, or we can’t feel his Spirit/presence. But when we willfully and consciously put our trust in His grace and His Word, we can find assurance and discover that God is “greater than our hearts.”

“whatever we ask” – should be interpreted in light of the context: the primary thing we receive is assurance from him when we ask for it.

“keep His commandments” – namely, believe and love (v. 23).

B. Faith and love produce intimate fellowship. (24)

²⁴ Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

v. 24 – there is a clear connection between obedience and the abiding presence of the Spirit.

The commandment is: a.) believe / trust God and b.) love one another. When we practice these two consistently, it produces a relationship and fellowship with God that is described as a mutual abiding between us and the Spirit of God.

Conclusion:

The Apostle John has been demonstrating that the Christian life is more than just words. The true child of God will demonstrate the reality of the relationship by obeying God and by loving others. The difficult part of it all is knowing the best way to demonstrate love in each situation. Love does not mean indiscriminate giving (i.e. throwing money at every problem). But it will at times involve self-sacrifice and dedication to walk through the trials of life with someone, so they don’t have to go through it alone.

I think it is appropriate for us to close our service with a little chorus that is in the form of a prayer: Lord, Lay Some Soul upon My Heart