1 JOHN 3 WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD2020 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 John 3 We Are Children Of God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2020. I've titled the message this evening, We Are Children of God. And

The idea of us being children of God is important to consider. You can kind of hear John's awe in reading through this passage. He says,

And so he's addressing believers. He's writing to us and he's letting us know that we are children of God. It's something to be in awe of and something to appreciate greatly. And as he works his way through this, though, he also goes through some of the practical implications of what that means in our life. And John here, throughout his letter, really goes to great lengths to break through deception and self-deception.

This letter is, I would say, equal parts corrective and equal part assurance. It's corrective and battling false doctrine and the issue of sin, but also it's assurance for those who are believers. And there's many times he says, this is how we can know and we can rest assured. And so there's some great insight here for us to take comfort in, but then also to correct us where things are off and where things are out of

of line. And so we're going to consider this idea of being the children of God as we look at 1 John chapter 3 here, starting in verse 1 and 2 for point number one this evening, and that is that children of God are a work in progress.

Children of God are a work in progress. Verse one again says, "'Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know him.'"

Again, you can hear the awe in John's writing. You can kind of sense that he's just, you know, in awe and flabbergasted, you might say, to understand that we are

children of God. It's such an incredible expression of God's love that has been bestowed upon us that we would have the opportunity to be called children of God. It's not a common thing. It's not a meaningless thing. It is a thing that is something of great value to be identified as children of God.

I like the way that David Guzik talks about this. He says, this is a totally unnecessary blessing that God gives in the course of salvation and a demonstration of his true and deep love for us. We can picture someone helping or saving someone, but not going so far as to make them a part of the family. But this is what God has done for us. God has made us a part of

of his family. And it wasn't really necessary. He could have brought about salvation in a way that, you know, we were not children of God, that we didn't identify as his children. We didn't become part of the family. And you can imagine, you know, maybe you, you know, stop and help someone who has run out of gas on the side of the road and, you know, you help them, but then you don't necessarily, you know, take them home and add them to your will and, you know, make them a part of the family. But

But this is what God has done for us. In seeking to save us, he has made us a part of his family. And he has brought us in as his own. He treats us as his children. Now, this is a great and incredible thing, a prestigious position and standing, but the best has not even yet been revealed. In verse two, he goes on to say, beloved, now we are children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be,

But we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And so we are children of God. That's the fact. As believers in Jesus, we are children of God. And yet the fullness of what that means has not yet been revealed. Of course, John here is looking towards eternity, looking to the return of Jesus. That when he is revealed, well, then our...

revelation or our status as children of God will be complete and will be fully manifested. We shall be like him, he says, for we shall see him as he is. And so just looking at these first two verses, I just want us to consider the idea of being a work in progress.

That we're not complete yet. We're not yet what we will be. There is in eternity something far greater. And it's always important to remember that we are in the process of being transformed into the image of God.

That it's a process that God is working in us and through us. And as we work our way through the rest of the chapter, these are things that are still at work in us as we talk about righteousness and sin, as we talk about loving one another in the following verses. That we're not complete in these, but to be ever pushing forward to that day when we will stand before the Lord and become righteous.

really the ideal of what he has for us and the fullness of what he has for us as children of God. Well, moving on to verses three through nine, we get the second point tonight, and that is children of God do not practice sin. Children of God do not practice sin. Check out verses three through nine. It says, and everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.

Verse 1.

Here John goes on to discuss the relationship that a child of God has with sin.

And it's a bit of a complicated relationship because, well, sin is a serious issue and we all battle with sin.

It's still true, Romans 6.23, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sorry, that's Romans 3.23. We all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. That is still true of us as believers, as children of God. At the same time, what John is addressing here is that we cannot be comfortable as children of God living a lifestyle of sin.

And so there's some issues here that he's addressing that we need to understand. Now, sometimes people look at this and try to present this as a, you know, that we are to be completely perfect and without sin in this life, but that's not really possible. We're still going to battle with sin and struggle with sin in life.

John's day, it seems that there were those who were declaring something opposite that, you know, it doesn't really matter. You can't really conquer, uh, the flesh. And so, you know, if you practice sin with your body, that's okay. Just keep your mind and your spirit pure. And John here is correcting all of that. Again, uh,

really piercing through the different kinds of deception that come with the issue of sin in our lives. And so we have this battle against sin. It's a lifelong battle. And the correct way to deal with sin in our lives is through confession and repentance.

Confession and repentance is the way that we address sin in our lives. We continue to bring it before God and we turn from sin and continue to follow the Lord in the way that he has called us to. Now, verse three, he tells us everyone who has this hope. Now that's the hope he was talking about of being revealed as the full and complete child of God at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And those who have this hope, they purify themselves just as Jesus is pure. And I think this gives us a really keen insight into dealing with sin. You know, sometimes in the battle with sin in our lives, we come at the battle from the wrong direction or we try to use the wrong tactics or

Sometimes we try to address sin in our lives, and we try to purify ourselves with laws, making up rules, with legalism. We try to be more determined. We try to address sin in various ways through our own resources, and that is destined to fail. We're always going to have trouble if we address sin in that way. But here, what John says is, when we have this hope in us,

then the natural course is for us to be purifying ourselves. And so as we look at these things, it's important to understand, sometimes we get distracted by the specific sin, and we're trying to address a specific sin, and we're failing to realize the issue of sin that happens in our lives. As we see it crop up or pop up, and we see sin revealed in different areas of our lives,

That is not so much the issue, not that specific sin, but it's a revelation of the reality of our hope. It's a revelation of our relationship with God, and as we'll talk about in just a few verses, our abiding in God. And so it always comes back to us in deepening our relationship with the Lord and pursuing a heart for the Lord.

Now he goes on in verse 4 to say, whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. Whoever commits sin commits lawlessness, he says.

Now, this idea of lawlessness is also translated wickedness. And again, as he's addressing those who are trying to say, hey, it's okay to be involved in sin, just keep your mind and your spirit pure, John is saying, no way. If you're practicing sin, and when he talks about he who commits sin, commits lawlessness, he's talking about the practice of sin, the ongoing and the perpetual practice of sin,

He says, look, that's wickedness. That's not acceptable. That's not godly. That is not consistent with your nature as a child of God. And so here he's instructing us and making it very clear so there's no doubt about it. Sin is wickedness. It is against God and it is to not have any part in our lives. And so Jesus,

He goes on in verse 5 to say, Considering our nature as children of God, we understand that Jesus was revealed to take away our sins.

not to put us in a position to continue a lifestyle of sin, but he was revealed. He came to the earth. He died upon the cross to take away our sins. And so there's no sin in him, John says, and if we abide in him,

then we do not sin. Now, again, this is not talking about absolute perfection, but the idea here of does not sin is does not practice sin. That is, does not continue on making deliberate choices to live out a lifestyle of sin.

Now, there's some things that we can wrestle with in that because, you know, what's the duration, you know, of a habit or a practice of sin? You know, how long does it take for it to be a practice or a habit and that kind of thing? But again, those things are the wrong things to be focusing on, trying to parse, you know, when it actually becomes more of an issue than it was. And that's not the point. The point is, abide in Him. When you abide in Jesus...

When your heart is pursuing the Lord, when you're desiring his will and putting him first, you will not be engaging in sin.

There will still be the failings of our flesh, the weakness of our flesh, those kinds of things that will happen. But we won't be pursuing sin because we're pursuing him and there is no sin in him. And so he says, whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him. Now again, that's not whoever sins at any time in his life, but whoever is immersed in a lifestyle, a practice of sin,

is not in a relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ. Those two things are not consistent with each other. It cannot exist side by side. And so he wants to make it clear in verse seven, little children, let no one deceive you.

He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. And so again, we're talking about the practice of our lives, the habits and lifestyles, the deliberate decisions and courses that we take. And he says, look, there's going to be attempts to deceive you by others around you or your own sinful heart might try to deceive you.

Those who practice righteousness, those are the ones who are righteous. Those who are the ones who know the Lord, just as he is righteous, we pursue righteousness. We pursue right living before the Lord. In contrast to that, in verse 8, he who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.

And so the child of God pursues righteousness because Jesus is righteous and we're his children. The person who pursues sin, practices a lifestyle of sin, John says that person is of the devil. And that's the nature, the character. The devil has sinned from the beginning. And Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.

And so that is not a behavior that is appropriate. It's unnatural for a child of God to live in sin. And so he says in verse 9,

Now here in this idea again of he cannot sin, those who have been born again cannot sin, is not saying that we never fail, that we don't have sin issues, or even that we don't get caught up in seasons of sin or rebellion or issues in that regard.

John is saying here is that we cannot be comfortable, it's unnatural for us to live a life of sin. And so it's going to be uncomfortable and out of character for us to have a habit or a practice of sin in our lives. And I think a good example of this is the example of King David. When he committed adultery and then ultimately murder, he

was a man after God's own heart, but he tried to not address that issue of sin. And it's interesting to consider because there was a period of time that took place where David refused to address the sin, refused to repent of the sin.

And when he finally did, there was, you know, some great reconciliation that came about between David and the Lord. But in the midst of that, he wrote Psalm chapter 32, and it gives us some insight here. I think that is important for us. In Psalm chapter 32, verses 2, 3, and 4, it says this, "'Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit.'"

Here, David is saying, boy, it's a blessed thing when your sins are forgiven. When God doesn't count your iniquity against you, whew, that's a blessing. It's so refreshing.

During that time, as he's looking back at his season of rebellion and his unrepentant heart, he says, man, my bones grew old and I was just groaning all day long. I was miserable with it.

Because David, as a man after God's own heart, as a child of God, it was not natural for him to live in that condition of sin, to live with that unrepentant sin. And so he was miserable the entire time. Day and night, he says, your hand was heavy upon me. He felt this great pressure and burden as a result of sin. And all the strength that he had, his vitality was,

became like a summer drought, just dry and withered. This, I think, is a good picture for us of what John is talking about here in 1 John 3. Whoever has been born of God does not sin. Again, not that we never sin, not that we don't fall short, not that we don't have seasons of sin issues in our lives. But when we do, we cannot be at peace. We cannot be settled. We cannot have rest in

until we make things right with the Lord. It's against our nature to live with unrepentant sin. It's against our nature to live with those things outstanding. And so how do we deal with it when those things happen? Again, it comes back to confession and repentance. We need to confess our sin before the Lord, repent, and come back to the path that he has called us to.

Again, in the battle against sin, the point here, children of God do not practice sin. I would encourage you to make sure that you keep your focus on the Lord, even in your battle against sin, that you don't try to, you know, chase down the sin or try to figure out the right formula to deal with sin. Set your hope on him and what is to be revealed when he returns. Make sure that your heart and your mind is fully immersed in him.

and abide in him. Make your life, make your home in him. Fill everything about your life and everything about who you are with him. Let him be the focus, and as you focus on him, he will work out those battles of sin, and he will bring you along in the process of sanctification. Sometimes we get distracted by a specific sin sometimes,

The reality is we just need to recognize the presence of sin reveals broken fellowship with God. And so what I need to do as I battle sin and deal with sin is I need to make sure I go back and continue to maintain, to develop and deepen my relationship with God because children of God do not practice sin.

Well, moving on to verses 10 through 18, we get the third point to consider tonight. We are children of God and children of God love one another. Verse 10 says this, Here John kind of summarizes the two main points of this whole chapter.

Here's how you can tell the child of God and the child of the devil. The one who practices righteousness is a child of God. The one who does not practice righteousness, or in other words, the one who practices sin, is not of God. And then the other chief characteristic is love. So a child of God practices righteousness, and a child of God loves the brethren. Loves his brother, he says.

Here he gives us clear revelation, clear understanding, a clear way to identify and address this issue of what it means to be a child of God. It means to practice righteousness and it means to love the brethren. F.B. Meyer says this, We've been born into the family of God.

And a natural byproduct of that is a love for others within the body of Christ. A love for others in the family of God. And so here we're called to love one another. And he's going to spend the next few verses addressing that and talking about that. Verse 11,

He's referring back to Jesus several times throughout his ministry, said that we are to love one another just as he has loved us. John chapter 13, verse 34, he repeats it again in John chapter 15. This commandment, he says, I give to you that you love one another. So he says, look, that's been the message from the beginning. That's been the instruction from the beginning. We are to love one another.

Now the opposite of love is hatred. And so he'll talk about hatred here in these next couple verses as a contrast. In verse 12, he says, And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous. And so he gives a negative example. Instead of loving his brother, Cain hated his brother and murdered him.

And why? Well, because his works were evil and his brothers were righteous. There was this antagonism between them, not from Abel's side, but from Cain's side, because his works were evil and Abel's works were righteous. That's not love.

And so it's clear. I mean, I don't think we are astounded by John's point here, right? But it's clear. Hatred is not love. And this is not the way that we are to behave towards one another. Now he goes on in verse 13. He says, Now, it shouldn't be a surprise if we experience hatred outside of the church.

Out in the world, even, yes, you know, here in the United States, we should not be surprised when the world, when society hates Christians or Christianity. That's not that shocking. In fact, Jesus told us that would be the case. John's here reminding us that would be the case. We stand in opposition to the world because we are children of God,

In verse 14, he goes on to say, we know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. And so there's this transformation. In the world, it's common to find hatred, but one thing that's distinct and unique for us as believers, having been born again, it means we've passed from death to life. And one of the characteristics of that is a new love for the brethren that was not there before.

He goes on again. He wants to make it clear. He's working hard to make sure there's no deception or self-deception here. He who does not love his brother abides in death. And so if we lack love for the brethren, then we're still abiding in death. We haven't been transformed from death to life by faith in Jesus Christ. He goes on to make it a little bit stronger. Verse 15, whoever hates his brother is a murderer.

And so hatred is a serious thing. He says it's equivalent of murder. It's murder within the heart, similar to what Jesus taught on the Sermon on the Mount. And so to have that kind of heart, John says it reveals that eternal life is not abiding in that person. And so that's not...

how we are to be. That is not consistent with children of God. That is not the way that children of God behave or relate to others around them. Instead, we are to love one another. And what does that mean? What does that look like? He gave the example of hatred and what that looks like. Verse 16, now he tells us what love looks like. He says, 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.

Here's how we know what love is. We know what love is because Jesus laid down his life for us. Because Jesus sacrificed himself on our behalf. That is the whole reason why we know what love is. The greatest example of love that has ever existed in all of history is Jesus dying for us upon the cross and

for our sin. His sacrifice demonstrates his love for us. Paul talks about that in the book of Romans as well. Now again, the call to action is love one another as I have loved you. That's the instruction that Jesus gave. And so John says here, we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. And so there needs to be that same heart, that same sacrifice, same type of sacrifice that

towards others in our lives. And he goes on to give a practical example. So he's not only talking about death upon a cross or something like that. In verse 17, whoever has this world's good and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? So he gives a practical example here. So he says, here you are and you have enough. You have the world's goods.

So in other words, you're not lacking and you're not in need. You have abundance and you see your brother who is in need. But instead of helping with the abundance that you have, that brother in need, you shut up your heart from him. Then he says, how does the love of God abide in him?

And there's some interesting things to consider with this and perhaps a verse worth contemplating and meditating on over the coming weeks to see how the Lord might stir upon your heart to minister to people around you that there is to be a love for one another. Now, what is the boundaries and limits of this kind of love? I like what David Guzik says about this. He says that the limit of this kind of love is the limit that love imposes, right?

That is, when giving to a person, meeting their need, when that does them harm instead of good, then it's not loving to do so. And that, you know, can be a curious thing to consider, perhaps. But the reality is, sometimes in our attempts to help,

We interfere with what god is wanting to do and we interfere with what is good for people at the same time Sometimes we can be cold and stingy and selfish and hold on to what we have instead of helping Others around us and so we need to find ourselves in tune with the will of god and the plan of god And love people love people in a way that we would be willing to give and even sacrifice to help them uh

accomplish what it is that God has for them and help minister to them in times of need. He goes on in verse 18 to say, And so the children of God love one another. And not just in saying, I love you. Not just in using words, but in deed.

In action, in taking steps that minister to one another and care for one another and sacrifices that are made for each other, this is the way that children of God behave towards one another. And so we are children of God.

We're not complete and perfect in this area of love. We're not complete and perfect in the area of sin, right? We work in progress. At the same time, we do not practice sin and continue on in a lifestyle of sin. And we endeavor to love one another and we develop and grow in our love for each other as we walk with the Lord. Well, finally, we'll look at verses 19 through 24 for point number four. And that is children of God sometimes need assurance.

Let's read those verses. Verse 19 says, And by this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and

Here as we consider this final point, children of God sometimes need assurance.

Again, John here does a great job of really bringing clarity and he's wanting to bring assurance to those who are maybe questioning like, oh man, I still battle with sin and have sin struggles and does that mean I'm not a child of God or I'm still learning how to love and I don't know if I should have done this or should have done that and there can be uncertainty sometimes in our hearts and sometimes the enemy will use that

to then further pile on the doubts and the condemnation. And John, throughout this letter, gives us so many ways that we can know and have some solid certainty about the reality so that we can trust and rest in the work of God in our lives. And so he says in verse 19, by this we know we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. When we find ourselves loving others,

It is a evidence in our lives. It is something that we can grasp hold of and say, all right, I see change. I see transformation. I see love developing. And so when my heart is unsettled, I can look at those instances, look at those cases, and my heart can be assured before him. Notice he says in verse 20, if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

You know, sometimes as believers, as we're walking through this life, we find ourselves feeling condemnation, but it's self-inflicted condemnation. It's not condemnation from the Lord. It's condemnation

Well, either from the enemy or from us. Our hearts condemn us and tell us how terrible we are and tell us how lousy we are as Christians and all of that. And maybe we're not saved after all. Those are the kinds of things that children of God wrestle with internally. But God is greater than our heart, he says. And God knows all things.

God knows all things. He knows where our hearts are at. And so he's not, you know, basing his relationship with us on how we feel on any particular day. He is aware completely of where we're at and knows that we're a work in progress and that we're on the road of sanctification to become more like him in dealing with sin, in loving one another.

Verse 21, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And so there's those times of condemnation within and doubt and wrestling and internal battles that happen and that's normal and it happens for us as children of God.

But then there's also those seasons where our heart does not condemn us and we have that confidence towards God. Now, he goes on in verse 22 and says, "'Whatever we ask, we receive from him "'because we keep his commandments "'and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.'"

Here John is saying, look, when our heart is aligned with the Lord and we're practicing righteousness and we're loving one another, our hearts are aligned with him. And so when we ask something from the Lord, it's not out of selfish motivation. It's not something that is, you know, out of the will of God. And so as we ask the Lord in alignment with his will, it's not out of selfish motivation.

We have the requests. We have what we ask because we keep his commandments. Now that's not saying as a reward for keeping his commandments, then you get your prayers answered. That's works-based relationship. You got to be careful with that. But what he's saying is the prayer requests come out of a heart that is in aligned with God's will. He makes it a little bit more clear in 1 John 5, verse 14 and 15.

Saying, we have this confidence that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know he hears us, whatever we ask, we know we have the petitions that we have asked of him. So again, the issue comes back to aligning ourselves with the heart of God. Developing and deepening our relationship with the Lord is always the focus and always the drive. It's what we are to be pursuing.

Verse 23, this is the commandment that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment. What is the commandment that we are to obey? To believe in Jesus and to love one another. Those are the commandments. That's what God requires of us and expects of us. Believe in Jesus and love one another. He who keeps his commandments, verse 24, abides in him and he in him.

comes back to that relationship, abiding in Jesus. Believing in him, loving one another, we're abiding in Jesus and he's abiding in us. And then here's another confirmation. And by this, we know that he abides in us by the spirit whom he has given us. And so we have this additional confirmation of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us in Romans 8, verse 16, that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit and

that we are children of God, that we have in dwelling within us the Holy Spirit who testifies and assures and reminds us and comforts us in those times of uncertainty and doubts and afflictions within. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And so we can have this comfort, this confidence. It's okay. Children of God sometimes need assurance. We sometimes need assurance.

And God is faithful to give us that assurance. God is greater than our hearts and he knows all things. And we can look at his work in our lives and take comfort and recognize, yeah, I'm not all the way there. I still have issues and battles and weaknesses and failures, but God is at work. I am a child of God.

And so this evening, we consider this reality. We are children of God. It means that we are a work in progress. We're looking forward to eternity when we will be fully revealed and like Him at His coming, at His revelation. In the meantime, children of God do not practice sin. We will fall short. We will have sin issues.

But we cannot be comfortable living in sin. If you're comfortable in a lifestyle of sin, you need to have some serious concerns about where you're at with the Lord. And if you're miserable right now in sin, you need to come clean like David did and confess your sin before the Lord, allow him to cleanse you, and then get back on the road of righteousness, pursuing the things of God and pursuing the life that God has for you.

Children of God love one another. Not just in word, not just in our lips, but

but in our deeds. And we talked about this a little bit on Sunday as well. And I would encourage you to consider if the Lord perhaps is stirring up opportunities in your life to demonstrate that love towards others around you, to grow in that love towards others around you, and to do some practical things, maybe make some real sacrifices to love the people that God has placed in your life.

And finally, children of God sometimes need assurance. It's not a comfortable feeling to not have assurance, to be insecure, to have doubts. It's a very hurtful battle that happens within.

but the Lord knows that that's a reality and it's okay. Sometimes we need assurance and we can kind of circle the wagons and come back to the, okay, where are we at? What is the commandment of God? To believe in Jesus and to love one another. And we can look at our hearts and the work that God is doing. We can look at what he has done within us and the growth that he has produced and

And we can look to the Holy Spirit to minister to our hearts, to bring that confirmation, that comfort, that clarity that we are children of God. And so a great privilege that we have as God's children, a great position and a great work to do. And so we want to continue forward. And again, the focus is not so much the things that we could chase, but coming back to developing and deepening and pursuing our relationship with God.

the Lord. We are children of God, so let's pursue relationship with God above all else. Lord, I thank you for your word. Thank you for the comfort that it brings. Thank you for the clarity, Lord, that it brings where we try to get away with sin or get away with selfishness in our lives. I pray, God, that you would bring this challenge to our hearts in a way, Lord, that we would pursue you above all else. Teach us, Lord, to love you,

Teach us, Lord, to walk with you. Help us to live in a way that is consistent with the reality that we are your children. And may the world around us see us and know that we are the children of God. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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