Thank you, Gracious God, for all you have done and will do in my life. You have proven that you keep your promises and that I can trust you for everything I need.
Read 1 JOHN 2:28–3:10
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
God’s Children and Sin
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
3 See what great love the Father has lavished on 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 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
Footnotes
- 1 John 3:2 Or when it is made known
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’1 Thank the Lord for such awe-inspiring love.
Think Further
On our way to a rural mission station in Zimbabwe, we used to drive along a mountain ridge high above the African plains. The first time I did so, my colleague stopped the truck, inviting me to look at the view. ‘Look,’ she declared, ‘isn’t that just a fantastic sight?’ And it was, leaving me breathless at the wonder of God’s creation spread beneath my feet. Verse 3:1 is John’s similar invitation to pause, open our eyes and be amazed at the view! ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us’ (KJV). We are being asked to take time to contemplate this amazing love, to allow it to impact our consciousness, even to take our breath away.
This love is life-changing. He gives us a new name – the family name of the children of God – but more than that, he changes us deep within so that John can declare with confidence, ‘And that is what we are!’ (v. 1). The knowledge of God’s love is meant to inspire change in our behavior. The absence of such change would give rise to the possibility that we don’t know the Father’s love at all or, in extreme circumstances, that we are children of the devil (v. 8). John wants us to look at the love of God and then have confidence in it. We need to remember that we are God’s children and that we bear the family likeness.
John uses the word ‘know’ nine times in these verses. He wants his readers to be ‘confident and unashamed … at his coming’ (2:28). In fact, the main reason for writing this letter is so that we will believe in the Son of God and have confidence in eternal life.2 ‘Loved with everlasting love, led by grace that love to know.’3 What a view!
Apply
Take a few moments to consider how God has lavished his love upon you. Plan to share it with someone else today.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, you know me—there is nothing about me that is hidden from you—and you love me. You pour out on me the grace and mercy I need every day; you will never change your mind about me. Help me to share the wonder of who you are with others.
Last Updated on December 14, 2024 by kingstar
