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The Command to Love
3 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. 2 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. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:1-3 NKJV
HIS CHILDREN
The power of this verse touches my very soul and, perhaps, yours will be touched as well. It shows us how great is the love of God and the love we have when His love lives within us!
Together, let us contemplate the magnitude of the promise of these words.
Look, John is saying to us, look at the incredibly glorious way in which God our Father has loved us.
He has called us His children.
He has adopted us into the family of God and we are now HIS!!
WE BELONG TO GOD OUR FATHER
We are joint heirs with Christ!
You, Believer, belong to God!
You are His child, as am I.
The world doesn’t understand this fact nor acknowledge us as such because the world doesn’t know God.
We who believe in Christ as the Risen Son of God, however, are also made God’s children.
Can we get our minds around that thought?
GOD is our FATHER !!
WE WILL BE LIKE JESUS
We can’t even imagine what we will be like someday in Heaven with God and His Son.
However, we do know that we will be LIKE JESUS!
We can’t picture it but we know that we will be like Him and will see Him as He is.
Everyone who also has this hope that God gives us as believers will seek God’s forgiveness through Christ.
The forgiven will be made pure as Christ is pure!
THE CURE
These words are the cure for our depression and our feelings of meaninglessness in life!
REFLECT GOD’S LOVE TO THE WORLD
We are here to reflect God’s love to the world and to share Jesus.
God’s love will flow through us as His vessels to a sin-damaged world.
Sin and the Child of God
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 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. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.—
WE WERE IN SIN
We are all sinners. All manner of sin is the way of mankind.
We follow sin and commit sin.
Sin brings death for the wages of sin is death. Christ came to die for the sins of each of us.
CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS
He took the sins of the world upon Himself at Calvery though He Himself was sinless.
When we believe that Jesus is the Risen Son of God Who died for our sins, we ask Him into our lives as Savior. We ask God through Christ to forgive us of our sins and He does.
Salvation has come to us!
FOLLOWING CHRIST
We repent and turn from those sins. In gratitude for Christ’s death for our sins, we tell God that we want to follow Christ and live for God without sinning as we had been.
When we truly live in Christ, we practice righteousness and won’t want to sin.
Sinning purposefully means we don’t know Him.
It doesn’t mean that we are unable to sin or can’t still make a mistake. However, it does mean that if we do evil, we will want to go immediately to seek forgiveness from God. It does mean that our hearts are tender and we will WANT to do righteously and desire desperately NOT to sin again.
SIN OF THE DEVIL, RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
Do you WANT to do what is right and pleasing to God?
It can’t be said simpler. Those of God, live righteously and desire to do so with all their hearts. Sin is of the devil and righteousness is of God.
Those who are the children of God should also follow righteous living. It is a test of those truly living as sons of the Father.
Christ came to destroy the works of the devil.
Therefore, whoever has been born of God:
doesn’t want to sin,
does all he can not to sin,
asks for forgiveness should he sin,
and lives carefully following God so he will not sin.
PLEASING GOD
God’s seed remains in that believer.
If he is following God he cannot sin for it is so abhorrent to him, he will flee from it as a believer.
He has been born of God and wants to live accordingly.
Nothing is more important to the believer, the child of God, than to please His Father and follow Christ.
NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT TO THE BELIEVER THAN TO PLEASE HIS FATHER AND TO FOLLOW CHRIST!
Living in obedience is all the believer wants.
He simply wants to please God and bring God joy. He wants to do nothing that will grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
The Imperative of Love
10 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. 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.
13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 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. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.–
THE DIFFERENCE
There is a great difference in the lives of the children of God from those of the children of the devil.
Those not following righteousness and not loving others are not of God. We who are Christ-followers, believers, and the children of God are to love each other. We are not to be destroying those around us because we are jealous and evil.
BELIEVERS ARE HATED BY THE WORLD
As believers and true followers of Christ, we will be hated by the world. Of this, we must not be surprised.
We who are saved, however, have passed from death to life.
Life is lived differently with the love of Christ within us. We love each other.
THE SIGN
Love, in fact, is the sign of following Christ.
It is the sign of those who are of Christ and who have Christ living within them.
SUCH OVERWHELMING LOVE should be POWERFULLY EVIDENT in the lives of those FOLLOWING and OBEYING CHRIST.
Did we get that? Read it again. And yet Again.
If you are a Christian it should SHOW.
Someone once wrote that if you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you. That is a deep and serious, perhaps frightening thought to some. It is a question to which only YOU have the correct answer.
If your faith doesn’t have evidence, you should go (RUN) immediately to God and pray until you discover why it is not there.
LOVE OR HATE
If we are not loving others then clearly, we are still in death and not in Christ
If one hates his brother, it is as though he is already a murderer in his heart.
Jesus was clear throughout his ministry that our thoughts and words as well as our deeds must be pure and holy.
A person living for the devil has no part in Christ and has no eternal life within him.
The Outworking of Love
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. 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. 19 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.
LAYING DOWN OUR LIVES
We already know that Christ laid down His life for us on the Cross in a hideous death for our sins.
How do we lay down our lives for others?
Few by ratio actually are called upon to lay down their lives physically for another.
Oh, we might see this often in wartime, or in dire emergencies, but on a daily basis? Likely not.
Perhaps, though, it is also the laying down of our lives moment by moment, hour by hour for another in kindness and love, in service and without complaint. Perhaps, we lay our lives down for others daily, despite our own weariness of mind and body.
THOSE NEEDING US
Do we see someone in need of this world’s goods? Do we see someone in need of food and clothing?
Is there a neighbor who is in need of help or who needs a listening ear?
Do we overlook the need of a family member, co-worker, or homeless in the community or area? Have we told ourselves that we just don’t have the time to stop and make a difference by sharing Jesus?
CAN YOU WALK AWAY?
God’s love does not dwell in us if we can walk away from the needs around us.
God’s love does not dwell in us if we can walk away from the needs around us.
Yes, I wrote that twice. I wanted you (and me) to read it twice and think about it twice.
In fact, we should think about that thought often until we change our walk.
WORD OR DEED
Often we are quick to “love” in word and speech. We are often first in line to say there is a need we need to address.
Then we might allow the others in line ahead of us when it comes to helping.
“THE OTHERS”
We tell ourselves that surely “the others” must have more time, education, experience in such things, and more money to help than we do.
There is always something we think needs our time and effort first. We selfishly think of all the enjoyment out there calling to us in our leisure time.
DEEDS AND TRUTH
Our loving others should be done in deeds and in truth. Love is a sacrifice not with words only. Faith and love are essential to true fellowship with God.
How do we know we are being truthful with ourselves in these matters?
HEART CONDEMNATION
Does our heart condemn us?
In the quiet of our room, when the door is shut for the night, and we are alone in our thoughts, are we guilt-free?
Or do we hear our heart cry out and tell us that we could have served and shared and yes, LOVED as Christ would have wanted us to love? Do we have that strong and close fellowship with God as His Love flows through us to others?
If not and your heart convicts, that is God speaking to your spirit and you had better listen, as had I.
GOD KNOWS
God is greater than our heart and knows all that we do and what motivates us.
True love of Christ in us doesn’t do good to be seen by others or to get praise for ourselves.
ALL PRAISE TO GOD
All praise for the love we show should go to God.
When you have peace in your mind and heart and feel no heart condemnation, we know we are right with God and are loving others in a more Christ-like way.
As we keep God’s commands and do what is pleasing in His sight, we can ask for our needs within His Will in our lives and we will receive them.
GOD’S COMMAND
And what is God’s commandment? He wants us to believe in His Son Jesus Christ and love one another.
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH AND THE SPIRIT OF ERROR
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. 1 John 3 NKJV
When we keep God’s commandments, He abides in us and we in Him.
We know He lives in us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us by God and indwells within us.
The Holy Spirit within guides us, teaches us, comforts us, and helps us live godly lives when we listen and obey.
What a blessing to have been forgiven and to have our sins gone!!
In the place of those sins, now comes the indwelling
of the blessed Holy Spirit of God to dwell forever within us!!!
What a thought!
What a chapter in our Bibles!
Our loving Father of Miracles can change Someone so Completely
that He changed ME from a SINNER
to a CHILD of the LIVING AND HOLY GOD !!!
HE CAN DO THE SAME FOR YOU IF YOU ASK HIM!!!
I hope that you can join us in the other lessons of 1st John. You can follow the links to any of the other lessons. Thank you again for joining. Click on any of these links to go to the next lesson: Jesus as John saw Him – I John Lesson 1, Knowing Him – 1 John Lesson 2, How Great Is The Love – 1 John Lesson 3, The Reason For Love – 1 John Lesson 4, and Faith And Love – 1 John Lesson 5.
Please leave comments below on the lessons. This will help us in future posts.