The one who does the will of God (1 John 2:12-17)

The one who does the will of God

[1 John 2:12-17]

If you are a Christian living a life of faith, there is no one who hasn't thought about what God's will is. That is why the will of God is very important to the Christians who live life of faith. But the problem is that our hearts know and understand God's will and wants to live according to His will, but our fragile body keeps pursuing "my will" and wants to live according to "my will". What should we do when 'my will' and 'God's will' collide like this? For example, if God's will is to love our neighbor as ourselves, but my will is to hate our neighbor, what should we do? We must also pray to God the prayer that Jesus offered to His Father on the Mount of Olives the night before His crucifixion: “… My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Mt. 26:39). So, like Jesus, who obeyed the will of God the Father even to death on the cross (Phil 2:8), I hope and pray that we too will submit to the will of the Lord even to death.

In 1 John 2:17, the Apostle John says: “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” I would like to receive five lessons from 1 John 2:12-17 based on verse 17 under the title “The one who does the will of God”.

First, the one who does the will of God knows Jesus Christ.

Look at 1 John 2:13, 14: “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning … I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning ….” Who is the world saying Jesus is? A great teacher? A founder of Christianity? Or is Jesus just a myth created by Christians? Who do you think Jesus is? In Matthew 16, when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea in Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Mt. 16:13). Then the disciples answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (v. 14). Then Jesus asked the disciples again, “Who do you say I am?” (v. 15) Then Simon Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). This confession of Peter's faith was revealed to him by God the Father in heaven (v. 17). Then who is Jesus, whom God the Father has revealed to you and made known to you?

In 1 John 2:13, 14, the Apostle John repeats the same words twice. The content of the same word is, ‘I am writing (I have written) to you because you know Him who has been from the beginning.’ Who is the One who has been from the beginning that the Apostle John is talking about here? In 1 John 1:1-2, which we have already meditated on, the Apostle John refers to Jesus Christ as the Word of Life who was from the beginning, who was manifested to us. The Apostle John says that the reason he is writing the letter to 1 John is that among the recipients of his letter, the believers who are spiritually mature, like the physical parents, know Jesus Christ (MacArthur). Who is this Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins (2:2). In other words, Jesus Christ died on the cross as the sacrifice of the Passover lamb for our sins, thereby satisfying God's holy requirement of punishing our sins. Also, Jesus Christ is the righteous Advocate who defends us before God the Father (v. 1). When we stand before God's court and Satan prosecutes us to our holy and righteous Heavenly Father, who is our Judge, Jesus, who has become the defense attorney, defends us before God who is the Judge. Satan, the accuser of our brethren (Rev. 12:10), is the one who pretends that we have sin and accuses us before the Judge Heavenly Father God even though we have already confessed our sins, and God, who is faithful and righteous, has already forgiven us and cleansed us from all unrighteousness (1: 9). So whenever Satan does it, Jesus, who is our Advocate, defending us before God.

The one who does the will of God know this Jesus Christ. And he who knows this Jesus Christ and does the will of God enjoys fellowship with this Jesus Christ (1:3). In other words, the one who does the will of God have fellowship with Jesus Christ and believe that the blood of Jesus the Son of God cleanses him from all sin (v. 7). Moreover, the one who does the will of God proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ (v. 5). And the one who does the will of God keeps the commandments of Jesus (2:3). That is, the one who does the will of God loves the Lord God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his mind, and love his neighbor as himself (Mt. 22:37, 39). Therefore, his heart is full of joy (1 Jn. 1:4).

Second, the one who does the will of God knows the Father God.

Look at 1 John 2:14a – “Little children, I write to you because you know the Father. …” (CEB). Do you not want to see Heavenly Father? Philip, one of Jesus' 12 disciples, wanted to see Heavenly Father. So he said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us” (Jn. 14:8). Then Jesus said to Philip, “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?” (v. 9) In verse 7 He said: “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

If we look again at the first half of 1 John 2:13 and the middle of verse 14, which we have already meditated on, the Apostle John said, “because you know Him who has been from the beginning.” That is, the recipients of the Apostle John’s letter knew Jesus Christ, who had been from the beginning. That means they knew God the Father, the Father of Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2:14, the apostle John said “Little children, I write to you because you know the Father” (CEB). This means that Jewish Christians, the recipients of the Apostle John's letter, not only knew Jesus Christ, but also knew God the Father, the Father of Jesus Christ. So, who did the Apostle John say who God the Father is 1 John? He says two things:

In 1 John 1:5, the Apostle Paul said that “God is Light.”

The Apostle John said that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all (v. 5). For reference, in John 8:12 and John 9:5, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” or “I am the light of the world while I am in the world.”

In 1 John 4:8, 16, the Apostle John said that “God is love.”

The Apostle John said in 1 John 4:9-10 that God sent His Son, Jesus, into this world as the propitiation sacrifice. The reason is to make an atoning sacrifice for our sins (v. 10). A similar word is found in John 3:16. The Apostle John said that God loves us so much, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus. The reason is so that everyone who believes in Jesus might have eternal life (v. 16).

The one who does the will of God know this Heavenly Father. And he who knows his Heavenly Father and does the will of God enjoys fellowship with his Heavenly Father (1:3). And he walks in the light “as he is in the light” (v. 7), as he is having fellowship with God. In other words, he who does the will of God has nothing in him to make him stumble, because he abides in the light and loves his brother (2:10). And because he loves his brother, his heart is full of joy (1:4).

Third, the one who does the will of God overcomes the evil one.

Look at 1 John 2:13b, 14b – “… young men, because you have overcome the evil one I have written to you, … young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” The name of our church is “Victory Presbyterian Church”. And as the name of the church, our church prays that all of our members will be victorious in the fight against ourselves, sin, the world, Satan, and death. Our church has to live a militant Christian life with the assurance of victory because Jesus Christ fought and triumphed over Satan and death on the cross. We must have a spiritual struggle. Then, the church is a group of militant Christians who fight spiritual warfare with the victorious Jesus as our Commander.

So what should we do to live a militant Christian life? As soldiers of the militant cross in this spiritual warfare, what we need is the full armor of God. Look at Ephesians 6:11-13: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Here, “the full armor of God” is mentioned from Ephesians 6:14, and it is “the belt of the truth,” “the breastplate of righteousness,” and “having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace,” “the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” and “the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the word of God” (vv. 14-17). Then, the Bible emphasizes prayer and petition, praying all the times in the Spirit, and urges us to always be alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (v. 18).

There is a hymn that we do not sing that many times, but are familiar with. It is called “Up and Fight Against the Devil.” If we look at verses 1 and 2 of the hymn, it says: (v. 1) “Up and fight against the devil, You whose sins are wash'd away! Bold against the host of evil come and gather for the fray. See the judgment coming closer, And perdition's awful Day, The Day is almost here!” (v. 2) “Up and fight against the devil, You whose sins are wash'd away! Ever nearer comes the tumult of the foe's immense array. Cast our own offenses from us And the sins that so betray; Trust God and cast out fear!” Looking at the lyrics of this hymn, we can think of the words of James 4:7: “… Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Who is “the devil” here? Look at John 8:44 – “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

In 1 John 2:13, 14, the Apostle John said: “…young men, because you have overcome the evil one I have written to you … young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” The Apostle John said that he was writing to the Jewish Christians to whom he received his letters, not only because they knew Jesus Christ, who had been from the beginning, and knew God the Father, but also because they had overcome the evil one. Here, the modern Korean Bible translates “the evil one” as “the devil”. In fact, in 1 John 3:8, 10, the Apostle John spoke of “the devil”: “He 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. … 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 a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” Looking at these words, the Apostle John distinguished “the children of God” and “the children of the devil” and exhorted the children of God “do not let anyone lead you astray” in verse 7. And then in verses 8-10, the Apostle John said that those who belonged to the devil, that is, the children of the devil, were sinners and didn’t practice righteousness. Here, the children of the devil who don’t practice righteousness means that they don’t love their brother. But the children of God are “the one who practice righteousness” (v. 7). And they don’t continue to sin (v. 9). That means that the children of God don’t continue to commit the sin of hating their brother. This means that even though the children of God sometimes fall into the delusion of the devil and hate their brother, they don’t continue to hate their brother, but confess their sins of hating their brother (1:9). By doing so, their sin is forgiven in the name of Jesus (2:12) and love their brother again (v. 10).

How, then, can the children of God fight and overcome the devil? How can we fight and overcome the devil's temptation of hating our brother? Look at 1 John 2:14 – “… young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” According to this word, the secret that we, the children of God, can fight and overcome the devil's temptation of hating our brothers is by being strong and the word of God dwells in us. Here, the word “you are strong” means that we are strong because the powerful word of God abides in us. And the fact that the word of God dwells in us is proof that our faith in it is so strong and firm. So the Apostle John said in 1 John 5:4 – “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” The hymn “Encamped Along the Hills of Light” comes to my mind:

(v. 1) Encamped along the hills of light, Ye Christian soldiers, rise,

And press the battle ere the night Shall veil the glowing skies.

Against the foe in vales below Let all our strength be hurled;

Faith is the victory, we know, That overcomes the world.

(v. 2) On ev-'ry hand the foe we find Drawn up in dread array;

Let tents of ease be left behind, And onward to the fray.

Salvation's hel-met on each head, With truth all girt about,

The earth shall tremble 'neath our tread, And echo with our shout.

(v. 3) To him that overcomes the foe White raiment shall be given

Before the angels he shall know His name confess'd in heaven.

Then onward from the hills of light, Our hearts with love aflame,

We'll vanquish all the hosts of night In Jesus' con-qu'ring name.

[Chorus]

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!

Oh, glorious victory, That overcomes the world.

Faith is the victory. Faith in the Lord Jesus fights and overcomes this sinful world and the devil. Although the devil tempts us to make us to hate our brothers and sisters in Christ over and over again, faith is the victory over that temptation (1 Jn. 5:4). And because the God in us, the object of our faith, is greater than “those who are in the world” [more powerful than the devil (Modern Bible)] (4:4), we will win in fighting against this sinful world and the devil. May our hearts be filled with joy as we all stand firm in the faith and love our neighbor as ourselves, as Jesus commanded (1:4).

Fourth, the one who does the will of God doesn’t love the world and the things in the world.

Look at 1 John 2:15 – “Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” The world we live in is not an object of love, but an object of evangelism. We must not love this sinful world. We are not supposed to be friends with this world. The reason is because when we become friends with the world, we ourselves become enemies of God (Jam. 4:4). As we are those who belong to God, we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to those of this world. The reason is because those who belong to this world received eternal punishment because they don’t believe in Jesus Christ.

In 1 John 2:15, the Apostle John says: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” The Apostle John said not to love the world and the things in the world. What is the reason? Look at 1 John 5:19 – “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” The reason we shouldn't love the world or the things in it is because we belong to God and the world is under the control of the devil. Then what are the things in the world that we shouldn’t love? Look at 1 John 2:16 – “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” The things of this world under the control of the devil are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. That’s why we, as those who belong to God, must not love all these things. Also, since the world and its lusts are passing away (v. 17), we, as lovers of God the Father, must not love the world or the things in this world (v. 15). The Bible says that if we love all these things in this world, the love of our Heavenly Father is not in us (v. 15). That means, because the love of God the Father is in us, we don’t love the world or the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the boastful pride of life in this world. Rather, we live according to the twofold commandment of Jesus, loving the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul, and with all our mind and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:37-39). By doing so, God's love will truly be perfected in us (1 Jn. 2:5).

We must not love the world or the things in this world. Everything in this world is passing away, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Because the love of Heavenly Father is in us, we must not love this world, but must do the will of God. The will of God is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, which is the twofold commandment of Jesus. Therefore, may our hearts be filled with joy (1:4).

Fifth and last, the one who does the will of God knows that his sins have been forgiven for Jesus’ name’s sake.

Look at 1 John 2:12 – “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.” If we say that we have fellowship with God and hate our brothers, we are walking in the darkness. And this is a sin of lying and also of not practicing the truth. To walk in the darkness is not keeping the commandment of God (v. 4). To walk in the darkness is to hate our brother (vv. 9, 11). He who walks in the darkness is violating God's commandment and sins against God. Yet he doesn’t confess his sin. But he who walks in the light confesses his sin. The reason is because he who walks in the light realizes his sin in the light, unlike he who walks in the darkness. And the reason why he admits and confesses the sin he has realized is because he has the assurance of the forgiveness of the sin. That is, he confesses his sin because he believes that the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, will cleanse him from all sin. Also, the reason why he who walks in the light confesses his sin is because he believes and has assurance in the word of 1 John 1:9. In other words, the reason he who walks in the light confesses his sin is because he believes that God is faithful and just and will forgive him him sin. This is because the righteous Jesus Christ became the propitiation for our sins (2:1, 2).

In 1 John 2:12, the Apostle John says: “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.” The Apostle John said that the reason he was writing to the Jewish Christians was because they not only knew Jesus Christ and God the Father, but also stood firm in the word of God by faith and overcame the devil (vv. 13-14). And the Apostle John exhorted them not to love the world or the things in the world. The reason is because the Jewish Christians who receive his letter have love for God the Father, and because all that is in this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, does not come from the Father, but from the world (vv. 15-16). And because the world and its lusts are passing away (v. 17), he said not to love the world or the things in the world (v. 15). In this way, the Apostle John, telling the recipients of the reason for writing this letter of 1 John, said in verse 12, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.” God loves us and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world as the propitiation for our sins (4:10). Jesus Christ, the propitiation for our sins (2:2), is our defense before our Heavenly Father even when we sin (v. 1). Therefore, the Apostle John said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1:9).

Our sins are forgiven in the name of Jesus. As a sinless person, Jesus came to this world to take away our sins (3:5) and actually took on all our sins and died on the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins. Therefore, we Christians who believe in Jesus have the assurance of the forgiveness of sins and keep the Lord's commandment. We are dedicated to loving our neighbors as Jesus loves us. But the problem is that there are times when we break the commandments of the Lord and hate our brothers and sisters in Christ. That means we are in the darkness (v. 9) even though we say we are in the light. Also, we are lying, aren’t practicing the truth and walking in the darkness even though we say that we have fellowship with God (1:6). But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1:9). We receive forgiveness of sins through the name of Jesus (2:12). And we love our brothers and sisters in obedience to the Lord's commandment as evidence of our genuine repentance. Therefore, our hearts will be full of joy.

It reminds me of the hymn “My Jesus, as Thou Wilt”: (v. 1) My Jesus, as Thou wilt! O may Thy will be mine; Into Thy hand of love I would my all resign. Through sorrow, or thro' joy, Conduct me as Thine own; And help me still to say, My Lord, Thy will be done. (v. 2) My Jesus, as Thou wilt! Though seen through many a tear, Let not my star of hope Grow dim or disappear. Since Thou on earth hast wept, And sorrowed oft alone, If I must weep with Thee, My Lord, Thy will be done. (v. 3) My Jesus, as Thou wilt! All shall be well for me; Each changing future scene I gladly trust with Thee. Straight to my home above I travel calmly on; And sing, in life or death, My Lord, Thy will be done. Amen. The Bible 1 John 2:17 says, “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” Focusing on this verse, I meditated on five things about “The one who does the will of God”: The one who does the will of God (1) knows Jesus Christ, (2) knows the Father God, (3) overcomes the evil one, (4) doesn’t love the world and the things in the world, and (5) knows that his sins have been forgiven for Jesus’ name’s sake. I hope and pray that we are the ones who do the will of God.

Desiring to continue to be broken and built up as the one who does the will of the Lord,

James Kim

(October 20, 2019, As I get to know the Holy Triune God, I hope and pray that I will live a victorious life in the fight against the devil, the sinful world, myself, and death)