See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us (1 John 3:1-10)

See how great a love

the Father has bestowed on us

[1 John 3:1-10]

In order to live this empty life, a life that is truly worthwhile in the eyes of God, we must live a life that is satisfied with the Lord’s unfailing love (Ps. 90:14). God has given us a heart to long for eternity (Eccle. 3:11). Therefore, as new creations in Jesus, we can live a satisfying life when we love each other with God's eternal love. To do that, we must realize God's love for us. The love of God is the love that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for us (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:6, 8, 10). I thought of God's great love for us until He gave up His only begotten Son Jesus on the cross in three ways: (1) God's love is for the 'helpless' (Rom. 5: 6). At the time when God's love would be revealed as He had predestined before eternity [“just as the right time” (v. 6), Park], Jesus Christ died for the ungodly (v. 6). (2) God's love is love for the sinners (v. 8). Look at 1 John 4:9-10: “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (3) God’s love is love for ‘enemies’ (v. 10). While we were still helpless (v. 6), that is, when we were still sinners (v. 8), we were enemies with God (v. 10). But Jesus reconciled us to God by dying on the cross. The more we realize and know this great love of God, the more we will not be able to help but praise God for the hymn “The Love of God is Greater”: (v. 1 and chorus) The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell; It goes beyond the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell; The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win; His erring child He reconciled, And pardoned from His sin. Oh love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forever more endure, The saints' and angels' song. But doubting this great love of God toward us is the root of all spiritual problems (Mal. 1:2). A heart that has not personally experienced the perfect love of God revealed through the atoning death of Jesus on the cross is bound to fall into various temptations.

In 1 John 3:1, the Bible says: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” The modern Korean Bible translates: ‘Just think of how great our Heavenly Father's love for us is. With that great love, we became children of God. But the world does not know us, because they do not know the Father.’ We also need to think about how great our Heavenly Father's love for us is. When I think about it, I remembered the words of Genesis about Joseph that came to mind while meditating at the early Morning Prayer meeting two weeks ago. In other words, when Joseph was 17 years old, he was hated by his older brothers and was nearly killed (Gen. 37), and became a slave to Potiphar, the captain of the guard, the servant of Pharaoh, king of Egypt (Ch. 39). Then he became the prime minister of Egypt by interpreting the king Pharaoh's dream (Ch. 41). As I meditated on these words again, I thought again about this wonderful change of status: Joseph, a Hebrew youth, who was a slave in Egypt, became the prime minister of that country Egypt. At that time, I was reminded of Romans chapter 5, which our church retired pastor preached a long time ago. I remember that the retired pastor emphasized the three verses in Romans 5 while preaching: (1) “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (v. 6), (2) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (v. 8), (3) “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (v. 10). As I remembered these verses, I meditated on how amazing our standing in Jesus is rather than the change in the identity of the person named Joseph in the Book of Genesis. In other words, we were helpless sinners who were enemies of God, but Jesus Christ died for us so that we are reconciled to God. Therefore, it is the fact that we are no longer enemies of God, but children of God. Considering this fact, I couldn't help but be grateful that God's grace and love are so great and amazing that we are the ones who have undergone such a remarkable change of status.

In 1 John 3:1, the Apostle John continued to write his letter, saying: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are ….” Now, the Apostle John exhorts Jewish Christians, who are the recipients of his letter of 1 John, to think for a moment how great the love our Heavenly Father has for us,’ and says, ‘By that great love we became children of God.’ What does it mean? In a word, the fact that we become children of God makes us think about how great our Heavenly Father's love for us is. To that extent, the Apostle John now says that we must realize how great God's love is that we who believe in Jesus have become the children of God. That is why the Apostle John again says in 1 John 3:2, the first half: “Beloved, now we are the children of God, ….” How do we become children of God? How could we, who were enemies of God, become children of God? Theologically speaking, it can be described as “the order of salvation.” Here, “the order of salvation” refers to the method of salvation. That is, a term that describes the process by which the work of salvation done in Christ is subjectively realized (applied) in the hearts and lives of sinners (Internet). There are 9 orders or methods of this salvation: (1) Predestination/Election, (2) Calling, (3) Regeneration, (4) Conversion, (5) Justification, (6) Adoption, (7) Sanctification, (8) Perseverance of Saints, (9) Glorification. The sixth of these nine orders refers to “adoption,” that is, we become children of God. This “adoption” is also mentioned in the Bible. Look at Romans 8:15 – “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” According to this word, before we believed in Jesus, we had received the “spirit that makes you a slave again to fear” (v. 15). Here, the spirit that makes us the slave again to fear means that before we believed in Jesus, we were slaves to sin (6:17, 20). The Apostle John says in John 8:34 that we were sinners and slaves to sin. When we were slaves to sin, we were slaves to sin (Rom. 6:6). Then we had sinful passions working within us, making us bear fruit for death (7:5). The Apostle John says that our father at that time was the Devil: “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” (Jn. 8:44). In a word, before we believed in Jesus by the grace of God, we were the children of the devil, “the father of lies”, and were slaves to sin, committing sins according to the devil’s desire. And, as we have already learned from Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death,” so we were slaves to sin and had no choice but to die forever. That's how we got to live forever. The Apostle John said in 1 John 2:17 – “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” How did this become possible? Look at what the Apostle John said in John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” As children of our father the devil, we were forced to die forever as slaves to sin. But it is through faith in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son that God loved and gave us, that we have eternal life. And the Apostle John said in John 1:12 that those who believe in Jesus Christ have been given the right to become children of God: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

In 1 John 2:29, which we have already meditated on, the Apostle John said that “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.” Here, the word “everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” means those who have been born again by believing in Jesus, just as God is righteous, and are justified by believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection (Rom. 4: 25). Therefore, those who are justified must practice righteousness at some point as the indwelling Holy Spirit teaches them. That is, we must do as Jesus Christ, the righteous does (1 Jn. 2:1, 6). We must live in obedience to Jesus' commandment (vv. 7-11). To summarize, in 1 John 2:29, those who practice righteousness that the Apostle John speaks of are those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ, who love their brothers according to the commandment of Jesus. And those who love their neighbor in obedience to Jesus' commandment are the ones who practice righteousness. Those who practice righteousness in this way are born of Him, and they are the righteous children of God. Therefore, the Apostle John is admonishing us to think about how great our Heavenly Father's love for us is through the fact that we are children of God (3:1). This reminds me the hymn “The Love of God is Greater Far”:

(v. 1) The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

It goes beyond the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled, And pardoned from His sin.

(v. 2) When hoary time shall pass away, And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;

When men who here refuse to pray, On rocks and hills and mountains call;

God's love, so sure, shall still endure, All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam's race The saints' and angels' song.

(v. 3) Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho' stretched from sky to sky.

(Chorus) Oh love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!

It shall forever more endure, The saints' and angels' song.

Then, how should we live as children of God through the great love that God has given us? In other words, as we have already learned in 1 John 2:27, 28, how should we, as children of God, to live “in Christ”? I would like to receive few lessons from 1 John 3:1-10 by meditating on 5 things:

First, as children of God by God's great love, we must know that the world does not know us because they do not know our Father.

Look at 1 John 3:1 – “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” The people of this world who don’t believe in Jesus don’t know us. For example, the people of this world don’t know that we are children of God (vv. 1, 2). They don’t understand, nor can they understand that we cry out “Abba! Father!” since we have received the spirit of adoption as sons (Rom. 8:15). What is the reason? If we look at the second half of 1 John 3:1, the reason is because they don’t know the Father. Isn't that obvious? Since the people of this world don’t know the Father God because they don’t believe in Jesus, the Son of God, how can they know us, the children of God? In fact, in the first century, when the Apostle John wrote this letter of 1 John, many lying antichrists appeared and deceived the saints. They not only denied the Father God and the Son Jesus (2:22), but also denied that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (v. 23) and that He came in the flesh (2 Jn. 1:7). In this last hour (2:18), how can unbelievers who deny and say they don’t know the Father God and the Son of God (v. 22) know us as children of God who believe in Jesus (3:1, 2)?

The Bible 1 Corinthians 2:14 says: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” This word is a part of the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Corinth. And in the context of the content, Paul addressed the Corinthian church members as "natural men" (v. 14), contrasting the “spiritual man” (v. 15). Paul said that even though the spiritual man has the wisdom of God (v. 7) and knows the Lord of glory (v. 8), the natural man (the unregenerate natural man) don’t know the wisdom of God but have only the wisdom of this age (v. 6). That was why they crucified the Lord of glory (v. 8). And Paul said that even though the mind of man had not conceive of the Lord of glory (v. 9), only God had revealed it to us by the Holy Spirit (v. 10). And he said, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us” (v. 12). If we apply these words to us, it means that we who believe in Jesus didn’t receive the spirit of the world, but only the Holy Spirit from God, so that we can know the things that God has given us by grace. However, it also means that people in this world who don’t believe in Jesus have not received the Holy Spirit from God, but the spirit of the world, so they cannot know what God has given us by grace. So the natural unregenerate unbelievers not only don’t receive the things of the Holy Spirit, but they seem foolish to them. Also they can't know them. The reason is because they lack spiritual discernment (v. 14). Therefore, natural, unregenerate unbelievers without spiritual discernment don’t know the Father God (1 Jn. 3:1). Therefore, they cannot know us, the children of our Heavenly Father (v. 1).

Like our fathers of faith in Hebrews 11, we must bear witness to “aliens and strangers” on this earth. Look at Hebrews 11:13 – “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.” Who is “aliens”? The aliens are citizen of another country (Dictionary). In other words, we are citizens of the kingdom of God. So the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:20 – “But our citizenship is in heaven. ….” We also have to live on this earth and testify that we are “strangers.” Who are the strangers? The strangers are the people who live away from their hometown or place of life (Bible Dictionary). We are the people who are looking for a country of our own (Heb. 11:14). Like the fathers of faith in Hebrews 11, we have a different hometown that we are looking for. Now we are longing for a better country – a heavenly one (v. 16). In other words, we are hoping for the city of heaven as the people of God who have the citizenship of the kingdom of heaven (v. 10).

(v. 1) I'm pressing on the upward way, New heights I'm gaining ev-'ry day;

Still praying as I'm onward bound, "Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

Lord, lift me up and let me stand.

(v. 4) I want to scale the utmost height, And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I'll pray till heaven I've found, "Lord, lead me on to higher ground."

Lord, lift me up and let me stand.

(Chorus) By faith on Heaven's tableland, A higher plane than I have found;

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

[Hymn “I’m Pressing on the Upward Way”]

Second, as children of God by God's great love, we will be like Jesus because we will see Him just as He is when He appears.

Look at 1 John 3:2 – “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” Our hope is the second coming of Jesus. And the patience of our hope is to pray, expect, and wait for His second coming. Do we really have this waiting? The believers who are waiting for the second coming of Jesus don’t grieve like the hopeless unbelievers when they face the death of the saints (1 Thess. 5:13). The reason is because the believers who are preparing for Jesus’ second coming believe that Jesus died and rose again (v. 14). Furthermore, the reason why the saints preparing for His second coming didn’t grieve in anticipation of the second coming is because they believe that God will bring them with him even those who sleep (the dead) in Jesus (v. 14). Therefore, as we await the return of Jesus, we rejoice in hope and endure in tribulation (Rom. 12:12).

When I think of the church that waited for the second coming of Jesus, I think of the Thessalonian church. The reason is because the Thessalonian church community was a community of hope that waited for the second coming of Jesus. Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10: “for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” The Thessalonian church members were Gentiles who worshiped idols before they heard the gospel through Paul and believed in Jesus. They led a sexually promiscuous life, a religious life of drinking a lot and partying frequently (Sae-yoon Kim). The Thessalonians, who worshiped idols while leading such a religious life, heard the gospel of Christ through Paul, believed in Jesus, abandoned their idols, returned to God, worshiped the living and true God, and obeyed God's word (Kim). Not only that, but they waited for the second coming of Jesus (v. 10). In the midst of this, the Thessalonian church members welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit in spite of severe suffering, and became imitators of the Lord as well as Paul and his co-workers (Silas and Timothy) (v. 6). It was the word of God that allowed them to imitate Paul, his co-workers, and the Lord. In other words, they became imitators of the Lord because they accepted the word of God with the joy of the Holy Spirit amid many afflictions.

The work of the Holy Spirit makes us yearn for the word of God more and more and receive it humbly when we are in a lot of trouble and suffering. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit makes us obey the will of God that we have realized through the word of God. As a result, the Holy Spirit molds us into His word in our sufferings, sanctifies us and makes us like the Lord. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:29, “Those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” According to the Korean modern Bible, those whom God foreknew were destined to be made in the likeness of His Son. The three important words here are ‘foreknew’, ‘predetermined’, and ‘to be conformed to the image of his Son’ (Internet). The reason these three acts of God are recorded in Romans 8:29 is that when we meditate in connection with the preceding verses, verses 28 and 18, all things work together for our good (v. 28) and the present suffering is so that we can be more certain that it is incomparable with the glory that is to be revealed to us (v. 18). So, what is the meaning of these three acts of God?

First, as John Stott and John Murray said that ‘foreknowledge’ means that the word ‘know’ is used in practically the same sense as ‘love’.

In other words, those whom God foreknew refer to those whom God loved in advance. In other words, this first act of God means that God chooses His own people and loves them. Therefore, the Bible says that all things work together for good to those who are called according to the will of God (v. 28).

Second, ‘predetermined’ refers to predestination.

In other words, this second act of God, predetermined means that God has foreordained or ordered our destiny. And that determined or commanded our destiny is that we are destined to be like Jesus. In other words, all things in our lives work together for good because all things work together to make us like Christ. For this we are loved and for this we are destined.

Third, ‘to be conformed to the image of his Son’ is the ultimate purpose of God’s two acts of ‘foreknowledge’ (predetermined love) and ‘predetermined’ (predestination).

The purpose of God's love for us, choosing us and foreordaining our destiny, is so that we may be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Internet).

In 1 John 3:2, the Apostle John says: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” The Apostle John speaks of our hope toward the Lord (v. 3) after he has said twice that the great love the Father God has for us is that we become children of God (vv. 1, 2). The message of hope is that ‘When Jesus appears in the future, we will be conformed to the image of Jesus and see the face of Jesus (v. 2). Interestingly, the Apostle John already said in 1 John 2:28 that as a result of our living in the Lord, “… when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” In other words, it is interesting that the Apostle John already mentioned the appearance of the Lord in 1 John 2:28, that is, the coming of the Lord, and again in 3:2. In particular, when I meditate on these two Bible verses in connection, I think that the Apostle John is giving us a lesson as he writes the letter 1 John with the hope of the second coming of Jesus to the recipients of that letter: The purpose of our lives of obedience to Jesus' commandment of doing righteousness in the Lord is that when Jesus comes back into this world, we should all be conformed to Jesus' image so that we may have confidence and not be ashamed before the Lord. And the Apostle John said that when Jesus appears in the future, we will see Him as He really is (v. 2).

As I meditated on these words, I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 13:12 – “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” When the Lord comes back to this world, we will be suddenly transformed (1 Cor. 15:51) and conformed to the image of Jesus (1 Jn. 3:2). And we will see Jesus face to face (v. 2, 1 Cor. 13:12). We have this hope in the Lord (1 Jn. 3:3) because of God's total grace and the great love that Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us (v. 1). Therefore, as we pray, anticipate, and wait for that moment, our earnest prayer should be to resemble Jesus. The hymn “Oh, to be like Thee” verse 1 and the chorus lyrics come to mind: “Oh, to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer, This is my constant longing and prayer. Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's treasures, Seeking Thy perfect likeness to wear. Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee, Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.”

Are you washing your hands properly these days? Why should we wash our hands properly? According to an Internet article, researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia conducted a small experiment on medical students in 2015, and as a result, the students touched their faces 23 times an hour on average. Among them, 44% of people touched the mucous membranes of the face, such as the mouth, nose, and eyes. The reason why this is so dangerous is because the mouth and nose are key passageways for bacteria and viruses to enter our body. Although it's best not to touch our faces, since we tend to touch our faces a lot unconsciously, it's very important to wash our hands properly. The 'Harvard Health Letter' issued by Harvard University School of Medicine says that 90% of bacteria are removed by washing our hands evenly during the two hours of singing Happy Birthday with tap water and soap. So I am also trying to wash my hands according to the proper hand washing method that my wife told me last week and I posted the paper about how to wash our hands properly she gave me in the kitchen and bathroom at church. The method is to wash our hands while singing “Jesus loves me this I know” rather than “Happy Birthday song”.

Third, as children of God by God's great love, we must purify ourselves just as Jesus is pure.

Look at 1 John 3:3 – “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” Do you know how to remove the dross from the silver? (Prov. 25:4) The silver can be placed in a furnace and heated to remove the impure dross. However, it is said that the impure dross doesn’t come off easily. Therefore, it is said that to obtain the pure silver, it must be smelted at high heat several times. It is said that for this work, the blacksmith must fight high heat and sweat a lot to obtain the pure silver. However, it is said that the blacksmith doesn’t hesitate to do this kind of hard work to get the pure silver he wants (Internet). Look at Proverbs 17:3 – “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.” What does it mean? Just as the blacksmith smelts the silver with high heat many times to obtain the pure silver, God makes us pass through “the furnace of affliction” to refine our hearts (Isa. 48:10). In other words, God allows us to go through trials and tribulations, the fire of refinement, in order to remove these things from us and free us from them when the physical and earthly impurities that remain like dross is contained as impurities (Internet). A good example of this is Job in the Old Testament. Look at Job 23:10 – “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” Why does God make us go through the furnace of affliction to remove the dross from the silver? Look at Proverbs 25:4 – “Take away the dross from the silver, And there comes out a vessel for the smith.” What does it mean? It means that the dross is removed from the silver to make it a usable vessel. In the same way, God wants us to pass through the furnace of affliction so that we may eventually come out as pure gold. What is its purpose? Why does God make us come out as pure gold? Look at 2 Timothy 2:21 – “If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” The purpose is that the Lord cleanses us and prepares us for His use, so that we may become vessels for the Lord's use. The Lord, who wants to use us in this way, purifies us with the pure word of God (Prov. 30:5). The Bible Psalm 12:6 says, “And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.” The Lord purifies us with His pure words.

In 1 John 3:3, the Apostle John says: “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” What does it mean? It means that since we, who received great love from our Heavenly Father and became children of God, have this hope toward the Lord that when Jesus returns to this world, we will be like Him and will see Him as He is, we must purify ourselves just as He is pure (vv. 2-3). Then what does it mean to purify ourselves just as Jesus is pure? Look at 1 John 3:4-5: “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.” If we look at these words, we can see what the purity of Jesus is. That is, “in him is no sin,” that is, in Jesus there is no sin. In other words, the saying that there is no sin in Jesus (v. 5) means that Jesus is pure (v. 3).

Our Jesus is without sin (1 Jn. 3:5). Look at Hebrews 4:15 – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.” Look at 1 Peter 2:22 – “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Since we will become like Jesus and we will see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2) when the sinless Jesus, who knew no sin and committed no sin, appears in the future, the Bible says that everyone who has this hope in the Lord purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure (v. 3).

I have thought of these verses in three ways: (1) What this verse implies is that when Jesus appears (when He comes back to this world), we will not only not sin like Jesus, but we will be also sinless who don’t even know what sin is. This is our hope for the future in the Lord (v. 3). When the last trumpet sounds, we are all changed in an instant (1 Cor. 15:51). The Lord will transform our lowly bodies into His glorious body (Phil. 3:21). That glorious body is a glorious body that doesn’t sin and knows no sin like Jesus. (2) We believers (saints) who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were already united with the death of Christ Jesus and were buried with Him through baptism into death (Rom. 6:4) and died to sin (v. 2). This has already happened in the past, and since we died with Christ in His death (v. 5), we are already dead to sin (v. 2). More specifically, our old self was crucified with Jesus so that the body of sin is put to death, and we are no longer slaves to sin (v. 6). The Apostle Paul said this in Romans 6:7 – “because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” (3) Although we are already dead to sin because we were buried with Jesus in union with His death in the past (vv. 4-5), we should live in the Lord until Jesus comes back and we are suddenly transformed and become sinless people like Jesus (1 Cor. 15:51; Phil. 3:21; 1 Jn. 3:2). In other words, it is the question of how we should live in the present, living between this future hope we have and the fact that we were already buried with Jesus' death on the cross in the past. I think this question is very important. In Pauline theological terms, this is a question of how the people of God should live in the Church Age between “already” (past) and “not yet” (future). It seems to me that many Christians believe that since they believe in Jesus and have already been saved, and once they are saved, they will not lose salvation, they disobey the word of God and not afraid to sin but sin boldly. Look at Philippians 2:12 – “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Here, the meaning of the word “work out your salvation” is never to be saved by works (good works) (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 8:22-24). Salvation is past, present, and future tense. The past of salvation means that when we believe in Jesus Christ by the grace of God, we are already saved (1 Jn. 5:12-13). The future of salvation is that we will be saved on the day Jesus returns (Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9). The present of salvation is “work out your salvation” (Phil. 2:12). Then, what is the meaning of the word “work out your salvation” in the present between the salvation of the past and the salvation of the future? Here, “salvation” means eternal life. In other words, Paul told the Philippian church members to ‘work out your eternal life’ (you live like those who have eternal life). And to live like those who have eternal life (the people of the kingdom of heaven), it is to obey the twofold commandment of Jesus, the commandment of heaven, to love God and love our neighbor (Mt. 22:37-39). It is God who works in us to will to act according to His good purpose (Phil. 2:13). He gives the believer the will to do good, and also the strength to do it. God the Holy Spirit produces in us love, the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), so that we can love God and also love our neighbors.

Then how should we live in the Lord now as we were buried with Jesus on the cross, and we are already dead to sin (Rom. 6:4-5), and we will be suddenly transformed and become sinless people like Jesus when He comes back (1 Cor. 15:51; Phil. 3:21; 1 Jn. 3:2)? As 1 John 2:29, which we have already meditated on, says, we must live by practicing righteousness. Look at 1 John 2:29 – “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.” Here, everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him means that those who have been born again who believe in Jesus are justified by faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, so we too are righteous (Rom. 4:25). Therefore, the righteous must always practice righteousness as the indwelling Holy Spirit teaches them. This is what it means to live in the Lord. So what does it mean to practice righteousness? As we, who are already dead to sin and are living in this Church Age until we become sinless people like Jesus in the future, we must first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33). We must seek the kingdom of God and its King, the righteous Jesus. In other words, we must walk in the same manner as “Jesus Christ the righteous” walked (1 Jn. 2:1, 6). As those who live in Jesus Christ, we must do as Jesus Christ did (v. 6), that is to live in obedience to Jesus' twofold commandment (vv. 7-11). The twofold commandment of Jesus is stated in Matthew 22:37-40: “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” To practice righteousness first is to love the Lord God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, according to the first of Jesus' twofold commandment. If we say this commandment from the perspective of 1 John, we obey 1 John 2:15-17: “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. 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 world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” Here, the meaning of doing the will of God is not living according to the passing world or the things of this world, “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.” In other words, the meaning of purifying ourselves as Jesus is pure (3:3) means that we practice righteousness. And practicing righteousness means, first of all, we don’t live according to the things of this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, that is passing away, but live by doing the will of God (2:15-17). Then, practicing righteousness means to love our neighbor as ourselves, according to second commandment of the twofold command of Jesus. To put this commandment in the perspective of 1 John, it is to obey the words of 1 John 2:3-11. To summarize it, it is to love and not hate our brother in Christ. Thus, when we obey Jesus' commandment and love our brother, then “in him the love of God has truly been perfected” (v. 5). And since he abides in the Light, there is no cause for stumbling block in him (v. 10).

However, the problem is that since we aren’t filled with the Holy Spirit, there are times when we don’t love our neighbors, but rather hate them (v. 11) because we aren’t filled with the Holy Spirit. Then we must confess our sins to God. Look at 1 John 1:9, the assurance of forgiveness: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We must confess our sins (1:9) by believing that the righteous Jesus Christ, our Advocate before God the Father (2:1), became the propitiation for our sins (v. 2). Here, the word “propitiation” means “satisfaction.” Jesus died on the cross as the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, so that God’s holy requirement to punish sin was satisfied (MacArthur). Then the faithful and righteous God will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (v. 9). But I think there is a really dangerous point here. Although we have already confessed our sins, and even though our faithful and righteous God has forgiven us and cleansed us from all unrighteousness (v. 9), Satan makes up that we are sinful and tells God, the Judge that we are sinners. It may be helpful to imagine that we stand before God's court, and Satan prosecutes us to the Judge, our holy and righteous Heavenly Father (MacArthur). Satan makes a false charge against us (Rev. 12:10). At that time, we should not be shaken in our assurance of the forgiveness of sins by hearing Satan's accusation. Rather, we should let the words of 1 John 1:9 speak to us, looking in faith to Jesus Christ, who is our Advocate before the Father God: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

(v. 1) Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow'r? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

(v. 4) Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin. Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean.

(Chorus) Are you washed in the blood, In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

(Hymn, “Have You Been to Jesus”)

Fourth, as children of God by God's great love, we should make sure that no one deceives us.

Look at 1 John 3:7a – “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; ….” Now in the church, we see the blind leading the blind (Mt. 15:14). The spiritually blind pastors, who have forsaken the knowledge of God and forgot His commandment (Hos. 4:6), interpret and teach the Bible unbiblically, brainwashing their followers and making them follow them blindly.

The reason these blind leaders and followers are dangerous is that they seem to have a zeal for God, but their zeal is not according to correct knowledge (Rom. 10:2). It is because we can only go wrong in haste (Prov. 19:2). Both the leader and the follower are bound to sin against God. All of them sin against God by breaking and disobeying God's word. Both those who lead and those who follow say that they serve God passionately with faith and confidence in unbiblical teachings, but their God is not the God of the Bible, but the God of the unbiblical world, so they are committing the sin of worshiping idols (Isa. 10:11). I think the most serious of these sins is pride. That pride is our boasting, “I have understanding” (v. 13). It is boasting that “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this” (v. 13). Although we are merely the Lord's instruments, we boast of ourselves before the Lord and exalt ourselves (v. 15). This is what the Lord is saying to us: “Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.” Although we, as the Lord’s instruments, should be thankful if the Lord uses us or not, we are now pouring out complaints and criticism with dissatisfied hearts and hypocritical lips (Cf.: v. 17). As a result, God is angry with us (Isa. 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4, 25) and will punish us. God will raise up our enemies and the enemies will be against us (9:11). God will beat us with a rod and lift up a club against us (10:24). Nevertheless, because we don’t return to the God who beat us, nor seek Him (9:13), God will cut off the deceitful spiritually blind leaders (vv. 14, 16).

We must beware of leaders who deceive (Mk. 13:5). We need to be on the lookout for pastors who preach and teach by interpreting the Bible unbiblically. We must beware of the delusion of many false prophets (pastors?) (Mt. 24:11). We must never be led by them and be perished (Isa. 9:16). We must never depart from the truth (Jam. 5:19). Let our hearts not become corrupt, departing from the truth and purity of Christ (2 Cor. 11:3).

In 1 John 3:7, the Apostle John says: “Little children, make sure no one deceives you ….” The Apostle John already said to the recipients of his letter in 1 John 2:26 – “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.” Here, who are “those who are trying to deceive you”? They are “the liar” (v. 22). And these liars are antichrists who not only deny that Jesus is the Christ, but also deny the Father and the Son (v. 22). Because of these many antichrists appeared, the Apostle John said, “from this we know that it is the last hour” (v. 18). Also, these deceivers are “the evil one” (vv. 13, 14). And this evil one is “the devil.” Look at 1 John 3:8, 10: “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. … By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” Looking at these words, the Apostle John distinguishes “the children of God” and “the children of the devil” and exhorts the children of God in verse 7, “make sure no one deceive you,” and then in verses 8-10, the children of the devil are sinners and don’t practice righteousness. Here, not practicing righteousness means not loving our brother.

As I meditate on these verses, I think that ultimately the the purpose of the deceiver deceiving us is to make us sin. And that sin is to make us not love our brothers, but rather hate them. So, in 1 John 3:10, the Apostle John spoke not only about “the one who does not love his brother” but also “Everyone who hates his brother” in verse 15. The Apostle John has already spoken in verses 9 and 11 about the one who hates his brother. The point is that the one who hates his brother is still in darkness and lives in darkness and doesn’t know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes (v. 12). If we walk in darkness like this, even though we are saying, ‘We have fellowship with God,’ and are living the dark life of sinning and telling lies (1:6). Apostle John said that this kind of life is just a liar who doesn’t practice the truth” (v. 6).

We must not be liars. We must no longer live the dark life of sinning. We should no longer commit the sin of hating our brothers and sisters in Christ while claiming to be in fellowship with God. This is what the devil likes. The devil likes us to commit the sin of not loving and hating our brother by disobeying God's commandment (3:8). This is not living in the Lord. This is the act of denying Jesus (cf. 2:22). This is what the deceivers want from us (v. 26). They want us to deny Jesus and live contrary to the teachings of the Holy Spirit (v. 27) and the love commandment of Jesus (vv. 7-9). Therefore, we must be very wary of Satan's delusion of our hearts. Satan deceives us to make our hearts toward Christ untrue and deceitful, unclean and defiled (2 Cor. 11:3). And when our hearts are deceived, we don’t know the way of God (Ps. 95:10). We must always stand firm in the word of God and fight and overcome Satan's delusions (2:14). To do this, we must know and experience Christ, who is the Word of life from the beginning (1:1, 2). And we must have fellowship with Jesus Christ, who is eternal life (vv. 2-3). And we are to live in the Light and have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the Lord (v. 7). As the indwelling Holy Spirit teaches us, we must obey the commandment of Jesus and love our neighbors, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, we must live as children of God (3:1, 2). This is to live as one who has received the great love that Heavenly Father has bestowed on us.

Fifth and last, as children of God by God's great love, we must practice righteousness.

Look at 1 John 3:7b – “… the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” Jesus also told us not to worry, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” (Mt. 6:31) When Jesus said, “For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (v. 32). After saying that, Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (v. 33). Our priority is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

What is the Kingdom of God? It refers to the reign of God. The Bible says this about “the kingdom of God”: “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (Lk. 11:20; Mt. 12:28). If we look at this word, we can see that the kingdom of God “already” came to Jesus’ disciples when Jesus came to this earth about 2,000 years ago and cast out demons with the power of God. In other words, to say that the kingdom of God has already come is in the past tense. That's why Jesus said in Luke 17:21, "... the kingdom of God is within you." But the Bible also speaks of the kingdom of God in the future tense. In Luke 10:9, 11, the Bible says, “… The kingdom of God is near you … ” (v. 9), “…Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near” (v. 11). Also, Luke 22:18 says, “For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” In this way, the Bible speaks of the kingdom of God in both the past tense and the future tense. In other words, the kingdom of God has come “already” and at the same time “not yet” has not come. This is the word in the Bible that we who believe in Jesus are already saved (1 Jn .5:13) and that we will be saved in the future (Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:12-14), along with the words to work out your salvation (Phil. 2:12), which is similar to the past, present, and future tense. In other words, the Bible speaks of the kingdom of God in the past, present, and future tenses. The kingdom of God has not only come within us, but will come. Then, when we ask how we should live now, living between “already” and “not-yet” tension, we must first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness according to Matthew 6:33. Then, what does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? The word to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness means to obey the Lord's word while being ruled by the Lord, the King of the kingdom, and to live by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In 1 John 3:7b, the Apostle John says, “…the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” The Apostle John already spoke of “everyone also who practices righteousness.” And then in this way, 1 Jn. 3:7 again speaks about “the one who practices righteousness.” He says that those who practices righteousness are righteous, just as Jesus was righteous. As I meditate on this word, I receive a lesson that we, who have become children of God through the great love that God has bestowed on us, must become doers of righteousness. So what does it mean to do righteousness? It is what we do (2:6) as “the righteous Jesus Christ” (v. 1) does. It is to live in obedience to the commandment of Jesus (vv. 7-11). In other words, we must love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and love our neighbors as ourselves, according to the twofold commandment of Jesus (Mt. 22:37-40). I have already meditated on this twofold commandment of Jesus in two ways from the perspective of 1 John: (1) First, the practice of righteousness is not living according to the passing world, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, or the boastful pride of life in this world, but only doing the will of God (2:15-17). The Apostle Paul said, "This is the will of God, that your sanctification..." (1 Thess. 4:3). (2) Second, the practice of righteousness is to love and not hate our brother. When we love our brothers according to the Lord's commandment, God's love is truly perfected in us (1 Jn. 2:5). And we will know that we are in the Lord (v. 5). But he who doesn’t practice righteousness, that is, whoever doesn’t love his brother, is not of God [not a child of God] (3:10).

We become children of God because of the great love our Heavenly Father has bestowed on us (v. 1). As children of God, we are to imitate the righteous Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to do as Jesus Christ did (2:1, 6). Jesus was obedient to the Father God. He took our sins upon Him and became obedient to the point of dying on the cross. The reason is because Jesus loves His Father with all His heart, with all His soul, and with all His mind and also because He loves us. In this way, Jesus gave us the twofold commandment because He himself obeyed that commandment. Therefore, by obeying the twofold commandment of Jesus, I hope and pray that we all become children of God who practice righteousness.

We became children of God because of God's great love. Therefore we must know that the world doesn’t know us because they don’t know our Father. Also, we must believe that when Jesus appears in the future, we will be conformed to the image of Jesus and see Jesus face to face. And, like Jesus, we must purify ourselves. We must make sure no one deceives us. We, who have become children of God through the great love that God has bestowed on us, must do what is right. I hope and pray that we may all love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and also love our neighbor as ourselves, according to the twofold commandment of Jesus.

Thanking God for the great love of God who sent his Son Jesus and made Him the propitiation sacrifice for us and thus forgave all my sins and saved me,

James Kim

(May 3, 2020, Praying that I may live as a child of God as I think about God's great love that cannot be measured)