1
John 3 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
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.
More
on love and hatred
11
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: we should love one
another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his
brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his
brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[b]
if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life,
because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15
Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no
murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And
we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has
material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on
them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not
love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at
rest in his presence: 20 if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater
than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not
condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we
ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his
command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another
as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in
them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit he
gave us.
The
IVP New Testament Commentary Series
The
Work of the Son of God, the Work of the Devil (3:8-10)
This
second section reiterates the Elder's understanding of sin and righteousness
and their relationship to the work of Christ. Although the basic structure of
thought parallels that of 3:4-6, the imagery differs. Here John develops the
theme of family resemblance and parentage in order to underscore what he has
already said about the believer as a child of God who cannot sin (v. 9).
Behavior is a test by which one's basic orientation in life may be discerned.
Note once more the threefold structure of the passage.
The
character of sin (3:8a). In this verse John includes some of the strongest negative
statements that those who are sinful are of the devil. Both the epistles and
Gospel of John frequently speak of being "of" something, a phrase
that points to allegiance or orientation. Sinning characterizes the devil, not
God, and so those who sin cannot be said to belong to God (3:8, 10). In fact,
the Elder writes that the devil has been sinning from the beginning. That is,
the devil is characterized through and through, and has always been known to
human beings, as one who challenged God's standard of righteousness and tempted
people to do the same. His identifying characteristic is sin.
Note
that the epistle does not say that those who sin are born of the devil, which
would give a neat parallel to the corresponding phrase born of God. But the
opposite of born of God in Johannine thought is "born of the flesh"
(Jn 3:6; Brown 1982:405). All people are created by God (Jn 1:10), but those
who come to faith in Christ give evidence that they are also "born of
God" (Jn 1:13). A new act of the Spirit's creation has taken place. On the
other hand, those who refuse to come to Christ have chosen animosity toward God
and allegiance with the devil. They are of the devil by virtue of their denial
of Christ, deriving their orientation in life not from relationship with and
orientation to God but to darkness, evil and sin. Again the Johannine dualism
comes to expression. And it is clear from this passage that such dualism is a
description not of the way human beings are created but of the choices they
make (see Kysar 1986:81).
The
work of the son of God (3:8b). If the devil is characterized by sinning, the
Son of God is known by his coming to destroy the devil's work. This work is
sin, for as righteousness characterizes God, the Son of God and the children of
God, so sin characterizes the devil and the children of the devil. In fact, it
is their sinning that marks them as the devil's children. Not only are the
devil's sin and Jesus' sinlessness con trasted but so are their characteristic
works: the devil sins, Jesus destroys the devil's works (Stott 1988:129). Jesus
tears down the edifice of sin that the devil builds up, and so frees people by
transferring them to the realm where they abide in righteousness and in Jesus
(3:6, 14).
It
is important to note that this transfer is viewed as effective and secure. If
believers sin—and it is clear that they do (1:8, 10)—their sin does not
indicate that they have temporarily moved into the sphere of darkness. The
Elder does not threaten his readers that they are in danger of "losing
their salvation," of backsliding or of falling in league with the devil.
They are assured that they are the children of God. The call comes, then, to
live so that the family resemblance will always be manifest. If there is
exhortation here, there is also encouragement.
The
implications of Jesus' work for the believer (3:9-10). The destruction of the
devil's works of sin is so complete that we read a very bold statement in verse
9, No one who is born of God will continue to sin . . . he cannot sin (or go on
sinning). Indeed, when Jesus' work both opposes and destroys sin, how can those
who are born of God dwell in it? John continues with the explanatory statement
that they cannot sin because God's seed remains in [them]. Exactly what this
seed is does not receive further explanation, and it has puzzled commentators.
Obviously we must take it here in a metaphorical sense. Some have suggested
that it means the Holy Spirit; others, the Word of God; and others, that it
means both. Perhaps, however, it does not so much symbolize some thing else,
but merely continues the family imagery. As Kysar writes, "God has
implanted in Christians that which makes them his children" (Kysar
1986:81; Brown 1982:411; Stott 1988:133-34). And that God's seed remains points
to the permanence of that work. The seed that God plants cannot be uprooted.
Verse
3:10 takes us back to 3:1-3 and its contrast of the seen and unseen, the known
and unknown. In 3:1-3 the Elder asserted that now we are children of God,
although what we will be has not yet been made known. The passage under
discussion, 3:4-10, has assumed that just as children have a likeness to their
parents, and just as that likeness will and must manifest itself in behavior,
so the conduct of the children of God makes it manifest to whom they belong.
Specifically, being related to God has two manifestations: righteousness and
love. Both are characteristic of God; both are characteristic of the children
of God. More over, both are and need to be actively expressed, and expressed in
a way that conforms to God's standard and to the pattern set by Jesus.
Although
the phrase nor is anyone who does not love his brother appears to be added
almost as an afterthought at the end of verse 10, in fact it is integral to the
author's argument. First, the secessionists whom the Elder chides manifest both
a lack of righteousness and a lack of love. Thus the statement anyone who does
not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his
brother summarizes John's rebuke to the dissidents. It can also be generalized,
however, for the author certainly means to say as well that every Christian is
to be characterized by love and righteousness. Second, those who are related to
God as children are also related to each other as brother and sister.
Therefore, it is impossible to be part of the family of God and not manifest
love toward others in the family. As noted above, the vertical and horizontal
relationships of the Christian are always integrally related to each other.
Third, the theme of love has now been introduced, and it provides the substance
of the rest of the epistle. Thus the argument of the epistle is shifting now
from the nature of righteousness, sin and the work of Christ to the nature of
love. Here we will see that no less important in understanding love is the
person and work of Christ.
Summary:
Transforming Power
In
summarizing this passage, we must first underscore the author's emphasis on
Jesus' own righteous ness. As the one who is righteous, Jesus effects atonement
and forgive ness (2:1). He destroys the unrighteous works of sin and the devil.
He provides a model of conduct for the believer (2:6; 3:5). And he will return
to complete the work he has begun—to transform us into the image of the God who
is pure (3:3). Both the initial manifestation of Christ and his return are
spoken of in terms of the effect his work had on sin: in his first coming he
took away sin (3:5, 8); in his return (2:28; 3:3) he purifies us.
Clearly,
in all this discussion, attention should be focused not on our efforts to
become pure or to attain a state of sinlessness, but on what has been done for
us to purify us, to transfer us to the realm where righteousness, and not sin,
holds sway. God's work through Christ has created a realm where the purifying and
transforming power of righteousness, truth and love are operative. And if now
we are children of God by virtue of that power, what we will be has not yet
been made known. From beginning to end of our life with Christ, the power at
work within and among us is the power of righteousness. That is the privilege
and promise that is ours.
Inherent
in that promise is an exhortation to righteous conduct. Those born of God no
longer live without acknowledging God, but are fully aware of the
responsibility incumbent upon them as God's children. Their orientation is
toward the God who is light (1:5). Their direction in life derives from the
character of God. Their responsibility is to live as Jesus did (2:6), in
conformity with the character of a God who is righteous, loving and just. Those
who say yes to God, whose orientation derives from the will of God, open
themselves to God's transforming power. Although God's purifying work is yet to
be completed, that trans forming power is even now at work among and in those
who have been called the children of God.
In
short, the statement No one who is born of God will continue to sin, and others
like it, ought to be heard simultaneously at several levels: First, it orients
us to our future hope, a hope that as the children of God we shall yet become
more like God. Second, in directing our gaze to our future hope, the statement
also assumes that the same power that will remake us at that time is already at
work in us. Third, that power is now active in the world because it was
manifested by Jesus himself in his work of breaking the grip of sin on us. And
finally, in his own life, Jesus exemplified the self-giving love and obedience
to God that is the responsibility of God's children as well. If John's
statement seems hyperbolic, it is because of his eager anticipation of the
blessings of the future age, now being realized through the ministry of Jesus
among his followers.
Dictionary
of Bible Themes
6028
sin, God’s deliverance from
The
gospel reveals the purpose and power of God to deal with sin and all of its
effects. Scripture uses a range of images to express the comprehensiveness of
salvation.
God’s
removal of sin
Atonement
for sin Isa 6:7 See also Ex 32:30; Lev 4:27-31; Pr 16:6; Ro 3:25; Heb 2:17
Forgiveness
of sin Mic 7:18; Ac 13:38 See also 1Ki 8:35-36; 2Ch 30:18-20; Ps 103:2-3; Isa
33:24; Isa 55:7; Joel 3:21; Mt 26:27-28; Lk 24:46-47; Eph 1:7; 1Jn 1:9
Cancellation
of a debt Mt 6:12 See also Mt 18:21-35; Lk 7:41-50
A
covering over of sin 1Pe 4:8 There is a close relation between “covering over
sin” and “atoning for sin”. See also Ps 32:1; Ps 85:2; Jas 5:20
The
taking away of sin Ps 103:12 See also 2Sa 12:13; Isa 6:6-7; Zec 3:4; Jn 1:29;
Heb 9:28; 1Jn 3:5
Remembering
sin no more Isa 43:25 See also Ps 25:7; Jer 31:33-34; 2Co 5:19
God’s
deliverance for the sinner
The
salvation of the sinner 1Ti 1:15 See also Ps 28:8-9; Mt 1:21; Lk 19:9-10; Jn
3:17; Heb 7:25
The
image of healing Lk 5:31-32 pp Mt 9:12 pp Mk 2:17 See also 2Ch 7:14; Isa 53:5;
Isa 57:18-19; Hos 14:4; 1Pe 2:24
The
image of cleansing Ps 51:2 See also Lev 16:30; Eze 36:25; Jn 13:1-11; Ac 22:16;
Heb 10:22; 1Jn 1:9
Redemption
by God Ps 130:8 See also Isa 44:22; Tit 2:14; 1Pe 1:18-19
Justification
before God Gal 2:16 See also Isa 53:11; Ro 3:24-26; Ro 4:5,25; Ro 5:16-19; Ro
8:33
Freedom
from condemnation Ro 8:1 See also Jn 3:18; Jn 8:3-11; Ro 8:34
Peace
with God Ro 5:1 See also Isa 53:5; Lk 2:14; Eph 2:17
Reconciliation
with God 2Co 5:18 See also Ro 5:9-11; Col 1:19-20
Sanctification
to God Heb 10:10 See also 1Co 6:11; Eph 5:25-26; Col 1:22
Freedom
from sin and the sinful nature Ro 7:24; 1Pe 2:24 See also Ro 6:1-18; Ro 8:1-9;
Gal 5:24
A
transition from death to life Col 2:13 See also Lk 15:22-24; Eph 2:4-5
Receiving
eternal life Ro 6:23 See also Jn 3:16,36; Jn 5:24
