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The Letters of John
BC Weekly Digest Monday, June 1 1998 In this issue: 1 John 3:1 1 John 3:2 1 John 3:1,2 1 John 3:1 1 John 3:3 1 John 3:3 1 John 3:3 1 John 3:1 1 John 3:1 (OPV) 1 See what manner of love the Father has extended to us, that we should be called children of God, and we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. === 3:1 "That we should be called children of God, and we are!" Our adoption was determined by our heavenly Father before the foundation of the world: "Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ: even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved" (Eph 1:3-6 ASV). In his letter to the Galatians Paul explained that although the Gentiles were in bondage through idolatry, and the Jews were in bondage under the law, both can become sons of God through redemption in Christ: "So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world: but when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal 4:3-6 ASV). "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Rom 8:14-17 ASV). "For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:26 ASV). "But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12,13 ASV). "That ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life" (Phil 2:15,16 ASV). 3:1 "The world does not know us, because it did not know Him" In chapter four John expands on this: "We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God, does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6 OPV). Jesus said: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, [even] the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16,17 ASV). Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 3:2 1 John 3:2 (OPV) 2 Beloved, now we are God's children, and what we shall be, is not yet revealed. We do know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. === 3:2 "What we shall be, is not yet revealed" Paul discusses this same question in his first letter to the Corinthians: "But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come? Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die: and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own" (1 Cor 15:35-38 ASV). Just as someone who had never seen a plant grow from a seed could never imagine that such a marvelous plant could come from such a small seed, so we also are incapable of understanding what the resurrection life will be like. But God who can do such glorious things in the physical realm, will give us something greater than we can fathom. After saying there are heavenly and earthly bodies (verse 40), Paul goes on to explain: "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual [body]" (1 Cor 15:42-44 ASV). Because the Scriptures say there will be a bodily resurrection (Luke 24:39), some have incorrectly supposed that we would simply come back as we are now. If that were true, we would not escape the corruption of this age! We will have a spiritual body, not a body subject to decay. Although this is completely beyond our capacity to comprehend, we can look to Christ and be confident that we will be like Him! 3:2 "When He is revealed, we shall be like Him" Paul makes the same comparison: "So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam [became] a life-giving spirit. Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Cor 15:45-49 ASV). Christ came as a life- giving Spirit to transform us. We will be like Him. 3:2 "We shall see Him as He is" Paul goes on to say what will happen to us when "He is revealed": "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:50-57 ASV). Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 3:1,2 1 John 3:1,2 (OPV) 1 See what manner of love the Father has extended to us, that we should be called children of God, and we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are God's children, and what we shall be, is not yet revealed. We do know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." === 3:1a "See what manner of love the Father has extended to us, that we should be called the children of God" There is absolutely no doubt that this is the greatest blessing ever given to man. Since the sin of Adam and Eve, man has been under the endless curse of sin. Under the Patriarchal and Mosaic Ages, man sacrificed the living flesh of animals. All that this accomplished was to push forward God's remembrance of sin for a short period of time. Now we have the blood of Christ which continually cleanses us from sin: "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7 OPV). In this verse, the verb "cleanses" is the Greek word "katharizo" and is in the present tense. This indicates to us that the cleansing is a continual process, unlike the animal sacrifice of bygone ages. A transliterated use of the word in English is to catheterize, as in a surgical procedure where a drain is left in place to drain away that which is harmful to the body. Such is the sacrifice of Christ in that it continually gives us relief from the penalty of sin. But just like the surgical drain, we must give great attention to this relief lest we allow ourselves to become "reinfected" with the pollution of the world. 3:1b "For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him" Because the world has not recognized the great "excision" of sin from their lives, they are unable to recognize the efficacy of this redemption. Hence, they are ignorant of the surgical procedure of salvation from sin. As a medical technologist, I am able to recognize the relief from disease but the average person in the world cannot see the efficacy of modern medicine. This is why so many people try home remedies or take a "holistic" approach to the relief from disease. Such is the attention of the world. It is not directed toward salvation but, like the proverbial ostrich with her head in the sand, it completely ignores Christ and His followers. 3:2a "Beloved, now we are God's children, and what we shall be, is not yet revealed" Yes, we are His children, but this old earthly body will return to the dust from whence it came: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7 KJV). Solomon knew the destiny of the body and of the spirit. He says that they shall be separated in death and the spirit of man shall return unto God who gave it. We do not know in what form we shall appear in eternity. 3:2b "We do know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" Here is how we shall see Him and ourselves. We shall be like Him in form and nature. We shall have the love of God so deeply entrenched within our spirit that all we will want to do is to serve and praise God eternally. We will have put of this old fleshly body and been raised in a new form, a form just like that of our Savior! Hallelujah! Praise God Almighty! Howard Justice ------------------------------ 1 John 3:1 "He whom they did not know" The One through whom everything was created, came into this world unrecognized."He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not"( John 1:3,10,11 ). The truth is that not everyone can recognize spiritual things - certain truths are only revealed to those who have childlike humility, who love the truth and who possess the Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 2:7-14; Luke 10:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 ). Deity is not recognized through human wisdom ( flesh and blood ), but by divine revelation ( Matthew 11:27; 16:17 ). The rulers of this world therefore did not recognize who He was or they would not have had Him put to death ( 1 Corinthians 2:7 ). Even Christ's closest disciples did not comprehend His Deity, until after His resurrection when they received the Spirit. It was not until then that 'doubting' Thomas declared Christ's Deity and Lordship ( John 14:7-11; 20:22,28 ). The unspiritual did not recognize Him, and..."For this reason the world does not know us." But thanks be to the Father, He knows us! J.Lee Roberts ------------------------------ 1 John 3:3 1 John 3:3 (OPV) 3 And everyone who has this hope [based] on Him purifies himself as He is pure. === 3:3 "This hope" We cannot look forward to being like Christ in the next age if we do not want to be like Him now. The storms of life can drive us out to sea away from the safe haven, if our anchor is not firm. "Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: which we have as an anchor of the soul, [a hope] both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil" (Heb 6:17-19 ASV). This hope is something sure, a confident expectation. 3:3 "[based] on Him" "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27). Jesus is our only hope of eternal life. Paul told the Thessalonians that he remembered their "work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thes 1:3). And in his second letter he blessed them with the beautiful words: "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word" (2 Thes 2:16,17 ASV). 3:3 "Purifies himself" We cannot purify ourselves without the help of God: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded" (James 4:8 ASV). But with His help we work toward the goal which becomes possible through the sacrifice of Christ, "who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14 ASV). Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 3:3 1 John 3:3 (OPV) 3 And everyone who has this hope [based] on Him purifies himself as He is pure. === 3:3 "This hope" We cannot look forward to being like Christ in the next age if we do not want to be like Him now. The storms of life can drive us out to sea away from the safe haven, if our anchor is not firm. "Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: which we have as an anchor of the soul, [a hope] both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil" (Heb 6:17-19 ASV). This hope is something sure, a confident expectation. 3:3 "[based] on Him" "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27). Jesus is our only hope of eternal life. Paul told the Thessalonians that he remembered their "work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thes 1:3). And in his second letter he blessed them with the beautiful words: "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word" (2 Thes 2:16,17 ASV). 3:3 "Purifies himself" We cannot purify ourselves without the help of God: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded" (James 4:8 ASV). But with His help we work toward the goal which becomes possible through the sacrifice of Christ, "who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14 ASV). Roy Davison ------------------------------ 1 John 3:3 1 John 3:3 (OPV) 3 And everyone who has this hope [based] on Him purifies himself as He is pure. === 3:3 "This hope" We cannot look forward to being like Christ in the next age if we do not want to be like Him now. The storms of life can drive us out to sea away from the safe haven, if our anchor is not firm. "Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: which we have as an anchor of the soul, [a hope] both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil" (Heb 6:17-19 ASV). This hope is something sure, a confident expectation. 3:3 "[based] on Him" "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27). Jesus is our only hope of eternal life. Paul told the Thessalonians that he remembered their "work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thes 1:3). And in his second letter he blessed them with the beautiful words: "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word" (2 Thes 2:16,17 ASV). 3:3 "Purifies himself" We cannot purify ourselves without the help of God: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded" (James 4:8 ASV). But with His help we work toward the goal which becomes possible through the sacrifice of Christ, "who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14 ASV). Roy Davison