1 John 2:28–3:10

2:28 John again uses the term of endearment “little children” (teknia). Having just stated that their anointing teaches his readers to abide in God, he now directly urges them to do just this. The new idea here is “his coming.” Because living in light of Christ’s return was basic Christian teaching that his readers had already received, John does not pause to explain it. Instead he focuses on two starkly different responses to Christ’s return. Those who are faithful and remain in God will have “confidence,” while those who do not remain but move on to other (false) teaching will “shrink from him in shame.” John is continuing to call his readers to perseverance, now in light of Christ’s return: “His return is sure. You will stand before him. The only question is, what will that be like for you?”

2:29 John now states how one can have confidence at Christ’s return: by demonstrating one’s spiritual birth through righteous living. Those who will be confident will be those who know they are God’s children, marked by the family trait of righteousness. Once again John roots holy living in the character of God (cf. 1:5–6; 2:5–6).

3:1 Reference to being born of God spurs John to marvel at the privilege of being God’s children. “See” (“Behold!”) is an exclamation of wonder and amazement. John is enraptured with the reality of being adopted by God. For God to stay his hand of judgment, to forgive and redeem rebellious sinners like us, would have been, in and of itself, a remarkable display of divine love, but our Lord went even further and made us his children! We dare not pass quickly over this point; we must ponder it until we share the awe and wonder of the apostle at this truth. J. I. Packer is right in saying that knowing God as one’s holy Father sums up “New Testament religion” and that one can tell how well he understands Christianity by seeing how much he makes of being a child of God. “If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.”¹

John’s amazement also serves to urge perseverance. The truth in which his hearers abide provides for them the unimaginable privilege of being God’s children. Who would turn their back on this for some other message? (The book of Hebrews makes a similar argument.) In fact, being God’s children is not only an immense privilege; it also explains our conflict with the world. The world does not know us, it does not recognize or appreciate us, because “it did not know him.” It should be no surprise that a world that rejected Christ should reject his followers. This is a far cry from prosperity theology. The “world” here no doubt includes particularly the false teachers.

3:2 By referring to his hearers as “beloved,” John not only uses another term of endearment but also recaps the previous verse. They are beloved as objects of John’s love, but even more so as objects of God’s amazing love, which has just been described and is now described again as John says again that they are “God’s children now.” John also returns to the idea of Christ’s coming. We do not know, John says, exactly what we will be like at his return, but we do know that “we shall be like him”—that is, like him in holiness. We are to live righteously now (2:29), even though we will not attain complete righteousness until Jesus comes. At that point we will be purified, “because we shall see him as he is.” This is what theologians have called the “beatific vision” or the “blessed vision”: seeing Christ in his fullness and being purified as a result.

3:3 Anyone who sets his heart on future purification will pursue present purification. It is interesting to note John’s language concerning the believer’s hope. True believers set their hope in Christ for future vindication and sanctification. The Christian life cannot be lived with eyes set only on the current situation. Thus the NT consistently grounds present perseverance in eschatological hope (e.g., Titus 2:12–13). Faith in the future grounds perseverance in the present.

This returns to John’s continuing concern for holiness. Those who do not pursue holiness show that they do not know God, for they neither reflect his character nor live in light of his return.

3:4 Now John moves directly to the problem of continuing in sin. Having substantiated the need for holiness, he turns to the lack of it. The ESV appropriately translates the underlying Greek as “makes a practice of sinning” and “practices lawlessness.” The Greek phrase combines a verb meaning “do” or “practice” (poieō) with the nouns for sin and lawlessness. This wording emphasizes the ongoing practice (as Daniel Akin says, “willful, habitual action”²) that is in view. John is referring not to occasional acts but to a lifestyle, as he continues to do throughout this section.

John connects “sin” and “lawlessness.” “Lawlessness” is commonly used in the Bible for particularly heinous sin.³ It suggests a disregard for God’s ways. To make a habit of sinning is to live in complete rebellion against God. Such sin cannot be treated lightly.

3:5 John appeals again to the truth his readers already know. They know that one purpose of the incarnation was for Jesus to remove (“take away”) sins. If Jesus came to get rid of sin, how can his people live in it? It is impossible to walk with Jesus while supporting what he came to destroy. Furthermore, there is no sin in Jesus, so his people should give no place to it either.

3:6 Abiding in or knowing God is contradictory to sinning. This is central to John’s message concerning holiness. The holy God is opposed to sin, so his people cannot cozy up to it. The ESV appropriately translates “keeps on sinning” because the present tense verb here, along with the context, makes clear that John is not saying that once a person is converted he no longer commits any sin. Such an idea would contradict 1:8–10. Rather, John is saying that while a believer will continue to struggle with sin, he has made a decisive break with it. Specific sins will still show up in the snapshots of his life, but the video of his life can no longer be titled “Sin.”

3:7–8a A strong warning is introduced by John’s most tender term of endearment. It is his affection for his “little children” that drives his urging. His warning against deception (setting up vv. 7–8a) suggests that he seeks to counter the false teachers. We must not allow any amount of clever talk to distract us from the plain truth: righteousness arises from connection to God, while sin arises from connection to the Devil. Thus a life marked by righteous behavior is evidence of knowing God, while a life characterized by sin is evidence of not knowing God and of being in the clutches of the Devil (note that John, like the rest of the Bible, sees only two possible categories here). In fact, sin is not merely connected with the Devil but originates from him, for he was sinning from the “beginning,” from the earliest records we have of the Devil. Sin itself began with his rebellion.

3:8b One key purpose of Christ’s coming was to destroy the Devil’s works, his sin and rebellion into which he seduces people. On the one hand, this verse functions as another statement as to why God’s people are not to take part in sin. Additionally, it is an encouraging statement. Although sin and deception have brought heartache and trouble on the church and thus may seem quite strong, John reminds his readers that Jesus has come to destroy all of Satan’s works. He may yet cause further destruction, but, in Luther’s words, “lo, his doom is sure.”

3:9 The two halves of this verse state the same point in slightly different ways. One who is born of God does not make a practice of sinning (v. 9a) and indeed cannot (v. 9b). The reason in both cases is related to being born of God. Verse 9a states this in terms of God’s “seed” (sperma), while the second half states it more literally. The term “seed” (or “offspring”) was used to refer to descendants (note how Paul uses “offspring” and “children” almost interchangeably in Rom. 9:6–8), because children came from the “seed” of man. Likewise here the paternity of God is stressed. Those who are birthed from God’s seed will share in his characteristics, just as natural children share the characteristics of their biological parents.

3:10 This concluding statement summarizes John’s point in the preceding verses. The behavior of individuals should make clear their spiritual state. We will resemble our father, whether it be God or the Devil. One’s lack of righteousness and lack of love for fellow believers lead to a lack of any assurance that such a person is a Christian.