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Thoughts of a saint and slave
by Sam Isaacson
John’s favourite term for addressing the churches he oversaw was ‘little children’, and here we have the privilege of seeing him unpack what this means. We’ll take it in three chunks.
Abide in him
‘And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.’ (1 John 2:28-29)
The original Greek word for ‘abide’ here is menete, which carries with it the idea of moving in with someone for a time. So in the same way that you could become a lodger with a landlord, we ought to abide in Christ. That means we follow his rules and do not leave him at any point. The reason for this is actually quite sobering – so that when he returns we don’t need to be ashamed. In other words, John is saying here that you don’t want to be doing something you’d rather not be seen doing when Jesus returns. Bearing in mind what we saw last week, that he could return at any moment, we ought to be remaining pure at all times. Whenever you feel tempted by sin, ask yourself if you’d be happy for Jesus to call you into the air with you in that situation!
Such love
‘See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.’ (1 John 3:1-3)
I’d encourage you to read this passage a couple of times. The message is that we are children of God as we are united with Christ. We are currently in a state of fully God’s children, yet still with somewhere to go. This means that (a) we should stop trying to earn God’s favour, and (b) we should continue to seek sanctification.
(a) We are already children of God. Nothing can take that away from us, and nothing can make that any more real. We won’t receive its fullness until Jesus returns, but our status is currently as full children of God – let’s rest in his grace!
(b) If we continue to abide in Christ, and hope in Christ, we will continue to grow more and more into his likeness – from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18)! We must never drop the ball and lose focus, but must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and fight the good fight.
Sin and lawlessness
‘Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.’ (1 John 3:4-10)
John presents to us a bit of contrast to hammer home his point. We’re told that ‘everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him’, and ‘no one who abides in him keeps on sinning’. It’s abundantly clear from this text that our good works really matter! As Christians we absolutely must let our good works characterise us. We looked at this a few days ago, but the message is simple: if you’re a Christian, you shouldn’t be sinning; if you’re sinning, it’s likely you’re not a Christian!
Please, let’s repent of our sin, let’s abide in Christ, and let’s live lives worthy of the calling to which we’ve been called by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:1).
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