Marks of a True Believer
The Purifying Hope
1 John 2:28-3:3
INTRODUCTION
A. The Characteristics of Hope
The Bible talks a great deal about hope.
1. Hope is in God
Our hope is to be in God and in God alone. Psalm 43:5 says, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." God is our only refuge, resource, and hope. Psalm 78:7 says, "That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God." We can trust God for the future because of what He has done in the past and present.
2. Hope is a gift from God
Second Thessalonians 2:16 says, "Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father ... hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace." God grants men hope, confidence, assurance, and security in the future if they will accept them as a gift.
3. Hope comes from Scripture When you understand and believe the Word of God, you will have hope. Romans 15:4 says, "Whatever things were written in earlier times [the Old Testament] were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope." If you don't believe the Bible, you will be hurting for hope and confidence in the future.
4. Hope is secured by Christ's resurrection
We can believe God when He tells us we can trust in Him to have victory over death. But Christ's death and resurrection assure us all the more. We know by example that it is possible to conquer death. First Peter 1:3 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
5. Hope is confirmed by the Holy Spirit
Romans 15:13 says, "The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit." One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to convince the believer he has hope for the future.
6. Hope is a defense against Satan
When the Holy Spirit confirms hope in the believer, it acts as a defense against Satan. The devil is always trying to make us doubt and worry about the future. He'll say, "How do you know you're really saved?" But when the Holy Spirit confirms our hope, we won't fall prey to Satan's attacks. First Thessalonians 5:8 says, "Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and, for an helmet, the hope of salvation." Satan wants to spilt you wide open with his great broadsword of doubt, but you have the helmet of the hope of salvation to protect you against his blows.
7. Hope is to be continual
The believer should never lose hope. Psalm 71:14 says, "I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more." The psalmist wrote this in his old age. He is an example to us because he did not lose hope through the years.
8. Hope produces joy
Psalm 146:5 says, "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord, his God."
9. Hope removes the fear of death
When we truly hope in God and Christ, there is nothing to fear. Colossians 1:5 says the believer's hope is laid up in heaven. There is coming a day when we will meet the Lord and receive this promise: "You ... hath he reconciled ... to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight, if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature that is under heaven, of which I, Paul, am made a minister" (Col. 1:21-23). Verse 27 says, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." We have hope for the future because Christ resides in us now. In 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul indicates we have hope because of Christ's resurrection. Christ is our hope, and the fear of death has been removed.
10. Hope is secure
Nothing can take away the believer's hope. Hebrews 6:18 says, "By two immutable things [two things that can't change--God made a promise and He swore by it], in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Our hope is secure because God established the oath. And because of who He is, we know he will never break it. He can't lie. Verse 19 says our hope is "an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil." Christ attached the anchor of hope directly to the throne of God. That's how secure our hope is!
11. Hope is fulfilled in Christ's return
Titus 2:13 says, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ." Jesus is coming; therein lies the fulfillment of our hope.
12. Hope is purifying
Hope for the future has a tremendous affect on the present. First John 3:3 says, "Every man that hath this hope in him [Christ] purifieth himself even as he [Christ] is pure." John is saying hope in Christ has a purifying effect. Our hope isn't just theological; it's ethical--it has behavioral consequences. If I believe Christ is coming again and that I will be brought before His judgment seat, that will make a difference in the way I behave. Paul said there's a crown of righteousness laid up in heaven for all who "love his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8). That means you love the Second Coming enough to do something about it.
B. The Compulsion of Hope
John uses the concept of purifying hope to reiterate and elaborate on his moral test for determining a true Christian. If a person is a Christian, he will have hope in the return of Christ, and that hope will affect his behavior. He will live a pure life. There were people in the church who said they believed in Christ, but there was no purity in their lives. John identified them as phonies. The proof of being a Christian is not just having a hope, but in having a hope that makes a difference in your life.
LESSON
There are five features of the believer's hope in 1 John 2:28--3:3.
I. HOPE IS GUARANTEED BY ABIDING (2:28)
Abiding refers to a permanent relationship with Christ, which is the measure of a true believer. John 8:31 says, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." (See pp. xx-xx for the discussion of abiding in 1 John 2:18-27.)
A. The Recipients of the Command (v. 28a)
"And now, little children, abide in him"
In verse 27 John says, "Ye shall abide in him," which is a present-indicative statement: you are abiding. But in verse 28 he commands the believers to abide in Him. If they already are abiding, why do they need to be commanded to do it? John begins by addressing his readers as "little children" (Gk. teknion, a reference to children in general). John is not referring to spiritual babies anymore; he is talking to all the children of God. He has finished his instruction for the babes, the young men, and the fathers (1 John 2:13-27). So John is telling all believers to abide in Christ. Abiding guarantees hope. To continue in the faith is the work of the Spirit, but it's the believer's responsibility to hold to the truth.
B. The Reality of Confidence (v. 28b)
"When he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming."
1. The appearance of Christ
The Greek word translated "appear" is phanero[ma]o, which means "to be made manifest" or "to be made visible." It's used many places in reference to Christ--to His incarnation (1 Tim. 3:16), His resurrection (John 21:1, 14), and His return (Col. 3:4). But 1 John 2:28 refers to the rapture. Jesus is coming for His church. When He does, He will be made visible. Right now He is invisible. Peter said, "Whom, having not seen, ye love" (1 Pet. 1:8). We haven't seen Him, but we love Him, and we look forward to the day when we will see Him.
2. The assurance of Christians
When that day comes, John says true Christians will "have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming [Gk. parousia, `to be beside']." Those who abide in Christ won't be ashamed when He comes. All the mistakes believers have made are taken care of in the blood of Christ. As a result, we will have boldness. The Greek word translated "confidence" (parrh[ma]esia) literally means "boldness."
The Rewards for the Church
What will happen when Jesus comes? Revelation 22:12 says, "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." The first thing Jesus will do when He comes for His church is to reward His people for their service. We will be able to go before the judgment seat of Christ with absolute confidence. How can we have that confidence? Because we are saved.
1. 2 Timothy 4:6-8--Paul said, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day [the day Jesus is manifest to His church]; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." Christians have something special to look forward to because of their service to Christ.
2. 2 Corinthians 5:10--"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." The b[ma]ema (judgment seat) has nothing to do with condemnation; it serves only for giving out rewards. There's no condemnation to those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1). Verse 10 adds that everyone will receive a reward--no one will be ashamed.
3. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15--You can spend your life piling up wood, hay, and stubble--the kinds of things that don't accomplish anything. Build up gold, silver, and precious stones on the foundation of your Christian life. Those things stand the test of fire and will result in rewards.
4. 1 Corinthians 4:5--Paul said we're to "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God." Every individual at the judgment seat of Christ will have praise from God. There is no shame for anyone. It is true that someone may have less than someone else, but that won't be any cause for shame.
In 2 John 8 the apostle John warns believers about rewards: "Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward." You can lose a reward by not being faithful to obey God's Word. Those who abide in Christ will have confidence when they see Him. I can approach the judgment seat of Christ with boldness because He has taken care of my sin. I'm not out to rack up rewards, but I do want to show Christ I'm faithful.
a) A confident boldness
As we've noted before, the Greek word translated "confidence" in 1 John 2:28 refers to out-spokenness or freedom of speech. The same word used in Hebrews 4:16: "Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace." You can approach God boldly because you are without blemish and spot on account of the blood of Christ.
The same boldness is available to us in prayer. First John 3:21-22 says, "If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatever we ask, we receive of him." And 1 John 5:14 says, "This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us; and if we know that he hear us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." The same confidence I have to enter the holy of holies by the blood of Christ allows me to approach the judgment seat of Christ without shame.
b) An unashamed blamelessness
(1) The shame of the world
First John 2:28 indicates some people will be ashamed when Christ returns: "We may have confidence and not be ashamed." The people who didn't follow Christ will be ashamed when He comes.
(a) Revelation 6:15-17--"The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every slave, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?" They were ashamed. On that great day in the future, the searchlight of divine holiness will be pointed at two radically different classes of people.
(b) Daniel 12:2--"Many of those who sleep in the dust of earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
(c) Mark 8:38--"Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels." The ones who will be ashamed when Jesus comes are those who were ashamed of Him and His Word in this age.
(2) The holiness of the saints
The true Christian is not ashamed of Jesus Christ and His Word. If you abide in Him, you won't be ashamed when He comes. My hope is guaranteed because I hold to Christ, so I know I will stand before Him with boldness.
(a) Ephesians 5:25-27--"Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
(b) Colossians 1:22--"In the body of his flesh through death, [He died] to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight."
(c) 1 Thessalonians 3:13--"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God."
(d) 1 Thessalonians 5:23--"The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."
We have a great hope, and that hope is guaranteed as we abide in Christ.
II. HOPE IS REALIZED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS (2:29)
"If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him."
Our hope is made visible by our pattern of life. People who have hope live righteously because right theology produces right behavior.
A. Unmasking the Phonies
John unmasks the Gnostics in verse 29. They claimed to be born of God, but if that were true, they would be righteous like God because children tend to be like their parents. People born of God have a righteous life-style. They have an incorruptible seed within them that must produce a righteous life (1 Pet. 1:23). The phonies proved they didn't have that seed by their unrighteous living.
B. Understanding Righteousness
In verse 29 John says, "If ye know [Gk. oida, `to know absolutely'] that He is righteous, ye know [Gk. ginosko, `to know by experience'] that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him." That verse is a spiritual axiom. Psalm 11:7 says, "The righteous Lord loveth righteousness." God is righteous: He is innocent of any evil, He always does right and makes right judgments. If that is characteristic of Him, you would expect His children to behave in the same manner.
1. 1 Peter 1:14-16--Peter tells believers they shouldn't act as they did before they were Christians: "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance but, as he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of life, because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." If He who begot us is holy, then we who are begotten of Him will manifest that same righteousness.
2. 2 Corinthians 13:5--Paul said this to the Corinthians: "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith." How would you examine yourself? Look at your works--your fruit.
Our hope is realized by a righteous life. Those who claim to know God but don't live righteously discredit their claim by their life-style. True hope will result in a righteous life.
III. HOPE IS ESTABLISHED BY LOVE (3:1)
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God; therefore, the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not."
A. The Manner of God's Love
1. Identified
Why does John describe God's love as "what manner of love"? Perhaps he tried to call it super, colossal, stupendous, magnanimous, or unbelievable, but eventually gave up. Just the concept of God's love overwhelmed John. He might have understood it better had God called believers slaves, neighbors, or friends. But to be called God's actual children was more wonderful than John could imagine. Hebrews 2:11 says Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers. We cry to Him, "Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15). Our hope is predicated and built on His love.
The phrase translated "what manner" (potap[ma]en) in classical Greek referred to a country, race, or tribe. It refers to something foreign. So John is saying, "What kind of foreign love did God bestow on us to make us His sons?" The love of God is foreign to the human race. It is other-worldly. It belongs in a different dimension.
2. Illustrated
a) Matthew 8:24-27--The disciples had a small problem--a storm on the sea: "There arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves; but he [Jesus] was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us; we perish. And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What manner (Gk. potap[ma]en) of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" The same word used in 1 John 3:1 to describe God's love is used here to describe Jesus.
b) 2 Peter 3:10-11--"The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are in it, shall be burned up. Seeing, then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy living and godliness?" Since we're God's children, and we know how the world is going to end, we ought to be otherworldly people. Why would you want to attach yourself to something that is going to burn up?
God loved us with an unearthly love--a love the world can't relate to. Jesus was an unearthly person and we are to be unearthly people.
B. The Orientation of God's Love
1. Human love
God's love for us is not object-oriented, but human love often is. Human love discriminates on the basis of the object's attraction.
2. God's love
God's love has nothing to do with the object. The Bible says that God Himself is love (1 John 4:8). His love is indiscriminate--it is based on His nature. God loved the apostle John not because John was such a great person, but because it was His nature to love. His love provided the gift of salvation (John 3:16). It's not object oriented; it's free (Rom. 6:23).
C. The Result of God's Love
God's love resulted in our being called the children of God. It's exciting to realize that God is my Father. I can go to Him as I can to my human father. If I ask Him for bread, He won't give me a stone because He loves me (Matt. 7:9). Romans 8:17 says we are joint heirs with Christ. God is going to allow us to share in everything He has prepared for Christ.
The story of the prodigal son is a sad story with a happy ending. According to Luke 15:11-13, this young man one day told his father he was leaving home. So he took his inheritance and wasted it on wine, women, and song. Eventually, He found himself slopping hogs so he could eat. He realized that what his father's servants had was better than what he was enduring. So he returned home. When his father saw him returning, he ran out and hugged and kissed him. The son said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants" (vv. 18-19). But his father took him back as his son, put a ring on his hand, gave him the best robe, killed a fattened calf, and said his son had returned (vv. 22-24). God made you a son, not a slave.
D. The Hatred of God's Love
John adds this in 1 John 3:1: "The world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." Jesus was otherworldly, and so are we. No wonder the world doesn't know us. In John 15:18 Jesus says, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you."
IV. HOPE IS FULFILLED IN CHRISTLIKENESS (3:2)
A. Being Like Children (v. 2a)
"Beloved, now are we the children of God"
When did you become a child of God? The minute you believed. If you are a believer, you are a child of God now, although you may be somewhat disappointed in what God has produced so far. That reminds me of a story about a little boy in a junior Sunday School class. He was a bit of a problem: he poked and hit some of the others kids. The teacher was talking about God as Creator when he asked this boy, "Who made You?" The little boy said, "God did." The teacher said, "Well, He didn't do a very good job." The little guy said, "That's because He ain't finished yet." How true that is! God isn't finished with us yet. What is now a process will become an instantaneous accomplishment when Jesus comes.
However, I'm still God's child right now. The biggest change has already happened in my life. Death won't change me much at all; it is simply my transference into His heavenly presence. We aren't wearing our white robes or our crowns yet; we're still struggling against the flesh and the devil. We live in a sinful world and we struggle with mortal weakness, but we're no less the sons of God.
We are like a sculpture that God continues to chisel as more and more of our form emerges. Michaelangelo said that in every block of stone he saw an angel waiting to be liberated. God looks at us and says, "There's something in there, and I'm going to get it out!"
B. Being Like Christ (v. 2b)
"It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
God's plan is to make every Christian like Christ.
1. Romans 8:29--"Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son." Every Christian is going to be like Christ. John 17:24 and 1 Corinthians 13:12 promise that we will see His glory.
2. Revelation 22:4--"They shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads." We will see Jesus face-to-face for all eternity. When we see Him, we'll become like Him.
3. Philippians 3:20-21--"We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our lowly body, that it may be fashioned like his glorious body."
A Glorious Body like Christ's
What is Christ's glorious body like? After the resurrection, Jesus was able to walk through walls. He also was able to eat (Luke 24:36- 43). We will do what He could do. Jesus gave us an illustration of what a glorified body was like.
1. An incorruptible body
First Corinthians 15:42 says this about our resurrection bodies: "It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption." An incorruptible body has no decay--it never grows old. Our present bodies are corruptible, but one day will become incorruptible.
2. A glorified body
Verse 43 says, "It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory." Our bodies will be glorified. There's nothing honorable about a body decaying in the grave. But our bodies will transcend anything we could dream of.
3. A powerful body
Verse 43 also says, "It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power." Our bodies will be so powerful that we will descend out of heaven with Christ when He returns to the earth (Rev. 19:14).
4. A spiritual body
Verse 44 says, "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." Our bodies will be governed by the Spirit, not the flesh.
Our resurrection bodies will be just like the Lord's. His resurrection body was spiritual--it was not confined to the natural world. His body was powerful; He ascended into heaven. He was glorified. And His body was incorruptible. Since all those things were true of Him, they'll be true of you!
V. HOPE IS CHARACTERIZED BY PURITY (3:3)
"Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure."
If you know someday you'll be like Christ, that builds within you a desire to become like Him now. We all operate on the basis of motive, and knowing that Jesus is coming ought to motivate you. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven He told the disciples that they would be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). As the disciples watched Him ascend, two angels appeared and said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner" (Acts 1:11). Why did the angels say that? To motivate the disciples to serve Him because He is coming back. Our lives ought to be purified by the knowledge of His return. When Jesus comes back, what would you like Him to find you doing? Serving Him and loving Him should be your answer. If you believe He is coming to give you rewards and make you like Himself, that is motive enough to make you purify your life.
Motive is a strong influence in our lives. We're motivated all the time. People on television motivate us. We're motivated by the presence of authority figures. We know that the first law of safe driving is to watch for the police car. Children are motivated by the teacher in the classroom or the arrival of their parents on the scene of some forbidden activity. I remember the days when I played football. At the end of practice we were required to do push-ups. Whenever the coach's back was turned no one did any, but as soon as he looked, we were all huffing and puffing! The presence of an authority figure changes the way we behave. But Jesus isn't just an authority figure to us; He's our loving Savior who is coming to reward us and to make us like Himself. That should produce in us the kind of love and gratitude that causes us to respond in obedience and conformity to His pure standard.
Focusing on the Facts
1. What does the Bible teach about hope?
2. Explain how hope in the future has an effect on the present (1 John 3:3)?
3. Why did the apostle John command believers to abide when he previously told them they were already abiding (1 John 2:27-28)?
4. What will Christ do for believers when He comes?
5. Why can believers approach God boldly?
6. Who will be ashamed when Christ returns?
7. What manifests the hope of the believer (1 John 2:29)?
8. Since God is righteous, what should be expected of His children?
9. Explain the meaning of the phrase "what manner" in 1 John 3:1.
10. Explain the difference between God's love and human love.
11. According to Romans 8:29, what is God's plan for every Christian?
12. Describe a resurrected body.
13. What should motivate Christians to be like Christ in their daily lives (1 John 3:3)?
Pondering the Principles
1. Review the section on what the Bible says about hope (see pp. 1-3). How does each of those truths increase your hope? Be specific.
2. The believer's hope is guaranteed by abiding, realized in righteousness, established by love, fulfilled in Christlikeness, and characterized by purity. On a scale of 1-10, rate the effectiveness of your lifestyle in each of those areas. Which one are you the weakest in? Commit yourself this week to strengthen that area of your life. Be obedient and see if your trust in God improves.