In Chapter 3 of the Apostle John’s first epistle to his disciples he warns them (and us) that the closer they get to God the lower will be the world’s opinion of them. I have personally experienced this Truth as I have grown closer to the Lord over the past few decades. I am not alone. Others, though few, experienced the same rejection as they moved ever farther away from the rest of the body by growing in faith and obedience, resulting in a drastic change from babes in Christ to “walking as Jesus walked” (2:6). The expanding difference between the two groups created ever-increasing tension between the small, “peculiar” group and the vast majority of the congregation who would not grow along with them, and, as Jesus prophesied in Revelation 3:14-22, would in fact grow ever farther away from Him and the Father. The final (Laodicean) era of the church corresponds to the church of this age. Read about church eras using the word Eras as the key.

In the first verse of chapter 3 John uses the Word “know” relative to the relationship between God and the world in which His people lived anciently as well as today. They were (we are) to be IN the world but not OF the world. The Word “know” has more than one meaning. In Genesis Moses tells us that Adam “knew” Eve and she became pregnant. The meaning in this instance is obvious. In the God-man sense the meaning is obviously different, but not totally. The sex act between a married couple is the most intimate and meaningful level of “knowing” possible in that, as God tells us, the two become “one flesh” (1 Cor. 6:16). If we “know” God and Christ on the most intimate level we become “one spirit” with Them. Over time the spiritual differences between the two church groups have driven them ever farther apart. The larger, worldly church group would come to hate the smaller group with ever-increasing intensity. Jesus warns us that the world would hate His people for the same reason the world hated him–BECAUSE HE WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THEM, AS ARE HIS PEOPLE TODAY.

In verses 2 and 3 John makes a statement that tells us what God’s saints will look like when they rise to meet Him in the air. They will be transformed from flesh to spirit bodily composition, as did Jesus upon being born again. This incredible act is described in First Thessalonians 4:13-17. To see what we will look like upon being born again, read how John describes Jesus in Revelation 1:12-15. This is how God’s people will look throughout eternity. Those who expect to join Jesus in the air and to look like Him must, as John tells us in verse 3, “purify himself even as He is pure.” In verses 7 and 10 John tells us that HE WHO PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS, JUST AS HE (JESUS) IS RIGHTEOUS. In verse 10 John again tells us that THOSE IN THE CHURCH WHO DO NOT PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE NOT OF GOD. The Apostle Peter reminds us that judgment has begun in the church, and that only the righteous will be saved (1 Pet. 4:17).

In verses 8 and 9 John tells us that he who sins is of the devil, for Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil in His (Christ’s) people. Whoever has been born of God (justified, filled with His Spirit, declared righteous and converted) DOES NOT SIN because God’s seed (word/Law/light/Gospel) remains in him and he CANNOT SIN. Some people believe that John’s used of the word “cannot” relative to sin means that he was referring to the future after Christ returns. However, such is not the case. John was referring to this time in history. The word “cannot” is an English translation of a Greek word having two parts. Using a Strong’s Concordance, I will give you the literal definitions of the two Greek words. The first word–“can“–is “dynamai”–meaning can, have ability to, have power to. It is the root word from which we get the English word “dynamite.” The second word —“not”–is “ou”–meaning no, not, in no way, absolutely not. From this we glean the clear meaning of the word–GOD’S SAINTS CAN SIN BUT REFUSE TO DO SO, JUST LIKE JESUS OF NAZARETH.

In verse 4 John gives us God’s definition of sin–THE BREAKING HIS TEN COMMANDMENT LAW. In verse 5 we are taught a lesson that very few people believe or understand. Here he is referring to JUSTIFICATION–the forgiveness of all of one’s PAST sins, rendering him RIGHTEOUS. Notice that once one’s PAST sins are forgiven, one must STOP SINNING because one is IN CHRIST WHERE THERE IS NO SIN. Again, sin is the transgression of God’s Law, an act which is Scripturally known as “iniquity.”

In chapter 5 verse 4 John makes a statement that refers back to chapter 4 verses 3-6 and 5:18. We must understand that THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST IS IN THE CHURCH. As we noted in a previous posting in this series, there are many antichrists who were once God’s people but “went out” from God’s Gospel and preached a different Gospel. The Apostle Paul speaks about this in his letter to the churches of Galatia where he noted that those churches had rejected the Lord’s true Gospel and had turned to a perverted gospel (1:6-9). The problem was wide-spread. He told the people in the church at Corinth that if someone presented to them another Jesus, or another spirit, or another Gospel, they would embrace him (2 Cor. 11:4). This is the work of the Antichrist who operates primarily inside the church because Satan already owns those outside the church.

In 5:17-19 John wraps up his letter with a statement that leaves no doubt as to the Lord’s attitude toward sin among those who claim to be His true saints and expect to spend eternity with Him and His Son. Here he says that ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IS SIN. He goes on to say that whoever is born of God DOES NOT SIN, BUT KEEPS HIMSELF (FREE OF SIN) AND DOES NOT ALLOW THE WICKED ONE TO AFFECT HIS LIFE IN ANY WAY. TRUE SAINTS KNOW THAT THAY ARE OF GOD AND ARE IN NO WAY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE WICKED ONE–THE ANTICHRIST.

In Second John 8,9 the apostle tells us that we must “look to ourselves” so that we will not lose that for which we have worked. The Lord’s promises are available only to those who obey the doctrine of Christ, known as His Gospel. John warns that anyone who does not so abide DOES NOT HAVE GOD. John again reminds the church then and now that “HE WHO DOES GOOD IS OF GOD, but that he who does not do good is not of God. Let us always be about doing good. L.J.