DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
How does the promise of Jesus’ return shape the way you live today?
What does it mean to you personally that you are a child of God, and how does that identity influence your daily choices?
What are some tangible ways you can practice righteousness in your life as evidence of your relationship with Christ?
How does knowing that God’s love is not based on your performance but on His grace affect your relationship with Him?
SERMON MANUSCRIPT
Isn’t it fascinating how certain houses have certain smells? The moment you walk in the door, you’re met with a distinct smell. And from that point forward, that particular smell is the identifying mark of that individual. You can be walking down the street, smell something, and say, “That smells like _______’s house.”
But here’s what’s fascinating about the smell of a home: the longer you abide in someone else’s house, the more you will begin to smell like that home. The first time you hug a child after they’ve spent a week at a grandparent's house, you think, “You smell like your grandparent's house.” When you unpack your bags after staying in a hotel for an extended period, your clothes smell like the hotel. The longer you abide in a place, the more you will smell like that place.
In our passage today, John begins to tell us that the longer you abide in Jesus, the more your life will smell like Jesus. Proximity to Jesus leads to living like Jesus. The closer you get to the righteous one, the more righteous you should become. The closer you get to the pure one, the more pure you should become. The closer you get to the sinless one, the more sinless you should become. Abiding leads to imitating.
1 John 2:28-3:10 is all one pericope, one specific section. I wrestled with how to break this up. We could have looked at it all in one week, which would have been fine! Or we could just finish out chapter 2. We’re not going to do either of those options. Today, we’re going to look at 2:28-3:3.
Here’s why: In this pericope, we find a subtle theme of Jesus’ appearance. In it, we see John highlighting two appearances: a future appearance and a past appearance. Christ has appeared, and he will appear again. When Christ returns, when he bodily appears again, it will be a glorious moment. When he returns, a final judgment will come. When we all stand before the righteous one at the end of time, we will either stand in confidence or shrink back in shame. And John tells us there’s a way to know which camp we will be in. Those who abide in Christ have hope to stand before Christ one day.
Let’s dive in.
“[28] 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. [29] If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
[1] 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. [2] 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. [3] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
CHILDREN OF GOD ABIDE IN CHRIST
Throughout this letter, John addresses the church as children, which highlights his fatherly nature. As a father should care for his children, John cares for the church, gently tending to their hearts and minds. However, John isn’t simply speaking to his children. He’s talking to God’s children. These are not John’s spiritual children; they’re God’s. There’s a theme of sonship in these verses that we will pick up on as we go. Through faith in Christ, we are adopted sons of God, children of God. When I place my faith in Jesus, I am adopted into God’s family. We become a part of God’s family.
In these verses, John is beginning to show us what life as God’s children should be like. As members of God’s family, this is how we live. As members of God’s family, we are to abide in Christ. As a member of God’s family, I am called to abide in Jesus. The proper lifestyle of God’s children is to abide in His Son.
Abide has been a consistent theme in John's writings. Of the 120 times this word is used in the New Testament, 55 are attributed to John (45%). So, this term is essential to John’s theology. It’s the idea of remaining close to someone or something.
Jesus, in John 14, uses this term within the context of a vine and a branch. For a branch to abide in a vine, it must remain attached to the vine. He says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
So, for a branch to produce fruit, it must remain attached to the vine. A branch doesn’t produce fruit by simply being close to a vine; it produces fruit by being connected to a vine.
Have you ever tried to break off a healthy branch attached to a vine? It’s difficult. Why is it difficult? Because it’s so intricately woven into the vine. Every aspect of that branch is connected to the vine.
So, if Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, then every aspect of our lives, every fiber of our being, is to become intricately woven into Jesus. Our family, our work, our finances, our hobbies, our social media, our conversations, our thoughts, our loves, our desires, everything is surrendered and given to Jesus. Abiding isn’t a distant relationship; it is an intricate union. Any branch that doesn’t remain attached to the vine will be thrown into the fire to be burned. But all branches that remain attached to the vine will glorify the Father by proving to be disciples of Jesus.
Jesus’ words show how essential it is to remain attached to and abide in him. Abiding in Christ leads to eternal hope. Those who abide in Christ have confidence for the end of time. All who abide will produce much fruit, while all who do not abide in Jesus will be thrown into the fire.
I believe John has Jesus’ words in the back of his mind here when he says, “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.” He’s saying that those who abide in Christ have an eternal hope in Christ. Those whose faith resides in Jesus do not have to fear what is to come.
Now, what is to come?
John operates on the assumption that Jesus’ bodily return is what is to come and that Jesus will return again—that he will appear again. The word “appear” is used frequently in these verses. It means to become manifest, to be made known, to expose or show oneself, to become plainly recognized. Currently, it’s used within the context of a future appearance of Jesus. Later, it will be used within the context of a previous appearance of Jesus.
Jesus will return one day, and when he does, he will judge all people, believers and non-believers alike. When Christ returns, judgment comes. Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36 that we will have to “give account for every careless word we ever speak.” He tells us in Matthew 25:31-46 that, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats... Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels… And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’” Revelation 20:11–15 paints the picture of Jesus on a great white throne, where the dead are standing before him. The Book of Life is with him, and the dead will be judged by what was written in the book, according to what they have done—“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 affirms this by saying, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
So, one day, Christ will appear. We will stand before him as he exercises judgment over the life we have lived. We will be judged according to our works. He will separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the righteous from the unrighteous. Every careless word we ever speak will be answered for, and the consequences of his judgment are eternal.
John is saying that abiding in Jesus gives us confidence when we stand before Jesus one day. In Jesus, we have an eternal hope. All who do not abide will shrink back in shame, but all who abide have confidence.
Now, our confidence to stand before Jesus on judgment day doesn’t rest in our work of abiding. Our confidence rests in the work of the one we abide in, the finished work of the cross. Those who are confident in their ability to stand before Jesus in the last days are those who hold tight to the finished work of the cross, the blood of Jesus. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone. However, John seeks to show us that “grace and faith are never alone because Christ has not left us alone.” John is seeking to show us how faith produces works and how abiding in Jesus leads to living like Jesus. The longer you’re a child of God, living in his household, the more you will begin to take on the smell of his house. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you will live like Jesus. All that God saves, he also sanctifies. Therefore, our works/actions reveal whether or not our faith resides in Jesus. A tangible way to know that we have eternal hope is our proximity to Jesus in this life. All whose faith does not reside in Christ will experience eternal damnation in hell. And all whose faith is in Christ will experience eternal life with God in heaven.
RIGHTEOUSNESS, A MARK OF A BELIEVER
John says that if we know Christ is righteous, we know all who practice righteousness have been born of him. Righteous means to be innocent, devout, or blameless. The Bible tells us that Jesus committed no sin, and no deceit was ever in his mouth (1 Pt. 2:22). He was tempted in every way that we were, and yet he remained without sin(Heb 4:15). And as we see in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
So, positionally, we have been made righteous through faith in Jesus. On the cross, our sin was placed on Jesus so that his righteousness could be placed on us. As Paul states in Philippians 3:9, we have a righteousness that is not our own but has come from God on the basis of faith. And John is saying that positional declaration leads to practical living. Those who have been given righteousness will begin to walk in righteousness. Abiding in Jesus leads to living like Jesus. Our willingness to walk in righteousness is a way of knowing that we have been born of Christ.
A LOVING FATHER
John then shifts our attention from our practice to God’s freely given love. He says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” Here, John is directing our attention to the awe-inspiring love of God, which is freely given to us in Christ. The phrasing here draws our attention to the unique nature of God’s love.
As we see in John 1:12, all who receive Jesus, believing in his name, have “been given the right to become children of God… they were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” A supernatural birth occurs when we give our hearts and lives to Jesus, becoming children of God. This birth is not a byproduct of our efforts; it is a byproduct of God’s love, grace, and mercy. In love, God has pursued you and given you the right to become his child. You were brought into his family not based on merit but based on grace.
Notice the phrase “and you are” at the end of this sentence. I don’t want us to miss that!
Growing up, I played baseball. One thing I learned playing baseball at the collegiate level is that I am there because of my performance. I was selected based on my performance, and I was kept based on my performance. I was not a baseball player on the basis of grace; I was a baseball player on the basis of works. If I did not perform well, I wasn’t guaranteed an opportunity to play, nor was I guaranteed a spot on the team.
That’s not what is being communicated here. John is saying that our position in God’s family doesn’t rest on our performance but on God’s love for us. My presence in God’s family rests on the shoulders of God’s love, not my works. God lovingly adopted us into his family, making us children of God; and so we are, and so will we be!
DOESN’T KNOW GOD
John then says that the world does not know us because it did not know him. Living for Jesus is a foreign concept to those who are not in Jesus. Living like Jesus is foolish to those who do not know him. Righteous living is stupid to the unrighteous. Life in the church is crazy to those outside the church. The world does not know us because the world does not know the Father.
ONE DAY SOON
He then says, “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.”
John operates from the reality that our position as God’s children is already present, not something we’re holding out for. Out of that reality, he’s directing our attention to something better. Our final glorified state has not yet appeared. But, one day, we will be made perfect and free from sin with new resurrected bodies. When Christ returns, when the end comes, we will be made like Jesus. In perfect holiness, we will dwell with him forever. The one we cannot see, we can see face to face, fully and clearly. The one we long to be with, we will be with forever in perfect harmony. We will see him as he is. One day, we will be with Jesus forever in sinless perfection. So, a key element of abiding in Christ is hoping in Christ. We have something to anticipate, something to long for, something to hope for.
There are videos that circulate on social media from time to time that pull on my heartstrings. It’s the videos of a father who has been deployed in the army for an extended period of time. Then, when they get home, they surprise their child. At that moment, tears of joy and wailing of excitement surround the warm embrace of the loving father. Gone are the days when that child could only talk to his dad on the phone. Now, his dad is home, and he can see him face to face.
Friends, a day is coming when we will see our Savior face to face. A warm embrace is coming. One day, we will be with Jesus forever in sinless perfection. And all who hold tightly to this hope will strive for purity— “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” All who hold onto the hope of being with God in sinless perfection will seek to live a life of purity, unstained from sin.