1 JOHN 2:28-3:1 THE BELIEVER’S HOPE PART 1

1 John 2:28-3:1 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

John 2:28-3:3 deal with the motivation for righteousness – the Rapture. Those who anticipate the Rapture will meet the Lord with an attitude of courage. The reason for this courage is their walk with Him in time. They are confident of their fellowship with Him.

Righteousness - Love that satisfies Justice

1. Marked by; the birth they have experienced

2:28 We abide in Him, He keeps us from falling from grace  

The hope of Christ’s return sustains our faith.

Abiding in Him means that we believe the Lord’s promises, we apply His principles and we love Him and serve Him. You abide in Christ by believing the truth, obeying the truth, and loving other Christians^[1] We allow the Holy Spirit to fill and control us. We trust Him in everything.

Abiding means that we willingly do God’s will. It may mean that we must deal radically with some sin or injury. If we abide in Him, we are prepared to do what He asks of us. It means we accept our present situation. We may not like it but we believe in His sovereign hand on our lives. We accept His design for our lives. Abiding in Him may mean that we may have to deal with a broken relationship.

that when He appears,

1Thess. 4:16-18

• Appear. This is the first mention in this epistle of the promised return of Christ. The Book of Revelation deals in detail with future events. The epistle (1 John 2:28–3:3; 4:17) merely mentions the return of Christ and a coming day of judgment.^[2]ought to be an incentive for us to live in fellowship with Him and be obedient to His Word. ^[i]

2 Tim. 4:8

Anticipation of the Rapture purifies our heart. It keeps us in a state of expectancy.

Christians agree that Christ is returning for His church (1 Thes. 4:13–18). Though Christians will not then be judged for their sins, they will be judged on the basis of their faithfulness in serving Christ (1 Cor. 3:10–15). Those who have been faithful will receive rewards (1 Cor. 4:5); and those who have not been faithful will lose rewards. This event is called “the Judgment Seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10); do not confuse it with the “Great White Throne Judgment” of unsaved people at the end of time (Rev. 20:11–15).^[ii]

There is nothing like the hope of the coming of Christ in a situation in bleak circumstances. The fact that Jesus Christ may return at any moment

We may have confidence It comes to mean fearless confidence when Jesus comes. This means a person with nothing between his soul and the Savior can meet Him when He returns with open arms.

and not be ashamed before Him at His coming

2 Cor. 5:9, Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

No matter in which direction a Christian looks, he finds reason to obey God. If he looks back, he sees Calvary, where Christ died for him. If he looks within, he sees the Holy Spirit who lives within and teaches him the truth. If he looks around, he sees his Christian brethren whom he loves; he also sees a world lost in sin, desperately needing his godly witness. And if he looks ahead, he sees the return of Christ! “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). The return of Christ is a great inspiration for godly living.4

 

Co 1:22, Ph 2:12, John 6:37-38, 8:31-32,

1Co 3:12-15, 1Co 4:5

2. 2:29 We habitually practice righteousness, because He lives in us

The hope of Christ’s return makes righteousness a habit

A life characterized by sin is not compatible with a God of absolute righteousness.

Note the emphasis on the two words for “know” in this verse: “If you know…you know.” These are two different Greek words for know. The first word for “know” means to know inherently, “If you know inherently or are aware that He is righteous.”

The second Greek word means perceive, experientially know, “You discern or perceive that….” That is, “If you clearly understand that the Lord is absolutely righteous, you will know by experience that those who reflect His righteousness are spiritually born of Him.”  I.E. Doing righteousness is proof of salvation. “If you know how God behaves, then you will know that whoever behaves like God is born of him.”

Is born of Him John 3:3-8

Rom. 3:21-22

John has written about light and darkness, love and hatred, and truth and error; and in 1 John 2:29 he sums up the whole matter of Christian living in one phrase—“doing righteousness.” The life that is real is a life of doing, not simply talking (“If we say,” 1 John 1:8–2:9) or giving mental assent that a doctrine is correct. “Not every one that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21, italics added). Christians do not simply believe the truth; they do it (1 John 1:6).^[3]

2 Cor. 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you ^cfail the test?

3. 3:1 We are greatly loved and are called the children of God (Behold - an unveiling)

The believer’s hope is strengthened by the fact that God’s love initiated his salvation

Behold-

What manner of love – Rom 5:1-11 without strength, sinners, enemies

Eph 1:3-6

Take note of the amazing, pure, undying love of God for us.”

of a mother for her child.

Jer. 31:3 “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’”

Rom. 8:38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Eph. 2:4 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…”

2 Thess. 3:5 “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.”

Special uses of the word “behold” in Scripture:

Jer. 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.”

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”

1 Cor. 15:51 “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Jude 14 “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 “to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Rev. 1:7 “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”

Rev. 1:18 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

Principle: God wants us to take special note of His unique love for us.

Application: God wants us to take special note of His unconditional love. He wants us to concentrate on the nature of His love. John calls attention to the wonderful exhibition of God’s love for us.

What manner of persons - burned up.

 2 Peter 3:11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

the Father has bestowed on us,

2 Cor. 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

God’s love is a donation to us. We do not earn it nor deserve it. It is of pure grace.

Rom. 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

that we should be called children of God! - John 1:12, Ro 8:15

 

Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32

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