Hope In Christ

NOVEMBER 4, 2020 STUDY NOTES I JOHN 3:3-5 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES HOPE IN CHRIST INTRODUCTION In the beginning of chapter 3, John presents to us the three tenses of salvation: Past tense (justification), present tense (sanctification), future tense (glorification) In 1 John 3:1 we find, “Who we are now,” we have the assurance of our salvation When we receive Christ as our Savior, we are spiritually born into the family of God We are now a child of God, which is known as “justification” In 1 John 3:2 we find, “What we shall be,” our future salvation (glorification) Christ is going to return in the future, and we will be like Him, which is our hope, Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Because of our future hope John tells us in verse 3, “What we must be now” Referring to our present state of salvation (progressive sanctification) And then we find the results of a pure life, we find that we must abide in Him, to be like Him We also find the evidence of, “abiding in-Christ” (righteousness) WHAT WE MUST BE NOW 1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. “And” connects what John now says with what he previously said, it also makes a strong point If you really believe what John just said, then you really will do what he now says “Every man” can only be referring to a true believer in Christ and there are no exceptions Referring to all who have put their trust in Jesus and all who have trusted their life to Him “That has this hope” refers to the three facts that have already been presented: (1) The hope of His return (2) The hope of seeing Him (3) The hope of becoming like Him This is the only time the word “hope” is found in 1 John But the message of hope is found throughout the book Christian hope is not a “maybe so possibility,” it is not an “if by chance” Christian hope is not a “hope-so” but a “know-so,” it is a sure expectation, an eager expectation Our hope is not in mankind, and certainly not in the government of our land Christian hope is hope that is fixed upon the person of Jesus and centered in the work of Christ Our hope is not in earthly conditions or earthly changes but in Christ who will change all things For those who live without Christ there is “no hope,” Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: For those who die without Christ there is “no hope,” 1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Christians live in hope because one day Jesus is going to return, 1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; When Christ returns all Christians will be united together with Christ, 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. All Christians are going to meet the Lord in the air “and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Here at Prairie Grove we have a great time together every time we meet-together We sing together, we worship together, we study God’s Word together, we fellowship together 1 And then we go home, but one day we will meet-together, and we will stay together We will meet Jesus in the air, and we will all be at home, “and so shall we ever be with the Lord” There is no greater “hope” than the hope of meeting Jesus and becoming “just like Jesus” That is the hope that is within the believer and that hope motivates us to become more like Him Such hope should motivate us to be as much like Him today as we can possibly be Our future with Christ will influence our present life with Christ purifieth himself, The word “purifieth” means “to make clean,” James helps us to understand what John is saying, Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. To “purify your hearts” means to make a total commitment of your life to Christ You do that by drawing “near to God” through the Word of God and the Spirit of God The “heart” represents the whole inner person, your mind; your thinking; your desires When the “heart” is clean, the outward actions of life will also be clean Peter says the same thing by using the word “soul,” 1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: “Soul” refers to the mind, the heart, and the desires of the mind and the heart When the inner life is cleaned up, the outward actions will be clean also Peter said that we are to purify the soul by obeying the truth through the Spirit John said, “Purifieth Himself” which shows that it is our responsibility, we put forth the effort Why do we so often fail to do what John is telling us to do? Probably because we fail to understand fully, what John has already told us John is telling us that behavior is based upon belief, living because of what you have learned You will not learn the way you are to live until you study God’s Word We must determine that we want to be pure, holy, and righteous, which will lead to Bible study We must put away all that will defile our daily life by looking at Jesus, we must see Him now Seek the life of Christ in every step of your life, continually think Christ Paul tells us how to do that, Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Christians must meditate upon that which was known to be in the life of Jesus Seek to understand every experience of life through Christ and trust Christ through it all Living a holy life today prevents being ashamed to stand before Him when He returns, 1Jn 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Cleansing today comes from “walking in the light,” 1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. The Christian who can see our future in Christ will keep on purifying himself today John said that we must purify self while we are waiting for Christ to return Now is the time to have your mind made up, Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Christians are to wait patiently for the return of Jesus Christ Our “hope” is the expectation of the return of Christ Paul instructed us, 2Co 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Because we have the promises of God for today and for the future We must separate ourselves from everything that contaminates our body and spirit Christians can perfect holiness, we can spiritually mature, we can grow in Christ likeness 2 We must continually live in an attitude of reverence for God and for God’s will The question that should ever be before us is, “What would Jesus do?” We know for sure that whatever Jesus would do would be “pure” Jesus must continually be our example and our goal is to be pure even as He is pure even as he is pure. Jesus is our pattern, He is our standard, His life is our goal for this life Don’t study the life of Jesus just to talk about Jesus, though we must talk about Him Study Jesus in-order to “be like Him” and then your talk about Him will be more meaningful God’s plan for the world is to come to know Jesus But the world is to learn of Jesus through the daily life of the Christian That is the truth of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8) The Christian must learn Christ in-order to live a Christ-like life The Christian must live Christ-like for the world to learn about Christ John now encourages us to know who we are in Christ John just instructed us to live clean, holy, and pure lives John knows that Christians still face the problem of sin So, John knows that we need to know the truth of sin and the truth of righteousness What do you know about sin? Do you really understand the truth of sin? What do you know about righteousness? Do you really understand righteousness? John is going to teach us the truth of sin and the truth of righteousness John is going to show us that sin should not control the Christian, we must control sin We will learn that the evidence of salvation is righteousness And the control of sin and the life of righteousness is only possible through the new birth John continues the use of contrasts: Comparing the one who continues to purify himself even as Christ is pure and the one who continues to live in sin The one who purifies himself is looking at Christ and coming to know more about Christ The one who continues in sin is not looking at Christ and does not come to know more about Him THE NATURE OF SIN 1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Purity and holiness are God’s goal for the life of every Christian The previous verse taught us that we should set the same goal for our life The standard of life is the same for every Christian and always has been The opposite of purifying yourself is allowing yourself to commit sin So, what is sin? What does it mean to sin? Sin is obeying self instead of obeying God Sin is when the will of self is to be satisfied instead of the will of God Sin is self in control instead of the Holy Spirit in control Sin is when self-rules your life instead of the Word of God ruling your life Sin in the life of a Christian is when we allow the old nature to dictate our life Sin is the falling short of the goal that God has set for our life Sin is missing the mark and the mark is the goal which God has set for us When you sin as a Christian, you act as if there was no mark or goal of God for your life Sin is when you are on the wrong path of life, when you are not going in the right direction “Whosoever,” it does not matter who you are, there are no exceptions to the truth that is stated Whoever it is that sins, including each one of us who sins No one who sins can claim that in their life it is not really a sin, 1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Christians will commit sin, but sin is not to be the commitment of their life Sin should not be the desire that controls the Christian life, the Christian is to control sin in their life 3 The Christian knows that sin is against the will of God and sin is not to be our will John never denies that Christians sin and he shows us why a Christian should not sin John is showing us that a Christian should not continue to live in sin He also has already told us what the Christian should do when they sin, 1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Later in the letter he will tell us what will happen when the Christian continues to live in sin transgresseth also the law: The meaning is a “violation of law” which here states that sin is a violation of the law Literally the verse reads, “whosoever continually sins, continually commits lawlessness” They not only have committed a sin, but they have also committed lawlessness But in this verse what is the meaning of “the law?” It is not limited to the commandments that God gave to Moses or the O.T. legal codes John has in mind the will of God for His children All that God has planned and purposed for Christians to live by To transgress is to disregard the will of God for our life It is therefore disobedience toward the purpose of God for our life And that is sin, to practice sin is to practice lawlessness--for sin is the transgression of the law. Christians must learn the truth of the nature of sin There will be no true desire to purify your life until you understand the truth of sin We learn here that sin is the opposite of purification Sin is lawlessness, sin is anything that breaks God’s law for the direction of our life Sin and lawlessness are one and the same, sin in its very nature is lawlessness Sin is putting God’s law aside and putting the desires of the flesh in the place of God Which is saying, “there is no such law for me” This verse is one of the definitions of sin found in the Bible Another verse says, if it is not of faith, it is sin, Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. That verse has to do with the inner convictions that the Spirit of God has placed in our heart If our actions are not according to our Christian convictions, they are unacceptable to God The failure to follow an inner conviction to do good is also sin, Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. John tells us that all unrighteousness is sin, 1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. (Chapter 5 is an interesting study, very few understand it today) John wants us to understand how serious sin really is The world of today has many different views about what the Bible calls sin In their thinking it is not sin if it doesn’t physically harm you or someone else The world thinks that if it is fun and you can get by with it, it is not sin And when you think you got away with it, you can then joke and laugh about it Even if what someone does harms others then it is because of some psychological defect According to the world there is really no such thing as sin, so sin is not something serious Satan is destroying the truth of sin in the minds of those who are without Christ Satan also wants to destroy the truth of sin in the mind of a Christian Satan does not want the Christian to consider how serious sin really is, you cannot take sin lightly The next verse reveals the seriousness of sin WHY DID JESUS COME? 1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 4 John is going to give us two reasons why Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross (1) To take away our sins (vss. 4-6) (2) To destroy the works of the devil (vss. 7-8) The Christian who is not purifying himself is not considering the first coming of Jesus “And you know,” John is continually reminding us of what we already know Telling us that what we know should encourage us to be what we really are as a Christian “That He” has a strong point meaning, “That one,” He is the one, that’s Him In fact, John could not be referring to anyone else but “Him,” it could only be Jesus Absolutely, certainly, completely, fully, beyond the shadow of any doubt; He is “The One” Who was “manifested” presents the Incarnation and implies the pre-existence of Jesus “Manifested” presents the earthly ministry of Jesus and why He came to the earth The very name Jesus tells us why He “was manifested,” Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus came to save sinners from their sin, 1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Jesus came to the earth “to seek and to save the lost,” Luk 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus came to give those who believe in Him an abundant life, Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Jesus came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves Jesus was “manifested” for a specific purpose--to take away our sins; “Our sins” refers to those who have been born-again, the “Children of God” Christians are the ones who are filled with hope because their sins are forgiven They are the ones who have the power and authority to purify themselves Sometimes we find it difficult to accept the truth of those words because we still fight sin The evil desires of the flesh can be so strong at times that we are overcome by them Too many times we lose the battle of temptation and fall into a sin But when Jesus removed the penalty of sin from us, He also removed the power of sin over us Christians can resist the devil and watch him flee, Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Christians can walk in newness of life, Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Christians can live soberly and righteously, Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Christians can strive for purity and holiness, 1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. As Christians we have a motive for living a holy life Our God is holy, Jesus Christ is holy, the Spirit is holy, God’s Word is holy The daily desire of our life should be nothing less than, “be holy” Followers of Jesus should practice defeating sin and living righteous, 2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The cross of Jesus made it possible for us to do that, 1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Jesus died on the cross that we might die to sin, Christians can have the power over sin The goal of our life is to overcome sin, we do that by living more righteous and less in sin Why would we continue to practice what Jesus came to destroy? and in him is no sin. 5 Jesus could take away our sins because He had no sin If this is not true, then the previous statement in this verse is not true either Because Jesus had no sin, He could take upon Himself our sin “No sin” means, “absolutely not at all,” in Him sin does not exist That gives us an explanation of His purity that was identified in verse 3 In the life of Jesus upon the earth there never was a sin committed Jesus never disregarded the law, never violated, or went against the Law of God Jesus is the only one who can take away sin because he is the only sinless one The blood that was shed for our sins was “precious blood” because it was “without spot,” 1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: The One who died for our sins “did no sin,” 1Pe 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: He was tempted just as we are, yet He was without sin, Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. CONCLUSION Jesus came to earth the first time to take away our sins We must come to Jesus in-order for Jesus to take away our sins Once we are saved, we must continue to come to Jesus, which is the meaning of “abiding in Him” Abiding in Jesus is living with Jesus and no longer living where we use to live Listen to the song 6