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1John Chapter Three ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) What has the Father lavished on us, because of the love God lavishes on us, what are we called, and why does the world not know us? ________________________________________________________________________________ As believers, our self-worth is based on the fact that God loves us
and calls us his children. We are his children now, not just sometime in the
distant future. Knowing that we are his children should encourage us to live as
Jesus did. 2) What does John say we are, what has not yet been known, when Jesus appears, why will we see him as he is, and who are the ones who purifies themselves?
________________________________________________________________________________ The Christian life is a process of becoming more and more like Christ (see Romans 8:29). This process will not be complete until we see Christ face to face (1Corinthians 13:12; Philippians 3:31), but knowing that it is our ultimate destiny should motivate us to purify ourselves. To purify means to keep morally straight, free from the corruption of sin. God also purifies us, but there is action we must take to remain morally fit (see 1Timothy 5:22; James 4:8; 1Peter 1:22). 3) What does everyone who sins do, what is sin, why did Jesus appear, what is not in Jesus, what does no one who lives in him keep on doing, and who has not seen him or know him?
________________________________________________________________________________ There is a difference between committing a sin and continuing to
sin. Even the most faithful believers sometimes commit sins, but they do not
cherish a particular sin and choose to commit it. A believer who commits a sin
repents, confesses, and finds forgiveness. A person who continues to sin by
contrast, is not sorry for what he or she is doing. Thus this person never
confesses and never receives forgiveness. Such a person is in opposition to God,
no matter what religious claims he or she makes. 4) What does John tell us not to let anyone do to us, who is righteous, who is the one that is sinful from, and how long has the devil been sinning?
________________________________________________________________________________ We all have areas where temptation is strong and habits are hard to
conquer. These weaknesses give the devil a foot hold, so we must deal with our
areas of vulnerability. If we are struggling with a particular sin, however,
these verses are not directed at us, the believers, even if for the time we seem
to keep on sinning. John is not talking about people whose victories are still
incomplete; he is talking about people who make a practice of sinning and look
for ways to justify it. 5) For what reason did the Son of God appear, why can no one who is born of God continue to sin, and how can we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are?
________________________________________________________________________________ "No one who is born of God will continue to sin" means that true
believers do not make a practice of sinning, nor do they become indifferent to
God’s moral law. All believers still sin, but they are working to gain victory
over sin. "God’s seed remains in him" means that true believers do not make a
practice of sinning because God’s new life has been born into them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Love One Another ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6) What is the message we have heard from the beginning, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother, and for what reason did Cain murder his brother? ________________________________________________________________________________ The admonition that "we should love one another" is highlighted by the
return to critical formula, "This is the message you heard from the beginning,"
an almost identical reminiscence of 1:1, 5. The command to "love one another"
has its origin in the nature of God. The entire goal and aim of the Gospel is to
create and strengthen love. (taken from The NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan
Publishers) 7) For what reason does John tell us not to be surprised, how do we (the believers) know we have passed from death to life, who remains in death, what is anyone who hates his brother, and what does no murderer have?
________________________________________________________________________________ Christians are called to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world," with its behavior and customs that are usually selfish and often
corrupting. Many Christians wisely decide that much worldly behavior is off
limits for them. Our refusal to conform to this world’s values, however, must go
even deeper than the level of behavior and customs-it must be firmly planted in
our minds-"be transformed by the renewing of your mind." It is possible to avoid
most worldly customs and still be proud, covetous, selfish, stubborn, and
arrogant. Only the Holy Spirit renews, reeducates, and redirects our minds are
we truly transformed. (taken from The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Publishers) 8) How do we know what love is, and what is not in the person that has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him?
________________________________________________________________________________ Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless,
sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others. How
can we lay down our lives? By serving others with no thought of receiving
anything in return. Sometimes it is easier to say we’ll die for others than to
truly live for them-this involves putting others’ desires first. Jesus taught
this same principle of love in John 15:13. 9) How are we to love, how do we know that we belong to the truth, and who is greater than our hearts and knows everything? ________________________________________________________________________________ Many are afraid that they don’t love others as they should. They feel guilty because they think they are not doing enough to show proper love to Christ. Their consciences bother them. John has these people in mind in this letter. How do we escape the gnawing accusations of our consciences? Not by ignoring them or rationalizing our behavior, but by setting our hearts on God’s love. When we feel guilty, we should remind ourselves that God knows our motives as well as our actions. His voice of assurance is stronger than the accusing voice of our conscience. If we are in Christ, he will not condemn us (Romans 8:1; Hebrews 9:14, 25). So if you are living for the Lord but feeling that you are not good enough, remind yourself that God is greater than your conscience. 10) If our hearts do not condemn us, what do we have before the Lord, why will we receive from the Lord anything we ask, what is God's command, who lives in Jesus, and how do we know that he lives in us?
________________________________________________________________________________ If your conscience is clear, you can come to God without fear,
confident that your requests will be heard. You will receive if you obey and do
what pleases him because you will then be asking in line with God’s will. Of
course this does not mean that you can have anything you want, like instant
riches. If you are truly seeking God’s will, there are some requests you will
not make. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Answers to 1John Chapter 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) Love...children of God...it did not know him ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taken from The NIV Life Application Study, Zondervan, Punishers |