1 John 3
This devotional is written by Eppy Izere.
1 John 3
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
More on love and hatred
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: we should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit he gave us.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
More on love and hatred
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: we should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit he gave us.
Reflection
This passage is reminding us of God’s indescribable love through Christ.
His love gives us the gift of salvation, grace, forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
We get all the above not because we have been perfect, but because Jesus loved us so much that he paid the ultimate price on the cross for us to be the adopted children of God the father.
The work of the new birth is what Jesus has done for us but being changed now is something we must participate in.
We must surrender our lives, depend on the power of the holy spirit, and continue to outwork our salvation.
Once we put our hope and faith in Jesus, we become righteous in God’s eyes, so there should be evidence that we have been changed in the inside.
We should live differently, and we should act differently than before we were born again.
We should do everything we can to avoid sin, to live a Godly life and become more and more like Jesus.
God wants us to love one another not only in words but also in deeds. If we close our heart of compassion, how can the love of God be in us?
A famous Bible teacher, Joyce Meyer said, “People do not know that we are followers of Jesus because we go to church, carry a big bible, or have a cross around our neck. People will know that we are followers of Jesus by how we love”.
If you struggle with loving people well, I encourage you to do a scripture search for all the verses that speak about God’s Love and then pray those verses into your weaknesses.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for your love and for the gift of Salvation.
Father God, help us by your spirit to live right, to love one another and show compassion to those in need.
Help us not to live in guilt and condemnation but to find solace in the assurance that we have been adopted into God’s own Family. Amen
His love gives us the gift of salvation, grace, forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
We get all the above not because we have been perfect, but because Jesus loved us so much that he paid the ultimate price on the cross for us to be the adopted children of God the father.
The work of the new birth is what Jesus has done for us but being changed now is something we must participate in.
We must surrender our lives, depend on the power of the holy spirit, and continue to outwork our salvation.
Once we put our hope and faith in Jesus, we become righteous in God’s eyes, so there should be evidence that we have been changed in the inside.
We should live differently, and we should act differently than before we were born again.
We should do everything we can to avoid sin, to live a Godly life and become more and more like Jesus.
God wants us to love one another not only in words but also in deeds. If we close our heart of compassion, how can the love of God be in us?
A famous Bible teacher, Joyce Meyer said, “People do not know that we are followers of Jesus because we go to church, carry a big bible, or have a cross around our neck. People will know that we are followers of Jesus by how we love”.
If you struggle with loving people well, I encourage you to do a scripture search for all the verses that speak about God’s Love and then pray those verses into your weaknesses.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for your love and for the gift of Salvation.
Father God, help us by your spirit to live right, to love one another and show compassion to those in need.
Help us not to live in guilt and condemnation but to find solace in the assurance that we have been adopted into God’s own Family. Amen
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