The Practice of the Children of God – Part Two

1 John 3:9-10

March 9, 2003

            Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to 1 John 3:4-10.  1 John 3:4-10.  Follow along as I read 1 John 3:4-10, which is our text this morning.  Read text.

            As we continue our study in 1 John this morning it is important to remind ourselves of why John is writing this letter.  He stated his purpose in chapter 1, verses 3 and 4.  His purpose is two-fold.  The first part of his purpose is fellowship.  He is writing so that men might have fellowship with God through Jesus Christ, and if you remember from when we first started this book, John’s emphasis was on the fact that fellowship with God comes through His Word.  True fellowship with God must be based on truth, and that is why John began by saying he was writing so his readers might have fellowship with the apostles.  They were the ones to whom God revealed the New Testament, and it is through our understanding of what they wrote and our faith in it that we experience true fellowship with God through Jesus.

            The second part of John’s purpose was to make his joy and the joy of his companions complete.  John’s joy would be incomplete if these people to whom he wrote, whom he loved so much, were outside the truth and outside of true fellowship with God the Father through God the Son.  So John told them in verse 4 that he writes because he cannot have complete joy unless that joy is shared by these people whom he dearly loves.

            The common theme between these two purposes is fellowship, fellowship with God and fellowship with one another.  These are two themes that John brings out time and time again.  In fact, John’s whole definition of Christianity is fellowship with God.  To John being a Christian is being in fellowship with God, and knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are in fellowship with God.  In John 17:3 Jesus said, This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  This definition Jesus gave was indelibly branded on John’s thinking, and his whole understanding of Christianity was true fellowship with God and with His Son, Jesus.  And so he writes so that we, as people who desire to know God and who believe that we are in fellowship with Him, may be absolutely certain that our fellowship is genuine, authentic, and real. 

            Recent surveys suggest that over 80% of Americans would define themselves as Christians.  Yet our culture and society do not demonstrate that 80% of Americans love the Lord with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength.  In a country where abortion is legal, divorce rates are around 50%, crime rates continue to increase, and homosexuality is regarded as an alternate lifestyle, I find it impossible to believe that only 20% of Americans are unbelievers.  I find it difficult to believe that even 20% of Americans are believers, especially in light of what John teaches here in 1 John 3:4-10. 

            John is now explaining the impact the first coming, the incarnation, of Jesus Christ should have on believers.  He has dealt with the second coming of Jesus in 2:28-3:3, and now he is dealing with the incarnation.  And he deals with all of these topics in 2:28 through 3:10 under the main heading of being a child of God.  No one has true fellowship with God but God’s children, and the only reason we can be God’s children is because of Jesus.  And we know that Jesus’ work has two distinct phases in our physical world.  One is yet future, and one has already happened, and we are now the children of God living in between these two comings of our Lord. 

            Having fellowship with God is always and only within the context of being a child of God.  Fellowship with God depends upon our relationship to God.  Anyone can claim to have fellowship with God, but only those who are part of God’s family truly have fellowship with Him.  And so the all-important question is: How do I know if I am in God’s family?  How do I know if I am a child of God?  John’s answer is two-fold.  The first way you can know if you are God’s child is by how you are affected by the future coming of Jesus, and the second way you can know if you are a child of God is by how you are affected by the incarnation of the Son of God. 

            To understand the incarnation we must understand both the reasons for it and the results of it.  In verses 4-8 John gives us the two reasons for the incarnation.  First, Jesus came to take away our sins.  He came to lift up our sins as it were like a heavy burden off of our backs, place them upon Himself, and carry them into a wilderness, a place as far as the east is from the west.  Jesus came into this world to free us from our sins and grant us forgiveness.  And John’s argument is that if Jesus came to take away sins, then the one who abides in Jesus does not practice sin, because Jesus and all that He is done is in opposition to sin.  If Jesus takes away our sins, then it cannot be that we will remain in them. 

            Second, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.  He came to undo the devil’s lies, especially his lies about God.  The devil always questions the goodness of God, the love of God, the grace of God, and Jesus work on the cross makes it undeniably clear that God is a God of love, mercy, and grace who is good, holy, and just.  Everything that Jesus did was for the purpose of destroying the devil’s work, of tearing down the building the devil is trying to construct, of smashing fortresses down that the devil erects against God.  And John’s second argument is that it is absurd to think that those who practice sin, the very thing Jesus came to destroy, are God’s children.  If you willingly and habitually work against Jesus, you cannot possibly be on the same side as Jesus or part of His family.  It does not matter what uniform an athlete puts on.  The team that a player is on will ultimately be revealed by which side he is trying to help win.  The same is true of Christianity.  No matter what a person says or who they say they serve, a person’s true allegiance and true family is revealed by which side he is helping win the battle.  No one who is in Christ actively, willingly, habitually, works against Christ.

            Those, then, are the two reasons for the incarnation.  John argues that those who love God and are His children will not go against what God has done in Jesus.  The reasons for the incarnation themselves make it an impossibility for the Christian to continue in sin.  But to make the case even more clear, to prove his point yet further, John shows us the result of the incarnation.  The result of Jesus’ incarnation is the new birth – regeneration.  Everyone who has faith in Jesus has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, has been born again.  It is regeneration that makes faith possible.  A person would never even be saved if the Holy Spirit did not first put new life into him or her.  It is this new birth, this being born of God, that separates a Christian from a non-Christian.  The new birth is essential to Christianity.  It is what makes us children of God.  And it is the result of the incarnation.  In verses 9 and 10 John argues that those who have been regenerated, or born of God, do not practice sin.  The children of God and the children of the devil are differentiated by what they do.  Let me say that one more time: the children of God and the children of the devil are differentiated by what they do. 

            At this point do not think I am saying that what a person does makes him a child of God.  That would be salvation by works, and we have already seen clearly in verse 7 of this chapter that John believes in salvation by faith alone.  John never teaches that a person becomes a child of God by works; he teaches that a person shows that he is a child of God by works.  John’s point here, then, is that the children of God and the children of the devil are differentiated by what they do.  John shows this point two ways. 

The Mark of the Children of God (v. 9)

            The first way John differentiates between children of God and children of the devil is by showing the mark of the children of God in verse 9.  There is a mark that distinguishes the children of God and the children of the devil, and that mark is holiness.  The children of God are holy.  Look at verse 9.  John writes, No one who is born of God practices sin.  Here we have another one of John’s typical black and white statements.  John is not the kind of person who leaves a lot of gray area.  No one who is born of God practices sin.  This is an absolute statement.  No true Christian lives a life of unrestrained, unrepentant, willing sin.  No matter what a person may say about themselves, if they live a life of continual, habitual violation of God’s will they are not born of God. 

            Now we have to understand that John is not talking here about perfection.  He is not saying that Christians never sin.  If that were the case, no one would be a Christian.  He is not talking here about individual acts of sin.  He is talking about sinful patterns, habits, and lifestyles.  No one who makes a practice of sin is born of God.   No one who makes sin his or her business is born of God.  A person cannot willingly and repetitively without repentance engage in sin and be God’s child.  True Christians can and do sin, and that sometimes quite often.  But they do not make a lifestyle of sin.  Their constant aim, however little progress they may make sometimes, is to be rid of sin, not to have their fill of it.  And they long to be rid of sin because of sin’s offensiveness to God, not because of sin’s consequences.  They hate sin because of all that sin is.  They hate sin because sin is so sinful and so offensive to God.  And so because everyone who is born of God hates sin in this way, John can truthfully say that no one who is born of God practices sin.  No one who has been regenerated practices sin.  Why not?  Why do those born of God try to be rid of sin?  Why do they hate sin?  Why is sin so offensive to them?  Why can they no longer live in sin?  John gives two reasons.

            First, a person who is born of God does not practice sin because His seed abides in him.  The true Christian does not practice sin because His seed abides in him.  Now that statement can mean several different things.  I read more explanations of that statement in commentaries than I read commentaries.  This statement is difficult to understand.  There are several ways it can be taken, and I want to give you four of them, and then explain which one I think was in John’s mind when he wrote those words. 

            First, the statement could mean that the Holy Spirit abides in the believer, and the indwelling Holy Spirit keeps a believer from practicing sin.  The seed would thus be the Spirit, and the one in whom the seed abides would be the believer.  That view is possible and theologically acceptable. 

            Second, the statement could mean that the Word of God abides in the believer, and the Word of God keeps the believer from habitual sin.  The Psalmist wrote, Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.  The seed would then be the Word of God, and the one in whom the Word abides would be the believer.

            Third, the statement could mean that the children of God abide in God.  It could mean that everyone who is born of God abides in God.  If the statement means this, then the seed are Christians, the children of God, the offspring of God, and the one in whom they abide is God.  John would thus be saying that Christians do not practice sin because those born of God abide in God. 

            Finally, the statement could mean that the Child of God, Jesus, abides in believers.  In this interpretation the seed is Jesus Christ, and the one in whom Jesus abides is believers.  Before I explain how this text should best be interpreted in my opinion, I would like to say that you could hold any of those four views and be orthodox and correct in your theology.  No one who disagrees with my view is a heretic because they hold one of the these other views.  All four of these views are taught in Scripture elsewhere.  The question, though, that we face this morning is are they taught in this Scripture?  What was John trying to communicate to us? 

            I believe that what John means by this is that the seed in this verse is Jesus, and that those born of God do not sin because Jesus abides in them and keeps them from sinning habitually.  I believe this is the correct interpretation for several reasons.  One reason is that the Greek word used here can have two normal meanings.  One is a literal seed that is sown in the ground, and the other is offspring or child.  So a normal understanding of the word as it was used in John’s day would be a child in this context, as he is clearly not referring to a literal, physical seed.  Second, John uses this word five times in his New Testament writings.  It is used in the Gospel of John three times, in Revelation one time, and here in 1 John.  In all four other uses of the word, John always uses it to mean offspring.  In John 7:42 the Messiah is said to be the descendant, or seed, of David.  In John 8:33 and 37 the Jews are said to be the seed of Abraham, or the descendants of Abraham.  And in Revelation 12:17 the seed of the woman is referred to, and whatever it means, it definitely is referring to offspring.  So John always uses the word this way in those four examples.  Third, Jesus is the offspring of God in a very real sense since He is the Son of God.  He can rightly be called the seed of God because He alone is God’s unique Son in a special way.  Fourth, and lastly, I believe that John taught this principle of Jesus abiding in the believer in John 15:4-5.  Jesus said, Abide in Me, and I in you…he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit.  The promise of Jesus was that if we abide in Him, He will abide in us, and we would be fruitful with Him abiding in us.  We would bear much fruit.  This is in line with John saying that the one who is born again is obedient to God because Jesus abides in him.  The concept of abiding in Jesus is all-important for John.  After all, this type of abiding implies intimacy and fellowship that transcends all other relationships.  All Christians are characterized by this type of abiding.  It is a given, then, that Jesus abides in believers, for this is the promise. 

            What John is thus saying is that the very presence of Jesus in the believer is what keeps the believer from practicing sin.  Jesus’ personal presence as He abides in us ensures that we will not make a practice out of sinning.  This also makes sense in light of verses 4 through 8 where Jesus’ whole purpose is to destroy sin and the works of the devil.  If He is living in us, and His work in us is to take away our sins and destroy the devil’s work, then it only makes sense that we cannot continue in a pattern of sin because God’s purposes stand.  The very presence of Jesus in us ensures our ultimate salvation and deliverance from sin because that is His purpose in His work in us.  Thus, the first reason that the believer does not practice sin is because of the continual presence of Jesus, God’s seed, in him. 

            The second reason the believer does not practice sin is because he is unable to do so.  It is impossible for him to do it, and clearly no one can do what they cannot do.  John writes that the believer does not practice sin because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin.  I take this statement, he cannot sin, to be a reason for the declarative statement at the beginning of the verse.  The true believer does not practice sin because he cannot practice sin. 

            This statement, he cannot sin, also leads to confusion.  John is not saying that the believer cannot ever commit one act of sin.  John is not saying that it is impossible for the believer to sin.  The verb to sin is in the present tense and implies continual, habitual action.  The statement could be translated, And he is not able to practice sin or and he cannot practice sin.  The idea is persistence in sin.  John is saying that the person who is born again cannot practice sin.  Why not?  Because he is born of God.  The argument comes back full circle.  The mark of the believer is holiness – a lifestyle that aims to please God and imitate Jesus.  Thus, the true believer does not practice sin because Jesus abides in him and because he is unable to practice sin.  The new birth itself prohibits a person from continuing in sin.  Everything about Christianity is contrary to sin.  So the believer is not able to continually practice sin because of the new birth, because he has been born of God.  If a person is able to willingly, habitually practice sin it is a clear indication that he has not been born again, because being born again makes habitual, unrepentant sin impossible.  We see then that the mark of a true believer is holiness, and the believer is holy because of an intimate relationship with Jesus and because of the new birth, which prevents sinful lifestyles.

The Manifestation of the Children of the Devil (v. 10)

            Children of God and children of the devil are differentiated based on their deeds, based on what they do.  Children of God can be seen by their holiness and avoidance of sin, but children of the devil are manifest by their unrighteousness and hate.  In verse 10 John shows us the manifestation of the children of the devil.  How shall we know the children of the devil?  John gives us two ways the children of the devil are manifest or obvious – lawlessness and lovelessness.

            Notice how he starts verse 10: By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious.  John is going to give us what distinguishes children of the devil from children of God.  In verse 10 we see two negative character traits, and as we read the verse it becomes evident that he is describing the children of the devil. 

            The first trait that distinguishes the children of the devil is lawlessness.  John says, anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God.  A better translation and more literal rendering of the verse is everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God.  The idea here is that every single person who does not practice righteousness is not of God.  There are no exceptions.  If a person is not of God, he is of the devil.  Those of the devil are characterized by lawlessness; they do not make a life habit of doing what God commands.  They do not care to please God.  They do not fear God.  John Calvin defined righteousness as “no other thing than to fear God from the heart, and to walk in His commandments as far as human weakness will permit.”  It is something that begins in the heart.  It is a reverence for God from the heart.  Those who do not practice this type of heart righteousness and attempt to walk in righteousness as much as they can are not of God; they are of the devil. 

            But not only are those who are of the devil lawless, they also practice lovelessness.  They do not possess love for others, especially Christians.  John writes, Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.  If a person claims to be in the truth, but does not love Christians, it is a sure sign that he is not really a believer, and that he is not of God.  God’s family is manifest by love.  Those who do not demonstrate love demonstrate that they are not a part of God’s family. 

            The love and the righteousness of which John speaks are inseparable.  They complement one another and cannot exist without each other.  John Calvin further commented on this passage by saying, “Love is the fulfillment of the Law.”  The person who perfectly loves his brother will perfectly keep the law and honor God without fail.  But there is another reason why John speaks of love here.  He wants his readers to realize that righteousness involves love for the brethren.  Righteousness is more than just keeping a list of rules and regulations.  F.F. Bruce said this about this text: “Righteousness by itself might appear to be coldly judicial, but the addition of brotherly love imparts a transforming warmth to John’s exposition.  For him, righteousness and love are inseparable in the character of God and in His revelation in Christ, so they must be inseparable in the lives of His people.”  No one can honestly say that he is in Christ if he does not love believers. 

            It is based on these traits that a person demonstrates whether or not he is a child of God or a child of the devil.  In the final analysis, true Christians prove they are children of God and have fellowship with God by their lives.  For John, Christianity is not theory.  It is not an intellectual ivory tower.  It is not philosophy.  Christianity is a life-changing principle because no one can come into the presence of God and have fellowship with Him without being transformed. 

            Those who practice righteousness are Christians, and if a person does not practice righteousness, he demonstrates that he is not a Christian at all.  If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him (1 John 2:29).  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (3:3).  No one who abides in Him sins (3:6).  The one who practices righteousness is righteous (3:7).  No one who is born of God practices sin (3:9).  The overwhelming theme of this section is that being a child of God (3:1) results in holiness.  You cannot claim to be God’s child and live any way that you choose.  You will choose holiness. 

            One of the dangers I see, though, that we as humans face when we read texts like this is that we will understand the content, and we will completely miss the point.  We will get off-balance and become consumed with doing, doing, doing, because that’s what we will begin to think that we ought to do as Christians.  How we need to be balanced as we look at these verses.  When I was younger I would read passages like this and become consumed with the external, with my works.  I would get so caught up in trying to do the right thing that I completely missed the point of what John is saying here, and because I didn’t understand the truth, I didn’t live the truth, and I often became frustrated and did the very things I didn’t want to do.  John is not trying to address the external here.  His emphasis is not on works.  Don’t get confused about what John is emphasizing here.  He is not caught up and focused on our works.  Our works don’t add the slightest thing to our salvation.  John is completely focused on the internal in this passage, and he is saying that if, on the inside, in your heart you have been renewed and are saved, the external flows into righteousness.  And if, on the inside, in your heart you are of the devil and not saved, the external flows into lawlessness and lovelessness.  The external is simply the manifestation of our fellowship with God.  If we have fellowship with God as His children, our works will look like Jesus’ works.  If we don’t have fellowship with God as His child, our works will be those of the devil.  But the solution if our works are not what they ought to be is not to fix our works.  Our works do need fixing, but they will never be fixed if they are addressed.  Cancer cannot be cured with Tylenol.  You can take Tylenol, and maybe the symptoms will ease for a while, but the cancer will ultimately kill you if it’s not cut out of your body.  If you try to fix the external by changing the external, it’s like trying to cure a headache caused by brain cancer with Tylenol.  It’s not going to work.  You have to change the inside.  You have to go to the source of your sin and kill it.  That is the only way to have the actions the way they ought to be. 

            When we see sin in our own lives or in the lives of those we know and love, so often we want to address the action.  And the actions are important and must be addressed.  But we must go to the heart of sin and address the nature and essence of sin with God’s truth and God’s remedy of faith in Him and prizing Him above all else, which is another way of saying loving God. 

            John wants us to examine the condition of our hearts before God by looking at the pattern of our lives.  If our lives are not what they ought to be, John’s remedy is to fix our hearts before God and renew our fellowship with Him.  How do we do that?  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jhn 1:9). 

Perhaps one of the best ways to deal with sin is to understand the essence of sin and what it is at its core.  What is sin?  Next week we will look at that from Numbers 11.  We’ll take a break from 1 John as we have our communion service and try to understand the essence of sin from an illustration given to us in Numbers. 

The children of God and the children of the devil can be seen by their relationship to God.  A child of God hates sin, avoids sin, confesses sin, and lives to please God.  A child of the devil lives in sin habitually, does not love believers, is unrepentant of sin, unwilling to deal with sin, and practices unrighteousness.  May our lives show that we are children of God by His grace.  Let’s pray.

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