1 John 2:8-3:3 We Shall See Him

The Professing Believer
and
The Second Coming of Christ

1 John 2:28-3:3

Introductory Thoughts
· There will be a lot of questions answered at the appearing of our Lord, including some that some of us may not want answered.
· The Second Coming of Christ is a basic element of The Faith
· Paul uses four terms to describe the Second Coming, John uses two of them here: pharnerothe and parousia
· John returns to the tests that he introduced earlier, and the first test is the moral test, but this time presented in the context of the second coming of Christ.
· This is yet another passage that totally challenges the doctrine of carnal security.

1. True believers will persevere and will not be ashamed at His coming—“Little children abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink before Him at His coming.”

a. Little Children—John’s characteristic, tender, title of address to the believers, whatever their age. He was older than most or all of them at this point anyway!

b. Abide—present active imperative—a command to continually, habitually abide in Him
(1) What this is NOT—this is not some ephemeral, mystic thing. Abiding in Him is not some mental gymnastic, but is a real, down-to-earth set of lifestyle choices
(2) What this is—a command to actively, habitually, abide è we have a responsibility here.
(3) There are two sides in this, just like there are two sides in the whole issue of salvation
(4) Salvation
God’s Side Man’s Side
- God chooses us -We choose God
- The power of God calls us - We respond to the call
- God causes the New Birth - We put on the new man
- God secures us - We persevere in faith

(5) On the issue of security, we are kept by the power of God—1 Pet 1:3-5
(6) But we also must endure to the end—Mat 24:13
(7) In 2:24-27, John told the believers to abide in the correct doctrine about Christ
(8) Here, the emphasis is on a personal relationship that is part of the process of Holy living
(9) See John 10:27, John 15:1-11
(10) How to maintain the relationship
(a) Prayer
(b) Bible Study
(c) Thinking of Him, spending time alone with the Bible and prayer
(d) Making choices consistent with your profession
(e) Behaving consistent with your profession

c. “So that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink before Him at His coming.”

(1) “…When…” The Return of Christ is no doubting matter with John!
(2) “…When He appears…” aorist—a one-time event, the Glorious Appearing
(3) Confidence—boldness—a commonly-used word in the NT, sometimes referring to plainness of speech, sometimes to boldness and confidence in Christ

(a) Confidence in speaking—2 Cor 3:12 "Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech;" 2 Cor 7:4 "Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation."
(b) Confidence in prayer—Heb 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 10:19 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,"
(c) Confidence at His coming—the current verse
(d) Confidence at the Judgment—1 John 4:17 "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world."
(e) When Christ returns

(i) We will fall at His feet in glorious worship
(ii) The Lost will shrink back from Him in horror—Rev 6:12-17
(iii) Mat 22:12

2. An Amazing Statement—“…If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him."

a. Language

(1) First of all, this is a third class conditional statement, an “if, then” statement. If the condition is true, then the conclusion is true.
(2) Second, see the contrast in the two “know” words

(a) The first “know” is oidate, perfect, active subjunctive. It refers to absolute settled knowledge, innate knowledge

(b) The second “know” is ginosko
(3) “…everyone who practices …” is a participle in the present tense—it refers to “…the ones doing as a regular practice…”

(4) “Born of Him” is also in the perfect tense, indicating an accomplished fact whose effects continue on.

b. Now, what does all this mean?

(1) This is an incredible statement which should give careful pause to anyone who thinks you can be a Christian and live any old way that you choose!

(2) First, the condition——“…If you know that He is righteous...” The verb for “know” here is innate knowledge, and the tense is perfect. If you know innately and with absolute certain knowledge that He is Righteous....

(3) Is there any question in the mind of anyone that the Perfect, Sinless, Holy Lamb of God is, in every way Righteous? If you are a believer or even a professing believer, you should know that! So, the “if” in this case is a certain thing

(4) Then the conclusion—“... you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him...” the standard for determining if someone is truly born again is a consistent Christian life, and if anyone knows that Christ is righteous, they also ought to know this!

(a) The verb—you know, is to know by experience, and it is perfect tense. If we know innately and with certainty that Jesus is righteous, then you know by experience and with equal certainty the lifestyle expected of a believer.
(b) “...Practice righteousness...”—Not sinless perfection, not without a slip, not without besetting sins and difficulties...
(c) But the habit, the lifestyle, the normal behavior is what one would expect of a child of God.
(d) “The child exhibits the parent’s character because he has the parent’s nature.” (Stott)

3. The exclamation of joy of the Apostle—1 John 3:1a "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” "

a. Language è

(1) Behold—aorist imperative—Look right now!

(2) What manner—the word in the original referred to things from another country or world è it is as if the apostle is saying, “God’s love is out of this world!”
(3) Has been bestowed—perfect tense, a completed action whose effects continue…
(4) “…That we should be called children of God…”
(5) And many manuscripts add, “…and so we are…”

b. God’s love is demonstrated as many-layered and beyond our comprehension.

(1) Our sin and rebellion
(2) Our pitiful condition
(3) God would have been gracious and loving to have redeemed us and merely let us exist as groveling servants.
(4) God would have been gracious and loving to have redeemed us and let us continue as humans on a reconstituted earth
(5) But far beyond such schemes, God not only chose us, sent His Son to die for us, called us, made us alive, and forgave us, but He calls us His Children! We are adopted into the Family of God!
(6) And we are not just called His Children, by grace and His power, we ARE His children!



4. The hatred of the World—“… Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him …”

a. Language

(1) Both “knows” are ginosko, experiential knowledge, but they are different tenses
(2) The first “know” is present tense—the world, as a way of life, a habit, and continually, does not know us by experience. The world cannot perceive, conceive, or receive the fact that we are His children. The world hates us and thinks we are nuts.
(3) The second “know” is aorist—at the point in time when He came (His 33 years), the world did not know Him.

b. See 1 Cor 2:14-16

5. The Greatest of Promises—“… Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is …”

a. To whom the promise applies—those who are children of God. “we are” is present tense, again emphasizing the continual abiding nature of a child of God.

b. Revealed—is in the Aorist—it has not been revealed even once—what we will be—future tense—

c. We know—perfect tense of oida—we have an absolute and settled innate knowledge

d. When He appears—aorist—that one coming time

e. We shall be like Him—“homoioi …” Of a like nature! Not homoousios, which describes the relation between the Father and the Son, but homoiousios.

f. We shall see Him as He is—we shall (future tense) see Him as He is (present tense) right now and ever shall be!

6. The Blessed Hope—“… And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.…”

a. Language

(1) All, the one having (participle)
(2) This hope in Him—our hope is in Christ!
(3) Purifies—present active
(4) Himself
(5) Just as He is pure—“is” is in the present tense also, and “pure” is the noun form of “purifies”

b. Everyone—all true believers have this hope

c. The Hope, the Blessed Hope, is of the Return of Christ and the consummation of our union with Him! The Bridegroom cometh!

d. Purifies—our responsibility again—

(1) Do you want to be pure? Study about the reality of the Second Coming of Christ.

(2) Two excellent verses from Paul è “…Phil 4:8-9 "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy; meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."…”

e. How can we purify ourselves just as He is pure?

(1) He is pure because of His nature

(a) He knows everything, including, of course, the written Word of God
(b) He has the perfect relationship with the Father and Spirit
(c) He practiced righteous conduct throughout His earthly journey
(d) He always did the Father’s will
(e) And He did all of this because it was and is His NATURE to be that way

(2) We purify ourselves because of our new nature, and our purification is an ongoing, continuous process (hence the present tense)

(a) We don’t know everything, including, of course, the written Word of God, but we can learn, since we, by our new nature, have the mind of Christ—1 Cor 2:16
(b) We don’t yet have the perfect relationship with the Father and Spirit, but we have a relationship, and ours can and should grow as we grow in Grace
(c) We have not practiced righteous conduct throughout our earthly journey, but the power of the Spirit, and our new nature both mean that sin shall not have dominion over us—Rom chapters 6 and 8
(d) We don’t always do the Father’s will, but our new nature desires to.