Daily Bread 2010 - 1 John 3
Daily Bread 2010 – 1 John 3
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.
As we continue through the book of 1 John, we see many challenging words. One of the consistent themes in chapter 3 is, “whoever is born of God cannot go on sinning”. How do we interpret this, since our experience is that we do continue to sin and continue to need to repent and ask God for forgiveness on a daily basis?
As interpreters of the bible (which we are all called to be not just the pastor), the number one rule is to read the passage in context. We know that 1 John was one of the later books written to the church. Many put forth that it is written toward the end of the first century like 85-95 A.D. The chief heresy was “Gnosticism”, which the writer addresses in this letter.
One branch of Gnosticism taught that since the body was of no importance one could basically do whatever they wanted with their body. The writer is combating this false teaching by saying, “No, it is important who you live and if you are born of God you will not continue to live a life ruled by fleshly or earthly desires.”
To the contrary, someone who is born of God will begin to live and act as a child of God. A person who is in Christ and filled with the Spirit will begin to take on the family resemblance, as one set apart to be a light in a darkened world. Importantly the work of “sanctification” i.e. what happens after we are born again, is God’s work in us (God’s seed remains in them v. 8).
Dear Heavenly Father thank you for calling us to be Your sons and daughters. When we are in a pattern of sin help us to realize that this is not consistent with who you have called us to be as Your family living out your purposes in the world. Amen.
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.
As we continue through the book of 1 John, we see many challenging words. One of the consistent themes in chapter 3 is, “whoever is born of God cannot go on sinning”. How do we interpret this, since our experience is that we do continue to sin and continue to need to repent and ask God for forgiveness on a daily basis?
As interpreters of the bible (which we are all called to be not just the pastor), the number one rule is to read the passage in context. We know that 1 John was one of the later books written to the church. Many put forth that it is written toward the end of the first century like 85-95 A.D. The chief heresy was “Gnosticism”, which the writer addresses in this letter.
One branch of Gnosticism taught that since the body was of no importance one could basically do whatever they wanted with their body. The writer is combating this false teaching by saying, “No, it is important who you live and if you are born of God you will not continue to live a life ruled by fleshly or earthly desires.”
To the contrary, someone who is born of God will begin to live and act as a child of God. A person who is in Christ and filled with the Spirit will begin to take on the family resemblance, as one set apart to be a light in a darkened world. Importantly the work of “sanctification” i.e. what happens after we are born again, is God’s work in us (God’s seed remains in them v. 8).
Dear Heavenly Father thank you for calling us to be Your sons and daughters. When we are in a pattern of sin help us to realize that this is not consistent with who you have called us to be as Your family living out your purposes in the world. Amen.
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