1 John 2:28 – 3:3 (NKJV) And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 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. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
V28 “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” The Greek word for “abide” is (G3306) μένω ménō, which means, to stay in one place, remain, etc. Thus, John encourages all believers to stay faithful, to build ourselves up spiritually by reading the Scriptures, studying it, praying, fellowshipping with other believers, and living the Christian life. We are to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). The appearance of the Lord Jesus for Christians is the Rapture. The Rapture is imminent. We MUST be ready, so we won’t be ashamed at the Bema Seat Judgment where our life is examined, and we give an account for rewards. See 1 Corinthians 3:9-17.
V29 “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” If our lives are in general characterized by righteousness and our attitude is putting forth effort to live a righteous life, that is practicing righteousness. Righteousness is thoughts, desires, words, and deeds in alignment with the Law of Christ. God is our helper.
V1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” What manner of love! We were enemies of God (Romans 5:10-11), full of sin (Romans 3:10-20), and doomed to face the wrath of God for eternity (Revelation 20:7-15). But, Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10, Matthew 18:11, and 1 Timothy 13-16). Children of God refers to all believers who are adopted (Romans 8:15, Romans 8:23, and Galatians 4:5-7), and we have an inheritance (Colossians 3:24, Ephesians 1:14, Acts 20:32, Romans 8:15-17, and 1 Peter 1:3-9). To the world we are often seen as backward, stumbling idiots.
V2 “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.” We (including John) did not know about the specifics of our blessings, but he did know that they existed and has been promised.
V3 “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Hope is the anticipation of His return and our forever safe with Him. Hope is purifying by encouraging us when in difficult situations.
We learn:
- To grow in our faith, we must think and do what Jesus wants for us.
- About God’s great love for us from seeking us, saving us, and promising us blessings.
- Hope in God is purifying.