1 John 3 opens in wonder: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” Those who have this hope purify themselves, because they know that “when he shall appear, we shall be like him.” John then defines sin in one plain phrase, “sin is the transgression of the law,” and declares that Christ came “that he might destroy the works of the devil.” The children of God are known by righteousness and by love, not love “in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
A study in 1 John 3 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 16 min read
What Manner Of Love
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
1 John 3:1-3
“Behold.” John wants us to stop and look. “What manner of love” is literally “from what country” is this love: it is foreign to this world, unlike anything we know. The Father has not only forgiven rebels. He has made them His children, “that we should be called the sons of God.” And it is not just a title. “Now are we the sons of God,” already, today.
“Jesus loves those who represent the Father, and John could talk of the Father’s love as no other of the disciples could. He revealed to his fellow men that which he felt in his own soul, representing in his character the attributes of God.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 545
Being God’s child does not make us popular. “The world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” If the world did not recognise the Son of God, it will not understand His children either.
And the best is still ahead. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Our full transformation comes at Christ’s second coming, when “this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53). Until then, that hope has a present effect: “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” People who expect to see Jesus face to face want to be ready to meet Him.
“He taught that the Christian must be pure in heart and life. Never should he be satisfied with an empty profession. As God is holy in His sphere, so fallen man, through faith in Christ, is to be holy in his sphere.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 559
Sin Is The Transgression Of The Law
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”
1 John 3:4-10
Here is the Bible’s clearest definition of sin: “sin is the transgression of the law.” The Greek word means lawlessness. Sin is not first of all a feeling of guilt, a failure to reach one’s potential, or a breach of social custom. It is rebellion against the law of God, the Ten Commandments that express His character.
That definition matters. If the law of God had been abolished at the cross, there would be no sin, and no need of a Saviour. But John, writing more than half a century after the cross, still defines sin by the law. The law points out the sin; Christ takes it away.
“The first step in reconciliation to God is the conviction of sin. ‘Sin is the transgression of the law.’ ‘By the law is the knowledge of sin.’ 1 John 3:4; Romans 3:20. In order to see his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s great standard of righteousness.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 467
“He was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” Christ came to remove sin, not to make peace with it. And “for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” Every temptation, every habit, every chain of sin is a work of the devil, and Christ came to break it.
“The plan of redemption contemplates our complete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ always separates the contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit shall be imparted to every repentant soul, to keep him from sinning.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 311
What then does John mean by “whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin… he cannot sin”? He has already said that anyone who claims to have no sin deceives himself (1:8), and that “if any man sin, we have an advocate” (2:1). So he cannot mean that a Christian never falls. The verbs describe a settled pattern. The one born of God does not go on sinning as a way of life, because God’s “seed,” His new life, remains in him. He may stumble, but he does not live in sin, and he cannot be content in it.
“Let none deceive themselves with the belief that they can become holy while willfully violating one of God’s requirements. The commission of a known sin silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit and separates the soul from God.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 472
John gives two marks of God’s children: they do righteousness, and they love their brother. “Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” Law and love are not rivals. They are the two tests of the same new life.
Not As Cain
“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”
1 John 3:11-15
For the opposite of love, John goes back to the first family. Cain killed Abel. Why? “Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” Abel had done nothing to Cain. His faithful life was simply a rebuke to Cain’s unbelief, and Cain could not bear it. The same pattern has run through history.
“Therefore they were hated by the wicked, even as Abel was hated by the ungodly Cain. For the same reason that Cain slew Abel, did those who sought to throw off the restraint of the Holy Spirit, put to death God’s people.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 46
“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” Jesus had said the same thing (John 15:18). But inside the church, there must be love. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” Love is the evidence that new life has begun.
“Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” John is following Jesus’ own teaching that the sixth commandment reaches the heart (Matthew 5:21-22). Hatred is murder in seed form. And “no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” Eternal life is not something every person already possesses by nature. It is God’s gift, and it lives only where His love lives.
In Deed And In Truth
“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
1 John 3:16-18
Cain took a life. Christ gave His. “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.” John 3:16 in the Gospel tells how God loved. 1 John 3:16 tells us what that love requires of us: “we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
Few of us will be asked to die for another believer. But all of us will see a brother or sister in need. And John brings the grand principle down to the ordinary: “whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” Love that will not share a coat will never give a life.
“The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 551
“And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
1 John 3:19-24
After such searching tests, a sensitive believer might feel condemned. John speaks to that heart: “if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” Our feelings are not the final judge. God knows everything, our failures and also our sincere love for Him, and He is greater than our accusing conscience.
John sums up God’s whole commandment in two parts: “that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another.” Faith and love. And the one who keeps His commandments “dwelleth in him, and he in him.” The proof that this is real is not a feeling we work up. It is God’s own gift: “hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
