John instructs the believers to behold Christ and be ever more transformed into his likeness. He says you will be recognized by the fruit of your life, for good or ill.
These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.
I. Main Questions:
1. How does this section demonstrate the incredible privilege of being a child of God?
2. What does this section teach us about heaven? And about living life now in view of heaven?
3. Why is purity from sin such a vital part of the true Christian life?
4. How could this section, especially 1 John 3:6, 9, possibly be discouraging to average Christians? Why would such discouragement be a misinterpretation of 1 John?
II. Verse by Verse Questions:
verses 1-3: Children of God Will Be Perfectly Pure, and Therefore Purify Themselves
1. Why is our adoption as the children of God so astonishing? Look at these passages:
Romans 3:10-18 There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.
John 1:12-13 to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
2. How does the language of verse 1 show how amazing our adoption is?
3. What does John mean when he says, “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him”? How does the world not know us? How did the world not know him?
4. The Bible says that creation is waiting eagerly for the children of God “to be revealed” (Rom. 8:19) What does that mean?
5. What does verse 2 teach about our future in heaven? In what ways is our future mysterious?
6. Who is the “he” that will “appear”? What does he mean “when he appears”? What happens when he appears?
7. What does it mean that we will be like Christ? How do these verses connect with that idea?
Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Matthew 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Hebrews 12:23 You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect…
8. What causes the transformation for in us according to verse 2? What does it mean to “see him as he is?”
9. How does verse 3 connect to verse 2? What should our understanding of what will happen to us when Christ appears cause us to do in this this world?
10. What does it mean for us to purify ourselves as he is pure? How does it relate to these verses:
2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Colossians 3:4-9 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
11. What is the significance of John’s statement that all sin is a breaking of the law and lawlessness? How should this affect our daily lives? And how should it affect the way we preach the gospel to lost people? [How important should the law be in our evangelism?]
12. How does the life and ministry of Christ relate to our lawlessness? (5)
13. Verses 6 and 9 seem to teach Christian perfection… in other words, if you are truly a Christian, you will not sin. Many English translations add extra words here to address this misunderstanding (e.g. “keep on sinning” or “continues to sin”)… but all the Greek says is “No one who abides in him sins.” And “Whoever is born of God does not sin.”) How do we answer this issue of perfectionism? How does 1 John 1:7 help us here? (That we can walk in the light and still need cleansing from sin.) (6, 9)
14. What is John’s main idea in verses 7-10? Aside from perfectionism, what is he saying about the lifestyle of all truly born again people?
15. How does behavior prove identity… either a child of God or a child of the devil? How does Romans 7:15 muddy these waters?
Romans 7:15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
16. What does verse 8 teach us about Christ’s ministry in the world and the works of the devil? How does it relate to this:
Hebrews 2:14-15 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death– that is, the devil– 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
17. How does our being born again, regenerate by the Spirit, result in a changed life? (9-10)
III. Summary:
John address the lifestyle of all true Christians, that we seek to purify ourselves from every sin and lead righteous and pure lives, in every respect conformed to Christ. The fact that in heaven we will be perfectly pure is a great inducement to this effort.
