Podcast: 1 John: Seeing God and Living

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And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
-1 John 2:28-3:3

It was right at two years ago that I met, in person for the first time, the woman who is now my wife. We actually met online, and we had talked quite a bit by the time we finally met in person.

I remember that day very well. I carefully picked out what I would wear, made sure you bathed and shaved so I would be pretty. I had cleaned out my car and such so I wouldn’t look like a slob. Basically, I did what I could to make myself presentable. It seems to have worked, it seems, since we were married in November of that same year.

Most people, I think, would go through such preparations for a first date. It’s a very natural thing to do – to sort of put your best foot forward.

But when it comes to the return of Christ, I don’t think we take anything close to the same sort of care. I think this is so strange, people are so worried about what others think of them, but if you ask them about what God thinks of them, they immediately say, “Oh, He’s got no problem with me. I’m a good person.”

John does something very interesting here, and it’s all spawned off this idea of abiding in Christ. This came out of his discussion of the antichrist, where he warned us of enemies of Christ, but at the same time reminded us that we abide in Christ, and therefore we will not be misled by false teachers. Our eternal security is in Him.

The next thing he tells us is that this abiding is pretty important, because Jesus is coming back, and if we abide in Him, then we have no reason to fear that day. There will be no shame for us. You don’t have to be wearing nice clothes or clear out your car. Abide in Him, and you will be ready.

So the question must come next – how do I know whether I abide in Him? John mentions an answer that he will develop later, and that is that those in Him will act like it. He is the source of righteousness, and so those who act righteously are in Him.

In case you’re worrying, this does not mean that we will earn our salvation by righteousness. The chapter stops here, but those chapter sections were added much later, and John’s thought process has certainly not stopped yet. Since he keeps going, we will too.

He gives us right away the reason that we act differently than the world – that is because we are children of God. And it is not because of our own actions that we have become such, but because of His love.

We have to get this order right. God’s love has saved us, not a work of our own. He has loved us, and in that love chosen us for salvation. In that salvation, by faith, we have become children of God. As children, we do not act like the world acts. They did not understand Jesus, and they won’t understand us either.

This does not happen all at once, and it does not happen completely. At least not yet. Notice what John says in 3:2 – “what we will be has not yet appeared.” A lot of commentators see this is as referring specifically to our glorified bodies. I think this is true, but don’t think merely to the physical. Our context here is righteousness and purity. It’s not just our bodies, but we will be purified in will as well. We have not yet become what is promised to us as children of God. That process of sanctification, which forms us more and more into the image of Christ, is not complete. We are not sinless as Christians. We still mess up over and over again. That is not the righteousness John is talking about. He is talking about a change in us. This change does not save us, but is a result of that salvation.

Ultimately, we will be formed into the image of Jesus. In the end, we will be sanctified. John tells us that “when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

Let’s not stray at this point. John is not saying we will be gods. We are still the creation, not the Creator. John is speaking of what we will be eternally, in perfected body and will. In this way we will be like Jesus.

But this fascinates me. You’ll remember that in Exodus, God tells Moses “man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). The reason for this is because of our sin. When Isaiah sees Jesus in Isaiah 6, his immediately reaction is that he is going to die. And he’s going to die because he’s a sinner.

What John tells us about seeing Him as He is should terrify us. We are sinners too – probably worse than Isaiah, who was a very godly man. I’ve been a terrible person, constantly seeking my own advancement over others, chasing lust, filled with pride, putting my greed and ambition above God. If Isaiah thought he was going to die, how much worse am I going to have it?

But there is something different here, and it is a difference that will eventually allow us to see God. We have been purified by the Blood of the Lamb. Our sins were nailed upon the Cross with Jesus, and He died in our place. In repentance and faith, we are washed clean of these sins and clothed with Jesus’ righteousness.

Our debt for our sin has been paid. We can now be judged righteous because of what He did.

We are judged righteous because of what He did, but remember that we have not yet become sanctified. We are not yet like Him. But when we see Him, it is then that we will be sanctified fully.

John ends our section today with these words: “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” This sums it up perfectly – if we hope in Him, that is we have faith, we are purifying ourselves. But this is not ultimately done by our own work, but by His. His righteousness is imputed to us.

Let’s look back at our equation to summarize what we have learned. God loves us, and He saves us, even when we do not deserve it. We can be saved because of what the Son did on the Cross, paying the price for our sin. By faith we become children of God, separated from the world by the work of God. By His work, we are being sanctified, and that process will be finished when we see Him as He is.

In that sanctifying process, though, we are already changed, and that is where John is going with this. We’ll try to take a look at that next time, God willing.