I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meetings on December 12-19, 2010. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:28-3:3 and discusses the idea that we need to consider how we live our lives in the light of the promised return of Jesus. Jesus' second coming (according to John) offers motivation for us to pursue righteousness in our lives. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!
Living in the Light of Jesus’ Coming
1 John 2:28-3:3
Theology Matters Series
Introduction
About a month ago we ended a church-wide series on “Living Like You Were Dying” where we focused on the characteristics our lives as Christians should exhibit if we expect to die soon
Today’s passage is like that in some ways, except instead of thinking of our own mortality, we will look at our Lord’s return as a motivation for pursuing certain characteristics in our lives
This being the Christmas season, we typically speak of Jesus’ first coming, the time he revealed God to us by the Incarnation (a topic that John addresses earlier in this very epistle)
The first time Jesus came to earth, things changed dramatically
The lives of many in the first century were changed eternally
The calendars that track our lives were affected
Judgment came in the way people respond to the life and ministry of Jesus
What kinds of changes will come when he returns a second time?
When Jesus’ comes the second time, everything will change
Life as we know it will be completely different
There will be judgment
Things will be revealed and made known that we think are secret
John mentions this return of Jesus (described as his “appearing” twice) in 1 John 2:28-3:3
In this passage John gives us three things to pursue as we wait for Jesus to come. We must pursue:
1. Assurance by abiding
2. Acceptance by his love
3. Purity to be like him
Where will you be when he returns?
1. Assurance from Abiding
1 John 2:28-29
The idea of abiding
Last week we spent some time on this topic
Abiding carries the idea of “remaining” or “continuing” or even (to some degree) “possessing”
Our passage last week reminded us to abide in God’s Word and in God’s Spirit
This passage reminds us to abide in Christ
What does it meant to abide in Christ?
John 15—the vine and the branches
The call here is to stick close to Jesus
As we mentioned last week, we must let everything about Jesus permeate everything in our lives
We must be possessed by him, inundated with his character
In short, we must be so vitally connected to him that we draw life from him
John tells us that this abiding will lead to assurance, but the lack of abiding could lead to shame
John wants his readers to have confidence and not shame when Jesus returns
Shame results in a “shrinking away,” a subtle denial or exclusion of Jesus and his claims on our lives
Shame (and “shrinking away”) is first recorded in Genesis 3
Adam and Eve were “ashamed” at what they had done
Living a life of sinful selfish indulgence leads to shame at Jesus’ appearing
Assurance/confidence comes from what Jesus has accomplished
Jesus is righteous, and his righteousness is ours by faith in what he did in his life, death and resurrection (1 Cor. 1:30-31; 2 Cor. 8:9)
We can be confident in God’s accomplishments
Our confidence/assurance is not in what we have done (Romans 3:21-26)
But what we do can exhibit the assurance of God in our lives
Remember, what we abide in possesses us
John is calling on us to abide in Jesus and receive assurance from what he accomplishes
To avoid being ashamed at his coming, do what he wants you do to do
Abide in him
Where will you be when he returns?
Will you shrink in shame due to selfish living?
Will you stand in confidence due to his righteousness?
2. Acceptance by His Love
1 John 3:1
Note the amazing proclamation here—God loves us
“See how great a love the Father has given us”
The Greek here indicates an “otherworldly” type of love—”from what country”
John depicts God’s love as something that is beyond our normal experience
John describes God adopting us into His family out of pure, raw, unconditional love—for no other reason than the fact that He loves us!
God’s love is what makes us children of God
We are not born Christians, we are “born again”, we are born of him (John 1:10-13; John 3:3, 16-18; Romans 8:14-17; 2 Cor. 5:17-18)
We are adopted into God’s family
We need to spend some time contemplating the great privileges that come from being adopted into God’s family
We are joint heirs with Christ
We lose our sin and gain Christ’s righteousness
We have the joy of calling God “Father” and enjoying the protection and provision that a Father offers
Such contemplation will result in assurance
We need to gain an appreciation of what God’s love means for us
It means life and redemption
It means living in assurance and without shame
On the other hand, it means that we will not gain acceptance from those who are not of God
God’s love for us gives us acceptance
We are accepted as his children
Acceptance gives us assurance in God’s presence
Acceptance gives us confidence when Jesus returns
Where will you be when he returns?
Will you stand with the world, conformed to their mindset and ways?
Will you stand in and shine out his love?
3. Purity to be like Him
1 John 3:2-3
John tells his readers that they are destined for great things
We are destined to share Jesus’ glory when he returns
As children of God, we have a present and future status
John speaks of a “now” and a “not yet”
Our present status has to do with our adoption and its privileges as mentioned in v. 1 above
Our future status has to do with the likeness of Christ
When Jesus returns, we will see him in his glory
Seeing him in his glory has an effect on us (Col. 3:4)
Seeing Jesus results in our being like Jesus
When we see him as he is, we will be made like him (2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:20-21)
Jesus’ return promises us a future glory (Rom. 8:28-29)
While we wait, however, we have responsibilities too
John tells his readers that they need purity
Knowing we are destined for glory should motivate us to live for Jesus’ glory now
If we are bound by God for greatness, shouldn’t we strive to live great lives while we wait?
Living for Jesus’ return means living pure lives for his honor now (Col. 3:4-5)
A mind set on meeting Jesus will discover a renewed passion to pursue righteousness now
If we know Jesus today, that knowledge should lead us to pursue the kind of life that will honor him now
We should live in the light of his coming by purifying our hearts
This purification will have an effect on how we live
Where will you be when he returns?
Will you stand in the shame of selfishness?
Will you stand in the purity of his likeness?
Application
It may seem that applying this passage is easier than others, but the truth is that speaking of Christ’s imminent return does not always lead to motivation for godly living
Nonetheless, there are some things we can do this week to put this passage into our lives
First, learn to abide in Christ and to pursue his righteousness. That may sound a bit esoteric, but it really isn’t? If abiding means being possessed by something, then find ways this week to be gripped and possessed by Jesus. To do that requires some time in his presence. Pursuing righteousness may be understood as doing the right thing. What “right things” would Jesus want you to do? Where do you struggle to do what is right? What can you do to overcome this week?
Second, spend some time actually thinking about the wonderful benefits that come from being a child of God. How can the reality of God’s provision of adoption have an impact on your daily life?
Third, look for ways to purify yourself. Where do you need purity? What can you do to “purify” yourself?
Where will you be when Jesus returns?
Discussion
1. Why does John tell his readers to continue in Christ? (2:28)
2. What do those born of Christ do? (2:29)
3. Why doesn’t the world recognize Christians for who they are? (3:1)
4. How should Christians be different than non-Christians?
5. What will happen to believers when He appears? (3:2)
6. What does John mean by “abide in Him”? How does one do that?
7. What does Christ’s return have to do with how we live now?
8. What can you do to “purify” yourself?
9. How can you allow the reality of Christ’s return to have an impact on your life today?
Thanks for reading!
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