Each week throughout 2021, I will share a Bible study blog post taking us through the letter of 1 John. Only five chapters long, this brief book is worthy of our consideration. Whether you drop in for one post or many, I pray that you enjoy them. Access all posts here.
3:2 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.
We Will Be Like Him
The thought is astounding. One day, God's children will be like Jesus when He appears (2).
This incredible fact follows John's logic well. If believers are born into God's family, it makes sense that our full transformation would make us like God's Son. As God's kids, we will one day be like the Son of God.
The Bible drives us toward this glorious hope. Remember the sixth day of creation I spoke about earlier? God expressed His dominion and told us to have dominion. Like God, we were to be fruitful and multiply, stewarding all He made.
But our sin robbed us of dominion. Rather than live in self-controlled service to our world, we began living in out-of-control self-worship. Sin kept us from being who God intended.
But the cross of Christ provides the only way for us back to glory, back to dominion, because one day we'll be like Jesus. Paul said it this way:
"For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers." (Romans 8:29).
How We'll Be Like Him
But how will we be like Him? How will we be "conformed to the image of His Son"?
Again, remember the Genesis passage. We were made in God's image, but that didn't mean we could create something from nothing. There are still many ways we are unlike God. We aren't infinite and all-knowing and all-powerful. But we were to be like Him as we named the animals, stewarded the existing material of the planet, and subdued the earth.
And when Jesus comes, we will be like Him. This doesn't mean we'll become saviors or deities or eternally preexistent. Instead, it means His nature and character and goodness and holiness will be our practical experience.
The word for this is "glory." We were instantaneously justified by Christ, but one day we'll be glorified with Him. As Paul said:
"When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:4).
This is the glorious announcement of Scripture: all the shortcomings and frailties and weaknesses you endure today will be gone tomorrow. They will be swallowed up by the life of Christ, the Last Adam consuming the First (Romans 5:18-19).
In another place, Paul said:
"Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven." (1 Corinthians 15:49).
Look, I know how we're often taught the importance of self-acceptance. We're told we mustn't have a poor self-image. To like ourselves. But, in the back of our minds, we know it's a farce. No matter how hard we try to accept them, there are glaring flaws we know we'd be better off without.
For this, Scripture gives us the gospel. The good news of God's grace and Christ's cross is that God accepts us by the blood of the Son. We can have a high self-image because God places His value on us. He declares us as worthy.
And then Scripture tells us, in places like this one, that one day all our imperfections will melt away in His glorious presence and we'll forever be like Jesus.
We will still be ourselves, recognizable, and with the personalities, God has given us. But it will be the glorified version of the self. What will the glorified Nate Holdridge be like, not just in body, but in mind and heart and soul?
As the years pass by, we might become discouraged by the slow progress we've shown in the Christian life. Age gets us all. This last weekend, I did a little teaching at my alma-mater, Calvary Chapel Bible College. For the first time, I had a handful of students tell me they were pretty sure I attended there along with their parents! Time waits for no man. And, as the river of time flows past us, we might grow disheartened by the slowness of our sanctification.
Perhaps you started with great hope in all Christ would do in you, but that hope has given way to pessimism. Don't lose hope! One day, you will be like Jesus! And so will every believer you know! All of us will make it to glory. Christlikeness will be ours.
Because We'll See Him
Before moving on, notice why John says we will be like Jesus: because we shall see Him as He is (2). In other words, when we see Jesus' full splendor and glory, it will change us. His appearing is the event that marks our ultimate transformation into glory. And if He didn't glorify us at that moment, we couldn't see Him anyways, for our current bodies could not handle the majesty emanating from Him.
But if seeing Jesus leads to our glorification then, seeing Jesus leads to our sanctification now. He'll change us then, but He can change us now if we'll spend time seeing Him.
"And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18, Amplified Version)
So keep looking into the Word and up in prayer so you can discover Jesus. The Spirit will change you as you look. But, remember, one day, you'll no longer look as in a mirror, which for them meant a blurred image. One day, you'll see Jesus clearly and become like Him! Rejoice.
And what should this knowledge do to us?
3:3 And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.
Result: Not Lawlessness
Let's look at the latter half of the paragraph first. John tells us a knowledge of our future glorification (when we see Jesus) will not lead us to lawlessness. Glorification tomorrow does not lead to rebellion today.
John cannot imagine it because he knew Jesus appeared in order to take away sins (5), meaning Jesus' whole mission was to destroy sin. Further, John cannot imagine it because he knew in Jesus there is no sin (5), meaning His whole nature is void of sin. How could someone who interacts with Jesus keep on sinning (6)?
John cannot imagine it. To him, it's impossible. If you've seen or known Jesus, you cannot keep on sinning (6).
The definition John uses for ongoing sin in this passage is helpful though. Notice, he calls it the practice of lawlessness.
Now, John already made it clear that a Christian will sin. It would be wrong for us to say we have no sin, or to act like we've already matured past sin (1 John 1:8, 10). Instead, we should admit sin, let God's light shine upon it, and confess it to Him. When we do, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And, when we do sin, Jesus is our Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). So what does he mean by those who keep on sinning?
This is where the word lawlessness (4) is helpful. It's more than a struggle with sin, but declaring you care nothing for God and His sovereign laws. You say they have no jurisdiction over you. You become your own law.
Recently, I heard someone arguing that a particular denomination should tolerate wildly varying doctrinal positions regarding human sexuality. She thought only God could weigh in on how people live, overlooking the fact the denomination is merely trying to interpret what God has said, not make it up for themselves.
Then she argued, "Live and let live, I say." Ha! So whose word is authoritative for her? Not God's. I say, she said. She lives by the authority of her own word. It had become her new Scripture.
This is a form of lawlessness. And it was likely the kind of message the false teachers in John's day communicated. Do you, they said. Whatever feels right, go for it.
They might as well have said, Put on a yoke of slavery again. Suffer. Be miserable. For what feels like freedom and license at first soon gives way to addiction and misery. Lawlessness does not lead to the dominion God has for us.
Result: Pursuit Of Purity
Instead, John writes, everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure (3). In other words, if you're looking forward to being like Jesus forever, you'll want to be like Jesus today. This desire will lead to the pursuit of purity right now.
But what does it mean to purify ourselves as Jesus is pure? Well, consider the people of Israel. Often, God said to them:
"Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19:2, ESV).
And when we dream of the forever holiness of Christ and get a glimpse of it today, we begin longing for His holiness to be part of our lives right now. So we surrender ourselves on His altar and ask Him to change us. We pursue purity, holiness.
Perhaps the Message version could help us here:
"All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own." (1 John 3:3, The Message).
Or Kenneth Wuest:
"And everyone who has this hope continually set on Him is constantly purifying himself just as that One is pure." (1 John 3:3, Wuest)
John has told us, in a few short verses, what we are (God's children), what we shall be (like Christ), and, now, what we should be (pure like Jesus). When a nonbeliever sins, it is against their Creator, but when believers sin, it is against a Loving Father. They sin against law, but we sin against love.
But once we know who we are, a pursuit of holiness will (or should) follow. Consider the words of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones:
Why do we, therefore, fail so much in practice? Because our belief is defective; if only we really did see ourselves as we are depicted in the New Testament, the problem of conduct would immediately be solved. Of course, the tendency is for people to argue like this: 'Ah,' they say, 'there is not much point in talking to us about doctrine; you have to remind people of their practical duty.' So holiness teaching frequently becomes a constant repetition of certain duties which we are to carry out. I agree that we do have to do these things, but I say that the ultimate way of carrying out these duties and really practicing these things, is to have such a grasp and understanding of the doctrine that the practice becomes inevitable. And that is, of course, precisely what the New Testament always does. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, D. M. Children of God)
So, know who you are, and who you'll become, and pursue holiness today. Don't do it by your own power and strength. Continue in the Spirit. He will help you (Galatians 3:3). But, please, pursue holiness!
Pursue holiness by putting ridding yourself of untrue speech (Ephesians 4:25). All around us, people struggle to know whom to trust. News agencies, elections, and people in power are often held in suspicion. Search engines and social media networks often become vehicles for lie perpetuation. Friends betray. Deception abounds, so the church can model the beautiful counter-cultural art of truth-telling.
Pursue holiness by ridding yourself of anger (Ephesians 4:26-27). Don't let anger turn into enslaving sin. Don't allow the devil to dismantle you with unrighteous anger.
Pursue holiness by ridding yourself of laziness (Ephesians 4:28). Put off thieving and put on honest work. The Proverbs teach that "lazy people irritate their employers, like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes" (Proverbs 10:26, NLT). Christians are to become hardworking people.
Pursue holiness by ridding yourself of corrupting speech (Ephesians 4:29-30). We are to put on speech that builds up and imparts grace. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit; encourage people.
Pursue holiness by ridding yourself of bitterness and wrath and slander (Ephesians 4:31-32). They are like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. You are hurting yourself as you participate in them.
Like John, Paul tells us who were are, who we'll become, and who we should be today. The New Testament is filled with beautiful exhortations like these. They help us pursue holiness.
We are God's children, his sons, and daughters, who are being shaped into Christ's image. Next week, we will learn what we are not.
