I John 3:9-10

This month's Series looks at I John verse by verse. (Here is the link to the beginning of the Series: I John Introduction.)

Yesterday's post summarized I John 3:5-6. Here is the summary:

We looked at two more verses today that contain A LOT of DOCTRINE.

Verse 7: the ONLY way Righteousness can come out of an individual is if it is God doing it through the individual JUST AS GOD DID THIS THROUGH JESUS.

Verse 8: People walking in darkness do sin. These people who make progress in darkness are "of the devil". WHY? Because the devil sinned from the beginning. Jesus was MANIFESTED so that He might destroy the works of the devil!

Today, we will conclude looking at this most misunderstood and rationalized portion of I John...


I JOHN 3:9-10
"9 Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God."


This verse SPECIFICALLY focuses on Jesus.

Jesus was BEGOTTEN of God. Jesus got His Godly Nature by being begotten of God. God's divine Nature is Right and Just...God is light and in Him there is no darkness AT ALL. The same can be stated about Jesus BECAUSE Jesus ALWAYS COMPLETELY was led of the Holy Spirit.

Remember, during the Salvation Series, we saw that faith was the egg and grace was the seed.

This verse says that God's seed lives in Jesus...this can be seen as the Holy Spirit and God's Word. Jesus was ALWAYS COMPLETELY guided by the Holy Spirit and God's Word.

This verse draws a conclusion from EVERYTHING that has been written by John from the beginning of his letter. This conclusion is that a person who has God abiding in him walks in the light and allows God to direct his actions...and it is NOT possible for these SPECIFIC actions to result in sin BECAUSE God is light and in Him there is no darkness AT ALL.

If God had even the littlest amount of darkness in Him, then EVERYTHING John has written in this letter is wrong.

When a Calvinist states that God could do something Wrong or Unjust because God can do ANYTHING, they are contradicting John when he states God is light, in Him there is no darkness AT ALL.

Verse 9 could also be applied to us WHEN WE TAKE DIRECTION FROM GOD THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT.

However, we can ONLY take direction from God through the Holy Spirit if we are believers...if we are walking in the light. John focuses on us more specifically in verse 10...

"10 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."


Verse 10 BLATANTLY states the PROOF that someone is walking in the light (directed by God because they are children of God) vs. walking in the darkness (directed by the devil because they are children of the devil):

People who do NO RIGHTEOUSNESS are NOT of God...

Then John gets even more practical...

Those who do NOT love believers are NOT of God!

John is BLATANTLY stating that the children of God are KNOWN by two things:
1) Righteousness (Grace)
2) Loving believers

Notice, #1 is the First Command: Love the Lord thy God...

Notice, #2 is the Second Command: Love your neighbor...

Again, John has brought his model back to LOVE. It is looking more and more like having the correct definition for LOVE is the key to being a believer.

These commands were known by believers before John wrote his letter. In fact, Jesus BLATANTLY introduces the Second Command as "a new commandment" AND states it is PROOF that we are Jesus' disciples.

Jesus said this in (where else?) John 13:

"34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."


SUMMARY
We looked at two more verses today that contain A LOT of DOCTRINE.

Verse 9 stated that a person who has God abiding in him walks in the light and allows God to direct his actions...and it is NOT possible for these SPECIFIC actions to result in sin BECAUSE God is light and in Him there is no darkness AT ALL.

Verse 10 BLATANTLY states that the children of God are KNOWN by two things:
1) Righteousness (Grace)
2) Loving believers

Everything we have read this week contrasts two groups of people: those walking in the light vs. those walking in darkness.

If a person does NOT have this foundational understanding from the beginning of John's letter, this portion of I John can put the person in condemnation. Worse, this misinterpretation could encourage the person to focus on works...to try to stop sinning by using their own strength...which is really trying to hide the effects of sin...but the sin would still remain.

We have seen that all we can do is kill our flesh and take direction from God through the Holy Spirit which is Biblical grace. We shouldn't focus on NOT sinning. We OUGHT to focus on what TO DO. We OUGHT to focus on allowing God's divine influence upon our heart (THROUGH the Holy Spirit) to be reflected in our life (BY the Holy Spirit). THIS is what it means to walk in the light according to the Spirit. The effect of this is that we would LOVE believers.

Tomorrow, we will see how John uses this conclusion to add to his model.

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