A Study Through the Letters of JohnSample

Day 4 - Born Anew as God’s Children

(Read 1 John 2:28-3:10)

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

Reflection on the passage:

Picture a newborn child held in the arms of his or her Mommy or Daddy for the first time. What love is poured out upon that child, in an awe-filled, loving gaze, a tender touch, a careful cradling. John reminds us that in a similar way God’s love is lavishly poured out upon us in our spiritual birth. He makes us His own children! Amazing. And just as human parents show their ongoing love for their children by teaching and guiding them as they continue to grow, so God calls us to “continue in him”.

When we are spiritually born, we are born into a family – the family of God, the Church. In this place of belonging, this home, we grow and develop in love and righteousness. We will stumble and fall, but as we continue to hope in Christ and continue to walk in our Heavenly Father’s ways, we will grow more and more in purity. As we continue in Him, we must also expect to face misunderstanding and even rejection in the same way Jesus did, because we are of the same family.

John also warns us that there will be some who seem at first to be part of God’s family, but then their continued sinful and lawless patterns will show us otherwise. In fact, the devil may be using them to try to harm the Church. No child of God is perfect, yet if we truly have God’s seed in us, we will bear fruits of righteousness and love. Through Christ, the sinless One, sin has been taken away. Therefore, we must be careful not to follow those whose lifestyles betray the ways of God. Instead, may we pray for them to turn from evil and toward our Righteous and Loving Father, who longs to hold them as a newborn child.

Focus verse for prayerful reflection:

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” (1 John 2:28)

1. Take a little time to meditate on this verse. What does it stir in you?

2. Do you find yourself longing to grow more in Christ, bearing more of His fruit? Talk with Jesus about this.

For further reading:

Read John 15:1-8 to reflect on these words of Jesus that likely inspired John in writing this section of 1 John.