Now We Are the Children of God

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1Jo 3:2-8 NAU)

Now We Are The Children Of God

Now We Are The Children Of God



Now that we are children of God, don’t know yet what that will be like we have been given a hope for our future.  In this passage from 1John chapter 3 gives us this hope but it does have a few areas that we should be concerned with.  There are two questions from verses 3 and 4 that stand out:
  1. What does it mean to be pure?
  2. What does it mean to practice lawlessness?

Pure

The word here is hagnos (G53) and means free from ceremonial defilement, holy, sacred.  Looking into the old testament we find two words translated as pure, one is zak (H2134) and the other more commonly used is tahor (H2889) and refers to the pureness of gold as well as being clean verses unclean.  This is the pureness that is being referred to by John.

So in this context we are to make ourselves ceremonially clean because Jesus (Yeshua) is ceremonially clean. So if we have this hope of being children of YHVH (God) then we need to learn how to be clean in our daily lives, the foods we eat and the holidays we practice.  Best to study Leviticus since it shows us what it means to be clean and unclean.

Lawlessness

The word here is anomia (G458) meaning a = without and nomia = law, thus without law.  So it is plainly telling us that sin is being without the law.  This is made very clear in Matthew 7:23 where Jesus (Yeshua) tells many of those who did good deeds in His name to depart:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'”
(Mat 7:21-23 NAU)

Thus, it is easily said that those who do not practice the law, but practice sin will hear those dreadful words to depart for Yeshua (Jesus) at a time when they think they have it made.

The Warning

Make sure you are not deceived by your traditions, your leaders and ultimately the devil who is prowling around like a lion seeking someone to devour.  If anyone is teaching you that there is no need for the law, or it is has been done away with, they are deceiving you.

Those that are practicing lawlessness (sin) are of the devil and will be destroyed by Yeshua (Jesus) because that is the reason He appeared, to destroy the works of the devil.  But if you are practicing righteousness in keeping His commands, as He is righteous or kept God’s (YHVH’s) commands then you will be called the children of God.

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