Sermons
The Children of God Cannot Sin
5Studies In First John
The Children of God
(Popular title: The Children of God Cannot Sin
1 Jn. 2:28-3:12
Introduction:
1. Six times in these verses John refers to children.
a. “Little children” (2:28, 3:7).
b. “Children of God” (3:1, 2, 10).
c. “Children of the devil” (3:10).
2. He has used such language before (ex. 2:1; 2:12, 18). He personalized it in 2:1: “My little children.”
3. The language is reminiscent of Jn. 8 where Jesus spoke of God as “My Father,” in contrast to the devil whom he described as the father of those Jews he was speaking to at the time.
4. Such familial language is used throughout the text of Scripture.
5. In 3:9 he says the children of God cannot sin. How is this possible? We will try to address this question as we come to 3:9.
Discussion:
I. Believers stand in a new relationship with God. It is familial: Father and children.
A. It involves a spiritual birth (2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; cf. Jn. 1:13; 3:6, 8).
B. It is modeled after God. He is Father and Jesus is His Son (1:3, 7; 2:1). This is
the model and we are to emulate this relationship as children of God.
C. The thought is that believers stand in a new relationship to God analogous to
children to a father.
1. It implies fatherly care and the responsibility of faithfulness
(submission/obedience) to Him.
2. The metaphor is taken further in terms of experiencing the “new birth” and
“being born of Him” and in “having new life.”
3. We are in the same relation to Him as “His Son,Jesus Christ.”
D. We expect John to say the one born of God does what is right and is then
acceptable when Jesus returns. Instead, he says doing what is right is a sign of
having been born of God. Doing what is right is the result of being born of God
(cf. Eph. 2:10). So, those who are doing what is right have confidence when
Jesus comes.
II. How great is the love the Father has bestowed on us (3:1-10).
A. That we are “children of God” is a manifestation of His love.
1. In Jn. 3 immediately after Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born of
water and the Spirit He addressed God’s love for the world (3-17).
2. A similar association was made in Jn. 1:12-13: “As many as received Him, to
them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe
in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God.”
3. We are children of God because of the great love the Father has bestowed on
us. He has given us Himself in the cross. He has purchased us with His own
blood. No greater love is known than this. If this does not melt our hearts
nothing could have the power to do so!
B. Because we are children of God the world does not know us.
1. We have already seen that there is no congruence between love of the world
and the love of the Father.
2. In Jn. 8 Jesus distinguishes between God as Father and the devil as father.
3. Who are you sided with God or the devil? That is the question.
C. Children of God will be like Him at His coming (parousia).
1. In what way will we be like Him? John does not specify. “It has not appeared
as yet what we will be.”
2. Paul speaks of our being children of God and fellow heirs with Christ and says,
“The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory
that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:17-19).
3. This hope leads to our purifying ourselves (3:3; cf. Col. 3:3-5).
4. When He comes, we want to be images of Him.
D. Children of God do not practice sin (3:4-10).
1. It is the children of the devil who practice sin (cf. Jn. 8).
2. The practice of sin is incongruent with being a child of God.
a. His first appearance was to take away sins (cf. Heb. 2:14-18).
b. In Him there is no sin; no one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has
seen Him or knows Him. This does not mean that sin never breaks in on
us, but it means that we are not given to sin. It is not the course of our life.
Paul puts it like this, “If by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of
the body you will live” (Rom. 8:13). It is an on-going process.
3. What motivates us? Knowing Him. Knowing the great love He has for us. It is
not a faithful response to know this love and respond by continuing in sin.
To do so would be like nailing Christ to the cross again (cf. Heb. 10:26-29).
4. It is deception if we believe we can practice unrighteousness and be the
children of God. “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed
abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
a. This does not mean that it is impossible for the child of God to sin (cf. 1 Jn.
1:8, 10; 2:1; 5:16).
b. It means that sin is incongruent to who we are as children of God.
c. So, we cannot practice sin. It cannot be our course of life (cf. Eph. 4:17-
24; 1 Pet. 4:1-6).
III. The course of sin stands in contrast to loving one another (3:11-12).
A. This is the positive aspect of righteousness—loving one’s neighbor.
1. What does loving one’s neighbor look like?
2. Certainly not like Cain.
3. Notice the focus on his deeds as a manifestation of NOT loving his brother.
Deeds reflect who our father is. Cain was of the evil one.
4. Love is not biting and devouring one another but serving one another (Gal.
5:13-15).
5. James 2:1-13 indicates that love involves not showing partiality.
6. Rom. 13:8ff reiterates the same kind of thing. Cf. also Rom. 12:9ff.
7. All of this mirrors the teaching of Jesus (Matt. 5:43ff; Lk. 10:25ff). It mirrors
what He did (Jn. 3:16). If we are to be confident at His coming we need to
mirror Him.
B. Jealousy and anger interfere with love (Gen. 4:4b-7).
1. Cain’s deeds were evil and therefore he opposed righteous Abel. It is not
surprising then that the righteous are hated by the world.
2. Cain was like the devil, a murderer (Jn. 8:44).
3. Sin crouches at the door and its desire is for us.
4. But we must master it.
5. We will be lifted up if we do well.
Conclusion:
1. Is the love of God doing its work in your heart?
2. Are you a child of God or a child of the devil?
3. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27).
4. The love of God transforms us. God loves you. He has given Himself in payment for your sins. You cannot continue in sin. Those born of God do not do that.
5. Will you turn from your sin? Will you respond faithfully to God’s love? Will you be a child of God?
