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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/brody-thibodeau/1-john/
1 John 3 verse 1. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.
But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. That's all we'll read. I must confess before I begin I don't have a sermon on 1st John chapter 3, but I'm going to share with you some very practical things, perhaps, from this passage.
Some things that I have learned while studying the book of 1st John, and perhaps some things that I can pass along to you to help you in your study of this book from the Scriptures. I find it helpful, and I think you will find it helpful as well, in looking at 1st John to consider, perhaps, the reason that John felt it necessary to write this epistle.
And I believe we will find the reason that the Spirit of God finds it necessary to give us these words, not only in the time of John the Apostle, but in the time of the Garnavillo Assembly in 2016. I'm convinced that John's writings, coming later on in the time of the Apostles, in fact I believe the last of the apostolic writings, I believe they were written for a purpose.
Perhaps to combat certain error that was creeping in among the believers, or at least among the assemblies at that time. We have this older man. Again, I'm with with Marcus. I don't know at what point you would call him an old man, but perhaps he was in his late 80s, early 90s, right?
You want to say old, go ahead. We'll say mature, right? It was this mature believer who had a heart and a care for the people of God that the Lord uses to write these words to help protect the people of God against error.
Brethren and sisters, I am convinced, and I hope you too are convinced, that if we are going to see the assemblies of God preserved and the people in the assemblies preserved, we have to be exercised to teach and preach the Word of God.
According to 1st Timothy, which I believe is the entire theme of 1st Timothy, according to Paul's writing to Timothy, the way to save or preserve ourselves and them that hear us is by reading publicly the Word of God, teaching publicly the Word of God, and exhorting publicly from the Word of God.
This is the only thing that will preserve not only the people, but the assembly and the character of the assembly. And if it sounds like I say that with conviction and enthusiasm, it is because I am convicted and enthusiastic that the Word of God is the means of the preservation and edification of the Lord's people.
And that's what we've been receiving this weekend, isn't it? Teaching from the Bible. I'm convinced that the error that John was facing was an error that was specific, but not only for his time. He faced the Gnostic error, right?
And you may find this is a little bit technical for this time in the day, but I'm counting on that little break in the fresh air to keep you awake. But he was being faced with a very real error. These Gnostic teachers who based their entire religious value on knowledge, they had had been teaching a certain doctrine.
It had to do with a religious dualism. Now that's a very simple thing, although it might be a big word. The idea with these people is that they were teaching that there was one true good God. This true God was spirit.
This true God was separate from all things physical and all things that were made of matter. There was another power, perhaps, a lesser God, and they considered that God to be the one who is the creator of matter.
In this religious dualism, they saw spirit and matter as being totally incompatible. Spirit is good, the physical is evil. Now when you think about those two things, and you think about what they produced, it will help us to understand why God gives us John.
It produced this attitude. The attitude was, it is impossible for the Lord Jesus Christ to have actually been God and man, because God being spirit could never be in contact with the physical, which is evil.
So they taught that Christ Jesus, or Jesus Christ, had not come in the flesh, right? So then you look at 1st John, even in John's Gospel, and then you find in the Revelation, and you find that John is focused on reminding us and establishing us in the doctrine of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't he?
He teaches us, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
And John's Gospel, chapter 1, does away entirely with the false doctrine of the Gnostics and their dualism. And John's first epistle does as well. The other teaching that flowed out from their philosophy was that it did not matter what you did with your body, because your body would never affect your spirit.
So you could sin with your body, and in fact if you were gaining knowledge by sinning with your body, it was actually virtuous. Now can you wrap your head around it? I'm not sure if I can. But the fact is, John's teaching of light and darkness, John's reminding the believers about God's attitude towards sin, about the incompatibility of God's character, and sin is actually addressing the false teaching of these Gnostic teachers, right?
And you come down to 1st John, chapter 3, and you find, beginning at verse number 4, he starts to talk to talk about them who commit, or who commiteth sin, and how their behavior is inconsistent with the God that they claim to represent, right?
And I want you to be very careful, those of you who are studying the Scriptures, and especially those of us who are younger, look very careful at the words that are used in 1st John, chapter 3. The words are specific, and they're chosen for a purpose, and they represent not a one-time activity in sin, nor do they represent a person who has fallen into an addiction or into a specific type of sin, because it is possible for a believer to fall.
It is possible for a believer to be overtaken in a fault or in a sin. It is possible for believers to sin. We'll get into that a little more later, but the words that he uses mean to have a lifestyle of sin.
Now, I want you to be very careful, but we need to be very honest. These people were marked by a lifestyle of lawlessness without a conscience toward their sin, and while we know that believers can sin, if you're here today and your lifestyle is a lifestyle of sin and rebellion, and it doesn't bother you to sin, then 1st John chapter 3 tells me you are not saved.
If that sounds hard, then you are saying that John is hard, and I have no reason to believe that the Apostle John was a hard man. He was tender, compassionate, and loving, but he was honest. You see, I believe that's why this is written.
I think when you look at 1st John, you learn a lot from the family words. I call them the family words that are used. Perhaps you'll enjoy it. If you don't enjoy it now, perhaps you can write it down and you can enjoy it when you're studying the book, but you find the word father used a lot, don't you?
The word father. Also brother or brethren, right? But there are different words used for children in 1st John that will help you to understand what is being said when you read these sentences. I would say there are at least four different words.
In 1st John chapter 2, there's the idea there of young children, right? So as he is addressing those who are fathers in verse number 13, he also addresses those who are young men in verse number 13, but he addresses those who are little children in verse number 13.
And the word there really means those who are young and inexperienced, all right? There's another word he uses for children in 1st John chapter 3, and it's the word son. It is the word son. The teaching regarding the sons of God, as it relates to the believer, is taken up mainly, in fact I would say uniquely, in the writings of the Apostle Paul.
So in Ephesians, where we were being taught from today, and in Galatians, you read the adoption of sons, right? It really is the placing of sons. And that word sons carries with it the idea of the dignity and the character and that of being an heir to the father's estate, the sons of God.
I want you to be very careful, because every single believer is a son of God. When it comes to the placing or the adoption of sons, there is no distinction between male and female. Now when you're reading the Bible, be very clear on that.
When it comes to the sons of God, the sisters and the brethren are all sons of God. We are all heirs. We are all in that place of dignity, sons of God. But in John's writings, now I'm going to put this out here for you to consider.
In John's writings, I believe, when he uses the word son, he is referring specifically to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. There's another word he uses, and it's shown to us here in our passage, and it says, little children.
Little children. This is a word that is really a term of endearment. He's saying, dear little children. And throughout John's writings, you see the heart of that shepherd as he addresses those ones who are dear to him.
And he says, dear little children. And he begins to teach them things that will protect them, because we know that we all want our dear little children to be protected and to grow and to prosper. And that's how John's seen the dear little children.
The one that we're going to be taken up with in verse number one, and in verse number two, is a different word. So this is the fourth one now. And it simply means children, those who are descendants, born ones.
And I would venture to say, in 1st John, that it carries with it the idea of character. So the children of God are expected to show the character of the father in the family, right? So I'm not sure, as I look around here, I do see some families here, and I see some family resemblances.
And if you're anything like me, you see your own family, and you see how much you are like them. And those are the things you probably dislike the most about your family members, the things that show your characteristics, right?
But I look at myself, and I see a lot of my father in me. Now he's a good guy, so I'm kind of fortunate. I'm not sure what what your lot is. But the children take character from the father. Keep that in mind as we look here in 1st John chapter 3.
And we read these wonderful words. Behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God. The children of God. And perhaps you will give me this in some versions, it says, and such we are, right?
Not just called to be children of God, although that could be implied, not just called by name as children of God, but actually being a child of God. Have you ever considered that? Not just that we are saved and going to heaven, if that's what you've enjoyed today, thank God he's put that appreciation in your heart.
But have we lately considered how marvelous it is to have a heavenly father, to actually have a relationship with the God of heaven, where he calls me his child, and I call him my father. And I don't approach God in an impersonal, abstract way, but I can approach the God of all eternity, the Almighty, the Jehovah, and say, father, father.
Sometimes when the little ones get in trouble, I'm not saying they do something bad, but you know when they get hurt, right? And they come to you, and they say, dad, right? I'm not saying that it's dad, but they use an intimate term because they want to come close.
We can say, Abba, father, because we have a father who cares and desires that we come close. Let us never lose sight of the awesomeness of the fact that we have a heavenly father, called the children of God.
I don't know about you, but I've been called a lot of things, right? I was having gospel meetings with Marie McCandless one time, and someone called me his bodyguard. I don't know if that's true. Don't know if he needs one, but that's what I was called.
Next time I'm gonna wear a helmet. One lady told me she thought I sound like the narrator from an old Western movie, right? I said, thank you, ma 'am. Yeah, we can be called a lot of things, but I'm looking at a group of people today.
Let's not lose sight of it. We're called the children of God. That should have an effect on us. But the first word, behold. Behold what manner of love. To behold carries with it the idea of knowledge.
It's an intuitive knowledge. It is something that we are called to bring to mind because we already know. Behold what manner of love. That word is found other places in your New Testament. What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
What manner of people ought we to be, right? Peter uses that word. But it really has the idea of something that is from another country, right? From what country is this love? This alien love, this love that is foreign to the hearts of men and women, is something that exists in the heart of God.
What otherworldly love is this, that we should be called the sons of God? Brethren, I think we become what I used to call groundbound, don't we? We're always looking here, and we're always occupied with the here and the now.
And it seems like we refuse to let our eyes lift above the circumstances and all that we see in this world, and remember how lofty our position is in Christ. And we have been blessed with an otherworldly love.
And the Father has called us the children of God. What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. I don't have too much time to spend on this, because it's not really my topic. But therefore, the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Again, we have the idea of character, right? And you might be thinking about the Lord Jesus. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. John chapter 1, right? He came to his own, and his own received him not.
And you're thinking that the world didn't know the Lord Jesus, and because we being the children of God should be showing the character of the Lord Jesus, then in general the world will not recognize us as such.
They didn't recognize him. But perhaps just for your consideration, also in John chapter 15 verses 18 to 21, chapter 16 verse number 3, we have something else or some other person referred to that they didn't know.
They didn't know the Father, right? They knew not him that sent me, the Lord Jesus said. They know not the Father. And if they didn't recognize the Father, and they didn't recognize the Son of God, brethren, let's be aware.
If we are showing the characteristics of our heavenly Father, let's not be surprised that the world does not recognize us for what we really are. You can consider that. But we move on. And it says, beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.
But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. We're being brought now to a special truth from the scriptures, aren't we? We're being brought now to consider the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's talking now about an appearing. Now, this is not the apocalyptic appearing. It's actually a manifestation. When it says appear here in 1st John chapter 3, and then in verse number 5, it says manifested.
And in verse number 8, it says manifested. What it's really talking about is being revealed in its true character. Okay? Being revealed in its true character. And we see here that it has not yet been revealed.
We have not yet been revealed as to our true character, or that which God has made us. But we know that there is coming a time when it shall be revealed. Because when he is made manifest in his true character, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Before we move into talking about the rapture, for those who are Bible students and who appreciate the distinctions in the scripture, you can look closely at this, and you can almost relate it to the time when the Lord Jesus comes back at the end of the tribulation period, and he is made known to the entire world.
He is revealed, of course, in true character. And according to Colossians, we are going to be displayed with him. And the idea is that he will be glorified in his saints from the Thessalonian epistle, right?
So the idea is that there is going to be a manifestation to the entire world, and we are going to be manifested in the glory that God has imparted to us. And every eye shall see him, but I believe every eye shall see what he has accomplished in us.
But there's also coming a day, and we're going to see from the scriptures before that day, when he shall come for us. When he shall come for us, and we shall see him face to face. I'm not sure what you thought I looked like before you saw me.
You might have seen my name, you know, on that paper, and they said at the conference, Mr. Bruce Rogers, Mr. Marcus Cain, and Brody Thibodeau, right? I don't know what you thought I looked like. Perhaps you are completely and utterly disappointed at what you see.
Blame my father, right? There's coming a day when I'm going to see him, and I won't be disappointed. You won't be disappointed. We shall see him as he is. What a marvelous hope we have, brethren, isn't it?
We shall see him as he is. Have you ever considered the unfolding of the marvelous truth of the rapture we have in the New Testament? I believe you go back to John's Gospel, chapter 11. You find there are two women, and they're grieving at the loss of their brother, and as they're grieving and openly weeping, the Lord Jesus begins to unfold a truth for them that should touch their heart.
It was his desire to comfort them, and he says to Mary, your brother shall be raised again, or Martha. She says, I know he'll be raised again at the last day. He says, no, no. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. What's that, brethren and sisters? That's the rapture. Those who believed and are dead are going to be raised. Those who remain alive but are believing in him, have believed in him, will never see death.
What a marvelous truth that is. And he was telling it and unfolding it to these women because he personally was touched with their grief, and his aim was to comfort the grieving. And perhaps there are those here today, you would almost say it's guaranteed, that there are those of the Lord's people here today, and not too long ago, you've lost a loved one.
Someone who is close to you. Someone who you shared perhaps your life with. And the grieving continues, doesn't it? There are others here who could relate to that grieving. And the grieving may continue for years.
Can I tell you something that is designed for our encouragement? That loved one will be raised again. That husband, that wife, that father, that mother, not only will they be raised again, but you're going to meet them again.
Imagine the comfort that it would bring to the hearts of these women. There's coming a day when there will be a reunion. A reunion that is fantastic. Because he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Comfort for the grieving. You go to John chapter 14. And in John chapter 14, we have more comfort. For he says, believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again to receive you onto myself. Here's the purpose. That where I am, there ye may be also. But remember, these words were spoken directly after this sentence.
Let not your hearts be troubled. These men were troubled at the circumstances of life. These men were wondering what the future held for them. What's going to happen in the next few hours? What's going to happen in the next few days?
What are our lives going to turn out like after the Lord Jesus goes back to heaven? And these words, designed for their comfort, is do not be troubled. I'm going to come back. And no matter what the circumstances are in life, let us never forget, he could come now.
Or now. Or now. We should take comfort from that. My mind now goes to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. The apostle now is addressing the fears of the believers. There's fear in their heart because they feel like those who've gone on before, well, they've missed all the blessing, right?
That's their fear. And he says, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. For we will not prevent them or precede them. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.
With the voice of Archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so shall we ever be with the Lord. And here it is. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. Brethren, we have these words so we can comfort one another. When there is fear, I don't think the fear has to be a specific fear.
When there is fear, we have hope. We sorrow not as others that have no hope. Let us never forget. I believe that 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 is commensurate and perhaps even compliments John chapter 11.
But it's the idea of that blessed reunion in the air, caught up together, together with them. That's going to be quite a day, isn't it? I know believers, even since I've been saved, that have gone to heaven.
And when I think about them, I miss them. But I have a hope that I'm going to be reunited with them. And it's not it's not the hope like the world hope. So right, let's cross our fingers and hope this happens.
The hope is a sure expectation that on a specific time appointed by God, I am going to be reunited with them in the air. But I don't think that's the big thing. Caught up together with them is a great thing.
To meet the Lord is the big thing. I hope your heart's not that cold that you're not looking forward to this. To meet the Lord in the air, there's comfort in that, isn't there? 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
Totally different context now, but I think it's good for us to be clear on this. He talks about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together onto him. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, he is addressing the fact that the Lord will come before the tribulation period.
That's what he's talking about. He's saying there has to be this happen. There has to be that happen. There has to be all of these things happen. But before all that happens in tribulation and the coming again and the appearing of the Lord, there is going to be the rapture.
So brethren, you're not going to be in the tribulation. Now, if you want to be, I feel bad for you because you're going to be disappointed. You're going to be with me, with the Lord, while all that's going on.
But aren't you glad? Doesn't that give you some comfort? Doesn't it give you comfort? We've been hearing about the politics. But really, it doesn't matter what happens in the politics and God is over all of the politics, but eventually it's going to be arranged in such a way so as to bring about world conditions where there will be unlike any other tribulation that has ever been on the world, but I'm not going to be here to see it.
And neither are you. That's a word of comfort. You come to, I hope this is not boring you. You come to first Corinthians chapter 15. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in the moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last Trump, because there's a problem.
If I'm going to be in heaven in a real body, there has to be a change in this body for this mortal must put on immortality. This corruption or corruptible must put on incorruption, right? And in that moment, in a twinkling of an eye at the last Trump, when the Lord Jesus comes for his own people, there is going to be a change.
We shall not all sleep. That's the idea that those who belong to the Lord Jesus are not all going to die consistent. Of course, John chapter 11, first Thessalonians chapter four, but we shall all be changed without exception.
We shall all be changed. That's what I'm looking forward to is that change, right? Dear Mr. Quigley. You perhaps remember Mr. Art Quigley. He used to work at the co-op store and there was a man who would come in and while they believed a lot of the same things, they, uh, they sometimes could argue with one another, right?
So this man didn't even work at the store. He'd just come in to argue with Art on his lunch break and he'd come in and they'd have a discussion. And when Lyle got up to leave the lunchroom, he turned around and all the people who were in the lunchroom, he addressed them and he said, now, listen, just so you know, Art and I may not agree on everything right now, but someday we will because he's going to be changed.
That's what's going to happen, isn't it? Everyone will agree with me because you're all going to be changed, but we will be changed. Flash forward Philippians chapter three, from whence we look for the savior, right?
We are citizens of heaven. We realize that we're also citizens of our country. The word is politic for our politic is in heaven. From whence we look for the savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the, here's the line who shall change our bodies of humiliation and fashion them like onto his body of glory.
And then we go to first John chapter three and we find these words, which we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. There's going to be a change to my body, a physical change that will not make me look exactly like the Lord Jesus, but will give me a body with the flesh absent the principle of sin.
If you want to call it that, but a body that is fit to live in heaven, right? And I will have a moral change. The moral change means that I'm never, ever going to sin again. Now, if you ever considered that there's coming a moment in time, a specific moment in the twinkling of an eye, when I am changed to such a degree that I will never, ever sin again, that I will never, ever disappoint the Lord Jesus Christ ever again.
And if disappointing the Lord Jesus doesn't bother you, there's something wrong. Brethren, it grieves our hearts when we sin, it grieves our hearts when we know that we've disappointed our God and we've disappointed our savior.
But at that moment, when all those things are changed, I'll be able to rejoice. Never again will I sin. And you're going to experience the same change. It's a wonderful thing. And John is bringing us to this point.
And I hope that you've enjoyed all of those references to the coming again of the Lord Jesus. The comfort about this aspect of the Lord's coming is that sin will then be absent. And I take great comfort knowing that that will be the case.
But you move closer. And John tells us, this marvelous truth of the rapture should have an effect on me today. It should. In fact, the believer's attitude towards sin is addressed in different places in our New Testament.
We've already heard Romans brought before our attention, brought to our attention. In Romans chapter 6, we were told, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. So the attitude of the believer towards sin is not that we sin more and more so that we can amplify the grace of God.
And really, the action that we are to take, according to Romans chapter 6, is that we are to reckon ourselves dead to sin. In chapter 7 of Romans, Paul begins to present the struggle that is always evident in the life of a believer.
Now, if there are younger believers here today, pay close attention to the struggle that even the Apostle Paul had. He said, when I would do good, evil is present with me. That which I would do, I do not.
That which I would not, that I do. And if you can get around the language that is used there, he's basically saying that there's always that within him that is trying to prevent him from living for the Lord and from not sinning.
It was there. And our brother brought before us is really in the power of the Holy Spirit that we have to live. And in Galatians, we read, well, we read the passage already. I believe it was this morning.
But the idea of biting and devouring one another is that these people were walking in the flesh. There was that within them that caused them to look out for themselves and want to always be at one another.
And Paul says, walk in the spirit so that you don't obey the lusts of the flesh. And this next verse was a great help to me as a younger believer, for the spirit lusts against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit so that you cannot do the things that you would.
And there's always a struggle going on inside a believer between right and wrong. So. That's normal. Don't allow wrong thoughts to cause doubts. Don't allow a fall or a slip to be the way that Satan causes you to think you're not saved.
Because believers can sin. But here's a practical thing for you to put into practice. This week. Right now. Why not right now? He talked about the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he says he or she that hath this hope in him purifies himself even as he that is the Lord Jesus is pure.
You know what he's saying? The wording there is so careful by the Holy Spirit. He's saying whoever has this hope, this expectation set not on themselves, it's in us in a way, but it's set on the coming again of the Lord Jesus.
When we have our expectation and our hope set, fixed and focused on him, there is a process that is taking place that is involuntary. The action we are to take is to focus on him and the effect that it will have on our life is that it will purify us daily even as he is pure.
So for those of us who are younger and for those of us who are older, always having before us the appearing, the manifestation, the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ will have an absolutely real purifying effect on my life.
Let's not be discouraged. Don't be discouraged, brethren. There's a lot left to do, but let's remember the Lord is coming. He's coming. It should comfort us. He's coming to change us and he that had this hope in him purifies himself even as he the Lord Jesus is pure.