1Jn 3:1-3:6 - We Obey in Hope of Being Like Him

Calvin

3:1: That God has declared us His children - for no other reason than His gratuitous love for us - ought to be sufficient to spur our desire to live in purity. (Ro 12:1 - because of God's great mercy toward us, we ought to become holy sacrifices to Him.) Our salvation is by adoption alone - which adoption is by His gratuitous love for us. It is none of our own doing, and any goodness in us is God's doing, and not our own. God Himself has named us His sons, even as He named Abraham - to declare Abraham's nature. Satan moves to obscure what God has declared, and so it is not clear to the world at large that we are what we are, even as Isaac was not clear to Ishmael, nor Jacob to Esau, but our salvation remains secure.
3:2: It is true now that we are His children. In spite of our circumstances, in spite of what we find in ourselves, what He has declared must be held on to. We judge foolishly if we judge what He has given us by what we seem now, rather than what we shall be at His coming. It is only at His coming that our full state will be revealed, because God chooses to defer the manifesting of our glory until that of His Son be manifest to all. We know by faith that our glory comes with Him. We shall not be equal to Him, as He will remain the head and we the members, but we shall be conformed to His image and ways. (Phil 3:21 - our conformance being to the body of His glory). Although the wicked will also see Him, they won't see Him as friend, and won't be transformed to His image. Rather they will be dismayed by the fulness of His glory. (Ex 33:20 - none may behold God's glory and live.) "But as far as the image of God is renewed in us, we have eyes prepared to see God. ... Except we then be stripped of all the corruption of the flesh, we shall not be able to behold God face to face." In our present state, God shows us Himself such as we can comprehend, not such as He truly and fully is. (1Co 13:12 - we see only dimly at present, but then face to face. Ex 33:23 - we, too, see only His backside) "for there is too much brightness in His face." This is not to say that our becoming like Him will be because we see Him, but that our being able to see Him shows us to have partaken of His Spirit, without which we could not reach so high. Even then we will not fully comprehend God, for He will remain very much greater than we. Even in His appearances to the Fathers, He showed Himself in symbols, but when we shed this life and nature, we shall see in full. As Augustine has said, our actions are more to the point than our words in keeping us ready to see Him, and we must take care that our debates about Him don't cause us to lose the holiness that prepares us to see Him.
3:3: Although we cannot now see Christ, yet our hope must remain anchored in Him, leading us to Him who is the perfect pattern of purity.
3:4: John now adds as a further admonition that they ought not to excuse their sins as inconsequential, as some are wont to do. All who sin - no matter the degree - transgress God's law. This is not to say that all sins are equal, only that all show contempt of God, and are a breaking of His law. Sin, here, refers to the reign of sin, the habit of sin, not the occasional lapses of the faithful who may stumble in the face of temptation. The lifestyle of the habitual sinner is hateful to God as it is contrary to His law. The faithful - who desire to obey - are not found iniquitous by this passage.
3:5: Now, we move to a discussion of Christ's role in sanctification. Remission came at our acceptance of Christ - done by His work on the cross. But a lifestyle of willful unrepentant sin voids that remission, as it cannot grow in sanctification. That sanctification is Christ's continuing work in the believer, as he crucifies the flesh. (Jn 1:29 - Jesus' sacrifice takes away the world's sins.) Sin is neither in Christ, nor in His body - the Church. Our renewal is not an instantaneous all, but a gradual and continuing process, sin being removed to the degree that the kingdom of Christ prevails in us. We sin not, when we don't consent to our own infirm flesh. We still do that which we don't want to, and it's that want part that shows the difference.
3:6: Where Christ is, sin is driven out, as light drives out darkness. To see and to know Christ is to have faith in Christ - i.e. seeing and knowing mean simply having faith in Him, not referring to physical sight.

Matthew Henry

3:1-3:3: Adopted as brothers by Christ, we are accepted as children by God in spite of our nature of sin and our practice of corruption. His love chooses to look beyond that to His Son. The world has no recognition of who we are or how great is our hope and our future. It sees only that we suffer the same trials as they, whereas ours may actually be the greater (1Co 15:19 - if our hope were false, we would be pitiful, for all our self-denial here would mean nothing. 1Co 2:8 - the world did not recognize who was amongst them at His coming, or they wouldn't have crucified Him.) Now, in the present, we are sons of God, although the glory attendant on such position is reserved for another time and place. We must walk by faith and hope. When the head appears, so shall the body be made manifest as well. (Ro 8:19 - as creation waits, so must we.) We shall then be like Him in honor, power, and glory; in body as well as spirit. (Col 3:4 - our revelation is tied to His.) Our likeness to Christ will enable us to see Christ as He is; in His fulness. The wicked shall see Him, but only in judgement. It may be that our seeing Him will be the transforming event. Our hope of seeing Him must goad us to purity, for we know that only purity can exist in His presence. "That we may be saved by hope we must be purified by hope. It is the hope of hypocrites, and not the sons of God, that makes an allowance for the gratification of impure desires and lusts."
3:4-3:6: Having shown the need for purity, John now argues against sin. Sin is the rejection of agreement with the divine law, which is His will. The point of Christ's coming was to take away sin. If we expect to join Him in heaven, we should do our utmost to attain purity in Him here. As union with Christ broke the power of sin, so abiding with Him prevents its prevalence in our lives. Those who abide in Him watch against sin in their lives, abiding in His light and knowledge. True renouncing of sin is evidence of our saving union with Him.

Adam Clarke

3:1: No attempt is made to actually describe God's fulness, we are instead instructed to look at it, and contemplate the wonder of it. God's love is great both in quantity and quality. We had no claim to sonship, but God bestowed it upon us as a free gift. Those who seek their portion in this life do not respect or approve of us who do not. Neither do they respect or approve of Christ or His doctrine, although they know of it.
3:2: We are those who work righteousness. We know ourselves to be God's children, yet we don't know the full state to which we shall be raised when He returns - manifested in His glorified human nature to judge. Our bodies will be made like His and we shall see all the glory of His divine nature. What John saw on the mount was still partial, in order that he might see it, but then... (Phil 3:21 - our bodies will be transformed to conform with His. Jn 17:24 - When we join Him, we will see His glory.)
3:3: Having been purified by God, it is our business to do our utmost to remain pure and free of the lusts of the flesh, of the eye, of pride. We cannot purify our hearts. It's beyond our power. But we can implore God to cleanse us. We must be completely free of sin even as Christ was. If this is impossible in this life then how much is possible? We need to know so that our soul can have a reasonable goal, not waste its time pursuing the impossible. Christ came to remove our sins and destroy the works of the Devil, cleansing us from all unrighteousness. If this be so, how can it be that we might not be completely freed in this life? A bit of mis-interpretation of 1Jn 3:9 follows to support the idea that we are to be completely free of sin (apparently forgetting that the one who claims to be without sin lies. Hmm.) Further attack is made on a system that understands that our purification remains a present act throughout our life being incomplete until the end. He cannot understand how a process of purification can glorify God. He cannot understand a limiting of God's power over sin. He cannot understand that such limits are not posited in the first place. He believes he can live completely free of sin. He apparently believes he's above 1Jn 1:8. Selah.
3:4: The spirit of the law is love to God and neighbor, to which disobedience is contrary and thus sinful.
3:5: He came to destroy sin's power, pardon our guilt, and cleanse us from sin's pollution. Being sinless made Him the proper sacrifice for our sins. [And yet he fails to see the implications of thinking he can do the same.]
3:6: By faith and obedience in love, we abide in Him. Purified by faith, we are become co-workers with God, and therefor his grace is sufficient to keep us from sin. When we sin, it occludes our sight of God, and loses his knowledge of God as Father.

Barnes

3:1: There can be no higher love than that which adopts us in spite of our state, and gives us the privileges of family. That He adopted us is the greatest kind of love, that He did so when we were rebellious, insignificant sinners is the greatest degree of love. God is the Father of all creation. To be called sons in this sense is to be sons. (Ro 8:15-17 - The spirit of our adoption causes us to regard God as our Father, knowing ourselves joint heirs with Christ to all that He has, the good and the suffering. 2Co 6:18 - God Himself declares that He will be our Father.) The world doesn't understand our principles, nor the source of our joy - regarding us as fanatics, abandoning certain and present pleasure for delusive future hopes. But then, they never understood the full character of Christ Jesus when He was here, thinking Him an enthusiast, too. If they could not understand Him, how would they understand us whose hope is in Him? (1Co 2:8 - if they had understood Him, the crucifixion would not have occurred, Ac 3:17 - that having been done in ignorance by both rulers and subjects. Jn 17:25 - But those that truly knew Jesus knew He came from the Father. Jn 15:18-20 - Because we have been called out of the world, it will reject us as it did Him. We can expect no better (and no worse) than He Himself received. [And if we are getting better, we ought probably to look to our state.] Mt 10:24-25 - What they believe of Jesus the teacher they will moreso believe of His disciples.)
3:2: No matter what may come, we have presently with us the rank and dignity of sonship, this being sufficient cause for thankfulness when nothing else seems to offer. We don't know fully what it is we shall be when we become like Him, but we do know that we will. It may be that that future state could not be described in any fashion we could presently comprehend, or it might be that it is necessary for our present state to have that future as a stimulant to our efforts. (2Pe 1:4 - The present gifts are given us so that we will be able to take of His divine nature.) We shall be like Him body and soul (Phil 3:21 - our bodies will be transformed. 2Co 3:18 - we are being [presently] transformed to His image.) To be like Him is the single goal of our life. (Phil 3:10 - to know Him, His resurrection and His sufferings, His life and His death.) Beholding Him as He is will tend to transform us to His likeness. (2Co 3:18 - Now, it is a process, then it will be a completed process.)
3:3: All who have a [real] hope of seeing Christ put forth all effort against sin. (Ro 8:24-25 - Hope not yet fulfilled spurs perseverance.) All our efforts in this area would be for naught without the help of the Holy Spirit, but that help won't come without the desire that caused our efforts. (Phil 2:12 - we must work to obtain salvation.) Hope leads us to strong efforts to be holy, and effort - blessed by aid from the Holy Spirit - will lead to results. Presently, our hope is for the kind of purity Christ possesses, obtaining to the same degree of purity in the hereafter. To imply from this passage that any Christian might obtain the full degree of purity presently would require the implication that all Christians do so obtain it, and that none who do not are Christians at all. It proves only that our tendency in our hope is to strive for purity, and cherish it as the aim of our life to be like Jesus, knowing it will be fulfilled hope in the future - in 'a world where all who are redeemed shall be perfectly holy.'
3:4: To stir us to greater effort in holiness, John shows us the true nature of sin before proceeding to show us that the holy do indeed live holy lives. Sin is always a violation of God's Law. It is what Christ came to deliver us from; a habit that true Christians will not take up, being the habit of the devil's children. Being born of God, we have a germ of true piety that prevents us from living a life of habitual sin. Here, the battle is against beliefs that we were somehow not expected to be holy in this life, or that our freedom was such as allowed us to do as we pleased. It's against the idea that Christ relaxed the Law for us. Sin - the generic wrong - is always transgression - the specific wrong of violating God's law. "The law determines what we shall love or not love; when our passions and appetites shall be bounded and restrained, and to what extent they may be indulged; what shall be our motives and aims in living; how we shall act toward God and toward people; and whenever, in any of these respects, its requirements are not complied with, there is sin." This includes omission of required acts, and commission of forbidden acts. "Transgression," which is generally translated "iniquity" or "unrighteousness" has a base meaning of lawlessness - either by disobedience, or willful violation. In defining sin, we see that there is a rule of law for our lives, and that whenever that law is not complied with there is sin, and we are guilty before God. The measure of our departure from the law is the measure of our sinfulness. God clearly has the right to prescribe what we may and may not do, and clearly will make such prescriptions in accordance with what is right; the departure from which prescriptions is the only basis for sin. Because sin violates God's will and because we assume God has good reason for His will and law, it should be avoided. Because such violations cannot but draw a penalty, common sense, as it were, ought to advise us against sinning
3:5: That Christ came for the purpose of redeeming us from sin should serve to show us the strength of His view on the subject, and ought to persuade us to avoid it's entanglements. (Mt 1:21 - He will save from sin.) Given that Christ came to deliver us from sin, we ought in no way to presume that His grace allows us to indulge sin. Since we profess to be followers, we should carry out His purposes, the foremost of which was freedom from transgression's bondage for which purpose He gave up all of life's comforts and life itself. With all this, how could we indulge in the very cause of His sufferings? Our aim should be to be as pure as He, without which desire we cannot claim to be His. (Heb 7:26 - He was holy and undefiled. 1Pe 2:23 - He never returned evil for evil, but trusted only in God's own righteousness. [note that it doesn't say vindication - no hint of vindictiveness here.])
3:6: To abide: to lodge permanently in Him - here showing our relationship, that we are with Him heart, mind, and will. This is in contrast to a walk based on feelings, emotions and excitements - which are temporal and may pass. Those whose faith in the Savior is a continuous state of mind do not sin. Objections to present perfection: 1) if perfection is possible it must be that ALL Christians are perfect. 2) This is untrue, and no Biblical example can be found of one regenerated and afterwards perfectly sinless, never mind of all the examples. We cannot find proof of it in ourselves, or in others. 3) Such an interpretation is not necessary to the passage. Many places in scripture afford examples of the general tack of a life stated as the rule. What is found here is: 1) There is no habitual sin, when there is a sin, it is due to temptation and is in opposition to habit. One whose habit is still sinful has never been regenerate. 2) There is no willfulness or premeditation in the sins of the Christian - they are acts of momentary lapses of will, acts provoked by passions temporarily uncontrolled. Many a Christian can look back at years of never having deliberately acted in sin, yet find much in themselves that is still corrupt. 3) The redeemed will not sin in such a way as to 'fall away.' There is in grace a power that preserves. One whose habit remains sinful has never known true sight of Christ the Savior, nor of true religion - in short, is not a Christian regardless of professed belief.

Wycliffe

3:1: We are invited to see (or take note of ) what John has just seen - the astonishing, marvelous nature of the love God has given as permanent possession to those He has taken as His children. (Mt 8:27 - they marvel to see the seas obey Jesus. Mk 13:1 - they marvel to see the construction of the temple. Lk 1:29 - Mary greatly troubled to hear Gabriel's statement. Jn 1:12 - We were given the rights of sonship because of belief in Him. Ro 8:14-17 - we are His adopted children, led by the Spirit, heirs with Christ.) The world cannot know by experience what sort of people we are because it doesn't know Christ as Savior. (1Co 2:14 - Spiritual things are foolish to the natural man.)
3:2-3:3: The last verse showed God's past action on our part. Here we have present and future presented: We are - now - God's children, we shall - later - be like Him at His appearing. We shall be full reflections of His glory, both in body and in spiritual purity. Seeing Him will cause the change. Since our hope is founded on and rests on Christ, we make all effort to constantly purify ourselves, knowing that our efforts must rest in our hope. (Jn 15:5 - Apart from Christ, we can do nothing.) Purity includes in it both the ceremonial cleansing required for appearing in His presence, and the inner cleansing afforded us by Christ through the Holy Spirit. (Jn 11:55 - the Jews purified themselves in preparation for the Passover. Heb 10:19-22 - We are confident in entering the Holy of Holies because of the purifying work of our Savior. Ex 19:10 - They washed in consecration before coming before the Lord. Jas 4:8 - Our hearts, too, require cleansing if we are to draw near to God. 1Pe 1:18-19 - our redemption is by Christ.) Christ is our standard, the model of purity to which we hope to attain.
3:4-3:6: Those who sin continually and completely, giving their utmost to sinful acts, are lawless and vice versa. (Ro 2:14 - there is the natural law that even the Gentiles know, Ro 8:2 - and the spiritual Law of life in Christ, 1Co 9:20-21 - and the Mosaic Law, which is superceded by Christ's law in the life of the believer.) The habit of the believer - his continual state to which he gives his utmost - is to remain in Christ and not to sin, the former making the latter possible. Sin may enter, but will remain an exception. (Ro 6 - The one ruled by sin is not redeemed.)

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

3:1: That we do righteousness is only a sign that God has adopted us out of His marvelous love. Our works don't save, but indicate His saving us. How precious to us is that love which He has shown toward us, calling us - and thereby making us - His children! The world - which doesn't know the Father - neither knows our true nature. A quote from Bengel, here: `If they who regard not God hold thee in any account, feel alarmed about thy state.'
3:2: Those whom the Father loves, we too consider beloved. We are already His sons in spite of the world's lack of recognition, and look forward to the manifestation of that sonship. It has never yet been shown what we shall be, the world hasn't seen it, but we have an assured general knowledge of what our future holds. (Mal 1:6 - Sons honor their father. Jn 14:3 - we will go where Christ is when He comes for us. Ro 8:19 - creation awaits the revealing of our nature - which comes when Christ Himself is revealed.) Christ - as Son - resembles the Father. We - taking on the image of the Son - will also thus resemble the Father. Natural birth must be followed by the spiritual birth into grace, and then by birth into glory - our coming out of the womb of the earth into another life. "The devil fell by aspiring to God's power; man, by aspiring to His knowledge; but aspiring after God's goodness, we shall ever grow in His likeness." Christ is He who will be manifest - having always been the sole manifestation of God on earth. (Jn 1:18 - nobody has ever seen God, only the Son.) Continually looking to Him, we will reflect His glory as the moon does the sun. (2Co 3:18 - beholding Him, we are being transformed from glory to glory.) We shall see not His full Godhead, but His manifestation in Christ. This must come first to purify us in preparation for seeing the Pure One. (Mt 5:8 - the pure shall see God Heb 12:14 - sanctification must occur for us to see the Lord. Rev 1:7 - all will see Christ at His return. Rev 22:4 - but the redeemed will see His face [His fulness.])
3:3: We are certain of our hope of being like Him, that hope resting upon His promise to us. Justified by faith, Christ's Spirit works within to purify us to the full extent of Christ's own purity. Sin and rebirth are incompatible, the presence of the former precludes the possibility of the latter.
3:4: Since sinners by sinning break with God's law, they show that there is no hope of purity in them, and thereby that they are not His children. Sin and the breaking of God's Law are synonymous - God's will is our aim, by which our nature is shown. (Ro 3:20 - His Law brings awareness of our sin.)
3:5: Since Christ came to take away our sin entirely, this too ought to show that sin has no place in His children. Note that in Him is no sin. And He is our role model.
3:6: As He was entirely free of sin, so must we be - living by His life in us. We will fall into sin, but it remains alien to God's nature, and requires Christ's cleansing - which the reborn will seek immediately. "He that falls into sin is a man; he that boasts of sin is a devil; he that grieves at sin is a saint." The sinner neither has seen, nor does see, nor does know God.

New Thoughts

A number of thoughts need noting here. 1) It is clear from this and related texts that physical change is part of our inheritance, and not just spiritual change. It's there to be read, and there's no interpretation required to see it. So OK, that's settled. What I'm seeing there is that what applies to our spiritual change might just as properly be applied to our physical change. In other words, if we realize that our spiritual change is to remain a process of purification throughout this life, why do we not expect a process of physical 'purification' as well? We accept the aging of our bodies, why not the improvement of our bodies (i.e. - healing, repair) that foreshadow the fulfillment of the promise in us?

2) I am somewhat surprised at the strength of conviction I find in myself when facing the question of instant total sanctification vs. gradual deferred sanctification. Is this the guiding of the Holy Spirit, or just bullheadedness? Obviously, I pray it's the former. While I see no reason to believe there's a limit on God's limitless power, I don't see myself as fit to declare what is or isn't proper for His sovereign will to do. This is part of my reaction to Clarke's points - he seems to attempt to judge God's actions. I also find Barnes' argument that some being perfect implies all must be perfect compelling. Seeing that those who God declared righteous were to a man sinful before and sinful after, perfection seems clearly not to be the point. And I still feel that if we could attain to that perfection in this life, then Christ's work would by that be shown to have been unnecessary. It might be argued that it is because of His work in us that we can attain that perfection. OK. But the record of Scripture shows that when man is freed of immediate need for God, he rapidly forgets God most completely. It is in our own best interest to have constant reminder of our fragile state, and our total dependence upon God's grace.

3) I'm also taken by the interplay of God and man shown in the process of sanctification. We wouldn't even know Him had He not first reached out to us. Yet He wouldn't have reached out to us if we weren't interested. We can't attain to purity without Him, yet He won't work toward purity in us unless we are working toward it ourselves. We won't be made pure by seeing Him, and yet we will. The resolution of this last seeming paradox appears to be that we will first see Him as all will see Him - in His role as judge appearing as the Son of Man. For those who have declared against Him, this appearance will be to their dismay, and brings their condemnation to a perpetual punishment. For those whom He has declared brothers, this same appearance will trigger the completion of their purification - breaking the last binding ties of the world and its sinfulness on their lives, and thus preparing them to see Him in His fulness! Only the pure can see Him as true God, and only those who have seen Him as Savior can have been made pure. Again I say: Awesome!