Each week throughout 2021, I will share a Bible study blog post taking us through the letter of 1 John. Only five chapters long, this brief book is worthy of our consideration. Whether you drop in for one post or many, I pray that you enjoy them. Access all posts here.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
The False Teachers
Apparently, the false teachers tried to deceive the church into thinking righteous people could somehow practice unrighteousness (7). John didn't want any of his little children led astray by such teaching (7).
The Prince of the Age
So John was clear: whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning (8). From the beginning of the devil's rebellion against God, whenever it occurred, he sinned and kept on sinning. It's what he's about. He's a sin machine. The devil: messing things up from the beginning of time.
Jesus Came To Destroy His Works
But Jesus came to blast his brains out, to destroy the works of the devil (8). All the pain and hurt and deception and agony that little punk is causing and has caused, Jesus came to destroy it. Jesus will destroy tears. He will destroy death forever, throwing Satan into an eternal lake of fire Jesus has prepared for him, where he will be tormented forever (Matthew 25:41, Revelations 20:10).
John is communicating something straightforward here. If you know who you are (God's child), know who'll you'll become (like Christ), and who you want to be (holy), then you also know who you aren't. You aren't with God's enemies. Jesus came to destroy the devil and his sinful plans for humanity. Why would we join him?
John continues in this thought with a recap:
9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
Children of God vs. Children of the Devil
This is some strong coffee right here. Boldly, forcefully, and clearly, John declares no one born of God (God's children) makes a practice of sinning (9). We will sin. We will succumb to temptation. But if God's seed abides in us (9), we won't persist in rebellion against God. It's just not in our wiring, our DNA. Eventually, we'll turn.
But others won't. John calls them children of the devil (10). That's strong. I can only tell you John is one of the most tender and loving figures the Bible offers. In his early years, he was a fire and brimstone kind of guy. But he'd set that aside and become the apostle of love. And from his posture of love, he announced some are children of the devil. I think his hope was the truth would set people free.
So We Practice Righteousness and Love
Instead, John expects to find two attributes in God's kids. One flows to the other. First, he expected to find the practice of righteousness (10). Second, he expected to find love for our brother (or sister) in Christ (10). He also talked about this in a previous section (1 John 2:3-11).
And isn't this our prayer for believers who've gone astray? We want them to return to righteousness and love for their church family. We want who they genuinely are to break through to the surface. We want them to walk with God. So we wait, in prayer, to see if that glorious day arrives, knowing all the while only the Lord knows who are His.
Applications
So, in recap, we've seen our confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for the sin of the world births us into God's family, which fundamentally changes our behavior as we have God's seed in us. One day, when Jesus comes again, we will become like Him, so life today should be filled with a desire for purity, not lawlessness. When someone lives in habitual sin, they are following the works of the devil, works Jesus came to destroy. Instead, God's children live righteously and love one another. In this way, we live out the dominion God has planned for us.
