1 John 3
1 John 3:1-24
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
Having a nice home provided for you doesn’t mean that it will necessarily be lived in and enjoyed, especially when living there requires a complete adjustment from living as you’ve become accustomed to. This is why a beautiful abode may be turned into a trashed, damaged, and abandoned place by someone who has been living on the street and has no interesting in adjusting their own habits to comply with what it means to occupy their blessing. In order to be known as the occupant, they can no longer maintain the acquaintances, whims, and daily practices of the world as they have known it. It will be somewhat of a process and progression, but in order to flourish in an identity upgrade, choosing who and what lifestyle gets to to know you by your frequenting of them is essential. Apart from this basic decision, it will not matter how great the opportunity.
The greatness of our Father’s love has poured out every blessing we could ever need for life and godliness in calling us His children. For this reality to make any difference in our own experience of life, however, there must be a choice of who will know us. Remaining in the darkness, with its haunts and destructive behaviors will only trash, destroy and abandon any possibility of being known by God. It’s not just what He’s done and is doing for us that matters, but it’s our choice of Him in choosing His ways that is essential to becoming known as someone who has been transformed in His presence, really not recognizable any more by the former crowd. For those who actually receive and walk in this incredible free gift of life in Christ, they will be known by righteousness and love that is so much more than a provision, as it is their own choice of being with and knowing Him. The choice to honor the preferences of the Provider will have much to do with confidence in His presence and the ability to even live there with Him at all. Every choice of Him over sin will come with Spirit empowerment to actually be known as His child.