1 John 3: True Children Of God Will Love Each Other

1 John 3 is a short but powerful chapter in the bible. Here John breaks down and explains what Jesus meant when he said Love one another. He also phrases love as the main way to identify who is a follower of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 13, we have the love chapter. Most of us have heard it, especially if you’ve attended a wedding. However, the chapter’s main point is that we are nothing without love.

Love is a huge driving force in humanity.

1 John 3: We Are Children Of God They Will Know Us by Our Love

3 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. ² Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. ³ And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3

1 John 3 All We Need Is Love

Love is an important aspect of the Christian Faith. If you read 1 Corinthians 13 (links preceding) you’ll see that NOTHING matters if we don’t have love.

The absence of love could be hate, or maybe apathy. Either way, I refuse to live in a world where that becomes the norm. That’s just a few steps from hell.

For the daily believer, we need to have the love of Jesus inside us. I remember snapping at someone a few weeks ago at work. The Holy Spirit immediately convicted me, and I had to go back and apologize to her.

How you act, and your character makes a huge difference in how people view Christ.

When you have anger or hatred in your heart, you’re no different than the rest of the world. What’s the draw then? In effect, you are giving Jesus a bad name, and leaving him on the Cross.

People are looking for him, but all they see is your poor presentation.

I’m speaking to myself mostly here. In the past, I’ve done a horrible job showing the love of Jesus.

1 John 3 Sin Is Breaking God’s Law

⁴ Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. ⁵ And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. ⁶ Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

⁷ Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. ⁸ But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 

⁹ Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. ¹⁰ So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

1 John 3: 4-10

1 John 3 Are You Going To Be Children Of God Or Children Of The Devil

I used to always worry about this topic. I feared that I’d be trying to serve God but in reality, I was a child of the devil. Nothing would help short of me learning more about the character of God.

The Bible says people can identify us by our love for each other. Ask yourself, what do your actions foster?

• Love
• Joy
• Peace

Or

• Contention
• Hatred
• Strife

If you thought they did the first three you’re probably on a good track, the second three not so much. Sometimes it helps to get another observer to see the truth of what’s going on.

Life is tricky, and doing anything alone is a bad idea. I would recommend finding like-minded Christians to live life with. With a solid group in your life, you can go farther faster.

Also, a little helpful criticism can’t help either.

We all fail, and mess-ups are going to happen. Notice the wording in the verse says STOP sinning. John knew that people would mess up. But he also knew we had an advocate in Jesus to make things right again.

1 John 3: Love One Another

¹¹ This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. ¹³ So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

¹⁴ If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

1 John 3: 11-15

1 John 3 How To Live Lives Full of Integrity

These 4 verses are perfect. As Christians, we have the love of Jesus in our hearts. We are being watched and evaluated constantly by the people around us.

We are ambassadors of God’s Kingdom here on earth. With that, we help set a higher standard for our lives. That helps set us apart, and people will begin to ask questions.

I’m not minimizing miracles or any of the spiritual gifts here, in fact, I believe they go hand in hand. Living a life of integrity is integral to the use of spiritual gifts.

We must set ourselves apart and let the lord transform the people around us. Nothing else matters.

1 John 3: If We Love Each Other, The World Will Be Transformed

¹⁶ We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. ¹⁹ Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. ²⁰ Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

²¹ Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. ²² And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

²³ And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. ²⁴ Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

1 John 3:16-24

1 John 3: What is the Meaning Of 1 John 3?

The teachings in 1 John 3 are about loving one another. Whether they’re brothers and sisters in Christ or unbelievers, we must love each other. Jesus stated we would be different because of our love.

If there is a different meaning, I don’t see it, but I think the meaning I see is the best one.

1 John 3: How To Transform the World Through Love

If we fill our hearts with the love of Jesus, we won’t have room for hate. We are called to do this because that’s who God is. He is love and the source of all love.

Therefore if we don’t have love, we aren’t his children.