1 John 3:1-10, Part 3

Gideon Levytam: Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. Here is Gideon Levytam.
Gideon Levytam: the study of 1 John chapter 3. When I think about our life, how many times we know to do the right thing, the good thing, and instead of doing it, we don't do that. As far as the Bible is concerned, it is sin, it is chet. And so, according to these verses, what is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law. And then he said, whosoever commits sin transgresses the law. You know, every time that we disobey God, we commit sin, and we commit a sin, this is a transgression of the law. What is a law? A law is a sign that says, don't do that, or do that. For example, if there is a sign outside that says, don't walk on the grass, and you step on the grass, you violated the law. And so what we find out that sin is so serious and demand to be punished according to the law. So, immediately, we find out the reason that Yeshua the Messiah came to this world. Verse 5. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins. And in him there is no sin. You see, the reason that Yeshua the Messiah was manifested, appeared here in this world, the reason that he was born in Bethlehem. You know, brothers and sisters, I know that many people on the 25th of December celebrate the birth of the Messiah, but they neglect to realize that the reason that he came to this world is not only to be born here and to live a long life, but he was born, he appeared, so he will have to go to the altar, to the cross, and there to be punished for the sin of this world. And you notice what John is saying in verse 5, and you know that he was manifested, he appeared to take away our sins. Notice he used the word to take away, and not to atone, not to cover our sins, but to remove them totally. John chapter 1 and verse 29, John the baptizer, Yohanan HaMatbil declared, behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of this world. In John chapter 1 is singular sin, the root. In 1 John chapter 3 and verse 4 and 5, it is sins, more than just the root, but the whole fruit, you might say, that which come out of the root, all the plenty, the multitude of sins that we are committing. He appeared to this world in order to take them away. To remove them, and you know, when God look at us, he doesn't see us anymore as sinners. He looks us as saints, that their sins have been totally removed out of us. He look at us and he see the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah, and our sins have totally been removed, as far as the east is from the west, so does our sins have been taken away from us, because he came to this world, and he paid the price on the cross, on the tree. He was judged that our sins will be taken away, that we will never need to be judged at all because of his finished work. And so, he appeared according to verse 5, in order to take away, to remove our sins completely. That's how we know that we are cleansed and forgiven and washed away, because he removed every sin that we have committed, past, present, future, all have been removed totally, as far as God is concerned, even though at times we fail him here in this world, but positionally, he remove all our sins away. But you notice he added here, in verse 5, and in him is no sin. Now that's really fascinating, this expression here. You know, in the Bible, you have three men who specifically wrote about Yeshua the Messiah. They were Hebrew men, Jewish men. One of them is Yohanan here, another one is Shimon Petros in the book of Peter, another one is Paul, Shaul. All of them wrote something about Yeshua the Messiah in connection with his purity. Every one of them was a different type of a man in their practices. Peter was a man of action. Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 22, that he did no sin. Paul was a man of knowledge. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, said, he knew no sin. John was a man of feeling and affection. So John said here in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 5, that in him there is no sin. And you know that tells us of the purity of our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah, the sinless one, who did no sin, who knew no sin, and in him there was no sin. All these three Hebrew men describe the person of Yeshua the Messiah as the sinless one. And so he continued here in our chapter, and he says in verse 6, the believer is to abide in Yeshua the Messiah in order to be able to live a righteous life, we have to stay close to him. And so he says here in verse 6, whosoever abides in him sins not. Whosoever sinneth has not seen him, neither have known him. Now what does it mean that whosoever sinneth has not seen him, neither knoweth him? Now you see, to abide mean to have fellowship with him. And if a person abiding close to Yeshua, have fellowship with him, it enable us to be washed and cleansed and to be able to walk a life that is pleasing to God. But if we don't stay close to him, and we carry on in an unjudged sins, it's only show that something is wrong. And that's why he says, whosoever sinneth has not seen him, neither know him. In other words, a person that habitually, continually, always carrying on in a life of sin, only show that he or she do not really belong to him. See, a believer might sin, repent and be restored. But a person who live habitually, continually, a life of sin, and doesn't judge himself, only prove where he or she really belong, to whom they belong. And that's why there is this expression here, whosoever, according to verse 6, sinneth, has not sinned. That is, it means sinning continually, habitually, without to recognize that they belong to the Lord. That only prove that they have never really been belong to the Lord in the first place. That's why, by the way, for a believer who sin, 1 John 1:9 is the remedy, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But a person that keep on keeping on and never judging himself or herself and turning away from their sins, only prove that they have really never had even the beginning of a relationship with the Lord. You remember the prodigal son, when he left the Father? And he went down, down, down, all the way away from the Father, all the way to the pig pen, and he wished to eat the husks of the pig's food. And then he came unto himself. And then he came back to the Father. He said, I'm going to go back to my Father. You see, this prodigal son was a son all along. Even though he went down to the pig pen, he was always a son, and he came unto himself, and he went back to the Abba, to the Father. You see, but the person who is not a child of God will continue right there and will remain right there, away from the Father, and only approve that he have never had a relationship, he was not a son at all, or a daughter at all. And so here we see the importance of realizing, whosoever abides, sins not. But whosoever sinneth continually, habitually, as a way of life, only prove that he or she really not belong to the Lord, as it says here, they have neither seen him, not even know him. He continued in verse 7, and he's now talking to the little children, to the believers, to the sons and the daughters of the Father. He says, let no man deceive you, verse 7. He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous. Apparently, already in the first century, there were those men who were trying to deceive the believers. And they were telling them, listen, you can be a son or a daughter of the Father, and you can carry on in your own life. You don't need to have a self-judgment and restoration and repentance to the Lord and be restored. You can carry on in your own way. Will you remember what Paul said in Romans chapter 6? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Romans chapter 6 and verse 1. How is that possible? We who have been baptized unto him, have been brought in to be part of the body of Messiah, we ought not to live anymore in this kind of lifestyle. A believer will seek to live a righteous life, and the reason for that, it is because he is a child of God. And so verse 7 says here, little children, don't let anybody deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he that is Yeshua is righteous. In other words, doing the right things and not to allow others to deceive us, and we are such a gullible people, we often allowed others to deceive us, whether it is by doctrinal things or practical things. That's the way it is, because we still have the sin nature in us. And now go down, notice in verse 8, this is the last verse connection with the price that the Son have paid for us, which ought to motivate us to live for God. He says, God's Son Yeshua appeared in this world for another reason, to destroy the works of the devil. Look at verse 8. He that commits sin is of the devil. For the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Now you notice, brothers and sisters, that in these verses, we find out two reasons why the Messiah Yeshua appeared here in this world. First of all, in verse 5, he was manifested to take away our sins. Secondly, in verse 8, he appeared at the end of verse 8, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Now, what is the devil doing? You see, the devil, Satan, in Hebrew, we call him HaSatan. The devil has all sort of works in which he attack the people of God. He's very clever. You and I don't see the devil. This Satan is so powerful. While he cannot take away our eternal relationship with Yeshua the Messiah, this has been done once and for all through the work of Yeshua the Messiah. What he can do, he's often time does all sort of works to hinder us, to cause us to stumble and to fall, to tempt us, to deceive us, to trick us, to draw us away from nearness to the Lord. He does, and many times, he's successful if we are not watching for that. So the second reason that Yeshua the Messiah came to this world is not only to remove our sins once and for all when he died for us on the tree, but he was manifested in order that he will empty the power of Satan against the people of God. So listen to some verses that I want you to turn with me for a moment. Turn with me for a second to 2 Corinthians. Look at the works of the devil. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 13, 14, and 15. Paul is writing about those who follow Satan and his messengers. He says in verse 13, for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of the Messiah, and no marvel, he says. For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. You notice the word works? See, one of the things that he does, he tricked the people of God. His works is to deceive us. He's called in the Bible a deceiver. You remember the first time that he deceived was already in the Garden of Eden, Gan Eden, where he deceived Hava, Eve. Some of the works of the devil is to trick us. And you see Yeshua appeared according to verse 8 of 1 John chapter 3, that he might, as it says, destroy the works of the devil. How can he destroy the works of the devil? He has empowered us, to enable us the believers to live a life that is pleasing to God and we will be able to not allow Satan and his followers and his ministers, as he's called in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, to trick us, not to allow him to trick us and to hurt the people of God. Look at another verse in 1 Peter chapter 5. Again, the works of the devil. If he doesn't succeed to trick the people of God and to deceive us, according to 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8, we find out another thing that he does. Peter, Shimon Petros is saying, be sober and vigilant. Why? Because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walking about seeking whom he may devour. You know, Satan does this like that. If he doesn't succeed to trick us and to influence us, then he attack us as a roaring lion. He's causing havoc. All kind of things he does in order to hinder the people of God from living a life that is pleasing to the Lord. And that's why Peter, Paul and also John showing to us that the devil, Satan, does not stop with his attack upon the people of God. And when Yeshua the Messiah came to this world, he appeared to remove our sins away from us, but he also appeared here, according to verse 8, to destroy the works of the devil. And how he destroy them? By drawing the believers to follow after him, by empowering the believers to live for him, and Satan has no power whatsoever upon a believer who walk with the person of Yeshua the Messiah. We are never to flee him. The Bible never tell us to flee him, but we are to resist the devil, and he will flee from you. And how we resist him? On the basis of the finished work of Yeshua Jesus the Messiah. And so, the first reason that ought to motivate us to live for the Lord here in this world is the love of the Father. The second reason that ought to motivate us to live for the Lord here is the price of the Messiah, the Son, Yeshua, paid for us on the tree, on the cross. Now let's look at the third reason. And this is the last verses here that we have for us here in this portion. And this is in 1 John chapter 3, verses 9 and 10. And the third reason is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God in every believer in Yeshua the Messiah. And so look at this, beloved brothers and sisters, and I'm reading now verse 9. Whosoever is born of God, does not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. And so here is the third reason, it is the fact that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Now, brothers and sisters, again, we do not even see how is it that the Holy Spirit of God indwelt in every one of us? We don't see the person of the Holy Spirit of God physically in our eyes. But we know it on the basis of the scripture. When the Bible say, for example, in John chapter 3, when Yeshua the Messiah said to Nicodemus, to Nakdimon, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. You must be born again, born from above. The new birth is that new life that the believer received the moment he or she have accepted Yeshua the Messiah. So, Yohanan is now saying, here's the third reason that ought to motivate us to live a godly life, is because, verse 9, we are born of God. We are born of God. You see, every one of us was born to our parent, to our father and our mother, the natural father and mother. And ultimately, every one of us are descendant of Adam. We have the Adamic nature. But once we became believers in Yeshua, once we confessed our sins and repented and said, God be merciful to me a sinner. We have embraced Yeshua the Messiah. We have acknowledged that he's the one who died for our sin. That moment, we receive the new birth. The Holy Spirit of God came to indwell a person who accepted Yeshua the Messiah. And now we have been declared justified, because now we became born from above, born of the Holy Spirit of God. Now, let's please bear with me. Romans 8 and verse 9, just to conclude here. Paul said about those who might claim to have the Holy Spirit of God in them, he said to them, if any man has not the Spirit of the Messiah, he is none of his. Every person who is part of the family of God, is born from above, is born of the Holy Spirit of God. Look at another verse in 2 Peter 1 and verse 4. Peter said, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises. That by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Notice it says here, you have received a divine nature. You know, when we have accepted Yeshua the Messiah, in addition to the old nature that we have, we also have a divine nature. You know, sometimes the Bible call it the old nature, this is Adam, the new nature, this is in Christ, in the Messiah. In other words, the old man, that is in Adam, the sinful nature that we have, and the new man, Colossians speaks about it. This is the new nature that we have. In other words, the flesh and the spirit. You remember in Galatians 5:16, walk in the spirit, the new nature, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, the old nature. We have two natures. In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, we have a seed that have been placed in the believer, and it's called God's seed in contrast to the corruptible seed that came through Adam. Again, look at this verse. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 9. Whosoever is born of God, does not commit sin. Why? For his seed remaineth in him. And he cannot sin because he is born of God. Now, this is such an amazing truth to understand. Every time I sin, it's the Adamic nature. It's the old nature. It is the flesh. It is the old man. Every time I walk in righteousness, it is the new man, it is the new nature, it is of the spirit, it is God's seed. So you see what happened, we have two natures. If you heard the story about a man that did something wrong against the law, and he violated the law. And so he was taken by the police before a judge. And he was standing before the judge, and the judge said to him, well, you have done this and you deserve to be going to jail. So this person, of course, because he was a Christian who failed, a believer who failed, who sinned and done something wrong. He says, you know, Judge, you see, I have two nature. It was not my new nature, it was my old nature who sinned. So the judge, who was a believer, said to him, well, since you possess both natures, and you deserve to be put in jail, I'll put both, your old nature and your new nature in prison. You see what happened? Every one of us are possessing two natures, and we are struggling with this every day. We have the seed of corruption, this is the Adamic nature. But when we became born again, born from above, we have God's seed. Now, please, go back to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 23. Peter is saying, being born again, listen, not of corruptible seed. You see, when we become born again, we are now being born again, but not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed. You see, there is the corruptible seed, which is the Adamic seed, the Adamic nature, the flesh, the old man, but there is God's seed, which is not a corruptible seed, which according to 1 John 3, verse 9, it says, his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. And so, now in conclusion, in the last verse here, John is now saying in the last verse, there will be righteousness and love in the life of the children of God, evident if they are in fellowship with the Lord. And that's why he conclude here in verse 10. And this, the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever does not righteousness, is not of God. Neither he that loveth not his brother. There will be an evidence in our life that we really belong to the Lord when we seek to live a life for the Lord, when there is doing righteousness and loving our brothers and our sisters. That is an evident that we really belong to the Lord and we are the sons and daughters of the Father. So, the children of God are manifest. The children of the devil are manifest. There is a distinction between two groups, two companies. One belong to the devil, and one belong to our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah. Well, brothers and sisters, three reasons to motivate us to live a godly life. Number one, the love of the Father towards us. Number two, the price that the Son had paid for us. And number three, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every believer in Yeshua the Messiah. Well, may God bless those thoughts to all of us, and may God help us to live a life that is pleasing to him.