Have you ever been praying and suddenly your conscience says something like this to you: “Look at you! Who do you think you are to come before God and ask anything from him! Why just this week you did things and said things that would disqualify you from ever receiving anything from God. Don’t you remember that attitude you had yesterday? Don’t you remember how you got angry with your wife for no reason last week? What about that unclean thought that passed through your mind three days ago? You passed someone broken down on the road and could have stopped to help, but you didn’t. You’re sure not much of a Christian, are you? What right do you have now to come to God and ask him for anything?” Thoughts such as these can shut down your prayer time in a New York minute. It’s hard to pray when you don’t have assurance and confidence that God welcomes you and is willing to hear your prayers.
John has something vital to say about this situation in 1 John 3:19–24. The center of this passage is John’s appeal in verse 23: we should believe in Jesus and love one another. This appeal is flanked on both sides with a motivational basis. Verses 19–22 provide the first motivation: when our conscience condemns us, God is greater than our conscience, giving us assurance that we will receive what we ask from him in prayer. Verse 24 constitutes the second motivation: we can be assured that God lives in us and we abide in him. The topic of this paragraph is confidence. Notice John’s use of words like “know,” “reassure,” and “confidence.” Confidence is based on the fact that we have believed in Jesus and are thus in the family of God and that, as obedient children in the family, we love others in the family. Since we are in the family and since we love others in the family, we can come to our Father with our prayer requests with confident assurance that he will hear us (Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (pp. 163–164). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.).
In verses 19–24 John set forth the assurances that will arise in the heart of the believer from the practice of love; they are the fruit of love. The practice of love will produce 1) Assurance of being in the truth (vv. 19–20), 2) Give confidence that prayer will be answered (vv. 21–22), and 3) Assure the believer of union with Christ (vv. 23–24).
1) The assurance of being in the truth (vv. 19–20)
1 John 3:19–20 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. (ESV)
Every human being is born with the law of God written in the heart and with a conscience to accuse or excuse (Rom. 2:14–15). This means every person has some degree of self-knowledge and some innate ability to recognize right and wrong. Because of this fact, the apostle John understood that at times true believers can struggle with their assurance. Some of the Apostle John’s readers may have been so overwhelmed by the memory of their past sins and awareness of present ones that they found the thought of God’s forgiveness nearly impossible to accept. Their overactive consciences, beleaguering them with their own shortcomings, perhaps made it difficult for them to have a settled confidence in their right standing before God. So John wrote to encourage those believers and enable them to accurately evaluate their own spiritual condition. In so doing, he sought to solidify their conviction, rightly inform their conscience, and strengthen their assurance with a true understanding of their transformation and its evidences. John is not thinking of our continual assurance that we belong to God, but rather of the coming of a crisis of belief when we want to know whether we belong to God. In such a situation we are to examine ourselves to see whether we are keeping the command given to us by God (Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Epistles of John (p. 197). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
In verse 19, by this, most naturally refers back to verse 18’s admonition for brotherly love. We shall/will know brotherly love. We shall/will know translates a form of the common Greek verb ginōskō, which means “to know,” “to learn,” “to find out,” or “to realize.” John’s use of the future tense indicates that what his readers would eventually grasp was not something intuitive or indefinite, but a promise based on an existing reality. When believers know they have sincere love for one another, they can be certain that they are of the truth (the phrase literally reads, “out of the truth we exist”). Only those who have been genuinely converted through the supernatural work of God possess the sacrificial love that John describes in verses 14–18, which issues in the submissive obedience that John delineates in verses 4–12. The self-sacrificial, active love previously described offers evidence that one is “of the truth.” Truth can only characterize the behavior of those whose very character originates in the truth, so that it is by our loving others ‘in truth’ that we know that we ourselves belong to it” [are of the truth] (Akin, D. L. (2001). 1, 2, 3 John (Vol. 38, p. 163). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
The truth in view here is the written truth of Scripture (Ps. 119:160; John 17:17), which encompasses the truth incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:9, 14; 7:18; 14:6; 1 John 5:20). Belief in the truth marks all who repent and believe (2 Thess. 2:10, 12–13; 1 Tim. 3:15b). But our assurance is anchored in God and God alone, never in our own ability to generate feelings of confidence. John is showing that God is the final arbiter of our personal spiritual well-being. We do not look into our hearts to see if we feel secure and then use this as evidence of our security in the truth (Burge, G. M. (1996). Letters of John (p. 164). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
Please turn to Romans 5 (p.942)
Believers enjoy an assurance based not only on what Scripture promises to those who believe (Ps. 4:3; Phil. 1:6; 2 Tim. 1:12), but, on a practical level, based on the presence of a serving love for fellow believers (cf. vv. 13–18) and a desire to live in holiness (cf. vv. 4–12). These qualities, because they come from God, cannot exist in a person who is still unregenerate. To reassure/assure comes from the future active indicative of the verb peithō and means “will persuade.” Even though believers stand before Him, in the awesome, intimidating presence of the absolutely holy God (Ex. 15:11; 1 Sam. 2:2; Rev. 15:4), they can have a calm, tranquil, confident heart and an affirming conscience (Acts 23:1; 24:16; 2 Cor. 1:12; 1 Tim. 1:5; 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3). It may not be either an unusual or an infrequent experience for the Christian’s serene assurance to be disturbed. Sometimes the accusations of our ‘conscience’ (heart) will be true accusations, and sometimes they will be false, inspired by ‘the accuser of our brothers’ (Rev. 12:10). In either case, the inner voice is not to overcome us. We are rather to reassure/set our hearts at rest before him/in his presence, that is, we must be able to do so in the sight of God (Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, p. 147). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
Describing the peace the comes from God through faith, the Apostle Paul explained:
Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (ESV)
Nevertheless, a believer may experience unnecessary guilt as one’s heart condemns. All believers have experienced inner grief over not living up to the “standard” that they know is God’s will for their lives. Those pains of conscience can be from God’s Spirit (to cause repentance) or Satan (to cause self-destruction or loss of witness). This is both appropriate guilt and inappropriate guilt. Believers know the difference by reading God’ book (or hearing His messengers). John is trying to console believers who are living by the standard of love but still struggling with sin (both commission and omission) (Utley, R. J. (1999). The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John (Vol. Volume 4, p. 224). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.)
But, as verse 20 comforts, there is a higher court than the human heart, for God is greater than our heart and he knows everything/all things. Unlike our conscience, God takes everything into account, including Christ’s atoning work for us. God is more compassionate and understanding toward us than we sometimes are toward ourselves (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (1 Jn 3:20). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.).
Because He has declared believers righteous in Christ, then they are righteous. Thus Paul wrote, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). And no one can ever separate them from the saving love of God in Christ (8:31–39). He sees believers’ greatest, most profound failures, and He knows far more about their weaknesses than even their consciences do (Pss. 1:6; 103:14; 139:1–6; Prov. 24:12; Heb. 4:13). Yet God has forgiven those who by faith in Christ have been adopted into His family (Rom. 8:14–17). Moreover, He is at work in their hearts, continuing to cleanse them from the sin that still lingers there (cf. Phil. 2:12–13). His omniscience strengthens and encourages us, but it also challenges us, for we know that he knows everything and will require an accounting of service done on his behalf (2 Cor 5:10) (Akin, D. L. (2001). 1, 2, 3 John (Vol. 38, pp. 164–165). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Illustration:
In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her three friends, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, all are walking down that long corridor leading to the huge doors behind which lies the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. As the doors slowly open, the music reaches crescendo volume, and fire and smoke surround the throne. A booming voice bellows forth from the throne. Dorothy and her three friends are quaking with fear. Suddenly the Wizard says, “Step forward, Tin Man!” The Tin Man steps forward, and he is shaking and rattling all over. The Wizard says to him, “Do you dare to come to me to ask for a heart? You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk!” Is that how Christians are to come into the presence of God in prayer—with quaking fear? Of course not! We have confidence! The author of Hebrews put it like this in 4:16: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 167). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.)
Love in action is seen through:
2) The assurance of acceptance before God (vv. 21–22)
1 John 3:21–22 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. (ESV)
Doubt ceases when believers are walking in faithfulness and obedience, because the heart does not condemn so that insecurity and fear give way to confidence before God. Such assurance causes believers to enter God’s presence with certainty (Eph. 3:12; Heb. 10:19; cf. 2 Cor. 3:4; 1 Tim. 3:13), so that whatever they ask in prayer they will receive from Him. The word rendered confidence (parrēsia) means “boldness” and “freedom of speech.” It describes the privilege of coming before someone of importance, power, and authority and feeling free to express whatever is on one’s mind. Our confidence rests in his mercy and love, which have been extended to us. (Akin, D. L. (2001). 1, 2, 3 John (Vol. 38, p. 165). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Please turn to Hebrews 4 (p.1003)
For believers, as verse 22 expresses it, it means coming into the presence of our loving heavenly Father without fear (cf. 2:28; 4:17) and with full assurance that whatever we ask we receive from Him (cf. 5:14; John 14:13–14; 15:7, 16; 16:23–24). Expressing this ability, through Jesus , our High Priest, the writer to the Hebrews said:
Hebrews 4:14–16 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (ESV)
• Christians may come before God and speak plainly and honestly (yet still with appropriate reverence), without fear that they will incur shame or punishment by doing so (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2367). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
• It is obvious that Hebrews specifies what we can have confidence in receiving when we ask Christ. Verse 16 specifies gifts like mercy and grace related to need. God does not promise to fulfill every want, but promises to provide what we need to accomplish His will.
Throughout the New Testament, the necessity that believers keep His commandments is explicitly or implicitly indicated by every command given to them (e.g., Matt. 7:21; 16:24; John 14:15; James 1:22). The author uses present tense forms of the verbs ‘to keep/obey’ and ‘to do’ here, indicating that the action he has in mind is ongoing. (Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John (p. 142). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.)
Please turn to John 15 (p.901)
John’s emphasis then is on true, heartfelt obedience (motivated by love), as opposed to a false, external legalism (motivated by selfish ambition and pride). Jesus declared this truth to His apostles in the upper room:
John 15:7–11 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (ESV)
John is saying that when we obey his commands, we are doing what is pleasing to God. By adding the clause and do what pleases him, John rules out any notion of merit; pleasing God flows forth from love and loyalty. Implicitly John reminds his readers of Jesus. During his earthly ministry, Jesus always sought to please the Father by doing his will (John 8:29).The basis for answered prayer is not blind obedience but a desire to please God with dedicated love. And God fulfills our requests because of the bond of love and fellowship between Father and child. (Heb. 13:20–21) (Simon J. Kistemaker, 1 John, New Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004], 317)
Illustration: 1017. Giving us what we need.
Although God will fulfill our requests, He will often give us what we need, and not necessarily what we want. It has been said of prayer: I asked for strength that I might achieve; He made me weak that I might obey. I asked for health that I might do great things; He gave me grace that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy; He gave me poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men; He gave me weakness that I might feel a need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; He gave me life that I might enjoy all things. I received nothing I had asked for; He gave me all that I had hoped for (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 274). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
3) The assurance of union with Christ (VV. 23–24)
1 John 3:23-24 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (ESV)
Having entered the Christian life through the God-given gift of faith that endures (Eph. 2:8–9), Christians can draw assurance from the reality that they never stop believing in the name of His Son Jesus Christ; the faith that saves can never die. Saving faith contains three inseparable and essential elements, which John has reiterated throughout the epistle: faith, love, and an eagerness to obey. In this verse, believe translates an aorist form of the verb pisteuō and refers to a point in time when one believed. But that act produces continuing results that last for the remainder of a believer’s life. The object of faith is the name of … Jesus Christ; The name in biblical usage is closely associated with the nature and personhood of the one who bears it. To believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, is to place one’s faith in all that Jesus is. “His Son” emphasizes the deity and unique sonship of this individual. “Jesus” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Joshua,” which means “the Lord is salvation.” It is his human name he was given at birth and which identifies him as totally human (Matt 1:21). The name “Jesus” is associated with his saving role. He had to be human to become the perfect sacrifice for sinful humanity. “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah” and affirms his role as the Old Testament Messiah. The double designation “Jesus Christ” represents the earliest of Christian confessions (Acts 2:36; 3:20; 5:42). To believe in the name of Jesus Christ is to place one’s faith, one’s trust, in him and all that he is—the Divine Son, the incarnate Deity, the sinless Human, the Messianic Savior, and all other facets of his unique nature and personhood. Belief is acceptance of the entirety of him. (Akin, D. L. (2001). 1, 2, 3 John (Vol. 38, pp. 167–168). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Please turn to James 1 (p.1011)
To those who already believe, we are to keep on believing. Continue to believe more and more, simply because you see and feel it more and more to be “his commandment that you should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ.” Unbelief, in you who have believed, is aggravated disobedience. And, as such, it is and must be especially displeasing to God. It is his pleasure that his Son should be known, trusted, worshipped, loved; honoured as he himself would be honoured. You cannot displease the Father more than by dishonouring the Son; refusing to receive him, and rest upon him, and embrace him, and hold him fast, and place full reliance upon him as redeemer, brother, friend. Do not deceive yourselves by imagining that there may be something rather gracious in your doubts and fears; your unsettled and unassured frame of mind; as if it betokened humility, and a low esteem of yourselves. Beware lest God see in it only a low esteem of his Son Jesus Christ. (R. S. Candlish, 1 John [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1993], 339)
James instructs and warns:
James 1:5–8 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (ESV)
• The one who doubts, like the wave of the sea, is a picture of instability and uncertainty. Such a person is unsure whether God is good or will do good. This doubt, vacillates between trusting God and trusting the world or one’s own natural abilities. This dishonors him (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2391). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
Faith is in response to His [God’s] commandment and results in continued obedience to His mandate to love one another (Eph. 2:8–10; Heb. 12:1–2). Love translates a present, active form of the familiar New Testament verb agapaō; the sacrificial love not of feeling, but of will and choice. The present tense of the verb signifies that love is to continually and habitually characterize a believer’s attitudes and actions, as the apostle John has repeatedly made clear (cf. Luke 6:31–35; Gal. 5:13, 22; Phil. 1:9; 1 Thess. 4:9; Heb. 10:24; James 2:8). Furthermore, the reciprocal pronoun “one another” demands that love must be mutually displayed by members of the family of God. The added words “just as he has commanded us” make clear that what is required is in exact conformity to the demands of Jesus (cf. John 13:34; 15:12, 17). To be a child of God is to love one another. Thus, John insists that both faith and love stand as essential tests for the true child of God. Right belief and right action reveal the authenticity of one’s faith (Akin, D. L. (2001). 1, 2, 3 John (Vol. 38, p. 168). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
The blessing promised to Whoever/the one who keeps His commandments as it says in verse 24, is that such a person abides in God/Christ and God in him. The term translated abides (from the verb menō, “to stay, remain”) is one of John’s favorite words for salvation (see John 15:4–10) and is a repeated reference in this letter (cf. 2:6, 10, 24, 28; 3:6; 4:13, 16). (cf. 2:6 and 2:28) That shared life is possible only by the Spirit whom He has given us (cf. Luke 11:13; 12:12; John 14:16–17, 26; 15:26; Acts 1:4–8; Rom. 5:5; 8:11, 16; Gal. 4:6; 5:16, 22; Eph. 1:13–14; 1 John 2:20, 27; 4:1–2, 13). The Spirit is not an insignificant array of feelings, but ushers a concrete presence and reality into our lives (Burge, G. M. (1996). Letters of John (p. 171). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
It is the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9) who makes saints’ spiritually dead souls alive (John 3:5–8; Titus 3:5), gaves sight to their blind eyes, causes their sinful hearts to repent (cf. Acts 16:14), and draws them in faith to Jesus (1 Peter 1:2). It is the Spirit who places them into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) and gifts them for ministry in the church (1 Cor. 12:7; cf. Rom. 12:3–8; 1 Peter 4:10–11). It is through His illuminating instruction that Scripture comes alive for believers as they read and meditate on it (1 Cor. 2:10–14; cf. Eph. 6:17). The Spirit also energizes the saints’ prayers (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20) and intercedes for them (Rom. 8:26–27). He leads and guides Christians (8:14) and assures them that they are children of God (vv. 15–16; Eph. 1:13–14). Giving the Spirit, then, is a substantive way in which God marks us as His children. Evidence of the Spirit’s indwelling is not entirely subjective, as some think. In John… it shows itself by the power it provides us to obey God’s commandment to love one another and by the conviction it gives us to confess faith in Jesus Christ (Baker, W. R., & Carrier, P. K. (1990). James-Jude: Unlocking the Scriptures for You (p. 278). Cincinnati, OH: Standard.).
Salvation is not a one-time event but a way of life and entails a willingness to follow Jesus no matter the cost (cf. Luke 9:23, 57–62). The presence of genuine holy affections—gratitude toward God, boldness in prayer, submission to His commandments, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and an appreciation of the Holy Spirit’s power in their lives—all characterized and undergirded by a continual love for other believers—marks those who persevere in this true faith (cf. Rom. 2:7; Col. 1:21–23). The presence of those godly virtues gives those who manifest them true assurance (2 Peter 1:8–10; cf. Phil. 1:6; 2 Tim. 1:12b) and confidence that they have been born from above by the power of God.
(Format note: Outline from Hiebert, D. E. (1989). An Expositional Study of 1 John Part 6 (of 10 parts): An Exposition of 1 John 3:13–24. Bibliotheca Sacra, 146, 311. Some base commentary from (MacArthur, J. (2007). 1, 2, 3 John (pp. 139–149). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.)
