by Dr. Grant C. Richison
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
that when He appears,
The word “that” expresses purpose. An important belief for every believer is to be ready for the coming of Christ.
We can translate the word “when” as whenever. […]
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
we may have confidence
Secular Greek used the word “confidence” in the political sphere to describe freedom of speech. That was the special privilege of the democratic city-state of Greece. They did […]
“If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.”
Verses 28 and 29 begin a section running through chapter three that deals with how the believer relates to God’s righteousness. A life characterized by sin is not compatible with a God of absolute righteousness.
Chapter 2 vs. […]
“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.”
Behold
John wants his readers to take special note of something. The word “behold” is a command to focus on the subject at hand. […]
“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.”
what manner of love
More than God’s love is at issue here. It is more than that He loved us; it is how He […]
“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.”
the Father has bestowed on us,
The Father bestowed His love on us in the past with the result that it continues with us [perfect […]
“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.”
that we should be called children of God!
The word “that” indicates result – with the result that God gives us the title of His […]
“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.”
Therefore
“Therefore” is literally because of this. Because we are God’s aristocracy, the world does not know us. The believer’s likeness to God is […]
“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.”
Beloved,
Christians are the objects of love – of both the apostle John’s love and the Father’s love. […]
“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.”
now we are children of God;
John contrasts the present and future state of the believer. The word […]
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