The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
1 John, Part 7 – The Character of God
The past two weeks I have submitted to you lists from 1 John of how God calls us to live in terms of assurance of salvation and how the lack of those things in our lives point to a lack of salvation or a true relationship with God. These might appear to some as an exercise in legalism, but they are not. While the Old Testament commandments still stand as the standard of living which pleases God, we are not saved by adhering to the Old Testament law. The Bible tells us that “By grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). Even the faith by which we come to accept and believe the finished work of Christ on the cross is a gift of God. There is nothing about salvation that we are able to achieve by our own efforts. This is also true of the requirements of belief, attitudes, and behavior after salvation as listed in 1 John.
We are incapable of loving God or living righteous, holy lives to the extent that He deserves from us; but we do it to the best of our limitations enabled by His pouring into us His character. God is Light and we are to live in the light as He is in the light. God is Righteousness and we are to live righteous lives as He clothes us in righteousness. God is Truth and we are to walk in truth as He is in the truth. God is Love and we are to love one another as He first loved us. The demonstration of His character in us is how we know we are saved and how we recognize fellow Christians.
In English, the list of assurances of our salvation in 1 John seems to be a “how-shall-we-then-live” list. On closer inspection, however, the assurances represent attributes of God’s character that are already in the Christian’s life and that flow out as a result of the relationship with God. 1 John 2:5, for example says, “But whoso keeps His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in Him.” In other words, keeping God’s word, in the context of the commandments, demonstrates the perfection of the love of God already in us rather than the keeping the commandments making perfect the love of God in us. By the same token, the fellowship of 1 John 1:7 is not the origin of being in the light, but it is visible subsequent to walking in the light. In the same way, our position in the light is also the reason for God’s ongoing cleansing of our sins, not the result of it.
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit received at salvation teaches us all that we need to know: “But the anointing which ye have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him” (1 John 2:27). What we learn from the anointed status of the Holy Spirit in us both comes from an already established relationship and is the outcome of it. The hope of 1 John 3:3 also results from the already purified and perfected soul. Knowing God to be righteous (2:29), the recognition of the righteous man by his righteousness (3:7), and the recognition of an unbeliever by his unrighteousness (3:4-10) all point to pre-existing relationships with God or the lack thereof.
Yes, there are commands to action in 1 John, like the exortation to “sin not” of 1 John 2:1, but the book is primarily written about what demonstrates our relationship to God so that we will have no doubt about our salvation. Please note that this is not an exhaustive study of the proofs of salvation but simply a sampling to whet your appetite for further study.
Update/Prayer Request: Several praises today and gratitude to you for praying on our behalf. Dan is sleeping better these days as his left shoulder appears to be healing and is less painful, though his left hand continues to be weak. He has an appointment with a surgeon on Monday so we will know more about his right shoulder after that meeting. Though he still tires easily, decreased sleep deprivation is helping him to have more feel-good days than before. His oncologist is also encouraged regarding Dan’s recovery from treatment side effects. Understandably guarded, he has asked for another PETscan for September. Please continue to pray for Dan’s recovery of full strength.
