Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 82nd. Edition.
Dear New Israel of God,
Today’s passage (1 John 3:1-3) continues from where we ended yesterday. The chapter division here is artificial. 2:28-3:3 should be taken as a unit because the theme is the same. The last part of chapter 2 talked about the need to remain in him, so that we would confident and unashamed, at his coming. Our passage today deals with our future state and why that should influence our current behaviour.
Divine Favour (v. 1). Believers have received favour in a special way from God. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Got paid the penalty for our sins before we even tried to become better. “But as many, as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
This favour puts us in a class of our own, that the world does not understand, just as it does not understand the saviour and has rejected him. It is interesting that the false teachers were promising the Christians special knowledge and special status, yet Christians already knew a “special person” and in him, had a special status. Let no one lie to you, nothing is greater or more special than a sinner being made a child of God.
Demystifying the Future (v. 2). One of the age-old questions for Christians is the nature of the resurrection body. The apostle Paul taught about this in 1 Corinthians 15:44. He said that the “natural body (that died) will be raised a spiritual body. We have no idea what that means. Our understanding of the spiritual is that it has no material form. If that is so, what would be the state of a spiritual body? A lot of people have pointed to the resurrection body of Jesus and suggested that our resurrection bodies will be similar.
For instance, Jesus was able to appear to his disciples in a locked room, without them having to open the door for him (John 20:19). Yet they gave him food and he ate (Luke 24:41-43). The fact that John does not make reference to these events could imply that the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection were accommodation, to help the disciples see that he really was alive. But then again, his disciples will eat and drink at his table in his kingdom (Luke 22:30). What kind of spiritual body eats? We have no idea. But that is not the point. The point is that when Jesus appears, we will change to be like him. We may not know the details, nor is it necessary for us to know. All we need is the promise that when we see him, we will be like him.
Demanding Flawlessness (v. 3). At the back of the mind somewhere is the idea of a bride, waiting for the husband to come for her. A bride should keep herself pure for her husband. Likewise, and even more so, we should keep ourselves pure for our Bridegroom. Since he is pure and spotless, we should preempt our reunion with him by purifying ourselves in readiness for him. We first encountered the concept of purification in 1:9.
We are purified “from all unrighteousness” when we confess our sins. Don’t let sin sit comfortably with you.
Your Loving Pastor Chris