First, we have confidence at the final judgment (2:28). Remaining in Christ will make the believer confident at the judgment when Christ appears.
John uses two different words for the Second Coming, judgment of Jesus. In the first case, he uses φανερόω, usually translated “appears.” In the Gospel of John the verb is regularly used for the incarnation In 1 John 1:2, the life “was manifest” (ESV); in 1 John 3:5, 8 Jesus “appeared to take away sin.”
In the second case, the word παρουσία (parousia) is a common word used for the second coming of the Lord. It is associated with the arrival and presence of a person (as opposed to absence). In the New Testament it most often refers to the Second Coming of Jesus as the Messiah. In 2 Thessalonians 2:8 Paul refers to the both the appearing (ἐπιφάνεια) and coming (παρουσία) of the Lord.
John is has in mind the second coming of the Messiah, when he judges the nations as he is establishing his kingdom This is different than the judgement seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10), when the members of the church, the body of Christ stand before Christ to receive our reward.
If the believer is abiding in Christ, then they will have confidence when they face this future judgment before the Messiah. Confidence (παρρησία) is boldness to speak in a public venue. Luke used this word to describe the Gospel in the last verse of Acts, Paul continued to speak boldly and without hindrance (Acts 28:31). To “not shrink back” translates αἰσχύνω, to be ashamed. In early Greek the verb was associated with a hideous deformity or injury (Iliad 18.24, a disfigured face), but came to be used for anything that brought shame (or should bring shame, in the sense of “are you to ashamed to say this?)
John’s point here is we know we are a true child of God because we have that unusual confidence at the final judgment that we will be found worthy of eternal life based on the work of Jesus on the Cross.
Second, we practice righteousness (2:29). God defines righteousness (v. 29a) and the believer does that righteousness in daily life.
The verb is “doing” (ποιέω), a common word in 1 John. Once again John reflects the Jewish view that one “does righteousness” In Micah 6:8, for example, God has shown humanity what he wants: to act justly, or “do justice.” The noun (מִשְׁפָּט) is the common word in the Hebrew Bible for legal decisions. The judge is to render justice, make the correct decision. But more than this, to do justice is to treat all people right, so not giving favors to the wealthy or mistreating the poor.
In the context of 1 John doing righteousness begins with loving one’s brother and sister in Christ and not hating them (1 John 2:9-11). The one who is practicing righteousness has (already) been born of God (v. 29b).
The idea of being born of God is an important theme in the Gospel of John. For example, in John 3:3-8 Jesus explains that no one can enter the kingdom of God without first being “born again.” This causes some difficulty for Nicodemus who does not understand the metaphor. In John 1:13 those who believe in the Word are born, not of natural descent but from God.
The grammar is important, John says the one doing righteousness was born of God in the past and is still in the state of “born of God” at the present time (over interpreting the perfect tense verb here). In addition, the verb is passive, one does not birth themselves. We became the children of God when we accepted Jesus savior.
So a person does righteousness not to make themselves worthy to be children of God, but because they are the children of God. “A person’s righteousness is thus the evidence of his new birth, not the cause or condition of it” (Stott, Letters of John, 122).
This might be a different way of looking at righteousness. Righteousness is not the result of some pious ritual or spiritual discipline, but it is the natural result of being born of God. In essence, Christian ethics can be summarized as, “be what you are, a child of God.” And when we are living a life that pleases our Father in heaven, we will not lack confidence when he calls us into account at a future judgment.
I think this is an excellent, clear and understandable exposition. Thank you
There are many songs now a days that include lyrics of talking about being a child of God and I think as the generations and years are continuing, more and more believers will be confident that we are children of God. I agree with P Long that in 1 John 2 one of the main topics is righteousness. As believers we need to have righteousness and that starts with loving others that are in Christ Jesus. As believers we don’t have to try to make ourselves worthy to be children of God because we already are children of God. I really liked that quote in the blog post because sometimes people think we are acting so nice to get bonus points with other people but honestly it is because as believers we are called to love our brothers and sisters and we are acting and representing Christ. In 1 John 3:1 it says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God’ and so we are” (pg.1691). This reminds us as believers that Christ loves us so much that He died to save us from our sin. It should have been us on that cross, but Christ sacrificed for us. In 2 Corinthians 6:18 it says, “And I will father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty” (pg.1547). We know we are children of God because countless times in the Bible it reminds us of verses that talk about Christ being our Father and how we are children of God.
Paul talks about how works don’t save us but that works are the fruit of our salvation. We cannot be saved through good works but our actions will reflect the condition of our heart. When we give to the poor, care for those in need, love others, and act in righteousness, it is because our actions are reflecting the state of our heart. Our faith will be lived out in our day to day life and our confidence will show if we are truly saved. This is why we are able to show Christ through our actions. Our actions are changed and different to the point where other people notice and will hopefully ask why we live our lives with the hope, love, and confidence that we have. The righteousness we have because of Christ is why we are able to live a new life, be born again, and be set free from the chains of the world. Because God makes us new through faith and grace, we are able to be a new creation in Him. John talks of this starting with loving our neighbor, which goes along with the other discussion post I answered this week. Loving our neighbor, in my opinion, includes all the other things I mentioned above and that were talked in about in this discussion post. When we love other, we will want to care for them, help them, respect them, and share the gospel with them. Loving others allows us to act with righteousness and treat others like they are made with the image of God.
First and foremost, to answer this question of how we know we are the Children of God, the apostle John has greatly emphasized that we know we are the children of God. We are a true child of God because we have that unusual confidence at the final judgment that we will be found worthy of eternal life based on the work of Jesus on the Cross. John is saying here that because of what Jesus Christ has paid on the cross for humanity, we are called to be the Children of God and we fully have confidence that we are the children of God. I believe that the blood of Jesus Christ has changed our relationship with God. I like how P.long points out that in 1 John 2 one of the main topics is righteousness, and the article also talks about being righteousness. Jobes also points out that Children who love one another and who know the truth, who test the spirit, and who do not sin are being called the Children of God. (Jobes, 2011, pg. 432). Additionally, I think that we are the Children of God even though we may sin each day because the blood of Jesus Christ changes everything for humanity. The blood of Jesus Christ has reconciled us to be righteous in front of God and we are right to be called the Children of God. This is the reason why as humanity, we have the right to love one another and avoid sin as we can because sin is an abomination to God.
We become God’s children when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and accept His gift of life. 1 Peter 1 talks about how when you accept Jesus into your heart and believe in him, you are a part of the family of God. God has given us love, grace, and mercy so that we can be in His family (verses 1-3). As a result of this we are born again to Him, and this love He has for us, makes us His children. He not only saved us from an eternity in hell, but he saved us to be in relationship with Him, to be His children. We are then called to abide in Him (2:28), meaning having confidence and to not be ashamed, because we intimately know Him. Our sins have been forgiven” for his name’s sake” (verse 12), which can give us confidence in the love that God has for us.
In “Enduring Word Bible Commentary” it talks about what it really means to be children of God, “It is important to understand what it means to be the children of God, and that everyone is not a child of God in the sense John meant it here. God’s love is expressed to all in the giving of Jesus for the sins of the world (John 3:16), but this does not make all of humanity the children of God in the sense John means it here. Here he speaks of those who have received the love of Jesus in a life of fellowship and trust with Him; 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)” (Enduring Word, 1 John 2-3). So not everyone in the world is necessarily “children of God” since not everyone believes and is in relationship with God. Those who have received the truth and have accepted Jesus into their hearts, can therefore be called God’s children. God longs for the entire world to enter into His family, and so He welcomes us all with open arms, ready to forgive and have a relationship with each and every one of us. How sweet is it that we all have the opportunity to enter into a personal relationship with our creator!
“Enduring Word Bible Commentary 1 John Chapter 2&3.” Enduring Word, 22 April. 2024, enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1john-2&3/.
To start, many of us simply know that we are children of God based on what scripture states but also the faith that we have in God. I agree with Long (2020) that part of knowing that we are children of God is because we have confidence in the final judgment. The final judgment is unknown from experience hence when you are judged for the final time it is at death. When we are judged we have to have faith in us being children of God because we need to have faith that he is our one true creator but also our Father who loves us unconditionally.
The second coming of the Lord is going to be one of the best days in history. Jesus already came once before to save us all from sin and gave us forgiveness so the second coming of Jesus has to be just as holy. It is exciting to think of when Jesus is coming back again. But one thought I had yesterday on Easter while watching the movie The Passion of Christ is how will we know when Jesus is coming back and that it is him. There are a lot of “cults” that their leaders explain that they are a prophet which indicates that there are individuals that falsely claim to be a Jesus figure. This is intriguing to me because I hope when Jesus comes back that we will all fully know that it truly is Jesus and that no idols are being worshiped that should not be worshiped. In the end, Jesus coming back to earth will be the best blessing that we will ever receive other that the forgiveness of sins that Jesus gave us the first time he walked on earth.