1 JOHN 3 — CHILDREN OF GOD, THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL, AND LOVE IN ACTION

Chapter 3 continues the cycle of tests, returning to the moral and social tests in a deeper way. John begins with the wonder of the believer's status as a child of God and the hope of the final transformation, and then he draws the ethical consequences. The chapter is divided into three parts: the identity and hope of the children of God (verses 1–3), the contrast between children of God and children of the devil in terms of sin and righteousness (verses 4–10), and the demonstration of love in action, with the assurance that follows (verses 11–24). The language is bold and sometimes startling, especially the statements that those born of God do not sin. These verses have troubled many readers and have been interpreted in different ways, but they are consistent with John's other statements about sin in chapters 1 and 2. The chapter also includes some of the New Testament's most significant statements about Christ's purpose: He appeared to take away sins (verse 5) and to destroy the works of the devil (verse 8). It explains that the new birth effects a real change in a person's nature, and it grounds assurance in the evidence of changed life, especially love. The theme of the Spirit as the one by whom believers know that God abides in them appears at the end and anticipates chapter 4.

John's description of love as sacrificial action has a historical counterpart in the early church. The earliest outside testimonies, from Pliny, Lucian, Aristides, and Tertullian, describe Christians as people who cared for orphans and widows, visited prisoners, supported the poor, and buried the dead, including strangers. Lucian of Samosata, a satirist who mocked Christianity in the second century, remarked that Christians showed remarkable zeal in helping one another and in helping their imprisoned members, and that they were easily taken advantage of by charlatans because of their generosity. During the plague that struck the Roman world in the third century, the bishop Dionysius of Alexandria reported that Christians cared for the sick and dying at great risk to themselves, while pagans fled. Sociologists of religion have argued that this care was a major factor in the growth of the church. The ethic of 1 John, in which love is demonstrated by action, was lived out in a manner that was visible and attractive. The statement about the devil being the original sinner and the Son of God appearing to destroy his works fits the unified biblical story, from Genesis 3 to Revelation 20. It also fits the ministry of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels, in which healings and exorcisms are presented as signs that the kingdom of God has come (Luke 11:20). The claim about the believer's transformation at Christ's appearing connects with the earliest Christian creeds and hymns, and with the central proclamation of the resurrection, which is regarded as the pledge of the final transformation. The reference to Cain, an example from the earliest chapters of Genesis, shows that John viewed the Old Testament as a historical record that illuminates the present.