Our current series through 1 John is Life in the Light: Knowing Christ. Walking in Truth. Loving One Another.
These sermon notes are not a full manuscript but a listening guide designed to help our Tabernacle Church family follow along. I encourage you to add your own notes as you listen each week. The service will be available on YouTube by Sunday afternoon. You can also find sermon notes, family devotional guides, our prayer list, and other resources on our church website.
Intro
- Chapter 2 has shown us what it looks like to truly know Christ: obey Him, love His people, reject the world, and remain in the truth.
- John now carries that same theme into chapter 3.
- We are not only followers of Christ; we are children of God.
- Because we are God’s children, John shows us how our lives should reflect who we are as we wait for Christ to return.
Stay Close to Christ — v. 28
“And now, little children, abide in him…”
To abide means to remain, continue, and stay faithful to Christ.
- In John 15, Jesus connects abiding in Him with a life that bears fruit.
- We do not produce spiritual fruit by simply trying harder; it flows from staying connected to Christ.
- Christ is coming again, so we should live today in a way that prepares us to meet Him with confidence.
Stay close to Christ. Let your life flow out of your relationship with Him.
Practice Righteousness — v. 29
“…everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.”
A Changed heart produces a changed life
- We do not live righteously to become children of God.
- We live righteously because we have been born of God.
- A changed heart results in a righteous life… an ongoing pattern, a new direction, a way of life.
So what does a changed life look like?
- Holds to His truth — the Gospel and the sufficiency of His Word.
- Seeks and worships God.
- Obeys His Word.
- Hates sin and turns from it.
- Bears the fruit of the Spirit.
- Serves others.
- Shares the hope of the Gospel.
- Wins the day by doing the next right thing.
Righteous living is not just doing better. It is not a list of things to do. It is a life of loving Christ, seeking Him, and following Him day by day.
Know Who You Are — 3:1–3
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God…”
We are His Children (Our Identity)
- The Father has shown us incredible love.
- In Christ, we are truly children of God.
- We are deeply loved by our Father.
- We are personally cared for by our Father.
- We are secure in our Father’s hands.
- We belong to His family and are never alone.
- We have a future that is already settled in Christ.
- As God’s children, we are loved, cared for, and secure in Him.
We are growing into the image of His Son (Our direction/destiny)
“…when he appears we shall be like him…and everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies Himself as He is pure
- One day we will see Christ.
- One day we will be like Him.
- Our hope in Christ should shape how we live now.
- Hope in Christ produces a desire for purity.
- Because He is pure, we should pursue holiness.
- Hope in Christ should produce holiness in us.
The What Now?
- Abide in Christ.
Stay close to Him through His Word, prayer, and daily dependence on Him. - Practice righteousness.
Let your new life show in the way you think, speak, choose, and respond. - Remember who you are.
Live each day as someone who is loved, cared for, secure, and being made more like Christ.