How Do You Know You Are A Child Of God? | 1 John 2

Fellowship With God

Today we are looking at 1 John, once again, but this time, it is chapter 2. So please turn with me there – 1 John, Chapter 2. And I will tell you what lies ahead of us as we proceed.

Yesterday, we began looking at 1 John, and we began with the first chapter. And basically, what I said there was that when you read an author, you are not normally told what lies behind why he was written. Thankfully, John tells us here exactly why he has written. And he says that he’s written what is in the book (and I gave you an idea of it) is, so that those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, may know that we have eternal life. To use another phrase, it is for the purpose of assurance of salvation. But not just so that we might know how we can know that we have eternal life, but so that we might know we actually have it. We are the ones who are in a relationship with God – a saving relationship with God.

And so, he began in chapter 1, with talking about who it is, who in fact has this living relationship with God, this fellowship with God, and that was really our title yesterday – it was entitled “Fellowship with God.” And I hope you noticed how John began with himself, that this Jesus who walked in Nazareth is actually God the Son and we had intimate dealings with him. And from there, he said, “The reason why we are preaching this message to you, is that we want you to also enjoy this fellowship with him. And it is there that we find the fullness of our joy and that’s where you’ll find the fullness of your own joy.”

We also saw how, out of that, he then took two steps backwards, and said, “What kind of God is there?” And John, being the poetic person that he is, he simply said, “God is light,” and allowed us to then fit in what “light” represents. We did that yesterday. We spoke in terms of truth, you might recall. We also spoke in terms of life-giving pleasure, joy, goodness, and then finally, we spoke in terms of moral uprightness (ethics). So we brought all that. And then he began those “if” clauses, if you remember. There are about 5 of them: if this is what is true about God, and if you are claiming this, this is the inevitable consequence. One plus one is always two. It can’t be five. Okay. Even religiously, it must be two. And so, you too can reason, with respect to your position with him. Ending with the aspect that he is faithful and just, so if we come to him in genuine repentance (confession of sin) he will pardon, he will cleanse and we will know this real fellowship. That’s what we saw yesterday.

God Will Forgive Our Sins

Today, we begin in chapter 2, and I want to anchor our thoughts in chapter 2 with the title: Fight at heart level. Fight at heart level. Now, as I do so, the first thing I need to say is the fact that chapter 2 begins with one of the “if” clauses. And if I had the opportunity to be part of the people that divided the Bible into chapters and verses, I probably would have wanted to add that last “if” to the previous chapter. Alright.

Now, I hope you know by now, that those chapters and verses, the numbering that is there – they were not put there by God. They were not put there by the original authors. They were put there much, much later to make life easier for all of us. Okay? Otherwise, by now, you’d all be scrolling through trying to figure out where we are for this message. But because they have been so well subdivided, when I said, “1 John, chapter 2,” all of you went straight there. Okay? But sometimes, those of us who study the Bible sort of go, “Ah, well, I think I would have preferred it a little move here or a little move there.” And you’ll notice the sermon will come to an end of chapter 2, because the way it ends, it’s sort of introducing the subject that we have in chapter 3.

Okay, so the first part of it deals with this “If” and it’s talking about how sin has been provided for. It’s been propitiated in the Lord Jesus, which ties it very well with the previous verse. So let me just begin with chapter 1 and verse 9,

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

We go into chapter 2,

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, (notice that “if?”) we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (Verse 2) He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2:1-2)

You can’t miss the relationship between the two. If you went and admitted a crime you have committed – let’s just say that you were playing football, and in the process, you broke the window of your neighbour. And he comes out raging. Obviously he’s looking for the culprit. If you then show up and say, “I am the one who did it,” which is what confessing is, you probably might end up in the hospital or something. And so, it’s the last thing you want to do. You want to go into hiding, isn’t it? So that you don’t end up facing his wrath.

Similarly, here it says, “If we say (or rather, verse 9) If we confess our sins” then it adds, “He is faithful and just…” In other words, he is one who will uphold the law. You expect that the answer after that will be, what? That he will punish you. He’s just. You’re in court and you are asked to plead guilty or not guilty concerning some crime, and you say, “I’m guilty.” The judge doesn’t then say, “Okay then, I forgive you. Go.” No, he lifts his gavel in the air, brings it crashing down and says, “Five years imprisonment.”

But here in the text it is saying he is faithful and just. Not just merciful and loving, but he’s faithful and just. And then it says, “..to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” How? Well that’s where chapter 2 verse 1 and 2 gives us the answer. It is that there is a propitiation. Now the word “propitiate” simply means to do something that takes away wrath. To do something that takes away wrath. That is to propitiate. And that’s what Jesus Christ has done on the cross. He alone lived a perfect life. Having lived that perfect life, he then took our liability, our sins, (or better still) that which our sins deserve then fell upon him so that God could be just, and at the time, justify those who have faith in Jesus. So that’s all that John is beginning to say there. He’s basically saying it’s not that God has forgotten his jealousy for his law. He has satisfied it in the person of Christ. Therefore, when we come to him, admitting our sin, trusting in the finished work of Christ, he pardons us and he does so completely.

An Appeal Against Sin

Well I want you to notice, however, very quickly, before we move into what I would consider to have been the right place to start this chapter, it is the fact that Christianity is opposed to sin, and then at the same time, provides for sin. In order words, when the Bible says here, “I’m writing these things to you so that you will not sin,” it is representing the Christian faith.

Yesterday we were learning about that free or hyper grace teaching that is dealing. You remember that hyper grace teaching? The error of that hyper grace teaching is that it takes the subject to the wrong extreme. Christianity is remedial. It is fixing our broken lives – our morally broken lives. So its appeal to all of us is, “Do not sin.” That’s its appeal. But it also recognizes that we are not yet perfect. That we are still fallen creatures being perfected by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit. And that’s the reason why it adds the phrase, “If anyone does sin…” You can almost sense the pain in the heart of John when he produces those words, “But if anyone does sin…” Because we do! And I love the way he began the entire chapter here when he says, “My little children.” Ah! You can sense that there is a fatherly heart there that is, as it were, being poured out on us. “But if anyone does sin…” a provision has been made. So don’t hide in hypocrisy.

(Regarding a disturbance in the church) Okay so it’s not only us who are fallen. Okay, so sin has affected a lot more than just us human beings. Let’s go on. Poor guy! Go into hiding, please. Go into hiding. You need that.

God’s Fruit In Our Lives

Now, having appreciated that, the question that often therefore arises is: if I do sin, (which we all do) then how do I know I am a Christian? How? John, unbelievers sin. I sin. How do I know I am a Christian? Here is the answer: it’s at the level of the heart. The level of the heart.

The non-Christian basks in sin, loves sins and hates the thought that God demands righteousness. The Christian is one who loves righteousness, wants to obey God, but sometimes fails. And this is the first thing that it deals with, therefore, in verse 3 to verse 11. Let’s quickly see that, because it deals with conversion’s vital evidence. And then, that vital evidence is this: ultimately, walking as Jesus walked and exhibiting love for one another.

Let’s quickly look at that. That’s one way in which we know that we are truly converted. And as I said, I would have loved to begin the chapter there.

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him…” (1 John 2:3-4)

That’s the first thing that is being brought out there. It is this reality that, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, and I’m sure it’s the same here in Uganda, almost anybody you meet in the streets and you say to them, “Are you a Christian?” tend to say, “Yes I am.” Even individuals who are living morally depraved lives, they want to pull out some baptismal certificate (showing) that they belong to the right camp. And the Bible here is saying, “That‘s not the point.” The point rather is has my life been changed? Am I someone who now delights in obeying God? To put it a little differently, look at the way he puts it here in verse 5 and 6:

“But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he (referring to Jesus) walked.” (1 John 2:5-6)

In other words, this moral transformation that takes place in us, is because the Spirit of God has come to live in our hearts, in our lives, and he is producing his fruit in our lives. That’s what he’s doing. And therefore, there’s more and more of the life of Jesus Christ being manifested in us. And what is that life? Well, a lot of it is love. The queen of all graces. Look at the way he puts it here in verse 7 down to verse 11,

“Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning.” (1 John 2:7a)

In other words, the demands of Christianity don’t change, even in the 21st century, doesn’t change. What the Bible said so many thousands of years ago, remains the same standard for us today. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

“The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:7b-11)

Already, there are a few tests. You say, “Lord, oh to grace, how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be. Let thy grace Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love” (Quote from the song: “Come thou fount of every blessing” by Chris Rice)

That’s what I feel often! That when I desire to live a godly life, sin is crouching at my door. How do I know then, that I am a true child of God?

There are tests. If I were to be peeled like an onion, peeled and peeled and peeled, until we get to the me that makes me, me, what would they find there? Is it a heart that loves God? Obeys God? Seeks to live for him? Is it a heart that wants to be like Christ in every way? Is it a heart that genuinely loves my brothers and sisters? In other words, a heart that wants to live for their welfare? That’s the test. That’s the test. And let us all test ourselves.

Encouragement For Christians At Different Stages

But John doesn’t end there. He then goes on to give us some encouragement and he uses a poetic approach here in verse 12, down to verse 14. And the poetic arrangement is one of speaking to little children, to fathers and then young men. Again, to the little children, to fathers and then to young men. Now, he’s not thinking in terms of physical children and fathers and young men. He’s thinking in terms of the fact that the Christian faith is like the way any life is – it’s a life, okay? There’s a time you are born again into God’s kingdom. You begin to grow spiritually. And there is a time where you are like some of us – senior citizens in God’s kingdom. Okay, okay, you’ve been around quite a while!

So John is still on this issue of the heart, but he wants to encourage us. He’s encouraging the people he’s writing to. And basically, what he’s saying there is that your actual experience in your journey of grace should be yet another source of assurance to you, that God has done something in my life.

Let’s quickly look at each of these stages and then move on. And we look first of all at what he says to little children, newly saved. And then what he says to the fathers. And then what he says to the youths, the spiritual youths, the young adults spiritually.

First of all, to the little children. Verse 12 and the second part of verse 13,

“I am writing to you, little children,

because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.” (1 John 2:12)

And then,

“I write to you, children,

because you know the Father.” (1 John 13b)

In other words, the aspect that should make you know that something has really happened to me as a new believer, it’s those two things. First of all, just the fresh sense of God’s pardon for sin. Just that initial sense, that joy and peace that you know, fresh from Calvary.

Now I don’t know about you, but having been a pastor for so many years, that’s something that fills my heart to no end. It is when individuals, who may have been in religion for a very long time, finally find their way to the cross. And one day, maybe I’ve preached on a Sunday and thought, “Ah, it’s the usual sermon” and during the course of the week, this person just comes to me beaming, “Pastor, Pastor, I’ve become a Christian! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!” And so on. And I’m thinking, “Wow! So God is still working here!” You know? And they just want to tell the whole world what has happened. And that’s also this aspect of knowing the Father. It’s this fresh perception that was never there before concerning the things of God, the things of the Father. We ought to rejoice in that, before the person begins to see something of the realities of the fight with sin. It’s that freedom, that newfound freedom, to be able look the devil in the face and say, “Devil, no! What part of “no” don’t you understand? No! I am not a child of God!”

And then, John goes to the opposite end, and deals with the Fathers. What is it that he speaks about the fathers there? It’s this: the matured knowledge of the ways of God. The matured knowledge of the ways of God. Listen to this:

“I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning” (1 John 2:13a)

When it comes back to the fathers, exactly the same thing, listen to this,

“I write to you, fathers, (verse 14)

because you know him who is from the beginning.” (1 John 2:14a)

In other words, the thing about the Christian faith is that as you continue walking with God over the years, you go from a rippling stream. You know what I mean by that? If you go to a stream, the water is always going “ba ba ba ba ba” as it’s over the pebbles. It’s going “ba ba ba ba ba ba ba” And you can tell the water is moving here. Then you go to – I don’t know what your river is here, the Nile perhaps or whatever, but back home, it is the mighty Zambezi. You’d almost think that the water was not moving. That’s what you’d almost think, because you can’t see any movements. It’s just like a sea of glass. And often, the mature ones spiritually are like that.

The young Christian, who was very joyful, remember? One day will come to the pastor and say, “Pastor, Pastor, I think I’m not a Christian!” You say, “Why?” “Ah, you know, the dirty thoughts in my mind, Pastor.” And then you say, with a smile on your face when he looks up to you, you say, “Welcome to the club! Now this is real Christianity! Now you have to fight the fight of the faith. That was a honeymoon period the Lord gave you.”

Now, the matured believer knows the ways of God. All those trials as they are coming, the study of God’s Word, the fellowship with solid believers, has matured that believer and therefore, he knows the ways of him who is from the beginning.

And then, thirdly and lastly, he deals with the middle, those that are continuing, that he calls young men and basically it is this: it is the power to sanctify. The power to sanctify. To make you more and more godly. That’s where the encouragement is. Listen to this, verse 13 in the middle,

“I am writing to you, young men,

because you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:13b)

And again at the very end of verse 14,

“I write to you, young men,

because you are strong,

and the word of God abides in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:14b)

So that’s what is happening as you are continuing in this Christian life. God’s word is your number 1 weapon as you are fighting sin in your own life and consequently you are bringing shame to the devil as you are growing more and more in Christlikeness. So John is using poetic language here to say really, “Let me encourage you. You may not be what you want to be, but you are not what you once were.” Continue in the journey of grace. You are a child of God.

Two Crucial Warnings

Well two things that he warns us about, that we need to be aware of. First of all, it’s the world’s attraction. The world’s attraction. That’s what he deals with here in verse 15 down to verse 17. Remember, the fight must be at heart level. That’s where the fight must be. At heart level. And yes, you may have been saved out of the world but you are still in this world. And often, it is the world that is going to quench your love for the Lord. It is the world that will make you chase after nothing. And we rush pool, as we often say, thinking there is water down this tar road, and even begin to run there, and it was just a reflection of the sun.

Look at the way he puts it here. By the way, let me put it this way: John, the whole letter of John, he rarely, rarely speaks in the imperative. He rarely does. By imperative, I mean where you are saying, “Do this” or “Don’t do this.” He rarely does that. This is one of those extremely rare occasions. Listen to this,

“Do not love the world or the things in the world.” (1 John 2:15a)

We will even stop there, because after that, he’s just giving reasons. But that’s something especially young adults, it’s something you need to take to heart. The world, with all its false attractions, will simply destroy your spiritual health. Don’t.

“If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15b – 17)

What reasons is he giving? Just two of them. One of them is that as a human being, ultimately, you can only love one object. That’s it. So, the more love you give to the world, the less love you give to God. Simple. Sometimes you find in a marriage relationship, a man who’s been unfaithful and the wife has found out and she’s really angry. And the man is saying to the wife, “But dear, I really love you!” Thank you for laughing! The woman wants to take that cell phone and throw it at him! Does this man know what love is? Hey?

And basically it is the truth, you cannot be saying you love God, when really the world has taken your heart away. You can’t. And that’s one place you have to put up a gallant heart fight.

But the second reason he gives, is that the world is a sinking ship. It’s a sinking ship. It’s very temporal. The world is passing away along with all its desires. It’s simple, if you were to invest in business, and you somehow got to know that this particular company is going to very shortly close down, that’s not where you put your money. You want to put your money in a company that’s going to prevail in all these economic circumstances. For most of you here, university students, that should be common sense. So why invest all your heart in things that perish? Why? When God gives you that which is eternal with eternal joy. So that’s the first appeal, saying beware! When your heart begins to love the world, beware! Because, in the end, you are going in the direction of failure and loss.

And then, the second aspect we are asked to beware of is human deception. Human deception. And John takes quite a bit of time here. I mean, literally, it’s verse 18 to the end. It’s this whole aspect of human deception. And how I wish this was something only to beware of in the first century. But, alas! So many young people are chasing after individuals who are nothing but false teachers and false prophets. What a loss! What a loss! Thankfully, many of them get salvation.

But let’s quickly see this warning here. Remember, it’s at a heart level. Heart level.

The first thing I think we all need to agree (on) is that one of the most discouraging things in Christianity is apostasy. Its individuals that you began the Christian walk with, and then they abandon the paths of righteousness and abandon the paths of sound doctrine. And that’s what he mentions here in verse 18 and 19. He says,

“Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued

with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:18 -19)

Some of you probably have already seen this. You haven’t been Christians for so long, but there were individuals who were your friends, who have since abandoned that truth. And it’s painful, isn’t it? And perhaps you even tried to hold them back, you pleaded with them, and now they even hate you for it. They don’t want anything to do with you. What John is saying is, “Look, don’t despair. For most of these people, the truth is, they never had the genuine article. They did not really experience the new birth and therefore, they’ve simply gone where they truly belong. That’s what has happened.”

The Holy Spirit In God’s Children

But, on the other hand, he encourages us, with respect to this knowledge-giving anointing, that those of us who are truly God’s children have. And that’s what keeps us going. Look at the next two verses, verse 20 and verse 21. Verse 20 and verse 21,

“But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” (1 John 2:20 – 21)

You know, unfortunately these days, when we are thinking in terms of anointing, anointing, it’s been popularized in terms of power, isn’t it? Power. That’s the anointed person. He’s got power. When he speaks into a microphone, you all start falling back. That one is anointed!

But the actual word has to do with securing God’s blessing – that’s what it really means. It’s God’s blessing on you. That’s why, in the Old Testament, it was represented by the pouring of oil. It was an anointing with oil. It’s more in terms of God blessing you with what he himself is. And in this respect, it is knowledge. Knowledge. In other words, there’s something that has happened to you, that when you are reading the Bible, something in you is saying, “Yes, yes, yes, this is the truth.” And that’s the reason why even atheists, however educated they might be, and they try to punch holes in your Bible, they can’t. It’s a failed effort from the word “go.”

But also, this is what happens: when someone is twisting the truth of the Bible, again, something in you is saying, “Ah ah, no, no. That’s fishy. That’s fishy. That chap is just being clever.”

Well, it’s actually not something, it’s someone. It’s the Holy Spirit who has blessed you with that sense, and that’s what keeps you going. And John here is saying, “When I’m teaching you all these things, it’s not because I am writing on a blank slate, no. In actual fact, I know that in you, there is a hearty “Amen” to what I am saying. You have this foundational knowledge that keeps you going.”

What You Believe Matters

Well, let me hurry on. He goes on to argue, therefore, that what you believe matters. What you believe matters. And that’s why those Gnostic teachers, (remember the “G” and then Gnostic?) The reason why they are in error is because they don’t have this. Although they claim to have it, they don’t. And they are not going to Heaven, because what you believe matters. Listen to this. Verse 22 and 23,

“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 2:22 – 23)

And look at the positive nature in which he now speaks about them, because they are continuing, they are abiding in the truth, the people he is writing to, who believe in the Son of God that they have eternal life. Let me quickly deal with that and then I must wrap up.

Verse 24,

“Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. (Exactly what he’s going to say to us in chapter 5 and verse 13.) I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. (In other words, move you away from that which you already know.) But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.” (1 John 2:24 – 27)

And strictly speaking, that is where I would have loved to end this chapter. I will deal verse 28 into chapter 3 and so we’ll, sort of, hang there for now. But again, have you noticed this? Deal with Christian life at heart level, at heart level. Don’t let it be about, “But my friends don’t know what I am doing.” No! You can easily end up being like a pole, a wooden pole, where termites have already eaten the whole of the inside. And then, trials and external temptations come and just lean and the whole structure of your life just crumbles. It goes to show that there was really nothing inside there, nothing.

Rather, deal with yourself at heart level. If you are not living as Christ is, at heart level, go to the Lord and say to him, “I don’t think I’m a Christian. Save me, save me now.” If you don’t know anything of this journey of grace that we talked about, simply go to him and say, “Lord, save me. Mine is an empty religion. Save me.”

If you are in love with the world and constantly going away from the truth, go to him and say, “Lord, today, make me a real Christian.” Amen?

Let’s pray.

Our Father in Heaven, thank you for the truth of your Word. Thank that it searches us from the inside out. And as we’ve exposed our hearts to it today, we pray that, by the help of your Holy Spirit, we might respond to it appropriately. Where we are found to be on the wrong side of your truth, Lord give us grace to come to you, in integrity and honesty, asking that you might save us. Where we’ve begun wandering away from you, as the hymn we sang earlier says, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above.” Help us to abide in you. Amen