28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

He demands a continual, deepening relationship with Christ as a direct duty of their status as “dear children.”

John states that the motivation behind this faithful abiding is eschatological in nature. The apostle wants his readers to remain true because of the certainty of Christ’s return.

It is that guaranteed promise of Christ’s return that should help motivate and sustain today’s believer.

Those who remain faithful to Christ will not have to withdraw from the Judge in shame or fear. Instead, they can stand with confidence before him at his coming (cf. Heb 9:24–28).

Of course, the overriding challenge in this verse is to abide in Christ. Only the one who continues, or abides, possesses this confidence and fearlessness. The Christian is challenged, as he awaits and anticipates the arrival of the King, to remain faithful in service. Those who are found faithful are those who will stand confidently before the King. On the other hand, those who do not abide in Christ will be ashamed and disgraced at his return.

John uses two different words for knowledge in this verse (“If you know [eidete] … you know [ginōskete]”). Without pressing the distinctions, as did older commentaries, a nuanced difference may still be present. The former (eidete) is absolute and intuitive, “to be aware of the fact.” The latter (ginōskete) is consequent, “knowledge learned or gained by experience.” The combination of the two may indicate that the “absolute, intuitive knowledge that Christ is righteous is the basis of the logical conclusion that those who do righteousness have His very nature by their rebirth.” They know that Jesus the Son is righteous; therefore they know that those who behave righteously possess the righteous nature of their Father through spiritual birth.324

Marshall describes this righteousness as “correct, moral behavior, acceptable to God.” This specific righteousness is a distinct characteristic of the one who has been born of God. Likewise, it is a continual, life-characterizing righteousness that comes from having a personal, saving knowledge of him who is absolutely righteous.

John introduces in this verse a thoroughly Johannine concept that will repeatedly resurface in the remainder of his book. It is the idea of being born of God, of a spiritual new birth (3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; cf. John 1:12–13; 3:3–8).

His point is simply this: if a person does what is right, this is a sure sign of a new birth.

In a more accurate translation, the NASB reads, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us.” The imperative calls for direct attention and reflection upon the amazing love God has bestowed upon his children.

God’s love is foreign to humankind in that we cannot understand the magnitude of such love. It astonishes, amazes, and creates wonder within those who properly reflect upon it.

“God loves the sinner, not because He is drawn to him by his lovableness, but because, in spite of man’s unloveliness, God sets His mind and will on seeking man’s highest good. This is what is amazing about God’s love.” It is a divine, initiated love that is active, for it seeks to bring sinners into the family of God.

W. Alexander recorded that on the mission field, when native converts came to this phrase, the scribe laid down his pen and exclaimed: “No! It (sic) is too much; let us write, ‘We shall kiss His feet.’ ”

There are practical implications associated with living the life of hope. Being born of God creates a vibrant hope for the future, one that motivates pure living in everyday life.

The hope (tēn elpida) John describes includes three primary factors: Christ’s appearing, the believer’s seeing him, and the believer’s becoming as he is.

That initial purification with its transforming result is the necessary antecedent to this personal self-cleansing in daily experience. The more intimate the believer’s fellowship with God, who is “light” (1:5), the more conscious he becomes of his need to cleanse himself from all that is moral darkness (1:5–7). The more he contemplates this assured hope of being conformed to the image of Christ, the more eagerly will he strive for present personal purity (Phil. 3:13–14).

Self-purification, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is a key component of the New Testament’s teachings on the life of the believer (cf. 2 Cor 7:1; 1 Tim 5:22; Jas 4:8; 1 Pet 1:22).

The final words “just as he is pure” (kathōs ekeinos hagnos estin) reveals the supreme example for the striving believer to follow. “He” is translated from the demonstrative pronoun ekeinos, which in 1 John always refers to Jesus Christ (cf. 2:6). He is our pattern. As Hobbs asserts, “We are not to judge our lives by other peoples’, but by Christ’s, who is the standard or goal toward which we are to move.”

Sin is not amoral. It is not something to which one can be indifferent. On the contrary, sin is a willful disregard for God. It is a rebellious revolt against God’s will. No one is excluded from the obligation to obey God; therefore the seccessionists were placing themselves, by their sinful acts, in direct opposition to God. Sin in its very nature is “synonymous with being of the devil” (v. 8) and “the opposite of being just” (v. 7). To live a life of sin is to align oneself with the world and the devil and to be at enmity with God. It is the very opposite of what righteousness is and entails.

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). One of the goals of Christ’s incarnation and sacrifice was the “effective removal of human sins.” Christ came to remove the individual acts of sin committed by his children.

Although numerous suggestions have been offered, and none is completely satisfying, the most reasonable still seems to center on John’s use of the present tense verb. John is not suggesting that the child of God will not commit a single act of sin. Instead, John is describing a way of life, a character, a prevailing lifestyle. Here the present tense verb contextually depicts linear, continual action. In other words, the believer will not live a life characterized by sin. From John’s earlier statements it is obvious that the Christian, while enjoying a position or standing of sinlessness through identification with Christ, will sin on occasion and will need to seek God’s forgiveness (1:9; 2:1–2). But what is also apparent from John’s writings is that a genuine believer will not live in continual sin. As D. Smith writes, “The believer may fall into sin but he will not walk in it.”

The one who sees Christ for who he is and embraces his redemptive work is the one who abides in him.

While the unbeliever lives in sin and has not seen or known Christ, the believer has terminated a life of sin for a life of abiding in him. The child of God has experienced a decisive break with sin. Sin no longer controls his life.

“The present tense participle makes clear that the test is not the performance of an occasional righteous deed but rather the habitual practice of ‘righteousness.’ ” Furthermore, “the righteousness”

In essence, both reflect the nature of their masters.

“Prior to the creation of the first human beings, the devil was already sinning. It is he who introduced sin to the human race, and thus all who are sinning are his spiritual offspring.”

“The task of Jesus was to undo whatever the devil had achieved, to thwart whatever he tries to do.” More specifically, in the immediate context the reference is to the removal of sin from the individual’s life. Christ came to “loose” the sinner from the chains of sin. There is liberation in the cross. Deliverance can be obtained through the work of the incarnate Son of God. It is the characteristic of the devil to sin and of Jesus to save.384

As in v. 6, the writer’s use of the present tense accentuates that the child of God does not continually engage in sin. John is not suggesting the believer is completely free from sin, but that the Christian’s life is not characterized by sin, which is the mark of the follower of Satan, who has been sinning from the beginning (v. 8). The child of God does not behave in a manner that has the nature or character of sin.

The believer cannot continue in sin because of the divine life that has been implanted through the new birth. A new nature, a divine nature, has been imparted to the believer. The life of God is now his life, and a life of sin is simply no longer possible.