Shownotes
Welcome to Day 2719 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Day 2719 – A Discerning Life – Living in Light of the Lord's Return 1 John 2:28-3:3
Putnam Church Message – 09/21/2025 Sermon Series: 1, 2, & 3 John “A Discerning Life – Living in Light of the Lord’s Return. " Last week, we continued through the letter of 1 John and explored how to have “A Discerning Life: Dealing with Deceivers." This week, we continue through the letter of 1 John, and we will explore how to have A Discerning Life: Living in Light of the Lord’s Return" from 1 John 2:28-3:3 from the NIV, which is found on page 1901 of your Pew Bibles. God’s Children and Sin 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Opening Prayer The doctrine known as the Second Coming (or the return of Christ) either attracts mockery, strikes fear, or brings comfort. Many men and women were raised with a respect for the Bible or were brought up in the church, but never fully grasped the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. As such, they hear about the coming of Christ to judge the living and the dead … and it brings dread. Perhaps there are also some true believers who have strayed so far from the right path that they fear the coming of the Savior as the day they must give an account for their lives of unfaithfulness to the Lord. In both cases, the Second Coming is associated with fear or shame. However, many believers eagerly await their Lord’s return with hope and anticipation. They know and believe with longing the words of Paul: For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died[a] will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. (1 Thes. 4:16–18) Invariably, when I have the privilege of serving people who have lost loved ones, I remind them of this very passage of Scripture. It’s the event grieving believers can look forward to—the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and a great “family reunion” with all those who have gone before us! The doctrine of the return of Christ is no fairy tale to get children to behave, no soothsaying fantasy to get people through a dismal world, and no fad invented to sell books to people worried about the future. On the contrary, the second coming of Christ is part of the body of truth taught not only by Jesus Himself but also by His apostles, the early church, and every generation of true believers throughout the last two millennia. In 1 JOHN 2:28–3:3, John refers twice to the moment “when He appears” (2:28; 3:2). It’s clear that he’s urging all of us, his readers, to think and plan ahead, to realize that the Lord’s return is an inescapable reality which we can face with assurance, not shame. In light of Christ’s coming, we’re to be filled with hopeful anticipation, knowing that “we will see Him just as He is” (3:2). 2:28–29 Christ is coming back one day. It may be today. It may be next week. It may be years, decades, or even centuries from now. Nobody knows when (Mark 13:32). But His future coming from heaven is as certain as His past ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9–11). The fulfillment of this prophecy, based on the unbreakable promise of God, is certain. But the responses of believers to the coming of Christ vary. For those who are ready, it brings comfort and promotes purity. For those who are unprepared, it strikes fear and shame. How should we live in light of Christ’s return? John begins this section with a straightforward command: “And now, dear children” (1 Jn. 2:28). This is the same Greek term (menō [3306]) that was used in the previous section regarding our response to false teachers. We’re to “abide in the Son and in the Father” by letting God’s word abide in us (2:24). And we “abide in Him” by the power of the Holy Spirit, our Teacher, who abides in us (2:27). When John tells his readers to “abide in Him” in 2:28, we know this involves walking in the light,/ keeping God’s Word, /attending to the foundational truths of the faith, /avoiding deception by false teachers,/ and living lives in conformity with Christ’s example—all by the power of the indwelling Spirit. The verb “abide” is in the present tense, which implies an ongoing activity, not a one-time event. We’re to continually abide in Him. This vital command to continue abiding in Christ is followed by a reassuring reminder. The result of abiding in Christ is that we will anticipate His return with confidence, not being put to shame by His appearance (2:28). The Greek word translated “coming” is parousia [3952], which in this context refers to Christ’s “Messianic Advent in glory to judge the world at the end of this age.” By abiding now, /we’ll have confidence then. But the opposite is also true: By failing to abide in fellowship with Him—walking in the Spirit—we’ll shrink back in shame when He appears! Because we know that the coming Son of God “is righteous” (2:29), we also know that He will judge righteously. Acts 17:31 says, “For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” So, for those who have walked in the Spirit and strived to serve Him with their lives, the righteous Judge will reward justly, as Paul wrote: “And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:8). Paul makes this point crystal clear when he refers to the judgment seat of Christ, where each believer must appear—not to determine whether we are worthy of salvation, but to be rewarded for our faithfulness in our life of service to Him (1 Cor. 3:12–15; 2 Cor. 5:9–10). This should prompt all those who are “born of Him” to practice righteousness (1 Jn. 2:29). But John’s point goes even deeper. Those who are “born of Him” are those who have genuinely experienced regeneration by grace through faith. They are thus declared righteous and are spiritually united to Christ by the Holy Spirit. Stephen Smalley notes, “It is only by being ‘born again’ (through Christ) that the believer can be properly related to God.… (Bulletin) Moreover, only as the believer is firmly related to God through Christ, and by the Spirit, is it possible to ‘abide in him’ and ‘act rightly.’ ” By the righteousness of Christ, God has provided two things:- the internal ability—spiritual union with Him that declares us righteous in Him and enables us to live rightly.
- the external motivation—the fact that we must give an account to Christ as a righteous Judge who will reward us for our faithfulness.
Transcripts
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Day: /:Sermon Series: 1, 2, & 3 John
“A Discerning Life – Living in Light of the Lord’s Return. "
Last week, we continued through the letter of 1 John and explored how to have “A Discerning Life: Dealing with Deceivers."
e NIV, which is found on page:God’s Children and Sin
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Opening Prayer
The doctrine known as the Second Coming (or the return of Christ) either attracts mockery, strikes fear, or brings comfort. Many men and women were raised with a respect for the Bible or were brought up in the church, but never fully grasped the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. As such, they hear about the coming of Christ to judge the living and the dead … and it brings dread. Perhaps there are also some true believers who have strayed so far from the right path that they fear the coming of the Savior as the day they must give an account for their lives of unfaithfulness to the Lord. In both cases, the Second Coming is associated with fear or shame. However, many believers eagerly await their Lord’s return with hope and anticipation. They know and believe with longing the words of Paul:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died[a] will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. (1 Thes. 4:16–18)
Invariably, when I have the privilege of serving people who have lost loved ones, I remind them of this very passage of Scripture. It’s the event grieving believers can look forward to—the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and a great “family reunion” with all those who have gone before us!
The doctrine of the return of Christ is no fairy tale to get children to behave, no soothsaying fantasy to get people through a dismal world, and no fad invented to sell books to people worried about the future. On the contrary, the second coming of Christ is part of the body of truth taught not only by Jesus Himself but also by His apostles, the early church, and every generation of true believers throughout the last two millennia.
In 1 JOHN 2:28–3:3, John refers twice to the moment “when He appears” (2:28; 3:2). It’s clear that he’s urging all of us, his readers, to think and plan ahead, to realize that the Lord’s return is an inescapable reality which we can face with assurance, not shame. In light of Christ’s coming, we’re to be filled with hopeful anticipation, knowing that “we will see Him just as He is” (3:2).
2:28–29
now. Nobody knows when (Mark: s the same Greek term (menō [: ted “coming” is parousia [: will judge righteously. Acts:the internal ability—spiritual union with Him that declares us righteous in Him and enables us to live rightly.
the external motivation—the fact that we must give an account to Christ as a righteous Judge who will reward us for our faithfulness.
3:1–3
The regenerating work of Christ freely grants believers a right standing before Him and enables them to live rightly for Him. Considering this truth, John caps off his exhortation to live in light of Christ’s return with an outburst of wonder (3:1), a glorious promise (3:2), and a fixed hope (3:3).
The King James Version translates the first word of chapter 3 not with a weak “see” but a more dramatic “behold.” I think that captures the wonder in John’s words better than “see” or “look.” John is gushing with excitement at the splendor of salvation, “for he calls us his children” (3:1). And just to be perfectly clear that we aren’t merely called something we’re not, John adds, “and such we are.”
As Christ is by nature the Son of God, our union with Him places us in a position of “adoption as [children]” of God (Rom. 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5). This is a great blessing to be reckoned as one with Him and to be ushered—purely by grace—into the family of God. But there is also a more sobering side to this: Just as the world does not know Christ and does not rightly relate to Him, / so the world does not know us as we really are (1 Jn. 3:1). This will inevitably lead to misunderstanding and discord between the believer and the world.
However, this dissonance between the world and the family of believers is only temporary. Everything will change when Christ returns and sets this world straight. John’s outburst of wonder leads to a glorious promise related to the Second Coming. Though we don’t fully understand many of the details about the future life after the return of Christ and our glorious resurrection, we do know this: But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. (3:2). The notion that “we will be like Him” is clarified by Paul’s words in Philippians 3:20–21: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Corinthians:Only a miraculous transformation to a glorious condition will allow us to see Him “as He is.” Paul describes our transformation in this way:
Cor.:This transformation, in turn, will only deepen and intensify the spiritual union we have with Christ, which itself will lead to greater conformity to Him. One commentator explains:
At His appearing, believers will see Jesus in His true nature because their spiritual as well as physical eyes will be fully open. This vision of Christ will change each one. We will become like Him in terms of what we see in Him and in ourselves. What we will come to recognize fully is that Jesus is morally pure, absolutely righteous. At that moment, we too will become so.
But that’s yet future. Perhaps in the near future, perhaps in the distant future. Maybe the trumpet of God will usher our souls from heaven to be reunited with our glorious bodies, or maybe we’ll still be alive and experience an instant transformation from mortality to immortality. Whatever is in store for us, this resurrection and glorification is still to come.
So, what do we do in the meantime as we wait eagerly for the Second Coming and long for our transformation? John answers this in the next verse: “And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn. 3:3). With this one line, John’s soaring, out-of-this-world theology lands in the center of the personal and the practical. Every Christian who places their confident expectation in Christ’s return, yearning to see Him face-to-face, to be changed from the inside out, and to spend eternity basking in His glory, should experience an internal cleansing in the here and now.
This isn’t a ceremonial cleansing. And it isn’t a mere declaration of cleansing. This is sanctification, in which we are set apart to live in a way that’s pleasing to Him, becoming more and more like Him even in this life. By setting our hearts and minds on His imminent and certain return, a purification occurs that cleanses us from the things that would otherwise drag us down. We’re saved from the power of sin over our lives and empowered to live a life pleasing to Him.
What a series of verses! This section starts with a command to abide in Him (2:28). It includes a word of reassurance (2:28–29), and it reaches a zenith with the wonder of the Father’s saving love by which He adopts us as His children (3:1). At the top of this peak, John reminds us of the promise that, in our future state, we will be like Christ (3:2). And he concludes this section with a note on the purifying purpose of a hope fixed on Christ’s second coming (3:3).
APPLICATION: 1 JOHN 2:28–3:3
Christ Is Coming … Now What?
Very seldom do I hear “prophecy experts”—with their detailed charts and confident arguments—spend a lot of time on how the Second Coming should affect the way we live today. They go on and on about what God will be doing then … and they leave us wondering what we’re supposed to be doing now. But not the biblical authors. All inspired Scripture—even prophecy of future events—is given to us All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16–17).
So what should we be doing now as we wait for the return of Christ? Let me answer this “Now what?” question with three principles to keep in mind.
First, we should purify our lives. All of us have sin in our lives. The apostle John has already made this patently clear (1 Jn. 1:8). Even the most seasoned saint has some daily spiritual hygiene to take care of or they’ll start to stink. We should occasionally peruse Paul’s lists of “deeds of the flesh” and “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:19–23) as a way to remind ourselves of some of the blemishes in our character and behavior. Or read repeatedly and deeply through the Proverbs to help expose areas of folly in our lives. Or study intently the life of Christ as a standard of holiness to which none of us measure up. Then we need to go to God to confess our sins, asking Him to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9). In this way, as we await Christ’s return, we will be striving to purify ourselves, just as He is pure (3:3).
Second, we should focus on the future. We humans are so easily weighed down by the gravity of this present age. We forget that this world system is temporary and that at His future return, Christ will usher in an eternal kingdom. Knowing this truth, do we live like it? Do we spend our time and money investing in eternal things that will contribute to the proclamation of the gospel and the growth of the body of Christ? Or are we stockpiling perishable treasures in this life that serve only to distract us from heavenly things? A glance at your bank statement will reveal the answer!
Let me suggest a periodic review of your spending habits and your calendar, taking a close look at where your time and treasures are going. Is there an imbalance between what you spend on things like entertainment and leisure versus things like evangelism and missions—things that will contribute to eternity? Think of specific ways you may need to adjust your budget and your schedule to focus on the future.
Third, we should share Christ while there’s still time. The day will come when we will no longer be able to proclaim the good news of salvation to the lost. If you knew for sure Jesus was coming back tomorrow, whom would you share the gospel with today? It’s not an irrelevant question, because He could return even sooner than that!
Remember that simple faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ is all that’s needed for a lost soul to be ushered into the glorious promises of salvation in Christ. But they need to hear that good news in order to believe it. It’s time to get off the sidelines and get into the game. Lovingly share the truth. They may not listen. They may even mock you. But maybe you’ll be the last voice in a series of evangelists, the one who will be there when the Spirit penetrates that sinner’s heart and eternity adds another soul to its roster. There is such a thing as procrastinating so long that it’s too late!
Next week, we will continue our exploration of 1 John. Our message for next week is “A Discerning Life – Discerning The Works of the Devil. Our Core verses for next week will be: 1 John 3:4-10
Closing Prayer