1 John 3

- 1. It implies our seeing of God. - 2. Our loving of God. - 3. God's loving of us. 1. The enjoying of God implies our seeing of God (1 John 3:2). We shall see him as he is: Here we see him as he is not; not mutable, mortal; there as he is.

Answ. Sin is any want of conformity to, or transgression of the Law of God. Sin is a transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Of sin in general.

Question 3. From where is it that true grace cannot but grow? Response 1. It is proper for grace to grow, it is semen manens, the seed of God (1 John 3:9). It is the nature of seed to grow; grace does not lie in the heart, as a stone in the earth, but as seed in the earth, which…

They have angels for their life-guard (Hebrews 1:14). They are of the blood-royal of heaven (1 John 3:9). The Scripture has set forth their spiritual heraldry; they have their escutcheon or coat-armor: Sometimes they bear the lion for their courage (Proverbs 28:1), sometimes the…

God has both asserted it and promised it. 1. God has asserted it (1 John 3:9): His Seed remains in him (1 John 2:27): The anointing you have received of him abides in you. 2. As God has asserted it, so he has promised it: The Truth of God, the most brilliant Pearl of his Crown,…

Use 1. See the excellency of grace, it perseveres: Other things are but [in non-Latin alphabet], for a season; health and riches are sweet, but they are but for a season, but grace is a blossom of eternity. The seed of God remains (1 John 3:9). Grace may suffer an eclipse, not a…

Oh be sure to keep a good conscience; this is the best way to stand with boldness at the Day of Judgment. The voice of conscience is the voice of God; if conscience does upon just grounds acquit us, God will acquit us (1 John 3:21). If our heart condemn us not, then have we conf…

Though it is true, the curse causeless shall not come — it is not in man's power to make another cursed — yet to wish a curse is a fearful sin. If to hate our brother be murder (1 John 3:15), then to curse him, which is the highest degree of hatred, must needs be murder. To use…

Oh be not venomous like the serpent. Malice is mental murder, you may kill a man and never touch him (1 John 3:15). Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.

2. God is a Father by election, having chosen a certain number to be his children, whom he will entail heaven upon; Ephesians 1:4. [in non-Latin alphabet], he has chosen us in him. 3. God is a Father by special grace; he consecrates the elect by his Spirit, and infuses a superna…

Happiness is the quintessence of holiness. 6. Sanctification is an abiding thing (1 John 3:9): His seed remains in him. He who is truly sanctified cannot fall from that state.

(2.) Murder is committed with the mind. Malice is mental murder (1 John 3:15): Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. To malign another, and wish evil against him in the heart, is a murdering him.

Covet grace. Grace is the best blessing; it is the seed of God (1 John 3:9). The angels' glory: covet heaven.

If the pavement of it be bespangled with so many bright shining lights, glorious stars, what is the Kingdom itself? 1 John 3:2. It does not yet appear what we shall be. This Kingdom exceeds our faith.

There is a party of grace in the heart, true to Christ, but sometimes it may be over-voted by corruption, and then a Christian yields; it is sad thus to yield to the tempter, but yet let not a child of God be wholly discouraged, and say there is no hope, let me pour in some balm…

God may give Satan leave to cast us into prison, to clap bolts upon us again, and to become a lying spirit of bondage to us, as he became a lying spirit in the mouths of Ahab's prophets. And he may give up our hearts to be fettered with the cords of our own sins, and to be ensna…

Secondly, in that Cain offered as well as Abel; Hence we learn diverse instructions. 1. It is a common opinion, that if a man walk duly and truly in his calling, doing no man harm, but giving every man his own, and so do all his life long, God will receive him, and save his soul…

First, because they be taken out of the world, in regard of state and condition in grace, John 15:19, therefore the world hates them, John 15:19. Secondly, the world knows them not, 1 John 3:1 and therefore speaks evil of them, Jude, 10. Thirdly, the wicked measure others by the…

And since those times, in the History of the Church under the Gospel, we may find, that when the Christians were urged by persecutors to reveal their brethren, they rather chose to lay down their own lives, than to betray their brethren into their enemies' hands. And this is tru…

First, for the place of scripture which he alleges, namely, that God is greater than our hearts: it is so far from comforting an afflicted conscience, that it will rather drive him to despair. Neither does John (1 John 3:20) make mention of it, to ease such as are in despair, sh…

The means then to make ourselves fit is, to seek to be reconciled to God in Christ for our sins past, and withal to endeavor to have an assurance of the free remission and pardon of them all in the blood of Christ. And as touching that part of life which is to come, we must reme…

But whoever has this world's good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him how dwells the love of God in him? 1 John 3. 17. London, Printed for Thomas Parkhurst at the three Crowns over-against the great Conduit at the lower end of Cheapsid…

While he is fighting with temptation, hope is a helmet; while he is upon the waters of affliction, hope is an anchor; the anchor of a ship is cast downwards, the anchor of the soul is cast upwards in heaven. A saint's hope is a purifying hope (1 John 3:3), a deathbed hope (Prove…

Answer: In this text, love is not made an impulsive cause to move God to pardon her sins, but only a sign to show and manifest that God had already pardoned them. Like to this is the place of John, who says (1 John 3:14): We are translated from death to life, because we love the…

And in Psalm 119:11, it is put for the memory: 'Your word have I hid in my heart.' And in 1 John 3:20, it is put for the conscience, which has in it both the light of the understanding and the recognitions of the memory: 'If our heart condemn us' — that is, if our conscience, wh…

Let not your precious opportunities slip away, and beguile not yourselves in such a concerning matter as faith is; you will never get this loss made up afterwards if you miss faith here. Lastly, Consider the great necessity that the Lord has laid upon all men and women, by a per…

2. As it brings an offer of these good things on the terms on which they are to be gotten, so that it never tells that Christ is come, but it says also, here is life to be gotten in Him by you, if you will take the way proposed to come by it; therefore, when the proclamation com…

2. It is not only commanded as other things are, but peculiarly commanded, and there is a greater weight laid on the obedience of this command than on the doing of many other commanded duties; it is the sum of all Christ's preaching (Mark 1): Repent and believe the gospel; it is…

He has that testimony from the Prophet here, that he did no violence, neither was there any deceit in his mouth. He has this testimony from the Apostles — from Peter (1 Peter 2:22): he did no sin, neither was any guile found in his mouth; from John (1 John 3:5): he was manifeste…

And it arises from this ground, that where Christ is not received, there the ministers of the Gospel have ground of complaint, for it supposes a great defect in their duty, seeing it is their duty to believe, indeed the great Gospel duty on which all other duties hang, and which…

Among other aggravations of unbelief this will be one, that by it you make God not only a liar, but perjured — a heavy, heinous, and horrid guilt on the score of all unbelievers of this Gospel. 4. To take away all controversy, He has interposed His command, indeed it is the grea…

Thus much [illegible] does signify, must say, as we are justified by faith, so also by repentance, and mortification: if repentance be nothing but faith, as they say. 3. We seek only the evidence of justification in our holy walking; as the Scripture does, (1 Peter 1:24; Galatia…

(John 16:13) He will guide you in all truth — he will show you things to come. So there is a Spirit of grace poured on the family of David (Zechariah 12:10), on the thirsty ground (Isaiah 44:3), a new heart, put in the midst of the covenanted people (Ezekiel 36:26), fear of God…

4. Then Christ shall appear a far other Christ in heaven than we do apprehend him now on earth; not that he is not the same, but because neither we have eyes to see him in the kingdom of grace as he is, (narrow vessels cannot receive Christ diffused in glory, as he now is) nor d…

Of carnal walking (1 Corinthians 3:3). Yet they are called something more, sons of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1). Saints (1 Corinthians 1:1).

No man can give a ransom for the soul of his brother; no man is able to ransom, or redeem his own life or another's; indeed (which is much) Adam in innocence, was taught to look for the preservation of his innocent nature out of himself, for to that end did God give him the tree…

If God give us a conscientious care to keep his Commandments, we know that we know him. And some other signs, as in (1 John 3:3), if God give us hearts to purge and cleanse ourselves from all such sins as hang about us, and if God give us hearts to love the brothers, and so on —…

Therefore, let me show you first, how these two great benefits, confidence and certainty of hearing and having our petitions, do both spring and arise from what is here taught us. First, which is the foundation of all the rest, speaking of adoption in (1 John 3:1), he says, Beho…

He came into the world for that end and purpose, to war against sin and Satan; he engages as the General, we as the common soldiers. He as the General (1 John 3:8): For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil. His baptism was the…

(1.) That as God is glorious in himself, so he makes him that comes to him partaker of his glory. For certainly all communion with God breeds some assimilation and likeness to God: it is clear in heavenly glory when we see him as he is, we shall be like him (1 John 3:2), and it…

3. The perfection of all heavenly gifts both in soul and body. (1.) In soul — that is the heaven of Heaven (1 John 3:2): Now are we the sons of God, but it does not yet appear what we shall be, but this we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him…

(Psalm 119:111): "Your testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever; they are the rejoicing of my heart." 4. Observe [Fall down] the pride of the devil: he sins from the beginning (1 John 3:8). The sin of pride was fatal to him at first, and the cause of those chains of dark…

For when the Gospel is preached, God thereby signifies to us, that his will is to give us life everlasting (1 John 5:11). The last is to certify and to reveal to every particular hearer, that he is to apply Christ with his benefits to himself in particular, and that effectually…

The grounds are three. The first is this: in the Gospel God has propounded general promises of remission of sins, and life everlasting by Christ, and withal he has given a commandment to apply the said promises to ourselves (1 John 3:23). This is the commandment of God, that you…

So Paul says, all the Ephesians are elect (Ephesians 1:3). And Peter calls all them to whom he writes (1 Peter 1:1), elect; and John (1 John 3) the children of God. And herein they follow the judgment of charity, leaving all secret judgments to God.

For all things are yours, you Christ's, and Christ God's (1 Corinthians 3:22). Lastly, this meditation must stir up in us, a care to lead a heavenly and spiritual life (1 John 3:3), that we may be like our eldest brother Christ Jesus. Verse 8. But even then when you knew not God…

Christ then is the worker of this liberty. He dissolves the works of the devil (John 8:36; 1 John 3:8), he binds the strong man and casts him out of his hold (Matthew 12:29). He procures this liberty by two means, by his merit, and by the efficacy of his spirit.

4. for those of the same religion. (1 John 3:16) We must lay down our lives for our brethren. (Matthew 23:8) One is your Doctor, to wit, Christ, and all you are brethren.

Thus then to pour out the soul, signifies nothing else but to pity our brethren's miseries, and to be as much affected with their wants, as if we ourselves were afflicted with them: (Hebrews 13:3). As on the contrary all such as are strait-laced being given to their private comm…

Thus in ancient times God appeared to the holy fathers, not as He was in Himself, but so far as they could endure the rays of His infinite brightness; for John declares that not until they are like him will they see him as he is, (1 John 3:2.) There is no necessity for entering…