1 John 3:11-24 - Abiding in Him
Introduction: Connecting the Gospel to the Letter
Welcome to The Well Community Church. If we haven’t met yet, my name is Brad, and I get the privilege of hanging out with you here today. We are continuing our series in 1 John, so if you have your Bibles, we’re going to be there in just a bit. But before we do, I want you to turn to the Gospel of John.
Welcome to those joining us in person, those joining us online, and those at our other campuses—including the rowdies hanging out in the PMs this weekend.
As we turn to the Gospel of John, you might be asking, “Why are we going there if we’re studying First John?” Let me make a connection for you. If you’ve ever read the book of Romans, you know it’s one of Paul’s most difficult writings because it deals with heavy theological truths. However, if you read Galatians—one of the first books Paul wrote—you see the seed-form arguments that he later builds out in detail in Romans. Understanding Galatians informs your interpretation of Romans.
John’s writings work the same way. The Gospel of John was written earlier, and in it, John introduces concepts that inform what he writes years later in his letters. In the very first chapter of his Gospel, John begins to lay out “pneumatology.” The word pneuma is the Greek word for breath, wind, or spirit. Pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit.
John 1:33 (NASB)
’I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
John the Baptist is speaking here, and he introduces us to the idea of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. The unique thing about Jesus is that the Spirit descended and remained upon Him. In all four Gospels, we see that Jesus lived a life of perfect union with the Father by the power of the Spirit.
The Command to Love and the Promise of the Helper
As we jump to John 13, Jesus begins to introduce things that will inform our journey in 1 John. He tells his disciples that people will know they follow Him by one specific mark.
John 13:35 (NASB)
‘By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.’
That’s an interesting statement to these guys because they were constantly positioning for who was the greatest. But Jesus says, “If you are my disciples, we will know it by how you love one another.” Then, using the language of “little children”—which we’ve seen often in our current series—He speaks of His departure.
John 13:33-34 (NASB)
’Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ’A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
He tells them He is going away to prepare a place for them, but He won’t leave them alone. Up until this point, the disciples were with Jesus, but Jesus was about to leave. He explains that something is about to change.
John 14:16-17 (NASB)
’I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; [that is] the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, [but] you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
That same Spirit that rested on Jesus was now going to be in them. The key, then, is to learn how to abide. To abide means to sink deeply into, to dwell with, or to remain.
John 15:4-5 (NASB)
’Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither [can] you unless you abide in Me. ’I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
The key to the Christian life, my friends, is not modifying your behavior. It’s not about just trying to be a better person or trying to be nice. It’s about abiding. If we learn to abide in Him, we experience a relationship with the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. John assumes that this abiding changes everything, including how we treat each other.
John 15:12-13 (NASB)
’This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. ’Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
The Operating System of the Soul
John was an apostolic witness. He saw Jesus, touched Him, and broke bread with Him. He was there in Acts 2 when the Spirit was given, and in Acts 15 when the Spirit sealed Gentile believers. He was there when Paul wrote that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Because of this, John works from a few assumptions. First, if your life is changed by the Gospel, it should look like it’s changed by the Gospel. John isn’t interested in you just “being good.” He’s interested in your operating system. If the Spirit is driving your life, it will show. If it’s not, that will show, too.
1 John 4:13 (NASB)
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
John uses the word “abide” twenty-two times in this letter. Why? Because some of us are more stubborn than others, and He wants us to understand that abiding is the point. In chapter two, he calls this the “anointing.”
1 John 2:20 (NASB)
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.
1 John 2:27 (NASB)
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
This anointing—the Spirit—is always working. Now, you might ask, “How do I know if it’s the Spirit or just indigestion?” Well, the Bible is clear that apart from the Spirit, no one seeks God.
Romans 3:10 (NASB)
as it is written, ’THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
If there is any movement toward God in your life at all, it’s Him. We’ve talked before about first, second, and third-order desires. If you want to pray, that’s a first-order desire—that’s Him. If you wish you wanted to pray, that’s a second-order desire—that’s still Him. If you wish you wished you wanted to pray, that’s a third-order desire—and it’s still Him! Before Christ, there was no desire. It was all gas, no brakes, full indulgence. But when you trusted Christ, the operating system changed.
Fixing Our Hope
Because we are children of God, we fix our hope on Him.
1 John 3:3 (NASB)
And everyone who has this hope [fixed] on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Think about it this way: some of you remember college. Maybe you didn’t like country music, but then you married a guy who wore boots. Next thing you know, you’re two-stepping at the rodeo in a cowboy hat, wondering, “What is wrong with me?” You became who you were influenced by.
As we fix our hope on Jesus, we begin to look like Him because we’re hanging out with Him.
1 John 3:6 (NASB)
No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
1 John 3:9-10 (NASB)
No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
If there is sin in my life, the issue isn’t just the behavior; it’s an abiding problem. If I am abiding in Him, what you see is Him.
Love as He Loved
So, what does it look like to live as children of God? It starts with the message John has been repeating from the beginning.
1 John 3:11 (NASB)
For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;
How did Jesus love? Philippians 2 tells us He didn’t do anything from selfish ambition but humbly considered others as more important than Himself. He looked out for the interests of others. John then gives us a contrast.
1 John 3:12 (NASB)
not as Cain, [who] was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
In Genesis 4, Cain killed his brother Abel. Cain brought an offering of crops—he basically threw a piece of broccoli at the Lord—and God wasn’t pleased. Cain’s response was to murder his brother. That is the opposite of abiding love.
When you live with Spirit-empowered love, people will notice.
1 John 3:13 (NASB)
Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.
Don’t be surprised if the world hates you. The world doesn’t have a category for this. If you go to your workplace and say, “I earned the bonus, but you should take it,” people won’t understand. Considering others as more important than yourself isn’t natural. Jesus warned us that if the world hates us, it’s because it hated Him first.
Love on the Inside and the Outside
1 John 3:14 (NASB)
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
If you don’t see love in your life, you’re abiding in the flesh. Now, some of you think, “Well, I haven’t physically choked anyone out today, so I’m doing okay.” But that’s not the bar.
1 John 3:15 (NASB)
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
The word for “hate” here is misio. It means to detest, but it also means to disfavor, to disregard, or to love less. The Bible isn’t going to let you off the hook. If you show favoritism, if you disregard someone, if you’re posting snarky comments on Instagram because of someone’s ideology—that is what John is talking about. When we feel those things, eternal life is not abiding in us in that moment; that’s the flesh.
1 John 3:16-18 (NASB)
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
James says the same thing: show me your faith without deeds, and I’ll show you my faith by my deeds.
I used an illustration recently about old concert tickets. Back in the day, you had a physical ticket with a perforated stub. When you got to the gate, they ripped off the stub to let you in. The stub authenticated the ticket. Your faith is like the ticket, and your deeds are like the stub. You aren’t saved by the stub, but the ticket is authenticated by its presence. If we claim to abide in Him, it should show up in how we live.
Confidence and the Vending Machine Myth
When we live this way, it gives us confidence. We all have an internal battle. We know we are forgiven, but then we “pop out” in the flesh and start wondering, “Am I even saved?” Our conscience whispers lies to us.
1 John 3:19-20 (NASB)
We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
When your heart condemns you, remember: God is greater than your heart. If we live in the truth, our conscience is quieted.
1 John 3:21-22 (NASB)
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
Now, be careful here. God is not a vending machine. This verse doesn’t mean God answers every audacious prayer that has nothing to do with His will. But remember the country music analogy? If I’m abiding in Christ, He is changing me to be like Him. I start to love what He loves and long for what He longs for. Therefore, I start praying for what He wants. My prayers align with His will.
Trusting the Chair
1 John 3:23 (NASB)
This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
When the Bible says “believe,” it doesn’t just mean having a data set of information. It means to trust. You all walked in here today and believed those chairs would hold you. You didn’t just acknowledge they were chairs; you sat in them. That is belief. You are allowing the Gospel to be the foundation you sit on.
John 6:29 (NASB)
Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’
Believing triggers the Spirit’s presence. And love is the overflow of that abiding.
1 John 3:24 (NASB)
The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
If you are keeping His commandments, don’t get cocky—it’s Him! The only reason you have the desire to follow God is because the Spirit is in you. Without Him, you’d be all indulgence, all the time.
Closing Challenge: The Two Lists
As we close, I want you to reflect. Abiding in Christ changes how we live. It means we love like He loves.
I want you to pull up a contact list in your mind. First, think of the people you’re “good” with. The people you serve, the people you’re gracious to. If I asked them, they’d say you consider them more important than yourself. If you have that list, say, “God, thank You.” Because you wouldn’t do that without Him. It’s a wonderful thing to see the Spirit reflected in those relationships.
But there’s another list, isn’t there? And it’s probably longer. It’s the list of people you’re sideways with. The people you think, “That’s their problem,” or “They got what they deserved.” The people you avoid in a room.
Remember, to hate is to disregard or to love less. Maybe it’s a high school nemesis, a neighbor who won’t mow their lawn, or a colleague who ripped you off. When you feel that disdain rise up, that’s evidence you aren’t abiding.
You might need to make things right, but remember: the outward action is an overflow of the inward abiding. Start by acknowledging, “God, I need You. This is flesh.” It might require confession or repentance. It might mean making amends—which is awful and hard—but Romans 12 says, as much as it depends on you, be at peace with all.
Before you go do anything, open yourself to Him. He will give you the capacity to love when you don’t have it in yourself. That is the point of this passage. We have a Helper who is both with us and in us.
Let’s pray.
Father, I thank You that we are in You and with You. We are not alone. Thank You for John’s words on what it means to abide. Help us to sink deeply into You so we can love like You love. Lord, we thank You for the victories—for the people we are loving well. We acknowledge that is Your work in us. But for that other list, God, where we have boogered it up with the flesh, help us. Where there is anger or disdain, remind us that You called us to love as You loved. Help us to abide, that You might give us the capacity to be at peace with our brothers and sisters. We thank You for this messy journey of life together. In Jesus’ name, Amen.