Exploring 1 John: Purify Yourself
Exploring 1 John: Purify Yourself
1 John 3:3 - Hope leads to joyful obedience
“And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
1 John 3:3 NASB1995
The photo I selected above could be any believer in this benighted time and place, looking hopefully (fixed on Him) for His triumphant return.
In the first two verses of 1 John 3, we found out that we are Children of God and we shall be like Jesus when He appears. This third verse describes the action we take between that justification and final glorification to sanctify ourselves. It’s not a one-and-done; you can’t accept Jesus as your Savior if you lapse right back into your old sinful ways and block the Holy Spirit from bringing you to obedience. Let’s do some word studies first to help understand this simple, yet profound, verse:
Hope comes from the Greek word ἐλπίς or elpís, with the following Biblical usages; Strong’s G1680 is used 54 times in the New Testament:
expectation of evil, fear
expectation of good, hope
in the Christian sense
joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation
on hope, in hope, having hope
the author of hope, or he who is its foundation
the thing hoped for
The usage in this verse aligns with 2.a.i. - we are joyful and confident in our expectation of eternal salvation. I find the first usage to be intriguing, in that this word can also be used when expecting evil and fear. This certainly isn’t the hope word that is thrown around in our everyday discussions: “I hope the Cubs win.” I hope I get that promotion.”, “I hope that medical test comes out negative.”. In this vernacular, hope describes something that may not have an outcome that you desire but you are hoping for the best. For the believer, this hope is the “blessed assurance” that we ARE going to an eternal glory with Jesus through His grace.
Purify comes from the Greek word ἁγνίζω or hagnízō, with the following Biblical usages; Strong’s G48 is used 7 times in the New Testament:
ceremonially
to make pure, purify, cleanse
morally
Jesus overcame the ceremonial rituals of purification. But, there is a moral purification for the believer that begins when the Holy Spirit comes to us after we declare our repentance and belief in Jesus. So do we sit idly by and wait for this manifestation or do we work alongside the Holy Spirit? We are not puppets, but living beings filled with the spirit of God, whether we know that or not. We have a part to play in moving forward in our joy. The excerpt below is what John Piper says about obeying His commandments (a great sermon, by the way); there are many who err on the side of legalism and many more who err on the side of cheap grace when contemplating these actions that can morally purify us. Piper argues for greater joy in obedience. This is one of the most coherent arguments I have heard for this obedience, by the way:
There is, even in the gospel-centered movement — which I am happy to be a part of — significant confusion about how to respond to the hundreds of New Testament commandments that we should do certain things, and not do certain things, as we seek to increase our joy in Christ by loving people. Commandments like:
Outdo one another in showing honor.
Do not be slothful in zeal.
Be patient in tribulation.
Be constant in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints.
Show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you.
Live in harmony with one another.
Repay no one evil for evil.
Never avenge yourselves.
Put away falsehood.
Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
Let the thief no longer steal.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths.
Put away all bitterness and wrath.
Be kind to one another.
Sexual immorality must not even be named among you.
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking.
Don’t get drunk with wine.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord.
How do these commandments (from Romans and Ephesians, and hundreds more) relate to the gospel? How do they relate to love? How do they relate to joy? And commandments is what they are called, not suggestions or guidelines.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments [entolas]. (1 John 2:3)
Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. (1 John 3:24)
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. (1 John 5:2)
Neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God [entolōn]. (1 Corinthians 7:19)
Piper goes on to answer his questions (links go to Biblia):
Yes, there is more joy in Christ in and after acts of love than we had experienced before that obedience. Yes, there is expanded joy in Christ himself that comes from killing sin in our lives (Romans 8:13), and from walking in obedience to the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2).
And the reason for this is that when Christ shed the blood of the new covenant (Luke 22:20) he secured, at infinite cost, not only the forgiveness of our sins (Jeremiah 31:34), but also God’s writing of the law on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). He secured infallibly for all the elect the new covenant promise “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:27).
And he did this not by giving us his Spirit and removing all commandments from the New Testament and replacing them with the Holy Spirit. He did it by giving us hundreds of commandments that describe the narrow path of love that leads to life, and then giving us his Spirit so that we would love these commandments, and they would not be burdensome (1 John 5:3), but his yoke would be easy (Matthew 11:30), indeed, more joyful than if there were no commandments at all.
Boy, is that ever convincing!! We believe, we receive the Holy Spirit, we gain understanding of the love that is to be found in obedience and then strive to be holy! It will never be perfected in this life, obviously, but rather than beat ourselves up for occasionally slipping, we repent and then refine ever more beautiful strands of heavenly gold when we obey.
I wanted to share one more excerpt from Piper’s sermon about how Gospel preaching has two weaknesses in this day and age:
Forgiveness without Obedience:
First, there is a preaching that almost never highlights the truth that Christ died not only to secure our forgiveness but to secure our sin-killing obedience to the commandments of the New Testament.
Christ] bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. (1 Peter 2:24).
The beauty and power of the cross of Christ is seen and enjoyed in the blood-bought experience of obedience to Christ’s commands. Experiencing this is a dimension of joy that can be had no other way..
Trust AND obey:
Therefore, second, these preachers tend to shrink back from the apostolic intention of “the law of Christ” unfolded in hundreds of New Testament commands that define the path of love that leads to life (1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2). And instead of calling for obedience like the apostles do (1 Thessalonians 4:1), they only use the commandments to say, “You can’t do that. Christ did it for you. Trust in the imputation of his obedience. End of sermon. Celebrate grace.”
“Jesus secured, at infinite cost, not only the forgiveness of our sins, but also God’s writing of the law on our hearts.”
That’s a half-gospel based on a half-grace, offering a half-joy. By all means say, “You can’t obey these commands in your own strength. Christ obeyed them perfectly on your behalf. Trust in the imputation of that perfect obedience as the ground of your happy acceptance.” Yes!
And then look to the rest of what he purchased for you at the cost of his life. He purchased the Holy Spirit and gave him to you. He purchased the writing of the law on your heart so that you love his commandments. He purchased the sovereign promise, “I will . . . cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:27).
This is the grand achievement of the blood of the new covenant. And the commandments of the New Testament are not given merely to expose our sin. They are given to show us the kind of life Christ died to create in his church. They are given to us so that by doing them by faith in Christ’s blood-bought power — gospel power! — we might have more joy as his power is perfected in our weakness — that we might have more joy in Christ himself.
I hope readers understand the depths of this sermon (and the extracts I shared) that John Piper shared at a conference for pastors in 2019. I’m not saying that he is the final authority on the question of purification, but he devoted a whole (and lengthy) sermon to explaining what 1 John 3:3 really means for us. It should be a joy to proceed through your time of sanctification!
My next devotional examines 1 John 3:4-5 - The nature of sin.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - As I look with hope and joy to You and the life to come, fill me with the love of Your commandments so that I am also joyful in obeying you. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 5/6/2024 to review the lexicon for hope and purify.
John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For more than thirty years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis. He is author of more than fifty books, and his sermons, articles, books, and more are available free of charge at desiringGod.org.
In all cases of republishing, the following attribution must be included:
By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org