The passage from 1 John 2:28-29; 3:1-3 is a single paragraph on the righteous living of God's children.

See note 1 John 2:5^2c.

Of the Triune God implied in the preceding verse (see 1 John 2:29 and note 1 John 2:29²), here the Father is mentioned particularly. He is the source of the divine life, the One of whom we have been born with this life. The love of God was manifested by His sending of His Son to die for us (1 John 4:9; John 3:16) in order that we might have His life and thus become His children (John 1:12-13). God's sending of His Son was that He might beget us. Hence, the love of God is a begetting love, particularly in the Father.

This word corresponds with begotten of Him in the preceding verse. We have been begotten of the Father, the source of life, to be the children of God — God being the Owner of the children. We partake of the Father's life to express the Triune God.

Or, on this account, for this reason. Because we are the children of God by a mysterious birth with the divine life, the world does not know us.

See note 1 John 2:29⁵.

The world is ignorant of our being regenerated by God; it does not know us, because it did not know God Himself. It was ignorant of God, so it is also ignorant of our divine birth.

Since we are the children of God, we will be like Him in the maturity of life when He is manifested. To be like Him is "what we will be." This has not yet been manifested. This indicates that the children of God have a great future with a more splendid blessing: we will not only have the divine nature but will also bear the divine likeness. To partake of the divine nature is already a great blessing and enjoyment, yet to be like God, bearing His likeness, will be a greater blessing and enjoyment.

See note 1 John 2:2^1a

He refers to God in the previous sentence and denotes Christ, who is to be manifested. This not only indicates that Christ is God but also implies the Divine Trinity. When Christ is manifested, the Triune God will be manifested; when we see Him, we will see the Triune God; and when we are like Him, we will be like the Triune God.

By seeing Him we will reflect His likeness (2 Cor. 3:18), which will cause us to be as He is.

He refers to God in the previous sentence and denotes Christ, who is to be manifested. This not only indicates that Christ is God but also implies the Divine Trinity. When Christ is manifested, the Triune God will be manifested; when we see Him, we will see the Triune God; and when we are like Him, we will be like the Triune God.

The hope of being like the Lord, of bearing the likeness of the Triune God.

According to the context of this section, 1 John 2:28-29; 3:1-24, to purify ourselves is to practice righteousness (v. 7; 2:29), to live a righteous life that is the expression of the righteous God (1 John 1:9), the righteous One (1 John 2:1). This is to be pure without any stain of unrighteousness, even as He is perfectly pure. This also describes the life that abides in the Lord.

Lit., that One; referring to Jesus Christ. So in v. 5 (first time) and v. 7.

See note 1 John 1:6⁵. To practice sin is not merely to commit sin in occasional acts but to live in sin (Rom. 6:2), to live a life that is not under the principle of God's ruling over man.

I.e., having no law, being without law. This does not denote being without the Mosaic law (cf. Rom. 5:13), because sin was already in the world before the Mosaic law was given. To be without law here denotes being without, or not under, the principle of God's ruling over man. To practice lawlessness is to live a life outside of and not under the principle of God's ruling over man. Hence, lawlessness is sin, or, reciprocally, sin is lawlessness.

The same Greek word as in John 1:29. There Christ as the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world, which came into the world through Adam (Rom. 5:12). Here He takes away sins, which are committed by all men. John 1 deals with the totality of sin, including the sinful nature and sinful deeds. This chapter deals only with the fruits of sin, that is, the sins committed in man's daily life. Both are taken away by Christ.

In that One who takes away both sin (the sinful nature) and sins (sinful deeds), sin is not. Hence, He did not know sin (2 Cor. 5:21), He committed no sin (1 Pet. 2:22), and He was without sin (Heb. 4:15). This qualified Him to take away both the indwelling sin and the sins committed in man's daily life.

I.e., remains in the fellowship of the divine life and walks in the divine light (1 John 1:2-3, 6-7). See note 1 John 2:27⁸.

I.e., does not sin habitually. This too is a condition of the life that abides in the Lord. It does not mean that the children of God do not commit sin at all; they may commit sin occasionally. It means that the regenerated believers who have the divine life and live by it do not practice sin. Their character and habit are not to sin but to abide in the Lord. Abiding in the Lord is a believer's living; sinning is a sinner's life.

I.e., practices sin, lives a sinful life.

I.e., has not received any vision of the Lord and has no realization of Him. Such a condition is like that of an unbeliever.

See note 1 John 2:1¹.

Or, deceive you.

See note 1 John 1:6⁵. To practice righteousness is to live a righteous life (see note 1 John 2:29^6b), to live rightly under the principle of God's ruling. This is, according to the next verse, not to practice sin and, according to v. 4, not to practice lawlessness. All these are the purifying of ourselves (v. 3).

According to the context, righteous here equals pure in v. 3. To be righteous is to be pure, without any stain of sin, lawlessness, and unrighteousness, even as Christ is.

See note 1 John 1:6⁵. This verse indicates that to practice sin (see note 1 John 3:4^1a) and to sin in this book are synonymous, denoting living in sin, committing sin habitually. Such a life is of the devil, whose life is one of sin and who has sinned continually from the beginning. Sin is his nature, and sinning is his character.

See note Rev. 2:10^1c.

In the absolute sense, that is, from the time the devil began to rebel against God and attempted to overthrow God's rule. See note 1 John 1:1², par. 2.

Lit., unto this; i.e., to this end. The devil has sinned continually from ancient times and begets sinners that they might practice sin with him. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might undo and destroy the sinful deeds of the devil, that is, condemn, through His death on the cross in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), sin initiated by him, the evil one; destroy the power of sin, the sinful nature of the devil (Heb. 2:14); and take away both sin and sins (note 1 John 3:5¹).

Or, dissolve, undo.

See note 1 John 2:29⁷.

Not to practice sin does not mean that we do not commit sin in occasional acts, but that we do not live in sin. See note 1 John 3:4^1a.

Denoting God's life, which we received of God when we were begotten of Him. This life, as the divine seed, abides in every regenerated believer. Hence, such a one does not practice sin and cannot sin.

I.e., cannot live in sin habitually. A regenerated believer may fall into sin occasionally, but the divine life as the divine seed in his regenerated nature will not allow him to live in sin. This is similar to a sheep: it may fall into the mud, but its clean life will not allow it to remain and wallow in the mud as a swine would.

To practice or not practice sin, that is, to live in or not live in sin, is not a matter of behavior but of whose children we are, the children of God or the children of the devil. Hence, it is a matter of life and nature. Men, as fallen descendants of Adam, are born children of the devil, the evil one (John 8:44), and possess his life, partake of his nature, and live in sin automatically and habitually. Practicing sin is their life. But the believers, who are redeemed from their fallen state and are reborn in their spirit, are the children of God, who possess His life, partake of His nature, and do not live in sin. Practicing righteousness is their life. Whether one is a child of God or a child of the devil is manifested by what he practices, righteousness or sin. A reborn believer may commit sin, and an unsaved man may do righteousness. Both are their outward behavior, not their outward living, and thus do not manifest what they are in their inward life and nature.

Righteousness is the nature of God's acts; love is the nature of God's essence. What God is, is love; what God does is righteousness. Love is inward; righteousness is outward. Hence, love is a stronger manifestation that we are the children of God than righteousness. Therefore, from this verse through v. 24 the apostle proceeds from righteousness to love in the manifestation of the children of God, as a further condition of the life that abides in the Lord.

See note 1 John 2:7¹.

In the relative sense (see note 1 John 1:1², par. 2).

This is a higher condition of the life that abides in the Lord.

Cain's being of the evil one equals his being a child of the devil; Cain's brother Abel was of God, i.e., was a child of God (v. 10).

See note 1 John 5:19^4b.

That is, the people of the world, who, like Cain, are the children of the devil (v. 10) and the components of Satan's cosmic system (the world — John 12:31). If the people of the world, who lie in the evil one, the devil (1 John 5:19), hate the believers (the children of God), we need not marvel; it is natural for them to do so.

Death is of the devil, God's enemy, Satan, signified by the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which brings death; life is of God, the source of life, signified by the tree of life, which issues in life (Gen. 2:9, 16-17). Death and life are not only of two sources, Satan and God; they are also two essences, two elements, and two spheres. To pass out of death into life is to pass out of the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of death into the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of life. This took place in us at our regeneration. We know this, i.e., have the inner consciousness of it, because we love the brothers. Love (the love of God) toward the brothers is strong evidence of this. Faith in the Lord is the way for us to pass out of death into life; love toward the brothers is the evidence that we have passed out of death into life. To have faith is to receive the eternal life; to love is to live by the eternal life and express it.

Not loving the brothers is evidence that one is not living by the essence and element of the divine love and is not remaining in the sphere of that love; rather, this one is living in the essence and element of the satanic death and abiding in its sphere.

In relation to the divine attributes, hatred is versus love, death is versus life, darkness is versus light, and lies (falsehoods) are versus truth. All the opposites of these divine virtues are of the evil one, the devil.

Murderer here does not denote an actual murderer but indicates that in spiritual ethics hating equals murdering. No actual murderer (an unsaved person), as Cain was (v. 12), has eternal life abiding in him. Since we know this, we, who have passed out of death into life and have eternal life abiding in us, should not behave like an unsaved murderer by hating our brothers in the Lord. This section concerns the life that abides in the Lord. A believer who has eternal life but does not abide in the Lord and let the Lord, who is the eternal life, abide and work in him might hate a brother and commit other sins occasionally. But this would not be habitual.

Lit., soul.

Lit., souls.

Lit., bowels.

See note 1 John 2:5^2c.

See note 1 John 2:1¹.

Deed is versus word, and truthfulness is versus tongue. Tongue denotes the play of vain talk, and truthfulness, the reality of love.

See note 1 John 1:6⁶, point 7.

Denoting the reality of the eternal life, which we received of God in our divine birth, enabling us to love the brothers by the divine love (vv. 14-18). By loving the brothers with the divine love, we know that we are of this reality. See note 1 John 1:6⁶.

Or, conciliate, convince, assure, tranquilize. To persuade our heart before God is to have a good conscience, void of offense (1 Tim. 1:5, 19; Acts 24:16), that our heart may be conciliated, convinced, assured, and tranquilized. This too is a condition of the life that abides in the Lord. To abide in the Lord requires a tranquil heart with a conscience void of offense. This is also vital to our fellowship with God, which was covered in the first section of this Epistle. A heart disturbed by an offended conscience frustrates our abiding in the Lord and breaks our fellowship with God.

Actually, it is our conscience, which is a part not only of our spirit but also of our heart, that blames (condemns) us. The conscience in our heart is the representative of God's ruling within us. If our conscience condemns us, surely God, who is greater than His representative and knows all things, will condemn us. The consciousness of such condemnation in our conscience alerts us to the danger of breaking our fellowship with God. If we attend to this, it will be a help to our fellowship with God and will keep us abiding in the Lord.

The Greek word means boldness of speech, confidence. We have such boldness in tranquility to contact God, to fellowship with Him, and to ask of Him, because there is no condemnation of the conscience in our heart. This preserves us in the abiding in the Lord.

Offenses in the conscience of a condemning heart are obstacles to our prayer. A conscience void of offense in a tranquil heart straightens and clears the way for our petition to God.

This is not the keeping of the commandments of the Mosaic law by one's own endeavor and strength; rather, it is a part of the believers' living as the issue of the divine life that abides in them, by the habitual keeping of the Lord's New Testament commandments through the inner operation of the power of the divine life. The keeping of the Lord's commandments accompanies the practicing, the habitual doing, of the things that are pleasing in His sight, and it becomes the prerequisite for God's answering our prayers and constitutes a condition of the life that abides in the Lord (v. 24).

Lit., practice. See note 1 John 1:6⁵.

This is a summary of the commandments in the preceding and succeeding verses. All the commandments are summarized in two: to believe in the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another. The first concerns faith; the second, love. To have faith is to receive the divine life in our relationship with the Lord; to love is to live the divine life in our relationship with the brothers. Faith touches the source of the divine life; love expresses the essence of the divine life. Both are needed for the believers to live a life that abides in the Lord.

This verse is the conclusion of this section, which begins in 1 John 2:28, on our abiding in the Lord according to the teaching of the divine anointing, as unfolded in the preceding section (1 John 2:20-27). This section reveals that abiding in the Lord is the living of the children of God by His eternal life as the divine seed (9, vv. 15, and note 1 John 2:29⁷), which grows in the practicing of the righteousness of their begetting God (1 John 2:29; 3:7, 10) and the love of their begetting Father (vv. 10-11, 14-23). Such an abiding and its bases — the divine birth and the divine life as the divine seed — are mysterious yet real in the Spirit.

We abide in the Lord; then He abides in us. Our abiding in Him is a condition for His abiding in us (John 15:4). We enjoy His abiding in us by our abiding in Him.

Lit., out of. The phrase by the Spirit...modifies we know.

Thus far in this Epistle the Spirit has not been referred to, though the Spirit is anonymously implied in the anointing in 1 John 2:20, 27. Actually, the Spirit, that is, the all-inclusive compound life-giving Spirit (see note Phil. 1:19^4d), is the vital and crucial factor of all the mysteries unveiled in this Epistle: the divine life, the fellowship of the divine life, the divine anointing, the abiding in the Lord, the divine birth, and the divine seed. It is by this Spirit that we are born of God, we receive the divine life as the divine seed in us, we have the fellowship of the divine life, we are anointed with the Triune God, and we abide in the Lord. This wonderful Spirit is given to us as the promised blessing of the New Testament (Gal. 3:14); He is given without measure by the Christ who is above all, who inherits all, and who is to be increased universally (John 3:31-35). This Spirit and the eternal life (v. 15) are the basic elements by which we live the life that abides in the Lord continuously. Hence, it is by this Spirit, who witnesses assuringly with our spirit, that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:16) and that we know that the Lord of all abides in us (1 John 4:13). It is through this Spirit that we are joined to the Lord as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). And it is by this Spirit that we enjoy the riches of the Triune God (2 Cor. 13:14).