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SERIES:
Guest Speakers
MESSAGE:
The Children of God pt. 1 - Godly
Living
SPEAKER:
Dave Row
SCRIPTURE: 1 John 3:1-9
MESSAGE SUMMARY
How would you describe the state of your family life? Is it close, comforting, and encouraging? Or is it
not quite what you had always hoped for? As Christians, we are part of God's family, the family of all
families. We are bathed in His love and have access to all of the benefits of being His children. But if we
abandon His invitation to join this family we automatically become members of the family of sin and
there simply are no benefits associated with this family. So think about which family portrait you would
like to be part of – God's Family Portrait or Sin's Family Portrait.
DETAILED NOTES
The children of God are an interesting group. In this chapter we read that they have a great sense of
family and they care a great deal for one another. When it comes right down to it, we all need family.
Some of us come from great families, but that's not the case for all. The Bible paints a beautiful picture
of God's family for us. It also provides a picture of the family of sin.
A Portrait of God's Family. Our heavenly Father is someone who is completely different from the
rest. The love of the Father far exceeds any possibility that man could produce on his own, even when
filled with the Holy Spirit. It is God's unique love and He gives it to us. He bestows His love and
inheritance upon us by calling us His children. Mankind was lost and on a downward slide toward an
existence and eternity away from Him. Jesus demonstrated great love for us through His sacrifice, thus
drawing us in to the family of God. No one coerced God to love us, He loved us from the very
beginning of time. Our true heart's desire is to be children of God, the One who really loves us, Who
accepts us for who we are, and Who knows who we are intimately.
We are born into a very close, intimate family when we become Christians. The world longs for
intimacy and God's family lets the world know what intimacy is all about. Real intimacy is found within
the family of Jesus. John 17:20-23 gives us the greatest words of intimacy ever written. Just as Jesus is
One in the Father, He desires us to be one in Him.
We are not only born into a close family, but we are also promised complete transformation. We are
not where we will one day be. The life cycle of the Christian starts by going from spiritual death to life,
then from sinner to sanctified saint, then finally we move from earthly bodies into heavenly bodies.
This is the complete, perfect work of transformation that Jesus does. 1 Corinthians 15:42-49 tells us
that there are two types of bodies, the physical and the spiritual. The physical body is represented by
Adam, while the spiritual body is represented by Jesus Christ. As the physical body passes away and is
sown in the ground, God will one day resurrect this physical body and make us just like Jesus.
We are given a hope that transforms and purifies when we become part of this family. This equals
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sanctification and holiness. Sanctification is the process of transforming a believer into the image of
Christ. Holiness speaks of the nature of that person, the nature of Jesus, the nature of the Father.
Holiness says we are separate from everything else, separated from the rest of the world. The believer
knows what is coming and he passionately desires the purity of God. He has a desire for that purity in
his life now and does not want to wallow in mediocrity and sin. He desires to live with purity for God's
kingdom, longing for the purity and the relationship with the Lord right now. In Philippians 3:12-14 we
read Paul echo this sentiment. A pure life is a life that is powerful because it is connected to the
Source. The closer you grow in your relationship to the Lord and recognize your position within the
family of God, the greater your desire for the things of God and for the things of heaven will become.
Everything else will pale in comparison to the glory that is in Christ.
A Portrait of the Family of Sin. This is a portrait of those who are in the continual, habitual process
of building, creating, and being a part of sin as a matter and course of living. It is the failure to live up to
a pre-described standard that has been given to us by God. The one who is habitually missing the mark
with God, living in a state of wickedness and constant rebellion against Him is the person described as
sinning in this text. Note that this portrait of sin points out to us that the person who habitually sins is
of the devil. The devil was the first sinner. In Isaiah 14:12-14 we read that at the very heart of the first
sinner there was rebellion and pride. Rebellion and pride are at the heart of every sin that has ever been
committed. If a person is very moral, but does not recognize the living God and flaunts his autonomy in
front of Him, he is speaking out of the very heart of the pit of hell. Satan was the very first to tempt
humans. Adam and Eve fell to his temptation resulting in the human race being born into sin. This
means that all people are sinners not only by choice, but also by nature.
Sin is lawlessness, so whoever commits sin is lawless. Lawlessness simply means no law. The lawless
one receives no authority that is over him. He feels he is the law unto himself. Those who are
continually sinning have never actually come in contact with the reality of Jesus Christ. Once you meet
Him and see His power and perfection, your mind is forever etched with a sense of His presence,
glory, and majesty. The one who is in habitual rebellion may claim to see the things of God, but is lying
because once you come in contact with God, you will never be the same. A true knowledge of God
causes us to detest the unprofitable words of darkness.
A Portrait of Jesus. Jesus' mission was to come to this world to take away our sins. He is also called
to destroy the works of the devil. Satan accuses us before God in the court of heaven. The two
fiercest enemies of humanity are sin and the devil. We have a natural propensity to sin and we have an
enemy who is actively pursuing us for destruction. Jesus acts to destroy the devil's works, however.
The one who is currently and habitually abiding in Jesus is not in a state of sin.
The Christian does sin, but he is not in a constant state of sinning and rebelling against God. He is
abiding in Him, thus not continually and habitually sinning. The Christian is continually practicing and in
the process of being righteous, just like the Lord is righteous. We, along with the world, can deceive
ourselves by thinking we can follow Jesus yet live in immorality and rebellion – this is impossible.
Christians are born of heavenly stock, born of God with heavenly DNA or genetic material. Even
though our bodies are like earthen vessels that are prone to sin, we have an incorruptible seed within
us that is taking root and is growing and will one day live beyond the body before God. We cannot
keep on sinning because we are born of God. God will not let us stay in a constant state of rebellion
against Him. You may be allowed to stray for a while, but you will be disciplined for your own good.
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We may struggle against sin, but Christians habitually practice righteousness in good conscious toward
God.
Topic: Godly living
Keywords: portrait, family, sin, Jesus, close, intimate, genetic, immorality, rebellion, lawlessness
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