Scripture: 1 John 3:1–10
3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
Observation:
“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.” (1 John 3:9-10)
If we are born of God, we will stop living in sin because God’s seed remains in us.
Application:
If we proclaim to be believers in Jesus Christ, his seed will be in us and we will live righteously. If we find ourselves living in an unrighteous manner, repent, ask for forgiveness, and return to a life of righteousness, because God’s seed, his Holy Spirit is within us. So let us yield our lives to the Spirit and be the children of God he intends for us to be.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, help us with whatever unrighteousness is within us. Help us to come into the light of your word and submit ourselves to your Lordship and the Spirit’s direction. Help us to be faithful followers of the living God and put behind us any unrighteous desires. Help us to live our lives worthy of the calling that you have placed upon us as your children. Amen.