1 John 3:19-24

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Scripture 3:19-24

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. [1]



Devotion:

            This section was written to give believers confidence that we walk in truth with God. All of us at one time or another may have doubts about our faith in God. John writes here to comfort us in the reality and truthfulness of our faith and reassure us of our salvation and walk with God. That our hearts may be glad knowing that our faith is real. We can take comfort in knowing that we hold to the truth.

            Our reassurance comes from the fact that even if our hearts accuse us, God is greater than our hearts. God has made us his children (3:1) in his loving care so we know that we can be confident in him. Our right standing with God is determined not by our feelings but by the fact that God has made us His children.

            God knows everything about us. Our secret sins to our obvious failings and God still calls us his beloved children Nothing can remain hidden from God’s view; however, God has brought us into his family anyway. If on the other hand our hearts do not accuse us, we can feel safe in our walk with Christ. Knowing that we are God’s own precious child.

            We know God loves us because we can ask anything in His name and receive it. This may sound like a blank check however; the remainder of the verse reminds us that we must keep his commandments and do what is pleasing in his sight. Confidence to ask is rooted in our obedience to God’s will. Doing God’s will is having a right knowledge of God’s commandments.

            You may be asking: How do I know if I am obeying God’s commands or not? How can I know if I am pleasing God? Fortunately verse 23 supplies the answer. First, we must believe in Jesus as our Lord and savior. We must love God and believe that his son Jesus came to save us from our sins. Second, we must love one another not just our brothers and sisters in Christ but our enemies too. Thus, we know that we are of God because his Spirit abides in us and we know that the Spirit abides in us if we have love for one another.

Prayer:
Lord comfort our hearts with your living presence today. Help us to live as the children of God today. Grant to us your loving Spirit that we may love our neighbor fully and completely. Help us to be your ambassadors of truth to the world today. Bringing love to the loveless, hope to the hopeless, comfort to the uncomfortable, and most of all, God to the godless who need to know you

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 3:19–24.

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