THE TRUE LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS - 1 JOHN 3:7-8

Verses 7-8: Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

John continues his discussion of the production of the believer’s spiritual life. In verse 4, he clearly equated the production of sin as lawlessness; that it is an active revolt by the believer against God’s prefect ideal of righteous living.

Now John affirms that the believer who produces righteous living is righteous. To be righteous means to be one who is in “conformity to the claims of higher authority and stands in opposition to lawlessness.”1 Our Lord explained that the claims we should conform to are His commandments. He stated not once but four times that our love for Him is demonstrated when we keep and obey His commandments:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10)

Keeping His commandments not only proves our love for Him but it is evidence of our production of righteousness.

Exactly what are His commandments? As was mentioned at the beginning of chapter two, they do not refer specifically to the Ten Commandments. Kenneth Wuest explained that,

 The precepts (commandments) are those given by Our Lord either personally while on earth or through His apostles in the New Testament Books.2 

Here are some examples of a few: John commanded, “Do not love the world” (1 John 2:15); Peter warns us, “do not be conformed to the former lusts” (1 Peter 1:14); Paul commands us to “rejoice always” and “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17); in Hebrews we are directed: “do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2); and James instructs: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8), just as Our Lord had commanded (Mark 12:31). These are some of the numerous directives that the believer must discover through a careful and thorough study of Scripture.

Works of the Devil

On the other hand, the one that is practicing sin, their source of influence is of the devil—Satan. This is another of John’s simple declarative statements and most likely a description of the antichrist deceiver. Here he proclaims that the origin of sin into humanity was by the devil, who has been sinning from the beginning. Even prior to his complicity in the Fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), Satan in eternity past, clearly demonstrated his lawless sinfulness with the prideful boasting of his 5 “I wills” recorded by Isaiah:

          “I will ascend to heaven”

        “I will raise my throne above the stars of God”

       “I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north”

       “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds”

         “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14)

 By the devil’s deceptiveness, believers are being influenced to revert back to their former manner of life, otherwise the Apostle Paul would not have needed to warn believers to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Interceding on our behalf, Our Lord prayed to the Father that we might receive divine protection from the devil:

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)

Therefore, John is attempting to impress upon believers that a life of practicing sin is counterproductive of God’s divine purpose for the Incarnation of His Son—“to destroy the works of the devil.”

So, what are the works of the devil? The 19^th Century American theologian Albert Barnes stated it concisely: “All his plans of wickedness, and his control over the hearts of men.”3 Some of his notorious works include doubting Jesus’ deity: “If You are the Son of God” (Luke 4:3); obscuring the gospel by blinding the minds of man (Luke 8:12; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4); a liar (John 8:44; Acts 5:3); the accuser of the believers (Revelation 12:10; Zechariah 3:1); the tempter of believers (1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5).

Deception Warning

So with this in mind, John is warning us of a spirit of deception designed to lead us astray from living a righteous life. In the Apostle’s day, the Gnostic heresy sought to deceive believer with false teachings concerning Our Lord, denying His unique person as the God-man. Today, some of their false teachings are still prevalent. But there is a more subtle deception perpetrated by other believers and Christian groups, by those who fail to recognize the authority of Biblical directives for righteous living. Instead they rely on their own wisdom and they incorporate the philosophies and mindset of the unbelieving world. Donald Grey Barnhouse described these believers as,

Being ignorant of God’s righteousness, they go about to establish their own righteousness. In other words, they attempt to claim that human righteousness is good, that it is satisfactory, and that because it is satisfactory to men, God should also be satisfied with that righteousness.4

The Apostle Paul warned those in Colossae about this exact issue—this wisdom of the world:

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

We note again, that the ‘elementary principles of the world’ is descriptive of cosmic thinking that comprises all the opinions, values, aspirations, norms and standards of Satan’s world system that are indifferent to the Word of God. And therefore, the present day deceivers devise standards of living that they approve and enjoy, regardless of what God says, and promotes them as if they were approved by God.

As difficult as this may sound, this is the spirit of the times we live in today; a further evidence of the antichrist influence upon the minds of believers. John affirmed this when he wrote that “This is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7). John’s warning is a reminder that presently, there is an intensification of deception that will be pervasive throughout the remainder of the Church Age. Is it any wonder that he advises us in 1 John 4:1 to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God”?

Something to Contemplate

What is our intention for living a righteous life of faith? Do we seek His commands and strive to obey them? Are we “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 13:2)?

If so, then we are rejecting the devil’s philosophies that formulate cultural dictates and instead we are embracing the absolute authority of God’s Word.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Because only in His Word can believers acquire God’s absolute standards for their “training in righteousness.”

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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G1343.

[2] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 13.113.

[3] Barnes, A. (2005). Notes on the New Testament: Hebrews to Jude. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, XIII.2.318.

[4] Barnhouse, Donald Grey (1994). Romans, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, IV.1.62.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi