BIBLE DISCUSSION GROUP STUDY QUESTIONS

In preparation for Sunday, August 31, 2014 Passage: 1 John 3:1-9

Memory Passage: 1 John 3:1 NB. Bible quotations are ordinarily from the New King James Version (NKJV).

DAY 1 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a) Read 1 John 3:1, 16:17, Exodus 32:32, Ephesians 5:1-2, & Philippians 2:1-3. In verse 1 John is astonished at the thought that genuine believers in Christ are children of God. Why is being a child of God an astonishing reality? Is being a child of God cause of astonishment in your life?

(b) Based upon the above passages, how would you describe Christ’s love?

(c) Aside from to your own children, have you had opportunity to bestow/give this kind of love to brothers and sisters in Christ?

(d) Define “world” as used in this context. Considering that we work with and fellowship with many people in the world, in what sense can it be said that “the world doesn’t know us?”

DAY 2 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a) Read 1 John 3:2 & 2 Corinthians 3:15-18. John speaks of believers being children of God “now.” He then goes on to say that it has not yet appeared or been revealed “what we will be.” Explain why these two statements are not contradictory.

(b) When will God’s people see Jesus as “He is?” Does seeing Jesus mean only seeing Him in a physical sense? Do believers in any sense now see Jesus?

(c) It is quite telling that John speaks of us being like (homoi) Jesus and not of us being the same as (homo) Him. In what sense(s) will we be like Jesus and in what sense(s) will we not be the same as Jesus?

DAY 3 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a) Read 1 John 3:3. To what does “this hope” refer? The ESV speaks of “thus hopes,” which is an unfortunate translation since among other things it makes what is a noun in the Greek a verb in the English thus weakening the grammatical structure of the passage.

(b) Believers who have “this hope” ought to purify themselves. Really, can a believer in Christ purify himself? How so?

(c) When and how often must the believer purify himself?

(d) What is the purpose of adding “just as He [Christ Jesus] is pure?”

DAY 4 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a) Read 1 John 3:4-6, 1 John 1:8-2:1. Explain the relationship between this verse and the former one. Define sin. Define sin according to this verse. Are believers able not to commit sin (posse non peccare)?

(b) What is the difference, if any, between saying that Christ came into the world to take away sin (singular) and saying He came to take away sins (plural)? What point, in light of the context, is John making by using the plural and not the singular. Note well John’s noun use of “sin” (singular) and “sins” (plural) in 1 John 1:8-2:1.

(c) When the text in verse 5 says of Christ, “in Him there is no sin,” does this mean that Christ did not sin, could not sin, or both? Defend your answer from the Bible! See John 8:46, 2 Cor. 5:21, Phil. 2:5-8, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 4:15, 6:18 et alii.

DAY 5 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a) Read 1 John 3:7-9, James 2:14-26 & John 8:44. What do we learn about John’s heart disposition when he characterizes his audience as “Little children?”

(b) Does the practice of “righteousness” (sanctification) make one “righteous” (justification)? What is the connection between practicing righteousness and being righteous? Can you have one without the other?

(c) Trick questionJ. If God’s people still sin and sin is of the devil, has Christ truly destroyed the work of the devil?

DATE: August 31, 2014 PASSAGE: 1 John 3:1-9

Living as Children of the Living God