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(Photo by Hert Niks on Unsplash. Berean Standard Bible.)

Welcome to the Hope Bible School verse-by-verse Bible study of 1 John. This is Jeff M Newman. Get a new lesson every other week on Mondays at 12:00 PM Pacific.

In Lesson 75, we are going to third and final part of 1 John 3:1.

Let’s read this part of the verse.

1 John 3:1...The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

Let’s go over the definitions of the words.

The reason (1223. dia) — means because of or on account of.

The world (3588. ho, hé, to) (2889. kosmos) — means the ordered world-system that is in moral rebellion against God.

Does not (3756. ou, ouk, ouch) — is an absolute negation. This means not, no, or not at all.

Know us (1097. ginóskó) — means to know in an experiential or relational way, that is, to recognize or acknowledge.

Is that (3754. hoti) — means that, because, or since.

It did not know (1097. ginóskó) — means did not acknowledge or recognize.

Him (846. autos) — in this context, refers to God the Father.

In other words, the reason the world-system, which is in moral rebellion against God, does not recognize us as God’s children is because it does not know, acknowledge, or have a relationship with God the Father.

In the first part of 1 John 3:1, we learned about beholding the incredible love the Father has given us (Lesson 73). In the next part of the verse, we see that because of this great love, we are called into His family (Lesson 74). When we believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross, we are born again and become His children. This is our new identity.

However, even though God calls us His children, the world does not know us or recognize us as His children. The world has rejected God, and therefore it rejects those who belong to Him. Instead of marveling at the Father’s great love, the world hates Him and those who reflect His nature.

Let’s look at some verses that show how the world hates, rejects, and refuses to acknowledge believers because it does not know God.

In John 15:18-19, Jesus explains to His disciples that the world hates them because it hated Him first. If they belonged to the world, the world would love them as its own. But because Jesus has chosen them out of the world, setting them apart to follow Him, the world hates them.

John 15:18-19 If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 19 If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

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