Episode Details

(Photo by Aneta Hartmannová 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 86, we are going to study 1 John 3:7.

Let’s read the verse.

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.

Let’s go over the definitions of the words.

Little children (5040. teknion) — is a tender term of affection used by John to address believers as members of God’s family. It emphasizes spiritual kinship, care, dependence, and loving pastoral concern.

Let no one (3367. médeis, médemia, méden) — Means no one whatsoever; not even one person.

Deceive (4105. planaó) — Means to lead astray, mislead, or cause someone to wander from truth or moral uprightness.

You (4771. su) — Means you all, the believers being addressed.

The one who (3588. ho, hé, to) — Means the person who.

Practices (4160. poieó) — Means to do, practice, or carry out habitually.

Righteousness (1343. dikaiosuné) — Means uprightness, or conduct that conforms to God’s holy standard and is approved by Him.

Is (1510. eimi) righteous (1342. dikaios) — means is upright, or just before God.

Just as (2531. kathos) — Means in the same manner as or according to the pattern of.

He (1565. ekeinos) — means “That one,” referring to Christ; a term John often uses to refer emphatically to Jesus.

Is (1510. eimi) righteous (1342. dikaios) — means is perfectly just, and morally pure.

In other words, believers, you who are members of God’s family and are deeply loved, do not let anyone lead you astray from the truth or from moral uprightness. The person who habitually practices righteousness by living in a way that conforms to God’s holy standard and is approved by Him demonstrates that he is righteous before God, just as Christ is perfectly righteous and morally pure.

This verse starts with the term “Little children.” John uses this term seven times in his letter. This shows his shepherd’s heart. He desires to protect believers by warning them about danger. True love warns others about spiritual danger.

Then he continues by saying, “let no one deceive you” John wants believers to pay close attention because false teachers were distorting foundational truths of the Christian faith.

These teachers minimized sin and claimed fellowship with God while continuing in sin. They elevated spiritual knowledge over obedience, treating sin as insignificant. John warns believers against any