Hello dear friends,
Today, let’s take a look at a very practical step on how we, as believers, can be purified throughout our Christian walk of faith:
And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
— 1 John 3:3
In this simple statement, the apostle John shares crucial information on how the Christian gets continuously sanctified throughout their walk. Let’s examine this statement slowly to have a better understanding of how we can become more and more pure, just as our Lord is pure.
It is for Anyone Who Believes
John firstly qualifies his statement by describing who this practical step affects. His answer to the question of who can be purified to become more like Christ is everyone. This immediately removes any distinctions among people. It’s not about race, gender, socioeconomic status, political leaning, tribe, genealogies, historical background, or anything else. Everyone is welcome to partake at this table. Everyone has been given this invitation to have eternal life. Such are Paul’s words to the Galatians:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
— Galatians 3:28
The invitation is given to everyone who will believe, and those who believe take on a new identity. It’s no longer their differences that divide them, but rather their identity in Christ that unites them. All of them are “in Christ.”
In opening this statement with this qualifier, John prescribes it to all who will believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In other words, with regards to who can be purified, John is saying it has nothing to do with your perceived fleshly identity.
Plainly stated, whatever sin the believer is battling, whatever sin that makes them impure, John is saying your earthly identity does not at all limit you from being purified. There is no sin too big to be purified, and there’s no distinction in the purification of sin based on one’s earthly identity. This is why the apostle uses the qualifier “anyone.”
Hope is a Necessity
The next thing that John highlights is this hope. Hope is a certain expectation that one has for the future. However, it should be noted that the hope John is talking about here is not just any kind of hope. The hope John speaks to is the hope of salvation. It is the hope of seeing Christ when He comes back. We see that this is a specific kind of hope from the verses prior to this:
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
— 1 John 3:2
John paints this picture of believers being united with their Lord. With this, he assures them that when that day comes, they will be just like Him. The statement that follows about this purification is a nod to the concern that believers might have regarding the sin they continue to battle in their everyday life.
John reminds believers that they ought not to give up on their battle against the flesh and against sin, because they are assured that the day will come when they’ll be reunited with their Lord, and when that happens they will be just like Christ, that is, they’ll be pure. This is the hope of the believer: to be reunited with Christ upon His second coming.
It is evident now that the hope the believer ought to have is that of being reunited with Christ when He comes back. The believer is not just wasting time doing nothing; the believer eagerly waits and looks forward to the return of Jesus, structuring their whole life in the knowledge that Jesus will one day return for glory.
For in hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it.
— Romans 8:24-25
Hope Can Only Be Fixed on Christ
Having said this, John reminds the believer where they ought to fix that hope. The hope of the believer should not be fixed on their works of righteousness. It should not be fixed on the believer’s genealogy, economic status, religious practices, or anything or anyone else. The hope of the believer should only be fixed on Christ.
This teaching actually goes contrary to what the world tries to teach believers in this modern age. The world teaches that one needs to trust in themselves, that man is inherently good, that man is enough and sufficient, and that you deserve to get whatever you want. The truth is relative and anything can be true based on circumstances. Such is the teaching that is prevalent in the mainstream.
Many of the movies, music, memes, books, comedy, and other forms of entertainment and self-help content push this same kind of narrative. All of it teaches to look inward for hope, to fix our hope on ourselves or on something or someone other than Christ.
The Bible teaches us otherwise. The Bible teaches that the heart of man is wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). It teaches that there’s no one good but God (Mark 10:18). The Bible teaches that all men are foolish for thinking in their hearts that there is no God (Psalms 53:1). That men are hypocrites for claiming religion when they don’t really believe in Christ (Titus 1:16), that the hearts of men are far from God (Matthew 15:8), and ultimately that man left to himself is dead in sin and trespasses, and by nature is a child of wrath (Ephesians 2:1).
The Bible points us to one Savior, Jesus Christ, and tells us that the only way to be pure is to fix our hope on Christ.
True Purification
Having fixed this hope on Christ, the believer purifies himself. This is the result of fixing hope on Christ. The word “pure” here is used to mean “to make clean.” Figuratively, this word would be used in ancient days ceremonially or morally. James used this same word in his epistle when describing the results of drawing near to God:
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
— James 4:8
Here we see the same ideas being communicated. Drawing near to God and fixing one’s hope on Christ yields similar results. This result is purification.
Once again, this goes contrary to the teachings and philosophies of the world. The world teaches that what man needs to be purified and break free from their evil deeds, thoughts, and evil conduct is more self-help. The world teaches that what’s needed is a change of behavior, some moralism, some inhibiting drugs to help with certain conditions.
When this doesn’t work, the world switches gears and teaches people to accept themselves for who they are. When trying to change the man to fit the standards of purity and morality fails, the world changes the standards of morality to fit whatever the man already is. This is how abortion is legal, how homosexuality is rampant in our community today to the point of being endorsed by the “civilized” West along with the rest of the world following suit.
The Bible, on the other hand, already predicted this and had already addressed this as being judgment from God for those who suppress truth under unrighteousness:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
— Romans 1:18
We see a detailed exposition of this judgment in the following verses in Romans 1:18-32. This perfectly paints the picture of the world we live in today.
What John is exhorting his readers to consider is that true purification only comes from Christ and only comes when Christ is the object upon which the believer’s hope is fixed. The only way to be set free from the bondage of sin is to submit completely and utterly to Christ:
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
— John 8:36
Christ is Pure
Finally, John shows why and how this whole process of purification works. It works because Christ is actually pure. Logically speaking, one impure object cannot make another impure object pure. It takes a perfectly pure object to make the impure object pure. This is who Christ is. Christ is God, and God is light, that is to say, God is pure and in Him there is not a shred of impurity:
And this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
— 1 John 1:5
Jesus Christ is pure in the sense that He lived a perfect sinless life. He was tempted in the same way we are tempted. But while we, in our impure state, fall into temptations, our Lord and Savior persevered against temptation and remained sinless:
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.
— Hebrews 4:15
And this is the good news that we come to understand as believers: because Jesus is God and because Jesus is pure, He was able to not only forgive our sins but also bear the punishment of sin that was due to us, so that we could be reconciled to God when we place our faith in Him.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
— 2 Corinthians 5:21
This reality is true of our justification, which happened at the point of our conversion to the Christian faith. It is also true of our sanctification, where we are progressively being conformed to the image of the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Righteous. As we fix our hope in Him, He purifies us from the filth of this world, from our sins, and from our fleshly desires.
Let’s remember that:
- Purification happens to all who believe: Nothing isolates a single believer from being sanctified as we are all one in Christ.
- We must have hope: We can’t call ourselves believers in Jesus Christ and have no hope of His return and our reunion with Him.
- Our hope must be fixed on Christ: There are so many things in our world today demanding our attention. We should be careful not to be led astray; our hope should be fixed on Christ and Christ alone.
- Purification is happening: When we fix our hope in Christ, we are promised purification and freedom from all worldliness and ungodliness. However tough the battle with the flesh is, let’s not give up hope. Let’s cling to this promise of ultimate purification at our reunion with our Lord.
- Christ is pure: This is where we hang our hope, that Christ is pure and hence has the ability to purify us.
I pray that this word reminds us to fix our hope in Christ. He is our only hope.
Grace to you all,
Paul
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