1 John 2:29-3:9

[Hidden In Him]

Those Born In Christ's Image Vs. Those Conforming To Satan's


                       

     Christ Jesus had a message He was preaching to the world, and the Devil also had one he was preaching. These messages were epitomized by Christianity and Gnosticism, and whichever one gave ear to determined what kind of person he would become. Whoever's "seed" was birthed within him would determine whose likeness he assumed. If the seed of Christ's word abode within him, it would fashion him after Christ's image. But if the seed of Satan's word abode within him, it would fashion them after Satan's instead.
     This was driving point of John's next passage:

     If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone practicing righteousness has been born of Him. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God, and we are. Therefore this world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, we are now children of God, and it has not yet been made manifest what we shall be, but we know that if He is made manifest we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was made manifest that He might take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. (1 John 2:29-3:5)

     The mention here of lawlessness was to say that, while Christ was coming to establish His kingdom on earth, it would not be anyone who simply said to Him "Lord, Lord" who would enter His kingdom but those who did the will of His Father. The Gnostics rejected both God and His laws to walk in sin, thus conforming themselves to the image of a false and sinful "Christ" invented by the Devil. But those who were destined to reign with the true Christ would continue to be conformed into His true image after His return, for they would see Him as truly He was: Righteous, holy, and obedient unto God.

     Anyone abiding in Him does not sin, [yet] anyone sinning has not seen Him, nor known Him. Little children, let no one lead you astray. The one practicing righteousness is righteous, even as that One is righteous. The one practicing sin is of the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the beginning. For this cause the Son of God was made manifest, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. Everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin, for His seed abides within him and he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:6-9)

     John here ends where he began. He was not saying that a Christian can never sin, but that a Christian cannot willfully practice it, because the seed of God's word which is within him will continually convict him of sin, not allowing him to give himself to it. It would also produce fervent love for the brethren, as Peter stated regrading being born of the imperishable word of God: 

     Having purified your souls in obedience to the truth unto unfeigned brotherly love, love one another fervently from the heart, having been begotten again not of perishable seed but imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. (1 Peter 1:22-23)

     Just as John said that everyone who has this hope of reigning with Christ "purifies himself, even as He is pure," so too did Peter here emphasize that the word "purified" those within whom it abided. It began the work of transforming them into the image of Christ, and would continue to do so until His return. Any conduct that bore the image of Satan was being cleansed from them and replaced by only those behaviors which bore the image of Christ.
     Given everything John has said concerning Christ and Satan in this letter, what would the full image of Christ look like, as well as the full image of Satan? In truth, God's word taught full conformance to Christ's image, while Gnostic doctrine taught full conformance to the Devil's. 


What Born In Satan's Image Looks Like

     Gnostic doctrine taught lying, arrogance, sexual immorality, lawlessness, and bringing death to others, whether by direct actions or through doctrines that sent men to Hell. This is because Satan himself is a liar, arrogant, sexually immoral, lawless, and his actions brought death to mankind from the beginning.
     As Jesus Himself told the Pharisees:

     "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but He sent me... You are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father you desire to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks for his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:42, 44)

     The Pharisees were murderers and killed the righteous, just as their forefathers did the prophets (Matthew 23:29-37). As will be discussed in the next study, the Gnostics were as well, in that it appears they lay behind why so many early Christians were being betrayed into the hands of persecutors and put to their deaths. It's why John will compare them to Cain in the next few verses:

     This is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And on what account did he murder him? Because his works were wicked and his brother's were righteous. (1 John 3:11-12)

     Why would people like the Pharisees and Gnostics want Christians to be murdered? Because their father the Devil was a murderer from the beginning and the lusts of their father they were desiring to do, so they were simply conforming themselves to his image.
     Satan is still a murderer today, which is easy enough to establish, though I will advise the reader here that the following will not be pleasant to read. Nevertheless, it reveals the true nature of our spiritual enemy. The following is taken from the testimony of a former Satanist high priestess, relating a Black Mass she was forced to attend as a child, as told in Rebecca Brown's book, He Came To Set The Captives Free:

                                                     

     The meeting was held in a very large isolated barn which had been roughly remodeled for the purpose. I suppose that there were a couple thousand people there from the whole surrounding area... the victim was dragged kicking and screaming through the side door and up unto the stage. The main Easter sacrifice was always a man. Occasionally additional sacrifices of women, children, or animals are made, but the ceremony centers around the sacrifice of a man. Often a hitchhiker is picked up some days before the ceremony and carefully guarded until the time of the meeting. In the eyes of Satan and the crowd, that man becomes Jesus and Satan's supposed victory over Jesus at the cross is celebrated.
     I watched in utter horror as a crown of huge long thorns was driven into the young man's head; the thorns going in so deep as to pierce his skull. Then he was stripped and beaten with whips tipped with metal studs, and tortured with spikes and red-hot pokers. Finally he was nailed to a cross, which was then picked up and placed in a hole in the ground just in front of the middle of the platform. I will never forget the stench of burned and tormented flesh, the screams of the victim, his writhing in agony, his pleas for mercy. The crowd roared like a pack of wild animals, the inhuman voices of many demons from within the crowd joining in. They jeered and cheered as the cross was raised into place and dropped down into the hole. Satan had appeared by that time and sat on his throne nodding in approval... Satan appeared in human form as usual, dressed completely in shining white. But his eyes glowed red as a flame and he threw back his head and gave a howl and a scream and a hideous laugh of victory as the high priest drove a long spike through the man's head, pinning it to the cross, killing him. The crowd went crazy, screaming and shouting and dancing in crazed ecstasy at the "victory"...
     Satan vanished shortly after that to go on to the next Black Sabbath sacrifice. At his departure, the meeting turned into a sex orgy; human with human, and demon with human. Every type of sexual perversion imaginable was practiced. (Brown, He Came To Set The Captives Free, P.72-74)

     The last few lines relate to something else: If Satan's followers conform themselves to his image, where did all this sexual immorality come from? The answer is provided in an earlier Chapter in the same book, where she relates a "wedding ceremony" in which she became a regional bride of Satan:

     I had many privileges as a high priestess and I greatly benefited from these in my day-to-day life, but I continued to thirst for ever greater power. A few years after becoming a high priestess I reached my goal of becoming a regional bride of Satan. Many high priestesses call themselves brides of Satan, and in a sense they are, but Satan also has a very few chosen women that become his brides in a much more exclusive manner. Only five to ten, and usually only five, exist in the United States at one time...
     The ceremony was held in a large city nearby. One of the city's largest and most beautiful presbyterian churches was rented by the cult for the occasion. I am sure that the owners of the church had no idea what their church was being rented for... not only were there many people there from surrounding states and California, but also a number of older members of the cult from the Eastern world. This was indeed a great honor. The sanctuary was filled with eerie music from the large pipe organ. Satan's golden throne had been transported to the church and set up on the platform at the front. The signal to start the ceremony was Satan's sudden appearance in physical form on the throne.
     Again he appeared as a man dressed competency in white, wearing a crown of gold with many jewels in it. The whole congregation stood with a shout, and much worship was given to Satan. Then, at a sign from Satan, all heads turned to the back and I started forward down the isle. I was escorted by the high priest, followed by the Sisters of Light...
     The high priest performed the wedding ceremony. Most of the ceremony was signing, chanting and proclaiming the praises of Satan... I again signed a contract with my own blood. Then I was given a liquid to drink from a golden goblet. I do not know what was in the liquid, but I suppose there were some drugs in it, as I felt rather light-headed after drinking it. I was told the contract was binding. Satan doesn't believe in divorce...
     He treated me with the greatest of respect. He caressed my cheek, my hair, my arms. He told me how I looked to him: great beauty, great power, and that I could become what he had really always hoped for - the mother of his son - "The Christ," the redeemer of the world. I was completely taken in by his deception...
     By the time we arrived at the mansion in the hills of California, I was pretty hazy from the drugs I had been given. We were escorted with much pomp and ceremony to a large suite of rooms. The bedchamber had a large golden bed in it. Afterwards I was thankful for the drugs I had been given, because once we were alone Satan's beautiful appearance disappeared and the sexual intercourse we had was brutal. (Brown, He Came To Set The Captives Free, P.60-61)

     Having sexual intercourse with women is not something unique to Satan. Something similar but on a much larger scale took place in Genesis 6:1-4, when angels are said to have come unto the daughters of men and begat giants through them. It appears the only reason Satan himself has not yet been bound in Tartarus like they were (2 Peter 2:4) is because he has not yet begotten offspring, though this day may be coming. Many believe Satan's desire will eventually be fulfilled, and that the Antichrist will quite literally be the offspring of the god of this world.
     Until then, Satan continues to spread lawlessness throughout the earth just as the angels did before the flood. According to tradition, they are the ones who first introduced mankind to all sorts of evils, including the practice of witchcraft, the art of war, and other forbidden forms of knowledge. Satan's followers continue to "benefit" from this knowledge, which is yet another characteristic of those born in his image: They are lawless. The mantra of all Satanic religions is, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." Thus John was correct in saying:

     Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness... Little children, let no one lead you astray. The one practicing righteousness is righteous, even as that One is righteous. The one practicing sin is of the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the beginning. (1 John 3:4, 6-7)


What Born In Christ's Image Looks Like

     So what do those who are conforming to Christ's image look like? In the immediate context of the passages we have been covering, three things stand out: They laid down their lives for others, they walked in sexual purity, and they honored and kept the laws of God.
     Again, they did all of these things because Christ Himself had, who instead of hating and murdering his brothers like Cain, laid down His life for the brethren. As Jesus Himself once declared:

     All that came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters in through Me he shall be saved, and go in and go out and find pasture. The thief does not come except that he may steal and kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (John 10:8-11)

    Jesus was here talking about antichrist figures from the past like Nebuchadnezzar and Antiochus Epiphanes IV. Ultimately Satan wanted the Israelites to bow down to such men, but those he could not steal he sought to destroy by commanding they be put to death. So too will the lawless one put to death those who refuse to turn away from the God of the Jews.
    But Jesus died for the sheep rather than kill them, living out this teaching by going to the cross on their behalf, and this was something true Christians were conforming themselves to as well. As John will state in another few verses, early Christians willingly suffered martyrdom rather than betray their brethren, seeking instead to fully conform themselves to Christ's image:

     We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren... In this we have known love, in knowing that He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:14, 16)

     Likewise, unlike the Devil, the Lord walked in sexual purity, not just in deed but even in thought. If not, He never would have taught the following:

     You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish then for your whole body to be cast into Hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish then for your whole body to be cast into Hell. (Matthew 5:27-30)

    Lastly, unlike Satan and his children who walk in lawlessness, the Lord not only honored but kept the laws of God:

     Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law until all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)

     Certainly God's laws were modified after the crucifixion, since Christ Jesus was the true Lamb of God whom the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament only pointed to, making them no longer necessary. Other laws like the unclean food laws were rendered obsolete once the gospel was opened up to the Gentiles. But in some respects, the laws Jesus taught became even more strict, such as not to even look upon a woman to lust for her, or not even be angry with a brother without sufficient cause. Sin now had to be eliminated from the heart altogether.   
     Thus, the true image of Jesus Christ was of One who hates sin and in whom there was no sin, and conforming ourselves to His image is to do likewise, as we look to Him for strength.