HAVE YOU EVER HAD A visitor appear at your door when you least expected it? Maybe you were wearing that old, worn-out, but comfortable shirt that hadn’t been washed in a few days. Maybe you had been on vacation and hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. When you opened the door, you felt a little bit self-conscious because you did not feel presentable. Now imagine if Jesus should suddenly arrive at your front door, would you be presentable to him or would you be ashamed? This is the question John asks in these verses.
First John 2:28, 29 is a hinge paragraph in the letter.1 As a door swings on hinges, this passage serves as a transition to close out the previous paragraph with its focus on abiding (note that the word “abide” occurs ten times in 1 John 2) and to introduce a new section in the letter focusing on sonship via the new birth. The word “born” has not been used before this point in the letter but will now occur nine times from this point forward. The expression of salvation as the “new birth” is a prominent Johannine concept (John 1:12, 13; 3:1–16). Once again John speaks of his readers as “little children.” This reference, coupled with the introductory conjunction “and” followed by “now,” indicates the beginning of a new paragraph and section. Fellowship is a basic theme for John, as he indicated in his statement in 1:3. Abiding in Christ is also a basic theme for John. Now John introduces a new thought related to these themes: confidence before Christ at his coming. The word “confidence” is parrēsia, a word that can signify a bold freedom of speech.2 John used it again in 3:21, 4:17, and 5:14. Twice John uses “confidence” in the context of the return of Christ and the final judgment (2:28; 4:17), and once it has to do with prayer (3:21, 22). Notice that in all these examples John’s focus is on our confidence before God. Fellowship with God maintained by abiding in him allows us to enjoy a genuine confidence when we meet the Lord. How this can be so is the subject of 2:29—4:19. When our lives are properly related to God and revealed to others, then God himself is revealed in our lives to others, as John says in 4:12–16.
Confidence at Christ’s Second Coming (v. 28)
John repeats the exhortation from the previous two verses to abide in Christ,3 but this time he adds a new motivation for doing so: confidence when Jesus returns to the earth a second time. The second coming of Christ is one of the clear teachings of the Bible. Exactly when Jesus will return in relation to all of the prophesied end-time events is not as clear. What is clear is that not only is Jesus coming back to this earth, but that coming could occur at any time. Since we don’t know when he will return, we should live every day prepared for his return. Remember, we’re not on the planning committee; we’re on the reception committee! When Jesus returns to this earth, every Christian alive at that time will greet him in confidence or shame. If we abide in Christ during his absence, we can be assured of confidence in his presence when he appears once again.
In this passage John gives us an incentive to abide in Christ. In the field of economics or sociology, there are at least four different classes of incentives. Financial incentive involves expectation of financial reward. Moral incentive involves the motivation to do the right thing resulting in personal or community approval. Coercive incentives are involved when failure to act in a certain way will result in physical force being used against one or one’s family. Natural incentives are such things as fear, anger, pain, joy, etc. For example, if a car sales team is given a $500 bonus for every car sold, that is a financial incentive to sell cars! The incentive we are given for the command to “abide” in Christ is the second coming of Jesus (v. 28). John has spoken about the coming of antichrist, but now he speaks of the coming of Christ! In the New Testament three main words are used to describe the second coming of Jesus. The first is the Greek word apokalupsis, which means “unveiling” and is translated “revelation.” The focus here is on disclosure of something previously hidden.
The next two words are both used by John in verse 28. The word “appears” (epiphaneia) emphasizes not only the fact of the return of Christ, but the suddenness and unexpectedness of his return as well.4 We get our English word epiphany from this Greek word. John used a form of this word in Greek in 1 John to describe the first coming of Jesus (1:2; 3:5, 8, 11) and his second coming (2:28; 3:2). This word, “appearing,” focuses on the visibility of the return of Christ. In other words, when he returns, as the Scripture says, “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7). This is John’s way of expressing the literal reality and factuality of Christ’s first and second coming to the earth. Interestingly, this word “appearing” is never used of God or the Holy Spirit, but only of Jesus. Jesus came the first time as a baby in a manger; he is coming the second time as King of kings and Lord of lords. His first coming was signaled by a star in the east; he will come the second time as the bright and morning star. He came the first time riding on a donkey into Jerusalem; he will come the second time riding on a white horse.
The word translated “coming” is the Greek parousia, meaning “coming” or “arrival.” John uses this word only here in this letter. In common Greek usage in the first century, this word was used to refer to the arrival of a king, ruler, or dignitary. The word connotes pomp and circumstance, splendor, dignity, and the concomitant respect owed to the arriving monarch. This word occurs frequently in the New Testament epistles to refer to the second coming of Christ.
The source of the doctrine concerning the second coming of Jesus is the Old Testament prophesies that were not fulfilled the first time he came.5 These prophecies will be fulfilled at his second coming. Jesus himself taught that he would return to the earth. In what is called the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, 25, Jesus spoke of his second coming several times.
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:42–44)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” (Matthew 25:31). Luke records this as well in the conclusion of the Parable of the Watching Servants: “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (12:40). Jesus’ emphasis in these passages is the necessity of believers being watchful and ready for him when he returns.
Two words in verse 28, antonyms in fact, describe possible attitudes we Christians may have at the second coming of Jesus: “confidence” and “shrink from him.” The first is a word we have already seen in this letter. It is the Greek word parrasia, which literally means “all speech,” and hence to have boldness or to be confident (2:28; 3:21, 22; 4:17). God’s desire for all of us is that we be confident when Jesus returns. No second-guessing, no wondering about whether we are prepared to meet him or not, but a solid confidence based on preparedness when Christ returns. John even uses a play on words here that is impossible to render in our English translations. The Greek word for Christ’s coming is parousia, and the Greek word for “confidence” is parrasia. Each word has three syllables, the first and the third exactly alike, with only the middle syllable (vowels) slightly different in sound. John is saying we should have parrasia at Jesus’ parousia!
The opposite of confidence is to be ashamed. To “shrink from him” means “to be ashamed.” The unsaved will be ashamed when Christ comes because for them his coming means their judgment. Zuck states the issue well:
Jesus’ return was not explained; it was assumed as common knowledge among the readers. The reference to shame may imply a negative judgment resulting in Christ’s rejection of the individual involved. Again this is future. John was not suggesting that a believer in Christ could ultimately be rejected by Him at the final judgment. John was reminding his readers that (just as in his gospel) one’s response to Jesus in the present determines one’s future destiny. To accept the false teaching of the opponents would be to reject Jesus and incur condemnation at the future judgment, for it would show that the person had never really belonged to Christ at all. To remain faithful to the apostolic teaching about the person of Jesus, on the other hand, would assure confidence before Christ in the day of judgment.6
Why would Christians be ashamed to see Jesus when he returns? If we are caught up short, living in ways that are displeasing to the Lord at his coming, the natural reaction would be shame. This is what John wants Christians to avoid. I remember when I was a teenager on occasion being in a place or situation in which I would certainly not be very comfortable if my mother or father suddenly appeared! As a child probably the worst thing my parents could have ever said to me that would have cut to my heart would be the words “I am ashamed of you.” Come to think of it, I can recall a few situations in more recent years when if the Lord had come and caught me at a particular moment with a particular attitude, conversation, or action I was engaged in at the time, I would have been ashamed to see him! I don’t want my heavenly Father to be ashamed of my life when Jesus comes, nor do I want to be ashamed of my life when he comes! John tells us that the surefire way to have confidence when Jesus returns is to “abide” in Christ, which contextually means living rightly (righteously) day by day. That way, no matter when Jesus comes, we’ll be ready!
Nothing unnerves most of us more than unexpected company at an inopportune time. The doorbell rings, and there they stand. You cannot leave them out in the cold. You must invite them in. But the house is a wreck, and the kids are half-dressed with food on their face and dirt on their clothes. You and your spouse are less than presentable yourselves. When we are in such a situation, it is indent to want to shrink back from answering the door! Why? We are unprepared for company. In a similar way, if the doorbell of the return of Christ should ring at an inopportune moment in our life, we would shrink back in shame because we would be unprepared to meet the King.
When Dwight Eisenhower was President, he vacationed in Denver. A six-year-old boy with cancer had expressed a desire to see the President. One Sunday morning the presidential limousine pulled up in front of this boy’s house. His father came to the door in blue jeans, a T-shirt, and a day’s growth of beard. Seeing the President of the United States on his front porch, he was speechless. After the surprise visit ended, the father exclaimed later, “What a way to meet the President!” Every Christian will meet Jesus at his second coming with either confidence or shame.
Right Living Evidences the New Birth (v. 29)
If John gives us the incentive for living rightly as Jesus’ second coming in verse 28, then in verse 29 he gives us the grounds for living rightly: the new birth. When John uses the word “if” in verse 29, he does not mean to convey uncertainty. The word really means “since” in this context. Since we know that Jesus himself is righteous, that is, he is sinless and always does what is right, then we also know that all who have been born again through Christ should be righteous as well. Like father, like son. This divine birth is a birth that is accomplished by God alone. Notice that John says in the last part of verse 29, “has been born.”7 In other words, God is the source, the originator, the one who causes this new spiritual birth to take place. You had nothing to do with your physical birth; likewise, you did nothing to bring about your new birth spiritually. Faith in Jesus Christ is simply the condition that you fulfill in order for God to save you. Your salvation was initiated by God, not you. There is not a scintilla of a hint of anything that smacks of good works as bringing about salvation here or anywhere else in the New Testament.
Our practice of right living gives evidence that we have truly been born into the family of God. To whom does the “he” refer in the phrase “he is righteous” in verse 29? “He” can refer to God or Jesus. Since we know Jesus is righteous, therefore, John says, we know that all who practice righteousness give evidence of the fact that they have been born into the family of God. We behave like our Father. If you have children, you hope they will act like you, and in some cases you hope they will act better than you! Our children often imitate our actions. The world ought to know you’re in the family of God by the way you act. All Christians should live in keeping with Jesus’ own righteous character. His character governs his conduct. So should ours. We should live up to our name.
John uses two different Greek words for knowledge in verse 29. If this diversity is not merely stylistic, then John may be emphasizing absolute and intuitive knowledge in his use of “know” at the beginning of the verse when he says, “if you know that he is righteous . . .” Then he may be stressing knowledge learned by experience in the phrase translated “you may be sure.”8 “Righteousness” means essentially living rightly. It is a word that describes moral behavior acceptable to God. This is one of the distinct characteristics of one who has been born of God. But notice carefully that this righteousness is evidence of the new birth, not the cause of it. The metaphor of the new birth is common in John’s Gospel and letter. When you see real righteousness exhibited, righteousness defined by God in his Word and not mere human morality, you can rest assured that the person who exhibits it is a child of God.
These verses teach us the reality of the return of Jesus to this earth and the importance of our watchfulness for his return. The second coming of Jesus is our incentive to practice righteousness, to live rightly. Think of how practical this doctrine of the second coming of Christ is to our daily behavior. If I know Jesus’ coming is imminent, how should I transact my business today? If I know his coming could occur at any moment, what kind of husband and father should I be? How will I conduct myself in my leisure time, at the ball game, at the office, in church, and a hundred other places if any moment the trumpet may sound announcing his appearing? It is impossible to stuff your sins in a dusty attic somewhere in a desperate attempt to hide them from the all-seeing eyes of Jesus at his second coming. The Biblical promise of the return of Christ is one of the best motives for holy living.
If I love Jesus, and if I am looking forward to his return, I can have confidence now and when I see him face-to-face. Remember Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:8: the crown of righteousness is laid up for all those who love Jesus’ appearing. Let’s live every day loving Jesus and looking for Jesus! Even if Jesus tarries in his return, we should live loving him and looking for him until our dying day. Don’t put thorns in your dying pillow by the lethargy of your Christian life.9