What does 1 John 3:3 mean?
Because believers have hope, and anticipate being with Jesus for eternity, they pursue a pure life. The goal of living a pure life is to be like Christ. He is pure, and believers seek to live like Him. This lays groundwork for comments John will make later in this chapter, depicting sin as incompatible with fellowship in Christ.Purity is a strong theme in the New Testament. In Matthew 5:8, Jesus taught, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Paul sought to present believers as a "pure virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2). Believers are to "be pure and blameless for the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:10). First Peter 3:2 speaks of the "pure conduct" a believer should pursue, which stands out to unbelievers. To be pure is to be free from sin, to live increasingly like Christ in a world filled with evil. Those who do can look forward to heaven rather than fear future judgment.
First John 3:1–3 highlights the amazing love God has for us. Not only is He willing to call us His children, we actually are His children. Some of that transformation is immediate, but not everything we will be has been revealed, yet. Only when Christ returns will we see everything He has in store for us. John also connects a relationship with Christ to ''pure'' living.
The third chapter of 1 John focuses mostly on the concept of love. Because of His love, God not only calls us His children, He actually makes us His children. John also explains how sin, including hate, is never the result of a proper relationship with God. Christians, in contrast to the world, are supposed to do more than simply ''feel'' love; we are to act on it, as well
