No less than five times in his First Letter, John emphasises the fact and the purpose of our Lord’s incarnation. 1 John 3:5 tells us that Jesus came to this eart to be our Sin-bearer, to take away our sins! The essential purpose of the incarnation was not that our Lord might become our Example or our Teacher, but that He might be our Sin-bearer. Our study will follow the outline below:

1. Biblical Context
2. Jesus is the only Redeemer (v. 5a)
3. Jesus’ Qualification as The Redeemer (v. 5b)

Three important truths are noted in this verse. First, that Jesus appeared; earlier verses in 1 John specify that this was in a real, flesh-and-blood form. While false teachers may argue Jesus never came as a human, believers accept the coming of Jesus to this world, called the incarnation, as an essential part of the faith (John 1:1–14).

Second, Jesus had a clear purpose for coming to this world. He did not come to merely make us better. His mission was to remove the power of sin from our lives. He did so by paying the price of our evil actions on the cross. Christ's sacrifice is the only one sufficient to pay the price for every sin, once and for all.

This is explained in John's third area of emphasis, that there is no sin whatsoever in Jesus. Hebrews 4:15 echoes this teaching, noting, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."

Getting Started                          

1. What traditions or habits do you have that help prepare yourself and your family for Christmas?     

• Read 1 John 2:28 - 1 John 3:10

2. What insight, principle, or observation from Sunday’s sermon did you find to be the most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling? 

Digging Deeper

3. 1 John 3:5 reads – “you know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.” The word ‘appeared’ is significant; it infers our Lord’s pre-existence. When He was born at Bethlehem, that was not His beginning – look up and compare John 1:1-3; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Galatians 4:4; 1 John 1:1-12. 

4. In our text, John defines the mission of Jesus Christ at its most basic root — to take away our sins. Where in the nativity story, in the gospel of Matthew is this mission emphasized by the angel Gabriel? 

5. Let's think about the atonement from a theological perspective. How does Jesus take away our sin in these 3 areas: 1. Justification 2. Sanctification 3. Glorification?

 The Heart of the Matter

6. We cannot take away the penalty of our own sin. It is impossible to cleanse ourselves in this way. Before you put your faith in Jesus to take away your sins, what were some of the ways that you tried, to cleanse yourself from sins? 

7. Did you ever try to tell yourself that some kind of sin is acceptable? What should our view of sin be?

8. What other reason is given for why Jesus came to earth in verse 8? Does this reason encourage or discourage you? Explain your answer.