The Hope That Transforms
Purity and righteousness flow from the life of Jesus already planted within us, just as new life pushes upward from a seed.
Devotional Credit: Days of Heaven by A.B. Simpson
Photo Credit: Unsplash
A.B. Simpson points us to a truth that reorients the way we understand the Christian life. John writes that everyone who has this hope in Jesus purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure. That verse is not calling us to strain toward imitation but to rest in union. God’s goal is not for us to mimic His Son by self-effort but to be made new in Him. Jesus imparts His own life to us, and out of that union comes a purity that reflects His nature.
Simpson stresses that Christian living is not a performance but an outflow. What God requires, He provides in His Son. The standard has never been lowered, but neither has it been left to us to reach. Righteousness is fulfilled not by human effort but by divine impartation. The One who is perfectly pure lives His life in us, and the result is a life that looks like His, not as an act, but as reality.
This vision removes the burden of trying harder to be like Jesus and replaces it with the rest of abiding in Him. The work is not to produce what we do not have, but to yield to the life we already possess. Purity, holiness, and righteousness are not goals to achieve but gifts already given in Him, expressed as we depend upon Him moment by moment.
The beauty of this truth is that our hope is not uncertain. It is rooted in the finished work of Jesus and the ongoing presence of His Spirit in us. Simpson invites us to rest in this hope with confidence, trusting that the purity of Jesus will flow through us as naturally as light shines from the sun.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My beloved, the life I have given you is not an imitation but a union. You are not asked to copy My Son but to share His very life. In Him, you have been made new, and that new life is pure because He is pure.
Do not think that I have lowered My standard of holiness. Instead, I have lifted you into Jesus who meets that standard fully. You are clothed in His righteousness, and you walk in His purity because His Spirit lives in you. The righteousness I require is the righteousness I impart.
Rest in this, for you are not striving to become something you are not. You are living out what I have already made you to be. Yield yourself to Me, and My Spirit will express the life of Jesus in you. The hope you carry is not vague or distant. It is certain and present, for He who began this work in you will bring it to completion.
Scripture References: 1 John 3:3, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:4-11, Philippians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Matthew 5:20, Romans 8:4, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Philippians 2:13, Colossians 3:3-4.
Real-Life Analogy
Imagine planting a seed in a pot of soil. You do not glue leaves onto the stem or try to force fruit onto the branch. You simply water it, and life within the seed begins to push outward. Soon a sprout appears, then leaves, then fruit. Everything flows from the life already inside the seed. In the same way, purity and righteousness are not glued on from the outside. They grow from the life of Jesus already within us.
Today, when I am tempted to strive in self-effort or to mimic holiness, I can pause and yield, whispering, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment.” Just as a seed brings forth life by design, so the purity of Jesus will naturally find expression in me.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that the purity You require is already mine in Jesus. I rest in the truth that His life is my life, His righteousness is my righteousness, and His holiness is my holiness. I rejoice that I am not called to imitate by effort but to yield to the life of Your Son in me. Today, I confidently trust that You will express His purity through me as I abide in Him.