Children
of God (1 John 3:1-3)
3 See
how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and
that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t
recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know
him. 2 Dear
friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us
what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will
be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And
all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just
as he is pure.
Let
us consider the three verses individually.
(Verse
1) See
how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and
that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t
recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.
God’s
love is agape love. This is the highest form of love because it is
not based on self interest but strictly on the well being of another.
In The Father’s case, He demonstrated his love for us by sending
His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners
and unworthy of love. (Romans 5:6-11) This agape love demonstrated by
the Father will be celebrated for eternity future by God’s
children. (Ephesians 2:7)
Only
those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour are God’s
true children. (Romans 10:10) This may seem exclusive to people of
other religions or agnostics who have not yet made a decision for
Christ one way or another. God is Father in the universal sense in
that He created the human race (Genesis 1:27) but only those who have
personally received the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are truly children
of God. (John 1:12)
God
calls us into intimacy with Him through the reconciliation made
possible through the Son. (2 Corinthians 5:19) The greatest love God
could offer us is to call us His children. One could aspire to be a
mere servant in heaven in order to get in (psalm 84:10) but God
lavishes us with the title of Child of God! This means we are
co-heirs with Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 2:11-12)
The
great mystery to the unsaved world is that Christians appear no more
special that anyone else in the world. To the unconverted, Christians
do not have halos (figuratively speaking) above their heads and are
not viewed with any more importance or significance as other people
in the world. 1 Peter 2:9 calls us a chosen people or a “peculiar
people”. This means we are God’s special people, distinguished
from the world by the light of Christ which dwells in our hearts. The
problem is that those who dwell in the world have a darkened
understanding of spiritual life and cannot therefore properly
appraise who the true children of God are. (Ephesians 4:18, 1
Corinthians 2:15) non-Christians see followers of Christ as deluded
individuals who follow foolish ideas. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
(Verse
2) 2 Dear
friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us
what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will
be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
God
desires for his children to know that they are eternally safe and
secure. (1 John 5:13) The fear that Christian salvation is a kind of
Russian Roulette where you may or may not see eternal life is an
obscuring of the plain text of scripture. (1 John 5:12) As the hymn
writer wrote:
“Amazing
grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” (1 John
1:7)
The
blood of Jesus Christ was shed for us brothers and sisters so that we
would know with certainty that God the Father has forgiven our sins
and adopted us as his children, never to be rejected. (Hebrews 9:15)
Fear of losing our salvation is doubting God’s lavish provision for
sinners who call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13) for pardon
of sin, based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ that purified us and
made us whole. (Isaiah 53:5) We are already Gods children… but
there’s more!
Our
future glory is still a mystery! We only have a foretaste of our
glorious inheritance. (1 Corinthians 13:12) Our future glory hasn’t
happened yet nor has God revealed it to us so our limited
understanding clouds our future anticipation as genuine children of
God! Many in recent years have reported unfathomable dreams and
visons of having traveled to heaven and given detailed accounts of
what they have experienced there. As a minister of God’s word, I
would warn such individuals not to go beyond the revealed word of
God. (1 Corinthians 4:6) Instead of rushing into speculation, we
should instead refocus our attention to the promises of God which are
always yes and amen! (2 Corinthians 1:20) God has given us all things
pertaining to godliness through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians
1:3) and the word of God which is able to transform our minds by
patterning it after God’s own righteousness. (Romans 12:2)
Jesus
Christ is the prototype for our future glorification and much
teaching has been made of his resurrection body which I will not
endeavour to go into great detail here. (John 21:25) Suffice it to
say, the Bible tells us that we will be made like him when he
appears. (1 Corinthians 15:52) The promise of God is that when he
returns, we will be made like him, that is, we will have a body that
is perfectly suited for heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:45-50) Then, in a
kind of revelatory experience, we will be able to know the God Man
even more intimately.
Verse
3
3 And
all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just
as he is pure.
Longing
is in the heart of mankind. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) One of the traits of
being created in the image of God is the ability to plan for the
future. A redeemed, lovely, human creature thinks about their future
glory and how wonderful it will be to not be ensnared by sin and its
ill effects. How wonderful it will be for children of God to
perfectly commune with the Father, even being made to share in the
very glory of God! (Romans 8:17-19)
Such
a thought is praiseworthy and excellent if there ever was such a
thing as praiseworthy and excellent. (Philippians 4:8) The children’s
bread is therefore to make faith manifest by trying to live a holy
life, on this side of heaven.
The
church (the bride of Christ) aught to purify herself in anticipation
to being presented to Jesus Christ (the bridegroom) upon his return.
Spiritual purity is often portrayed in the Bible as chastity and we
are to keep ourselves chaste until we are united with the lover of
our soul. (Song of Solomon 8:4) Jesus loves us with perfect love. (1
John 4:8) A wedding day is meant to culminate mutual love, desire,
and affection for one another. Let us purify ourselves for our
bridegroom is coming. (Song of Solomon 2:10-13)
Romans
5:6-11
6 When
we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died
for us sinners. 7 Now,
most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though
someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is
especially good. 8 But
God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us
while we were still sinners. 9 And
since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of
Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For
since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son
while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through
the life of his Son. 11 So
now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because
our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Ephesians
2:7
7
So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the
incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in
all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
Romans
10:10
10
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with
God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
Genesis
1:27
27 So
God created human beings[a] in
his own image.
In the image of God he
created them;
male and female he created
them.
John
1:12
12 But
to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become
children of God.
2
Corinthians 5:19
19 For
God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer
counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful
message of reconciliation.
Psalm
84:10
10 A
single day in your courts
is better than
a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the
house of my God
than live the good life
in the homes of the wicked.
Hebrews
2:11-12
11 So
now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is
why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and
sisters.[a] 12 For
he said to God,
“I
will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I
will praise you among your assembled people.”[b]
Ephesians
4:18
18 Their
minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives
because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts
against him.
1
Corinthians 2:15
15 Those
who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot
be evaluated by others.
1
Corinthians 2:14
14 But
people who aren’t spiritual[a] can’t
receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to
them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual
can understand what the Spirit means.
1
John 5:13
13 I
have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God,
so that you may know you have eternal life.
1
John 5:12
12 Whoever
has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have
life.
1
John 1:7
7 But
if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have
fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses
us from all sin.
Hebrews
9:15
15 That
is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and
people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal
inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free
from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first
covenant.
Romans
10:13
13 For
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.”[a]
Isaiah
53:5
5 But
he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed
for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He
was whipped so we could be healed.
1
Corinthians 13:12
12 Now
we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but
then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[a] All
that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know
everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1
Corinthians 4:6
6 Dear
brothers and sisters,[a] I
have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying.
If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the
Scriptures,[b] you
won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.
2
Corinthians 1:20
20 For
all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a
resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means
“Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
Ephesians
1:3
3 All
praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we
are united with Christ.
Romans
12:2
2 Don’t
copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform
you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will
learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and
perfect.
John
21:25
25 Jesus
also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose
the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.
1
Corinthians 15:52
52 It
will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last
trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died
will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be
transformed.
1
Corinthians 15:45-50
45 The
Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living
person.”[a] But
the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What
comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes
later. 47 Adam,
the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the
second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly
people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the
heavenly man. 49 Just
as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like[b] the
heavenly man.
50 What
I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies
cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit
what will last forever.
Ecclesiastes
3:11
11 Yet
God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted
eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole
scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
Romans
8:17-19
17 And
since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with
Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his
glory, we must also share his suffering.
18 Yet
what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to
us later. 19 For
all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will
reveal who his children really are.
Philippians
4:8
8 And
now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on
what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and
admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of
praise.
Song
of Solomon 8:4
4 Promise
me, O women of Jerusalem,
not to awaken
love until the time is right.[a]
1
John 4:8
8 But
anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Song
of Solomon 2:10-13
10 My
lover said to me,
“Rise up, my
darling!
Come away with me, my fair
one!
11 Look,
the winter is past,
and the rains are
over and gone.
12 The
flowers are springing up,
the season of
singing birds[a] has
come,
and the cooing of turtledoves
fills the air.
13 The
fig trees are forming young fruit,
and
the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my
darling!
Come away with me, my fair
one!”
