Children of God
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
In 1966, the amazing Dionne Warwick made famous the lyrics, “What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of” (Bacharach and David, 1965). Nearly 60 years later, love seems to have disappeared altogether in public forums. There’s division and vitriol, but love? Even in the Church love seems to be a lost art, a gift reserved for only those who agree with each other. But that is not how God’s children are to be known. We are supposed to emulate the love of God for each other and for our neighbors as part of our new birth, our forgiven natures, and our reflection of Jesus.
What kind of love marks the Christian?
First and foremost, consider the love of God that didn’t wipe us out of creation for our rebellion, but rather made us his children. Matthew Henry (1706) posed it well,
“It is wonderful condescending love of the eternal Father, that such as we should be made and called his sons-we who by nature are heirs of sin, and guilt, and the curse of God-we who by practice are children of corruption, disobedience, and ingratitude! Strange, that the holy God is not ashamed to be called our Father, and to call us his sons!”
No human who ever walked the planet, with the notable exception of Jesus himself, is worthy of adoption into the household of the Father. Paul was clear that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). The only way to know the Father is through the Son (John 14:6), and it is in Jesus that God demonstrated his love for us (Romans 8), the same kind of love that changes our place in the world, our hope for the future, and our significance When we are born again (John 3), we inherit the embryonic nature of righteousness that makes us pure. We are set apart by our abiding in Christ, animated by a pursuit of holiness (Van Neste, 2023). Barclay (1956) noted that “to bear the name of the family of God is something to keep a man’s feet on the right way and to set him climbing.” It is only by the magnificent love and grace of God that we are called his children. Our only response must be to, as Spurgeon said, “Behold it, wonder at it, and never cease to admire it. Is it not one of the greatest marvels that even God himself has ever wrought that we should be called the sons of God?”
Once we begin to ponder the love of God that makes us his children, it’s clear that our response must be to imitate Christ in love, in devotion, and in purity. The practice of willful sinning must be abandoned as we pursue righteousness and holiness here on this earth. The ESV captures John’s intention well: those who make a practice of sinning live in lawlessness apart from Christ. To know Jesus is to love him, to love him is to obey him, and to obey him is to love one another. Abiding in Christ and living in righteousness is not what Barclay called “a terrifying perfectionism,” but is rather a life that recognizes sinful motives, ideas, and behaviors and does not keep doing them. The child of God lives “oriented toward obedience” (Van Neste, 2023). Or, as Stott (1964) wrote, “The proof of being a Christian is not merely orthodoxy, but righteous conduct as well” (120).
The context of the letter, a pre-gnosticism type of heresy espoused by false teachers who had recently left the church bolsters the idea that John pressed for perfection, but rather for the pursuit of righteous living in all things. John noted that Christians are to be set aside for their ethical behavior, understanding that liberty is not the same as license, and for maintaining right relationships covered in love for one another (Harris, 2004; Stott, 1964)
As beloved children of God, we represent his name wherever we go. We know how to act because we have Jesus as our brother and exemplar. Jesus came in the Incarnation to be the atoning sacrifice, the propitiation, the ultimate once-for-all Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2). Jesus is coming again to rule and reign, and when he does, we will see him as he is, and we will be like him. As Stott said, the two comings of Jesus in fact and in hope are “strong incentives to holiness” (120). Anyone who says otherwise is at best ignorant, and at worst, following a spirit of antichrist to destruction.
The single best way we can represent the name of God is to love one another. When we are born of God, we begin a transformation that will be complete when he appears (Henry, 1706; Spurgeon, n.d). When we abide in Jesus, we pursue right relationships with others that are rooted in love and grounded in grace.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2)
Resources
The ESV Bible. Crossway, 2001, www.esv.org/.
Barclay, William. “Commentary on 1 John 3”. “William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb/1-john-3.html. 1956-1959
Harris, W. Hall III. Exegetical Commentary on 1 John 2:28-3:10. Bible.org, http://www.bible.org/seriespage/10-exegetical-commentary-1-john-228-310. 2004
Henry, Matthew. Commentary on 1 John 3. Blue Letter Bible, http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/1Jo/1Jo_003.cfm. 1706
Mackie, Tim, and Jon Collins. “1 John 1:5-3:10: Walking in the Light of Jesus.” Bible Project, http://www.bibleproject.com/guides/books-of-1-3-john/.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. Verse Expositions of the Bible: 1 John 3. Truth According to Scripture, http://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/commentaries/spe/1-john-3.php
Stott, John R.W. The Letters of John. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, vol. 19, InterVarsity Press, 1964, 1988.
Van Neste, Ray. 1 John: A Commentary. The Gospel Coalition, http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/commentary/1-john/. 2023
Yamauchi, Edwin. “Pre-Christian Gnosticism, the New Testament and Nag Hammadi in Recent Debate.” Themelios, vol. 10, no. 1, The Gospel Coalition, 1984, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/pre-christian-gnosticism-the-new-testament-and-nag-hammadi-in-recent-debate/.
Dionne Warwick – What The World Needs Now (1966)
Defaulting to Grace 