Walk in Light and Love: Children of God

John marvels at the love of God. We are called children of God, and that is what we are.

Not metaphor. Reality.

And this reality transforms how we live now and what we become in eternity.

The Father's lavish love

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

Behold. Pay attention. Consider the magnitude of this love.

We are not merely servants or subjects. We are children. Adopted into God's family. Bearing His name. Sharing His nature.

This is not earned. It is lavished: poured out generously, extravagantly, without measure.

"The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."

The world rejected Christ. It will reject His followers.

Belonging to God's family means being misunderstood, opposed, hated by the world. But this is evidence, not accident. If the world hated Christ, it will hate us (John 15:18).

Rejection by the world confirms acceptance by God.

We will be like Him

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

Present identity: children of God.

Future transformation: we will be like Christ.

What we will be is not fully revealed, but this much is certain: when we see Him, we will be conformed to His likeness. The beatific vision perfects us. Beholding Christ produces Christlikeness.

"All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure."

Hope in future glorification produces present holiness.

This is not passivity. It is active pursuit of purity motivated by the certainty of transformation. We become now what we will be then.

Future glory fuels present sanctification.

Sin is lawlessness

"Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness."

Sin is not merely breaking rules. It is rebellion against God's authority. Lawlessness is autonomy: I am my own law.

"But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin."

Christ came to remove sin. He is qualified to be the sin-bearer because He is sinless.

"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him."

Abiding in Christ and habitual sin are incompatible.

This is not sinless perfection. It is the direction of life. Genuine believers do not make sin their practice. They may stumble, but they do not continue willfully, habitually, unrepentantly in sin.

New birth changes moral direction.

Children of God or children of the devil

"The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."

Two families. Two fathers.

The devil is the original rebel. Christ came to destroy his work: sin, death, bondage.

"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God."

God's seed (divine nature, Holy Spirit, new birth principle) resides in believers. They cannot go on sinning as a lifestyle because God's nature is incompatible with sin.

"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister."

Two tests: righteousness and love.

Lack of either reveals false profession. Behavior and relationships expose spiritual parentage.

The fruit reveals the root.

The command to love

"For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another."

Love is not optional. It is the command.

"Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous."

Cain is the prototype of hatred. Envy of righteousness led to murder. Rejection of God produces rejection of others.

"Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."

Hatred from the world is expected. Righteousness provokes hostility.

But love within the church is evidence of life.

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death."

Love proves spiritual life. Lovelessness reveals spiritual death.

"Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him."

Hatred is murder in the heart (Matthew 5:21-22). Habitual hatred disqualifies claims to salvation.

Love is life; hatred is death.

The definition of love

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."

The cross defines love.

Love is not feeling but action. Sacrificial. Self-giving. Costly. Even unto death.

Christian love imitates Christ's love. We lay down our lives for one another.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?"

Practical application: seeing need and meeting it.

Indifference to suffering contradicts the gospel. Love must be tangible.

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

Love is verified by deeds, not declarations.

Speech is cheap. Action is costly. True love sacrifices.

Faith without works is dead.

Assurance through obedience

"This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence."

Loving in action and truth brings assurance. Obedience calms doubts.

"If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."

Even when we feel guilty, God's knowledge surpasses our feelings. He sees the heart's sincerity despite imperfect actions. His grace is greater than our condemnation.

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him."

Clear conscience brings boldness in prayer. Obedience aligns our desires with God's will, making our requests effective.

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us."

Two commands summarized: believe and love. Faith and love. Doctrine and ethics. Inseparable.

"The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

Obedience proves mutual indwelling. The Spirit assures us of God's presence.

Abiding is proven by the Spirit's witness and obedience's fruit.

Final exhortation

First John 3 calls us to marvel at God's love, anticipate future glorification, pursue present purity, and express love in sacrificial action.

We are children of God now. We will be like Christ then.

This hope purifies. This identity transforms.

Do not love with words alone. Love in deed and truth.

Test your profession by your practice. Examine your life by the standard of love.

Assurance flows from obedience. Confidence comes from walking in truth.

Closing prayer

Father, thank You for the lavish love that makes us Your children. Purify us as we await the day when we will see Christ and be like Him. Help us to love not in word only, but in deed and truth. Assure our hearts through the Spirit's witness and obedience's fruit. In Jesus' name, amen.