CHILDREN OF GOD 

1 John 3:1-10 / Keywords 3:1

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

 

3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 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,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 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. 9 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. 10 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.

Footnotes

a. 1 John 3:2 Or when it is made known

1. We are greatly lavished with God’s love to be called the children of God! Lavished means to bestow upon extravagantly. In Christ, we are greatly lavished with God’s love; we have been bought with Jesus’ blood and reborn into God’s family. We must believe we are so loved!

 

2. John writes very personally, saying, “Dear friends, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Naturally, we tend to copy modern styles, ideas, or people that seem right or desirable. But our real hope is to be like Jesus and reign forever as God’s children when he returns. This hope purifies us of false or lesser hopes and helps us to live on a higher plane.

 

3. Jesus sets us free from sin and the desire to sin. Those who keep on sinning have never truly met Jesus. Again, John writes, “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.” John appeals personally to the church like his own children to watch out for the children of the devil who keep on sinning, do not love others, and lead us astray. We should not underestimate others’ influence on us.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for loving me and making me your child. I am weak. Purify my heart from sin.

One Word Lavished with God’s love as his child