When We All Get To Heaven

Now, would you take your Bibles and find 1 John chapter 3? We’re making our way through this wonderful Book of 1 John—this epistle written by the beloved apostle. .

I sometimes get a little cynical when I sing that song. I think well, not everyone can sing that, but everyone does. And we’ve been talking about fellowship in 1 John, and that will be the ultimate fellowship when we all get to Heaven!

1 John 3:1–3 ESV

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.

Now, there are three things that I want you to think about today: I want you to think about the Christian’s dignity; and I want you to think about the Christian’s destiny; and I want you to think about the Christian’s duty.

I. The Christian’s Dignity

Now, first of all, we’re going to think about the Christian’s dignity—what we are. Look at this verse again:

1 John 3:1 ESV

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.

“what kind of love”- KJV says —“what manner”“of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” John says, “Look at that. Behold it. I mean, look at it. What manner of love!” Do you know what that word literally means? It is a Greek phrase which means “something from out of this world.” “What kind”—it literally means, “What otherworldly kind of love, what love not from this planet, what indescribable, unknown quality is this love! Behold, what manner of love! It is out of this world that the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the Sons of God” (1 John 3:1).

we are not just called “sons of God” (1 John 3:1)—we are sons and daughters of God. Now, does that sink into you? That may not sink into you; but friend, listen—if I am a child of God, I’m have royal blood. I’m a child of the King. Just call me Prince Michael. I am a child of the King, and so are you.

Look at Hebrews 2: 10-12

Hebrews 2:10–12 ESV

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

now, what that means in plain English is that Jesus is in me, and I am in Christ, and we are one together. now, don’t miss this—“he is not ashamed to call them brethren, ...”

Hey, are you ashamed of Jesus? He’s not ashamed of you. He’s not ashamed to call you brother. He’s not ashamed to call you sister. That means we share the same nature; that means we are partakers of the divine nature. He has my nature because He took human nature; I have His nature because I have been born of God. And, we are sons, daughters, of God, and Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call us His brothers. and the Father cares for us...

A. The Father’s Care

We are under his care.

let me refer you to some other verses. John 17—just write this in your margin; I’ll read it for you

John 17:21–23 ESV

that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Now, how much does God love His Son, Jesus? Well, let me ask you a question: Does He love Jesus more than He loves you? That’s not what this says. Now folks, you say, “No, I can’t take that in,” but it is true. There’s nothing you can do to make God love you anymore than He loves you. He loves you as much as He loves His own dear Son. Jesus prayed, “Father, help them to know—help them to know—that you loved them even as you loved me. You see, we are the sons and the daughters of God.

Romans 8:29 ESV

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

He’s the first-­born Son, but He’s just the first-­born in a family of many brothers. We are—we are—brothers of Jesus, sons of God, literally. Galatians 4:6

Galatians 4:6 ESV

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Do you know what “Abba, Father” means? It means “Daddy, Father.” It’s just an Aramaic diminutive; it means “Daddy.” I don’t mean this irreverently, but we can speak to God and call Him Abba, Father. And, because of that—because I’m the son of God, because Jesus Christ is my brother—I have my Father’s care; I’m not a beggar. My Father’s obligated to take care of me, and He will. That’s why worry is so “unchristian”, it’s saying I’m not sure my Father will take care of me.

Matthew 6:26 ESV

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

you know what Jesus is saying? What farmer would feed His chickens and starve His children? we are also under the Father’s correction.

B. The Father’s Correction

Not only do you have the Father’s care, but you have the Father’s correction. Why do you have trouble sometimes? Because God loves you. Did you know that God sometimes engineers your trouble?

Hebrews 12:5–7 ESV

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Now, that doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us when He corrects us; it means that God does love us.

Here’s a little boy playing out in the yard. He gets in the mud; he’s covered with mud from head to foot. His father comes to the door and sees him—says, “Son, you can’t come in the house like that. Come out here in the yard.” And, the father takes the garden hose and just rinses that little boy off before he lets him come in. Now, it’s not the son that the father is rejecting; it is the mud. And, sometimes God just has to hose us down, doesn’t He? I mean—I mean, folks—it’s not that He rejects us when He does that. Actually, it’s because He loves us that He does that.

C. The Father’s Compassion

We also have his compassion. Is there anyone who gets your compassion like your kids do? Oh, He cares for you. His heart is broken when your heart is broken; and, therefore, it ought to be easy to talk with Him. You don’t talk with Him as judge; He is judge, but for you He’s more than judge. You don’t talk to Him as ruler; He is ruler. You don’t talk to Him as King; He is King. But, you talk to Him as Father. He has compassion on his children.

D. The Father’s Companionship

And, you have the Father’s companionship. I’m never alone. God is real to me. He’s never too busy to talk with me. Since our son has moved off to college, we really treasure those phone calls. You know you can see who’s calling and sometime you don’t answer. Now, my wife will break her leg answering a phone call from my son. Sometimes I call and she’ll say “oh I guess I didn’t hear it...” Yeah right.

God always listens, he always picks up. He wants to hear from his kids. There is a relationship with Almighty God that is so wonderful. This is what John is talking about: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). You may think that He’s forgotten you, but He hasn’t.

I heard about what the Indians do, sometimes, to bring a young boy from that passage of boyhood to young manhood. They take an Indian boy out in the old days, and they would put him out there in the forest where the wild animals were. And, they would draw a circle and put that young Indian in that circle, and he would be told, “You cannot leave this circle all night long. You will stay out here by yourself.” They gave him a little knife. That’s all he had to protect himself with. And, the little Indian boy would stand there in the middle of the circle, and the darkness would fall. And, he could hear all of the wild animals, and the hoots of the owls, and the howls of the coyotes, and all of those things out there. And, the little boy would just stand there in the middle of the circle and just tremble, ’til finally out of exhaustion he would crumple on the ground and go to sleep. And, when he would wake up in the morning and the sun would come up, he would see his father standing right outside that circle with a drawn bow.

Your Father is watching over you, friend. I want to tell you, He is there. You may think that you’re alone, but you’re not alone.

So that’s who we are, our dignity is we are his children. Now it gets better, what we WILL BE- our destiny.

II. The Christian’s Destiny

Now, continue to read in verse 2

1 John 3:2 ESV

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.

That is incredible.

Now, what John is telling us is, first of all, there are some things we don’t know. That ought to be very comforting to you—that there are some things that you’re not supposed to know. You know one way to give a good witness for the Lord Jesus Christ? Just to tell what you know, not what you don’t know. So many of us are afraid to witness because we’re so afraid somebody’s going to ask us a question we don’t know the answer to. Don’t worry about it! Let me give you the perfect answer: say, “I don’t know.” Isn’t that a good answer? You know, if you tell people you don’t know, when you don’t know, then maybe they’ll believe you when you tell them you do know, when you do know. Will Rogers said, “Men don’t show their ignorance by not knowing so much as they do by knowing so much that ain’t so.” And, there are certain things that you don’t know, and there are a lot of things about the future you don’t know. Don’t worry about it. These things have been kept from us on purpose.

When the Apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven, he saw things there “not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:4). Jesus said, “I have many things to tell you, but you’re not able to bear them.” (John 16:12) There are just a lot of things we don’t know: What are we going to be like when we get to Heaven? What are we going to look like? What age will we be? What will we eat? You don’t know. Don’t even try to answer those questions. We have hints; we have clues. There are some things we can’t be dogmatic about; but friend, there’s something we can be bull dogmatic about—and that is we’re going to be like Jesus, and that’s good enough for me. Now, “it [does] not yet appear what we shall be [like]: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

A. Christ Is Going to Appear

Actually, there are three things that are mentioned here that we can certainly know. First of all, that Christ is going to appear—Jesus Christ is coming back to this Earth. Now, He didn’t say, “If He should appear,” but “when He should appear” (1 John 3:2). Christ is coming back to this Earth.

Now, it’s like a great drama—it’s like a great drama in two acts. In Act One—in Act One—there are five scenes. There’s the birth at Bethlehem—Scene One. Then, there’s the boy of Nazareth—Scene Two— and the preacher of Galilee. Scene Three— there is the preacher and the miracle worker. Scene Four— there’s the crucified Son of God. Scene Five— there’s the buried, risen, and ascended Christ, and then the curtain comes down.

That’s the first act in five scenes. And now, we’re waiting for the second act to begin. And, Christ is now standing in the wings, getting ready to step back on the stage of human history, only this is not a make-­believe drama; it is real. Jesus went to Glory; He’s coming back to glory. He appeared once; He is coming back to this earth. Literally, visibly, actually, Christ is coming again—He is coming again. Bank on it. It is true. Jesus is coming again. He will appear. That’s one thing we know.

B. We Will See Christ as He Is Now

the second thing we know—that we will see Him as He is. That’s what this verse says. Look at it:

1 John 3:2 ESV

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.

Now, as He was—that’s when He was here in His humanity walking the dusty shores of Galilee. That’s when He was here wearing a crown of thorns. But, we’re going to see Him when He comes again, bursting in His glory.

John 17:5 ESV

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Before God hurled this planet out into space; before God flung out the sun, moon, and stars; before God scooped out the oceans, and heaped out the mountains, and dotted the hillsides with flowers; before God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, the Lord Jesus was there with the Father, glorified.

then in down in vs. 24 he says John 17:24

John 17:24 ESV

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

You know what blesses me more than anything else about a loved one in Heaven? It’s not streets of gold or gates of pearl—it is that they are beholding the glory of Jesus Christ. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine? Listen, what John says is what we do know is this: that He will appear and we will see Him as He is. Oh, that will be glory for me!

C. We Are Going to Be Like Him

Look again in verse 2: “when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). And, notice that he links these two—being like Him and seeing Him together. Did you know if you were to see Him right now, you would disintegrate? I mean, you couldn’t bear it in your body right now without being transformed; you couldn’t look upon Him.

We have sent a man to the moon. Do you think we’ll ever send one to the sun? No—no. Nobody can approach to the sun. I mean, we’ll have to be like Him to see Him as He is. I mean, if we were not made like Him, our eyes could not stand the sight; but we are going to be like Him, and we’re going to see Him as He is.

I can’t tell you everything about heaven, lots we don’t know, But we do know- Jesus is gonna appear; we’re going to see Him; and we’re going to be like Him. and you’ll be satisfied; you will like it.(Psalm 17:15).

Psalm 17:15 ESV

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

III. The Christian’s Duty

Now, we have talked about our dignity and what we are (sons of God). We have talked about our destiny—what we shall be (like Him). Now, let’s get to the bottom line and talk about our duty—what we should be

1 John 3:3 ESV

And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Now, what does that mean to us today? You know, it’s one thing to talk about our dignity and our destiny. “What does this mean to me? What does this mean to you?” it means...

A. You Ought to Be Looking for His Coming

Let me mention some things concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus that ought to be real in your life. Number one: You ought to be looking for His coming. You know what the word hope means? The word hope in the Bible means “absolute certainty mingled with anticipation.” You see, the, the coming of Jesus is a divine certainty mingled with I-can-­hardly-­wait-­for-­it-­to-­get-­here. And, you and I ought to be looking for His coming.

B. You Ought to Be Living for His Coming Now

Every man does what—does what?“[purifies] himself” (1 John 3:3). Go back up to chapter 2 and verse 28: “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2:28).

Folks, are you ready for Jesus to come today? Are we ready? Would you make some changes? Then make them, because you don’t know when He’s coming.

C. You Ought to Be Longing for His Coming

The old preacher R.G. Lee, told this story one day, when he was a boy on the farm and everybody else had gone to town, he was there on the front porch with his mother. And, he said his mother was doing some crocheting or knitting. Dr. Lee said, “I was a little boy. I was down on the floor. She was out on the porch of the old farm house.”And, I asked my mother, ‘Mother, what was the happiest day of your life?’ I looked up at her worn hands as she was doing that work, and she said something I didn’t expect for her to say. I thought maybe she would say it was the time when my father—a tall man, six-­feet-­tall with dark eyes, expressed his love for her. But, she didn’t say that was the happiest day of her life. he said, “I thought it might have been that time out by the gate of that farm when he asked her to marry him. But, she didn’t mention that.”

He said, “I thought, ‘Well, maybe it was that time when they took their holy vows—vows that they kept for 50 years before he was taken on, but she didn’t mention that.’ She said, ‘Son, I believe the happiest time of my life was this.’ She said, ‘You know, we lived back, when I was a little girl, in the days of the Civil War. And, all the men had gone off to war, and the women had to stay there and work on the fields. And, I saw my mother , your grandmother, work out there alongside the other women in the fields. We had very little. We got our salt from the smokehouse floor. We made tea from sassafras. And then the day came when we got word that your grandfather, my Daddy, Bennett had been killed in the Civil War.’” Dr. Lee’s mother said, “I watched my mother”, “She didn’t seem to cry much in the day, but at nighttime when I was a little girl I could hear her in the next room as she was sobbing out her heart to God.” She said, “You asked me about the happiest day of my life. It was several weeks later, After we had learned that your grandfather had been killed in the war, my mother and I were sitting on the porch, very much like we are right now, and she was snapping beans. And, she saw a man coming down the road, and she said, ‘I declare, Elizabeth, look at that man! He looks just like your daddy—he looks like your father.’ And, I said, ‘Now Mother, don’t do that to yourself. You know Daddy is gone.’”

“But then, that man came closer and closer and began to walk across a field of cotton, and she threw those beans in the air; and she said, ‘Elizabeth, that’s your daddy!’ And, she ran across that field, and there he stood. It was my Daddy, he hadn’t been killed afterall. He had an empty sleeve; he was missing an arm, and they embraced. And, he reached out with that other arm and pulled her in close. She said, ‘I ran as fast as my little legs would carry me, hugged my daddy’s knees, And, she said, “Son, that was the happiest day of my life.” Then, Dr. Lee said this: he said, “That day will pale into insignificance to the day when we see Jesus—when Jesus comes, and our eyes behold the King. And, the One who opened to us the doors of grace will open to us the doors of Glory. What a day that will be when our Savior comes!