Children of God Now (April 14, 2024) 1 John 3.1-7

First John is a rich text for such a small book. It deals with matters that can take place in any church today, not just the early church to which this letter was written. Matters such as divisions within the church over who Jesus was and is, what was the proper response to sin and sinning, what it means to be a child of God, what it means to be in the light, what Jesus does, and what will happen in the end when we/they will see Jesus in his glory. The writer is one who is determined to exemplify to the readers what he wants them to know. The book is similar to the Gospel of John, much like a retelling of the Gospel with an eye on the issues that divide the congregation. It is a way to tell them that there are new circumstances that they are facing as a new people and a church.

The text for today actually begins with chapter two, verse 29. This reads: “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him.” This is the end of a section that is telling the listeners that they should abide in Christ so that when Christ is revealed then those who are in Christ will not be ashamed. Along with verse 29 it tells the listeners that they have nothing to fear as long as they follow the teachings of the writer who is basing his writings on the Gospel of John.

John begins chapter three by saying what great love the Father has bestowed upon us. That love is calling us the children of God, for that is what we truly are. We might not be as Jesus, the only begotten son, but we are children of God. How is that so? We are adopted into the family of God by the grace of God that is extended to us by faith in Jesus Christ. It is similar to adoption in human form. I know this because Jackie and I have done this very thing. Dalton came to us as a foster child in a system that is overwhelmed with children who are in need of a place that is safe and loving. When Dalton came to us, he was with a family that could not take care of him and his brothers properly. As time went on, it became clear that Dalton would be with us for a much longer term than it was initially thought. Soon, he became a part of the family. In due time, we adopted him, and he became a permanent part of our family. With his adoption came all the rights and privileges of being a part of our family. He took our last name and was, and is, called our son. For that is what he is. And he did nothing to earn this. So, it is the same with us when we are adopted by God to be a part of God’s family. We have all the rights and privileges of being one of God’s children. It is also done for us, we have nothing to bring to the family, but we are brought in by the grace of God.

And notice what John is telling those to whom he is writing. He is telling them that that is what they are. Not dwelling on what they were but telling them that this is what they are.

There are those around who do not know those who are listening for what they are. That is because they are of the world that did not know Christ when he was on this earth. The church should expect to be misunderstood. Ronald Cole-Tuner says this about being a child of God and the world’s reaction: “Jesus was misunderstood by nearly everyone around him, and Christians must learn to expect the same. This is not a happy thought for many of us, who want so much to fit in and to be appreciated by everyone around us. But John is uncompromising: if we are the children of God, the world will not know us or understand us. It is as if we face a choice. Either we enjoy the love of the world and the respect of our contemporaries, or we let our lives be claimed by the love of God. If we let the love of God make us into children of God, then we really should expect that many people today will have trouble understanding our values and our strange sense of identity.”[1]If we are children of God, expect to be looked at with curiosity or even malice by the world. Now the world does not mean creation, but rather attitudes, assumptions, and other marks of those who are not of the family of God. Because they do not know Christ, they will not know those who are a part of the family. In this, we are odd to the world. Cole-Turner says that we have oddities and that to smooth them over puts us at peril and that “When we feel right at home here, we should wonder whether we have traded the joy of divine love for the comfort of social acceptance.”[2] The bible paraphrase The Message says that the world does not take us seriously because it has no idea what God is up to. I like that. But it does make it hard sometimes. In an age where we want to be liked and accepted, it can be hard to be misunderstood and thought of as odd. But remember this: we are with a family of odd ducks.

John is then telling his readers/listeners that they are children of God now, not in some distant future when they work out all the kinks and get themselves in shape to be the children of God. They are that now and will always be. But the now is the not yet. This is because what we will be has not yet been revealed to us. We do not understand what we will become. We know that after the resurrection, Jesus had a body that was recognizable but different. Does that mean that we will be the same? And in what way? Will we be our younger, sleeker self or will we be what we are now? We do not know. But what we do know is this: “… we know that when Christ appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”[3]This is what is called eschatological hope, or the hope of the end times when the world will be put to rights and all things remade.

In looking to Jesus, all who have hope in him will look to the purity of Christ and make ourselves as pure as he was and is. It is something that needs work constantly.

The reason for the constant work is one word: sin. John tells us that sin is lawlessness. Sin is a major disruption of God’s order. It is what separates us from God. Sin is the thing that makes us unable to be a part of God’s family and that makes the grace of God in Christ necessary for us to even think of being in the family.

John takes sin seriously. He tells the listeners/readers that “You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.”[4]Jesus came to take away sins. That is what the Gospel of John teaches and what the writer of this letter is telling the church. It is also established that Jesus had no sin and continues without sin. When we follow Jesus, we are to be like him. That means we are to work to not sin. But try as we might, we do sin. We are not perfect as he is perfect, at least not yet.

Verse six is one that is difficult to read and understand. Let me read it to you again: “No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.”[5] Do you see why this is hard to understand? Didn’t John tell the church in chapter one that anyone who says that they do not sin is a liar and makes God a liar? Yes, yes, he did. But here is an interpretation of this text. The Greek can mean that one who sins is continuing in sin. Therefore, the sin that happens and one repents of is not what is at issue here. It is sinning and then continuing in that sin. What John spoke of in chapter one of those saying that they had no sin was that they were saying that they had never sinned and that they did not need the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. The Message puts it this way: “No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They’ve got him all backwards.”

Finally, John tells the church that no one is to deceive them. They are to hold on to the truth. Anyone who acts right is right and people will see it lived out in their lives. It is because they (the church) see the right living in Christ, the one who is righteous will also make us righteous.

How many of us realize that we are a child of God? We may say it and truly believe it, but how many of us act like it? We may say the words that come easily and smoothly, but unless we act like it, then our words are meaningless. We are to cause the world to look at us and say, “They are not like us. Just what do they have that makes them so different?” We are look to the “author and finisher” of our faith for what makes us what we are. Gary Burge says, “If we set our minds on the confident basis of God’s promise, we will feel differently, and this will renew the character of our living.”[6]Let us set our minds on Christ, looking to the one who is righteous who made us righteous by his death and brought us into the family of God. We may still sin and be prone to sin, but let us not make a practice of it. We are children of God now, let us act like we are. Amen.

[1]Bartlett, David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown. Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide (Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) (p. 990). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. [2]Bartlett, David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown. Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide (Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) (p. 990). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. [3] The Revised English Bible. Cambridge; New York; Melbourne; Madrid; Cape Town; Singapore; São Paulo; Delhi; Dubai; Tokyo: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print. [4] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [5] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [6] Burge, Gary M. Letters of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996. Print. The NIV Application Commentary.