First John: 1 John 3:2a-The Believer is Not Yet Perfected in a Resurrection Body Lesson # 99

1 John 3:2 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. (ESV)

“Beloved, we are God’s children now” is composed of the following: (1) vocative masculine singular form of the adjective agapētos (ἀγαπητός), “beloved” (2) adverb of time nun (νῦν), “now” (3) nominative neuter plural form of the noun teknion (τεκνίον), “children” (4) genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός), “God’s” (5) first person plural present active indicative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί), “we are.”

The adjective agapētos employed here as a substantive and means “beloved” indicating the close personal relationship that existed between the recipients of this epistle who were believers residing in the Roman province of Asia and the apostle John.

This adjective agapētos also speaks of the relationship the recipients of this epistle possessed with the Trinity and expresses the fact that they were the recipients and beneficiary of God’s love.

This adjective is a reminder that before conversion, they were the object of God’s “impersonal” love but now after conversion, they are the object of God’s personal and affectionate love.

The anarthrous construction of this adjective is qualitative emphasizing the qualitative aspect of the word, thus it emphasizes that John’s readers are the objects of a love that is “divine in nature.”

The adjective agapētos functions as a vocative of simple address expressing the fact that John is expressing a deep, emotional Spirit inspired assertion that each Christian will be perfected in a resurrection body at the rapture of the church.

The first person plural present active indicative form of the verb eimi means “to belong to a particular group of individuals.”

This group of individuals is identified by the phrase tekna theou (τέκνα θεοῦ), “God’s children.”

The first person plural form of this verb is an “inclusive” we which simply means that John wants to emphasize his unity and solidarity with the recipients of this epistle in order to emphasize with them that he too will be perfected in a resurrection body like them, at the rapture of the church.

The adverb of time nun means “now” emphasizing the present state of John and the recipients of this epistle as God’s children.

The noun teknion means “children” and is used in a figurative sense of those sinners who have been declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and through the Spirit have been regenerated, adopted and placed in union with Christ and identified with Him in His death and resurrection.

The word emphasizes the Christian’s relationship with God from the perspective of the spiritual birth, i.e. regeneration.

The noun theos refers to God the Father and is in the genitive case functioning as a genitive of relationship indicating a familial relationship between God and those who have been regenerated by the Spirit as a result of being declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

It indicates that God is the progenitor of the justified and regenerated sinner.

“And what we will be has not yet appeared” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (2) temporal adverb oupō (οὔπω), “not yet” (3) third person singular aorist passive indicative form of the verb phaneroō (φανερόω), “has appeared” (4) nominative neuter singular form of the interrogative pronoun tis (τις), “what” (5) first person plural future middle indicative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί), “we will be.”

The conjunction kai means “but, however” since the word functions as a marker of contrast meaning that it is introducing a declarative statement which stands in contrast with the declarative statement that John and the recipients of this epistle are now presently existing in the state of being God’s children.

The word introduces an assertion which states that what John and the recipients of this epistle will be in the imminent future has not yet taken place, which is a reference to all of them being perfected in a resurrection body at the rapture of the church.

Therefore, the contrast is between the imperfect state of the believer and their perfected state in a resurrection body.

The nominative neuter singular form of the interrogative pronoun tis means “what” since the word is an interrogative reference to something, which the clause identifies the believer as being like Jesus Christ in a resurrection body when the latter appears at the rapture of the church.

The first person plural future middle indicative form of the verb eimi means “to exist in a particular state or condition,” which the clause to follow identifies as being like Jesus Christ in a resurrection body when He appears at the rapture of the church.

The first person plural form of this verb is an “inclusive” we which simply means that John wants to emphasize his unity and solidarity with the recipients of this epistle in order to emphasize with them that he too will be perfected in a resurrection body like them, at the rapture of the church.

The future tense of this verb is a predictive future indicating that something will take place or come to pass.

Here it indicates the certainty of John and the recipients of this epistle being perfected in a resurrection body when Jesus Christ appears at the rapture of the church.

The middle voice of this verb eimi is a causative middle which means that the subject has something done for or to himself or herself.

Here it indicates that the believer will be caused to exist in a particular state or condition in the imminent future.

It is expressing the idea of the believer being perfected in a resurrection by the Lord Jesus Christ exercising His omnipotence (cf. Phil. 3:20-21).

The verb phaneroō is in the passive voice and means “to be revealed, to be manifested” and is used of the church age believer being perfected by the Lord Jesus Christ’s omnipotence when He appears to the church at the rapture.

This word speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ causing each and every church age believer to receive a resurrection body by the exertion of His omnipotence at the rapture or resurrection of the church.

The passive voice of the verb phaneroō means that the subject receives the action of the verb from either an expressed or unexpressed agency.

The subject here is of course every church age believer.

Philippians 3:20-21 indicates that Jesus Christ is the agency.

Therefore, the passive voice is expressing the idea that the believer will receive the action of being perfected in a resurrection body by the exertion of the Lord Jesus Christ’s omnipotence when He appears to them at the rapture of the church.

The temporal adverb oupō means “not yet” since the word is functioning as a marker of the negation of extending time up to and beyond an expected point.

Here the extended time up to something is that of John and the recipients of this epistle still existing in an imperfective state from the moment of their conversion up to the time John wrote this epistle.

The expected point is that of being perfected in a resurrection body at the rapture of the church.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, each and every one of us are God’s children. However, what state each of us will be caused to exist in, has not yet been revealed. Each one of us possess knowledge that whenever this state has been revealed (to us), we will be caused to exist in the same identical state as Him because for the benefit of each of us, we will see Him as He is presently existing. (My translation)

In 1 John 3:2, the apostle John addresses his readers with the substantive use of the adjective agapētos which means “beloved,” which expresses the close personal relationship that existed between the recipients of this epistle who were believers residing in the Roman province of Asia and the apostle John.

The adjective agapētos in 1 John 3:2 would serve to remind the Christian community in the Roman province of Asia that they were the beneficiaries of God’s love before conversion and are now they are the objects of His personal love after conversion.

It would also serve to encourage them in the midst of undeserved suffering and persecution and would challenge him to advance to maturity and execute the plan of God.

Lastly, it would serve as a reminder that they were obligated to love their enemies and each other as Christ loved them and is loving them.

The apostle John in 1 John 3:2 affirms once again as he did in 1 John 3:1 that he and each of the recipients of this epistle were God’s children.

As was the case in 1 John 3:1, the term “children” (teknion) in 1 John 3:2 is used in a figurative sense of those sinners who have been declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and through the Spirit have been regenerated, adopted and placed in union with Christ and identified with Him in His death and resurrection.

The word emphasizes the Christian’s relationship with God from the perspective of the spiritual birth, i.e. regeneration.

After affirming once again that he and the recipients of this epistle were God’s children, the apostle John contrasts their present imperfect state with their future glorified state in a resurrection body.

He asserts that what state each of them will be caused to exist in the future, has not yet been revealed to them.

He is referring to their future glorified state in a resurrection body when their salvation and sanctification will be completed and they will be perfected meaning they will no longer possess an indwelling sin nature as they do before this transformation.