Children of God

Introduction

Good morning everyone. My name is Brian Young. It is a pleasure to be here with all of you this morning. We are continuing our study of the book of first John. We will be reading 1 John 2:28 through 1 John 3:3. Before we read our passage today, I want to ask you, do you think of eternity often“? Some of you here may be going through a rough time and you long for eternity? Maybe when you think about eternity, you don’t want Christ to come back because you want to experience something in this lifetime. Maybe you feel like heaven is so far away and it feels like it might never come. Whatever you think about eternity, our passage today will encourage us To consider how we are to view eternity and what we can do in the here and now as Christians as we eagerly wait the return of Christ

1 John 2:28–3:3 ESV

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. 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.

Our first action that we are to consider is that children of God are to Abide Courageously

Abide Courageously

What does it mean to abide? Abide simply means to remain. To stay the course. It is a focus on the goal that motivates and reminds us to press onto that goal. That him that John says in verse 28 is Jesus Christ. John gives the reason in the next phrase of why we abide in Christ. “So that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink back from him in shame at his coming”. THIS IS THE GOAL. This is why we abide in Him. John reminds us of our future hope as children of God. Jesus Christ is coming again! This hope is a sure hope. John says when he comes back and not if he comes back. Therefore abide in Him!

You may hear people say Christ is coming back soon because of this sign or that sign. Because of this event or that event. The truth is that no one knows exactly when Jesus will return except God. What we are to focus on is that we confidently abide in Christ in the here and now as we look forward to the promise of Christ’s return. Some examples of how we can abide as we eagerly await his return is by reading the Bible, praying and fellowship of course. All of those are fundamental and will always grow us. Some more in depth examples can be not wavering in our beliefs as Christians. This world is going further and further away from Christian values and people are giving into the culture rather than standing up for what Christ says. Another one can be using our time wisely for the kingdom. Not wasting time storing up things of this world but storing things up for the kingdom.

I want to make a quick note about what abiding doesn’t mean. Abiding in Christ doesn not mean that you must do these things in order to remain a Christian. It was Jesus Christ who saved us and he holds those whom he saves with a grip that he will never let go of. There is a helpful saying that reflects this truth. That is “ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED”. Understanding this truth, helps us to understand what John writes in verse 29. John writes “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him”. There can be a whole sermon devoted to this one verse. John is essentially saying that righteousness demonstrated in a person’s life shows that they have been born again. A true believer will not only be identified by what they say, but also how they live. John is not saying that we are to go around disproving people’s faith because they sin or that we can know 100 percent if someone is saved. John is saying that if you know as a believer that Christ is righteous (which we do), you may be sure that those who have been born of Christ, will be living our righteousness.

Our second action that a Child of God is to consider is Beholding the love of the Father.

Behold the Love of the Father

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.

The word see doesn’t mean to merely glance or simply think about but LOOK. UNDERSTAND, AND SIT A WHILE, under this thought of the Love of the Father calling us his own children! J.I Packer writes in his book Knowing God a quote about God adopting us. He writes “Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater”. What does he mean by that? I have used the court room illustration before but it is so helpful when thinking about adoption as sons and daughters of Christ. God the Judge has declared you justified because Jesus Christ took the punishment you deserved onto himself. The debt has been paid. The judge that you personally sinned against slams the gavel and declares you just. He then gets off of his bench, takes your hand, and walks you to the family court across the hall and adopts you into his own family. It would have been more than enough for God to justify and forgive us from our sins but he goes far beyond that and he calls us children of himself. This is a truth that deserves our highest praise and worship and it is a shame that we do not Behold this truth more in our daily lives. I know i fall short of beholding this beautiful reality of what it means to be a child of God. How would our days change if we took time each day to pause whatever we are doing and remind ourselves that we are children of God. We have an eternal Father who loves us greater than we can imagine. We have a Father who will never leave us or forsake us. We have a Father who cares about us enough to encourage us and to also correct us. We are loved by an eternal Father who is more than enough.

John goes on to say in verse 2. 1 John 3:1

1 John 3:1 (ESV)

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

This love of the Father is unknown to the world. Have you ever had a Christian conversation with an unbelieving friend or family member? Do you ever feel like they don’t get you? Christianity is not a popular subject to talk about today if you haven’t noticed. In other countries, you can be jailed or even killed for professing your faith or preaching against a particular cultural issue. Why does it seem like the world is hostile towards Christians? John says the reason the world doesn’t know us, is because it did not know him. Another way to put it is it refused to know him. Jesus says in John 7:7

John 7:7 ESV

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

They refused to know Christ so they crucified him. As children of God we can do well to behold this love of the Father and be thankful that he chose to save us out of his grace alone but we can also think of those who don’t know him nor do they know the love of the Father and be driven to proclaim the gospel to the world, so that they might taste and see the love of the Father! When we stop and behold the love of God, it will affect our lives in ways that will bring us to worship the Father because of what he has done for us and then we should strive to live in light of this love!

Our third action that a Child of God is to consider is Pursuing Purity will all Patience

Take a look at verses 2 and 3 with me.

1 John 3:2–3 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. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

In verse 2 John says that what we will we has not yet appeared but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. While we are children of God, we are not fully like him while we remain alive on this earth. We still struggle with sin, temptation and the effects of this sinful world. He reminds us that we are God’s children now! That is a fact that will never change. Yet, we are not fully like Christ and we need encouragement to look to eternity as we press on in faith. We will be like him. What does this mean? It means that we will no longer live in a world of sin. It means that we will se Jesus, literally see Jesus face to face. It means that we will be holy as he is holy. This doesn’t mean that we will become God like he is or that we will be receiving praise like Christ will be. Verse 3, and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Again, while we are children of God in the here and now, we are not yet fully like Christ. We need encouragement and focus to pursue purity after Christ who is ultimate purity. This means that we remove any sin we see in our lives and live as he tells us to. And we are to do this with a mind focused on eternity and our hope in Christ who will return and bring us home.

Application

Do you meditate on truths like adoption into the family of God or the promise of Christ’s return? If not, how can you remind yourself this week of one of these truths? Maybe that is telling yourself that you are a child of God and that I have a Father who loves me and my circumstances in life do not affect that truth.

Have you grown stagnant in your pursuit of purity in your relationship with Christ? How can you turn from being stagnant, to growing in your pursuit of purity?

Do you live your life with a hope fixed on eternity as we wait Christ’s return? Or do you find your heart longing for worldy things greater than Christ’s return> How can you find a God glorifying balance to these two?