I John 3:1 might be looked upon as bit of medicine. For some it might be an antidepressant; for others it might be a shot of caffeine. If taken properly, this verse could be an antidote to backsliding, or indolence, or even heresy. As I was meditating on I John 3:1, it occurred to me that I usually look at it as the first step on the stairway to verse three – “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” But as I was thinking considering it, verse one, by itself, is a powerful statement, filled with heavy theology and possible twists of thought which make studying it really worthwhile.
Do you need a pick-me-up this evening?
How about the idea that you are a CHILD OF GOD.
There are no Bible scholars who know exactly what was in John’s mind when he wrote this verse. For example, when he said, “that we should be called the sons of God” was he merely saying, “Wow, we, who once were not, are now, the children of God?” Or was he comparing our current sonship to our former hideous wretchedness? “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons of God.” We who were “fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, and abusers of ourselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers and extortioners,” have not only been named heirs of the kingdom of God, but we are actually the very children of God. Was he thinking: “incredible, this is incredible,” or was this something much milder? In either case, this is a blessing well-worthy of our considerable contemplation.
Let’s say that you knew without a doubt that you were a grand-child of Anastasia Romanova, the last and lost daughter of Czar Nicolas of Russia. If there was no way to prove to others this was true, this could be a depressing bit of knowledge. If you were the legitimate heir to one of the largest fortunes on earth, but be unable to use it, this might be rather sad. But this is not YOUR condition or your heritage: You are a child of a King greater than Nicolas; you are a son, a daughter of the Heavenly Father. And this is not a mere title or a document that gives you access to a few unimportant privileges. To be a son of God is to be a joint-heir with Jesus Christ Who is the heir of all things. We shall rule and reign with Him Who is the Creator and Governor of all Creation.
And how did YOU become a child of God? What does this verse say? You are a son of God because of the love of the Father. Now, I’m as tempted as anyone else to read more into these words than what was originally written. I’m prone to say that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I’m tempted to say that God’s love sent the Saviour to die in my place. I’m tempted to say that God’s love prompted the Lord to put His eternal life in my soul. I’m tempted to say that God’s love sent His Servant Eleazar to the orphanage, choosing me to become his adopted children. And there are plenty of scriptures and reasons to say things like these. But let’s just stick with John’s words here in this verse.
The love of God, the Father, bestowed upon us this family relationship. Yesterday I started preparing for this message, and then spent more time on it today. At about 5:00 Judy and I ate supper, and then I changed my clothes to get ready for this service. We got in the car and drove over here; I unlocked the front door, etc. etc. etc. There were preliminary steps, followed by intermediate steps – getting me to this moment. But we tend to forget that God is not enslaved to time nor bound to follow sequential steps. There is a sense in which the salvation of a human soul, was a single act carried out by the timeless God. Salvation can be summarized by any one of the words we use to describe it: “Regeneration, justification, adoption, God’s love, election,” – whichever you choose. But when God chose to save a few of the children of Adam, He just did so. As far as God is concerned, salvation was accomplished in one swift stroke. And you might condense it to the statement: “God the Father hath LOVED us.” Praise God! Is there any statement greater than that one?
But, what does the word “called” mean? “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be CALLED sons of God” Is this talking about Christians designating themselves as “sons of God?” Is this teaching us that God has given us a new title – “Sons”? Or is this referring to the action of God’s calling whereby we are made the sons of God? II Thessalonians 1:11 – “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power.” I Timothy 1:9 – “Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” Hebrews 3:1 – “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” Is John 3:1 talking about THE calling which made us children of God, or is it speaking about the mere title “children of God.” I don’t suppose that the question is that important, but I think that it is interesting.
And something else: Doesn’t the word “manner” suggest that there are different varieties and degrees of Divine love? “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons of God.” God’s love for the world, John 3:16, doesn’t mean that God has adopted all the sons of Adam as His own. This verse suggests a special and breathtaking love. “O my soul, why art thou cast down, and why art thou disquieted in me” in the light of this great love? You have been adopted out of the orphanage of humanity and called to be a child of God. Lift up your head and rejoice for evermore.
One of the reasons that Christians get dejected is due to the fact THE WORLD KNOWETH US NOT.
But there is a very reasonable reason for this: the world doesn’t know the Lord.
As the webmaster for the Calvary Baptist website, periodically I must check to make sure that the links to the various sites on our “Articles” page still make the proper connection. If you are ever looking at them and a link doesn’t connect, please let me know. There might be an interesting title in our website, which doesn’t bring up a corresponding article because the connection has been broken.
Why can’t the world see that we are the children of God? It’s because it is not properly linked. But it’s not that it can’t see US; the problem is that it can’t see the FATHER. The world hears our testimony, but it doesn’t make any sense, because it misses the divine connection. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” The people of the world are in one way governed by the god of this world. They see what he wants them to see, and in essence they are blinded. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
What does the word “gnosoko” – “to know,” or past tense “knew” mean? “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”” “Gnosko” means: “to come to know or understand; to perceive; or to become acquainted with.” But it is a word that sometimes was used to denote the kind of knowledge that can only come with love. It was the Greek word used in the Septuagint Old Testament in Genesis 4:1 – “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain.” Once again, I can’t tell you exactly what was in the mind of John when he wrote this verse. He might have been saying that the people of the world know nothing about God, so they don’t recognize that you and I are the children of God. But he might also be implying that the world doesn’t know us, because it has no love for God. The world hates the Christian because it hates our Christ.
It is sad that the world knows not the Father, and doesn’t know us. Remember that the Lord Jesus defined eternal life this way: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” But it’s even sadder when the child of God forgets that he is a child of the King, or when he lives as though he has forgotten. This is the source of so many of our spiritual problems: Our forgetfulness is the cause for our spiritual depression. Our forgetfulness is the reason that we are so weak when it comes to temptation. This is the source of our backsliding and spiritual indolence.
And this is why John begins the verse with the word “behold.”
I have read the biographies of a great many of the great servants of God. I have half a dozen biographies of Spurgeon. I have read two or three of Adoniram Judson. Right now I am reading all kinds of material on the John Gano family. It seems to me that some of God’s greatest servants have been plagued with periods of depression. They have felt that they were unworthy of the Lord’s grace, and unfit for the Lord’s service. It seems that the closer that men get to the Lord, the more they realize their unworthiness of the Lord.
Even adding verses 2 and 3 to our scripture, we see cause for depression. I am not as pure as He is pure. The Lord will be here soon, and I shall see Him as he is. And we know that He shall see us as we really are as well. I John 2:28 says, “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.” But the closer we come to the Lord, the more we understand ourselves and the more ashamed we are of our sinful and neglectful lives. To offset this tendency, John says, “BEHOLD, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
So HOW should we do this beholding? Gratefully, remembering that we have been called to this privilege. We have been brought out of the orphanage and adopted into the family of God. And we should behold penitentially. We are not worthy of this blessing, and therefore we should be filled with humility. And we should look upon this love lovingly. “We love Him because He first loved us.”
And WHEN should we behold? All the time, of course. But especially when the world is trying to interfere with our relationship to the Lord. “Tell me the old, old story when you have cause to fear that this world’s empty glory is costing me too dear.” When should we especially and deliberately behold this manner of love? When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. When we are so beaten, so spiritually broken that it’s hard to lift up our heads.
This verse should not be looked upon as only a stepping stone to verse 2 or verse 3. This is a great verse all by itself. It’s a great antidote to spiritual disease.