"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1 John 3:1
Someone told me recently that they could really tell that Abigail was my daughter.
And what I take them to mean by that is that children of the parents arelike the parents. That’s a truism. Because it is characteristic of allchildren and their parents.
John is building on that truism here. He’s showing that children of God are like God. You can see it in them, that their father is God. What do the children of God do that makes it obvious that they belong to him? Well, verse 29, they do ‘what is right’ because they are ‘born of him’. Chapter 3, verse 7: ‘The one who does what is right is righteous, just ashe is righteous’. And chapter 3, verse 3: They ‘purify themselves, because they know he is pure’.
Do you see the connection between behaviour and parent? The children emulate the parent. And by inference another thing they do is ‘love their brothers and sisters’ (v.10).
But there’s another father out there – he’s called the devil (v.8) and you can spot his children too. They also behave like their father. He was ‘a sinner from the beginning’ verse 8 says and so what do his children do? His children keep on sinning (v.6). They are the kind who are disobedient – who break the law (v.4). And the kind who do not do what is right. Or love their brothers and sisters (v.10).
What is really clear is that the behaviour of the children is inseparably linked to their father. In other words, the children of God can’t make peace with sin (v.9). They can’t harbour hatred towards their brothers and sisters (v.10). They can’t continue to do what is ‘not right’ (v.10). In fact, ‘the one who continues to sin has not seen God or known him!’ (v.6).
John shows how we were made children to begin with: The Father lavished his great love on us, ‘that we should be called the children of God’ (v.1). That great love, lavished on us, is the sending of his Son for our sakes. The cross is why we behave like our father. Here are 3 things about the cross that ensure that:
Number 1, Jesus appeared – and by ‘appeared’ I think John has in mind went to the cross – ‘he appeared that he might take away our sins’ verse 5 says. So, it would make a mockery of that if the children of God were to make peace with sin.
Number 2, Jesus appeared ‘to destroy the devil’s work’ (v.8). And it would make a mockery of that if the children of God behaved like the other father figure – Satan.
Number 3 - and this flows out of the cross – the very Holy Spirit who was the seed that made us to be ‘born of God’ remains in us (v.9). If a person were to continue to revel in sin, they would be denying the seed by which they were born again – the Holy Spirit which lives in them.
So, Jesus’ work on the cross created in us a spiritual DNA that reflects our heavenly father. And John’s imperative to us is clearly: ‘live like a child of God. Because Jesus has made you children of God, purify; live righteous; reject sin; love one another’.
And there’s a special blessing for the person who lives like their truefather and not like their false father. It’s in chapter 2, verse 28 and by extension in chapter 3, verse 2. ‘Continue in him’ – which means be like him – ‘so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming’.
And Chapter 3, verse 2 says, ‘All who have this hope purify themselves’. What hope? That ‘when we see him, we shall be like him’.
So, let’s join John in resolving to live in the light of the cross and looking forward with confidence to being like him – sinless; pure; perfect – when he comes.
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