1 John 3:1–3 We Are God’s Children Now

1 John 3:1–3 We Are God’s Children Now

Introduction

The Christmas season often brings our attention to the gifts we hope to give or the gifts we look forward to receiving. Families gather around trees and tables, and children wake up with excitement on Christmas morning. All of this sits inside a far greater story about the greatest gift God has given to the world. God has given His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His birth brought hope into a world that could not repair its own broken relationship with Him.

Yet just as some people do not fully understand the gifts they open on Christmas morning, many also overlook the true meaning of the gift that God has given to His children. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ did not simply clean up the wrongs we have committed. His work secured something far more lasting. It secured our eternal place in the kingdom that is coming. It gave us a new identity and a new future as children of God.

We Have Been Adopted

[1] 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.

John begins by lifting our attention to the love of the Father. Our standing before God does not rest on our own achievements or moral strength. It rests on the mercy of Christ. Through His substitutionary death and the gift of His righteousness we are accepted by God. We receive this gift by grace through faith. When the Spirit renews our hearts and we confess Jesus as Lord, we become adopted children of God. We belong to His family, and we share in the inheritance of Christ Himself.

This changes how we see ourselves. We no longer look to our own works to prove anything to God. We stand in the righteousness of Christ, and because of that we are accepted. The world often rejects the One who saved us, so it should not surprise us when the world struggles to understand His children. We live in the world, but we are shaped by a different Father. This is why believers sometimes feel out of place. Our identity is rooted in a different household.

Adoption Through Faith

Scripture helps us understand this gift more clearly. Romans 4:13–14 teaches that the promise to Abraham did not come through the law. It came through righteousness that is received by faith. If the promise depended on the law, then faith would be empty and the promise would collapse.

Galatians 3:25–29 goes even further. When faith came, the old guardian of the law was no longer needed. Through Christ Jesus we became sons of God through faith. Everyone who was baptized into Christ has put on Christ. There are no divisions in this family. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise.

Ephesians 3:4–6 reveals that the mystery hidden in earlier generations has now been made known. Gentiles are not outsiders. They are fellow heirs and full members of the body of Christ. They receive the same promise.

Together these passages show the unity of grace, faith, and promise. God guided the story of salvation across the generations. The promise to Abraham pointed to Christ, and the law prepared the way. Righteousness comes through faith, and through faith God adopts us as His children. Earlier generations saw only parts of this plan, but now the fullness has been revealed in Christ. Everyone who believes in Him becomes a child of God and shares in His inheritance.

Our Father

Scripture often greets believers by reminding them of their Father. Romans 1:7, First Corinthians 1:3, Galatians 1:3, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, and First Thessalonians 3:13 all begin with the same truth. God is our Father, and we are His children. These greetings are not placed there by accident. They anchor us in the reality that God does not relate to us as distant observers. He knows us and calls us His own.

This raises an important question for every believer. Have we truly thought about what it means to be adopted by God. It is more than a title or a religious idea. It is a reality that reshapes everything about us. God placed His Spirit within us. He claims us as His children and teaches us to call Him Father. This truth carries serious and comforting implications.

We represent Him in the world. We will inherit what belongs to Him. He takes responsibility for our care. He never abandons those He adopts. He works to shape us into His image through the power of His Spirit.

John also notes that the world does not understand us because it did not understand Christ. Although this is an important theme, we will explore it later in First John. For now, our focus remains on the hope and comfort that come from knowing we are children of God.

The Kingdom of God Is Only Known Through a Shadow

[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.

John turns our attention to the future. We are already children of God, but we have not yet seen the fullness of what we will become. Even though Christ has revealed God to us, our understanding is still limited in this present age. This does not weaken our relationship with God. Instead, it teaches us to walk by faith. The fullness that existed before sin entered creation has not yet returned. For now, we see only the shadows of what is coming.

This requires trust. Faith looks forward to a reality that cannot yet be seen. We choose the promises of God over the temporary pleasures of this world. We hold on to the truth that the kingdom Christ brings is far greater than anything this age offers. When He appears, we will be made like Him. The inheritance that belongs to Christ will be completed in us.

Shadows

Scripture helps us understand this idea of shadow and substance. Colossians 2:16–17 teaches that festivals and Sabbaths were shadows of what was coming, but Christ is the true substance. Hebrews 8:4–5 explains that the priests and their gifts were copies and shadows of heavenly things. Hebrews 10:1 teaches that the law itself was a shadow of the better things that would come.

A shadow is not the full picture, but it gives enough shape to point us toward the real thing. In the same way, the promises and patterns in Scripture help us trust God even when we cannot see the fullness of His kingdom. These shadows invite us to hope in what God has prepared for His people.

Fullness To Be Revealed at the Resurrection

Scripture also tells us what this fullness will look like. First Corinthians 15:50–53 reveals that our present bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God. When Christ returns, all who belong to Him will be changed. Philippians 3:20–21 reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven and that Christ will transform our lowly bodies to be like His own glorious body.

Jesus teaches in Luke 20:34–36 that those who belong to the resurrection will not die. They will be sons of God, living in the fullness of life. Second Corinthians 4:16–18 reminds us that our present struggles produce an eternal glory beyond comparison, and Second Corinthians 5:1–5 teaches that our earthly bodies are like tents that will one day be replaced with a permanent home prepared by God.

These promises help us anchor our hope in the future that God has secured. We do not obey Christ in order to earn anything. We obey because Christ has already secured everything. When people place too much value on rewards that come before this final hope, they lose sight of the greater promise. This is how false teaching grows. It focuses on the temporary and ignores the eternal.

We have been freed from sin and brought into the light. We walk with the confidence that God is preparing something far better than the world we see today.

You Will Conform To Your Desire

[3] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Christ reveals the fullness of what humanity was created to be. He shows us the image of God in its perfect form. When believers look to Him, they see both their purpose and their future. We do not pursue purity to earn salvation. Salvation has already been accomplished by Christ. Instead, we pursue purity because we desire to be like the One who saved us.

The Finish Line

A helpful way to picture this is through a sports team that wants to finish its season with a championship. Players do not drift into victory. They correct their weaknesses, practice with purpose, and allow their goal to shape their decisions. This does not mean salvation works the same way. Salvation is a gift. But desire still shapes direction. When Christ becomes our desire, our lives begin to take on His shape.

Scripture uses the same kind of language. First Corinthians 9:24–27, Hebrews 12:1–2, Second Timothy 2:5, and Second Timothy 4:7–8 all describe the Christian life as a race or a contest that requires discipline and endurance. These passages show that our choices flow from what we value. A person who loves the world will drift toward the world. A person who hopes in Christ will reshape their life around Him.

Even those who choose isolation or neglect still make decisions between good and evil. Without the light of Christ, those choices become shaped by confusion and false ideas. Christ brings clarity and exposes what leads to life. He purifies our desires by revealing what is real and what is temporary.

Conclusion

Our identity as children of God has been established through Christ. We belong to a kingdom that has not yet appeared. We live as citizens of what is coming, not what is fading. And because our hope rests in Christ, our desires are shaped by Him. Every person will conform to what they desire most. If our desire is for Christ, then our lives will move toward purity. This is the joy and the promise of being called God’s children now.

Scripture Reference Section

Romans 4:13–14, The promise comes by faith and not by the law.

Galatians 3:25–29, Believers are sons of God and heirs through Christ.

Ephesians 3:4–6, Gentiles are fellow heirs through the mystery of Christ.

Romans 1:7, God is our Father who gives grace and peace.

1 Corinthians 1:3, God is our Father and Christ is our Lord.

Galatians 1:3, God is our Father who grants peace.

Philippians 1:2, God is our Father and Christ gives grace.

Colossians 1:2, God is our Father who calls saints His own.

1 Thessalonians 3:13, God our Father establishes us in holiness.

Colossians 2:16–17, Old covenant practices were shadows of Christ.

Hebrews 8:4–5, The tabernacle and priests were copies of heavenly reality.

Hebrews 10:1, The law was a shadow of better things to come.

1 Corinthians 15:50–53, The resurrection transforms the perishable into the imperishable.

Philippians 3:20–21, Our citizenship is in heaven and our bodies will be transformed.

Luke 20:34–36, The resurrection brings immortality and sonship.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18, Present trouble prepares eternal glory.

2 Corinthians 5:1–5, Our earthly tent will be replaced with a heavenly dwelling.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27, Run to obtain the prize with discipline.

Hebrews 12:1–2, Run with endurance and look to Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:5, The athlete must compete according to the rules.

2 Timothy 4:7–8, Paul finished the race and awaits the crown of righteousness.