The Most Astonishing Thing

1 JOHN 2:28-3:1

“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. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
1 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. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”

1 John 3:1a KJV Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:

Here is an astonishing thing. It is not the fact that God loves, but how God loves. What manner of love is this! Literally, the Greek for what manner is of what country is this! It is an exclamation of astonishment, of surprise. What kind of country is this, what foreign land is this, that is represented in love like that! It is the strangeness of God’s love that is in view in this whole thing. How is God’s love strange? Well, John says, in that it makes us the children of God.

Perhaps some of you are thinking, You may be surprised at this, but I’m not. Why shouldn’t I be a child of God, like anyone else? If you think this, then you do not understand righteousness. Romans 5 reveals to us how God saw us when He found us: When we were still powerless, when we were helpless, when we were unable to make any contribution to the redemption we desperately needed, when there was not a thing we could do about it, and even our good was tainted with self-interest so that we could make no contribution whatsoever, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly,—for us (Romans 5:6). But it does not stop there: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). While we were still sinners, or while we were proud, overbearing in our attitude toward God, treating Him with condescension and indifference. When we were this way, Christ died for us. Even this does not exhaust His description.

He goes on a verse or two later to say, if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son… (Romans 5:10). If, when we were God’s enemies; not only without strength, not only sinners, proud and prickly in our attitude, but also when we were absolutely opposed to God, enemies of His grace, treacherous, hateful, resenting what God was doing and resisting every attempt He made to reach us. Now, John says, what amazing love! God flings the bloodstained mantle of His love over us and calls us His children. And He not only calls us this, but He actually makes us so: And that is what we are (1 John 3:1b)!

Isn’t that amazing? Do you ever think of yourself as in this condition when God found you, and you would still be like that if God had not found you? What kind of pride is it that makes us think of ourselves as some kind of special catch that God has made? How fortunate He ought to feel that we have consented to join his side! No, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons of God.

That is the extent of God’s love. God desires that His enemies should become His children and that his children should become mature sons and daughters.

Lord, I echo these words of John: What manner of love has been bestowed upon me, that I should be called a child of God; and so I am. I know it is true, even though I do not always act like it. Teach me to live as Your obedient child.

Becoming Pure

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 JOHN 3:2-3 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.”

1 John 3:3

What a powerful motivation this is to become like Him now; to accept your circumstances, to stop quarreling with what God sends to you, and begin in everything to give thanks, allowing these strange instruments of God’s grace to do their work in your life. Paul says, suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4).

A few experiences like this and you know absolutely that God is adequate, that He is able to work everything out. You know that every testing is another opportunity for God to demonstrate His great ability to work things out. Thus hope does not disappoint (Romans 5:5); it gives confidence, a sense of unbeatable confidence that keeps you poised and assured under any circumstance. All that is what happens now, as God begins to work through our circumstances to make us like Him. That is why John says that all those who have this kind of hope—this certainty—and understand this process purify themselves, even as Christ is pure.

But you say, Purify myself? That’s the one thing I can’t do. That is true. God knows that. He knows you cannot purify yourself, yet here He says to purify yourself. What does He mean? You purify yourself when you use the means He has provided for purification. You mothers know how this works. Your little boy has been playing outside and is covered with dirt. He comes in, and you send him into the bathroom to purify himself. Like all boys, he turns on the water, runs his hands through it, turns the water off, wipes his hands on the towel, and comes out. You look him over and say, But you’re not clean.

Well, he says, I washed myself.

But look at the dirt on your hands and on your arms and on your face and behind your ears. You’re not clean at all. Then every wise mother asks, Did you use soap? Of course he hasn’t, so she sends him back to use soap. What is soap? It is a purifying agent, a cleansing agent. It will do the job if it is employed. So when he comes back the second time, he has washed with soap, and the soap has cleansed him, purified him. Now he says, Look, Mom, I’ve cleaned myself up. It is true that he did it, but he did it by using his mother’s provision.

The provision for our cleansing is the Word of God and the Spirit of God. The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7). If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). This means we must begin to take seriously this matter of a break of fellowship with Christ because of an impatient spirit or an ugly word or a lustful idea or thought that we have dwelt on. We must realize the stain of it does not disappear with the passage of time. It has interfered with our fellowship with the Son of God, and we must do something about it. We cannot simply forget it; we must do something about it. We must purify ourselves using His provision, that we might be clean.

Lord, teach me to purify myself using the means You have given to me to do it.