Well let us turn to the portion
of scripture we read in this first epistle general of John. General of course in the sense
that it's not being addressed to any particular individual
or to any particular church. It was one that was written by
the Aged Apostle to Christian believers in general in that
day but it's part of God's words and so like all the scriptures
it has come down to us not so much the words of the beloved
John but God's words to us and I want tonight to consider with
you the opening words of this third chapter this first epistle
chapter three and we'll read the first three verses again
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. 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. And every man that hath
this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Well, the
truth that's set before us is that of sonship, or the doctrine
of adoption. And as we look at the verses,
I want to divide the subject matter into some four parts. And first of all, to consider
the origin and the cause that lies behind this doctrine of
adoption. And here we see quite clearly
how it is rooted in the love of God. John says, Behold what
manner of love, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we should be called the sons of God's. Those who are adopted are the
very same characters who are clearly loved of God's and in
fact that's the name that John gives to them in the second verse
he says Beloved now are we the sons of God and it is that love
that God bears towards his people that lies behind everything that
God does with them both in time and in eternity. We are familiar
with that golden chain in Romans 8, whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, him he also called, and whom He called them
He also justified and whom He justified them He also glorified
and the chain reaches from eternity to eternity they are foreknown
God knows them from everlasting from before the foundation of
the world that's where the chain begins and it finishes of course
in their glorification it reaches in from eternity through time
to eternity again. And when we read there in Romans
8.29 of the foreknowledge of God, we need to remember what
that word implies. It doesn't mean that God foresees,
and in that sense foreknows those who are going to believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and on the basis of that faith that they
exercise of themselves, he has predestinated them. That is not
what the Apostle Paul is saying. That word, to foreknow, really
means that God has an intimate knowledge of them. He knows them
because from eternity He has set His love upon them. And all else in God's dealings
with His people flows from that. Their adoption, their justification,
They're called by grace, they're sanctification, they're glorification. Everything that God does for
his people is rooted and grounded in his love. And that's certainly
made plain in the words before us tonight. What manner of love
the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the
sons of God and John prefixes that statement with the word
behold here is something for us to consider something that
we should seek to meditate upon and to dwell upon because there
is much comfort to be drawn from what the Apostle John is saying
and that sonship of the believers is of course closely associated
with the sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ He is the only begotten
of the Father and they are the adopted sons of the Father but
there's a connection between those two things These who are adopted, the Beloved,
well, who is the one who is the great Beloved of God? Isn't that
the Lord Jesus Christ? We read of Him in that second
epistle of John, at verse 3, the Lord Jesus Christ, it says,
the Son of the Father in truth and love. He is the Son of the
Father in truth but he is a son of the father also in love he
is truly the son of God the only begotten son the word was made
flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory
as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth
says the same apostle in the opening chapter of his gospel
and remember Now, in the course of the ministry of the Lord Jesus,
we see the Father acknowledges Him as His beloved Son, on occasions
that He's baptizing, and again in the Mount of Transfiguration,
that voice that comes from heaven, this is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. Well, He is that One who we might
say, as the Eternal Son, the Only Begotten Son, He is the
First Beloved of the Father. That is the relationship in the
great mystery of the doctrine of God. The Father loves the
Son, the Son loves the Father, the Father and the Son love the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit loves the Father
and He loves the Son. In that sense, God is love. The
very relationship between the three persons is that of love. He needs no object outside of
himself. That is the very nature of God. And how does the Son speak in
Scripture? Think of the language that we
have back in Proverbs chapter 8, Then I was by him, as one
brought up with him, I was daily his delight. rejoicing all the
way before Him, rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth. And my rejoicings were with the
sons of men, He says. As the Son is there rejoicing
in the Father, the Father rejoicing in the Son, so the Son also rejoices
in the sons of men. Oh, they are beloved. There is
that relationship that for them is so closely,
so intimately connected with the Lord Jesus Christ and His
Sonship. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, says John. And we see quite clearly that
all of this is what has taken place from eternity. We only have to read there in
the opening chapter of that epistle to the Ephesians, those remarkable
verses in that chapter. What does Paul say? Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. All the blessings
that we have are in Christ Jesus. We're chosen in Christ Jesus. And what does he go on to say
there, Ephesians 1.5, having predestinated us onto the adoption
of children by himself. It's by Jesus Christ, through
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. Oh, there
is this relationship then between Christ, His Sonship, as the eternal
Son of God, and the believer who is one who is an adopted
Son of God, and it stretches back into eternity. All our children, our heirs,
our heirs of God, our joint heirs with Christ Jesus. And now the
Lord Jesus, as it were, takes up those words from Isaiah, Chapter
8, where the prophet recognizes that the children that God has
given to him are for signs, the children are part of his ministry,
but those words in Isaiah 8, 18 are taken up in Hebrews 2,
13 and applied directly to Christ. Behold I, he says, and the children
which God hath given me. The origin then, the origin and
the cause of their adoption is very much bound up with the love
of God and the relationship between the Father and the Son. In the
second place, here we learn how this doctrine of adoption is
manifested in time. In the second verse John says,
Beloved, now are we the sons of God? He's speaking of the present.
Those that he writes to, these believers, they are in time the
sons of God. They've had an experience of
the blessed doctrine of adoption. And it is manifested in time
because of and by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. If there's
a connection between Christ's eternal sonship and their sonship
as He adopted sons of God, so when it comes to the manifestation
of that sonship, it is bound up also in the Lord Jesus Christ
and the work that He came to do. Galatians 4.5, we're told,
when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law, that they might receive the adoption of
sons. There we have the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ, God sending him in the fullness of the time
to redeem, the work of redemption, redeeming them that were under
the law. To what end? Mark those words
at the end of verse 6 there in Galatians 4, that we might receive
the adoption of sons. It's there in God's eternal purpose,
but it must come to them in the fullness of the time. Now, they
are adopted, as I've said, by that eternal grace of God towards
His people. They are made sons of God. There is eternal adoption, as
it were. Gil calls it an imminent act
of God. It's the Father who, choosing
them, has adopted them as his sons and committed them into
the hands of his own son. There's God's grace towards his
people. But then, by that grace of God
that comes into the hearts of His people, they are manifested.
They are manifested as sons of God, and how is that? Ultimately,
it's by that great work of regeneration. They are born. They are born
again. They are born from above. They
are born of the Spirit of God. As many as received Him, as received
the Lord Jesus Christ, and then gave Him power to be called the
sons of God. It gives them power, they have
authority, they have the right to be called the sons of God.
How? By faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But where does that faith come
from? It comes from regeneration. By nature they are those who
are dead in trespasses and sins. That's how they were born. Therefore they must be born again. Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God, says the Lord Jesus. It's as
they are born again that they are able to exercise saving faith. or they are made the sons of
God in eternal adoption, they are manifested as the sons of
God by that blessed work of the Lord Jesus when it comes to be
a reality in their soul's experience. But then furthermore here we
see that there are certain consequences. Or when they are manifested,
what will the outcome be? Well, two things we see here.
First of all, there will be rejection by the world. They'll be rejected
by the world. 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 relationship, the unity between
Christ and all those that were given to him as the adopted sons
of God in the eternal covenant. And now the Lord reminds his
disciples of these truths. If the world hates you, he says,
ye know that it hated me before it hated you. All these things
will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know
not Him that sends them." Oh, the Lord, He speaks so plainly
to His disciples in those chapters in John 14, 15, and 16. Read through the chapters and
see how time and again the Lord tells them what will be the consequence
of their sonship, their faith in Him. In chapter 16, These
things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
They shall put you out of the synagogues. Yea, the time cometh
that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God's service.
And these things will they do unto you, because they have not
known the Father, nor me. The world knoweth us not, because
it knew him not. Yea, all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. It cannot be avoided
there will be that rejection by the world of those who are
the adopted sons of God, because as He is, so are we in this world,
as John writes here at the end of verse 17 in chapter 4. As
He is, as Christ is, so are we in the world. He comes to His
own, His own, receive Him not. It's as many as receive Him that
He gives that right, that authority to be the sons of God, rejected
by the world. But I said two consequences,
because there's another consequence. Besides rejection by the world,
there's the work of the Father, there's that sanctification by
God. Here in verse 3, Every man that
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Now, from whence comes this purification? From whence comes this blessed
truth of sanctification? Well, it is the work that really
is the work of God, and it involves all the persons in the Trinity. Clearly, It is by the Father. Look at the language there in
the opening verse of the little epistle of Jude. There in Jude
verse 1 we're told that they're sanctified by God the Father,
preserved in Jesus Christ and called. They're sanctified by
God the Father. How are they sanctified? Well,
they're they are set apart that's what sanctification basically
is a setting apart for holy uses just as all the furnishings and
so forth in the tabernacle were set apart from common use for
the service of God so these people have been set apart they have
been chosen sanctified by God the Father they are elect predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his son. He is the only begotten
son. They are the adopted sons and
they will bear the same image. Every man that has his hope in
him purifies himself even as he is pure. They are Christ-like
because that is what the Father has purposed. It's by the Father,
but this sanctification also involves the work of the Son.
Hebrews 13, 12, Jesus also we're told that He might sanctify the
people. Jesus, that He might sanctify
the people with His own blood, suffered without the gates. Or they're sanctified by that
redeeming work that the Son came to perform. Remember, in the
fullness of the time, God sends forth His Son to redeem them
that were under the law. that they might receive the adoption
of sons. Again, Paul writing to the Hebrews,
Hebrews 10.10 says, "...by the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ." Once for all,
their sanctification is in the work of Christ. By the application of that precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's how they're purified.
This is the work of redemption. It's not just the Father, it's
also the Son, but furthermore, it is also through the Holy Spirit. Doesn't Peter say as much there
in the opening words of his first epistle?
He addresses himself to those strangers who scattered through
these various regions and he says are elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father. The Father has set his love upon
them from all eternity through sanctification of the Spirit
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
It's the work of the Holy Spirit also. It's his work in regeneration. We read of the washings of regeneration
and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Titus 3, 5, Not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of
the Holy Ghost. So there The beginning of their
sanctification really is regeneration, when they're born again. And
when they're born again, they come into possession of a new
nature, a divine nature. They're partakers of the divine
nature. And doesn't John go on to say this later here in verse
9, he says, "...whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,
for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he
is born of God." What is John saying? He is simply saying that
that seed, which is the new nature, that new nature never sins. That
that is born of the spirit is spirit. That that is born of
the flesh is flesh, yet they're still the old nature. But they
also possess a new nature by regeneration. And so we have
the consummation also. We see the origin of this adoption,
We see how it's manifested in time, the consequences of it,
but then also, ultimately, there's a consummation in glory. Verse 2, Beloved, now are we
the sons of God, and it does 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. Here, they are manifested
as the sons of God and yet those sons of God they are still sinners
isn't that a truth that we are saved sinners all the time we
live here upon the face of the earth and John says that we go
back to the opening chapter what does he say at the end of that
chapter if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in us If we confess our sins, He is faithful
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word
is not in us. All these adopted sons here upon
earth, they know nothing of sinless perfection. What is their life? Their life is one of spiritual
warfare whilst they are here upon the earth. Paul says we
have to fight the good fight of faith. And that's a daily
business, fighting the fight of faith, laying hold on eternal
life, and Paul knew it. Oh, he knew that conflict in
his own soul, between the old nature and the new nature, the
good that I would, I do not, the evil that I would not, that
I do. Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this day? And he says, I thank you through
Jesus Christ our Lord. We have to learn more and more
our dependence upon Christ, the eternal Son of God. In a sense
we might say we don't fully enjoy the dignity of our adoption whilst
we're here upon the earth. We don't enjoy all the dignity
of it because there's this awful conflict going on all the time.
But then here we're told in verse 3, Every man that hath this hope
in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. This is the blessed
hope. Peter says, We, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Well, that's what the believer
longs for. Here he has no continuing He looks for one with foundations,
who's builder, who's maker, he's God, he's looking for heaven.
And there he will enter into all the fullness of that adoption
that stretches right back to eternity. Sin, my worst enemy,
before will vex mine eyes and ears no more. My inward foes
shall all be slain, nor Satan break my peace again. This is what the believer is
looking for and longing for. This is that blessed hope of
those who are God's sons adopted into the family of God who call
upon Him as their Father in heaven. And that's what we come together
for tonight, is it not, that we might as His sons approach
Him and make our requests known to Him and address Him remembering
that He is our Father. And like as a father pitieth
his children, so the Lord, we are told, pitieth them that fear
Him. He knows our price, and He remembers
that we are dust. Oh, but what glorious God laid
up in store for those who love Him, and they love Him because
He first loved them. Well, the Lord bless these words
to us. Amen. Now before we come again
to prayer, let us sing our second hymn which is number 79 and the
tune is Trentum 73. Behold what wondrous grace the
Father has bestowed on sinners of mortal race to call them sons
of God. The hymn number 79.