There are some that say that
the 29th verse of chapter 2 ought to be read as a prelude to chapter
3. We'll do that, verse 29. If you
know that He is righteous, you know that everyone that does
righteousness is born of Him. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God. Therefore, the world knows 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. I'd like to emphasize that part
of verse 1. Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the
children of God. When we look at this text that
we have read, even though we intend to focus upon that, the
children of God, and the blessing of adoption, Still we see what
wonderful subjects there are that are brought before us in
this very short text or passage of the Scripture. Look what is
here for our consideration were we to be led in that direction. We could speak of the love of
God from this great text, we could speak of adoption or sonship,
which we certainly will. We could speak of the appearing
of the Lord. We could speak of our glorious
change. We could speak of the blessed
hope. We could speak of the purifying
effect of spiritual knowledge upon the children of God. But before we open our text concerning
adoption and sonship, a few thoughts, if we might, about the epistle
itself. 1 John 3 and the whole epistle. Now, the overall epistle, the
author, of course, is the apostle, the same one who gave us the
gospel of John, yet we notice that his name is not attached
under this one, but he has given us John the gospel. 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd John, and the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet
it seems to be in this 3rd epistle that it so resembles the gospel
according to John. There are so many things in John
that are repeated here in 1st John that it resembles, and few
question therefore, that John is the author of this epistle. Now, as for the outline of the
book, 1 John, that we are in this evening, it is not an easy
matter to divide it up into sections because the subjects keep coming
back again and again. And he keeps recycling or re-mentioning
the subjects that he has already mentioned. But there are some
prominent things in this book. One of the prominent things in
this epistle is the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
person of the Son of God. That as the introduction in the
New Geneva Study Bible, King James Version says like this,
quote, John says that God has revealed in Christ the everlasting
life that is in Him, unquote. John declares that he is giving
them a first-hand account of the ministry of our Lord, because
He was manifest in the flesh. And in chapter 1 and verse 1,
that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have
handled with our hands, of the Word of life. John, who wrote
this, was actually a disciple, a learner, and an apostle of
the Lord in the flesh. He followed our Lord. He saw
Him in the flesh. He heard Him teach. He saw His
wonders and His miracles and such like. Now, John is the one
that is famous for referring to the Lord as the Word. You see that in the Gospel of
John, the Word was made flesh, the Word was with God in the
beginning, and the Word was God. And then he uses it again here
in this particular epistle. Also, he warns against false
prophets, John does, and antichrists, and those who would deny or pervert
the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. He speaks out strongly against
antinomianism, those who live after the flesh claiming to be
a child of God. He speaks out very strongly that
those that are born of God do not live in constant sin and
the corruption of the world, and that those who do not love
the brethren do not love God and vice versa. And he uses the
word Whosoever ten times in this epistle alone. Whoso one time,
meaning the one, this, that, he, she. Not every Tom, Dick
and Harry is meant when he uses the expression whosoever. For when the word whosoever is
used, you will notice that it is always defined, must be defined
by the context in which we find it. For example, in Revelation
20 and verse 15, whosoever was not found written in the book
of life. Not everyone without exception,
but the ones that were not found. In John 3 and 16, a good play. Whosoever believeth shall have
everlasting life. 1 Corinthians 11 and 27. Whosoever
shall eat unworthily of the Lord's Supper. That is the one that
does that. 1 John 2 and 23. Whosoever denies
the Son. 1 John 3 and 15. Whosoever hates
his brother. And of course, there are more
of those that we could dig up in this epistle. It means the
ones that. It means as many as. Those that
do. Those who. Hence, rather than
a universality in these whosoever, there is a limitation in the
word by the very context in which they are found, restricted to
such and such as do this or that particular thing. As far as our
text, there are expositors, as I said, who think that verse
29 ought to be connected to chapter 3 and verse 1, where in verse
29, In the second chapter, mention
is made of another favorite doctrine of the Apostle John. It is he
that dwells on this perhaps more than any other gospel author. And that is the matter of the
new birth, or regeneration, being born of God, being born from
above. We remember that grand passage
in John 3, 1 through 11, and there are seven references or
mentions in 1 John alone to this birth, being born of God. We see them in chapter 2 and
29, chapter 3 and verse 9, chapter 4 and verse 7. Chapter 5, verse 1. Chapter 5,
verse 4. Chapter 5 and verse 18. All of those times, John makes
mention of this great biblical doctrine of regeneration. Well, anyway, in chapter 2 and
verse 29, John declares that the practice of righteousness
is the result of the new birth. that one who practices righteousness
does so as a fruit or consequence or result of the new birth, and
vice versa. That being born of God causes
a great inward moral change in an individual. It produces a
new frame of life, a new frame of thinking, and a new kind of
conduct. So we pursue this aspect In 1
John, in addition to verse 29, there is chapter 3 and verse
9, "...whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for his
seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God."
Not that he is perfect, but that he does not make sin the practice
of his life. In 1 John 5 and verse 4, "...whatsoever
or everything born of God overcomes the world. Chapter 5 and verse
1 is one of my favorites. Faith is both the result and
also the evidence of the new birth. Since everyone who believes
that Jesus is the anointed One of God has been born of God. Faith is not the cause of the
new birth. But it is a natural result of
regeneration when God sovereignly works that in our life. Nor does
righteousness on the part of the individual have any part
in producing the new birth. But the new birth, on the other
hand, produces righteousness. Out of the new birth, there is
a new frame of life and influence and awe. And it results in a
righteous way of living. I have a book by Samuel Iles
Pierce, an old-timer from days gone by. He said the same in
his commentary on 1 John 2 and verse 29, "...regeneration is
the foundation of all righteousness in the soul, and the very principle
from which it originates." Regeneration is that great thing that produces
that. John writes, the exercise of
righteousness is not only a result, it is an evidence of the new
birth. And this righteousness has another
connection also unto the new birth, in that in chapter 2 and
verse 29, in that there is a connection that is made, a link that is
made between that righteousness of God and those that are born
of God. If you look at 2.29 again and
read it, he that is born of God practices righteousness, knowing
that He is righteous. Now, by He, John referred to
God the Father or Christ as the only begotten Son. Which one
would it be? The point being the one born
of the Righteous One It imitates the one who has begotten them,
that there is an imitation of those who are the begetter. Robert
Canlish in his commentary wrote this about 1 John 2 and verse
29, quote, The stress is laid on righteousness, that the distinguishing
characteristic which identifies one as being born of God, the
common quality connecting what he does as one born of God with
the nature of him that begat him." In other words, there is
this knot that is tied between regeneration and the manner of
life. It is regeneration that turns
our life around. It is regeneration that causes
sin to become ceasing in our life and righteousness to spring
forth out of that. John's argument is sound and
it is logical because God and Christ are righteous. Now this
we know. It follows then that they who
are born of the righteous God will practice righteousness. That's John's contention. We're
now coming to chapter 3 and verse 1. The apostle in this place,
as it were, stops to reflect upon the blessed state of those
that are born of God, that are sons by regeneration, and that
are sons by adoption. His conclusion again is sound
as well as logical. They that are born of God are
the children of God. And their adoption, or their
sonship, is an evident proof of two things. immediately, A,
that they are born again, born of God, and B, that they are
the objects of the love of God. Those that are regenerate, those
that are born again, are the objects of the love of God. Behold what love the Father hath
bestowed upon us. Let's look at that word and dwell
on it a minute, the word behold that we see here, that we see
so often scattered throughout the Scripture. It's a word that
often is used by the writers and the speakers in the Scripture.
It was used by the prophets of old. It was used by the Lord.
It was used by the apostles when they spoke to people in person. And the writers of the Holy Scripture
have also taken up that word. It is hundreds and hundreds of
times found in our Bible. And it is an expression that
is meant to catch the attention of the hearers or of the reader. An announcement, as it were,
that something important is about to be said. Something very important
is forthcoming. That they would have us to see,
they would have us to hear, to listen, to perceive, and to understand,
to pay special attention. Listen attentively is the meaning
and intention of that word. A word many times in the New
Testament is translated two ways. The word that is here in this
sense is two other ways in the Scripture. It will either be
see or know. Behold will either be see or
know where it is translated in other places. Now, see, he said. Look, behold, know. See what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed or has given or has
shed upon us. What manner, that is, what sort
of love, what kind, and what degree of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us. And there are several ways that
God's love is manifested toward the elect. Several ways that
God manifests His love toward them and concerning them. such as, it was an act of God's
love when He sent His only begotten Son into this world that He might
die for our sin. And in our text, God's love is
said to be manifest in the fact that we are called, the most
blessed title of all, sons, children of God. Now the word call, does
not refer here in this place to the irresistible call being
one called and converted. It's not the divine call that
is in view here. Some say the verb is not used
by John of the divine call at all in any of his writing. Rather, it means to be named. It means to be designated. And it corresponds with the reality. We are called the sons of God,
the children of God, because we are the children of God. We are called, as in Luke 1 and
verse 32, He shall be called, that is named or designated,
the Son of the Highest. Jesus said in Matthew 21, And
verse 13, My house shall be called the house of prayer. That's its
designation. Matthew 1.21, Thou shalt call
His name Jesus. That will be His name and designation. Now, if you're reading from an
expanded Greek version, you may notice some words here that are
very interesting. that we should be called the
sons of God. Put your eye upon that. The words
being, after a brief pause, and so we are. You'll find that in
some versions of the Scripture. That we should be called the
sons of God, and so we are. Confirming, as it does, that
we are called, or named, or designated the sons of God For we are the
sons of God. These words are said to be in
some manuscript, that is, and so we are. And anyway, John declares
it in verse 3. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. We are children of God. We are. Not that we shall be or that
we might become in the future, but that we are the children
of God. And that brings us then to consider
that our being the children of God, the sons and the daughters
of the Most High God, relates directly to our adoption, the
adoption of sons, as in Galatians 4 and verse 6. There is a song
in the old Gadsby hymnal, and the first line of it catches
my attention. Sons of God by blessed adoption
is the way that song or hymn opens up. Now considering adoption,
remember what Paul writes in Ephesians 1 and verse 5, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children, having set us apart,
having ordained us, having set us apart unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ unto Himself. John Gill called adoption
an internal and imminent act of God." In other words, it was
sure to be realized because it was taken up in the mind of God
in eternity past. And in Ephesians chapter 1, it
follows upon the heels of election. Having chosen us in Christ and
marked us out to the adoption of children And this by Jesus
Christ and unto Himself, that we be the children of God. And it is according to the good
pleasure of His will. This is His divine purpose. So
that both election and adoption are the result of the sovereign
will of God. And that great eulogy or doxology
there in Ephesians 1, verses 3 through 5 especially, where
Paul speaks of blessing, eternal, spiritual blessing. Paul wrote,
and Thomas Goodwin said in Ephesians 1, both of them are also decrees
about the end. That is, election is unto salvation
and to glory, and predestination, affordination, the adoption of
sons is unto that end. What is adoption? What is it
to adopt? We will find some things like
it in human adoption, but some things contrary to it also in
human adoption. So what is it when one is adopted
in the biblical sense of the word? What is the benefit of
being adopted, of being put into the position of son? Now, the word itself, adoption,
means literally placing among the children. Adoption in the
biblical sense of the word is to bring into the family. It
is son-placing. It is placing as a son in the
family one who is not so by nature or physical birth. And not only
that, but placing them as a full and a true son with all the privileges
and the blessings of the family of children. So adoption, according
to Ephesians 1 and verse 5, not only takes its mind in the rise
of God being an eternal decree, but it is also in and through
Jesus Christ. It is bestowed the sonship, for
adoption is not only a special sonship, but with it comes the
right to glory and to heaven everlastingly. So let's consider
the passage from John 1.11-13. You have probably read that a
lot of times, the Gospel of John, where he speaks of the birth
and being the sons of God. John 1.11-13, He came to His
own, His own received Him not. But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood, nor
the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God." Now,
twice we read in that, His own. And there are different words
there, which in the English is hard for us to express. The first, His own, is like His
own things being in what is called the neuter gender in the tense
here, his own things, that which he is the creator and that which
he is the owner of, or as David Brown put it, his own messianic
rights and possessions. But the second his own that received
him not is in the masculine gender and having reference to his own
nation or his own race, which received him not as a people
and as a nation. In fact, they plotted and carried
out the death of that one that came unto them. There is a blessed
contrast in verse 12. As many as received him. He came to his own, his own received
him not. But as many as received him,
such as did. those that believed, those who
came to Him and confessed them. To them gave He power to become
to be regarded as sons." Literally, the children of God. Again, there
is a word in this that we must not misunderstand as we study. It is the word translated power
in John 1 and verse 12, which is not the word Dunamis, which
would be the word might or strength, and is in Ephesians 1.19, the
power of ability, the power of strength, power to overcome something. But the word in John 1 and verse
12 is a word that is several times found in our New Testament,
and it is the word exousia, and it is a word meaning right or
privilege, or authority, or jurisdiction. It is the word exousia. Someone I read counted 102 times
that this word exousia is used in the New Testament. Never once
meaning force or might. Then the word would be dunamis
if they were talking about force or might. Those who receive Christ
have the privilege, the right, the authority to sonship, to
regard God as their Father and themselves by the title of children
of God. And yet we must not divorce verse
13 from the mix there in John chapter 1, that the privilege
of sonship comes not apart from the new birth. And John makes
that clear. John especially excludes those
things that carnal men might glory in as making them the children
of God. He says, A, not of blood. And that is not from carnal descent,
I believe he means. Not simply because they're children
of Abraham and have his bloodline. But B, he says, not of the will
of the flesh. For this cannot affect the sonship,
it has no ability to give right unto it. But see, he says, that
darling idol of free will must fall, not of the will of men,
not by the ever-popular free will of man. How then, how then,
of what were they born in the first part of verse 13, which
were born? First, the apostle makes a very
forceful and a threefold denial of any human relation or ability
to affect this birth. Then he says in the end of verse
13, completing what he started in the beginning of the verse,
and when we put it together, here's what we have, "...which
were born of God, these in believing and receiving Christ, have the
right to become the children of God. They have the authority,
the right, and the privilege to become the children of God. Now, I said there's a favorite
verse of mine in 1 John 5 and verse 1, and let's think on it
for a moment. 1 John 5 and verse 1. Again, this puts things in their
proper light. Listen to the verse. Everyone
believing that Jesus is the Christ of God has been born. Now, the new birth is not the
result of them believing, but vice versa. They have not been
born of God because they believe. They believe because they have
been born of God. In fact, there are three fruits
of regeneration that quickly and surely follow. as a fruit
soon ripe after regeneration. They are, number one, faith,
belief that Jesus is the Messiah, that He is the Christ of God.
There is this difference between those regenerate and those that
are just religious. While the regenerate view Christ
as the very eternal Son of God with full deity, those merely
religious will lower Christ in some way or another sooner or
later. But secondly, the regenerate,
so soon as they are called and converted, they love the One
that begat them. They love Him who is their spiritual
Father. They love the Begatter of them. They love, for God is created
in them in fleshly matters. One may or one may not love the
Father that begat them and the Mother that bare them. But in
spiritual birth, it is quite different. All those born of
God do love the Father that begot them. Thirdly, we notice something
else. The regenerate and believing
one loves others that are born of God. They love their brothers
and sisters that are born of God, for we be brethren. as Abraham and Lot said. But
back to our text in 1 John 3, and the last part of verse 1. We are the sons of God, but the
world knows us not. And the world knows us not for
the simple reason they know not God. The world does not know
us because they do not know God. How can they if they have no
saving revelation of Him? They only can know God to the
degree that He is pleased to reveal Himself, and to the degree
to which He is pleased to make Himself known. Granted, there
is a large segment of mankind who thinks that all are the children
of God. There are people, and you'll
meet them and hear them every day, who think that everybody
is the child of God. We hear it in their talk, we
hear it in their song, we read it in their poems, and we hear
it in their funerals. For example, I heard the other
day that Michael Jackson is moonwalking among the clouds. Then when a
former football player, a star football player, ex-football
player, a married man with four children between him and his
wife, was shot to death by his 20-year-old girl with whom he
had been having an adulterous affair for quite some months. I thought it was rather amusing.
His former coach gave part of the eulogy at the funeral. He
said this, Steve is now playing in heaven where the clock never
runs out and there are no interceptions." You see, the world is completely
ignorant of the divine Sonship, because they are ignorant of
God. The Lord prayed in John 17.25,
O righteous Father, the world hath not known you. And yes,
they are ignorant of the nature and the author of the new birth. They think it is the result of
something done by a person. And every week we hear a lot
about so-and-so being a born-again Christian, which usually seems
to be a reference to what would be called evangelical Christians,
that there are those that are born again and there are those
that are not. But such is not the case. But
what an ignorance of God! There comes a corresponding ignorance
of the new birth. Those that are ignorant of God
are ignorant of His children and of the new birth. They cannot
have a proper view of divine Sonship without a proper view
of God. The Puritan Thomas Manton once
wrote these words, quote, Worship without knowledge is but a blind
guess and a loose aim, unquote. As the Lord told the Samaritan
woman in John chapter 4 and verse 25, You worship you know not
what. Paul walked among those Athenians
on Mars Hill, and in Acts 17 and 23, he said to them, the
God whom you ignorantly worship, the God you do not know, Him
I wish to declare unto you. Now going back to verse 2 of
our text, John restates, now are we the sons of God. Being born of God, Even in this
world, and even dwelling in our tents of flesh, we have received
the adoption of grace. God having begotten us unto a
living hope, being born again by a seed incorruptible. So says 1 Peter 1, 3 and 23.
Christ is now the Son of God. So are we. Christ is God's only blessed
and beloved eternal Son. And we, in and through Him, are
the sons of God. Now let's focus on the phrase
in verse 2. It does not yet appear what we
shall be. In other words, it has not yet
been manifested what we shall be. We are the sons of God. Yes, we are. But it has not been
manifested what we shall be. Remember, even the Lord did not
display while on earth the full glory of His Sonship, but veiled
it. That glory that He had in heaven
with before and after He came into the world, and would have
again as He entered, John 17 and 5, give me that glory that
I had with thee before. Nor has the fullness of our adoption
been made manifest while we live in this world, but it will be. And what Paul calls the manifestation
of the sons of God, Romans 8, 19, when will it occur? Well,
our text says, though it has not yet appeared what we shall
be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like
Him, for we will see Him as He is. In other words, the manifestation
of sonship will be manifested that we are the sons of God.
And I think that's first done in regeneration. Because you
are the sons of God, God has sent forth His Spirit into your
heart whereby you cry, I have a Father. And then, in some manner,
I do not know, I cannot tell you the fullness of it, but not
only in regeneration, but also in some manner of celestial manifestation
in conjunction with a glorious appearing. Colossians 3 and 4,
when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you
also appear with Him in glory. 1 John 2 and 28, abide in Him
that when He shall appear we may have confidence not being
ashamed before Him at His coming or presence or parousia. So the conclusion from this great
text is, it is better to be a child of God than to be a child of
the world's richest couple. It is better to be a child of
God than to be adopted into the family of the richest man and
woman in all of the world. It is better to be a child of
God than to be the son of the world's most powerful, prominent
king or leader. It is better to be a child of
God than to be adopted into the family of the most famous family
on the face of the earth. It is better to be a child of
God. It is a blessing of grace to
be ordained to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto
Himself. that we should be called the
sons of God. Now are we the sons of God. And we look pretty normal like
everybody else. It has not yet been manifest
what we shall be, but there will be a further manifestation of
this blessed sonship that we have through the will of God
and through the incarnation and death and such like of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. We are called the sons of God. What manner of love that God
would make us and call us His children. What a blessed, blessed
relation. All right, let's bow our heads
together, please, for a word of final prayer.