The Family Of God I John 3 Take a look at I John 3:1-3. “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.” Jesus is on His way back. This passage is about the Second Coming. It speaks of what we are now, of what we will be when Jesus comes back, and of what we ought to be every day. It speaks of our Christian dignity, our destiny and our duty. First, let’s see what we are. Let’s talk about our Christian dignity. Verse 1 says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us….” The word manner has to do with being from another country. In other words, “Where did this love come from? We’ve never seen this kind of love around here.” The love a Christian experiences of out of this world. What an amazing thing that we should be called the sons of God! We become sons and daughters of God by being born into the family of God when we receive Christ as our Savior. Actually, you are legally adopted into the family of God. Romans 8 tells us more about that adoption. Look at Romans 8:14-15. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father.” In other words, we were once in bondage, but now we’ve been adopted. Romans 8:16-17 says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Now that we’ve been adopted into the family of God, we have every right to call God our Father. The word Abba means daddy. Does it seem irreverent for you to call God, Daddy? According to this verse, if you’ve been born again, it’s not irreverent to call God Daddy. Many who lived around Abraham’s tent would call him Father Abraham. But Isaac called him Abba Abraham. Little Isaac could crawl up in his lap and say, “Abba, Abba,” or “Daddy, Daddy.” When my children call me daddy, I don’t think of it as being irreverent. As a matter of fact, I love it when they call me daddy. And since we are sons, we are also heirs. There is no inheritance without sonship, and there is no sonship without a birth or an adoption. There is no adoption without Jesus, and there is no Jesus for you unless you receive Him by faith. Our dignity lies in the fact that we are sons of God. John can hardly take this in! He says, “What kind of other-worldly love is this, that we should be called the sons of God and joint heirs with Christ?” But he not only talks about what we are; he speaks about what we’re going to be. I John 3:2 says, “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.” People ask all sorts of questions about the future. They ask, “Are we going to wear clothes when we get to Heaven? Will we eat regular food? Will we have beds to sleep in? How old will we be? If we die when we’re babies, will we be babies in Heaven; or will we be grown? The answer is, “I don’t know…..and neither do you. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be…” There are many things that God has kept from us. We don’t have to know everything. There are some things we can’t be dogmatic about, but there are other things we can be bull-dogmatic about! John says, “It doth not yet appear what we shall be.” But then he says, “There are some things I do know. I know that when He appears, we’ll be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” First, we know that Jesus is really going to appear. History is like a drama in two acts. There are five scenes in the first act. Scene one is the birth at Bethlehem. Scene two is the little boy growing up in Nazareth in a carpenter shop. Scene three is the Preacher of Galilee giving the Sermon on the Mount and all the rest of it. Scene four is the crucified King of the Jews. Scene five is the risen, victorious, ascended Savior. Then Act One ends and the curtain closes. We’re living in the time of the closed curtain right now. Now Jesus is in the wings of human history. But before long, the curtain is going to open again and Jesus will step onto center stage. The drama of the ages will unfold. Secondly, we will see Him as He is. We won’t see Him as the peasant from Galilee walking those dusty roads…..although I would have loved to have seen Him then. We’ll see Him wearing a diadem of glory. Leonard Ravenhill wrote: “The first time He came, He entered by a woman’s womb and no one saw Him enter. The next time He comes, every eye shall see Him. The first time He came as a Lamb, but the next time He’ll come as the Lion of Judah. The first time He came to redeem, but the next time He’s coming to reign. The first time He came to die, but the next time He’s coming to raise the dead. The first time men asked, Where is He who is born King of the Jews? The next time He’s coming as the King of kings. The first time He got a crown of thorns, but the next time He’ll get a crown of glory. The first time He came in poverty to a stable, but the next time He’s coming in power. The first time He had an escort of angels, but the next time He’s coming with ten thousands of His saints. The first time He came in meekness, but the next time He’s coming in majesty.” What a day that’s going to be! The fist thing we know is that He’ll appear. The second thing we know is that we’ll see Him as He really is. The third thing we know is that we’ll be like Him. We will be changed in a moment and be like Him forever. How glorious will it be to be made like Christ? If we weren’t made to be like Him, it would be impossible for us to see Him as He is. I Timothy 6:14 says, “That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto…” It would be easier for you to go into the center of the sun than it would be for you to see Jesus without a glorified body. He dwells in a light that no man can approach. Verse 16 goes on to say, “…whom no man hath seen, nor can see…” No man can see Him without being made like Him. Philippians 3:21 says that God will change our vile bodies to be like His glorious body. The psalmist said, “I shall be satisfied when I awaken in His likeness.” We’ve talked about what we are now…our Christian dignity. We’ve talked about what we will be…..out Christian destiny. But now John talks about what we ought to be….our Christian duty. I John 3:3 says, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Our present dignity and future destiny calls for practical duty. What should we be doing? First, we should be looking for the Second Coming of Christ. Verse 3 calls this our hope. That doesn’t mean that we hope it will happen. It’s going to happen. A hope is something you know is going to happen and something you live in anticipation of happening. You can hardly wait for it to get here. Christmas, for children, is a wonderful hope. They can hardly wait for it to get here. The longer I preach, the older I get, the more I get to love Jesus and to serve Him; the more I long for His coming. Do you feel that way? If I could say, “Come Lord Jesus” and get Him to come right now, I’d do it. You say, “But pastor, some would be lost.” Yes, but no matter when He comes, some will be lost. The longer He waits, the more lost people will get. I want to see Him face to face….and one day I will. There’s an interesting verse in II Samuel 19:10 which says, “Why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?” This text is from the last sad years of Kind David’s life. David’s handsome son, Absalom had rebelled against him and tried to take his throne. David fled for his life. But now Absalom is dead and it’s time for the king to return. David wants his tribe to invite him back. In II Samuel 19:12 he says, “Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?” Why didn’t his own people long to have him back? It was embarrassing to him that the people didn’t long to have the king return. Apply that to David’s greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is of the tribe of Judah, and He’s to return and rule on the throne. There have been plenty of Absalom’s who’ve tried to usurp the throne. The great Absalom will be the antichrist himself, but how God’s people ought to be longing for the Lord Jesus to return. “Why speak ye not a word about the King’s return?” Our first duty is to be longing for His return. It’s the blessed hope. Secondly, we ought to be living for His return. I John 3:3 says, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” If I really believe that Jesus could come back at any moment, then I want to be pure and clean. I don’t want to be ashamed at His coming. II Corinthians 7:1 says, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” I John 2:28 says, “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.” If Jesus came today, are there some magazines in your house that you wish weren’t there? Would there be some money in your billfold that belongs to God? Is there a hatred, a resentment, a bitterness, or a criticism in your heart that ought not to be there? The worldliness, the selfishness, and the carelessness of some of our members breaks the heart of God. Do they really believe that they will one day be like Jesus? Are they really serious about this matter of serving Jesus? Or do they see this as some sort of religious country club? If there were ever a time for God’s people to be holy, this is the day. We can’t be tolerant of one half of one sin in our lives. We ought to be winning souls every week, but we’re not doing it. I wonder if we really believe our Lord is coming back soon? I wonder if we really believe that we’re going to have to give an account? Mahatma Gandhi had an influence over untold millions of people. Gandhi almost became a Christian, but one thing held him back. Do you know what it was? Christians. He said, “I studied the life of Christ and the doctrines of the Bible. I would have become a Christian had it not been for the Christians.” He attended a congregation in Pretoria, South Africa one Sunday morning. He was searching for the truth. He wrote, “The congregation did not strike me as being particularly religious. They were not an assembly of devout souls. They appeared rather, to be worldly-minded people going to church for recreation and in conformity to customs.” “He that hath this hope in him purifieth himself.” Why, because of the fear of judgment? No, because of love. A group of young people were out on a date when one in the group suggested they go to a particular place and do a particular thing that was not right for them to do. One of the young ladies said, “No, I don’t want to go there. My father wouldn’t approve.” They said, “Oh, are you afraid your father is going to hurt you?” She said, “No, I’m afraid I’m going to hurt him.” What is our duty? We ought to be longing for His return. It’s our blessed hope. We ought to be living for His return. But we also ought to be looking for His return. He could come at any moment. How many of you expect Jesus to return before midnight tonight? If you were honest, there’s not a one of us who expect Him to return today. But Jesus said, “In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” This may be the last church service you’ll ever attend. “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.” Those of you who are saved should be praying, “Lord, I long to be perfectly whole. I want Thee forever to live in my soul. Break down every idol, cast out every foe, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” Whatever sin is in your heart, deal with it and be done with it. That sin will have no mercy on you….and you should have no mercy on it. And if you’re not saved, would you give your heart to Jesus today?
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 18:22:17 +0000
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