1 JOHN - #72, Only believers, through faith in Jesus Christ, become children of God. (12-4-25)

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Theme: How the dear children may know each other and live together; the Father’s love for his children; the two natures of the believer in action.
“This is a very wonderful statement that John makes here. Let me give you my very literal translation of this verse: “Behold ye, of what sort of love the Father hath bestowed upon (given to) us, that we should be named children of God, and we are: and because of this the world does not know (begin to understand) us, because it did not know (begin to understand) Him.”

John is saying that we do not expect to be the sons of God, we are the sons of God. A better translation includes the words “and we are.” The child of God can say emphatically, “I am a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” We don’t hope to be, we don’t expect to be, but the thrilling fact is that every believer can exult and rejoice and constantly thank Him that he is God’s child. We are boasters not in ourselves, but we are boasting of the wonderful Shepherd that we have. John makes it perfectly clear that if you are a born again child of God, you are going to exhibit a life that conforms to the Father. A child of God need not be in the false position of saying as an old hymn says: J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 5 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 786.
Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought,
Do I love my Lord or no?
Am I His, or am I not?
—Author unknown

It would be understandable if an unbeliever didn’t know if he was a child of God or not, but believers should know that they are a child of God, but many do not. There will be some who think they are an unbeliever because they thought they weren’t good enough to go to heaven. But they will be surprised when they wind up in heaven because someone gave them the gospel.

Then on the other hand, there will be some who think that they are going to heaven because they did so many good deeds to get there. But they will be surprised when they find themselves in torments (Luke 16:28), waiting to be judged at the Great White Throne.

The child of God can say emphatically, “I am a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” Every believer can exult and rejoice and constantly thank Him that he is God’s child. God’s love for us is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Many people declare that all people are children of God, but that is not true, no one is a child of God unless they have put their faith alone in Christ alone when they believed the gospel.
God has demonstrated His love by giving His Son to die for us. How many of us have someone who would die for us? How many folk would you be willing to die for? God loves you, and He has proven His love—He gave His Son to die for you.

The greatest motivating force in the world is God’s love. Love is the greatest drive in the human family. A man falls in love with a woman, a woman falls in love with a man, and some make such tremendous sacrifices for each other. When human love is genuine love, it is a beautiful thing, it is a noble thing, it is a wonderful thing, and it is a tremendous drive. But God’s love for His children far exceeds anything we can experience on the human plane. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 5 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 786.

God’s love is foreign to humankind in that we cannot understand the magnitude of such love. It astonishes, amazes, and creates wonder within those who properly reflect upon it. Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, vol. 38, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 133.