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Children of God


1 John 3:1-7

Good News Translation (GNT)

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  1  See how much the Father has loved us!
   His love is so great that we are called God's
   children - and so, in fact, we are.
   This is why the world does not know us: it has
   not known God.
  2  My dear friends, we are now God's children,
   but it is not yet clear what we shall become.
   But we know that when Christ appears, we
   shall be like him, because we shall see him
   as he really is.
  3  Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps
   himself pure, just as Christ is pure.
  4  Whoever sins is guilty of breaking God's law,
   because sin is a breaking of the law.
  5  You know that Christ appeared in order to
   take away sins, (a) and that there is no sin
   in him.
  6  So everyone who lives in union with Christ
   does not continue to sin; but whoever
   continues to sin has never seen him
   or known him.
  7  Let no one deceive you, my children!
   Whoever does what is right is righteous,
   just as Christ is righteous.

   Footnotes
   1 John 3:5 sins;
   some manuscripts have our sins.


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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)

Children of God

    1 John 3:1-7


This is the central message of the Gospel of Christ: God loves mankind, and He desires to save men and women and make them His children

No other religion, no other god, can offer man the sure hope of eternal life. God's love is manifested in this, that we should be called children of God.

Let us not doubt that we are His children. We have been purified from all sin by the blood of Christ.

The world does not know how it's possible for low and humble believers, like us, to become God's own children and have an eternal inheritance in heaven.

The world - that is, unbelieving mankind - does not accept the Christ, therefore does not accept us. But we know that when Jesus comes again, (at the end of the world) - we shall be like him.

When we are with Him (the glorified Christ), then we shall be transformed. His glory will become manifest in us. What is this hope in him that John mentions here?

This hope is hope in Jesus. It is the hope of meeting Jesus, of being like Jesus, of sharing in His glory. We shall indeed become like Him.

Our hope will be fulfilled; and just as he is pure, so shall we become pure also.

Most people don't like the word "sin." Whenever they sin, they say, "I made a mistake." But in saying this, they deceive themselves. God sees their sin; He is not deceived.

Jesus took away our sins by taking the punishment for our sins upon Himself. He received the death penalty in our place.

No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. He may sin from time to time, but he does not deliberately continue to sin. And if he does sin, he quickly repents of it and is cleansed.

Let each one ask himself: "Is there any sin in my life which I am not willing to give up?" If there is, we must at once confess it and give it up. If we don't, we do not belong to Jesus. Only those who obey Jesus and are pure in heart will see Him and know Him.

Many false teachers will try to deceive us. But we can recognize them by their work.


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