1 John 3:1-7 (NRSV)

¹See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he^* is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. ⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

This Epistle is a favourite among us Methodists as John’s spectacles tend to have fitted our founder so well. We are a holiness movement, committed to the proclamation of the Gospel and living it. In a sense we are Protestant’s Dominicans – the Order of Preachers - and this passage gives us a great deal to say.

We are not only called God’s children we ‘are’ God’s children. By nature we are not, we are mere creatures of God – created by Him – but by God’s grace – we are adopted as his children. Barclay makes the distinction between ‘paternity’ and ‘fatherhood’: paternity refers to our genes, our physical existence; fatherhood describes an intimate, loving relationship. In the sense of paternity, all people are children of God, but in the sense of fatherhood we are God’s children when He ‘… makes his gracious approach to people and they respond …’

We have the great honour of being called children of God which means that Christians have a unique relationship with God made possible by Jesus. This is part of the image of being born of God. This status is possible because the Spirit of God enables Christians to live in a different way – in the ways of God rather than the ways of the world. Because we have the gift of God’s Spirit within us, it is possible for us to live lives that are not dominated by sin. But this refers to the ideal and is not completed in our present experience.

It seems so important to stress this in today’s world: the mere sexual act that leads to conception and physical birth is just a tiny part of the situation; what is needed for any child are not parents, but a mother and a father. Some of my students have asked: “When is one ready for a sexual relationship?” My response is always, when you are ready to be a mother and father with all the commitment that this involves. Sadly, I believe we live in a world where there are parents and children but there are not enough mothers and fathers!

One of the ways where we see this is in the glorious gift of adoption; something sadly frowned upon in today’s world. Most girls say that they would prefer to have an abortion than give up a child for adoption. I have to say that I find this very difficult. There is a waiting list miles long, of couples who would do almost anything to adopt a child, any child; we even have people going overseas. Some young people think that they would hate to know that they were adopted, because they would feel unwanted. Nothing could be further from the truth – in my view. A mother taking her pregnancy to full term to give life to her child and then being willing to give the child to another mother and father who will give the child everything they need, must be both the most difficult thing and the most loving thing any mother could do. Adopted children ought to feel most special of all.

And this is a reason why I feel so special as an ‘adopted’ child of God.

Previously, the relationship between God and humanity was one of covenant, sealed by complex laws that need fulfilment. Now Jesus has given us a new way – a deliberate act of God – inviting us to become part of a new family.

Christian experience is as much about present reality as it is about future hope. We are called children of God now because this is real now – we are children of God already. By nature we are creatures of God, by God’s grace we become children of God. We don’t need to wait for the next world to find out what this means, we know it now. As children feel completely at home with their parents “... so we feel if we recognise God as truly our Father. ... We are content that we shall see him as he is” (verse 2b).

It is lovely to see young people’s pride when they are afforded a place at Oxbridge or at Sandhurst as a precursor to entering a fine regiment, or when invited into a large prestigious firm of lawyers or accountants. I think you understand what I mean. They brace up and feel that they need to behave accordingly – it is what Barclay calls ‘… inspiration for fine living …’ to make oneself worthy of the institution that they are part of. Well, Christians are members of the family of God and so part of the greatest ‘thing’ possible. Our adoption into this family ought to inspire us to lives of holiness.

And here we come to our Methodist heritage and its emphasis on both free choice and willing obedience. We are all children because we owe our existence to God; but we become part of God family by accepting the gift of grace.

But being children has certain responsibilities. Verse 3 reminds us that we have a need to purify ourselves. We all know that we are declared right with God by His grace taking the initiative and doing everything for us. The Reformers spoke of the wonderful doctrine of “Justification by Faith” apart from the works of the Law, lest anyone should boast. Being declared right with God is the most wonderfully liberating understanding. I remember when it first dawned on me: I was able to accept myself for the first time ever, because I knew I was forgiven. But for so long, many of us thought that this was it – this is the Gospel - and it is, but only part of it. God gives us His Spirit so that we can be made into what we have being declared to be. We do not have to be satisfied with our lives as they are, we can change, and we do change, when we allow God to work his miracle of purification within our lives. But, as always, there is a need for us to take some of the responsibility. We also need to make a conscious and deliberate decision of the will to “purify ourselves” following the example of our Lord – we need to abide in Christ.

When we abide in Christ – we do not sin. John implies that sin is a deliberate breaking of the law and to obey oneself instead of God. Sin undoes the work of Christ because Jesus came to take away sin. To sin is to bring back what Jesus came to abolish. Sin results from failing to abide in Christ. Barclay then makes a wonderful comment:

“… so long as we remember the continual presence of Jesus, we will not sin; it is when we forget that presence that we sin …”

These verses have been much debated: some cry ‘impossible!’ others have devoted themselves to perfectionism and separated themselves to try to achieve it. In order to understand what the author is saying here, it is important to remember the paradigm he has established when he introduced the theme way back in chapter 1:8. He cannot be claiming a sinless perfection because he has clearly stated that to make this claim is self-deceit and an insult to God (making him out to be a liar). We also need to look forward to chapter 5:16-17 where he makes a distinction between sins that are mortal and those that are not (mortal sins are those that are deliberate). This gives us an important clue to the thinking of the author: there are two types of children – those of God and those of the devil. Children of the devil find sin natural.

This is our challenge: How comfortable are we with our sin? God is able to keep us from mortal sin, so when we don’t sin, it is because of God’s grace; and so there is no place for pride or feelings of superiority. When we see others fall where we have not, we should say with the greatest sincerity and gratitude: “There but for the grace of God go I!”

Being children of God means living in love. Price Love explains: “To be children of God means to live rightly and to love truly.” The opposite is the way of Cain, who failed to love his brother because his own deeds were evil and those of his brother were good. Lack of love is the consequence of bad living, because bad living produces the jealousy that grows into the worst sins of hate and murder. Not to love is to remain in death, but when we love we gain the assurance that we have already passed from death to life.

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