1 John 3:2-3
Beloved–John begins here, with “Beloved”, conveying how dear these churches are to him.
Now —John is emphasizing that our status as Children of God is not something that we have to look forward to in hope—we are Children of God right now!
We are the Children of God
John emphasizes that we already are the children of God as we are transformed into the image of Jesus. We have a kinship relationship with God, adopted as sons and daughters, made possible by Jesus’ saving work on the cross (Romans 8:15; Gal 4:6)
and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.
John brings up the “Now and Not Yet” aspect of salvation. We have been saved from the penalty of Sin, because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. We are being saved Now from the power of sin in our lives, because we are no longer slaves of sin, but bondservants of God, as we cooperate in God’s work of sanctification in our lives. But someday in the future, we will be something more than we are now, as we are saved from the presence of sin in heaven.
We know that when He appears,
Those who are Jesus’ will be instantly revealed to be His! The wheat will be instantly winnowed away from the chaff, and Jesus will receive those that are His. Paul lets us in on this secret in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 51 Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. John wants us to know, to have confidence in the fact that someday, suddenly, we will be changed. And Paul emphasizes that suddenly, those who are alive at Jesus’ coming will be changed, and receive new imperishable bodies. This will occur when Jesus comes back. And not only that, at that last trumpet sound, the dead in Christ will be raised and receive these new imperishable bodies as well.
we will be like Him,
Paul clarifies the order of the resurrection in 1 Cor 15 beginning in verse 20 saying 20 But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. So, not only was Christ raised up on Resurrection Sunday He IS our first fruits; the first raised from the dead to Eternal life.
Like Him in an Eternal Body that does not perish, nor fade away
1 Cor 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; Our present bodies decay and die, but our new bodies will not. This should help inform our priorities!
Like Him in a Body made for Heaven—1 Cor 15:43-44 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Currently, our fleshly bodies are born in sin, and are comparatively weak, “our frame is dust”, but someday we will receive new bodies, free from the penalty, power AND presence of sin, and suitable to exist there forever.
Physical, Literal Bodies, although unlike the ones we have now-In the resurrection, those who have placed their trust in Christ will have a body like Jesus’. Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 24:39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. So, Jesus’ resurrected body had flesh and bone. Apparently, the new bodies that we will have will be able to do some interesting things. Jesus was able to suddenly appear in a locked room, for instance in John 20:26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’
A transformed body-The Bible teaches that we will receive a transformed body. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain – perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives us a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body (1 Corinthians 15:37,38).
Like Him in Manifesting the Power of God-Our resurrected bodies will be powerful, as 1 Cor 15:43 tells us, It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. Our mortal bodies are weak. This will not be the case with our resurrection bodies. So, what kind of power are we talking about? We find that it talks about the powers of the age to come in association with the Holy Spirit. And this makes me think that the taste that we have of the power of the age to come is our use of the Gifts of the Spirit. Someday we’ll be able to operate in these gifts fully!
Like Him in a Spiritual Body–Jesus said in Matthew 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. The idea seems to be that we will not reproduce, and of course we will not need to, since there will be no death.
Like Him in Glory–Those who get close to God shine with God’s glory, for example Moses in (Exodus 34:35).
These are two different kind of bodies. As Paul says in 1 Cor 15:40-44 40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. Our present bodies have been designed by God to exist on Earth. Daniel in chapter 12 vs. 2-3, he says 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. So righteousness, and being about the Father’s business is associated with greater glory-see Mark 9 beginning in verse 2 and Matthew 17, beginning in verse 1 (The Transfiguration).
because we will see Him just as He is.
One day we’re going to see Jesus, and when we do, we will see Him just as He is. We will behold Jesus in His divine glory. We will see Jesus in His true nature because their spiritual as well as physical eyes will be fully open. We will know as we are known. Our lives here should be spent in preparation.
Our glory in Eternity is determined by our Faithfulness to God’s plan for our lives– 2 Cor 4:17 17 For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
But, this doing the Will of the Father is always associated with persecution. Jesus said in Luke 6:22-23 22 Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to treat the prophets the same way.
3 And everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Because we are Sons and Daughters of God, we should act like His kids and devote ourselves to holiness, it’s an obligation, and a pleasure. Assurance, this hope of salvation is one of the things that tends to help us dedicate ourselves more fully to God. When we know we are freely forgiven by Jesus, because of what HE has done, we want to glorify Him. And those who enjoy the fullest assurance of this forgiveness tend to walk closely with God in love and appreciation, and admiration for what Jesus has done. The Father has “chosen us before the foundation of the world, that we might be holy.” The Son did not die only to save us from hell, and bring us to heaven—but to “redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous for good works.” The Spirit is given to “create us anew unto good works.” When we are very intent on attaining some goal, we are very glad to receive signs or evidence that we are closer to reaching the goal. Assurance is like that. We search very diligently for as much proof as we can accumulate. What is the evidence, that can be depended on that we are going to heaven? Holiness—conformity to the example of Christ. It’s the evidence that we’re not delusional in our assurance. Our dependence is to be upon the Spirit of God, but with all of our ability, all of our understanding of God’s Word, and all of our effort, we are to exert ourselves to follow Jesus closely, to live Holy lives. That’s what it means to love God with all your heart, soul mind and strength. Our desire is fixed on meeting Jesus in heaven, but we know “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” So, we fix our hope, and press on, as Paul says in Philippians 3:14 we I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.