In the first verse of this chapter, the Apostle breaks forth into the admiration of amazing grace: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!” It is wonderful love indeed on the part of the eternal Father, that such wretched sinners as ourselves should be called His own sons and daughters – we who, by nature, are heirs of sin, guilt, and the curse of God; and who, by practice, are children of corruption, disobedience, and ingratitude! Is it not amazing that the holy God is not ashamed to be called our Father, and to call us His children?
Little does the world know of the happiness of the real followers of Christ (verses 1-2). Little does the world think that these poor, humble, despised ones are actually the favorites of God, and that they will one day dwell in heaven. The followers of Christ must realize that they are in a land of strangers, where their Lord was so badly treated before them. The children of God must walk by faith and live by hope – waiting earnestly for the revelation of the Lord Jesus, when they shall be transformed into His likeness!
“Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as [the Lord] is pure” (verse 3). The children of God know that their Lord is of purer eyes than to allow anything unholy and impure to dwell with Him. It is the hope of hypocrites, and not of the sons of God, that makes allowance for the gratification of fleshly desires and lusts. He who abides in Christ will not continue in the practice of willful sin (verses 3-10). Renouncing sin is the great proof of spiritual union with the Lord Jesus. He who is a follower of our Master will show an interest, by faith, in His obedience and sufferings. But a person cannot act like the devil and be a disciple of Christ at the same time. Therefore, let us not serve or indulge what the Son of God came to destroy! To be born of God is to be inwardly renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Renewing grace, at work in the heart, produces a new nature. And the regenerated person cannot sin as he did before he became a child of God. He now has spiritual light in his mind, which shows him the evil and malignity of sin. There is a bias in his heart which predisposes him to loathe and hate sin. There is a spiritual principle at work in his mind that opposes sinful acts. It goes against him to sin with forethought, but there is repentance for sin when it is committed. May all professors of the Gospel lay these truths to heart!
We should love the Lord Jesus, and value His love; and therefore, we should love all our brethren in Christ (verses 11-21). This love is the special fruit of our faith, and it is a certain sign of our being born again. We know that we have passed from death to life; we may know it by the evidences of our faith in Christ – of which, love to our brethren is only one. This love is more than merely a zeal for a common cause, or affection for those who are of the same name and sentiments as ourselves. The life of grace in the heart of a regenerated person is the beginning and first principle of a life of glory, but alas! Those who hate their brothers and sisters in their hearts must be destitute of this grace.
Verse 16 speaks of the condescension, the miracle, and the mystery of Divine love – that is, that the Lord Jesus would redeem the church with His own blood! Surely, then, we should love those whom God has so greatly loved. How else can it be known that a person has a true sense of the love of Christ for perishing sinners, or that the love of God has been planted in his heart by the Holy Spirit, when the love of the world overcomes the feelings of compassion to a perishing brother or sister? (verse 17)
“This is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment” (verse 23). Obedient souls are prepared for blessings, and they have promise of an audience before God; but those who willfully commit things that are displeasing to the Lord cannot expect that He will hear and answer their prayers (verse 22; Ps. 66:18; Prov. 28:9). When believers have confidence toward God, through the Spirit of adoption and by faith in the great High Priest, they may freely ask anything from their reconciled Father.
Lord, we now join in the words of the Apostle, and break forth into the admiration of amazing grace: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!” We ask You, Lord Jesus, to become the fountain of purity within the heart of each one of us. We pray that You may become our constant study, so that the quality of Your pure and spotless character may become ours as well. Amen.
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