Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (2) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.

1 John is a pastoral letter and the overall theme is the fundamentals of faith. It deals with certainties, not opinions or conjectures as he expresses the absolute character of Christianity. God’s love is not earned or deserved but purely a gift. God is under no obligation to save us. The fact that God’s great love is a gift means we can’t do anything to deserve His love. In faith He imparts new life to us and we are raised from spiritual death (because of the fall) to spiritual life. This means becoming a Christian is not a matter of human will power but rather God’s power. We are saved by faith alone. Because we have been born of God the world does not understand – does not know us because it did not know Christ. Christians do not have to give up the world for Jesus’ sake but the things of the world will grow strangely dim

Divine life cannot be divorced from moral excellence which is a direct reference to the second coming of Christ and the future of our Christian life. Our verses today are a summary of chronological stages of such a life. Believers were given eternal life in faith (reborn). We shall no longer see through a glass darkly. The Bible tells us little positive about heaven but does tell us a few negative things about what heaven is NOT. No more tears, no more sorrow, no night, no death, no separation, no sickness, no pain. The positive truth of heaven is that is where Christ is complete; total and final fellowship, occupation and communion with Christ.

The apostle writes of the greatness of God’s children and their future glory. We do not fully understand what lies ahead. A constantly sanctifying influence goes on in the life of every child of God until finally the conformation being complete we see Him as He is. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. C.s.Lewis described his experience of rebirth in ‘Surprised by Joy’: I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was taken. I was driven into Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did. And yet I had not exactly spent the journey in thought. Nor in great emotion, “Emotional” is perhaps the last word we can apply to some of the most important events. It was more like when a man, after long sleep, still lying motionless in bed, becomes aware that he is now awake. And it was, like that moment on top of the bus.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begat also loves Him and who is begotten of Him. (2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. (3) For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (4) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. (5) Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

First John was written by John the apostle, brother of James who were known as the sons of Zebedee. John lived a long life and when he wrote this letter was the sole remaining apostolic survivor who had intimate eyewitness association with Jesus throughout His ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. . He wrote 3 epistles and the fourth gospel and the book of Revelation – his testimony was highly authoritative among the churches. John writes of new life, its source annd issue. As a result of the sin of the first Adam, man is spiritually dead and unable to turn to God. So, the work of salvation must begin with God – a divine operation that will enable him/her to believe. This is regeneration – communication of divine life. The salvation of God begins with God.

If we love God, we love the children of God also. Our mothers, fathers and siblings are those who have faith in that Jesus is the Christ and all who trust in Him enter into this relationship. There is no use talking about loving the Father if we do not love the father’s children. In our verses today, the apostle John subscribed to moral tests for true spiritual life. All true spiritual experiences is evident to men or at the very least to God alone. But rebirth is always evidenced, with the stress on holiness of life, humility, obedience to the principles of the word of God. Testing our claim to spiritual life is simple and direct ; we must know the Lord God and keep His commandments. There were those unfortunates who thought they could know God by intellectual argument but God is known by divine revelation. And faith. And grace. Jesus warned that there will be many who call Him Lord but don’t have saving faith – at judgment He will say, “ I never knew you, depart from me , you who practice lawlessness “.
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When truth, love, righteousness show up in a Christian it authenticates this person as a true Christian. Our verses today are a clear statement in Scripture of what a person has to do to be saved. They have to believe that Jesus is the Christ (the anointed One) whom God promised to provide as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world. Faith, not good works define the Christian. Genuine love for God will result in obedience to His commandments. With rebirth comes power and grace from God and no one can overcome the world unless he/she believes Jesus is the Son of God. Let’s go to c.s.lewis and Mere Christianity to close: “ And now we begin to see what it is that the New Testament is always talking about. It talks about Christians “being born again”, it talks about them “putting on Christ”, about Christ “being formed in us”, about our coming to “have the mind of Christ”……… They mean that a real person, Christ, here and now, in that very room where you are saying your prayers is doing things to you. It is not a question of a good man who died two thousand years ago. It is a living Man, still as much a man as you are, and still as much God as He was when He created the world, really coming and interfering with your very self, killing the old natural self in you and replacing it with the kind of self He has. At first only for moments . Then for longer periods. Finally, if all goes well, turning you permanently into a different sort of thing, into a new little Christ, a being which, in its own small way, has the same kind of life as God; which shares in His power, joy, knowledge and eternity. “

Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. (33) And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. (34) Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, (35) and laid them at the apostles’ feet, and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, physician, historian and sometime travel companion to Paul. In our verses today we are given a glimpse of the early church and how it operated in that ancient world – and how it stood out from its culture. The apostles stood in the middle of community life with the collections and disbursements OF possessions and goods – donated voluntarily by the faithful to care for the physical needs of their “brothers and sisters”. Early believers shared a common passage and mentality. There was a diversity of people but unity of spirit and self interest was put aside. This was Christian stewardship where everything the faithful had belonged to the Lord – there was no demand or expectation of receiving anything in return.

The hearts and souls of the ancient believer were as one as they pursued lives of equality and brothership. Property rights were not abolished but the action of owners made themselves subservient to the law of love. They thought of themselves not as possessors but as stewards. Jesus had left this world with two great commandments: Love God and love one another selflessly and fulfill the Great Commission which is to proclaim the gospel to the lost. The Bible clearly affirms the absolute sovereignty of God – the point of our verses is that believers were not focussed on themselves but rather on what God wanted them to do to extend His kingdom through their witness.

I’m going to end with c.s. Lewis from ‘Mere Christianity: “What we have been told is how we men can be drawn into Christ – can become part of that wonderful present which the young Prince of the universe wants to offer His Father – that present which is Himself and therefore us in Him. It is the only thing we were made for. And there are strange exciting hints in the Bible that when men are drawn in a great many other things in Nature will begin to come right. The bad dream will be over: it will be morning.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. (2) Set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth. (3) For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (4) When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

The letter to the Colossians was written by the apostle Paul when he was a prisoner in Rome for preaching the gospel. What are verses are saying is we do not stand before God on the ground of responsibility; responsible man failed – there is nothing for him/her but condemnation. But Christ Jesus has borne that condemnation: Christ voluntarily took the place of the sinner and bore his judgment on the cross. In Adam we are separated from God in sin. In Christ we have received, in faith in Christ, new life. The resurrection of Christ has freed the believer from all necessity to be subject to sin in the flesh. We are called upon to seek those things which are above – our real life is there. The kingdom of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and His Christ and His one time pilgrim people shall reign with Him in heaven.

The believer is risen with Christ – such is his/her position. The believer’s life on earth is led by the indwelling Spirit to seek the things that are above and their minds will not act on things which are on earth. The more we do this the more things above will be attractive and things on earth will lose their charm; things like legalism, ritualistic ceremony, ordinances of man as well as earthly ambitions, honors, pleasures and achievements. This is the way of sanctification.

The world cannot understand and cannot see the hidden life of Christ in the believer. They could not see it in Jesus Himself nor could they understand Him when He came into the world and rejected Him and crucified Him. There is to be a glory, an honor, a splendor, a revelation of God in Christ that final day when the Lord Himself shall appear in all the light and glory of heaven. If He is glorified, we shall be glorified. If He is raised we are raised. If He never dies we shall never die. If He is in heaven, the believer shall be in heaven.