All Saints Day

The children of God resemble their Father

Commentary on 1 John 3:1-3

Ruth Anne Reese

On All Saints Day we remember those who have passed away in the faith. Some churches will read aloud the names of people who have passed either this year or in the memory of their congregation. Others may pause for a time of silent remembrance. Our remembering is not just calling to mind or holding those we loved in our hearts, it is an act of hope, for we remember as Christians who believe in the resurrection of the dead. John assumes his readers know and are familiar with Jesus’s resurrection and the resurrection of believers. This assumption provides the framework for his word of encouragement.

What does it mean to be called children of God in 1 John? First John is rich with familial language. The author identifies God as Father and Jesus as God’s Son and indicates that believers have fellowship with both the Father and the Son (1:3). He describes believers as being brothers and sisters (2:9–11) and envisions a family life in which believers confess their sins and receive forgiveness (1:9), obey the commandments of Jesus (2:3), love their fellow believers (2:10), and reject the ways of the world (2:15). And then in 1 John 3:1 he writes, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called the children of God; and that is what we are.”

The word “see” is an imperative: “Look!” or “Behold!” What are they to look at? The Father. What kind of Father is he? The kind who has already given (perfect tense) great love. This love includes the gift of his Son, the forgiveness of sins, and the promise of eternal life. The result of looking at and receiving the great love of the Father is being called “children of God.” But this isn’t just what they are called; rather, it is who they are. Their true identity is offspring of the Father, those who belong to him.

In the Greco-Roman world, parentage mattered. Children gained honor and status in relationship to their fathers. Those who came from high-status families like those of Caesar, the senatorial or equestrian classes, had higher status than those who came from lowly fathers like freedmen or slaves. To be children of God is to hold a high position that they did not earn or deserve but that simply comes to be out of the gift of God’s love.

The Greco-Roman world also placed expectations on their children. The father was the head of the family, and children, especially sons, were expected to demonstrate loyalty and obedience to their fathers and to uphold the values of the family. So, too, the children of God resemble their Father. They share in his holiness and righteousness (2:29) and show their faithfulness to the Father through their obedience to his commands.

However, unlike the Greco-Roman world, where high-status children were known and privileged because of the status of their fathers, 1 John indicates that “the world” (those who are not believers in Jesus) does not recognize the children of God. The reason they don’t recognize them is because they do not know God. Their failure to recognize the children stems from their failure to recognize the Father. Despite the failure of unbelievers to recognize them as children of God, that is indeed what those who have fellowship with God are right now—children of God.

John moves from pondering their current identity as God’s children to considering what they will be in the future when Jesus Christ is fully revealed in the second coming. He indicates that he doesn’t know exactly what Christians will experience in that new reality. On All Saints Day when we remember those who have gone before us in the faith, it is tempting to imagine what their life with God looks like right now, but we don’t and can’t fully know. What we do know is that there will come a day when Christ is fully revealed. And when that happens, the children of the Father will look like the true Son.

John Stott, in the Tyndale Commentary, puts it this way: “It is enough for us to know that on the last day and through eternity we shall be both with Christ and like Christ; for the fuller revelation of what we are going to be we are content to wait.”¹ This anticipation of what will be in all its glory and fullness gives the children of God hope as they await the coming of Jesus.

Those who hope, who anticipate eternal life with the Father through Christ, purify themselves. This is one of the ways the children of God resemble their Father: They share in God’s purity. First John has already made clear that they do this by confessing their sins, receiving forgiveness, and refraining from lying and from hateful behavior toward others. They also care for those who are needy and love those around them. In this way Christians reflect the light, love, truth, and purity of God.

On All Saints Day, we remember that we are children of God and that, as God’s children, we have an invitation to be like our Father and to become like his Son. We don’t know with certainty what eternal life looks like for our brothers and sisters who have already entered the presence of God. But we do know that we are God’s children and that there will come a day when we are made even more like him. Until that day, we can live with hope for those who are already with God and for ourselves. And as we await that day, we are challenged to live in ways that reflect the purity of God.