THE MERIT OF CHRIST.
1 JOHN 3:1“See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
Apart from going to the righteous God with the merit of Christ, what else do we have? Will God accept us with our religion and its work or our righteousness and morals? Will these things stand his searching eyes and fire of his justice? Outside Christ and his love, the only thing that we have to go with to God is our sins. What we may hold as our own righteousness is like a filthy rag outside the blood of Christ.
In the settlement of the great question between a righteous God and a wretched sinner, there is no bargaining. The basis for settlement is the mighty transaction Christ did for us on the cross. It was not a quiet and unannounced deal, when it ended; the author of that transaction announced- IT IS FINISHED!
The completed transaction supersedes all our efforts to justify ourselves. We behold Christ suffering at the cross and God used his suffering in reconciling the world to himself and not imputing to men our sins.
Behold what manner of Love the Father has given to us that sons of Adam could be sons of God? Any preaching that set any reason for our adoption apart from what Christ has done is false. Any preaching that emphasized the action of man in all these is false. In all these, we are required to respond in love to all the love he has lavished unto us in the life of trust and obedience.
Is your obedience because of what you will get from him or what you have gotten from him? Is it for salvation or prosperity? Is it for both salvation and prosperity? The devil can give prosperity, and so you don’t need to come to God for that if that is all you need from him. Is your obedience drawn from the fear of hell or from the heart of gratitude? Do we base our affection on the mundane benefits or it is about the eternal fellowship with him?
What manner of love is this? This kind of love is worth more than anything this world has to offer. It is worth leaving everything in this world to get. It is worth giving our life for. It is worth dying for and also worth living for. How will we escape God’s judgment if we neglect such great LOVE?
2. SURPRISED BY HIS LOVE.
1 JOHN 3:1-3 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
Let us never forget the source of this great love. It speaks of our relationship to him. His very name speaks of love, of tenderness, of understanding, of strength, of comfort, and of satisfaction. It is easy to trust our Father-our heavenly father. Therefore, “cast all your cares on him for he cares for you.”
Let us remember the obligation such great love places on us to be ever grateful, to walk as sons of God, to be content with our lot while we are in this world, and out of love to Him, to hallow His name, love his kingdom, and do his will.
This manner of love is also extended to commonplace. Another way in which we find ourselves ‘surprised by HIS LOVE’ is when he reveals himself to us at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected places. The experience of Jacob in Genesis 28 is worthy of consideration. Clearly, when Jacob lay down to sleep he had no expectation of meeting God. The stirrings of his conscience, which he had tried to suppress after the birth right crises with Esau, almost had the effect of pushing God out of his thoughts. And besides, who would expect to meet God out there on the barren hillside with a stone as a pillow? Yet that was where God came to Jacob. Just there where all the features of a holy place were wanting and where we might least expect him to speak.
God’s favored way of meeting his children is, of course, around His word, the Bible, but this does not mean He will meet us only there. He does not wait for what we might call the grand moments of life. Sometimes he surprises us by making the commonplace grand. Behold what manner of Love that to him worships centers, offices, markets, farms, homes, name them are just the same.
Behold what manner of Love that we should be called the Sons of God. Great father of Glory, how rich is thy grace. The world knows us not, but in this fact we rejoice- we are not strangers to you but object of your love and choice. His love from eternity gave us a home, where now we are hoping to go at the close of time.
What manner of love is this? This kind of love is worth more than anything this world has to offer. It is worth leaving everything in this world to get. It is worth giving our life for. It is worth dying for and also worth living for. How will we escape God’s judgment if we neglect such great LOVE?
3. THE FATHER KNOWS HIS CHILDREN.
1 JOHN 3:1-3 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
The Father knows his children and they know him and we are not in this world to be pampered and promoted by it, but rather to show forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light. May we act like the sons that we really are- Behold what manner of Love?
That was the point we rested our discussion- the effect of the love. Let us go a little further to consider the following wonderful issues. If we come to appreciate the Father’s great love as we properly should, we must acknowledge two things- first, we shall be like him, second, we shall see him as He is.
What a wonderful love for God to repay us with this great love despite all our unfaithfulness. Behold what manner of love that we shall not only be like him, but we shall know him as he is.
We shall be like him- this is salvation at its peak, the final package of the works of Christ. We are not much like him even though we are presently sons of God. Though we are saved, we are yet far from what we shall be. It is a fact that we are now in the state of grace and making progress day by day by the grace of God. We are however far from perfection, but we shall be brought into a state of glory like him. That is more than being saved from hell. To be like him, to be conformed to the image of his son, that Christ will be our elder brother. What a manner of Love?
We shall see him as he is- this is when we shall finally and fully realize that, for which we have been redeemed. When out of the abundant love of our great God we are permitted to see our glorified Christ, then we will see who he is not again by faith, but just face to face, perfectly pure, with no inclination and desire to sin and made glorious within and without.
Philippians 3:20-21 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
What manner of love is this? This kind of love is worth more than anything this world has to offer. It is worth leaving everything in this world to get. It is worth giving our life for. It is worth dying for and also worth living for. How will we escape God’s judgment if we neglect such great LOVE?
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