How can the beloved children of God know each other and live together
As we already indicated, the last verse of chapter 2 is joined to these first 3 verses of chapter 3. In the first letter of John 2:29 we read: 29If you know that he is just, know also that everyone who does justice is born of he. It is one thing to testify that we know Christ and are united with Him, and another to have a life that reveals that He is our righteousness. In other words, it is wonderful to know our position that we are in Christ and that we are accepted in the Beloved. But it is something else entirely to have a life here on earth that corresponds to that truth. What the apostle was saying is that the way we recognize other believers is through their lives, and not through their lips. Justice is a family characteristic of the Father and of his children. The children of God are similar to their Father and have their characteristics. But, let's notice what the writer said here in verse 1 of chapter 3, which heads a paragraph we've titled
The Father's love for his children
"See what love the Father has given us, so that we may be called children of God; for this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him."
Here we have an outstanding affirmation of the apostle John. Let's listen to this verse, translated by another version. "Look what great love the Father has given us, that we are called children of God! And we are! The world does not know us, precisely because it did not know Him."
What he was saying is that we do not expect to become children of God, but we are children of God, we already are. The believer can emphatically say, "I am a child of God through faith in Christ Jesus." That is, we do not have a hope of being one, we do not hope that we can become one, but the exciting fact is that every believer can constantly rejoice and thank him for being a child of God. We boast, not about ourselves, but about the reality of having an extraordinary pastor. John made it clear that if you are a child of God, that is, that you have been spiritually reborn, you are going to expose a life that submits and adapts to your heavenly Father.
Verse 1 begins with this reflection: See what love the Father has given us so that we may be called children of God. The kind of love that the apostle was talking about was a strange kind of love, an unusual love, a kind of love that we are not used to. God loves us. What great love the Father has given us! God's love, that is, His love for us, has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And John would continue explaining to us that God had demonstrated His love by giving His Son to die for us. How many of us would have someone who was willing to die for us? How many people would you be willing to die for? As for God, He loves you, and has shown His love, He gave His Son to die for you.
God's love is the greatest motivating force in the world. Love constitutes the greatest energy and drive in the human family. A man falls in love with a woman, or a woman with a man, and as a result, they are willing to make the greatest sacrifices for each other. When human love is genuine, it is a wonderful, noble, pure experience, as well as a dynamic impulse. But God's love for His children surpasses any experience that a human being can experience.
The true child of God is going to have to prove his spiritual birth by being obedient to the Word of God. God's great love for us should motivate us. And it is that same love that causes in us the desire to live for God. That is why we are surprised by such an unusual love that has been granted to us, that allows us to be called children of God.