1 John 3:2

1 John 3:2. Beloved, now are we children of God. This new address is appropriate to the sharers in common of the love of God, The affirmation that follows, repeating the solemn ‘children of God,' is most emphatic: ‘we possess this sacred privilege, though the world acknowledge us not; nor look we for anything higher; there can be no greater title in earth or heaven.' But it must be remembered that the apostle has just spoken of the coming of our Lord, and of our abiding spiritually in Him till then, lest we be ashamed to see His countenance. As He had this in His mind in writing, we must not forget it in our' exposition of what follows.

And it hath not yet been manifested what we shall be: we know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him, since we shall see him even as he is. There is no contrast between the now and the then: the thought naturally passes onward ‘to see the end.' Yet there is no aid from experience: ‘it hath not been manifested;' that is, what kind of inheritance awaits us has never yet been seen, nor will it be seen until He appear. ‘But' though there is no ‘but' in the terse sentence ‘we know by certain inference what we know not by actual fact, that , when He appears, our highest hope will be satisfied in our perfect conformity, in body and soul and spirit, to His image. This we know; for we have the promise of His prayer that we shall be with Him where He is and behold His glory. Since we shall see Him as He is, which is our utmost happiness, we must needs be perfectly like Him, which is our utmost blessedness.' Although, as has been said, St. John does not carefully distinguish between the Father and the Son who reveals Him, we must suppose the vision of Jesus to be here meant. God ‘dwelleth in light unapproachable;' Him ‘no man hath seen, nor can see.' Hence the beatific vision of God ‘face to face' refers to ‘the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' Of the eternal City it is said: ‘The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the Lamp thereof.' Note that the emphasis does not rest upon the ‘seeing,' but upon the ‘being like.' Further, that the final glorification into the image of Christ is never said to be the result of seeing it; but, conversely, likeness to Him, the prerogative of the resurrection, is the preparation for seeing. The transformation which follows from ‘reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord' has to do with the sanctification of this life; and will be found in the next verse. Lastly, the likeness here spoken of is left indefinite: it is not equality, it is not identification, it is not absorption. It is not the same word which is used concerning the ‘sons of the resurrection ‘who shall be ‘equal to the angels;' it is not the same word which is used concerning Christ's equality with the Father; but it is the same that is used of His taking the ‘likeness of man.' And this most profoundly touches its meaning here. He as a servant was ‘like as we ARE,' but He is now glorified. We shall be hereafter ‘like Him as he is.' Meditation and faith and hope must fill up the thought.