1 John 3:1-2: Who You Are and Who You Aren't

1 John 3:1b-2.. "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."

Here's the question this morning: who are you? Seriously, ask yourself this morning: who am I? What makes me who I am? What defines me? In Christian circles, we often talk about what it means to have our identity found in Christ, but what does that actaully mean. Who are we? Who are we not?

In past history, people were identified by the occupation of their father. If you father was a carpenter and your name was John, you would identify as "John the son of Carpenter James." In today's world, we identify ourselves by the name our parents gave us as well as (traditionally) the last name of our father. Whether you were living in past history or modern times, you were defined by your father. Interestingly enough, the Bible carries the same message, only with a different father.

1 John 3:2 tells us that all who are truly Christians are God's children. This is who we are: a child of God our Father. We have been adopted by him and placed into his family by the work of Christ. We are no longer ultimately defined by our earthly father, but by our heavenly one. He calls us righteous because of the righteousness of Christ. He calls us his child whom he loves. This is who we are.

But to take it a step further this morning, let's discuss who we are not. If we are a child of God, we are therefore not a child of the world, which 1 John 3:1b tells us. The reason why the world "does not know us" is because we are not of the world. We may be in the world, but we are not of the world. The "world" here, specifically in 1 John, represents sin. We are not of the world, and therefore we are not of sin. We are a child of God; we are not a child of the world of sin.

But John also notes one more thing as far as who we are not. He tells us that "what we will be has not yet appeared." In other words, who we are right now is not what we will be in the future. Why? Because God is coming back to save his people from the presence of sin and make us holy. Why does John say this here? So that we might not be discouraged in thinking that where we are now is where we will be forever. We are children of God, which means that he is our full identity even while we're in a world of sin. However, God is coming to save us from this sin and make us who he has promised to make us: a people fully free from sin, who will dwell with him in perfect holiness for all of eternity.

So, who are you? We looked today at how all who are truly Christians are a child of God. This means that we are not of this world, and furthermore that God is coming to fully purify us someday and bring us into his presence. I encourage you to find hope in that this morning, and dwell in your identity. Go and do likewise.