1 John 3:1

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. BEHOLD - calling attention to something wonderful, little as the world sees to admire. This verse is connected with 1 John 2:29. All our doing of righteousness is a mere sign that God, of His matchless love, has adopted us as children: it does not save us, but indicates that we are saved of His grace. WHAT MANNER OF - how surpassingly gracious on His part, how precious to us! LOVE ... BESTOWED. He does not say that God hath given us some gift, but love itself, the fountain of all blessings; not for our works, but of His grace (Luther). THAT, [ hina ...

1_Behold _The second argument is from the dignity and excellency of our calling; for it was not common honor, he says, that the heavenly Father bestowed on us, when he adopted us as his children. This being so great a favor, the desire for purity ought to be kindled in us, so as to be conformed to his image; nor, indeed, can it be otherwise, but that he who acknowledges himself to be one of God’s children should purify himself. And to make this exhortation more forcible, he amplifies the favor of God; for when he says, that _love has been bestowed_, he means that it is from mere bounty and benevolence that God makes us his children; for whence comes to us such a dignity, except from the love of God? Love, then, is declared here to be gratuitous. There is, indeed, an impropriety in the language; but the Apostle preferred speaking thus rather than not to express what was necessary to be kn...

1,2 Little does the world know of the happiness of the real followers of Christ. Little does the world think that these poor, humble, despised ones, are favourites of God, and will dwell in heaven. Let the followers of Christ be content with hard fare here, since they are in a land of strangers, where their Lord was so badly treated before them. The sons of God must walk by faith, and live by hope. They may well wait in faith, hope, and earnest desire, for the revelation of the Lord Jesus. The sons of God will be known, and be made manifest by likeness to their Head. They shall be transformed into the same image, by their view of him....

CHAPTER III. _The extraordinary love of God towards mankind, and the effects_ _of it_, 1-3. _Sin is the transgression of the law, and Christ was manifested_ _to take away our sins_, 4-6. _The children of God are known by the holiness of their lives,_ _the children of the devil by the sinfulness of theirs_, 7-10. _We should love one another, for he that hateth his brother is a_ _murderer; as Christ laid down his life for us, so we should lay_ _down our lives for the brethren_, 11-16. Charity is a fruit of brotherly love; our lov

BEHOLD, WHAT MANNER OF LOVE - What love, in “kind” and in “degree.” In kind the most tender and the most ennobling, in adopting us into His family, and in permitting us to address Him as our Father; in “degree” the most exalted, since there is no higher love that can be shown than in adopting a poor and friendless orphan, and giving him a parent and a home. Even God could bestow upon us no more valuable token of affection than that we should be adopted into His family, and permitted to regard Him as our Father. When we remember how insignificant we are as creatures, and how ungrateful, rebellious, and vile we have been as sinners, we may well be amazed at the love which would adopt us into the holy family of God, so that we may be regarded and treated as the children of the Most High. A prince could manifest no higher love for a wandering, ragged, vicious orphan boy, found in the streets...

EXPOSITION 1 JOHN 3:1 TO 1 JOHN 5:12 3. SECOND MAIN DIVISION. _God is Love._ 1 JOHN 3:1 (1) The _evidence of sonship. _Righteousness. 1 JOHN 3:1 The Divine birth is the outcome of the Divine love. 1 JOHN 3:1 BEHOLD WHAT MANNER OF LOVE! Ποταπός;_ _literally, "of what country," in the New Testament always implies amazement; but,

BEHOLD WHAT MANNER OF LOVE,.... See, take notice, consider, look by faith, with wonder and astonishment, and observe how great a favour, what an instance of matchless love, what a wonderful blessing of grace, THE FATHER HATH BESTOWED UPON US: the Father of Christ, and the Father of us in Christ, who hath adopted us into his family, and regenerated us by his grace, and hath freely given us the new name: THAT WE SHOULD BE CALLED THE SONS OF GOD. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version, add, "and we are", or "be"; and the Ethiopic version, "and have been"; for it is not a mere name that is bestowed, but the thing itself in reality; and in the Hebrew language, "to be called", and "to be", are terms synonymous; see Isaiah 9:6; in what sense the saints are the sons of God;...

I have read this chapter many times in your hearing, but we cannot read it too often, for it is full of the deepest and most important instruction. God grant that fresh light from above may shine upon it as we listen once more to the familiar words! 1 John 3:1. _Behold,_ If you never used your eyes to good purpose before, use them so now: 1 John 3:1. _What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:_ Let the truth of our adoption amaze us, the adoption of such unworthy ones as we were to so high a relationship «that we should be called the sons of God.» 1 John 3:1. Therefore the world knoweth not, because it knew him not.

WORLD Greek, "kosmos", means "mankind". (_ See Scofield) - (Matthew 4:8). _...

1 JOHN 3:1 kai. evsme,n {A} Although it can be argued that the words kai. evsme,n are an explanatory gloss introduced by copyists in order to affirm the reality of the state previously described, it is much more likely that they are genuine, being supported by representatives of both the Alexandrian and the Western types of text (î74vid a A B C 33 81 614 1739 ith, 65 vg _al_). The absence of the words in several of the later witnesses (K L most minuscules), followed by the Textus Receptus, is due either to scribal oversight, perhaps occasioned by graphical similarity with the preceding word (kly;wmenkaiecmen), or to deliberate editorial pruning of an awkward parenthetical clause....