George Müller preached this sermon at Bethesda Chapel, Great George Street, Bristol, England, on Sunday evening, April 11, 1897.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:1-3, NIV)
Because we constantly need reminders of the truth contained in these verses, God specifically directs our attention to this little portion by prefixing the word “behold”! It’s as if He were to say, “My dear children, the entirety of My will, the whole of the Holy Scriptures, which I put into your hands, should be seriously considered, to be reflected on, to be read again and again; but there are specific portions you need to read and meditate on when you are discouraged and facing suffering. Let me lead you to these in those moments of weakness!”
Let’s together think of these truths contained in 1 John 3:1-3, particularly this little word “see”! It’s as if our Father is saying, “Look at it carefully, reflect on it, pray over it again and again, and take it to heart even more seriously than you have up to now.” This is the first and central truth we’re meant to focus on: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.”
If God had forgiven us so that we would not deserve the punishment our numberless sins deserve and did nothing more, this would still be a wonderful grace. But He did far, far, FAR more than this! And therefore it’s stated, “See what great love” or “What manner of love.” The greatness of this forgiveness of our many, many sins, down to the minutest detail of our guilt—and not just actions, but also in our words and thoughts—is that He also makes us His children, adopting us into His heavenly family! By nature we were rebels against Him, despising His love, giving no thought or care about Him in the least, and daily showing our hatred and disobedience to Him by going our own ways and doing things that despised Him—every single one of the tens of thousands of our sins, whether action, thought, or word, feeling, desire, or inclination, is forgiven! We won’t be punished for our guilt. And not only that, but we are children of God, adopted into His family not merely in name, but in reality!
By the power of the Holy Spirit and through belief in the gospel, our Father transforms us, making us new creations in Christ, making us His very own children. It’s not just a statement—He also makes us His very own children, giving us a spiritual life, a heavenly life, thus making us His very own children. We should marvel at this wondrous grace. That is what God calls us to meditate on, not to pass by lightly, not to think little about, but to think very, very, very much of it, never letting it pass out of our mind till we at last get home to glory!
This great love is the kind of love “the Father has lavished on us.” O Lord, help us dwell on this truth a thousand times more than we do already! O Lord, by Your Holy Spirit’s power, help us treasure it in our hearts! And O, help us, through reflection and prayer, take it to heart more deeply than ever before, so that our hearts are filled with love for You and gratitude in a way we’ve not yet known. We ask this for Jesus Christ’s sake! “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.” This is something we must keep in mind! Where it says “lavished on us,” you can say, “lavished on me.” By the grace of God, I can attest to this! And by the grace of God, many here tonight also can! But can all those present tonight?
It’s my desire and prayer to God for everyone here to say, “He has lavished His great love on me!” How happy this knowledge would make us, how heavenly-minded it would make us, how dead to the world it would make us! And to a little degree, it would make us more Christlike than we have yet been! “Lavished on us.” That sinners, such as we are, rebellious sinners, as we are by nature, should be called the sons of God—more literally and correctly the children of God, for it is a blessing bestowed not merely on male believers, but on female believers, upon all who love the Lord Jesus and trust in Him for salvation! Therefore, we should be called the children of God. O precious and unspeakably amazing this is, that we belong to the heavenly Family!
Every one of us is, by nature, just as the Jews were, to whom the Lord Jesus said on one occasion, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires” (John 8:44, NIV). Now, this was not merely true about the Israelites, to whom the Lord was speaking, but it is true regarding those who are not believers in the Lord Jesus. Though we may call ourselves God’s children and call Him our Father, it’s not true if we aren’t trusting in Jesus for our salvation. However, the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter how long and engrossed in sin we were, no matter how varied our sins or how great they may have been, all is forgiven. We receive the gospel, we are born again, and we are adopted as God’s children and belong to the heavenly family!
Through the apostle John, the Holy Spirit adds, “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” The children are not known because the Father is not known. As long as people are not believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, they do not know the children of God as children of God! They may know their name, occupation, where they live, how they dress, and other external and superficial details like that. But when it comes to knowing the children of God, those who are not converted do not recognize believers in Jesus for who they truly are. The reason is given here: “Because they do not know the Father.” They do not know God Almighty or the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, they cannot truly recognize the children of God as His children. The life of God within us cannot be understood by the ungodly.
“Dear friends, now we are children of God.” The word “now” needs special consideration—it should be grasped and deeply reflected on! It means while yet in the body—still weak, still facing many shortcomings, still often ignorant and helpless as every true believer in Christ is to some degree—we are nevertheless children of God!
We may not be like John, who wrote this letter, or like Paul or Peter, but despite our shortcomings, weaknesses, failures, and imperfections, the moment we put our trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, we are called children of God! What a precious truth this is! And we must hold firmly to this word “now” by faith, taking it to heart again and again. Don’t let it go or assume we become God’s children only when we die or Christ returns. No, we are children of God now. And this implies that we have a Father in heaven, and this Father in heaven is none other than God Almighty—the God who can do everything, to whom nothing is impossible! Do you see how amazing this is? Our Father can do everything! Therefore, He is infinitely wise; He is infinitely rich; He is infinitely mighty; and His heart is full of infinite love for the weakest and most vulnerable of the children of God.
Suppose my body is in pain; let me go to my heavenly Father, in childlike simplicity, and ask Him—if it would be for His glory and my good, profit, and blessing—if He would graciously be pleased to either remove the pain or else to relieve the pain, or, if it must last, that He would sustain me so that I wouldn’t be overcome by it—and especially that He would help me not fret, complain or grumble, and help me instead to receive it from His loving hand as a blessing given to me, which in the end will ultimately be for my good. Or if we are in a family trial, we should say to ourselves, “This family trial is not only a heavy burden for me to bear, but it will prove too much if I have to bear it myself; I put this trial into the hands of my heavenly Father, asking Him to be graciously pleased to remove the trial if it be for His honor and glory and my good.” He can do it, for He can do everything, and He has proved the depth of His love in not sparing His only begotten Son but delivering Him up for us all. Then people in the marketplace find difficulties connected with their occupation, their business, or their career. The concluding point is that we shouldn’t carry the burden ourselves but cast it upon the Lord. He is willing to sustain and help us. And when we do it, we pass peacefully and quietly through life; we won’t be tempted to fret, complain, grumble, or be dissatisfied with what comes from the Lord’s hand—but we must and should cast our burdens on Him and not attempt to carry them ourselves!
This is one of the many reasons why it is stated here by the Holy Spirit that we are now children of God—in this finite body, we are surrounded by trials and difficulties, and there’s no way through life without conflict. This precious little word “now” contains a vast deal of deeply instructive and encouraging truth. We have spiritual conflicts; our natural evil tendencies are still in us, though we are new creations. The old nature is not removed—it remains in us, just as it was before we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, it is true we are new creations, that we are born again. It is true we have a spiritual life. But it is also true that the carnal nature is not dead; the carnal nature still is in us and can only be overcome and mastered through prayer, through meditating and reflecting on the Word of God, and ever growing in our faith.
So, when trials come against the old, evil, corrupt nature in us, we should simply take the matter before God, saying, “My heavenly Father, I have no strength to fight, but there is almighty power with You, and Your heart is full of love for me. You have proved Your great love to me by bringing me to Jesus and by giving Him for me, a poor, miserable, guilty sinner. Now help me in this spiritual conflict. Let me not be overcome by the devil because I am spiritually weak! Oh, help me! Help me! Help me!” And what shall we find? The Lord is willing to help us!
I assure you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, how He has helped me over seventy-one years, times without number, and especially at the beginning of my journey. Because of the evil habits I had formed as an unconverted twenty-year-old young man and the ungodly way in which I had been living, I found it extremely difficult to overcome them, even though I was a child of God and hated sin and loved holiness. It seemed, at first, like nothing would ever change, like my prayers wouldn’t be answered. But by the grace of God, I learned to give Him my burdens by coming to Him again and again. As time went by, I learned to overcome those evil habits. Little by little. It took time. But God helped me. I share this especially to comfort and encourage young believers who are newly converted: do not despair, but expect help from God, for He is both able and willing! As long as we go to our Lord with our weakness and helplessness, we shall never be overpowered. Never! And just because we are called children of God, we can be certain that glory will one day be our inheritance.
Remember, we don’t become children of God when this life is over; no, while we are yet in the body, while we are yet here on earth, while we are yet in great weakness and helplessness and great ignorance concerning many things, and while the devil has power over us, while he is not yet cast into the bottomless pit—even now we are the children of God and shall have help from God just as we need. Oh, how comforting this reality is! Therefore, let us continually reflect on it and not lose sight of it.
“Dear friends”—in weakness—“now”—while the devil has yet so much power; “now,” while in such great ignorance—“we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.” Though we are now children of God and, as such, have many privileges and may go continually to God for counsel, for advice, for help, for strength, for deliverance out of difficulties, and for being supplied physically and spiritually according to our need, yet with all this, great as the privileges are that we already enjoy, they are but little in comparison with what we shall have in eternity. Therefore, as we have considered the word “now,” we should never lose sight of what comes next:
…And what we will be has not yet been made known.
What will we become? What is it that I, the poor, worthless man that I am, will become? What is it that I, an ignorant man, shall know? What is it that in me, a weak one, an erring one, a needy one, shall become? Oh, listen to this important truth! “What we will be has not yet been made known.” Oh, what will it be like in our bodies? What will it be like in our souls? What will it be like in our understanding? What will it be like in our spirits? What will it be like in our service to the Lord? Oh, what will it be like in everything? This eternal blessing shall be granted to us forever!
What we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
When Jesus appears, we shall be like Him—like Him in His glorified body, which He has had since His resurrection. If any have chronic pain or find their weaknesses and poor health remind them they are not yet home, not yet in that glorified body, what a precious time to remember that there is a day coming when all of this will be over: no pain, suffering, weakness, helplessness… for we shall have glorified bodies like our Lord! What a gloriously amazing hope this is! And these new bodies won’t know anything of weariness. Although we may be able to work eight, ten, twelve, occasionally fourteen, or even sixteen hours a day with joy and satisfaction, we will eventually feel weak because we are still in the body of humiliation rather than the glorified body.
But in eternity, there will be unending kingdom work—day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. A hundred years, a thousand years, a million years, and on into eternity: work, work, work! Unceasing service to the glory of God in our glorified bodies! Oh, what bright, blessed, glorious prospects these are when we truly take them to heart. How joyful it is to think of serving God forever—without even the slightest trace of weakness, weariness, or pain!
But that’s only one part of it. The other part is this: We shall be perfectly holy just as the Lord Jesus Christ was while He was on earth! Not even a hint of anything wrong was found in all He did; nothing He said was ever contrary to the will of God—nothing! All His thoughts, desires and wishes were in line with the will of God! Everything He said and did was in perfect agreement with God while that blessed Savior was on earth. And one day it will be the same for us. We who are needy and sinful will not always remain so—we will be made holy, spotless, pure, and beautiful. Yes, beautiful! Wonderfully beautiful—because the beauty of Christ Himself will be placed upon us. How precious these words are! And oh, if we kept them more often in mind and truly embraced them, our hearts would be filled with peace and joy all day long, every single day.
Now, it is on account of this hope that the statement is made, “What we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Notice the reason why! “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is!” More correctly, “For we shall see Him even as He is.”
We will perfectly know the Lord Jesus Christ in all His works and attributes, not merely know Him as our Judge. In that way, the ungodly will have to become acquainted with Him. Every human being, if they are not believers in Christ, will know Him as their Judge. But we shall know Him as our Savior, as our Brother, as our Friend, as our Husband, as our Bridegroom. In every role He fulfills on behalf of the Church, we will know that aspect of Him. And even now, as we grow in knowing the Lord, we are being shaped to be more and more like Him, even while still in these bodies. The more we know Christ, the more we become like Him; and in glory we will know Him perfectly—the Blessed One—and we will be perfectly like Him!
What a bright and blessed hope this is! For not only will our service throughout eternity be free from weakness, weariness, pain, and suffering, but it will be completely according to God’s will and design, in the very same spirit in which Christ Himself worked while on earth. What precious, glorious prospects are ours! The tragedy is that the world remains blind to these things—completely unaware of the riches and blessings that belong to the believer in Christ. For if people truly understood the privilege and joy of being a child of God, everyone would long to know Him, everyone would desire Him, everyone would believe in Him.
Let’s look at the last portion of the scripture. “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” The meaning isn’t having hope in oneself. No, it’s having hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in Him, we will be perfectly like Christ in heaven.
All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Truth has a way of increasing holiness; therefore, we repeat the statement once again. Those who have this hope in the Lord Jesus will be made like Him in body and soul; everyone who has this hope in Him will be purified, growing in holiness. The more we know Christ, the more we see what God has given us in Him. And the more clearly we see and the more deeply and fully we grasp this, the more holiness will grow in us, until nothing less will satisfy us than to keep becoming more and more like Christ.
While we are in these bodies, we never fully reach perfection. Yet this remains our aim: to grow ever more like Christ. We are not content simply to have victory over outward, obvious sins; we long for more—for our hearts and minds to reflect Christ’s gentleness and love. And the more we desire this, the more we will strive for it in every way, seeking to become like Him. And though perfect Christlikeness will not be ours until eternity, there is no telling how much—even in this life—we may grow to resemble Him.
Let this be the greatest takeaway for you this evening: We are already children of God and have obtained wonderful blessings from our heavenly Father. Because of this, we cannot say we can’t become like Christ. Because of the hope set before us, there is no limit to how much we may be made like Christ. But to those of you who are not yet believers in Him—will you go on living as you always have? Will there be no change? If you remain on the broad road, your end will be destruction. But do you not long to spend eternity in joy with the Lord in heaven? Oh, what delight it will be in the end if not one person here is found missing there!
I have a personal interest in your spiritual well-being. Out of love for your soul, I long to meet you in eternity! And oh, what joy it would bring in eternity to discover that not one of us was missing—that this little meeting was not in vain. How precious that would be! But tell me, is there anyone here who still says, “I want the world; I want to chase after its pleasures”? Be certain of this: you will not find true happiness that way. I tried those paths for over twenty years, and all I gained was disappointment and a heavier burden of guilt on my conscience. But when I found Jesus, I found real happiness beyond description. That was at the beginning of November 1825, and I have known it ever since—only with this difference: that joy has continued to grow, more and more, year after year.
And God is willing to give it to you, as He did for me. I suppose there is not a greater sinner here present than I was, yet God gave this wondrous blessing to me; and what He did for me, what He did for the apostle Paul, and what He did for other sinners, He is willing to do for anyone else! So choose Christ, not the world—for the world will never give you anything real. If you continue in it, it will only end in eternal condemnation. May God grant His blessing, for Jesus Christ’s sake.
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George Müller
