Expectations and the children of God is a Bible study that teaches us who the children of God are and what are we supposed to expect from our Heavenly Father.   There is often a misunderstanding of the promises by God, which is either under stated or overstated by preachers.  Let’s look some examples to obtain a better understanding.

First, let’s look at 1 John 3:1-5:  1 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. 2 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,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

In these verses, John provides us with the Lord’s position on sin and sinning in general for the believer.  This message is directed to the Church, not the unbeliever, therefore, we must first understand the audience John is speaking to, then understand the logic and order of the statements made.  What is the significance of John’s message to the believer. It’s also important to note that Expectations and The Children Of God is based on the understanding that those who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior are adopted into God’s family and are co-heirs with Christ.  Here is a detailed breakdown:

• Verse one is a reminder to us about who we are and what the Lord has done for us.

• We have been redeemed by the Lord and restored as His children.

• We have been accepted in the family of God, as such, we must be fully aware of this status.

• Being called a child of God is not a frivolous statement; it implies that we as His creation have been elevated above all creation – higher than the angels. As a child we have access to our Father and we have the ability to connect with Him.  We are not a distant being, instead we are a part of His Kingdom.

• As such, we are held to a higher standard and are expected to behave in such a way that is fitting for a child of the Living God. This verse reminds us of the expectation that our Father has for us.  It lays the groundwork for the point to be made.

We must be engaged in the affairs of our Father which is proclaiming the Gospel, being merciful, loving, following and being in the will of our Father. Living in obedience to Him.  Next, we must detest what our Father in Heaven detests which is sin.

John 10:2-4

We hear and understand the Lord, however, those that are not a part of the family (who are not family members) do not hear the Lord. We are reminded of this point in John 10:2-4 when Christ said:

2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Verse 2

This verse reaffirms the first verse and reminds and reaffirms Christ’s second coming.  It also reaffirms the transformation that is going to place with our bodies during the second coming.  In this verse, John is speaking about the Glorified body.  In Philippians 3:21 we see the same message regarding the glorified body.

Philippians 3:21

21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Verse 3

In this verse, we see a call to action.  John is telling us that we must purify ourselves and strive to holiness. The logic naturally builds up to this point as the order is as a follows:

1. We (believers) are children of God. As children of God we are in Christ and must live in a way that is fitting to the Father.  3.  Therefore we must be pure and expel all sin and impurities from us.

2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul states: 

1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Reverence for God is the key phrase.  We as children of God must obey our Father and expel sin from our lives.  This is regarding deliberate sin.

• As believers the Lord has given us the strength through Christ to accomplish this
• Chris is already victorious over sin, and He through His Grace has bestowed us with this power to expel sin from our lives.
• When we except Christ, there must be a transformation through the Holy Spirit. We cannot continue to live in sin and say we are a child of God.

Verses 4-5

These verses reaffirms to the believer that Christ is sinless; therefore, we must be sinless as our Lord.  There is no room for God and sin in our lives.  Therefore, if we are living in sin and confessing Christ as Lord, we must seriously reevaluate our faith and determine if we have truly accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.

John reminds us what sin is.  It is simply lawlessness.  We are reminded and are taken back to the Old Testament, to the Ten Commandments.  God gave us these commandments to show that we are sinful and that we are not able to meet God’s standards.  However, with Jesus our sins have been taken away, we are as white as snow.  Through Christ we have the power and through the Holy Spirit we experience a transformation.  We no longer live in sin.  The power is through Christ and only through Christ that we can achieve this.

There is no room for sin in our lives.  We must purge sin and a sinful lifestyle that is within us to live in harmony with our Lord.

Verse 6

6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Finally, verse 6 provides the final stamp on the Lord’s opinion on those who profess Christ and continue to sin.  John is stark/blunt in his statement to all of us,  if we continue to live a life of sin, then maybe we should reevaluate our position with God.

Hence the Expectations and The Children Of God is important to fully grasp and to be able to teach others about the topic.  Only those that profess Jesus as Lord and Savior are adopted into the family of God and can truly be called the children of God. So, next time when you hear someone speak about Expectations and The Children Of God, you will have sufficient information to comment on the topic.