Who We Are and What We Will Be :: 1 John 3:1-3
[Prayer]
Blessed Lord, you have caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by patience and comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[Introduction]
Today we observe the Feast of All Saints ... aka All Saints Day. The Church has set aside this day to remember with thanksgiving all the saints who have gone before us ... the saints who now rest from their labors and are with the Lord. Though we cannot see them, we know they are with us. As the preacher in the Book of Hebrews teaches us, we are surrounded by the great cloud of witnesses to the faith ... the great communion of saints ... the whole church on earth and in heaven during every Divine Service (Hb 12:1; Proper Preface).
But All Saints Day isn’t only for those who have died in the faith. We are also called to remember that we too have been sanctified in Christ. We are now saints (1 Cor 1:2) ... those of us who look forward with hope to the day our Lord Jesus returns on the clouds in glory and raises us into a glory (1 Th 4:12) we can only read about. We know this because there is this “now but not yet” aspect to all of our readings today. Notably, this “now and not yet” emphasis is perfectly encapsulated in our epistle reading.
Listen again to what Saint John writes: See ... or better yet ... pay attention to the kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And we are! Because of this, the world does not know us for it did not know him. Beloved, now we are God’s children, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope that is dependent on him, purifies himself as he is pure (vv 1-3).
And so our theme this morning is ...
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE WILL BE
I. Let’s start with who we are.
This is something we need to pay attention to. When we look into the mirror of God’s law, we must confess that we do NOT like who we are ... poor, miserable sinners ... those who do not do what we want to do, but we do the very thing we hate (Rm 7:15). We are sinners who sin. We continually return to our foolish, disobedient, wandering ways, slaves to our various passions and pleasures (Titus 3:3). When we say we have not sinned, or even that we can stop sinning, we call God a liar (1 Jn 1:10). We cannot tame our tongue. With it, we bless the Lord one minute and curse those who are made in the likeness of God the next.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, these things ought not be (James 3:8-10).
But pay attention to another word that God has for us today ... a good and perfect word ... the Word from above which fills us with hope. This is the Word that’s so amazing, it defies our logic and rationalism ... Jesus who is the Word-Become-Flesh ... who is the Word of Creation, Redemption, and Sanctification ... who is in fact the Word of God Incarnate ... the sinless Son of God ... He has fulfilled everything for us. As Peter proclaims, He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten (1 Pt 2:22-23). Instead, he stood in our place.
Pay attention to this: He himself bore our sins on his body upon the tree (1 Pt 2:24). He willingly laid down his life for his friends (Jn 15:13) ... for you ... his brothers and sisters ... just as he promised.
Pay attention to this: Our sinless Lord suffered the punishment the law requires for sinners. He bled and died for YOU ... taking the punishment you deserve (Rm 6:23). By his wounds you have been healed (Is 53:5). And because God is just, he has raised Jesus from the dead ... on the third day, just as promised (Hos 6:2).
More than that, do you see what kind of love the Father has given to us?
He has clothed you in the robes of righteousness that were made white with the blood of the Lamb ... the same robes he gave to Peter and Paul ... Matthew and John ... Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of God ... as well as all the not-so-famous saints gathered together in our second reading (Rv 7:9-17) ... your sainted grandmothers or grandfathers ... all who by God’s grace trust in Christ our Savior.
We didn’t deserve any of it. But when the kindness and philanthropy of God our Savior was revealed, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our savior, so that being justified by his grace, we will become heirs, according to the hope of eternal life (Tit 3:3-7).
And now he is still calling us forward to pay attention to his absolution ... yet again.
Through the proclamation of his Word, he continues to announce to you ... the children of God ... that though you were dead in your sin and trespasses ... God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive with Christ (Eph 2:1-7). He did this in baptism, which now saves you (1 Pt 3:21). He has made us holy ... literally, saints ... through the washing of water in the word, so that he will present you, the church, to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle ... holy and without blemish (Eph 5:26-27). And this is leading us straight into the feast of forgiveness that never ends ... the Lord’s Supper ... through which God continues to deliver to you his body and blood so that you have eternal life (Jn 6:54).
II. Then we will know what we will be.
As John writes, Beloved, now we are God’s children, and what we will be has not yet been revealed, but when he is revealed, we will be like him because we will see him just as he is.
We don’t understand exactly what this means, but it’s also worth paying attention to as well. The promised return of Christ puts a song in our heart and a spring in our step ... knowing the day of sin and death will disappear ... along with all the tears. When we are like him, there will be no more pain ... no more anger ... no more grudges ... no more selfishness ... no more anxiety ... no more judgment. We will be like him ... keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of the faith ... forgiving ... communing with each other ... forever. As Paul says in Philippians 3[:21] and 1 Corinthians 15[:52], our Lord will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. ... This will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. ... And we will be changed.
It will matter not whether our body lies in the dust of the grave or if Christ comes back sooner rather than later. When he is revealed, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. And everyone who hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure (vc 2b-3).
[Conclusion]
And remember ... pay attention ... my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this hope is not based on anything we do, long to do, or even plan to do. It’s not about our sacrifices. It’s never been about sacrifices. Instead, it’s always been about the promises God made to all sinners ... the promise to turn us by His Spirit to repentance. Then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, (we can) put on hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, enduring one another and forgiving each other, if anyone has a complaint against another, just as the Lord also forgave you (Col 3:12-13).
This is who we are and what we will be, because we are the beloved children of God ... in Jesus’ name.