I John 3:1-3 What is our hope?
What is our hope? John marvelled that we should be called the children of God, because as he already noted, we are still sinners (1:8-2:2). However, our goal is to “walk as he walked” (2:6). We are able to do this because forgiveness is a daily thing, and we have been given several means to this end. True faith is seen in doctrine and life. We are not perfect, but are those who are growing and changing day by day, into his likeness. The more we do image Christ, the more that antichristian culture will hate us (v. 1). It is unmistakeable that John believed and taught that all humanity will one day see him revealed again, but this is not precisely the hope he speaks of, rather it is this-“but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him” (v. 3). This is the hope that motivates us in the present, to purify ourselves, “just as He is pure” (v. 3). So is our hope simply in Him returning, or is it that one day we shall be like him-pure as he is pure?
