Today’s passage: 1 John 3:1-3
Helpful thoughts:
- It should amaze us all the time that God has allowed us to become His children!
- We are His children because God loved us (1 John 4:19)
- When we behold the glory of God in Christ through the Gospel message, it changes/purifies us. The world does not know this love and therefore will not understand the change taking place in us.
- God promises that our purification will be completed. We will see Jesus in all His glory and be made to be just like Him. (Romans 8:29)
Questions to consider:
- When we think about the Gospel message and God’s plan and execution of it, how much time and action was required on God’s part? (2 Timothy 1:8-14) When did the decree and plan and work of your salvation begin? When will it be completed?
- What are some helpful ways we can think about/meditate on God’s love for us in the Gospel? (If you are looking for help in this, check out Milton Vincent’s A Gospel Primer or John Piper’s Seeing and Savoring Christ)
- If what changes us is the glory of God’s love in the Gospel, what do we need to tell the world? If we only tell them what we do, how often we go to church, what we abstain from, etc. they won’t understand…and that makes perfect sense! What changes us will also be what changes them. What do they need to hear?