The Sermon uses scripture 1 John 3:1-7, 16-24. It was preached on April 22, 2018 at Lake City Presbyterian Church in Lake City, SC.
This sermon uses the lectionary text from last week (the 3rd Sunday of Easter) as well as the lectionary text for this week from 1 John Originally I was going to do a two week series on 1 John chapter 3, then dates for preaching were changed and I combined the 2 sermons into one. However, an opportunity came up for me to preach the 3rd Sunday of Easter in North Carolina so I pulled out the original sermon for it.
Thus, you will notices many similarities from last week, even the same text in part.
Children
of God: Love One Another!
This week is celebrating
that you and I
are
called Children of God and
as
such we are commanded to love each other.
Next week is a similar theme
which will focus
on
the simple fact that God is love!
Love is at the center of
the message of the New Testament;
loving each other as brothers and sisters in Christ,
all as children of God.
Who fits into the
category of “children of God”?
“Children
of God” is
meant to unite us as one,
a phrase of unity;
no matter our differences whether they involve
race,
gender, nationality,
age,
background,
political
views, or life’s circumstances;
we can all come together
as each of us is a child of God.
Unity
is both a gift and an obligation for the church.
A couple of years ago at
seminary,
there
was a discussion about diversity on campus,
some
thinking that there was not enough.
But I did see diversity
present.
Each individual brought
their own unique experiences
to
the collective.
There were opportunities
to learn from each other;
and
push ourselves beyond our own comfort zones.
As I looked around the
seminary campus
I
saw many “children of God”…
Many from other
countries…
Korea Ghana Kenya Germany Hungary
each
a “Child of God”;
Men and Women, Gay and Straight,
Married, Divorced, Single, Engaged
each
a “Child of God”;
all ages from 20-something and just out of college to
those over
50, either retired
or searching for a new beginning
with a second career
each
a “Child of God”;
different
denominations
Presbyterian Baptist Lutheran
Methodist Episcopalian
each a “Child of God”.
Categories that divide us
change
as
you and I do not look for the
differences
but
look at each other as Children of God.
So we may come together
in the grace of God’s light
to
see each other as brothers and sisters.
Take a moment to look at
your neighbor and
do
not see the differences…
Republican or Democrat,
Clemson or Carolina,
different generations, marital status,
or backgrounds;
see
them with God’s love as another child of God.
So what does the phrase “children
of God” mean?
It is a term for the
faithful, those believers who
know God’s love and
the
experience of God’s grace in Jesus Christ.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so
that everyone who believes in him may not perish,
but
may have eternal life.”
God’s gracious love; that
is divine love!
One commentary on First
John proclaims…
“The consequence and proof of the love of God
is being and being called,
children of God.
The
love of God is described as a gift,
which means that we do nothing to merit it.”
Since being called
children of God is a gift of God’s love,
since we did nothing to earn it,
you and I should not boast about it.
In his institutes John
Calvin puts it this way…
“Boasting about the
merits of works destroys our praise of God for having bestowed righteousness as
well as our assurance of salvation.”
God’s love
is God’s gift to us through Christ.
In
understanding what God wants for us,
the
apostle John’s words give hopeful expectation
what
we will be has not yet been revealed.
What we do know is this:
when he is revealed, we will be like
him,
for we will see him as he is.
There are
those 2 words in there that seem contradictory:
now
and not yet.
What we are now and what we will be but are not yet.
Look at it
this way, in human terms…
When we are young, we know we are
children and
experience parental care and
love; yet,
you and I do not understand what it means
to be children until
we are grown.
From First
Corinthians chapter 13:
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child,
I thought like I child, I reasoned like a
child;
when I became an adult, I put an end
to my childish ways.
but then we will see
face to face.
Now
I know only in part; then
I will know fully, even as I have
been fully known.”
I do love
that scripture…
For
now we see in a mirror dimly,
but then we will see face to face.
Face to face, up close and personal;
in the Greek…
prosopon
pros prosopon.
God’s love
for us is personal, God knows us.
We do not yet understand the full meaning
of
being God’s children until the time is fulfilled,
in
eschatological terms, the coming of
God’s
heavenly kingdom.
We do not have to earn God’s love, yet, as
children of God,
we do have responsibilities.
There is more than just
being called children of God,
it
is in the being children of God.
The
spiritual awareness of what God wants for us;
living as children of God.
Our responsibility is the
way we live.
The apostle
John mentions sin;
doing right and avoiding
sin is the mark of God’s children.
Everyone who does what is right is righteous.
Avoiding
sin, we do our best,
however, because of our human frailty you
and I do sin.
Believers
should never intend to sin, or
make
a habit of sin;
what you and I can do -acknowledge sin and renounce
it.
And
all who have this hope in him purify themselves,
just as he is pure.
The impurity John speaks
of is the pollution of sin;
if we are purified, we are cleansed of sin.
From the beatitudes,
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
God has cleansed us
through Jesus,
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Being cleansed, leads me
to thoughts about baptism.
You and I
are blessed by the sacraments
of baptism and the Lord’s Supper;
they draw us into unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Baptism
welcomes us into the community of faith;
it is a sign and seal of God’s grace in the forgiveness
of our sins and the covenant in Christ.
Whether as a child or an
adult, baptism welcomes
each
of us into the family of faith,
to
be called a child of God;
we
are made clean of sin.
As Paul says
in the Letter to the Galatians:
“…in Christ Jesus
you are all children of God through faith.”
So, going back to those
words of now and not yet,
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we will be has not yet
been revealed.
You and
I are welcomed into the family of faith,
called children of God,
our sins forgiven,
assured of God’s love,
and live with hopeful expectation of what is to come.
God’s work is not yet
complete.
You and I
still have a lot of growing to do.
Always changing,
always
learning,
always
becoming,
always
reforming,
always
hoping…
We also have that new
commandment:
Love one another!
From the Gospel of John
13:34-35:
“I
give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another.”
This love is love in
fellowship… κοινωνία,
(koy-nohn-ee'-ah)
agape love…
Agape love is selfless,
sacrificial, unconditional love.
It is the kind of love Jesus expressed
for his disciples.
Agape love is more than
emotions, more than feelings,
Agape love is active;
it
demonstrates love through actions:
God gave his only Son and
Jesus gave his life,
that
through his death and resurrection,
he
could take on our sins.
Jesus acted out of love.
Love
one another!
This
should be the easiest of commandments to follow.
So what does loving one
another,
love in action, look like?
We follow as Jesus
leads...
Just as I have loved you, you also should
love one another
When you and I act
out of love, we fulfill the commandment.
Kindness, hospitality,
giving,
comforting,
praying
for each other…
By
this everyone will know
that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another
Known by love.
They will know we are Christians by
our love.
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
They will know we are Christians by our love.
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
They will know we are Christians by our love.
Love is the commandment
of the new covenant,
the good news,
redemption and salvation.
By being children of God, we know love;
by living as children
of God we know
God’s love for us leads
us to love one another
and thus, be known as disciples of Christ.
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