John now turns his writings to “Living as Children of God”.  He wants us to understand that we have been adopted by God and should  live as God’s very own children.  When we were born we were created by God and were living as His creation.  We were created in His very own image.  He had chosen us from the beginning to fellowship and share in the enjoyment of living with Him in His created world.   

Genesis 2:7 in the King James Version of the Bible makes this very clear.   "God said, Let Us (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beast, and over all the earth and over every thing that creeps upon the earth.  .... So God created man in His own image."  

When man disobeyed God He broke that relationship and was separated from God and no longer was able to live in the Garden of Eden, enjoying God’s continual blessings.  God had provided for all of man’s physical needs and Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with all of God’s creation.  They also had the opportunity to walk with God when God came to visit them in the Garden.  Because they allowed sin to enter their lives and chose to disobey God’s instructions they no longer enjoyed the blessings of unbroken fellowship with God. 

God never quit trying to renew that relationship with his creation.  He tried to destroyed all of mankind except Noah and His family and gave them the job of replenishing the earth.  God’s intent must have been to have Noah and his family, who were faithful worshipers of God, teach their children to be faithful to worshiping the one and only true God of creation.  This plan failed and it was not long until the world was right back to living in continual sin. 

God then sent His Son, Jesus, to become a living sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.  When Jesus died on the cross, He died for all mankind paying the price for their sins.  However, God at this point made each person responsible for acknowledging that Jesus was the Son of God and receive Him as their personal Savior.  Each person had to ask Him to forgive them of their sins and let Him cleanse them of all of their sins.  When we receive Jesus as our personal Savior we are then put back in perfect fellowship with the Father and become God’s child.  When we understand that we are children of God we should then live as His child.

1 John 3:1-3: “ See how very much   our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don’‘t know God, so they don’t understand that we are his children.  Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.  And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.”

John is saying that we do not expect to be the sons of God, we are the sons of God. The child of God can say emphatically, “I am a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ”. We don’t hope to be the child of God, we don’t expect to be the child of God, but the thrilling fact is that every believer can be assured and constantly thank God that he is His child. We can shout with joy that God loved us so much that He made us His child.  We cannot claim that we did anything ourselves to deserve to be His child, but we can accept all that He provided for us through His son, Jesus Christ,  who so willingly died on the cross for our sins.
 

John says, “.See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!”

The Spirit of God is the one who can make this real to us, and only the Spirit of God can do that. Until He confirms it in your heart,  you must say, “I don’t know whether I am saved or not”.  Satan will always put the question in your mind,  “Did I really accepted Jesus as my personal Savior and did He really forgive me of my sins and give me eternal life?”  Satan will continue to confuse you with doubt.  This doubt will cause you to walk in defeat instead of victory.  It will cause confusion in your life and confusion usually leads to sin. The only way to keep Satan from confusing you is to be able go back to a specific time and place that you know, without a doubt, that you prayed, asking Jesus to come into your heart, that you accepted Him as your Savior, That He forgave you of your sins and that He gave you eternal life. Victory can only come when you know, without a doubt, that you are a child of God.  If there is any doubt whatsoever in your mind, concerning your salvation, you should settle that once and for all.  Right now on this day and in this hour and minute you can receive Jesus as your personal Savior.  When you come to the place in your life that you pray to Jesus, asking Him to save you and you believe  in your heart that He did save you, then the Spirit of God can confirm this to your heart.  If there is any doubt whatsoever, you should study the information on how you can be saved and claim the promises quoted and pray to receive Jesus as your personal Savior right now.

Let’s look at some of the facts concerning the lost state of every man and woman created by God and how one can be saved from that lost state. 

God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.  Jesus tells us in the Book of John "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:  I am come that they might have life and might have it more abundantly." (John 10:9-10 KJV).  The amplified version of verse ten states, "...I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance--to the full, till it overflows."  The Living Bible translated states, "... My purpose is to give life in all its fullness."  Since creation God has always wanted to give man a wonderful and satisfying life.  He wanted then and He wants today to provide us with all of His love and wonderful blessings but He cannot do that because of sin.  Sin in our life separates us from Him, therefore, we cannot experience His love in our present condition.  To show His love for us God sent His only Son to reunite us with God and to cleanse us from that sin so that we can once again experience God's love.  "God showed how much He loved us by sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him.  This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." (1 John 4:9-10 NLBT).

How can you experience that love?  The first step is to recognize that you are a sinner.  "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;". (Romans 3:23 KJV).  Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden man has been separated from God and inherits from Adam the nature to do wrong instead of doing right.  Because of this inheritance all are born in sin and separated from God.  "When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race.  Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned." (Romans 5:12 NLBT).  Man has always tried to reach God by many different types of idol worship and sacrifice.  However, he is never able to accomplish this task of reaching God because of the eternal separation.  Man is on one side of the issue and God is on the other.  1 John 1:10 tells us "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Once we admit that we are sinners we must understand that there is a price to be paid for sin.  "For the wages of sin is death," (Romans 6:23 a, KJV).  Once we understand the penalty for sin we have to be sorry for our sin and repent.  Repent means to turn away from sin and go another way.  "...but except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish." (Luke 13:3 KJV).  "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,..." (Acts 3;19 KJV).  "Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins". (Acts 3:19 NLBT). 

What must you do once you have become aware of your sinful condition and agree that you are a sinner and want to be forgiven of your sin?  The answer is given by Paul when he was in prison in Phillipi.  The jailer was so afraid of being executed when he found the prison doors open after an earth quake that he was going to take his own life.  Paul stopped him and told him everyone was still there.  Upon seeing that all were present he ask that famous question "What must I do to be saved."  Paul answers and gives us the only way to the Father.   "....What must I do to be saved? ....Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house."  The Amplified version states it this way, "...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ--that is, give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping, and you will be saved;...". (Acts 16:30-31 KJV).  That word "believe" means to trust in, cling to, rely on the fact that Jesus has the power to save you and that if you ask Him He will save you.  God continues to love us and wants to save us from our sin.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son That whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 KJV).  "I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life.  They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life."  (John 5:24 NLBT).  (Also see John 1:12; John 3:14-18, 36; John 11:25-26, 36, 40).   

The next step is to call upon the name of Jesus to save us and ask the Father to forgive our sins.  "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  (Romans 10:13 KJV).  We must confess our sins and receive forgiveness of our sins.  "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every sin." (1 John 1:9 NLBT).  We must confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus can and will save us.  "For if  you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved......for anyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved." (Romans 10:9-13 NLBT).

Just as the wages of sin is eternal death, eternal life is a gift of God.  "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord". (Romans 3:23 KJV).  The Living Bible states it this way, "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard.  Yet now God in His gracious kindness declares us not guilty.  He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.  For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us.  We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.  God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times.  And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe In Jesus." (Romans 3:23-26 NLBT).

Forgiveness is a free gift.  We cannot earn it.  We can not do enough good works to deserve it.  We can only accept it.  "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."  (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV).  When we invite Jesus into our life He is already standing there waiting for that invitation.  "Look! Here I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together" (Revelations 3:20 NLBT).  This scripture pictures a Risen Christ standing at your hearts door knocking and wanting to come into your life and forgive you of your sin and give you eternal life.  He has already paid the ransom for your sins, He has already died on the cross for your sins and He offers you the free gift of eternal life if you will only accept it.  All you have to do is open your hearts door and invite Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins and to save you and give you eternal life.

How do you invite Jesus into your life?  Through a simple request called prayer.  You might pray a prayer like this.  "Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son.  I believe that He came to save me from my sins.  I believe that He died on the cross, in my place,  and paid the price  for my sin.  I believe that He was raised from the grave and now lives with You in Heaven.  I know that I am a sinner and I ask You to forgive me of my sins.  I accept You, Jesus, as my Lord and Savior.  I want you to live in my heart and to control my life.  I thank you, Father,  for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life.  I know that I am now a born again believer and free from the terrible punishment for my sins.   I accept your free gift of forgiveness and know, without any doubt, that I have been washed by the blood of Jesus that was shed for me.  I know that I am saved and I thank you Father for loving me and saving me. Amen."   Immediately upon praying that prayer, Jesus did come into your life and forgave you of you past, present and future sins.  All you have to do now is to allow Him to abide in you and you abide in Him. 

You can know for sure that you are now saved.  The scripture gives you many verses that will confirm this fact.  "I write this to you who believe in the Son of God., so that you may know you have eternal life.  And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask Him for anything in line with His will.  And if we know he is listening when we make our request, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for."  (1 John 5:13-15 NLBT).  Since the only reason that Jesus came to earth and died on the cross was to provide a way for you to be back in fellowship with the Father; then, it is surely His will that you be saved.  Therefore, when you asked Him to come into your life the scripture says that He hears your request and will give it to you.  So your assurance and confidence comes from the promises of Jesus as given in the scriptures.

Now, record this   day,  date,  time,  and  place,  so that You can always find it.  Then when Satan tries to confuse you with the question, “Did you really accept Jesus as your Savior ?”, You can answer a very definite “YES”!   You can say, “Satan, on DAY, MONTH, DAY, YEAR, at TIME, AND PLACE,  I  ASKED Jesus to become my Savior and He did!  That’s It!  That’s final!  I AM A CHILD OF GOD!!!!

God’s love for us does not stop with our salvation experience.  Once we are saved, Jesus lives in us and wants to have fellowship with us each moment of the day.  God’s love continues throughout our lives and takes us right up to the return of Jesus Christ!  When our Lord appears, all true believers will see Him and will become like Him.  Philippians 3:20-21: 20; “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere.”  This means that all true born again believers, will have new, glorified bodies suited to heaven. 

John 3:1,  tells us what we are: “Children of God”;  “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!”. 1 John 3:2,  tells us what we shall be:  “We shall be like Him”; “Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”  and 1 John 3:3,  tells us what we should be: “Pure, just like He is pure”; :And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.”  In view of the return of Jesus Christ, we should keep our lives clean and pure and should be looking forward, with much anticipation, to His return.

John now takes us to a section of the book that contrast the actions of His children with the actions of Satan.  John wants us to understand that God’s love in His children make them want to live a righteous life and when they do fall into sin, they are convicted of that sin and live in guilt until they confess their sin and receive cleansing from it.  Children of Satan sin because it pleases them to live as they desire to live and their life is one of self gratification. 

1 John 3:4-10; “4 Those who sin are opposed to the law of God, for all sin opposes the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him. 6 So if we continue to live in him, we won’t sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is.

7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not sin, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the Devil. Anyone who does not obey God’s commands and does not love other Christians does not belong to God.”

We must remember that salvation and forgiveness of our sins began with the Father’s love for us.  Because the Father loved us and sent His Son to die for us, we are children of God.  Because God loves us, He wants us to live with Him one day.  Salvation, from start to finish, is an expression of the love of God.  It is by God’s grace that we are His children.  Because of our relationship with the Father, that comes by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we, as born again believers, have no desire to live in sin.