Study it in the app“See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him.”
John is amazed: we really are called children of God!GraceJohn marvels that the Father calls us his childrenLoneliness
Seeἴδετεwhat kind ofποταπὴνloveἀγάπηνthe Fatherὁ πατὴρhas givenδέδωκενus,ἡμῖνthatἵναwe should be calledκληθῶμενchildrenτέκναof God;θεοῦandκαὶso we are.ἐσμένFor this reasonδιὰ τοῦτοthe worldὁ κόσμοςdoes notοὐknowγινώσκειus,ἡμᾶςbecauseὅτιit did notοὐκknowἔγνωhim.αὐτόν
see
To perceive with sight, to look and notice what is in front.
Where else “idete” appearswhat kind of
What kind of, of what sort.
Where else “potapēn” appearslove
Love that gives itself, seeking the other's good, like God's.
Where else “agapēn” appearsFather
God, who gives life and cares for his own; the Father of Jesus.
Where else “patēr” appearsgive
To hand something to another freely, as a gift.
Where else “dedōken” appearscall
To give someone a name.
Where else “klēthōmen” appearschild
Someone born of parents, or of a family or people.
Where else “tekna” appearsGod
The Creator and Lord of all, the one God of Israel.
Where else “theou” appearsbe
To be: says who or what something is.
Where else “esmen” appearsworld against God
People who live with their backs to God.
Where else “kosmos” appearsknow
To be truly acquainted with someone, or grasp something fully.
Where else “ginōskei” appearsMany manuscripts leave out “and so we are.”
1 · This verse (above)
2Beloved, now we are children of God, 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.
1. What it says
What does verse 1 say the Father has given us, and what does it say we will be when he appears (v. 1-2)?
2. What it means
John says not to love "in word or with the tongue, but in deed and truth" (v. 18). What does that contrast show?
3. How I live it
What concrete act of love could you do today for someone in need (v. 17-18)?
