“Now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be”
(I. John iii. 2).
We are the sons of God. We are not merely called and even legally
declared, but actually are sons of God by receiving the life and nature of
God; and so we are the very brethren of our Lord; not only in His human
nature, but still more in His divine relationship. “Therefore, He is not
ashamed to call us brethren.” He gives us that which entitles us to that
right, and makes us worthy of it. He does not introduce us into a position
for which we are uneducated and unfitted, but He gives us a nature worthy
of our glorious standing; and as He shall look upon us in our complete and
glorious exaltation reflecting His own likeness and shining in His
Father’s glory, He shall have no cause to be ashamed of us. Even now He is
pleased to acknowledge us before the universe and call us brethren in the
sight of all earth and heaven. Oh, how this dignifies the humblest saint
of God! How little we need mind the misunderstanding of the world if He
“is not ashamed to call us brethren.”
So let us go out to-day to represent His royal family.