001.39. Chapter 39
Chapter 39
AMAZING GRACE
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.”
Having stated that “If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29)—which means, in a word, that the performing of good works is one of the sure evidences of the new birth—the apostle’s mind was carried back to the originating cause, namely the eternal love of the Father. The contemplation thereof moved him to break forth into adoring and joyous celebration of the same. But human language is entirely inadequate to express and describe the Divine acts which produce our salvation, and great care needs to be taken lest we either carnalize or unduly restrict the terms that are employed in connection therewith. We agree with Calvin that “when he says love has bestowed, he means that it is from mere bounty and benevolence that God makes us His children... Love, then, is declared here to be gratuitous. There is, indeed, an impropriety in the language, but the apostle preferred speaking thus rather than not to express that the more abundantly God’s goodness has been manifested toward us the greater are our obligations to Him.” Thus by “love” here we understand the Divine benignity or His amazing grace. The chapter division at this point is apt to mislead, detaching in our minds that which is here said from what immediately precedes: 1 John 3:1, is closely connected with 1 John 2:29. The thought of sonship is carried forward, with the design of emphasizing the blessedness of such a high dignity and honour bestowed. That is first denoted by the call to “behold” it, and then by considering the “manner” of the same. So far from regarding 1 John 3:1, as the commencement of a new subject the perspicuous Calvin considered that it furnished the second (implied) argument in proving that faith is necessarily connected with a holy and pure life. “The first argument is that we are spiritually begotten after the likeness of Christ: it hence follows that no one is born of Him except he who lives righteously. The second argument is from the dignity and excellence of our calling, for it was no common honour he says that the heavenly Father bestowed upon us when He adopted us as His children. This being so great a favour, the desire for purity ought to be kindled in us, so as to be conformed to His image; nor, indeed, can it be otherwise but that he who acknowledges himself to be one of God’s children to purify himself. And to make this exhortation more forceful, he amplifies the favour of God.” The apostle was overwhelmed with astonishment as he contemplated the amazing grace which conferred such honour and felicity upon worms of the earth as to call them into the relation of sons. Whether he viewed the ineffable greatness and elevation of the Father, the insignificance and degradation of the subjects, the uniqueness and inestimable value of the blessing bestowed, or the manner and marvel of its communication, he was “lost to wonder, love, and praise.” That the Father should ever deign to notice us at all is an act of infinite condescension on His part: that He should so highly distinguish us as to set His heart upon us, choose in Christ, redeem and regenerate lifelong rebels against Him, completely passes knowledge, and so far exceeds human comprehension as to defy expression by tongue or pen. Such a prodigy is without parallel, not only on earth but in heaven also: as T. Scott rightly said, it is “incapable of being illustrated by any comparison”—any attempt to do so beclouds its uniqueness and is only a darkening of counsel by mere words. Rather let us earnestly seek grace to evince our gratitude thereat, and endeavour to walk worthy of such a calling by a humble and obedient walk. Our text opens with a call to attention, for while the word “behold” here is a word of adoring wonderment, an exclamation of astonishment at such a display of grace, yet it is much more than a bare interjection. It is a verb summoning to action. Manton, with his customary thoroughness, showed that there is a threefold “behold” in Scripture and that each of them is applicable in this place. First, the behold of demonstration, to denote the reality of the object, as in “Behold your King” (John 19:14)—there He is before your very eyes, said Pilate unto the Jews. When prefixed to a doctrinal statement, it avers the certainty of it, as in “Lo [“Behold”] this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good” (Job 5:27). Second, there is the behold of admiration, which is designed to awaken our drowsy minds when something extraordinary is presented to our attention, challenging our most serious thoughts, as in “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow” (Lamentations 1:12). Third, the behold of gratulation, rejoicing and delighting ourselves in the privilege, as in “Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalms 121:4)—take comfort therefrom.
Now each of those senses is to be included here: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.”
Behold it with faith and confidence. Though so astonishing and mysterious, entertain not the least doubt about it, for it is certified by a “Thus saith the Lord.” Behold it with adoring gratitude. It is of vast importance and inestimable value, so give the same your most careful and prayerful attention. Ponder it deeply, meditate much thereon, that the Father Himself has laid hold of depraved and hell-deserving sinners and made them the brethren of His dear Son. This too is “the Lord’s doing: it is marvelous in our eyes.” Behold it with exultation and jubilation, that so blessed a privilege and high a dignity is yours as to be made the children of God, the high favourites of heaven, more closely related to God than the holy angels.
How that should bow us in wonderment and worship before the throne of grace! What comfort and consolation should it afford us amid the trials and tribulations of this life! How it should quicken our thankfulness and draw out our affections Godward—the chief motives and springs of Gospel obedience. How it should make us contented with our present portion—if you be a child of God, it matters little what your earthly possessions amount to. This word “behold” is used all through Scripture on particular and special occasions. When the Lord God made mention of the incarnation and mission of the Messiah, He said, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel”; and again, “Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him” (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 40:10). When the Father would have us fix our hearts and minds on the person of His co-equal Son, He says, “Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth” (Isaiah 42:1). When His forerunner introduced Him to the Jews he cried, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). During His earthly ministry, Christ prefaced many of His weightiest utterances with a “behold!” (Matthew 12:42; Matthew 23:38; Matthew 25:6, etc.). After His ascension, the Lord Jesus declared, “Behold, I come quickly” (Revelation 22:7, Revelation 22:12). So that this word “behold” is used in the sacred page by the Father, by the Son, by the Holy Spirit, by the prophets and by the apostles as introductory to the most blessed and momentous subjects revealed and recorded therein. John would have his little children contemplate this glorious truth of the Father’s love with reverence and awe, for he would stir up their pure minds to holy wonderment and admiration. He would have them engage their best thoughts thereon to the ravishing of their souls. The “behold” is intensified by the words immediately following. It is not simply take notice of and adore the love of the Father, but particularly the sort of love which is here in view—the wonderful expression thereof. The question has been raised as to whether the reference be to the kind or degree of His love. Personally, we consider that both ideas are included: its uniqueness and its greatness. According to its usage in the New Testament this expression is a contrastive one. When Gabriel addressed the virgin Mary as “thou that art highly favoured... blessed art thou among women,” she “cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be” (Luke 1:28-29)—she was mystified by such an unprecedented experience. When the Saviour calmed the raging tempest with a word of command His disciples marveled, saying, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!” (Matthew 8:27)—they have witnessed the supernatural.
“What manner of persons you ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11). which means (in contrast with the wicked) what paragons of virtue you should be—signifying not only the kind but also the degree of piety which God requires from us. In view of the above examples (to which Luke 7:39 and Mark 13:1 may be added), “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” imports, Consider and adore the nature and extent, the marvel and magnitude, the uniqueness and superlative excellence of that love. It is in marked contrast, both in character and in greatness, with all other. It is incomparable, transcendent, infinite. Its cause is inexplicable; its effects are most glorious. Perhaps this is one reason why the Divine benignity is here termed His love, rather than His grace. Love is especially sensitive: “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Thomas Goodwin pointed out, “Of all things in God or man love desires to have itself considered and taken notice of, as much as wisdom, and power, or any other thing; therefore he calls on them to behold God’s love. Above all, love desires notice taken by the parties beloved, to whom it is in special directed unto more than any other, for the emphasis lies in the speciality of it; therefore he would not have them run out in general thoughts admiring God’s love to mankind and giving His Son; but as having bestowed Him upon us”—His dear children. Our present verse is one of many which illustrates the importance of observing the connection between a statement and the setting in which it occurs—failure to take into account the context conveys a wrong idea of its scope, that which is qualified being taken in an unlimited sense. Such is the case here: a wrong use has been made of it. It is appealed to by those who believe in what is termed “the universal Fatherhood of God”—i.e. that all men are spiritually God’s children.
Apart from any other consideration, the principles of honest exegesis exclude such an interpretation of this sentence. The question, Who are the “us” upon whom the Father has bestowed His love? requires answer. Obviously it is those whom the apostle is addressing. And who are they? 1 John 2:29 tells us plainly: they are those that give unmistakable evidence of being born of Christ by being doers of righteousness; and the only ones of whom that is the case are those who have received from Him the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). Thus the “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us” has no reference whatever to the unregenerate, nor is any individual warranted in regarding God as his heavenly Father unless he be walking in newness of life and bears His moral image.
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.” John would have us look not only to the fountainhead or spring of our blessings, attentively consider the matchless mercy shown us, but he would engage our hearts with that which has been communicated to us personally. John is not here calling upon the saints to believe the love wherewith God has loved them, nor is he bidding them receive the knowledge of it into their minds, that they might rejoice over the same in their hearts. Rather is he exhorting them to contemplate that love in its grand original, in its freeness and sovereignty, in its nature and manner, in its gifts and blessedness; that it was actually bestowed upon them—that the Father had not only conceived love toward them, and willed it unto them, but that He had really and truly imparted it to them. That statement is almost parallel with “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). That is what the “behold” directs our attention unto: to ponder and adore that love not abstractly but concretely; that is not simply as it exists within the bosom of Deity, but in its outward manifestation, its actual bestowment upon us.
We are invited to look upon and admire the Father’s love in its infinite condescension, in its gratuitous character, in its blessed application. It is indeed a great wonder that He preserves in being such worthless wretches, supplying our temporal needs, and having any love for us. It is yet more wonderful that His love should be actually engaged toward us. But it is surely most wonderful of all that His love should be communicated to us—given freely, disinterestedly, abundantly. No other cause can be assigned why He should have set His heart upon them other than His own determination: “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:5-6). The good pleasure of the Divine will is the originating cause; the manifestation of Divine grace the end and issue of all. That love is not one merely of pity and compassion, but of delight and complacency: as it is written, “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). To take that into our minds and have it realized in our hearts, to live in the apprehension thereof, is to have real communion with the Father in all the blessedness of His love.
Consider the inestimable privilege which is here specified: “that we should be called the sons of God.” The word “called” does not here refer to God’s making us His children by an effectual or inward call from death unto life, but rather the acknowledging of us to be His children. It is not the act of regeneration which is in view, but the fact of our sonship which is affirmed. “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Genesis 21:12) means, The children of Isaac shall be regarded and recognized as thy seed. Yea, of Christ Himself after the flesh, it was said to Mary “that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35), which obviously signifies shall be acknowledged as such, and not made so. Thus it is here: the Father owning the ones born of Christ—mentioned in the previous verse. When the Father calls us His sons, it is not that He bestows the title upon us, but avers that relationship; as in Romans 9:26, where the apostle quotes from Hosea: “And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God,” that is, God recognizes none as His children but those born of His Spirit and conformed to the image of His Son. And again, “If thou ... call the Sabbath a delight” (Isaiah 58:13)—regard and treat it as such. This is what we are called upon to behold: the fathomless love of the Father in owning us not merely as His subjects or servants, but as His sons. It is a particular and peculiar relationship which pertains to the regenerate, for it is not a blessing which is common to all men. It originates in the Father’s love. It is based upon our union with Christ, our being born of Him. To be a child of God is to be an heir of glory (Romans 8:17), and to be regarded as such by the Father is a confirmation of it. It is a very high honour indeed to sustain this relationship, far, far greater than any which this world can bestow. David asked, “Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king’s son in law?” (1 Samuel 18:23), then what is it to be acknowledged as a son of the King of kings! “Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee” (Isaiah 43:4) is His own blessed testimony. What weight should that have with us! What assurance it should convey to our minds! What wonderment it should evoke! Does it not move each of us to admit with the returning prodigal, I am not worthy “to be called Thy son” (Luke 15:19)? How it should influence our daily lives: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also loved us” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
We must not conclude this chapter without pointing out the principal qualities of the Father’s love. It was spontaneous.
Nothing outside God Himself moved Him to it. There was nothing in us to attract it, but everything to the contrary (Ezekiel 16:5-6). It was eternal (Jeremiah 31:3), for God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and entered into an everlasting covenant of grace with Him on our behalf. It was sovereign, selective and discriminating, for He loves not all; it is peculiar to the elect—“Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people” (Psalms 106:4). It is sacrificial, for God “spared not His own Son” but delivered Him up to the cross in order that sinners might be saved.
Christ shed not His blood in order to induce God to love His people: it was because God loved them that He provided such a costly offering for them. It is infinite. There is a depth to it which none can fathom, a height which none can reach, a length and breadth which cannot be measured. It is invincible. “Put not your trust in princes” said the Psalmist, for they will fail you; but God’s love is reliable and cannot be thwarted. It is immutable, knowing no change (Malachi 3:6), being without variableness or shadow of turning. Truly His love is unique.
Equally blessed is it to observe how His love is exercised. Behold His foreordaining love “In love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children” (Ephesians 1:4-5). Deuteronomy 7:7-8, shows that election is the fruit of God’s love—likewise does 2 Thessalonians 2:13, teach us. Behold God’s redeeming love: “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). Behold His regenerating love: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Behold His drawing love: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3), sweetly wooing us unto Himself. Behold His communicating love: “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). Behold His comforting love: “even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation” (2 Thessalonians 2:16). Behold His preserving love: “nothing does or can separate us from it” (Romans 8:38-39). Thus its manner is as matchless as its nature. A brief word now on the present modification of our enjoyment of God’s love. “Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.” Though so greatly honoured by the Father, that will not bring you into favour with those who are strangers to Him. No matter how lavish He be in the display of His love toward us, the unregenerate will not value us on that account. The natural man is devoid of spiritual discernment, and perceives not that the saints are “the excellent of the earth,” the blessed ones—rather does he regard them as fools and fanatics, who are turning their backs on the happiness of life. But so far from stumbling the Christian, or even discouraging him, it is just what he should expect. Nor will this disesteem be only from the openly godless—it is from professors that the most cruel treatment will come. It was the religious element which persecuted Christ! They perceived not His glory, though it shone constantly before them in His character and conduct, His ministry and miracles; but they were blind, seeing in Him no beauty. Sufficient for the disciple to be as his Master: to be unknown, despised, opposed, is part of our conformity to Him. The excellency of our sonship is not to be measured by the world’s judgment, for its opinion is worthless. Sufficient for the believer to be assured that his Father loves him, that he has His approbation. Suffer not the slights of godless professors to dim your joy in Him.