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Time after Pentecost · All Saints' Day · Year A

1 John 3:1-3

Children of God

November 1, 2026

Saint John the Evangelist (Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany), Jean Bourdichon
Saint John the Evangelist (Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany), Jean Bourdichon, 1503–1508Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
John sits on a rock on Patmos with his eagle beside him, pen raised, looking up from the book on his knees; in the prayer book this page opens the reading of his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word”.See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God … when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.Jean BourdichonCourt painter to four kings of France; this book of hours for Queen Anne of Brittany is his masterpiece.Bibliothèque nationale de France, ParisThe Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (MS Latin 9474).Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 5:1-12Mt 5:1-12
Epistle1 John 3:1-31 Jn 3:1-3
Old TestamentRev. 7:(2-8) 9-17Rev 7:(2-8) 9-17
PsalterPs. 149Ps 149

Overview & Insights

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)

This section of 1 John is unified by the idea of the children of God: who they are and how one can identify them by their lives. It is a passage dominated by ethics, particularly an ethical concern for righteousness and sin. It compares two “families”: the children of God and the children of the devil. In the background, as always, are the Elder’s opponents, the secessionists, whom he strongly contrasts to his own “dear children.”

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Take it further: 1 John 3:1-3

Commentary

Commentary on 1 John 3:1-3Commentary on 1 Jn 3:1-3 Working Preacher

The Lutheran home commentary on the saints as children of God, now and not yet revealed.

1 John 3 - The Children of God1 Jn 3 - The Children of God Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the Father's love and the hope of being like Christ.

1 John 3 Resources1 Jn 3 Resources Precept Austin

An inductive study hub gathering word studies and commentators verse by verse on 1 John 3.

1 John 3:1 Commentaries1 Jn 3:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on being called children of God.

1 John 3:1 Verse-by-Verse Commentary1 Jn 3:1 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight

A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the passage.

Background & Word Study

1 John 3:1 Interlinear1 Jn 3:1 Interlinear BibleHub

The Greek of the passage word by word with parsing, including the language of children and love.

Overview: 1-3 JohnOverview: 1-3 Jn BibleProject

An animated overview of the Johannine letters and their call to love and truth.

The Church Fathers

1 John 3 (Catena)1 Jn 3 (Catena) Catena

Patristic comments verse by verse on being made children of God and the hope of seeing him.

Questions preachers ask

What is our destiny in 1 John 3?

We are already God’s children, and though what we will be is not yet made known, “when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1–3), the hope All Saints celebrates.

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