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Pentecost Season · All Saints · Year A

1 John 3:1-3

Children of God

November 1, 2026

Saint John the Evangelist, Frans Hals
Saint John the Evangelist, Frans Hals, c. 1625The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Half length, the quill stopped in his hand over an open book and his other hand at his breast, looking up away from the page; the eagle is behind him in the dark.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.Frans HalsHals, better known for painting the living faces of Haarlem, here painting the moment before a sentence is written.The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los AngelesThe J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMatt. 5:1-12Mt 5:1-12
Epistle1 John 3:1-31 Jn 3:1-3
Old TestamentRev. 7:9-17Rev 7:9-17
PsalterPs. 34:1-10, 22Ps 34:1-10, 22

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 this All Saints reading by a named seminary scholar.

1 John 3 - Children of God1 Jn 3 - 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 3:1 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 (Matthew Henry Complete)1 Jn 3 (Mt Henry Complete) Bible Study Tools

Matthew Henry's full exposition of the chapter for a classic devotional reading of adoption and hope.

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

The Greek of the passage word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers, including the word for children.

Books of 1-3 John OverviewBooks of 1-3 Jn Overview BibleProject

An animated overview of the letters of John that frames the theme of love and belonging to God.

The Church Fathers

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

Patristic comments verse by verse on being God's children now and the hope to come.

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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