Pentecost Season · All Saints · Year A
1 John 3:1-3
Children of God
November 1, 2026
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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Commentary
Commentary on 1 John 3:1-3 Working Preacher
The Lutheran home commentary on this All Saints reading by a named seminary scholar.
1 John 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 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on being called children of God.
1 John 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) Bible Study Tools
Matthew Henry's full exposition of the chapter for a classic devotional reading of adoption and hope.
1 John 3:1 Interlinear BibleHub
The Greek of the passage word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers, including the word for children.
Enter the Bible: 1 John Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary's book introduction to 1 John for its teaching on love and assurance.
Books of 1-3 John Overview BibleProject
An animated overview of the letters of John that frames the theme of love and belonging to God.
The Church Fathers
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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